TD and Tools had theirs in November. I had mine last week. Gary S. had his the day after mine... 26 January. (Gary, where are you?) As I recall, Jackie P.'s birthday was also in late January.
Now comes TPO. Unless I've been wrong for many years, his birthday falls the day after Ground Hog Day. So that would be Tuesday.
Happy Birthday old friend!
The above photo was taken at the Irishfest, and TPO was responding to the question, "What's lurking beneath that kilt?"
Edna had to avert her eyes... You should'a been there!
If you'd like to have your birthday recognized here, drop me a note with the date and I'd be happy to do that. (We all know you gals, like my sister, started school when you were just 4 or five, right?!)
Friday once again.
Did it snow on you this week?
33 comments:
Love the pic of TPO...I always heard that NOTHING was worn under the kilt. It is all in perfectly working order.
Happy Birthday kids!
Bo
Great Pic of both! Happy Birthday to TPO. Too Bad the weather turned sour on us that day.. Could have enjoyed the IrishFest alot more than we did. TPO - how is your daughter's knee doing?
Last summer JC got the 100 year plus flood. We just received a 10 year snow and had more early ice than usual. I do not like the ice... I hope it's over for a while.. TC, Stay warm by the fireplace. No snuggling. Ya know, you're not that young buck anymore. Maybe I'm wrong and someone has discovered another fountain of youth. Bo seems to think so. She also seems to know alot more about you guys than I ever imagined (just kidding, Bo).....I must have lived a very sheltered life while a young VK. So sad....
BTW, Bo had a BD in November, too.
Happy Belated 39th, Bo..
Ferdy, have you gotten out of your pjs yet? It's been 3 days now...
Cissy and R, I'm surprised that we do not know each other a little better. Like GB, I spent an awful lot of time in that part of the Valley as a kid. Also have a Bro. that is 56 now. You may know him. I hope that your respective families are well and are not suffering too much because of the weather.
TC, is your power back on yet? Is the Canadian Fishing Trip the same one that Vandy used to go on every year? Walleye, Northern, Muskie, Steelhead, what??? Enjoy!
Ha! I see three guys in that picture. One w/all white hair, one w/very little hair and the guy walking by w/no hair. What's happening to us??
TD,
Yes, I've gotten out of my PJ's. It's just darn cold here. Yesterday I finally got out for a while. Fortunately, I've not been without electricity. I'm just bored sitting here in the house all the time with no one to talk to except my cat.
BTW, I'm exactly one month and one day younger than GB. But, I can't understand how he can be 62 when I'm only gonna be 39!
Ferdy
TD, Power not on yet. It really sucks. If this country would lose power and computers we would all be lost. We fly from Red lake to Lake Murdock. Fishing for Walleye and Northern Pike. They say you catch at least 100 fish per day. I've never done a fly in so it should be alot of fun.
Happy Birthday to all you young studs. I gotta say TPO is looking mighty spiffy there. I watched Braveheart and Robroy, I know what's under there.
I celebrate my 23rd birthday of my 39th year in August. It used to be on the opening day of squirrel season and the first day of football practice. It was the time when the girls and I would camp out in the yard and our young men would hang on the fence and drool, knowing full well not to cross that line. I don't know why??
Anyway, can't say that I have seen any snowflakes, but it did get down into the 50's and 60's for three nights and I was running around looking for some old sweats and socks. It is back to normal now.
We now see fruit on the pineapple I had started before you were here.
Only takes 2 years.
I hope you all stay safe and that the power is back on really soon for you guys. TC I know you can think of things to keep you warm.
TC, give me some hints! I bet I did know your brother. I finally figured out Greybeard's sister and we were friends! I had even been to his house several times. And I think I remember his first name.
I didn't go to work on Tuesday since the roads were so horrible and it was going to keep on snowing and sleeting. Then Wednesday they closed the base where I work. At least we had electricity. My daughter's electricity was out for over 50 hours.
Happy BD to all you youngsters.
We've gotten about 12 1/2" of snow here and I'm ready to go back to Phoenix for the rest of this winter. It was a shocker to come back to this. Got back a day before it hit.
Had a grand time in Phoenix with my kids and grandkids.
I'm ready to move.
Tracy said I could retire this year but then he added "only on paper" Ha.
Hope everyone is safe and warm.
Carol
Cissy, At one time, had lots of great aunts & uncles (on my Father's side) who all lived in the Valley. Mostly gone now. Early on, Dad's family owned and operated the 'Store' in the old Valley. By most historical accounts, My Mother's Great Grandfather was one of the first white settlers of White River Township. Surviving by trading and living with the few remaining Indians still in the county. Actually living in a Wigwam on the banks of the White River before settling and building his own cabin. His name was Abraham Sells. My daughter is a 5th generation (father's side) graduate of CG. Early schools in the County were known as Common Schools. Generally one room teaching all ages. My Great Grandpa (father's side) received a certificate of completion from the White River Common School and the other 4 generations all graduated from Center Grove.
