TLC #11:
Hard is the
heart that loveth nought in May."
-
Unknown (at least to me)
Greetings from lovely Lexington!
Ah, spring. Need I say more? With the arrival of good weather, nearly
everyone is out planting or painting, building or mowing, grilling or jogging,
etc. Or all of the above. Lots of dumpsters in use, signaling the cleaning-out
and renovating of still more historic buildings.
Cox's Corner has been sold, and I'm
told it's going to be a dress shop when it's been given its facelift. Several
more buildings are undergoing cosmetic surgery as well, and we'll soon have
another gift shop. We have a new antique shop with a little cafe in the back.
Two more antique shops will be opening soon. Lots of energy in "Big
Lex," as some call it.
Two major events are in various
stages of planning. You may want to venture "home" to attend one or
both. The first is July 3-7, the 2001 Heartland Chautauqua. There are only three
cities in Missouri hosting a Chautauqua this year. More details next issue, but
it will be five days full of quality entertainment and education.
The other spectacular is in early
planning stages, but will take place in April 2002, the 150th anniversary of the
Saluda disaster. You all remember the story of the steamboat exploding on the
river, and how Lexington responded to the needs of those struck by the tragedy.
The event will be commemorated in a salute to the steamboat glory days, and the
role the river has played in the life of our hometown. This is going to be
major, folks, so mark your calendars now.
The (e)mail continues to bring notes
to me that are really to all of us, and it is my great pleasure to forward them
to you.
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From Janice Parris:
I
thought people that receive the TLC might take pride in the outstanding
students of dear ole LHS!
On May 5, the
Lexington High School Academic Team traveled to
Columbia to compete in the State Academic Team Championships (ONLY District
winners qualify to compete). LHS captured 3rd
place in 3A competition. The Mo. State High School Activities Association
has only sanctioned academic competition for six
years. Lexington has been runner-up three of
those years, and 3rd place twice (losing to State Champions in semi-finals both of those years--& losing the District
Championship to the State Champions the other
year!).
Athletic
teams get lots of recognition and acclaim for their
accomplishments. Let's give the academic team the same
accolades!
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From
regular correspondent Duncan Lee:
Dear
Susan:
Your TLC idea has certainly
captivated me and, obviously, many other
former Lexingtonians. It appears
I've read messages from most of the Guegen family and their wonderful memories
of growing up in our historical little town.
The one I haven't seen
"published" is Loretta, who was in my class of '60. Perhaps one of her
siblings can let us know where she is.
In the last few years I've
involved myself in the world of nostalgia,
primarily in the automotive world.
I have a 1933 Plymouth street rod, that has won many awards, and am currently
rebuilding a 1936 Chevrolet racing stock car, which I hope to race next year in
California. I have a web site dedicated to vintage racing cars www.oldbuzzardsracingteam.com .
My memories of Lexington include many involving cars. I'm sure my parents
thought my passion for hot rods was "just a phase." Well, I didn't
grow out of it! Put it on hold for
awhile, but never let it go.
As I read the letters from your
correspondents, I find myself nearly
overcome with nostalgia and
sentimentalism, and, I guess, homesickness. Mary Pat's recollections of
"The Odessa" were particularly touching. How many summer afternoons
did my friends and I while away with cherry Cokes and the nickel pinball
machine? I remember that Larry Coen would usually have only one nickel and he
had to decide on a Coke or the pinball machine! The last I heard he is a
veterinarian in Florida. My sister, Barbara, worked there one
summer and we
always tried to get free ice cream; unsuccessfully, as I recall.
(EDITOR'S INJECTION: Yes, I believe
Larry Coen could buy several cherry cokes at one time now. One of my own most
vivid memories of The Odessa was learning to jitterbug there. To the tune of
Glen Miller's "In the Mood." With Duncan's sister, Barbara! Also if
you were lucky enough to have a dime you wouldn't have to choose
between chocolate ice cream or lime sherbet: double dip!)
And now we return to
Duncan...
To anyone who might worry about spending too much
time "in the good old days," let me say that in the past few years
I've come to understand a lot about our life in this existence, where we came
from and to where we will be going. One of the most uplifting experiences of my
life was the moment I learned to shed guilt. I'm still working on worry, but
I've made pretty good headway on that, too. The point is, if one can learn to
not worry about the future, tomorrow, one lives for today. But the mind has a
lot more "disc space" than just today, so what else is there to do but
roam around in the memory? So let's do more of it with no guilt and no worry
about it! Besides, it's a lot easier to remember what happened in 1955 than what
happened this
morning! Great fun.
