Ramona: Schnell 'kids' walk the streets once more
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona Correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Whenever a strange car pulls up in front of our office I always cringe a bit — it's like company rolling up to your house when you don't expect it, and the laundry's on the sofa needing to be folded, the dishes haven't been done, and the bed's still rumpled.
Now, I don't reside at our office, but I do often feel like I live there because the office is where my sister and I embark on all our creative endeavors.
At the moment the Schnell siblings arrived at our office Sept. 14, we were working on the town newsletter (pictures and stories piled on our desks), family albums covered the counters (we're redoing all our photos since 1990), and the carpet hadn't been vacuumed since our last scrap-booking frenzy (it looked like we'd had a sudden snow fall).
But the Schnells were willing to overlook our messy office to see the "museum part" of our office, where precious artifacts and pictures represent the families who once inhabited the town.
"There's Grandpa," called out Leland "Bud" Schnell as he pointed to Conrad Schnell in the picture of prominent Ramona citizens who'd banded together to purchase the first combine. "People used to call him Coonie. And there's Grandma — she was one of those gals that if you pushed her over sideways she wouldn't get any shorter." We all laughed.
Four of the five children of Harry and Rose Schnell were on an adventure together, visiting the places of their childhood. They embarked Sept. 6 from the state of Washington, where three of the four reside. They left their spouses at home! "We planned this for a whole year," said Ina Schnell Rasar and we finally just said we were going to do it. It's a dream come true!"
We asked when they'd been returning home. "That's what my wife wanted to know," laughed Francis Schnell. "We aren't sure — just when we feel like it," said younger sister, Alma Jean Schnell Walker of California.
While the Schnell brothers and sisters are of retirement age, they're on a lark, traveling down memory lane, and feeling like kids again.
"I remember one night when we all came to town and parked in front of the barbershop," remembered Bud. "Clark Buttel was in front of the barbershop and he pulled up his pant leg and took out a thumb tack that kept his sock from falling down, and uncovered a little hole in his wooden leg. He pulled a roll of money out of the hole, took what he needed and then put it all back in."
Ina took up the story next. "Us kids were dumbfounded! We didn't know he had a peg leg. We thought he'd put a thumbtack into his skin. When we told Dad about what we'd seen, he told us the story about Clark skipping school and how he and a friend tried to jump a train and Clark fell underneath and his leg was severed."
When they walked by the old washing machine and ironing board it sparked another memory.
"Remember Neva Applegate?" Ina asked. "Mother would send me over to get the mail and Neva would have her ironing board there and be ironing clothes. She'd wait on me, I'd leave and then she'd go back to ironing again." The kids assumed Neva lived at the post office when they saw her doing her ironing there, but town historian Betty Ohm said she didn't think Neva lived there because Neva lived in the house where Betty and Harold now reside. "I'm sure Neva probably took her ironing with her to work. She wore lots of hats. At one time she worked at the bank, was a rural route mail carrier, postmaster and even sold hunting licenses from her home."
It's always fun to have former residents come into town because we collect more anecdotes about Ramona, and have a fun story to tell in the Ramona News, the town newsletter we publish quarterly. The people who seem to enjoy it most are folks who've moved from the area and still relish news of home.
Another prominent family featured in the most recent issue was the Valerian Tajchman family. Valerian's children — Vickie (Jirak), Jackie (Jirak), Scott and Clay — helped sponsor the Ramona News in his memory. This last 4th of July marked the 30th anniversary of Valerian's tragic and unexpected death in a farming accident when he was electrocuted.
"He was a wonderful father — the kids and I were always with him out in the field," said Teresa Tajchman. "Whatever was happening on the farm, we were all together. We'd be crammed in that old green truck and he'd be singing. He was always singing."
As Vickie Jirak was collecting artifacts and pictures for the Ramona News story, she came across a poem dated May 19, 1941, that was in her father's autograph book from school. It read: "When you get married and have a set of twins, don't come to my house for safety pins!" And of course, the irony is that Valerian and Theresa did have twins — Jackie and Vickie.
Theresa still lives on the farm she and Valerian obtained when they married. Her son, Clay and his family, lives not far away on the same section where he grew up as a kid. Daughter Vickie and family reside on another Tajchman family farm just south of Ramona. "It was my great grandparents' farm — Joseph and Mary Tajchman," said Vickie.
I often feel like the folks who live in the country around Ramona are the strong roots of the community — and those of us in town are the leaves of the tree. Their connection here runs deep, and while the winds of change may carry folks into town or blow them away, the folks in the country — the ones who reside on the farms that have been in the family for generations — they stay firmly rooted in the earth and Ramona traditions carry on.
Another farming family that's a big part of Ramona is the Brunners out west of town. Yvonne Brunner celebrated a birthday Sunday and I happened to be at Tony Meyer's house when he called to extend birthday wishes. "I like the telephone because it's easier than sending cards," said Tony to Yvonne. I got on the phone and added my best wishes to Tony's and asked how Yvonne spent her birthday.
