Farm kids enjoy camp in Ramona
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
"What's best about the Farmers' Union camp?" I asked Timothy Stuchlik of Lincolnville. "Lunch!" he said brightly. "I like food!" Timothy and his brothers were busy making flags out of safety pins and beads, when I stopped by the Trinity Lutheran parish hall July 24. The Stuchlik brothers were part of a group of 19 children, who had gathered for the annual National Farmers' Union Day Camp.
"Every year we have this camp for kids," explained Jerry Cady, who is a National Farmer's Union agent in Marion. "The event is part of a program all around Kansas. The National Farmers' Union specializes in farm clientele whose roots are in farm industry. We believe in the family farm concept," said Jerry.
Helping with the day camp were Charles and Darlene Gutsch of Marion. Charles is the president of the Marion County Farmers' Union. "I've been at the camp every year for the last five years," said Charles, who was outdoors helping a group of girls master the skill of casting a fishing line (with a ping pong ball attached) into several buckets that were 15 feet away.
Ordinarily the area director leads this day camp, but she called with an emergency at the last minute. "It was too late to cancel or change the date, and we had lots of kids registered," said Cady, "so I called my daughter-in-law, Theresa, and she agreed to pitch hit. She's a Girl Scout troop leader, and knows how to handle kids."
Ramona kids attending the camp were: James and Anna Weber, Cole and Bryanna Svoboda, Justin and Jessica Deines, Makenzie Deines, and Andrea and Nick Klieber.
"I've been coming to the camp for 10 years," said Jessica Deines. "I've been coming here for 11 years," added her older friend, Andrea Kleiber.
The Svoboda kids were part of a fundraising event on Saturday for St. Jude's Hospital. Six-year-old Bryanna and nine-year-old Cole took their bikes to Marion County Lake to participate. "I went around the lake nine times and Cole went 10," reported Byranna.
The two youngsters got contributions from 15 people around Ramona. Their goal was to raise the most money so they could win a prize. "We raised $100," said Cole. But the siblings shared the glory for what they raised, which meant that Cole received 2nd prize and Bryanna, 3rd prize, for raising the most money. The kids shared the winners' circle with Adam Maag from Marion.
Gertie Schubert had a birthday July 28 and her nieces (that's me and my sister) offered to prepare a gourmet lunch for her and other guests. Joining Gertie and Hank were Warren and Paula Fike of Ramona and Anna Schimming of Herington. The best part about birthdays, according to Gertie, is all the cards and calls she received. "Oh, this is so much fun!" Gertie was heard to utter, as the guests played 10-point pitch until well after 6 p.m.
Yvonne Brunner will be travelling a lot in August, "I'll be gone most of the month, barrel racing," explained Yvonne. The circuit will take her from Memphis to Oklahoma City, then to Mississippi.
Lauren and Orvell Brunner were in Abilene on Sunday. They were attending a family reunion at Mary Dell Camp. This was Lauren's side of the family and more specifically, his mother's family — to be exact, her parents, the family of Isaac and Julia Longhofer Riffel. "There were 92 family members there this year," said Orvell. "But we've had more than that in the past. I believe the Riffels had 14 children (Lauren's mother being one of them)." One sibling is still living, Clayton Riffel, of Hope.
Naomi Fike was in good humor on Monday, despite a broken hip and waiting for surgery. "They're waiting until my blood gets a little thicker," said Naomi, who has been on blood thinners because of her recent heart surgery. She was just feeling pretty chipper and had started driving about town and on short errands when she landed in the hospital again Saturday afternoon. She was standing near the kitchen cupboard when her hip gave way and she fell. "The doctor thinks that it broke before I fell," said Naomi. "I feel like Tooltime Tim — I'm hunting for spare parts," said Naomi with a chuckle. (She knows that Tim is always mending something or another at one of our houses, and hunting for parts to do it.) Naomi will receive a new ball and socket when they do surgery at Salina Regional Health Center in Salina sometime this week. She hopes she won't be there long enough to receive cards, but just in case, I'm providing the address — 400 S. Santa Fe, Salina KS 67401. Phone is 785-452-7000.