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From Gene
Boyer:
Susan, I think you are doing a
great job and service to all of us . Keeping us informed on what's happening in
our old hometown. Would you please send me one more time ALL of the issues. as I
would like to send them to my brother Floyd (cotton) as he was known in school.
I see some addresses that I want to put in my address book I thought some of
them had passed away. ( just
kidding). If you want to edit this and send it
out its o.k.
---------------------------
An old one from Shirley
Briggle:
The class of 51 and
52 is having a class reunion on Saturday
September 1st. The two classes
decided to join forces. More is better. The Missouri Life Magazine
(Feb/March 2001) issue had
an article on Lexington. On the front cover in
bold print: LEXINGTON (Battle & Brothels) Hey, that must have got the
community betterment group and all the historical societies in town's attention.
It truly is a good article though with some realllllllly good pictures.
--------------------------
From Mary Pat
O'Malley
Hi Susan: My brother, Jim
O'Malley, was kind enough to forward your newsletter TLC #9 to me and I am so
glad he did. It has lots of interesting news and so many
contributors.
I would appreciate very much if you would add my
name to your list to receive the newsletter. At LHS, I was Mary Pat
O'Malley. Today I am Pat DiiBon or Mary P. My email address is MPDiiBon@AOL.com. If you add my name to
your email list, I will be most grateful.
---------------------------
From Mary Jo Smith, with my
apologies for not running it sooner:
Hello Lexingtonians, past and
present. It is good to hear what some of you are up to. I am living in
Buffalo, NY, still working part time as director of the Molecular Diagnostics
Laboratory at Children's Hospital of Buffalo. The rest of the time I spend at
our Minnesota home, 100 miles west of Duluth. My two boys are on their
own. David is doing AIDS research at Harvard and Douglas is a second year
resident in Orthopedic Surgery here in Buffalo. My husband Todd is faculty
at the State University of New York, Buffalo. Both kids are married, but
no grandchildren yet. If you're in the neighborhood, let me know, would
love to get together with true midwesterners.
Mary Jo Smith Evans
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From Lucia Cope:
Sorry I missed out
on the naming of the street in honor of your dad. One of the best parts of
teenaged years had to do with him and the newspaper one way or another.
Specifically, probably my senior year I got to be a stringer, before I ever knew
what the word meant. I think I only wrote a couple of articles, but was
absolutely thrilled to receive remuneration. He and Jim Shannon were ever
so helpful with the school newspaper and one time Jim helped me get a
"breaking news story" into the Minuteman which was distributed hours
before the Advertiser News. What a scoop, I
thought!
Also, your dad gave
me a subscription when I went to college, and I'm sure that newspaper was one of
the reasons for my popularity. We all became great fans of Bruna
McGuire. One time I mentioned that to one of my aunts, who
sent me her Bruna McGuire scrapbook from columns her mother had sent her.
Puddin even went so far as to develop a Bruna fan club when she was at Randolph
Macon. So flattered was Bruna that she sent each girl a crocheted
hanger. Doesn't that beat all? And even though I seldom read
the legal news, I was aware of it, which also gave me another edge of true
sophistication! Ha! Ha! I checked out your son's web page, but would
you identify the people I was looking at? I only recognized you and your
mom.
In the last two
weeks my mental activity has been greatly expanded because of your TLC, and I
thank you. I have been in touch with one person on your list for the first
time in about forty years, and that trip is the motivation for daily
communications. One of the areas that has fascinated me over the years of
our class reunions in the on-going realization of just how little we all knew
about each other, and all the false assumptions we labored under. Since we
moved down to Lexington just after seventh grade year had gotten underway, I
assumed I was the only new person and that EVERYBODY knew everybody else and
that they ALL had a shared history. Only recently have we talked about the
tossed salad that was junior/senior high: the coming together of Arnold
and Central, Douglas and the country schools as well as a few from
Henrietta. This has been a fun exploration.
Thanks again for
this undertaking. The older I get, the more I realize Lexington's role in
the person I continue to become, and the more I appreciate it.
Thanks
so much.
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How could I possibly add to that? Keep those
emails coming! Until next time, I remain
Your devoted scribe,
Susan
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