BIRTHS: Ramona years ago
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Nearly 100 Ramona Rural High grads, along with spouses and family, were ready to rock and roll May 25 when they arrived at the Lost Springs Elementary School gym for their 69th high school alumni banquet. The theme was "Happy Days at Ramona High" and everything from the 1952 Chevrolet parked in front of the gym, to the entertainment, which featured Elvis Presley, was a celebration of the glorious '50s.
Dolores Siggs, secretary-treasurer for the RRHS Alumni, came up with the 1950s theme, and then my sister and I created and orchestrated the event with all three of the alumni officers — Jim Sader of Junction City, president, Junior Hanschu of Ramona, vice president, and Dolores, of Goddard.
A couple of days before the banquet, I got a phone call and the mysterious voice on the phone said, "Do you know who this is?" I didn't. But the caller persisted. "Don't I sound like Junior Hanschu?" He didn't, at least not to me, and I always know Junior's voice. Finally I told the caller, "There's no game I hate more than 'guess who this is'!" And at that point, he identified himself as Junior's brother, Harold.
When I saw Harold at the reunion he said, "You sounded annoyed — I knew you were busy." But, in retrospect, my mild annoyance at Harold's "Hanschu humor" was more than erased because he came through with a stellar part of the reunion fun — the 1952 Chevrolet. Harold suggested I talk with his niece, Judy Neuschafer (mayor of Lindsborg) and her husband Gary, about having them bring their Chevrolet to the event. Harold knew I wanted a 1950s car to be part of the décor. "I know you don't have a big budget," said Harold. "They'll come if you just give them supper."
Indeed Gary and Judy were just as generous as Uncle Harold predicted. They arrived early, parked the pristine Chevrolet out by the gym door, and came in to join the fun. "Sit us anywhere," said Judy. "We know almost everybody here!" I later learned that the Chevrolet had romantic significance to the Neuschafers, because when Gary took Judy on their first date, it was in a 1950s Chevrolet like this one.
The moment folks walked in the door, they were taken back to the 1950s — Dolores Siggs welcomed guests, wearing her poodle skirt (with matching hula hoop), and saddle shoes (a pair of white shoes with black electrical tape in strategic places — which Dolores had to occasionally press back in place). Junior Hanschu was at her side handing people a bottle (yes, a bottle, not a can) of Orange Crush or root beer, and Johnny Mathis was singing in the background.
My sister, Pat had decorated the gym walls to look like a 1950s drive-in, and Marissa Makovec of Ramona, who catered the dinner, decorated the tables with Coca-Cola memorabilia. Folks raved about the yummy beef brisket, along with a heap of French fries — all served in drive-in burger baskets. Making the scene even more authentic was Pat's friend, Frankie Turner of Marion, who played the skating carhop delivering the "sides" of slaw and baked beans on her roller skates.
The Arthur Godfrey Show followed the meal, which showcased the talent of Patsy Cline, the McGuire Sisters, the Everly Brothers, and even Elvis! The entertainment was laced with sentiment, because all the participants were RRHS grads, children, or relatives of graduates.
Patsy Cline was played by Lisa Hanschu, who sang such a convincing rendition of "Crazy," that folks thought it was the real Patsy and that she was lip-syncing. "Oh, no," I assured one of the guests. "That was Lisa's voice — she was amazing!" Her parents, Anna Mae and Frank Stika, were in the audience.
The Everly Brothers, played by Junior and Bill Utech, in matching brown wigs, brought the house down when they sang "Wake Up Little Suzie," with Junior actually playing along on his guitar. But it was their choreography that made everybody cheer and erupt in laughter. (An interesting note is that all of the living Utech siblings were at the banquet — RRHS grads Bill, Junior, Dolores, Grace, and their sisters Erna and Edna.)
Pat and I, along with our cousin, Becky Peoples, were the McGuire sisters, singing along with the real McGuires on "Sincerely," and "Good Night Sweetheart." Pat made us identical outfits, because the McGuire sisters always were dressed alike. Hours before the performance she was finishing a crinoline. The sewing machine had refused to sew the netting, the stapler, which was her next resort, was jamming, so she just pinned it all together and went on stage!
Tooltime Tim Steinborn, played sax (on a plastic blow-up saxophone) for the final number, "Good Night Sweetheart," and although I couldn't see him while I was singing, I knew he was providing great humor, because every eye was turned in his direction.
One of the things Dolores Siggs wanted to have happen at the reunion, was to have an Elvis impersonator. "I want somebody to say, 'Elvis has left the building'," requested Dolores. So I set to work to find someone. Low and behold, Elvis was right here in Ramona.
Jim Weber is known for singing Elvis songs, so we got him a wig and some glasses, he borrowed an Elvis outfit from some friends, Pat made him some scarves to throw around some women's necks, and he was ready to roll. Jim's dad, Gene, was an RRHS grad.
Elvis was the only performer who never really appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show. Godfrey thought he was just unsuitable (because of his sexy moves and music), so Pat just took "poetic license" and wrote him into the script by having Godfrey (played by Will Bernhardt) regret the day he didn't let Elvis sing on his show, and now "making it right" at this special live radio event at the Ramona Rural High School banquet.
