TLC #38: April 27, 2002
Dear Hearts and Gentle People:
Within 24 hours of publication, I had 17 comments from
you. Other have trickled in since then. And since I don't want to strain our
attention spans by making these missives longer than they need to be, I'm
getting another issue out now. But no photos this
time.
Speaking of photos, I neglected to give the Official TLC
Photographer, Wally Hulver, photo credit this time. Mea culpa. I
think he'll continue to do them despite my oversight.
Several people detected a developing theme, and one
suggested we deliberately plan one. Read on:
Barbara Lee '57
Fay:
I can tell by the
tone of the issue that you are 1) giddy from the the tax season/'56 reunion and
2) on your way out of town!
I've detected a theme in this one -- all the
musical/theatrical talent we had
(have!) -- including Miss Mautino!.
Why didn't that get the publicity that
the athletes got?! I will get my
dad to talk about the meter boxes!
Then, from her brother
Duncan:
WOW! #36
Already!!!! Keep it up.
A couple of topics in #36 motivated me to write a
little bit. First, the class of '60 reunion requests. That's my class and
I'd love to have another reunion. Even if there are only a handful of us, it
would be good. I understand that Ron Peterson and David Goodloe are back in
town. They can most likely be found at the golf course! There are a few other
'60's folks around the area (and I'm sure some more in Lexington, too). I think
Phil Stompoly is still living in the KC area, as is George B. Gordon. Although
he graduated from Wentworth, Jim Skelton is always considered "one of
us" and he was living in Warrensburg the last I heard. Art Whitney and I
are out here in the wild West, but I'm sure he'd be interested in attending. His
dad is still living in Lexington. So, where am I going with this? I learned in
the Army to never volunteer.
Bob Ball's piece on the Ford water meters
was interesting. Funny what we do
when we retire! My dad, who ran the water
company in Lexington from 1945 to
1970-something would be the most expert
historian on the Ford Meter Co. He
bought and installed a lot of them! After
retiring from the water company, he worked for the Collar Company in KC and sold
the darn things. We can ask
if he remembers anything about the Ford company,
but he's 93 now and doesn't
remember a whole lot. Do any of us?
I
never remembered, or knew, that my sister, Barbara, dated Tom Corbin to
the
Prom. It was later in my life that I discovered the local dirt track
racing and then saw Tom and his brother-in-law George Lasoski race many times.
Tom was an excellent driver and car builder. They lived in Dover and Danny
Lasoski attended LHS. Our mother, Betty Lee, remembers him in her English class.
His new racing shop is now in or near Higginsville and I guess with his new fame
he wants to be identified with the "big city" rather than little ol'
Dover.
Anyone remember Bill Utz? He wasn't an LHS grad, but he lived in
Lexington
for a short time in the '50's. His uncle was Don Utz who ran the
riding stables at the Country Club. Bill was a farrier of quite some renown in
the northeast Missouri show horse fraternity. But his real claim to fame came at
the wheel of race cars. He had moved to Lexington to care for his ailing father,
who lived in an apartment above my Dad's office on Main St. Mr. Utz had a bad
heart and Bill had to carry him up and down the steep back steps to the
apartment. After his dad died, Bill moved to Sedalia to be closer to a large
horse shoeing market. He went on to win many races and championships in the
'60's and '70's and I understand he is now retired and still living in
Sedalia.
Do you have a list of the Saluda survivor
descendants?
Ed: No, I don't. Does
anyone?
Mary Pat Gueguen Miller checks
in:
Comments on TLC
#36: Oh, how I can see all the faces of those '56ers you talked about, and
most of their mothers, too. Such dear ladies. Barbara Lee, you spoke
of the '57 Prom. That would be the year you were a senior and our junior
class decorated. Remember the Japanese Garden that John Cross so
eloquently recalled in one of the past issues. (I was his date, by
default.) That was also the night of the Ruskin Heights tornado. Yes, I
remember Tom Corbin. Bob Ball, you still have retained the DRYEST sense of
humor from high school. Water meter boxes, indeed!! Where is your
camera? I just remember it being IN MY FACE most of my high school
days. Thought sure you would be a professional photographer some
day. I still have some of the pictures you took with me playing the
tampani in orchestra. Anybody remember Bill Seiter? I'm going to try
to get his Email address and put him on the list. I think he would love
this exchange. I downloaded the pictures, and they were
great!!
Then Jim
O'Malley:
Thanks for the
photos of such wonderful Lexington locations. They bring back a flood of
memories to me. The old Wentworth Bank, which is now a wine shop,
was the site of Dave Profitt's Grocery in the 1930s. My grandmother,
Sarah Terrell Howard, used to live in a flat on South 9th St., practically
across 9th street from Profitt's Store. Sam Bell, father of Sue Bell Bartley of
Lexington, was the meat cutter at Profitt's. My grandmother used to send
me to Mr. Profitt's for bread and stuff when I was just a little guy. Mr.
