TLC #82: Nov. 20, 2005
Dear Hearts & Gentle People:
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!! I hope you have
much to be grateful for. Personally, I have many blessings. Right now I am
feeling particularly grateful because I just mailed my last Christmas package.
(Don't hate me!)
News of the old home town first...and then the
mail.
New restaurant! It is called V.P.'s Grille &
Bar. The V.P. stands for Victorian Peddler - and V.P.'s is just next door, to
the east, of the original establishment. It is an expansion of, not a
replacement for, the tearoom. I cannot give you a personal review yet,
because I'll be going for the first time tonight. But early reports are very
positive.
Lots going on down at 18th & Franklin, former
site of Dave's Cafe, but I understand that new restaurant will not open until
spring. We have 2 or 3 more neat shops since TLC #81, featuring gifts and
antiques. The River Reader Book Store is a big hit as well. The Mom&Pop
owners are very community-minded, and often there are small meetings held
there. It's a popular gathering place, what with the coffee bar and confections.
Also Strictly Victorian has put in a small dessert cafe. Come see us! This is a
super place to Christmas shop - unique items, and not a lot of crowds or
traffic to battle. Plus you can eat your way up and down the street. (And, no,
I'm not with the Chamber of Commerce.)
The old bridge is but a memory, but many other
buildings are being restored. Many exciting things happening here, and the main
one right now is the Lexington 4 Life Center. Today there was an Open House, and
people were walking around with their mouths hanging open. It's the first
glimpse the public has had of this pace-setting project which is being watched
by the whole state. In fact, it is a national model for rural
areas.
The Center will be opening in phases, as
different entities are completed. First will be the Early Childhood Education
program on 12/12.
On our web page
you can see
photos supplied by Snaps Hulver. Wally is the general chairman of the project -
and he even took the pictures.
For those of you who don't know, Lex4Life is
located in the shopping center on Highway 13 - the former location of Place's,
later Pamida. The "4" stands for the 4 partners: Lexington Senior Center;
Rogers-Lafayette Community Health Center (medical & dental); Lexington R-V
Pre-School and Vocational Class; and Early Childhood
Education.
This project and several others were reported to
the state judges for Missouri Community Betterment. We won 3rd place in our
category, but if we could have shown the judges the building in
progress, I believe we'd have placed higher. Not to sound ungrateful for
our 3rd place recognition, but we're pretty durn proud of what's going on in
your old hometown.
By the way, if you would like to donate to the
Lex4Life project, there are YOP tax credits available. At 50%, half of your
donation will reduce your state income tax liability by that amount. No
restrictions - personal or business - for any contribution of $500 or more. Any
donation would be put to good use, though. Let me know if you would like further
information. Their phone number is 660-259-9019.
This in from Jan Rider McCoy:
Memories began to flow when I read
TLC. My Granddad Rider's farm was in Sunshine (where I was born) so we
made many trips over the old bridge. Coming home late at night I can
remember looking up from my Dad's lap and seeing all the bridge lights and what
a beautiful sight to a little girl.
When my Granddad Rider was a boy he was
raised by his older brother and they were mule traders. They bred matched
sets of mules (the Cadillac of mules). When my Granddad was a young
boy he began riding the ferry with his wagon and team of mules over the Missouri
River to Lexington and would meet the steamships at the bottom of 10th St.
They would unload the ship with merchandise onto his wagon and he always had a
team of six mules (matched of course) and they would pull the load up the hill
of 10th and then the merchants would meet him at the top and unload their
merchandise and take it to their stores. I think now how scary it would be
to ride across that Missouri River with a wagon and a large team of
mules.
In the 1951 flood I remember walking
across the bridge with, I think, Bessie Hackley Hoeflicker. There was a
little service station then just on the other side of the bridge. We
walked up to it and waded through the water there. No sooner had we walked
back up on the bridge when the levee broke and a big wall of water washed
through just where we had been standing. We stood and watched it go by and
home never looked so good.
Thanks again for all the time you take
to keep us all informed. We do appreciate you!
From Lucia Cope '59 Hulston:
I am just back from a fun, fun, fun
cross-country drive with Anne Thomson Johnson. She and her husband have
been in California for the year, as Mike had a fellowship at the Huntington
Library. He hates long distance driving, and I love it, so I flew out
there and Anne and I headed east. Had a wonderful visit with
Judy Cameron in Las Vegas, and had intended to see Charlotte
Skelton Dallman in Texas, but between Susan Skelton's funeral and the
hurricane, we weren't able to get together. I say "hurricane," because
Anne's son and daughter-in-law, who were expecting their first child on Sept.
