CORRESPONDENTS: Ramona years ago
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Easter just seemed strange, arriving so early this year. The folks who track time on an official level, say that Easter won't come again this early in our lifetimes — not for another 220 years, in fact. The year will be 2228. Only the most elderly among us (95 or older) would remember Easter as early as this year, because the last time it occurred was on March 23, 1913. (Our oldest citizen, Tony Meyer, would have been one year old!)
Easter coming early wasn't our biggest concern in Ramona. Aside from no grass tall enough to hide eggs in, the city park still looks like a disaster zone from the December storm. The clean-up crew wasn't going to make it to the park until April, so the mayor (my sister), conferred with the Easter Bunny (Tooltime Tim) and asked if Mr. Bunny would be so kind as to personally deliver all the Easter baskets to the kids in town.
The Bunny even delivered some homemade blueberry buckle, all wrapped in cellophane and bows, to Al and Darlene Sondergard, Harold and Betty Ohm, and Tony Meyer. Just goes to show, you're never too old to enjoy a visit from the Easter Bunny.
Betty Ohm got home Easter morning from a five-day trek with her children. She joined Jackie and family in Platte City, and together they drove to Wisconsin to see JoAnn and family.
"It snowed a foot on Good Friday," said Betty, "but that doesn't stop 'em. We went out for a fish fry that night." And Betty laughs and says, "If it had been just me, I would have stayed home!"
Betty said the snow did stop them from having an egg hunt outside. "We just hid the eggs inside," she said.
The Fike family had their Easter Sunday gathering at the Lutheran parish hall, and the egg hunt was out and around the church. "The kids complained that there wasn't really a place to hide the eggs," said Warren, "at least not compared to the farm!"
All of Warren and Paula's children and their families were present — Linda, Sandra, Carla, Glenda, Gary, Dennis, Sara — along with Warren's brother, Duane and his family — wife, Ruthita, and children Toby and Rindy. Duane and Warren's sister, Inez is no longer alive, but her husband, Ernest Peterson, and their children Rodney and Jeanne were present with their families.
Al and Darlene Sondergard did their annual egg hunt outdoors around their house here in Ramona. "Oh, we found places other than the grass," said Darlene. "We even hide them in trees. The seven little ones who went hunting had a great time." The Sondergards had all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandkids with them. "Lois Peterson also joined us," added Darlene. "She'd lost her husband the week before and she came, along with her daughter, Diane Miller, and her husband Keith." The Sondergards had 26 in all.
Usually Frances Buxman has about that many at her house on Easter, but Frances went into the hospital again, and is still there. The doctors were concerned about a toe, and thought they might have to do something drastic, like remove it, but they got matters under control and Frances still has all her toes. She's still in the hospital in Abilene, however, for a bit longer.
Pat, Tooltime Tim, and I took a road trip to Lawrence to have Easter dinner with our cousins, Joe and Janet Fike. Pat and I created a big Easter basket filled with flowers, candles, coffee, and chocolate for our cousins and then we asked Tim if he'd put on the Easter bunny suit again that he wore to deliver baskets to the Ramona kiddies.
Thankfully Tim agreed and one block away from the Fikes' house he stopped the car, and right there on the sidewalk in suburban Lawrence, he crawled into his huge brown suit, complete with ears and a bow around his neck, and walked up to Joe and Janet's door carrying the big basket, When they opened the door and saw a gigantic rabbit standing there they erupted with laughter. "This is the best Easter surprise ever!" chuckled Janet.
The latest issue of the Ramona News, the quarterly town newsletter, just came off the press. Each issue features a Ramona family and this newsletter focused on the A.L. Beltz family. Abraham Lincoln Beltz was born during President Lincoln's term of office, and his parents named him after Honest Abe.
Abe Beltz started the Ramona Creamery, making butter and ice cream. He shipped the butter to customers as far away as Chicago, where in 1884 he won a bronze medal at the New World Exposition. The original creamery was located right here in town, but later, Abe moved the creamery northeast of Ramona near Jacob's Crossing, where he'd purchased a farmstead (north of the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery). The creamery was located near the Rock Island and Santa Fe Railroads refueling station.
"Until it came to me and my sister, everyone in the Beltz family was born in the old house on the farmstead — most of them died there, too," said Micahel Beltz who's the fourth generation to own the land. "My daughter, Dana, will be the fifth generation to inherit the farm," continued Mike.
On April 3, Pat and I agreed to be judges for a forensics competition held at Centre High School. It was our first time as judges, so we finally got to ask the question: "How is it that a competition in drama, prose, and poetry is named 'forensics' which sounds like it has to do with dead people?" The answer was way too deep to repeat, but the competition sure was fun to judge.
Making the judging even more delicious was Marissa Makovec, who prepared snacks of all kinds to keep the judges going between rounds that began at 3:30 and ended at 8:30 p.m.
The Centre High School kids were not competing — they were hosting. But several are going to state championships next month and two of them have connections to Ramona! Nikki Stenzel, Betty Stenzel's granddaughter, is heading to state championships and Ida Saadon, daughter of Bill and Rohani Alcorn of Ramona also is competing May 3 at state in the prose and improvised duet acting.
I happened to be a judge in both these categories at last week's Centre competition, so I know the demands of both. When I saw competitors in the improvised duet acting, I had additional respect, because I knew I would never have been brave enough to try such a thing when I was a teenager.
