Dear Hearts & Gentle People:

It was a three-dog night here in the old hometown, but I had only a cat. Our first real snow arrived during a midnight clear, and it came upon a layer of ice. Fa la la la la. Still, everyone should be finished with Christmas prep now, right?

It was my intention to get this missive winging to you before the Festival of Lights in Big Lex. However, it turned dreadfully cold. The Parade went on, in an abbreviated fashion, and some of the outside activities were moved inside. But the town looks festive, and the usual activities are taking place. There don’t seem to be as many big parties as there used to be, but perhaps it is simply your scribe’s outlook.

Election (April) filing has begun, and it looks as if we will have some new faces on the City Council. The Mayor is unopposed so far. We are still working on getting the water system in place, and an additional tower built. The hospital may be enlarged instead of a new installation, but many questions are unanswered at this point. The new Arts program is in full swing, endeavoring to promote tourism and improved commerce through the arts. There is a new office on Main Street, a combination of the Arts effort and the existing Old Trails Regional Tourism effort, next door (west) to what used to be Hix’s/Cox’s Corner. Finally, the city recently purchased the Lions Club building on 25^th St, and it will soon house the Lexington Police Department.

I had some recent computer problems (quelle surprise!), and if your communiqué does not appear with the mail below, please do notify me:

From Del Scharnhorst ’55:

Hey, Susan. Add me to your growing list of those happy to see TLC arriving again. In this most recent version there is mention of the Kehrees family, which I never met. However, I think we may have lived in the same home (at 1904 Franklin Ave.), at different times. When Rosie (Maxwell ’58) and I took down the wallpaper in the kitchen and entry, we discovered several Kehrees names and dates that we took to be birthdays. We won't mention how far back those dates went. There were also some other names, but I can no longer recall who they were - beyond saying they were names we were unfamiliar with. Anyway, those discoveries made the whole effort a little more enjoyable.

The above note may put you in touch with the Kehrees family, Del. But surely you knew Norman Vialle and his wife Sophie Kehrees Vialle?

From Jack Gueguen ‘51:

If you write something about Ike:  When I was about to enter Wentworth JC (fall ’51), my dad suggested I contact Ike’s parents and look into buying his uniform.  (He was already at MU.)  There I was with the band on the Wentworth field for dress parade Sunday after Sunday sporting that uniform, and all the way to commencement weekend ’53. If you do something about the Notre Dame band concert:  I was in a different uniform on the stage of Groendyke Hall that day, playing the same trombone that saw me through Wentworth shortly before.  Our two buses had pulled into Lexington early that morning after an “all-nighter” from Decatur, Illinois (a concert there that evening at Millikin).  We were brought into church (Catholic) to sing a special Easter Mass in all our grubbiness.  Then the ladies of the parish gave us a fine “country” breakfast in the adjoining grade school before we proceeded on to K.C. to play in the Municipal Auditorium that afternoon.  This was our “western tour” during Easter break—all the way to Amarillo, Colorado Springs, and Cheyenne before heading back to South Bend.  What a great time was had by all of us.  (You can read all about it in the “nostalgia” section of our class newsletter—ND56.edu).  My other years at N.D. we went south to Houston and New Orleans; east to New York and Boston areas.  It was a fine “intro” to this country.

Bosh Bruening of Higginsville and now Richmond sent a note:

You don’t have to be from Lexington to enjoy your TLC’s. Would you please add Rose Mary (Waller, his wife) to your list so I won’t have to forward?

Sure thing, Bosh.

And from Leamon Luther Johnson ’53:

Dear Susan - Great of you to continue the Newsletter.  I always enjoy seeing what my schoolmates are up to. This has been a great year for us as we had our 60th class reunion and got to see and hear from a lot of friends. Also our first grandchild Lindsey gave us our first great-grandson Knox.  And Knox's grandfather Mark, our first
son,  just had his birthday with ALS.  He finished his 13th year.  When he was told the news in 2000 he just wanted to live long enough to see his oldest daughter, Lindsey, graduate from High School.  She had two more years and the average life span of ALS patients is 2-5 years.  He saw her graduate from high school, College, he walked her down the aisle for her wedding, and now a grand baby.  So life is good for the Johnsons.  One of the things we all seem to agree on is the fact we felt blessed to be raised in Lexington, and we still love it.  Keep up the good work.      

Speaking of the Kehrees family:

Katena Kehrees ‘47 Vleisides - In response to Don Stephenson's letter, yes I do remember the taffy pull parties at the home of Miss Carrie Loomis.  That would be fun to do with grandchildren or great-grandchildren.  Need to find a recipe.  I remember the piano lessons and recitals as though they happened yesterday.  Happy  to recall  those memories. Miss Carrie frequently talked about Carl Stalling.  When we went to the movies, we would look for his name in the credits. Letters in the TLC's bring many things to memory that I have not thought about in years.  Susan, your efforts  are appreciated.

One sad note came from Catherine Bost ’55 Johnston:

It’s with a heavy heart that I share that my beloved husband (Jim) of almost 36 years was called home to be with his Lord.  His body was unable to recover from a fall on September 20 and subsequent surgery to repair a fractured femur and hip. 

I thought you might be interested in this graph of TLC ‘hits” that was supplied by Webmaster Supreme Bob Ball ’58. Of course it goes only through September, but I’m certain he will update us soon, with the whole year.

Nice to know so many people are interested in our little town’s history and current events.

Finally, here is the first issue of the LEXletter, detailing progress on the restoration of our iconic Municipal Auditorium:

 

You may be interested to know that my New Year’s resolution is to publish a TLC at least once a month during 2014. But that can only happen if I hear from you! So write often. Meanwhile, I wish you and yours a wonderful and blessed Christmas, as well as a healthy and happy 2014!!!

Your devoted scribe,

Susan