Thanks for the newsletter,
Susan. I am sorry to tell you my husband, Jim, passed away on Dec.
4th. from liver cancer. We had 3 weeks from diagnosis to death. Not the
best of times for us, but with God's help, I'm
coping.
You will remember all the discussion about Douglass
school after the building burned. In one of our frequently occurring
coincidences, my classmate Earlene Hancock '57 Edwards mentioned
Mr. Lewis:
Thanks again for
the very informative TLC "letters." Keep them coming. They
really keep me up on the happenings in
Lexington. When my mother was living, she kept us all here in
Denver abreast of what was happening there. I went to the
"Douglass Fire" Link and saw the pictures of the fire. It was a
little emotional for me. The round room of the building was where
First Grade was located and where I spent my first day of school.
Mrs. Cordelia Kidd was the teacher.
Professor John W. Carter was the Principal and he also taught English. The other teachers were Eva Saunders, Professor George Green was quite elderly (I think he was in his 80's but still came to school everyday and had a very sharp mind) Mae Della Wilkerson was the Home Economics Teacher; Sam Duncan taught History and coached the girls' basketball team and like I mentioned before, we kicked butt (smile again). James White taught science, and Willie Richardson taught typing and shorthand; Alonzo Robinson taught math and woodworking. Carroll Lewis, who taught at Lexington High, would come out and teach band. As I stated before, these were some phenomenal teachers, and the students respected them and learned from them. I don't know anything about the first Douglass School, that was before my time. My sister and brother went to that one. Stay tuned, Earlene. Here's
a note from Janice Ghisalberti '62 Lynn:
I would like to
share a story that has been a cause of laughter in our family for many
years. As children we grew up on 5th Street, about half a
block from the first Douglass School. My sister Adelina Ghisalberti
Watson believes she was the first to integrate schools here in
Lexington.
As a child of about
four years of age, she would often run off, scaring our mother to death,
only to be found at the first Douglass School. Despite the repeated
spankings for running off, Adelina became such a regular at the school,
the teacher would see her coming and put out a little red chair for
her next to her teacher desk.
From the head of the
class, Adelina would admire all the bright smiles on the students'
faces. Often she would invite the students over to play at our house
during recess, which might have gotten them in trouble. She was definitely
ahead of her time - a pioneer for integration.
I also
talked to Marietta Atwood Carroll about her father and the Lexington
Creamery. She did tell one story about how her father, who
was very superstitious. Apparently there was an old
saying that, if you were hit with a broom, you'd have to kiss
that broom or you would have bad luck. The delivery boys, knowing
this, would hit Tom with a broom and, then hide it from him, which would
cause him great concern and worry. Also she recalls going to the creamy
where Geno Fiora would be making the ice cream. They would take a small
cup to taste the ice cream, and she swears there has never been any
better. Marietta promises to share more stories soon.
Ann Fiora '56 Coen, daughter of
Geno Fiora, chimes in on that subject:
I spoke to Florene (Fiora Frerking)
about the Creamery, but I don't think she has much
information.
The following is from an article in the
"Continuing History of Lafayette County" published in
2002.
LEXINGTON CREAMERY, FIORA
BROTHERS
Ask any young man in Lexington around 1950,
"What was the best 'DO' (Diversified Occupations) job while in high
school?" The answer: "Working at the Lexington Creamery,
driving delivery trucks." At a time when very few teenagers had
automobiles, driving for the Fiora Brothers was a wonderful
opportunity. Geno and Edward Fiora purchased the Lexington Creamery
in 1946 and ran a successful business until 1967. They were
well-known for their "Supreme Ice Cream" and milk, including small half
pints delivered daily to the schools for the students' mid-morning
snack. Remember the milk left on your front porch daily on the
house-to-house route by Frankie Penn, or Tom Atwood delivering ice cream
to numerous small neighborhood grocery stores and restaurants? They
extended their interest in the young men by sponsoring a very successful
traveling baseball team.
