Ramona: 4th of July celebration is best yet
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Greetings! I'm back and once more sitting in my familiar office chair, writing the Ramona news. I feel as if I've been gone so long from my familiar role as reporter of town falderal that I need to introduce myself.
In the two weeks I've been home from my month-long trek to the island of Bali, I found it a challenge to get back in the groove — at least the particular groove of writing a weekly column.
Upon return to Ramona soil, my life felt like a familiar old dirt road that had so many ruts and grooves (nurturing loved ones, care-taking guests, maintaining three guest houses, orchestrating events, catching up with city clerk business — you get the picture) that I could hardly decide where to walk.
Bali, on the other hand, was an easy existence. For one month I didn't have to make any decisions, except what tropical fruit I should eat for breakfast or whether I'd have a mocha exfoliate or banana wrap for my "body work" that day. I had no idea what day of the week it was or the day of the month until the day before we caught the flight home, and neither did I have to plan anything, because someone else was doing it all for our 10-person group.
When my friend Jill from Oregon called earlier in the year and said she was going to Bali for the third time, she announced that I needed to go along, too — I couldn't dispute that my batteries needed recharging — and then she added that she was going to pay for the whole trip; I just needed to get to the Los Angeles airport and meet her.
"You've been a wildly generous person all your life," my friend said to me. "I'm just the conduit. This gift is from the universe. You deserve it!"
My sister had been to Bali 10 years ago and adored the Indonesian island, just five hours from Australia and two hours from Singapore. It's a photographer's paradise.
"You are taking a camera, aren't you?" my sister asked.
But I was not taking a camera. I knew in my soul that this was a trip to experience, not one to record. What convinced me most to accept Jill's gift to go to Bali was that the purpose of the trip was to take a spiritual journey. Making this adventure even more remarkable was that the 10 other members in the group were there for that same reason. I knew that no picture could really capture that experience. It could only be recorded in the depths of my soul, on the pages of my heart — and it would take more than a thousand words.
We were honored to mingle with the loving and generous people of Bali, to meditate in one or more temples every day, to sit in the presence of their holy ones and receive their blessings and be drenched by their holy water, to learn their prayers and chants, to savor their food, and be one of them for 26 precious days.
The first task, upon arrival, was to go to market and buy temple clothes. You cannot enter their temples unless you're in proper attire. The first night the group assembled to go to temple we were dazzled by our beauty, for everyone was draped in gorgeous sarongs of fuchsia, purple, gold and royal blue. Even the men wear them. We had all been transformed into kings and queens.
Back in Ramona
When I arrived back in Ramona it was midnight. I walked the streets in the quiet darkness and sang a song of blessing to this little town, which I call my "holy place" because for years I came here in the summer, recharged my batteries here, felt my roots here, and soothed my heart here, by being in the presence of my ancestors who are laid to rest here.
Slowly, I am picking up the threads of the life I have woven here, this column being one of those threads. But I have taken my time, because in Bali I learned another way to be in time. I'm learning to savor time.
Within days of my return it was Fourth of July time. I'd done most of my work before I left. The donors were contacted; the concessions were in place; my sister was writing the press releases. I knew others were doing their part, like Connie and Dan Smith, who help fund and select the fireworks. Tooltime Tim and Pat were creating floats.
But in the month I was gone something miraculous was happening down at the city park. City Councilmen Art Stroda and Jayme Brunner were working miracles, with help from city resident Billy Alcorn. They were building a horseshoe pit in time for the first-ever horseshoe competition on July 4.
For a couple years now Kathy Werth and I have been begging Eugene Remmers to lead a horseshoe competition in Ramona with the help of his brother, Kenny. These two brothers are keen competitors and often walk away with the winnings at other area competitions. But Ramona had no place to play.
Kathy is Ramona's postmaster (and a council member), and so when Eugene would come and get his mail, she'd keep lobbying him about the horseshoe competition. She called one day, and triumphantly announced that Eugene was going to present the specifications for horseshoe pits and perhaps the council could discuss building them.