"In IDA (that's the abbreviation of improvised duet acting) you and a partner draw two characters, a situation and a setting and you have 30 minutes to make a story out of it," explained Ida, who attended a competition Monday in Wichita.
"I'm lucky because my partner, Justine Jennings, also happens to be a friend. We have a similar sense of humor so we work well together taking the items we draw and creating a story from it," explained Ida.
"We really know how to listen to each other; I guess that's what good friends do," said Ida as she summed it all up. At the Centre competition last week, Ida was on hand to assist throughout the event, as were many high school students, and she announced the winning awards.
Ida had a birthday party March 29 in Ramona. Cars were parked all around her house and that's what tipped me off that something was happening, so I called to get the scoop.
"I had 14 of my friends over for dinner and a movie," reported Ida. "We watched the musical 'Hairspray' — the guys weren't too happy about that!"
Billy Alcorn also had a birthday March 22 but he didn't want any party. "Bill doesn't like birthdays," said his wife, Rohani. "He set down the rules, 'no cake, and no eating out!'"
Rohani asked Billy if he'd bend the rules and perhaps like an ice cream cake. You'd have to know Bill to appreciate his response: "Hell, no! And don't you dare go and get a bunch of people together either! The only sweets I like are cinnamon rolls!"
I just laughed when Rohani told me this story. Lots of us are becoming skeptical about celebrating birthdays — unfortunately, refusing to have a party doesn't seem to keep the numbers from climbing! And let's face it — the alternative of having no birthdays, isn't one I'm willing to accept.
The members of the Ramona Senior Center are inspiration when it comes to getting older. They're a get-up-and-go-bunch. In March the group went on a bus trip to the Salt Mines in Hutchinson.
"Oh, it was so much fun!" enthused Darlene Sondergard, president of the senior center. "Although some of the group weren't so fond of the 90-second elevator ride in the pitch dark as we descended!"
The folks who went on the trip were: Al and Darlene Sondergard, Steve and Myrna Eskeldson, Merv and Leona Deines,all of Ramona; Reign and Marlene Anduss of Marion; and Tom and Dee Duggan and Walt and Iona Dietrich of Tampa.
Tony Meyer went to a wedding in Salina on April 5 — his great-niece, Andrea Schultz married Keith Picklesimer. The wedding and reception were held at the Stiefel Theatre. The ceremony took place in the big hallway that leads to the auditorium. It made for a cozy and unusual environment, with the bridal party making a grand entrance down the spiral staircases at the Stiefel.
"Wasn't that just a great affair!" proclaimed Tony as I drove him home from the reception. Tony loves weddings — he gets to see his relatives, hear wonderful music (the bride and groom sang a duet), and eat cake!
Funerals are at the other end of the celebration spectrum. While weddings are about beginnings, funerals are a celebration of a life concluded. Pat and I went to Hutchinson March 18 to attend the funeral of our aunt, Anne Schubert, who was married to Art Schubert, our mother's brother. All of Art and Anne's children were present, along with grandchildren, which means we got to see many people that we haven't seen in 10 years or more.
And I learned something about Aunt Anne that I never knew — she loved to fish. Do you ever wonder what folks don't know about you, and maybe won't know until you're gone?
Funerals just bring people together — admittedly not for the happiest of reasons — and there are always blessings. This last Friday, Lowell Hanschu was celebrated at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Ramona.
I knew about Lowell long before I ever met him. My dad, Laurel Ehrhardt, used to tell me stories about Ramona, and he especially like telling the story of Katz Hanschu. The story goes that one day in church it was so sweltering that the doors were thrown open and what should come walking down the center isle, in the middle of the sermon, but a cat.
Young Lowell Hanschu, was the first to see the cat and he cried out in German, "katz, katz!" and forever after the nickname "Katz" belonged to him.
Soon after Pat and I moved to Ramona in 2000, who should move into town, but Lowell "Katz" Hanschu and dear wife, Marge. Lowell would occasionally joke and say that he moved into town so it would be less distance to the cemetery when he died, but in the end, he and Marge moved back to Missouri a couple of years ago, to be near their children.
Lowell died March 30, at the age of 78, after a lengthy illness. His ashes were brought back to Ramona for inurnment at Lewis Cemetery. But first, there was a lovely service at the church. I smiled when three of his grandchildren — two granddaughters and a grandson — stood to perform three songs for assembled family and friends. I'd often heard Marge tell about these talented people and I occasionally wrote about their competitions, accomplishments, and awards. At last, I got to actually hear them sing — in honor of their grandfather.
Leona Deines, Paula Fike, and Myrna Eskeldson — women of Trinity Lutheran — carried on the timeless tradition of providing a lovely luncheon at the parish hall following the graveside service.
The Ramona Spring Tea is not far off. We still have a few seats left for the May 10 event. If you want to celebrate moms, daughters, and friends, now is the time to come for the tea. This is most likely the last Mother's Day Tea we'll be holding for a while — we're looking to do the next tea at another time of year. Variety is the spice of life, you know!
A lot of folks read the Marion County Record and I'm hoping there's somebody who can help me. I'm searching for a car or two from the 1950s that we can borrow for a night, just to park outside the Centre Elementary School Gym on May 25 for the 69th annual Ramona High School reunion. Does anyone have such a vehicle? If you do, we'll give you supper, just for bringing the car; and you can sit in on the "show," — you'll even see Elvis perform!
And that's the news from Ramona, where a traffic jam is two parked cars (I wish one of them was from the 1950s) and a dog in the road!