Of all the performers that night, Lisa and Jim were the only two who sang with their own voices — no backup singers, just them. And both were remarkable. "He sounded just like Elvis," said one of the guests. "I could have closed my eyes, and thought he was in the room." Indeed it was a "goose bump moment" — Jim brought Elvis back to life for an evening.
Four alumni guests were recognized for dressing in the best costumes for the banquet. Dolores Siggs in her matching aqua poodle skirt and hula-hoop was the best-dressed gal, and Duane Fike of California did a convincing Buddy Holly. The best-costumed couple was Anna Mae and Frank Stika of Tampa. "Lori got us all dressed up," said Anna Mae. And indeed Lori did a great job, right down to a temporary tattoo that she drew on her dad's arm.
When we posed everyone to take pictures, I wanted to capture that tattoo on film, but Anna Mae kept putting her hand over Frank's arm. "I don't want everyone to see that," she said with shy embarrassment.
Following the best costume recognition, folks took to the dance floor — no '50s event is complete without a dance. It was very sweet to see Junior Hanschu grab his sweetie, Jeanetta, and dance, along with other guests, to "The Great Pretender."
Two Ramona High graduates were given special honor at the alumni event, when alumni officers presented a corsage to Frieda Schubert Struebing, class of '37. Frieda is still working as a nurse in Wichita. Aaron Bura was the most senior male grad in attendance. Aaron, class of 1940, received a red carnation boutonniere. Aaron and his wife, Mildred, live in Emporia.
Pictures are always part of a great alumni event and Dolores Siggs did a stellar job collecting photos from graduates and making a picture board for everyone's enjoyment. As guests arrived, I noticed some other memorabilia appearing — a couple of trophies, and a gigantic pair of men's basketball shoes. Upon further investigation, I discovered they belonged to Lauren Brunner (class of '41), who was attending with his daughter, Ann, and son-in-law Bernie Koch of Wichita.
"Years ago Mom was cleaning closets and came across Dad's basketball shoes," explained Ann, "and she was inclined to throw them out, so I took them instead." Lauren not only played basketball for Ramona, he later coached the Ramona team.
Reunions are all about memories and pranks are always top of the list. Leonard Hanschu told me the story of the Toilet Gang, who, every Halloween, set out to turn over their teacher's toilets. One year the sheriff was clever enough to link tire tracks to one of the gang members, and before long they were all standing in the sheriff's office.
"My folks dropped me at the sheriff's on a Saturday morning," said Leonard, "and when they turned to go they said, 'See you in 30 days!' Luckily we didn't have to serve a 30-day sentence — we just got a stern lecture, instead."
Pete Dorsch, who was one of the Toilet Gang members, recalled that being one of the group didn't make you exempt from the mischief. "I came home one night, and my own toilet was overturned!"
Pete also remembered other pranks. "One year Jack Applegate and Jack Anderson hoisted a cow on top of the school building!"
Alumni officers were selected for the 2011 banquet. They are Dennis Brunner, president' Junior Hanschu and Dolores Siggs both agreed to serve another term.
Junior Hanschu was a busy fella this Memorial Day weekend. Not only did he have set-up duties for the high school alumni banquet, he also chaired the Memorial Day services at the cemetery. The Rev. Clark Davis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Ramona, was the speaker, and Junior's son-in-law, Neil Albrecht sang the national anthem and "America the Beautiful." Cole Svoboda of Ramona was the trumpeter for "Taps," at the conclusion of the service. Cole's part in the program was very poignant, because Cole's grandmother, Frances Buxman, had died just two weeks before the Memorial Day services.
Frances's death was a surprise to most, because there was talk that she'd be returning home after a prolonged hospital stay. And then a bowel obstruction arose and doctors couldn't operate because of Frances's delicate health — they knew she couldn't survive surgery.
Two of Frances's children — Sandra Svoboda and Tim Steinborn — also are Ramona residents. They came to my sister and asked if she'd write their mother's eulogy. Sandra sat for a couple of hours and told stories — often calling siblings on her cell phone to verify details or dig up a recollection — and Pat distilled it all in a lovely tribute to a woman who raised seven children and survived two husbands.
One of the ironies of Frances's life was that she lost both her husbands in the 13th year of marriage and both were 47 years old. Long after the grief had ended, she joked with friends and family that if she married again, she'd get divorced in the 12th year, just to break the spell.
Frances had five children with Ralph Steinborn — Linda, Patty, Ralph Jr., Kevin, and Tim; and two children with her second husband, Elisha Buxman — Scott and Sandra.
The oldest and youngest — Linda and Sandra — both share a predominant memory of their mother. "I'd call 'Mommy, where are you?'" recalled Linda, "and she'd come and take the ends of my scarf and do a little jig to celebrate my homecoming."
"Mom was always there — if we couldn't see her, we'd holler for her, the minute we hit the door!" added Sandra.
Raising all those boys was sometimes a challenge for Frances. "She had a deadly aim with her shoe," said Kevin. "If we were doing mischief and she couldn't reach you herself, she'd send the shoe sailing."
