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Ramona news

By JESSICA GILBERT

Ramona correspondent

(785) 965-2621

There's a 1938 photograph of Warren Fike and his siblings that hangs over my desk in the former Ramona Bank building. That photo also serves as a mirror, of sorts, the glass reflecting all the action that's going on behind me as I sit at my computer with my back to the door.

On Saturday I was working at my desk and my eye caught a reflection of a little lad approaching the bank building, opening the door and then running back toward the Ramona Café.

"Hmm, that looked like Warren's grandson, Jackson," I thought to myself as I saw the little boy reflected in the glass above my desk. "Wonder why he didn't come in?"

Fifteen minutes later that question was answered when Jackson and his siblings, Grace and Marshall, came into the bank building with their mom, Carol Fike, in tow. "We were having lunch at the café," said Carol "and afterward Jackson asked to go to the museum. I told him that it might not be open but he was one step ahead of me and said he'd already checked, it was!"

Within seconds it was clear why Jackson was so eager to visit the museum — he headed straight for the jar of "confiscated candy" that's back in the School Room section of our little town museum.

After everybody got a piece of bubble gum, they proceeded to check things out — toddler Grace was fascinated with Gertie Schubert's baby doll and buggy, and Marshall and Jackson tried one of the games.

For whatever reason they wanted to come, I was pleased, because these kiddies just might be the tour guides of the future. They're already hooked on Ramona since they come regularly to see their grandparents, Warren and Paula.

"I've been out helping dad cut down trees in the pasture," said Gary when he walked into the museum. "We just took a break for lunch."

Gary and Carol now reside in Manhattan, which is a lot closer to home than Ohio, which is where they have lived for the past few years.

"Oh, they mowed the lawn, cleaned out some of my flower beds and helped Warren with all kinds of projects," said Paula. "It's wonderful to have them here for the weekend."

Paula also attended the 55th Tampa High School reunion for the class of '49 this weekend. "Eight of the 13 from my class were at the gathering on Saturday," said Paula. "We met at the Tampa Senior Center and visited and then attended the hog roast."

Tony Meyer also attended Tampa State Bank's annual hog roast. His buddy, Erich Utech, was even there. Junior and Jeannetta Hanschu made sure Erich came from the Lutheran Home to meet and greet friends in Tampa.

Don Bird just returned from a trek to Petal, Miss., where he attended a Bird family reunion. This is the first time all of the Bird siblings have been together since 1980. "One flew in from Hawaii, another from Washington, and Florida, and Don and his brother Richard, who lives in Hope, drove down together," said Don's wife, Norma. Don's sister, who lives in Petal, was hostess for the family gathering.

This Friday is Don Bird's birthday so his family is celebrating on Saturday and all the kids and grandkids are taking him to the Prairie Rose near Wichita. That's a western extravaganza that's a delight for kids young and old!

Closer to home, Pat and I went sightseeing in Abilene recently when we took some friends from North Carolina to the Lebold Mansion. This mansion was the finest house west of Topeka in the 1880s.

The Lebold Mansion is a stunning tour — partly because of the recent re-decorating by the latest owners (there've been 52!), which includes the smallest details, like checks on the library desk and calling cards in the silver tray in the hallway. But the best part of the tour is the guide, who was not only a gifted interior designer, but also a fascinating historian.

In many tour homes guests are restricted to certain walkways, but in the Lebold Mansion, you're brought into the house as though a family guest and suddenly you feel like you've stepped back in time.

As we stood in the parlor we were told that in the Victorian era it was considered rude if you stopped for a visit and left before spending 15 minutes, and unwise to stay longer than 30 minutes. Such lapses in etiquette could bar you from being received in the house in the future. I also learned that folks typically announced in the newspaper when they'd be available to receive guests and the hours for visiting.

Today, we are much more informal. For example, when Naomi Fike received visitors on her front porch on a recent Saturday afternoon, she didn't have to publish it in the newspaper. She simply had her daughter-in-law, Janet, make some phone calls.

Joe and Janet Fike were visiting from Lawrence, and Janet's pear cobbler was plenty of enticement for Pat, Tooltime Tim, and Naomi's sister-in-law, Martha Ehrhardt, to gather on Naomi's front porch.

Life seemed so genteel as we sipped chilled pink lemonade and shared stories of recent travels and adventures.

The Brunners went traveling in August — Orvell and Lauren went with their son Tracy and family to Colorado. "Tracy had a meeting in Denver," said Orvell, "so Yvonne drove us to Greeley so we could see Hank and Gertie."

The Brunners enjoyed lunch at Bonell Good Samaritan Community where the Schuberts became residents in late May.

"We also went to Vail with our kids and grandkids. We saw fascinating places like Buffalo Bill's grave, and we stayed in lovely hotels," said Orvell.

Last week, as I sat in a doctor's office in Salina, I started chatting with a woman who was also waiting. When I mentioned that I came from Ramona, she acted like she knew the place.

"How do you know where Ramona is?" I asked. "Oh, I used to get eggs from the Hanschus," she replied, and then told the story of how Clinton Hanschu used to bring eggs to Salina to various customers.

"I worked at Wal-Mart and Clinton brought eggs to a friend of mine who also worked there, and I became a loyal customer, too."

I spoke with Frances Hanschu just last week about their adventures in running a grocery store in Ramona. "I still miss the store," said Frances. "Why, the other night I even dreamed about it."

What was once the Hanschu Market is now the Ramona Café. And there's one truth about running any business in a small town — you have to love the place, care about the people, and have a big heart.

Reign and Marlene Anduss are a living example of this philosophy. They not only run the café on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but Reign is an active city council Member and Marlene is vice president of the Ramona Senior Center.

The Andusses granddaughter, Roxan Topping, went out of her way to visit Ramona a couple of Saturdays ago. "She came by the restaurant to get one of her grandpa's bacon cheeseburgers on her way to boot camp," said Marlene. "She's going to Ft. Leonardwood, Mo., to be an MP in the National Guard." It may be awhile before Roxan tastes anything as good as her grandpa's cheeseburgers!

And that's the news from Ramona, where you can get a burger that will "make your day" and a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.

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