Profitt and Mr. Bell were favorites of mine and always treated me with a lot of
deference. Speaking of banks, did the Jesse James gang rob the
Wentworth Bank or the the State Bank of Missouri, which was in the current Elks
Lodge Building? If anyone knows please let me know.
(Ed. - I think it was the Elks
Building??)
The picture of the
former Payne's Shoe Shop, which is now called Limrick's, touched me very much,
too. From 1950 to 1953 my family lived in an apartment on the second floor
of that building. Our landlord was Luther Payne. Long
before we moved into the apartment, back in the 30s, that space was occupied by
a night spot (speakeasy??) called "The Shamrock." Maybe
some of your readers
will remember the place, or have parents who
do. I'd like to hear their comments. By the way, I should also
add that the "Victorian Peddler" was the location of the
"Lexington Night Club" back in the early 30s. The night spot was
owned by Jimmy "Piggy" Phipps. He hired a Kansas City band
to play for the opening. It was led by a young Kansas City musician named
Count Basie!
Best wishes to everyone. I think we'll all agree that
growing up in Lexington was a wonderful gift. What a neat collection
of persons made up this community. It was a rich mix of backgrounds,
ethnicity, and gifts. Hope you all have a marvelous spring.
Joe Parks
remembers that apartment too!
Thanks for
the email and update. I had lost all my email addresses as my computer
went belly-up. So glad to get your address again. Let me know when
you gals are going to have another slumber party, sounds like something I could
go to. Ha.
Susan, you
may not remember, but the building on 9th & Main was Dad's old second hand
store. Of course Connie (Beretta '55 Pulley) would remember as she is much
older than us. Dad had the store from about 1942 until 1953. We
lived upstairs for 5 or 6 years and were living there when we moved to Phoenix
in 1953. Just a little trivia. Brings back a lot of memories, Gordon
Wright and I spent a lot of time there looking across the street as some pretty
girls lived there. It was all Gordon's idea of course.
P.S. He
brought the old Binoculars when he came up here hunting, and they were still
fogged up. Ha
Double
PS.........Dad always said the James Boys robbed that bank, I wonder if it was
true?
Charlotte
Skelton Guiberson:
All your efforts are
enjoyed by so many. Please keep on writing the way your dad did in his
little column on the front page. (What was the name of it? I remember the
figure of a man sitting at his desk, hat over his eyes and a fishing rod in the
backgound). Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your
letters.
Thanks, Charlotte: It was called The Editor's Corner. He
had his feet up on the desk, hat over his eyes, and a shotgun and fishing rod
were in the background.
More newspaper stuff from Jane Ann Whitney '56
Hunt:
You are a true
newspaper, complete with photos---thank you so much! Digital cameras are
remarkable, aren't they? JoAnn (Oetting '56 Tognascioli)
called last Mon. morning, bubbling over with all the fun you guys had. The
military ball, yet! I was so jealous.
(Ed: She could not
attend.)
Dear old Lex.----I
can't believe how it is blossoming. It is alive with new wonderful
businesses, thanks to farsighted and energetic people willing to take a
chance. It will be a destination for day trippers now, anxious to buy
antiques and other goodies.
And finally, from Lucia Cope '59
Hulston:
Looking
through the list of TLC subscribers, I can't believe how few we've heard
from. Obviously all have strong ties to Lexington, and that usually means
TONS of memories, but maybe we could evoke some by offering some starting
points, like monthly questions or themes. Some off the top of my head
are:
l - Lexington
"characters"
2 - Things learned from Ernestine Seiter that
hadn't anything to do with English (I vividly remember her saying never to eat
the olive in a martini because that was where all the alcohol was
concentrated!)
3 - Things learned from Ernestine Seiter that
expanded us beyond rural Missouri (vocabulary expansion by studying Latin
derivatives; being exposed to literary awards, etc.)
4 - Miss Mautino vignettes (It wasn't hard to
make her cry. I remember someone telling her on Ash Wednesday that she had
dirt on her forehead, which set off the tears and the exclamation, "You're
making fun of my religion!") Or when she was trying to locate a hanky in
her bra and her saying, "I know there were two in here this
morning."
5 - Out of school activities: jobs,
Scouts, baseball and softball, sledding on Franklin, church activities, dancing
classes, Teen Town, etc.
6 - Non-related "others" who made a
personal impact on us.
7 - Minstrel or variety show
numbers.
Okay, folks, there's the challenge. Please don't be
intimidated about writing. I print only what is for general consumption or to
make the sense flow. Actually my skills lie more in editing than in writing, so
be sure I will do my best to "clean it up" for you if you just want to
dash something off quickly. I think of this exchange as the real
Lexington history. Keep it coming!
Yr. Obedient
Scribe,
Susan
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