Ramona
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
Last week's news
Who can resist a great romance story? This week I have two such stories. The first is about the rush of young love featuring Simon Makovec's clever proposal to Dana Beltz. The second story is about the mature love of Alfred and Darlene Sondergard who are celebrating 65 years of married life.
On Aug. 25, a gigantic celebration was held in the community building at Pilsen, honoring Simon Makovec's return from 22 months of service in Iraq.
"Marissa and I talked a long time ago, about the time Simon left for training, that whenever he came back we'd throw a welcome home party," Simon's father, Gail Makovec of Ramona, said. "So we've had a couple of years to plan it," he said, chuckling.
The celebration actually began early Friday morning when Simon and his family went to the Lincolnville Post Office for a flag ceremony.
Roger Krause, postmaster at Lincolnville, had purchased a flag and sent it to Simon in Iraq. Roger asked Simon if he'd run the flag up their flag pole and send it home. Simon did this and Roger knew that when Simon returned he wanted to have a special ceremony using this flag.
On Friday, this same flag that was flown in Iraq was raised in Lincolnville and then lowered. Simon Makovec and Roger Krause folded the flag and Roger presented it to Simon. Simon, in turn, presented the flag to his parents.
Later in the day, Simon and four of his fellow servicemen made a pilgrimage to the Father Kapaun statue at Pilsen. Simon and his four military buddies laid a wreath of red, white, and blue flowers before Fr. Kapaun's statue.
"Simon had told the men in his unit about Fr. Kapaun and some of the guys prayed to him," Gail said. "Because of this, everyone felt an obligation to say thanks because they believed this is why they returned home safely."
When the party date was first announced about 10 days before the event, Simon hoped that 20 of his military comrades would attend the celebration. In the end, only four could be there.
"As much as we planned what we wanted to do, the only thing we didn't know was when it would happen," Gail said. "Trying to coordinate with Marissa's catering and my work, and then scheduling the community building, then add the soldiers and their schedules, which are very unpredictable, and then knowing when Simon would return home, scheduling got pretty complicated."
"About 500 people came to the party," Marissa Makovec said, who, of course, planned all the food. "It worked out perfectly. When the evening was over the food was all gone."
"Nobody starved," Gail said with a smile.
Entertainment was provided by three bands: the Callahan Band, which is a three-piece band Shaina Makovec's boyfriend, Kent, is drummer. Gail's younger brother, Allen, brought his band, Justus, a four-piece band featuring Allen and his oldest son, and then the Alex Stuchlik band performed so everyone could dance the polka.
"Of course! It's Pilsen!" Gail said.
Around 8p.m., Simon and his fellow soldiers were called to the stage and a ceremony took place to thank them for their service.
"I'd written a 'thank you' for Simon, as well as his friends, and we'd bought medallions that had the word 'hero' on them. We put one of these medallions around each of their necks," Gail said. "As we did this, I read the definition of a hero — 'An illustrious warrior, a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities, one that shows great courage'."
The Makovecs' youngest daughter, Sheila, had written a tribute of her own while Simon was serving in Iraq. The tribute was entitled, "What a True Hero Is."
"Sheila is bashful and didn't want to read it in front of the crowd," Gail said. "I couldn't read it either because I would have cried, so we asked our friend, Pastor Alan Stahlecker of Lincolnville, to read it."
Marissa gave me a copy of Sheila's story, and four of the 12 paragraphs she wrote just had to be included in my column because it's a great reminder of what's important in life.
"Some view a superstar athlete, or an actor, or a teacher, or even a pop star as a hero. In my sight, I see a hero as someone who is honest, courageous, caring, and giving. My hero answered a call that so few understand. He answered that call with courage and heart. He knows that he puts his life in danger, and he knows that only God can lead him through. My hero is a soldier, a true American soldier — my brother.
"My brother now calls when he can from Baghdad, Iraq — a place where they take my brother's help for granted, but he cares for them just as well. A place where they make a mistake and my brother pays for it; a place where our soldiers made the difference; a place where a band of brothers is not hard to find; a place where a soldiers' life is precious.
"Every time I complain about my bed not being comfortable enough, my brother is sleeping on the ground. Every time I complain about my food not being filling, he eats nothing for days. Every day I take for granted a phone or a computer and talk for hours, he prays that he'll have time to talk to us that day. I complain about a cramp in my leg, and he runs and carries others with a wounded leg. This makes me stop and think that maybe we should take the time to pray for the soldiers. There's always time to stop and pray.
