G. A. Beggs

I just received a four-page letter from G. A. Beggs. I had sent him a copy of my book, Pebbles and he responded with many memories of his time in CV. I'll call him and ask to put it up here on the CV blog. It is a treasure trove of information of our early years told from an adult perspective. Mr. Beggs is 87 years of age and still writes with a remarkably firm and steady hand. His wife, Madge is also still active at age 84.

Stay tuned. You are in for a treat!

Patricia Rae Oltjen

Pat was born on March 16, 1936 in Clay Center, Kansas. Her parents were Raymond Dietrich Oltjen and Elsie Marie Fiechter of the Robinson, Kansas area. At the time of her birth, Ray and Elsie lived in Linn, Kansas where Ray worked for a bank. While living in Linn a brother was born ... Thayne Douglas Oltjen.

Pat's grandparents Oltjen both came to the United States from Germany ... but met in Kansas. Pat's grandfather was said to have come as far west on the train as funds allowed. He worked for farmers and saved each dollar earned and invested in land until he was quite wealthy at the time of his death. He set up his sons in farming except Raymond who contracted polio as a quite young boy which made banking a more realistic occupation. Ray's twin sister died from the disease and Ray was cared for during his long recovery by a Mrs. Foust of the Robinson area. Elsie's parents were farmers in the same area. Mr. Fiechter was of German heritage and Mrs. Fiechter had Swiss lineage.

In early years the Oltjen's moved to Florence where Ray and a partner purchased the bank at a discount to be closed for a profit. They were only there for a short time and decided to do the same thing at Cedar Vale. Elsie cried when she saw the Cedar Vale area but they both came to love the community and Ray decided to retain his holdings in the financial institution. Pat was in the second grade in Cedar Vale and attended all of her grade/high school years in the community. Pat was a popular girl and a good student and a good clarinetist in the band. She would have been a good athlete but the administrators of the school felt that females should not participate in sports. She worked at Whitney's Drug Store. Some of her better friends during her high school years were Donna Burch, Janice Sartin, and Nadine Stanhope.

After high school she attended Kansas University until she was engaged to Phil Foust of Dexter/Cedar Vale. They were married on May 29, 1955 and their first home was in Savannah, Georgia as Phil was a trombonist in an Air Force dance band. Son Graham was born in Savannah on November 07, 1956. The three Fousts moved back to Cedar Vale in November of 1957 where Phil was employed at the Cedar Vale National Bank. Vince was born on July 05, 1959 while we were living in a rental house of Dr. L. Claire Hays.

After Cedar Vale, Pat and her growing family moved to northern Kansas where Phil worked in banks prior to purchasing the Bremen State Bank of Bremen/Marysville. Prior to that, Gretchen was born on December 21, 1968 at Marysville, Kansas. During the years that she was a full time mother, Pat was proficient at a full range of activities. She was a wonderful cook, seamstress, quilter, flower gardener, landscaper, and in my opinion a most perfect wife and mother.

Later, she worked as a salesperson at Harvey's Fashions in Arkansas City where we spent some rather semi-retirement years. During this time, she honed her grandmotherly skills and enjoyed being of help to many interesting folks of the Ark City area.

The last five years we have lived in Marion, Kansas as retired folks. Her mobility has declined dramatically through the years and (like many that are fortunate to live awhile) is beginning to exhibit a reduced quality of life. She had knee replacement surgery on June 17, 2008 and is progressing remarkably well showing her strength and resolve. Pat is a fair minded individual who does not mind "telling it like it is" in her approach to human relationships.

This is a rather simple account of a remarkable person's complex life. She has known many difficulties during the years ... difficulties of which many were not aware ... but she has never shown much negativity concerning the fates that tend to occur to everyone. She is a person of whom I am very proud and have been so blessed to have spent with her ... these precious years.

TV in Cedar Vale

A comment by Phil jogs my memory about the first times I saw television. Bohanan Electric had the first TVs for sale in Cedar Vale. They had one set up in their showroom and there were many folding chairs set up like theater seating for the locals to try out the new medium. The screen was inside the console pointing in an upward direction. You raised the top of the console, which swung upward on hinges at the back, revealing a mirror through which you could view the screen.

Cedar Vale was far from any station so the signal was quite weak. The first TV station was in Tulsa later followed by a station in Wichita. To receive any signal at all required a fairly tall antenna tower and the antenna had to be turned very precisely in the direction of the station, requiring a motorized antenna rotator if you wanted to be able to tune in to both Tulsa and Wichita.

Early programs I remember were Milton Berle and Kookla Fran and Ollie. Of course, there were sporting events such as baseball and wrestling. If it was a good night and the atmosphere was cooperating you could get a picture that was recognizable through the constant snow. On a bad day it was just shadows moving in a blizzard.

It was quite some time before we had a TV in our home. Those who had television sets early on had nightly company as neighbors and friends came to watch. By the time we had a TV they were plentiful enough so that we were not the local theater.

For those of us who are old enough to remember our first TV experiences write in with your comments. What was your first experience with the new medium? When did you get a TV at home? What was it like being the local theater every evening?

Donna Burch Stanton

I just heard from Donna Burch Stanton and her daughter sent me this photo of her with her grandchildren. (Now don't be angry Donna, your old classmates want to see how you look these days.) Donna was my first playmate at age 4 or 5. We were neighbors in the southwest (straight) corner of CV. Welcome, Donna. We hope to hear from you.