2nd, live there. Communications were few and far between, so our trip was
a bit upstaged by concern. As it turned out, they evacuated to friends in
Birmingham and had the baby on the 3rd.
We spent the long Labor Day weekend in
this area (my son was home from Washington, D.C.), then headed out for the
second leg of the trip. Relieved and joyous about Anne's first grandchild,
we really enjoyed the trip east. I got to spend the weekend with son J.F.,
helping him get settled into his new "digs" which was really fun. J.F. is
working for a congressman from California, and since he's going to be taking an
LSAT prep course, he'll not be home for Thanksgiving. Anne and Mike have
invited us all to break bread with them in Baltimore, so we'll be ending the
long run of Thanksgiving at their house. Yea! Yea!
Yea!
Mary Pat Gueguen '58
Miller:
For TLC : What a wonderful,
newsy, emotional, poignant #80, Susan. Will keep your kids in our
prayers as well as the thousands of others affected by the
flood.
With regard to my brother's
recent comment about the '51 flood, I have a vivid memory of seeing millions
of teeny, tiny frogs while walking along the railroad tracks down by
the flooded river. They were almost cute. Only Joyce was brave
enough to want to catch them.
I am sending Bob Ball
a picture of Irma Boldridge Ingram (class of '58), her sister Effie Jo
(class of '60), and me when we got together a few weeks ago. She now
lives in CT and works at a Cancer Center as med. tech. and Effie is a
professor of Modern Languages at Howard Univ. in Washington, D.C. They
still have their family home in Lexington and come yearly. It was SO good
to see them, (along with another younger sister, Barbara, whom I didn't
remember,) after all these years. You might remember I wrote about
Irma in my book. Hoping that Bob will be able to put the picture on
the web site. Irma is now getting the TLC and loving
it.
Also sending Bob the column I
wrote that was in The Lexington News about Mr. Carroll Lewis, our old band
director. Maybe he could put that up too.
Might inspire some memories from old band members out
there. And lastly, Thank you, Faithful Scribe, for all your good
work.
Her brother, Jack Gueguen, sent his news
too:
Hello, "Gentle
People,"
The work I went to Illinois to do 33
years ago is at an end; last Monday a former student loaded me up
at the residence I helped to start at the U. of Illinois, and I said
farewell to the prairie land of the Illini. So here I am
greeting you from metro St. Louis (Kirkwood, to be exact), at the Opus Dei
residence which was my weekend base in the mid-80s--and back in "river
country." Here I'll be working mainly with university students, parents of
h.s. boys, and young professionals--while continuing various writings and
consultations (e.g. two e-mail seminars with former students are in progress);
"gladly would he teach and gladly learn" is the motto of Illinois State Univ.,
where I was disguised as a political science professor for 24 years. And
even more "gladly" when you can convene your seminar any time of day, and
all the students will be there. I left the Urbana residence, by the way,
in good hands.
Some of Loretta's family is nearby; my
second day here, Russ and Sarah took me to see premature baby Nicholas, who has
to stay in newborn intensive care a little while longer. We also saw his
older brother, Jacob, and got a tour of his Montessori school only 5 min. from
here.
Also 5 min. from here is an Amtrak that
can take me to Warrensburg and Lee's Summit in a few hours. Maybe
some of us can have a visit one of these days--what about Aunt Clemie's
house? (The same Amtrak can bring you here for a
visit!)
Charlotte Skelton '59
Dallman:
To the Class of 1950:
Congratulations on
celebrating your 55th anniversary graduation from high school. You all have done
very well to keep in touch with each other through the years.
I know Arch would be
there if he could. He will be watching over you as you celebrate this
occasion.
While I was back for Susan Skelton's
funeral I asked Bob and Jerry Warner to please take Lee Ann and their son Sam
Skelton out to the Boy Scout cabin so that we might see the lovely cabinet that
your class donated in Arch's name. It was very kind of the Scout Leader to open
it up for us to see. We are very pleased to see that you have left something of
Arch to be remembered.
Thank you so very much.
Lexington will always
have a big part of our memories and a special place in our hearts.
Thank you again for
remembering Arch.
I believe Arch was president of the LHS class of
1950.
Several personal notes brought news of old
friends: Jerry '56 Mischon spent more than three weeks in Australia this
fall. Lovella Yates '56 Damborg and her college professor husband stay busy
enjoying weather and events in the Seattle area. I suspect they will both be
here in the fall for their 50th class reunion.
Please keep sending any memories or current news
that you would like to share with those who are interested...even
hungry...for same.
Your devoted scribe,
Susan
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