The city didn't have money in the budget for such an endeavor, but several council members took the project on personally. Art Stroda led the endeavor and Jayme Brunner was right beside him. They worked late into the night on July 3 to ensure everything was ready.
When they needed supplies, Art found them or folks donated them. Jayme and Kathy donated money for the concrete that had to be poured. A surprise gift came from Duane Fike, who was born in Ramona but now lives in California. He sent a donation to the Ramona newsletter and then added extra.
"Use it wherever you need it," he wrote.
Well, we needed it to finish the horseshoe pits.
Around 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July cars started streaming into town. It startled me because we're not used to seeing that many cars come all at once. Then I realized people were arriving for the horseshoe and basketball competitions.
At the end of the day Eugene Remmers handed me an envelope.
"We promised part of the entry fees for the Park Improvement Committee," Eugene said. "It's a start."
And for the record, Eugene and Kenny were the winners!
The three-on-three basketball competition was organized by John Antoszyk.
"We had so many teams we're going to have to start earlier next year," John announced after the event.
He had teams of all ages and even girls' teams entered the fun this year.
The best yet
This year's Fourth of July event was the best yet! That pronouncement doesn't just come from me. We had out-of-town guests who pronounced it so.
Ed and Clarimonde Tatge of Plano, Texas will tell you. "This was just the most perfect small-town Fourth of July ever," Clarimonde said. "We frankly didn't expect a whole lot for a little town like Ramona, but were we ever surprised!"
Ed and his wife were in the area to trek around Ed's old stomping grounds, reliving some of the past, along with Gene Danitschek of Wichita (who also has Ramona roots) and wife Paula. Ed grew up in Ramona, and his dad, E.J. Tatge (along with brother Harlan) owned the Tatge Building on Ramona's main street. Tractors and other farm equipment were sold there.
Now, while the event was indeed stellar, I can't describe the whole day in my column. Suffice it to say that you just need to make a point of being here next year if you missed it. But I will mention the highlights:
Jeannie Weber (Ramona's vice mayor) asked DL Concessions from Herington to help feed the crowd, and the results were terrific. Kenny Stroda of Ramona called and asked if the Knights of Columbus could offer sausage and other treats, and they were a hit, too. I had been begging Ron Jirak and the Jirak Brothers Farms (one of those brothers is Steve Jirak of Ramona) to bring corn on the cob. When they said "yes" I was so excited. "I'm just going to set up a $20 account so I can eat corn non-stop," I joked. But alas, I was too busy running around and only got one delicious ear; but I saw lots of other folks relishing the treat!
Kathy Werth arranged for her father, Jack Emig, to sing. Jack sounds a lot like the great old authentic western entertainers. The idea for a square dance came one night when Tony Meyer took me to watch Edna Mueller and the Herington Hoedowners. Don Hostetter, president of the group and almost a Ramona resident because he lives so close, commented that he liked the events we were doing in Ramona and an idea sparked. "Why don't you come and teach folks to square dance on the Fourth," I said. And the rest is history.
Don and Tony Meyer of Ramona paid for a square dance caller to come from Emporia, and we had the first square dance at the Fourth of July.
While the singing and the square dancing was going on, Jeannie Weber and Tonya Stroda of Hope were having a pie-eating contest, which was won by Mickayla Antoszyk of Ramona.
We had cousins from California visiting over the Fourth and 11-year-old Corey could hardly wait to enter the pie contest. "I'm just going to put my face right in it!" he announced. Indeed, before it was over, there was pie all over his body!
The parade was the best ever, too. The big "first" was that we had entries from other towns. Two years ago I wrote letters to our neighbors and promised that if they'd be in Ramona's parade, we'd bring an entry to theirs.
Well this year we had entries from Lincolnville, Tampa and Hope. Winning first place was an amazing float depicting "The 0Wizard of Oz" and all the characters played by citizens of Lincolnville. Sylvia Bailey, city councilwoman and owner of Bailey's Tavern and Grill, had a big hand in that creative endeavor.
Second place went to Tampa. Lori and Tom Moldenhauer orchestrated this great entry, where folks depicted various fairy tales. I know that Dee and Tom Duggan were Cinderella and the prince, but I didn't get to see everything because I was on a float, too!