Their parents arrived in Lexington in the
early 1900's from Brusnengo, Italy. They grew up in the Summit Camp
area south of Lexington with an older sister, Gilda Fiora, and all
attended Marshall School with Elizabeth Gruber as their instructor.
Many will remember Gilda helping individuals obtain employment
through her position with the Missouri Employment Agency and commuting
with her to Kansas City daily.
I am trying to get some of the names - those
that worked at the creamery and also the ones that played on the ball
team.
Creamery
workers
Ball team
JimmyWallace Med Park
Buddy
Summerlin John
Jenkins
Louie
Coen Frankie
Mavel
Don
Coen Duane
Schlueter
Larry
Coen
Bobby Rostine
George Simms
Gary Hoeflicker
Sonny Fiora
Frankie Mavel
Gilbert Murry
I am going to go ahead and send this to you -
will try to come up with more names.
We'll be waiting. Meanwhile, here's a great note from Bosh
Bruening, (currently of Richmond but formerly of
Higginsville):
Re the courthouse: I remember my dad telling me
they (Bruening's Nursery) landscaped the courthouse in lieu of
property taxes during the depression. Many of the trees are still there. I
may have to re-landscape during the coming depression. (Just kidding - I
hope!).
For several issues, we had
considerable input regarding Entine's Department Store. We're getting
closer all the time. Read the following from Sharon Shurmantine '62
McGinness.
Will you be kind enough to add Debbie
Entine to your email list. Debbie is the daughter of Ike and
Rebecca Entine and niece of Helen Wexler. Ike and Helen (brother and
sister) owned and ran the department store. Debbie is a walking
encyclopedia of Lexington history and people. She spent
Thanksgiving with our family at my sister Pam's house. My aunt
(formerly Pearl Shurmantine, who moved from Lexington in the
late 40's) shared many stories of shopping at Entine's and her
fondness for Helen. We spent a couple of hours pouring through Pam's
old yearbooks dating from 1960. It was a TLC kind of
day.
Another note about Debbie. Her brother
Allen was a proficient photographer. He passed away last spring and
left boxes and boxes of pictures he took as a hobby, as a photographer for
the Lexington Advertiser-News back in the 60's and as a school
photographer throughout most of the 60s. His widow, also named
Debbie, has in her possession an absolute treasure trove of Lexington
photographs from that era.
Lexington has lost one of its finest citizens
with the passing of Harry Dunford. I know he worked so hard on the
Veterans Memorial, and he was always involved in community activities and
community betterment. His wife is one of the loveliest people I have
ever known.
One more thing - among some papers of
my mother's was an article about Dr. Brasher that appeared in the
Lexington paper after he retired from his full-time practice in
Lexington. I will scan and forward it to you.
Jack
Gueguen '52 wrote about Ron Sowers
'56:
When I saw Ron Sowers' name under
obits in the Notre Dame alumni magazine, I tried to recall the
context. He must have been the LHS grad of 1956 who
followed Bill Canning, John Stompoly, and me to Notre Dame (class of '60;
then law school '65).
I went to N.D. fall '53 and graduated '56; MA
'58, so I was there in Ronny's first two years. I vaguely remember
getting a summer job for him loading barges on the river (probably
arranged by my dad). If he is the one I recall, he was an engaging
young man, sunny face, always bright.
Thanks for your heroic service all through
the year. Best greetings to you and anyone who remembers me,
remembering so many Christmases past at 16th and At the Gueguen family reunion in Still dreaming of Christmases "just like the ones
I used to know=94--white or not. We are currently having a mild
Christmas in I did remember that and thanked her for reminding me. I said I seem to remember a lot more decorations - and even music? - downtown (back in the day). But I love the way it looks now, with the period streetlights back and no overhead wires. She responded: YES! I had forgotten about the MUSIC!!! Now that you mention it, I can see (in my mind's eye) the speakers on the poles! But, yes, you are correct, the period streetlights are beautiful. With pleasant memories of Christmases Past and hopes for wonderful Christmases Future, I remain.... Your devoted scribe, Susan |