Extra thanks to Kim Antoszyk, who is our EMT for Ramona. Although Naomi wears a Lifeline wrist band, all three of her contacts (me, my sister, and her neighbor) all happened to be out of town. But the system is prepared for this. If none of us answer her "page" the ambulance will respond. Kim heard the call and was at Naomi's in minutes. This was fortunate since Naomi was cooking her supper at the time, and was worried about some hamburger that was frying. So if you saw smoke — it wasn't a fire, just an overcooked burger!
"You know what I was doing this last weekend?" asked Tony Meyer. He didn't give me a chance to respond. "I was up all Saturday night, until four in the morning, watching the news coverage on those trapped miners in Pennsylvania." Tony was holding his own vigil. "I said a few prayers and when they were rescued, I clapped for joy!" said Tony. Turns out Tony felt some empathy for those workers because when he was 23 he worked in the salt mines at Kanapolis "I stopped there to see a friend, and as a joke, they put me to work for a week. I was 760 feet below the ground when the lights went out. It was pitch dark." Tony explained that they didn't have any fancy equipment when he worked in the mine — just a mule and cart.
Erich Utech's family is the featured family in the most recent issue of the Ramona News, which Erich sponsored in honor of his brothers and sisters. Of the eleven siblings, all but two are living. Their childhood recollections of living on a farm west of Ramona were so endearing, the newsletter jumped from eight pages to 10. Here's a sample: "Dolores and I would pick a tomato from the garden," recalled Grace Utech Raven of Marietta, Ga. "We'd tie a string around the stem and lower it down into the cold spring water tank as we left to get the milking cows in from the pasture. When we got back that tomato taste so-o-o-o-o good!"
Last Saturday, four unfamiliar faces stepped out of a car and approached our office door. "Who could this be?" my sister and I said to one another. The moment introductions were made, it was as though we were old friends. Indeed, we did know something about one of them — Betty Baerg Lofland, afterall had written several delightful stories about her childhood in Ramona and we printed them in early issues of The Ramona News. Now Betty stood right in front of us, along with her husband Norman and close friends Lou and retired District Judge Sam Sturm of Newton.
Betty and her husband have traveled the globe teaching and lecturing and now call Macau, China, their home. Betty's husband is a visiting scholar at Sheng Hung Hui Choi Kou School in Macau.
"What are you doing in Kansas?" I asked Betty and Norm, since their other "home" is in Pasadena, Calif. "We came to get some of our possessions out of storage in Dodge City. They've been there for over 20 years, and we keep thinking we'll come get them."
We spent a delightful hour listening to stories of intrigue, (the Loflands spent many years teaching in the Middle East) and romance (the Sturms met when he was in the Navy and she was a Harvey Girl working in a newsstand in Newton).
Too soon, this exciting foursome had to leave Ramona. But not before we begged the Loflands to consider spending their next sabbatical here in Ramona. "Wouldn't you like to spend a summer in Ramona?" we asked Norm, who's expertise is theater, drama, and public speaking. We could put on a play — there are plenty of kids for all the parts. And we have a place where you could stay — it would be an adventure. He smiled. China
Al and Darlene Sondergard took a trek to Wichita on Sunday to see Al's brothers, Walter and Duane Sondergard. "We try to get down there often," said Darlene, "because Walter's been ill for several months." Then she added, "We got to drive home in that storm." Ah, yes, the storm. I never thought I'd be one to track the weather or yearn for rain, but with this recent hot spell, I actually began to feel parched, like the earth I walked on.
As I drove from Herington to Ramona Sunday, I found myself studying the clouds, silenting begging them to drop some moisture. And when some raindrops fell, I eagerly turned on the windshield wipers and hoped the wind was blowing those clouds toward Ramona. "Oh, my, I'm becoming a country girl," I thought to myself. And when I got home, there were Pat and Tooltime Tim sitting on the porch watching the rain pour off the roof. Never thought the day would come when a good rainstorm would be prime time entertainment.
"Wasn't that rain wonderful?" said Betty Ohm when I saw her the next day. "I could have just gone out, stood in it, and gotten soaked. I was that glad to see rain!"
And that's the news from Ramona, where a much needed rain is more exciting than any traffic jam that might be caused by two parked cars and a dog in the road.