"My brother, Simon Makovec, has gained a more respected name in my eyes — SPC Simon L. Makovec. A name of my true hero, a name I know God hears a lot. A name that gives my small community its own sense of pride. A name that is more than just another name, but a name of pride, bravery, courage, and strength. My brother, an American soldier, my hero."
"When Pastor Stahlecker finished there weren't many dry eyes in the audience," Gail said.
Later in the evening Simon told the audience that he and his military buddies had a song they wanted to sing with the band. They jumped up on stage and began singing the famous Johnny Cash ballad, "Ring of Fire."
"The guys looked like they were having lots of fun," Gail said, "and suddenly Simon grabbed the microphone and jumped off the stage.
"Speaking of rings," Simon said, "I'd like Dana to come up here."
Dana Beltz is a Ramona lass who has been dating Simon for more than over six years — since she was a freshman and Simon was a senior at Centre High School. Saying good-bye to each other two years ago was no easy task.
"Dana turned white as a sheet when Simon called her up front," Gail said.
"She stood there for what seemed the longest time, and finally I pushed her up there," Marissa added. "Then Simon got down on one knee and asked Dana to marry him."
Everyone was cheering and hugging, and Simon's buddies were hollering, Finally they yelled to Simon, "What did she say?" because they hadn't heard Dana's answer. And Dana started shaking her head "yes."
The next day I saw Simon and Dana at Ramona. "I had no clue this was going to happen," Dana said as she gracefully extended her hand so I could appreciate the beautiful diamond on her finger.
When I commented on Simon's clever proposal he smiled and said, "I had 22 months to plan it!"
The bands played until midnight and then, like a fairy tale, the magic was over and you gotta clean up. "A big bunch of our friends stayed to help us," Gail said. "So many people helped us get ready for the party and the Altar Society helped serve, friends came to decorate. With all this help Marissa and I were free to visit with people. We are thankful to everyone for coming and showing their support through all of this!"
"We have had so much support through this time of Simon being in Iraq," Gail continued. "It seemed that everywhere we went someone would come up and say, 'How's Simon? We pray for him at church'. The support has been unbelievable — I don't know if people know what this has all meant to us."
"And now there's a wedding coming up," I said to Gail as we concluded our phone conversation. "I'm sure it will be another fairy tale event for all to enjoy."
I could almost hear Gail sigh with relief and contentment, knowing his son is safe back home and about to embark on another life journey, "Yes, we have our own little Camelot here!" Gail replied.
Alfred and Darlene Sondergard are on the other end of the spectrum, having shared 65 years of married life. Their wedding on Sept. 6, 1942, was the culmination of three years of dating when they were both students at Ramona High School.
"On our first date we saw Ma & Pa Kettle at the Dreamland Theater at Herington," Darlene said. "The Dreamland was where Duckwalls now stands."
"There used to be two theaters at Herington," Al interjected. "The other was the Dickinson Theater which is where the bowling alley is now."
Darlene Helbach began dating Alfred Sondergard in 1939 when she was a junior and he a senior. "We double dated a lot — that was the thing to do," Darlene said. "We went out with Inez Fike, Warren's sister, and her boyfriend Herman Bruns, quite a lot."
After graduation Al, whose high school nickname was "Kink," worked for his dad at the garage in Ramona. "My dad was the Ford dealership in town and we sold cars as well as repaired them. Dad had four to five employees, including salesmen," Kink explained.
It was Christmas 1941, when Al cooked up a very creative way to ask Darlene to be his wife. He enlisted the help of his brother, Walt, to be his chauffeur and asked Darlene to go to the movies. Al rode in the back seat with Darlene, and as they drove to Herington he presented Darlene with a rather large box and said, "Here, this is your Christmas present."
When Darlene opened the present she found a smaller chocolate box surrounded by tissue paper. When she opened the chocolate box she found a ring.
"I think I cried," Darlene said.
"She gave me a kiss," Al recalled, smiling.
"Everybody knew what was going to happen except me," Darlene laughed.
Al and Darlene's wedding took place at the Helbach family home. "Our wedding was one big comedy of errors," Darlene laughed.
"The minister, Rev. Daniteschek, arrived late to the wedding — an hour late," Al said. Darlene picks up the story from there.