Growing up,I had a beagle named Susie. We were inseparable. Her and I even trapped muskrats together - in the lakes and creeks around the Valley. Great Uncle Dick taught me how to trap. Susie was old when I got drafted and gone when I got back. Never got a chance to say Good-Bye to an Old Friend. I was in and out of Fred and Beattie's Store, played music on the jukebox at the Beehive, played alot of baseball at the Community Center, basketball & football in your neighbor's yard, in Harry F's hayloft. Rode horses with GoldenGirl. Knew all of the deep holes in the creek by your house(there were not many). And had milk from the udder of a cow squirted in my face by an old Gentleman that we called Grandpa Corn, who lived near across the road from Sally G. The only 'working' spittoon I ever saw was in Grandpa Corn's old house - and his eyes were bad. He would miss occasionally. He also lived alone at that time - so you can imagine...What a character.
Now, My younger Bro was called Jeff. His 'real name' was a 'takeoff' of our paternal grandfather's name - first 5 letters - Geoff....goes by that name now. We lived in 4 places around the Valley - In the old Valley, the Sutton Addition, at the base of the hill leading to the Hiatt addition(old farm house) and eventually on Olive Branch Rd.
Can't give you much more of a 'hint'. I've just about given you my whole early life story! The Valley was just about it for me....Loved growing up there!
GoldenGirl, I remember those campouts very well. I probably hung on that fence a time or two..Don't remember ever crossing it, though. Very Shy and Sheltered back then...
Ferdy, if you followed Olive Branch Creek - not far from where you lived - there was a great old swimming hole there. Used to jump off the cliff into the creek there. After Ron G. got sick though, we couldn't swim there anymore. Do you remember that? Another great hole was where the Gypsies used to camp. GG remembers that one.
Carol - glad you are back and enjoying the cold and snow!
Old memories - what fun to conjure them up. For me, they are magical.. Must mean I'm getting old - Ya think????
TD
OM Gosh, loved the trip down memory lane. Thank you so much.
You know, I remember Susie, just as soon as you wrote her name. Do you remember my border collie Scooter. I couldn't go anywhere without her and everyone always knew where I was since she was always on guard outside. She loved following the horses.
Yes, I do remember the Gyspies, used to sneak up and peek at them often. So scary back then. I remember them coming into town suddenly with their wagon and the horse and stay for a bit, then suddenly, gone. Used to play in that deep fishin hole there. Well, it looked deep back then.
Do your remember Armstrongs?
And the carnivales at the community center. What a life, doesn't get any better than that.
And Effie's. I used to go in there with $5 and buy blue jeans and white tennies. Thought I was so cool, then across the street for a cold Nehi pop.
Armstrongs? Or am I thinking of Armstong's Orchard? Geez, this blog is bringing back memories that I had no clue I even had.
I remember when I was small that Fulmer's had the orchard right across from the school. It must have closed sometime in the late sixties.
I looked on some of the old blogs here and saw something about someone named Girdley. When I was in junior high or high school, one of the Girdley's had become a teacher at the school, while his brother was still in school a year or two ahead of me.
There was also a high school History teacher that I loved. Can't remember his last name, but I think it started with R. He had been around for years, so someone might remember him. He as a big guy if I remember right.
Cissy, do you remember who that was?
R...would that be Mr. Bankston? I can barely remember him, but seems like he taught Indiana History...or was it Spanish?
The Armstrongs had to be Armstrong's Orchard. The back of our orchard bordered our five acres. One day I was near the fence between our land and the orchard. Mr. Armstrong was working in his orchard. He said, "Girl, do you want these mushrooms?" Back then I hated morels, but I knew my dad loved them. I went over the fence and retrieved them for dad.
BTW, the Baxters lived maybe next door to Armstrongs. I was friends with Becky. She had a horse, and I liked to go over there to watch her ride. That's when I got my first experience with an electric fence! I was still a city kid...what did I know about electric fences?
I love the story about the Native Americans and the wigwams, and your family's history. I know there were Indians in that area. I found a piece of chert on the creekbank that looked to be half of a spearhead. Ode Perry had the coolest artifact ever, and I bet nowadays it'd be worth a fortune. It was a fairly large rock carved into something they might have used as a sledgehammer. It was perfect. Ode had found it on his land. He used it as a doorstop. What I wouldn't give to have that thing.
