TLC logo TLC #106:  December 16, 2007


 
 

 

Dear Hearts & Gentle People:

 

Some youngster asked me the other day why I begin all TLCs with this salutation. To those of you who don't know, get yourself to an older person and ask him/her to sing "I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live in my hometown..."

 

Compliments, corrections, and condolences this issue.

 

First, a compliment from Barb Lee '57 Fay:

 

The new TLC Web site is TERRIFIC! Love the pics and the clever descriptions that accompany them.  And now I can throw away all my hard copies of the TLC and free up some space in my filing cabinet.

THANK YOU DEVOTED SCRIBE!
 
Well, you're most welcome, except that Bob Ball is responsible for your pleasure. He is the webmaster supreme, and I can barely type in the web address. I know others share your appreciation. He'll be putting some new items up one day soon, but I haven't warned him about this issue.
 
And now, on to the corrections:
 
Jim '49 O'Malley checks in on his war service:
 
Thanks for mentioning my service in WWII in TLC #105!  I would have been proud to have been that fellow, but I have to confess it wasn't me. 

I fought WWII on the Battlefield at Lexington on Saturdays with my buddy Billy Adam with toy guns.   I was 10 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and had just turned 14 on VJ Day.  But I, like everyone else, tried to help out in the war effort.   I was in the Boy Scouts and was very busy with paper drives for the war effort.   Also, I was a student at the Catholic School in Lexington and the boys in the upper grades would get time off from class to take our "little red wagons" around town collecting paper from the parishioners.  I remember pulling my wagon out to Mrs. Quarti's home on South 13 Hwy (quite a walk!) to get her contribution.  Being from the Old Country, she insisted that my buddies and I partake of her hospitality.  She offered us a glass of wine!  We resisted, but it would have been an insult to refuse her kindness, so we did our duty.  You can bet we never told Sister Theresa about that!   Best regards to all.
 
Will the real WWII soldier please stand up?
 
You're absolutely right about that note about the Entines not being from Jim O'Malley.  It was from me.  But I forgive you.  With all the material you receive, it's surprising that this type of mix-up doesn't happen more often.  I want you to know that I still enjoy the TLCs.  Keep them coming. Don Stephenson, Class of '43
 
Sorry, Don! And Jim. You are both too kind.
 
Lexington adoptee John Willard wrote:

Thanks so much for continuing to include me in your list. I thoroughly enjoy your comments and those of your many correspondents!  All of you create a tribute to times which were slower and more mellow and sound to have been "gentler".  The many stories and anecdotes create a feast for this old farm boy's imagination!
 
I do think we were lucky to grow up here.
 
From Shirley Collobert '50 Guevel:

 

I was working at the Maid-Rite as a car-hop when Bobby Price died.  He and Orna Lee Lauck used to come there for Cokes. He was about the only person in that age group who gave a tip, and it was always a nice one.  He really was a super nice guy.

He must have been. So many people have said that.

Shirley asked me to report that Don VanCamp died this past month.

And it is my sad duty to report that Arthur '56 Knapheide also passed away two weeks ago. Here is his obituary:

Arthur Frederick Knapheide Jr., 69, passed away at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov 30, 2007, surrounded by his beloved family at Hospice of the Valley, Dobson Home, Chandler  Ariz.

He was born on Aug. 7, 1938, in Lexington, Mo., the son of Arthur and Rose Heaper Knapheide.

He graduated from Lexington High School with the class of 1956 and entered into the U.S. Army in 1957, serving until 1963. He moved to Phoenix in 1959 and worked for Allied Signal for 36 years until his retirement in 1995. He moved to Strawberry Ariz., where he worked with the Pine/Strawberry Fire Department and Emergency Task Force. In 2001 Arthur and his wife moved to his favorite spot in the world, Montrose, Colo., to enjoy the mountains he loved so much. He became very active in the American Legion and has served as Commander for Post 73 in Montrose the last three years, as well as District Senior Vice Commander. Arthur loved his country and had the greatest respect for all of our veterans.

He was preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his mother Rose of Peoria; his sister Rose Goforth of Avondale; his wife Joy of Montrose; daughter Lisa Gibbs of Tempe; son Dennis Knapheide of Phoenix; stepsons Jim and Tim Sapp, both of Colorado; granddaughters Amanda and Jennifer Gibbs, both of Tempe.

