What a plethora of good memories. I discovered the blog a couple of days ago and have done nothing much since except to read every word. Even though most of the "kids" are 9 years (??) younger than I am, so many of the things written are the same as when I was growing up in CV from age 8, and of course, I remember most of them as little.
Memories of the Cedar Vale Village in Zimmerman's yard, the Pool Hall, Hewins Park, Herb's,etc. etc. My Grandpa, Albert Pate, played pinochle in the Pool Hall. Many is the time Grandma would send me to get him because dinner (the noon meal, of course) was ready. I would stand outside and knock on the window until someone would hear/see me and Grandpa would come out. Mother was on a bowling team one time. I remember how excited that I was allowed to go inside the Pool Hall when she played. BUT, I was not allowed to wander into any other part of the building.
Do you remember the posts Albert had for a fence? When they sold their house on the highway to Chuck Fields (I'm not over that mad yet) Grandpa moved them to the house they bought west (I guess it is west) of the Episcopal church building. I've often wondered who and how he moved them. We now have several of those posts in our back yard. I'm going to send you a picture. Kids vandalized them when the house stood empty for so many years and the pots were broken off. We also have a number of the pots. The "hen and chickens" plant growing in one of them is the same plant Grandma had growing. I understand the house on the highway has been bulldozed down. Not any too soon because it was so sad to see it falling down.
I had such a GREAT childhood. JT (my husband) loves hearing about it.
We had thought we would be attending the Alumni Banquet this year. However, we're leaving for an Alaskan Cruise May 29th. We'll have to plan to go next year.
17 comments:
Mr. Pate ( I guess that was your grandpa) and my dad were good friends, and he was a fine gentleman.
Hello, Pat ... welcome!
Yes, Wayne, Albert Pate was my Grandpa. I remember your parents well. When my Mother, Nadine Pate, did spring housecleaning she would send me to Woodruff Cleaners to get the curtain stretchers. That was some trick riding a bicycle, using one hand, and carrying those big frames in the other hand, especially difficult if there was the slightest breeze. I'm older than you guys having graduated in 1946, but this is a fun thing. Thanks for the invitation, Gary.
I remember my folks talking about Nadine Pate. What was the connection? Did she work somewhere? It seems I heard her name in connection with Ben and Irene Ailey(SP).??
Mother retired from the Post Office after 30 years (I think it was 30).I went to work in the bank my sophomore year in H.S. My friend, Nadine Champlin (Leedy) (Rollin's wife) worked in the telephone office and Mother at the Post Office. Between the three of us we had access to almost all of the gossip in town! You might remember Grandpa was the Rural Mail Carrier on Route 3..your mail carrier, I guess. I had forgotten you lived in the house where Carl and Nola live now. My husband loves the appearance of that farm. Every time we're up there and drive by, he says "are you sure you don't own this". Did your parents buy that place from Melvin Shrader? We moved from Wichita in 1937 and lived with Anna and Albert until my Father died April 1938. Then, Mother rented an apartment from Georgie Chapman - same street Ben and Irene Aley (correct sp) lived on.That would be our only connection with them. Their son, Tilghman H. Aley,(graduated CVHS 1940) was President of Casper College 1961-1979 and Vice President for Development and Executive Director of the Casper College Foundation 1979-1983. He wrote a book, "Miles to Go" (I have it) in 1984 and speaks about Cedar Vale briefly, but in a negative way.Too bad! Evelyn Aley Scott was his sister.
Welcome Pat,
I guess I'll have to clean up my act now that I have a relative on the blog.
As I recall, Nadine was the post mistress for a while
OK, Pat, now it all comes back. Nadine Pate. Post-office. All those years my folks ran the cleaning shop and the grocery store, I was sent down to the P.O. to pick up the mail every day and your mom was so nice to this little guy.
Yes, we bought the farm from Melvin and Neva, and I think that they really did not want to have to sell the farm, but at that time were having a little cash-flow problem and needed the money. Bob and Louise House were living on the farm when we bought it.
When we(my sister and I)were little kids, Irene Aley use to keep us while dad and mom worked, and I remember Mrs. Chapmans's house where your mom rented.
I am curious about the negative comments that Tilghman wrote about CV. How could anyone say anything negative about that lovely little town. Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember some kind of ??scandal? concerning Tilghman, but maybe that is just a little kid misunderstanding what he overhears.
It is nice to hear from you and about your family life in CV. Every time someone(new) writes something in this blog, it brings back more good memories about our youth.