"We were in Wichita at the Coliseum for the Junior Livestock Show," said Yvonne. Her son, Tanner and his cousin, Bryant, were part of the event. As usual the Brunner boys walked away with awards in hand. "Bryant won Champion for Simmental heifers and Tanner was awarded third," said Yvonne.
The Deines family is another prominent farming dynasty in Ramona. Mervin, the head of the family, with his wife Leona, gathered with their sons Terry and Jeff and their wives and children at Al's Café in Lost Springs for a birthday dinner. "My grandkids asked how it felt to be a year older," laughed Merv, "and I told them that I don't feel a year older — I'm just a day older than I was yesterday!"
After the birthday dinner, the family gathered at home for cake and ice cream. "I told the kids not to put 71 candles on the cake because I'd have to go out and get an air hose to blow them all out!" said Merv in typical good humor.
Martha Ehrhardt attended her sister, Anna Schimming's, 100th birthday celebration Sept. 17, in Herington. Martha, who turns 90 in December, was joined by her sister, Frieda Struebing of Wichita, who refuses to discuss her age because she still goes to work three days a week as a nurse.
Frieda's daughter, Becky, came to Ramona with her mother. Becky is our cousin, so while our mothers looked at scrapbooks and played marimba/piano duets, we took off for Marion and Hillsboro for the art and craft fairs.
That evening, after Pat, Tooltime Tim, Becky and I had dinner at the Hays House in Council Grove, we attended Voices of the Wind People, an historical pageant of the Kaw Indians, Santa Fe Trail and Council Grove. It was an outdoor event performed in the old riverbed amphitheater and I felt like I was right there as wagon trains rumbled by, Indians danced, and bandits shot their guns into the night sky.
Ramona City Council met Sept. 11 and reported that Ramona's entire sewer system was recently professionally cleaned — something that was needed since there was no record of it happening in recent history. The council plans to have this service performed every three years.
Because the sewer system is likely to need not only cleaning but also repairs in the future, and because the council anticipates that within the next five years the sewer ponds will need to be refurbished, they decided to increase the monthly sewer fees from $6/month to $10. This takes affect in October.
The council also revised the burn pile regulations. The burn pile, which exists for Ramona residents within city limits, was created so citizens would have a safe location for burning tree limbs and the council has asked that no whole trees be dragged down city streets or taken to the burn pile. Only cut-up trees will be allowed in the future. The reason for this change is because someone recently dragged a tree to the burn pile and in attempting to get the tree to the site, dragged it over some existing trees planted by neighbors.
In addition, folks are asked to keep their vehicles on the roadway going north of the burn pile, and not to cut across the alfalfa field that's to the east. Council reminded residents that this injures a profit-producing crop and is disrespectful to one's neighbors and their property.
Council also approved putting chip and seal on E Street and part of 5th street. Mayor Wick said that the council will have funds available in the budget to chip and seal B Street in 2007.
Ramona Seniors met for their monthly luncheon Sept. 21. Attending were Reign and Marlene Anduss, Steve and Myrna Eskeldson, Al and Darlene Sondergard, Tony Meyer, Martha Ehrhardt, Pat Wick, Jessica Gilbert, Virginia Lewis, and Walt and Iona Dietrich of Tampa. The nominating committee presented a slate of officers for the next year and the nominations were approved. The Senior Center officers are: Marlene Anduss, president; Myrna Eskeldon, vice president; and Darlene Sondergard, secretary/treasurer.
Virginia Lewis, a new resident of Ramona since March, came into my office last week with an idea. "I'd like to do something to give back to the people of Ramona," began Virginia. "Brian and I feel so blessed. Brian's leg has healed enough so he's working again, and Brandon is in Kindergarten, so I have some extra time to give back."
Virginia and I brainstormed and then presented some ideas to my sister to get her input, and what resulted was The Care & Share Club, dedicated to bringing joy and happiness to our neighbors.
The Care and Share Club is taking on two projects to begin this Fall. The first is "Random Surprises" where every Ramona resident within the city limits will have their name put in a jar and sometime during the next six months a surprise will be delivered to every household. Where will these surprises come from? From folks who've had a blessing in their lives and want to share.
Martha Ehrhardt has already agreed to make special batch of her homemade bread, I've agreed to make cinnamon rolls, and my sister says she'll share the bounty of her chicken eggs once the hens start laying. Other residents are invited to give anything they have extra of — whether that's time, mowing expertise, baked goods — and Virginia says she'll make sure it gets to some lucky Ramona family.
The second project is a "Blessing Box." Virginia already is making a box that will be in the Ramona post office from November 1 to 12 and folks are invited to leave items like potatoes, canned vegetables, mixes (cake, muffins, Hamburger Helper — anything that won't quickly perish. These items will be used to make three or more blessing boxes for Ramona families that could use a blessing at Thanksgiving. Cash donations can be left with Ramona's postmaster, Kathy Werth, and will be used to purchase a Thanksgiving turkey or two.
If you have blessings you want to share, contact Virginia Lewis, 965-2669, coordinator of the Care & Share Club.
And that's the news from Ramona where there's a lot of folks with big hearts, and a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