I don't know what happened to it after he went to the nursing home. Ode was the sweetest man in the world. He always liked to tell us that he was on CG's first basketball team and they all pitched in to buy a basketball. The court was outside, and he said the scores would be very low--like 3 to 4 points a game. That sounds like Jack Butcher's kind of ball playing.
No, it wasn't Mr. Bankston. I don't remember him.
I had completely forgotten Armstrong's Orchard was next to our property. How could I forget about Mark taking a big bite of one of the peaches and finding out that he had just eaten half a worm? Cissy, it looks like we have a pattern here that all of our stories end up having Mark in them.
Do you remember when Becky had the birthday party? For some strange reason I was invited too, even though I was the creepy little sister. You all lined up to play Crack the Whip and thought it would be fun to have me at the end. I was thrown around like a kite in a tornado and then went flying off the end. To this day if I go past that house I get a case of post tramatic stress syndrome.
There was a Mr. Heckman - who taught History. R, is that who you may be thinking about? Also had a Mr. Huff and I think he taught history as well. Probably both before your time, though. Cissy and R - I can't wait to start reading some of your stories on VKs. Sounds like fun. BTW, I used to 'steal' apples from that Orchard - had some of the biggest apples I ever seen.
GG, I do remember your little collie, Scooter. I also remember how loyal he was to you. Followed you everywhere. There were a couple of families of Armstrongs. One had the orchard that back up to Cissy and Rs' place and there was a Armstrong who lived on Morgantown Rd. just a little south of the BeeHive. Had a son a couple of years older than us - the son's last name was not Armstrong. What was his name? Which one do you remember? Or both. What fun we used to have at the Carnivals. Remember that we also used to roller skate in the old building there - after the fire trucks moved?? I think I spent most of the time on the concrete. Round and Round. If I remember, you were a pretty good skater. Do you remember the old Fox Skating rink. There was also one more in town that we used to go to. Was that Riverside? Or some where else???
GB, do you think the only reason we were able to talk Sara Jean and Cinders into going to the Irishfest - was the Kilt? Hmmm, I wonder..
Maybe I'm thinking of Mr. Steele. For some reason this morning that name popped into my head.
TD: Riverside was an amusement park in Indy, unless there was another place also called that. I remember Riverside because of the "Great Snickerdoodle Event" that happened when I was Girl Scouts. I would tell the story, but it's a one where some not-so-nice snobby adult could deny a little girl of not being able to go to Riverside at the last minute.
I would never mention the name, but 40 years later I cannot eat a Snickerdoodle without remembering that phone call.
Rita, you are right. Spent some time at that amusement park. Used to love the bumper cars, the wild mouse and the boat ride on the canal through the tunnel. Dark and scary - Lots of fun, other times. Depends on who you were with.. Forget what that was called. Why wouldn't the snobby adult let you go to Riverside? Was it just you or the whole troop that didn't get to go? I do remember that most of the 'Mothers' back then always had reservations about Riverside. Maybe she just didn't feel like it was safe..It could be a rough place at times. I love snickerdoodles - but my most favorite cookie is the ones that GB's Sara Jean makes. Unbelievably good peanut butter cookies!
I must be thinking of another roller rink. I remember it was downtown and always had lots of good skaters. Always a little intimidating to me. Only went there a couple of times. I'll bet GoldenGirl knows the name.
Nah, it was just me. We couldn't afford all the Girl Scout things, uniforms, badges, events all cost money, so I was an outcast from the start. My mother worked so I couldn't get to all the meetings like the other girls.
The troop had planned a trip to Riverside. My parents told me that I could earn $5 to spend if I picked green beans. If you've read Cissy's blog, you'll know we had a big garden. I picked beans that summer until I was blue in the face.
We were also supposed to enter cookies in the county fair. I made Snicker Doodles. I loved them. I got them all made and then found out that I couldn't enter them because they were supposed to be drop cookies, you know like chocolate chips.
A week before the trip to Riverside one of the Den Mothers called me on the phone and told me that "the girls decided" that anyone who didn't enter cookies in the fair couldn't go to Riverside.
I hung up the phone and burst out crying. My father, who normally stayed out of things finally got out of me why I was crying. He told my mother, "Either you call her or I will." Heaven help the woman if he had called. Anyway my mother called her back. She gave my mother some attitude, which was not appreciated. I can still hear my mother saying. "You all are a bunch of damn snobs." and hung up.
I never went back to Girl Scouts. As I said, I won't mention the lady's name as they were very active in the school and she probably never gave it another thought, well, maybe she did after being called a damn snob.
So that's my Snicker Doodle tragedy. Silly now I suppose, but not when you're 7 or 8.
But I still love Snicker Doodles. :D
TD
Oh yes, Riverside. It cost about a buck to get in and take your chances. The ride were Rickety and the crowd was rough, but, what fun back then.
