Dear Lexingtonians, present and
past,
This week I met a young deacon named Steve
Hansen; he has been in our house the past few days receiving final orientation
to the priesthood from our two resident priests, Fr. Jay and Fr. Mike.
He'll be ordained by Bishop Finn in the Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception in Kansas City on June 3, and on July 1 will move to 117 N. 18th St.
in Lexington as the new pastor of our old Parish. (The current pastor,
Father Totten, will head for his new assignment in St. Joseph.)
My ordination gift to soon-to-be Father Steve
was an autographed copy of "The Story of the Battle of Lexington." He
promised to celebrate Mass for all our family past (in the cemetery) and
present. How I would love to be present for that event! I told him
that whenever I used to visit home, I would say a fervent prayer in front of the
tabernacle for the parish's priests, past and future--even before he was
born. (I'd guess he's in his late 20s--a big burly sandy-haired
Swede.) So I am thrilled to announce this news to you! Rejoice,
rejoice!
He continued on, asking us to make Father Steve
welcome. Jack! It's Lexington! Of course we will. Barbara commented on
Jim O'Malley's "Sounds of Lexington" and continued on in our "Father"
vein:
I think one of my Dad's greatest gifts was his
sense of humor, and that's how most people remember him - he made them laugh,
and he always looked for and found the best in people. I was just trying
to capture his spirit in that poem, and that was something that actually
happened. He was really scared when that mule went berserk and made such a
racket. The cart was on metal rails, and he said the sound really
resonated through that whole mine.
Jim O'Malley did his usual good job of stirring
up some memories. I could almost write a book about every sound he
mentioned - well, not all of them, because I never did go to Maude's or the pool
hall, and the downstairs jukebox at Cue's Cafe was surely gone before I had a
chance to want to go there. But, such is the flow that we all enjoy in
sharing our memories in TLC, and I guess the real point is the sound of
music. I only remember Davidow's Furniture being next to the old Ford 'n
Rush, and never did know what was there before that. (I am
guessing that Cue's Cafe was owned by Cue Ussery, who was later involved in
the Steva Stone Co. and all those white trucks around
town?)
It seems that becoming a teen
was something that involved having a place to gather around music, and
maybe get to dance, as Jim said he remembers all that from before he was a
teen. But, the Maid-Rite jukebox was a common memory for us - not
that there was any room to dance. That never got to be my forte, so I'll
just blame it on the size of the Maid-Rite! Ha. Still, we do all remember the
music, the sounds. And, it is where we all wanted to go to 'socialize' as
teens. I spent all my Saturdays then listening to the Top 40 on WHB
radio. Just hum the melody, and I'll give you the words. ha. Somehow,
it really MATTERED what was #1 on the music charts. There was also a TV show
that featured the Top Ten - with Snookie Lanson, Dorothy Loudon (she means Collins, I think), and Giselle
McKenzie. I preferred the radio version, with the original
artists.
YOUR HIT
PARADE!
I guess another little piece of Lexington
history was in Jim's mention of the live performers at the Mainstreet
Theater. I had saved some article from the old Advertiser News, and on the
back side was an ad for the live performance there of Kitty Wells. She was
one of the first upcoming top female performers of country/western music at the
time, and I just wonder if anybody remembers seeing her there. It was not
only the locals and showbiz people who appeared there, but there was also a
curiosity about whatever would bring people to the Mainstreet Theater. I can
remember when they brought in some Siamese twins to appear on the stage,
and they brought a radio to the house to be repaired. I was just sure I
had met someone famous.
I hope your Tall Tales and Short Stories
project continues to be successful, and wish I could attend. The
world we live in now is not the one in which I grew up, and I guess it's
only natural to think back to 'the good old days.' I'm glad my roots
go back to Lexington.
Maybe someone remembers Kitty Wells'
performance? That is a topic I hope we can do for Tall Tales and Short Stories
of Lexington: famous people visiting or performing or even
committing crime in Lex. Count Basie played here, and Harry Truman was here many
times, and Jesse James, etc. It would be an interesting topic. By the way, there
are photos from our Tabo night at Tall Tales on the
TLC website.
More from
Barb: I think the Tall Tales is a great idea, and
will throw out some names for you as fodder. Russ Carlisle played at the
Wentworth Military Ball one year; Claude Akins came there for something, and old
'Frog' - Smiley Burnett of Green Acres and earlier movies; Sam Walton's family
lived in Lexington once (it was in the book on his life); the old guy from
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (Marlin Perkins) attended Wentworth, as
did the famous general Hoge from WWII. And, yes - don't forget Jesse.
haha. I think that building at 9th & Main was once a bank that
the James boys robbed, so the story goes.
Anyhow, that theme should bring in some
stories, and I'm looking forward to it. I've also often wondered how many
people realize that the old cannon out at the College Park is off of the
U.S.S. Constitution, 'Old Ironsides.' I think I was in high school before
I learned that, and I was so impressed. Some of my earliest memories in
life included climbing on that cannon as a toddler.
I asked if she knew how the cannon came to be in
Lexington.
Now you're putting me to the test, but I'll do
the best I can here. haha. I either read that on the plaque that
later got put on the cannon base (still there),
or in an internet article that I ran across by Jim Shannon. But, somewhere
between those two possibilities, I read
that a prominent man in Lexington had enough influence in D.C. to get the
cannon sent there. I'd go to the
cannon base first, as my instincts tell me that's where it is.
''Old Ironsides" was something that
every kid heard about in grade school, and it is such a common
memory that I found it next to
unbelievable that one of its cannons was something that I climbed around on so
often, and had just thought a
curiosity in 'the Park', until I learned of its significance. I do think that Ike Skelton could probably shed some
more light on it, and would probably be glad to do so. I'd like for
everybody to know about that old cannon,
as it is one of those 'things' that tie us all together through history, and
that's what we're looking at in TLC and Tall
Tales. And, you're right - what fits one is good for the other. If
you do use it for the Tall Tales program, tell
everybody to go out there and 'touch some history' - I've done it every time I
have looked at that old cannon since I learned
from whence it came. How many towns can boast that? None other
that I know of. It should be a good story, and
probably be news to a lot of people.
Another inquiry arrived from Virginia
Little, asking the origin of the cat drawing on the old Bour Building at
18th and Franklin:
The story I have always heard, and which I hear from
others, is that the cat was drawn by cadets or a cadet in some sort of
flirtatious exchange with the Central College girls. Many times it has been
removed from the brick, but it always reappears, no matter what material was
used to "remove" it. Finally (and thankfully) it was just left alone. Now,
this is all apocryphal (I think that's the right word). However, there was a
story about it, and the legend, in the Lex newspaper sometime within the last 10
or so years. Perhaps some TLC member will enlighten
us?
And finally, another reference to Jim O'Malley's
memories came from Jim Shelby!
Thank you for the memories. I just wanted
to let you know that in your sounds #8 you got the names
right except Phyliss Jean's last name was Wiley. I'm
sure of the other name Beatrice Jean Glick, as I married her in
1946.
And on that note we'll close this issue. For more, go to our web pages and enjoy the photos. Wishing you all a wonderful summer and,
considering the theme of this issue, Happy Father's Day
everyone!
Your devoted scribe,
Susan