Judging the parade this year were B.J. Riddle of Texas, who owns property in Ramona; Patricia Bauer of Texas, who was here continuing to work on the home of her late father, Neil Elgin; and a newcomer, Brian Lewis.
The theme this year was fairy tales. First place in floats went to Tooltime Tim who, along with my sister and me, depicted the story of the "Three Little Pigs." My sister went so far as to actually sit in a tub of mud. While Tooltime Tim "pig" was building his house of bricks, she supplied the "mud" from her tub. I, on the other hand, stayed pretty in pink, with a little token mud on my arms and legs, and just waged my little Styrofoam tail as we all sang, "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf!"
Even many of the folks in the crowd missed this little nuance: The big bad wolf, with furry face, ferocious teeth and wearing a cowboy hat, was driving the truck that pulled our float. There was a sign on the door that said "Wolf & Son Moving Co." Many missed the joke because they were on the right side of the street and, of course, the wolf was on the left side, driving. Our cousin Joe Fike agreed to sweat his way down the street just to add a few more laughs.
Second place in floats went to the amazing creation of David Staatz and his brother-in-law, Art Stroda, who created "Jack and the Bean Stalk." They erected a towering bean pole in the back of David's Fourth of July vehicle (the one he keeps around just for occasions like this), and David's wife, Jane, was the best part because she dressed up in coveralls and beard to be Jack. They were amazing.
First among kids' entries was, once again, Tyler Bentz of Tampa, who hasn't lost since he first entered the parade. "I'll bet Tyler wins again this year," lamented Terren Thompson who was one of the Seven Dwarfs. "He'll probably do something amazing again with that wagon."
"That wagon" is indeed Tyler's trademark. His grandmother, Virginia Bentz, always creates something remarkable with it. This year it was Captain Hook's ship and Tyler was Peter Pan.
Second place went to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." I suppose I was living out a childhood fantasy when I asked Cassy Thompson whether she'd be Snow White. It was the last year she could fit in the dress as she's growing up. Then I began recruiting the dwarfs. "I'll be Dopey," volunteered Terren, who already had a plan of how he'd portray the dwarf that always was inspecting the latest gem discovered. Before long I had seven kids who had red caps and beards (made by my sister) and dragged shovels, lanterns and picks while the music, "Whistle While You Work," was playing. I figured it was probably too much to ask them to whistle. Some were so little I knew they wouldn't know how. We had a witch too, teenager Ida Saadon, who followed menacingly.
There was actually a tie for second place. The other winners were our cousin's kids, Corey and Eliza Richard from California. They were here visiting and so they got put on a float. Now that's a Ramona memory you won't forget! Pat and Tooltime Tim created a pumpkin coach (out of a pup tent sprayed orange) and suddenly Eliza and Corey were Cinderella and her coachman.
Third place was won by Addie Shepard who wanted to be another Cinderella and had the costume, too, "because my grandma and grandpa gave it to me," she announced. I had just recruited Addie's brother and sister to be dwarfs, and she wanted to be part of the act, too. "We'll have to find you a fairy godmother," I said to Addie. So I searched our stash of costumes, found a gorgeous dress and wand, and begged newcomer Virginia Lewis to walk down the street with Addie. They were beautiful.
Grand finale
The fireworks were the most grand finale ever. I love sitting in the crowd and listening to people exclaim and comment about how it was the best ever. We can thank DC Trucking and Tampa State Bank for the glorious finish to a spectacular day.
The day after, as I walked around town picking things up and putting things away, I pondered all the folks who made the great day happen. Many things weren't even noticed. They weren't flashy stuff like floats or competitions. They were simple but important things like Alan Bentz, Max Morgan, Paul Jones and Collin Bailey spraying the town for mosquitoes so folks could have a bug-free holiday. It was city maintenance man Don Matkins putting up the flags and picking up the trash afterwards, it was Tooltime Tim and Pat climbing ladders to put up streamers to deck the streets.
The one thing in common that we all shared was that whatever we did, we were a team, and the results are testament to how much we all care about our little community of Ramona, where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