Riverside also had a wonderful skating rink that I went to often. I had a cousin and a aunt that both took me. They were such good skaters.
There was also Fox's and Franklin that I went to. Fox's had that bad dip in it that would throw you for a loop.
I also used to love to go to Westlake amusement park and lake. We went for a sixth grade outing there also. DK was my date and we wore matching sailor hats, we were beyond cool. I still have the pics, I wonder if I could blackmail him with them. lol.
Rita, I am so sorry you got such a bad taste for Girl Scouts by one insensitive person. I was so lucky to have been able to join and have an amazing leader. We had Alice Merklin and she was the best. Many of us stayed in until we were too old to stay longer. She had a mother in law that went to girl scout camp with us each year and that lady was a walking encyclopedia of anything outdoors. I learned so much from her and she was such a blessing for us.
It did seem scouts took another turn after we all left.
Golden Horse, no need to be sorry. I'm well past those days.... well that is until someone mentions Riverside or Snicker Doodles.
I'll warn my husband that if I start screaming, "BUT I MADE THE DAMNED SNICKER DOODLES!" in my sleep tonight not to worry, I'm just reminiscing about the good old days.
The Den Mother did send an invitation to our house a couple days after my mother let her have it, but there was no way my parents were going to let me go after that.
The Armstrong's son's name is Stanley Chaplin.
Anonymous, You are right. His name kept swirling around in my head - but, I couldn't nail it down. Whatever happen to him? Lived next to Fred Doty, Didn't he? GB and GG - Do you guys remember him?
TD,
I haven't heard that name in 40 years, but yes, I do remember him now. Dark hair, glasses, if I remember correctly. I don't really remember him running around with anyone in particular.
Yes, I believe he did live there.
Do you remember the guy that was in HS for years. He never seemed to graduate but was always around and helping out.
Yes, I remember him, but like you TD I couldn't put a name to the memory.
As I recall he looked somewhat like "Lumpy" from "Leave it to Beaver" didn't he?
Or is that just my faulty memory again?
Description is right on. Also, I remember the fellow that was around helping out. Big guy, kind of humped over a little. Is he the same guy that used to occasionally sweep the gym floor at half time?
Cissy, they couldn't be talking about Hairy Larry, could they? I don't remember how old he was.
I think it was Paul Dailey??????? Is that correct?
Seemed to adore the school and the principals we had. Wore a white shirt alot and blue uniform work pants.
And the neatest group of school janitors any school could ask for.
The wonderful people that passed through our lives, we were blessed and didn't know it.
Oh, I don't know, GH...
I certainly knew it.
There was nobody more homesick whenever I left, even for short trips. Long trips were nearly unbearable. Being drafted was nothing short of traumatic.
-Neighbors that watched out for one another's kids...
Nowadays neighbors don't even know one another's names.
Someone press the rewind button!
R, Harry Larry never went to school. His real name was Larry, too. He was just a mildly-retarded man that lived with all those crazy people across the road (but towards Harry's place). Harmless enough, and he loved to come over and play "Kick the Can" with us.
Also, R...are you sure it was Girl Scouts? Sounds more like a 4H thing.
Hey, do you guys remember Ray? He was older than me by two or three years, and rode Harry's school bus. His real name was Connie, believe it or not, but he went by his middle name Ray. I can remember Danny W making fun of him on the bus and thinking Ray was going to whoop the tar out of him--but he just ignored the teasing. Ray died a couple of years after he graduated. I heard he had a bad heart.
In fifth grade, Mr. Stewart took us roller skating at a place in Whiteland. That would've been the 1963/64 school year. I remember being in Mr. Stewart's class when an announcement came over the PA telling us that President Kennedy had been killed.
Paul Dailey was the big guy who swept the gym floor at half-time. Stan Chaplin was still in Indy the last I heard. His step-dad, Marion Armstrong, was a local mechanic.
TD - I don't remember the swimming hole in Olive Branch Creek; but, I do remember the gypsies. You never hear about gypsies any more. What happened to them?
Ferdy
Cissy I didn't have any brothers but had two sisters Debby now Debby McCarty who was 4 years younger then me and Cheryl who was 15 years younger then me. Does anyone know if theres a Florida trip this year? Ferdy I was just in Ferdinand. Snowing and cold. About 12 degrees and windchill about 4 below. I'm ready for Florida or Texas.
TC - Bring Sharon along the next time you come to Ferdinand. She and I can catch up while you're working. Do you have power at home yet?
Ferdy
We got power Sunday evening about 5:30. Its wonderful to have electricity again. I will have my house set up for a generator next time. I will try and get her up so you guys can catch up on stuff.
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