A memorial will be on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery, 10940 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Visitation and memories will be at 1 p.m., followed by the service at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix 85014.

Arthur's wife Joy wrote to you all. Here is her letter, in part:

Hi Susan, I wanted to let you know that there is a website that has information and a lot of pictures of Arthur's life. It is mem.com and you just type in Arthur's name, you might enjoy seeing some of his pictures. It would be okay if you put that information in the TLC.
 
I hope to return to his beloved Lexington someday, I am just so thankful he got to go home one last time. You would not believe just how happy he was to receive his TLCs, he saved every one and enjoyed reading them over and over. You and all the friends in Lexington meant so much to him - what a special group of people you all are. I envy all of you growing up together in that warm loving town. Please keep sending me the TLC as I enjoyed it as much as he did. I will just have to have Mary Kay (Arthur's cousin Mary Kay Wilcoxon Gooseman) explain things to me that I don't know.
 
I would also like to thank all the friends that sent prayers and good wishes our way, and all those who sent emails to him prior to his death - he enjoyed those so much. God bless you all
 
If you have room in the next TLC would you mind sending out my message. Thank you so much. I know I haven't known you long but I felt like you were my friend too - all of Arthur's Lexington friends treated me so kindly.
 
If anyone needs further information on how to get in contact with the family, just let me know and I'll work it for you.
 
Next comes a message from Faithful Correspondent Jack Gueguen:
 
Susan, please pass my "Lexington greetings" to all the old-timers.  Attached is the "annual letter" to family, friends, former students.  Anybody coming to St. Louis has to make a stop in Kirkwood (100 E Essex).

 

"LIVING TIME"--Advent 2007

 

The years rush by.  We keep turning the calendar pages with less and less living time in between--so it seems.  Is it running out?  Where is it going?  We want somehow to "bank it" as a kind of investment, as if it could accrue "interest."  That's really not a bad analogy, come to think of it.  Some people keep journals so they can "look back" and see where they've been, what they may have learned (not just what they earned), what got done and what didn't.

 

Since I wrote you a year ago--so short a time ago--you and I have occupied the same intervals day by day.  Each day has brought people into our lives, some for the first time (and yes, some for the last time).  Many have been lifetime companions.  But all are the companions of this time, of this day, of this real living time.  We live it together:  sometimes face-to-face, but more often through electronic voices and spaces.  It all seems more and more compressed until we find ourselves in danger of missing so much.

 

Have you ever tried to "let it out"...slowly, let it assume its natural length and depth?  This could be the most valuable exercise of the day.  Try it.  Just stop the flow; cut through all its dimensions from top to bottom; examine them.  Stop all the coming and going.  Sit still, as if you had entered some magic chamber, some inner sanctum.  Take a moment to look around at all these people who belong to your life today.  Look into them.  Appreciate them. 

 

Porch swings used to be so good for this exercise.  The back and forth motion seemed to help "let out" the moments of the day, to let them stretch out and sink in.  New year's resolution:  Get yourself a porch swing, or if you have one, use it!  If you don't have a porch, or if it's too cold there, that's no excuse!  Find a good substitute.  It may be the only way you can master the time that wants to sweep you away with it, to keep you from really living it.

 

Time is nothing but a brief interval between the eternity before and the eternity after.  For eternity to be what it is, you have to experience time for what it is, a connector between before and after.  What's it for?  To live in: it is living time.  If you can't live properly in time, however do you expect to live properly in eternity?  Advent is the perfect season to practice this exercise: thousands of years between two eternities compressed into a little over three weeks.  Steal a pinch of eternity each of these days to squeeze out all the time that's in them.

 

I wanted to live with you this Advent moment of brief conversation as a way of thanking you for all the moments we've had together, one way or another, since last Christmas.  Maybe we didn't live them as well as we might have, but we did our best, didn't we?  Well, if we didn't, we will in the new year, won't we!  If we are to stay connected, though, we have to stop now and then for a little swing on the porch--yours and mine.  See you there!

 

As I close this issue, I send along my very best wishes to all of you for a blessed Christmas season and a wonderful 2008!

 

Your devoted scribe,

 

Susan



 

 

 




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