TLC #121 November 6, 2009
TLC #121 November 6, 2009
Dear
Hearts and Gentle People:
It's
a sad day in the old hometown. One of our most historic buildings burned this
very morning, and with it went arguably our most popular restaurant, Las
Carretas. People came from surrounding communities to enjoy the modestly priced
and delicious Mexican cuisine. Plus they were open 7 days a week, a service few
others provide. That building, if memory serves, was the site of a big
prohibition "bust" - the feds raided a "still" in the basement. Everyone send
information you have or remember, and I'll publish it next issue. The movie theatre 6-plex next door was not damaged, I understand. Please bear in mind that
this news is just a couple of hours old, so reports may change as time
passes.
Our
auditorium is closed at this time, due to lack of compliance with
It
appears that we may have a new hospital - approximately the same size as our present one but state-of-the-art - at the intersection of Hwys 24/224 and
13 on the east side of town. This could be a big boon with regard to attracting
business and development at that site.
Some
Wentworth cadets suffered extensive loss during the recent tsunami that hit
WMA's
recent American Samoan Luau saw 700 people attend and had 5 hours of dance, singing, prayer, great food. In remembrance of the tragedy that the Samoan
families have endured, we prayed for those who lost their lives - and for
suffering endured - and celebrated life and rejoiced in the knowledge that God
does provide and helps to heal the pain. At the end of the night $17,213 was
raised and with previous pledges, that puts the total a little over
$30,000.
I
was
going
to send a shout-out to Barbara Tabb '55 Jarman regarding her recent
medical issues. Just as I began to write (ESP!) she sent the following
report:
I'm sending this out to all who may have been concerned about my recent health
issues, and I'm feeling pretty good about having a date set to take care of it. My surgery is set for
I did
the usual 'Google,' and am quite satisfied that this is 'necessary'.
LOL They could go in through the groin and put in a stint, but that is reserved for people whose general health
is such that it's the last
resort, and the surgery is recommended for all others. You do want to check these things out when somebody is going to be cutting around on your throat - ya
know? LOL So, wish me luck - no need to respond to this. I just wanted to
let you know the latest, and I do look forward to next Wednesday, when it's a
done deal. LOL Take care, and have a good day wherever you are. Looks like a great day here, so I'm going out to enjoy it.
We
do wish you good luck, Barbara, and look forward to an excellent
report!
People
certainly have fond memories of our old elementary schools here. In the past we
have heard from those who attended
From
Don Stephenson LHS '43:
I
attended Central School from the fall of 1931 to May of 1937. The things I
remember were the rough, unvarnished wooden floors, the stairways, the cinder
covered grounds where we played lots of dodge ball, the swings and climbing bars
at the rear of the school, and the outside metal grill fire escape
stairways. I do remember that the gymnasium mentioned in TLC#120 was
upstairs and that was where the PTA meetings were held. I think the gym
had a basketball goal. As I recall, the desks we sat at in class were a
type where the front of one desk contained the seat for the desk ahead of
it.
I do
not remember the names of all of my teachers but I remember that my fifth grade
teacher was Miss Allen and my sixth grade teacher was Miss Jennie Rush who, I
think, was also the school's principal. I still have a copy of my fifth grade class picture, and I may still have a copy of my 6th grade class=
picture. Somewhere along the way I had teachers named Gibbs and Edwards
but I do not remember what grades they taught.
Editor's
note:
Would that be Edna Burl Gibbs Beissenherz?
I still
remember that the school was a big multi-story red brick building but had white
or gray stone trim above some windows or entrances. It was the same
building where my mother, the late
Of
course, there were no school buses and so we walked to and from school. I
remember that on the way to school I used to walk near the remains of
what had previously been another school but it had been torn down, As
I recall, it was fairly near Central School. Somehow or other, the name
With
regard to that old school near Central that had been torn down, another bit of
information is that I lived on 5th Street at the time I attended
Central and I used to walk to school by walking down to 6th Street, crossing the
hollow between 6th and Southwest Blvd. and walking on Southwest Blvd. to
Central School. The remains of that old school was on the right side of
A possibility
is that this school was in use as a grade school when Central was still the
high school and when Central was converted to a grade school after the
"new" high school was built at Main and 16th Street, it was no
longer needed.
Mary
Pat Gueguen '58 Miller commented
on brother Jack's recollections:
|
For
TLC #121 if you want to continue this school discussion... My
brother seems to put a healthy "glow" on most things in his growing
up years as seen in his joining the "friendly fray" of
school rivalries in
Charlie
Pieper '56
remembers the rural
schools: There
were other schools around All
classes were conducted in the same room. Grades 1 through 4 were
taught every year, and the 5th and 7th, and the 6th and 8th taught in
alternating years. I kind of remember that Mrs. Ropey was my First Grade
teacher. After that came Mrs. Ramey. My last two years was Mrs. Groom. The
ones in between have faded from my memory. We too had a cinder-covered
playground in front of the building, with a big swing set, and a white
fence to separate us from Hwy 13. In back of the building we had a
teeter-totter and a jungle gym with two slides. We also had a large
athletic field to play various games. The
members of our 8th Grade class were: Sally Meyers, Shirley Stratton, James
Gilkey, Wayne Hayes, and me. Even though we didn't have the frills of a
town school - milk delivery, school lunch, or separate classrooms for each
grade, I feel we received a good basic education to prepare us for the
rigors of high school. I will admit that, even though we had extensive
drills in cursive writing, I never did learn how to write very
well. On
behalf of those of us who attended elementary school in town, we're all
thrilled to know we had amenities AND frills!
There were no school lunches in my day - we all went home or brought a
sack lunch to have at school. Even LHS Jr.-Sr. High did not serve lunches,
although we boasted a lunchroom. When we took our lunches, we ate there.
Otherwise we went home or (High Cotton!) to Maid-Rite, occasionally even
to Maib's. Once in a while some group would hold a fundraiser and
sell hot dogs out of the Home Ec kitchen area into the lunchroom. I never
had a better-tasting hot dog than those. Reunions!
Memories from and upcoming ones: Jimmie
Lorantos '59
goes first:
The
class of '73 will have a class reunion
at
Las Carretas/Lexington on Friday, November 27th, the day after
Thanksgiving. We are staying away from that Saturday because of the
MU-KU game. Can you please help us spread the word so we can have a great
turnout! We are inviting teachers, friends and coaches and members
from other classes - for a great time. Dress is casual. See
you there! There will be a $10.00 donation fee to take care of food and
entertainment. That's
all for this issue, folks, but don't miss new additions on our webpages. Your
devoted scribe, Susan |