"It rained all week before our wedding and the creek kept rising, keeping Kink away from his gal for a whole week. While the sun came out the morning of the wedding, the roads were still very muddy. I don't know why Rev. Danitscheck didn't take the gravel road out to my parent's place, but he didn't — he took the mud road and he plowed through mud for more than an hour. "
And the pastor forgot a couple of other important things like rings and licenses.
"We kept waiting for him to call for the ring and he never did," Darlene said.
After the wedding he said to Kink, "Oh, just put the ring on her finger now."
Darlene said that when they got married it was customary for the woman to receive a ring, but not the man. "Of all our married friends, not many of the men wore rings. But when Kink joined the U.S. Navy in 1944, I made sure he had one!" she said with a determined look in her eye.
Kink said that the pastor also forgot about the wedding license. "I presume you have a marriage license?" asked Rev. Danitscheck as the couple prepared to depart on their honeymoon. "I forgot to ask."
"He had everything goofed up," Darlene said playfully. "I sometimes wonder if we're legally married!"
Darlene's father made beer for the wedding reception. "Because of WWII and rationing, my Dad couldn't get enough sugar to make the beer, so he used syrup instead," Darlene explained. "That beer was very potent and it didn't take but a couple of beers to give Rev. Danitschek a twinkle in his eye. I remember the beer made him laugh a lot."
Just the immediate family attended the Sondergard's wedding. "Afterwards my mother served a fried chicken dinner — they killed the chickens that morning."
Now if you know anything about killing and plucking chickens you wouldn't exactly associate that with the romance of a wedding, but in the 1940s farming family, dinner ingredients came from the farm, not from Dillon's. And the mother of the bride did the dirty work — there weren't any caterers.
Kink and Darlene didn't have a long leisurely honeymoon. "We drove to Council Grove and stayed overnight," Darlene said, "and then Kink had to be back at work at the garage."
When they arrived home the next day there was another pressing job — taking Al's brother, Gaylord, and his wife, back home to Topeka.
"Their car broke down when they came for the wedding," Al said, "and they left it here for Dad to fix so we had to drive them home."
"The rain had returned," Darlene continued, "and it was pouring when we left for Topeka. We didn't know it, but Gaylord's wife had picked up four or five live chickens when she was here and had them in a gunnysack in the trunk of the car. Halfway to Topeka we heard this terrible racket and realized those chickens were suffocating."
Al takes up the story. "We had to do something because chickens that suffocate aren't good to eat — they haven't bled properly — so we stopped along the side of the road, in the downpour, and Gaylord and I rang all those chicken's necks," and he demonstrates.
Al and Darlene briefly lived on B Street in the house where the Strodas currently reside. "When Al went into the Navy, I moved home with my folks," Darlene said. "Then when he came home we lived for a while in the house where Collin Bailey now lives, and finally we moved into our current home where we've lived since 1948. The previous owner was Sam Eisenhower, the mail carrier."
Al was in the Navy for 23 months as a motor machinist. "The ship had eight engines and several generators and we had to keep things running," Al explained, who served during the invasion of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Philippines.
Al was in Pearl Harbor when he learned he was a father. "I had gone to California when his ship was in port there, and I came home pregnant," Darlene said. "Karen was six months old before her Daddy got to see her."
When I asked Al what that was like he simply shrugged, smiled and replied, "We did what we had to do. She kept me informed with pictures," he added smiling.
The Sondergards have three daughters — Karen of Marion, Marilyn who lives at Burdick, and Kaye from Hope. "Al was very happy with three daughters," Darlene said. "He never wanted boys."
"I had eight brothers," Al added, in explanation.
As for married life, Darlene said it has been very easy. "I can say that we've never had an honest-to-goodness quarrel," Darlene said.
"We've disagreed," admitted Al, and then Darlene finished the sentence, "but one of us would just quit. Besides, when you quarrel you say things you can't take back."
The Sondergards have one of the loveliest homes in Ramona. The porch is painted gray — so shiny you can almost see your reflection. The glass of the front door is always sparkling, inviting one into their cozy and tidy home. Their yard and garden are always immaculate and kept to perfection.
"Yard work and keeping our house looking tidy — well, that's a hobby we both enjoy," Darlene admitted.
Al and Darlene's children and grandkids all are coming home (except for one grandson in Iraq) to celebrate the Sondergard's 65th anniversary. "The family is going out to dinner at Abilene Sept. 15. It's going to be grand to all be together," Darlene said.
And that's the news from Ramona where we celebrate the timeless ritual of love, and a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