"Mom was a working fool — I guess this is how we learned to work. She was always hauling buckets of milk from the barn to the house," remembered Scott.
Sunday dinners were an important memory for Frances's children — she would roast a goose or duck and invite everybody home. "She didn't talk much," remembers Tim, "she'd just sit and listen to everybody. She liked having everyone around her."
Frances died in the hospital the day after Mother's Day, May 12. She was 79 years old.
Another of Ramona's residents was laid to rest recently — Paul Jones, who'd lived in Ramona for the last 15 years of his life, and died of lung cancer May 24 at a Salina hospital. He was 56.
Some of his closest friends were sitting with him when he died. Paul was captain of the Ramona Volunteer Fire Department, and on the day of his death, his fellow volunteer firefighters — Alan Bentz, Collin Bailey, and Max Morgan — were planning to visit him.
"I wanted to go in the afternoon," said Collin, "but Max and Alan couldn't go at that time, so we went to Salina that morning. We were sitting with Paul, telling stories, and suddenly Paul coughed. 'This isn't good,' pronounced Paul, and then he said good-bye to us, and he died."
"Take It Easy," was one of the songs played May 29 at Paul's funeral. That was his credo for life. Guests at the service were invited to tell stories about Paul, and Collin told how they'd go to Herington on weekends for breakfast, and it would take three hours to make it back to Ramona. "Paul was always surprised how long it took us," said Collin, and laughter erupted throughout the crowd, as though this was an experience — meandering with Paul — shared by many.
My sister told the story of how Paul became the first Easter bunny in Ramona. Egg hunting was a tradition on the Saturday before Easter and Pat decided to embellish the event by adding a giant bunny. She made a huge brown furry suit with bunny ears (lined in pink satin) and even paws for the hands. She convinced Paul, who was city maintenance man at that time, to play the role. When Paul came to try on the suit he noticed only one problem.
"Well, heck, Pat, I can't have paws like this," drawled Paul. "I can't get my fingers out to smoke." So Pat cut holes so his fingers could come through. Seeing the Easter bunny stroll down the street, with egg basket in one hand and cigarette in the other was something we'll always remember. Later in the morning, after the egg hunt had ended, we caught sight of Paul, till in the bunny costume, playing basketball at the park with some of the older kids.
Connie Smith had many memories of Paul because he lived in a little cottage on the Smith property. "He was part of my daily life for nearly 15 years," said Connie. "What I miss most is hearing him yell 'hootie hoot' when he had something to tell me, or when he needed me to open my door in the morning."
Paul's morning ritual was to join Connie for a cup of coffee, and then he was off to work at Tatge Manufacturing in town. When he got off work he'd come back and drink the left over cold coffee and have some cookies. "I never ate cookies myself," said Connie, "but I always had the cookie jar full for Paul."
Connie said one of her funniest memories of Paul was the night an opossum got in her rose garden, and her neighbor, Ronnie Cheever, came over with his gun and thought he'd shot the critter. Paul went out into the garden to get it, but when he bent down, the animal jumped up and hissed at him.
"There they went chasing the opossum through the field," continued Connie. "Paul was running with a shovel in hand — it was dark, of course, and Paul was night blind — and Ronnie was chasing Paul with his gun — it was cocked and ready for action — and I was chasing behind them both yelling 'Don't shoot!' because Ronnie couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and Paul was running in front of him!"
That was Paul — funny stories and unusual memories surrounded his life. Humor is a lovely thing to leave behind. Paul's funeral service was held in Hope, and he was laid to rest in the county cemetery in Wamego where he grew up.
The most recent Ramona resident who died was Marguerite Utech, wife of recently departed Fred Utech. Marguerite's daughter, Jeanetta Hanschu also lived in Ramona and watched out for her parents through their last days. Marguerite died June 4, just about two months after her dear Fred died on April 11. They were such a great couple, and when Fred died, I wondered just how long Marguerite could continue without him. Her funeral was held Monday.
Inside the funeral program were memories, written by Marguerite's granddaughters, Jennifer Braden and Jolene Albrecht. It was entitled "Grandma Did," and here are four of more than a dozen special memories:
"Who cut bangs straight as a string? Grandma did. Who dumped and stirred without a recipe to make all the food turn out just right? Grandma did. Who made the perfect wedding veils for her granddaughters? Grandma did. Who made baby pillows and quilts in any size or pattern. Grandma did."
My sister leaned over and whispered to me, as we waited for Marguerite's funeral to begin, and were looking at her smiling face on the program. "Marguerite was a pretty, prim and proper flower, in the midst of a pasture," Pat said. I smiled, because indeed Marguerite was a beautiful woman to have graced the landscape that we all share.
The 4th of July planning committee has put the finishing touches on Ramona's 4th of July Redneck in Ramona celebration. Members are: Jessica Gilbert, Pat Wick, Tim Steinborn, Darlene Sondergard, Jeannie Goza, Kathy and Don Matkins, Julie and Byron Noeth, Connie Smith, Ronnie and Lisa Hanschu, John Antoszyk, and Art Stroda.
More information will be shared in the coming weeks.
And that's the news from Ramona, where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