I don't know about being related to "Anonymous" but I am related to Dick Williams. His Mother and my Grandmamma Parks Akin (Mrs. Bob Akin, in Hewins) were sisters. Does that make us second cousins or first cousins, once removed? Also, Louise House's Mother was a sister to them. It's MISS Chapman, Wayne. She never married, but raised some nieces - Frances Drury, for one, who married Frank Stark. Both taught in the CV schools and were fired after they were married. Don Cox will remember Georgia was a long time bookkeeper for Adams Mercantile. I'll look up the small passage in Tilghman's book and post it. Mother served as Interim Postmaster a couple of times, but always preferred the classification of Permament Clerk. Post Masters often lost their jobs with a change in the DC administration. She often said George Wilson was the best P.M. she worked for. Kenneth Dunn and Wilbur Martin come to my mind as serving as postmasters, too. My goodness, this blogging business takes time, but has been fun today. More later about family.
You caught me Pat. Welcome aboard.
Pat, my family also lived in the Georgia Chapman apartments. Pretty sure that you and your Mother lived there at the same time ... as I do remember you both while being an eighth grader. As an aside ... Georgia was allergic to the sun?
Tilghman Aley was a teacher or student teacher at my grade school in Winfield. He wasn't one of my instructors but I remember him helping organize us into somewhat of a football team (at recess)?
Albert and Anna Pate (the story goes) went with the Oltjens (or vice versa) to Independence (I believe) to "Monkey Island". While there ... Albert was on the slippery slide (possibly fooling around) and fell badly with unremembered injuries. (A bit of fiction or fact from my little almanac.)
Phil - At Georgia's house we had a living room and kitchen downstairs and a bedroom upstairs. We shared the bathroom with Georgia. When Frank Stark and Francis Drury married, one of the four bedrooms upstairs was converted into a kitchen and one of the closets into a bathroom,and with the joining bedroom a two room apartment was made. Stairs were built outside to access the apartment. My sister, Billy, and her husband, Rodney Smith, lived there in 1946. Jim Humble and his new bride lived there at one time. Harley Jacobson, a coach in CV, lived there with his wife and baby. Sorry, but I don't remember the Foust family living there. Yes, Albert Pate hurt himself on a slide in Independence. He was clowning around and went down the corkskew slide. He had not counted on gaining so much momentum and was afraid to land on his feet, thinking he would break both legs. So, he held his feet in front of him and landed on his BOTTOM and broke his tailbone. He was in a cast from his armpits to his groin for a very long time. Fortunately it was during the summer and he went without a shirt a lot of the time. He had autographs all over that cast and no doubt some "words of wisdom" written by some. I have a picture of him - somewhere ? - when he had the cast.
Phil - what year were you an eighth grader and I can tell you if we still lived in Georgia's house. And, yes, Georgia was allergic to the sun and all kinds of food. She used a lot of soy products.
Pat, I believe we moved there in October of 1949. That winter was a terrible snow/ice storm and I remember one evening after basketball practice that I couldn't maneuver up the gentle slope into the yard (it was so slick). And yes .. our entry was up the back outside steps.
Most likely we moved the next spring to a rental house fairly adjacent to the home of Clyde Shaffer. (Almost across the street pretty much to Dick Williams.)
It's a bit embarrassing to reveal .. but most likely the reason I remember you living there was because you were so attractive. One night after a date that you had, I overheard you telling your mother of the evening (as my bedroom must have been adjacent to the conversation area). My bedroom wasn't heated and I'm fairly sure that if I would have had a pet goldfish that some nights it would have been frozen in ice.
Though I'm not positive of this location ... I do believe that Dr. Hays made a visit up those stairs to attend to an illness of mom.
Oops ... correction ... October of 1948 was when we moved into the GCA.
Thanks, Phil, for the correction to October 1948. The 1949 date didn't jive with me. I was in college in Abilene, TX 9/1947 - 5/1948. I went back to work in the bank in CV 6/1948 - 1/1949. I would have been living with Mother at the GCA October 1948. Be enbarrassed all you want if you are going to give me such a nice compliment! I, too, remember the ice storm. I remember using the car ruts in the street to walk home and then crawling on my hands and knees up to our door on the side of the house. It was still cold and icy on December 10. My niece, Carol Smith, was born that day. I ran to Hays Hospital to see her in 8ยบ weather and ice on the ground. The winter of 1949 was mild. I was married in CV on November 6, 1949, and the weather was warm. I have pictures - no coats needed. Hey - did I have a good time on my date? I wonder who it was with. I really don't remember.
Pat, though I didn't hear all of the conversation with your Mother ... the gist of it seemed to be that indeed you did have fun but I don't know the identity of the fellow. (Being twelve or thirteen it must be reported that I was jealous of that unknown person.)
You had a very nice Mom!
I guess you will want to put a twitter button to your website. I just bookmarked the article, but I had to complete this by hand. Just my suggestion.
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