Ramona
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
If you're a graduate of Ramona High School you'll for sure want to be present at the May 29th alumni banquet celebrating the unique group of people whose ranks never increase, because the last graduating class was in 1957.
The alumni officers — Merv Deines, Rev. Eugene Hicks, Anna Mae Sader, and Millie Rowe — met with my sister and me last week to put the finishing touches on the banquet program.
Three years ago when the alumni met for their last reunion they voted to have the California Sisters plan their next reunion, and Pat and I have been giggling a lot these last few weeks as we imagined a fun evening that would leave the guests with a heart full of memories as well as a tummy full of roast beef.
"This banquet will be more like a school play than a typical reunion dinner," says my sister, Pat, "except that everybody attending will be part of the production." There will be unforgettable memories as you watch alumni president Merv Deines play "the principal" or school mascot during the mini-basketball tournament planned. The Rev. Eugene Hick, alumni VP, will take on a familiar role as a professor — he'll be giving a brief "history" lesson on the honor classes of 1955 and 1945 who are celebrating their 50th and 60th anniversaries. Anna Mae Stika, secretary-treasurer and her assistant, Millie Rowe, are taking the lead in a mini-melodrama — "The Dirty Thirties" — that concludes the evening.
The idea of the reunion gathering is that everyone becomes students again, and from 5 to 9:30 p.m. they'll be experiencing a "compacted version" of a day at Ramona High — from music class (where former students perform songs of the era) to public speaking class (where several alumni give a two-minute speech on the teacher they remember best, or all the girls they had a crush on their senior year).
I asked alumnus Loren Buxman if he ever pulled pranks in high school and was willing to talk about it. He laughed, "If I talked about all the pranks I pulled it would take more than two minutes!"
We're warning the former cheerleaders for RHS that they need to be pulling up from memory all those old cheers from their high school days to spur on the "swoop the hoop" competition. "It'll be a silly kind of competition — nothing serious," says Pat.
We're also collecting nicknames, and we've got quite a list: Beezer, Trotsky, Spike, Spooks, Stiff, Fuzzie, Dynamite, Dobber, Babe, Wicks, Roux, Katz, OK, Chigger, Red, Duke, Ears, Kink, Thunder, Lightening, Eek, Stubby, Wad, Swed, Nookie. If you know any others nicknames of Ramona High School students, please send them to Jess Gilbert, PO Box 12, Ramona 67475 or e-mail them. When you send the nickname, also include the real name of the individual.
Invitations for the reunion will be mailed next week and we're encouraging folks to come even if they need assistance — have your kids bring you. We promise they won't be bored!
Ramona has just four businesses on Main Street — The Ramona Café, the post office, Cousin's Corner B&B, and Tatge Manufacturing — and we all work together to bring life to our community of 100-plus. This week the post office was the "happening place" as the officer in charge, Nancy Hatterman, created an event to celebrate the arrival of the new Ronald Reagan stamp, which debuted this week.
Nancy put a jar of jelly beans in the post office lobby and asked folks to guess the number in the jar. Forty folks entered their estimates and the winner was Junior Hanschu who guessed there were 722 jelly beans and there were actually 718. Junior received a book of Reagan stamps as his prize and Bobby Thornhill came in second, guessing 735 and he received half a book of stamps. These prizes were generously donated by Nancy herself.
On Valentine's Day Nancy even had cookies and punch for postal customers. "We usually have a customer appreciation day and I decided to do something on Feb. 14," said Nancy. Ramona Mayor Pat Wick walked in to get her mail and saw Nancy's display and was impressed. "In a small town we need all the fun and creativity we can muster, and Nancy's efforts were terrific."
A group of Ramona women meets each week to create some fun in Ramona. They used to meet each Wednesday at Butch's Diner but since the restaurant closed they've convinced the Ramona Café to open at 9 a.m. on Mondays so the women can meet for rolls and coffee. Attending this week were Paula Fike, Orvell Brunner, Trevia Schneider, Marge Hanschu, Frances Buxman Darlene Sondergard, and Marlene Anduss.
On Monday afternoon two women knocked on the door of the bank building as I was preparing for city council. I immediately knew they were visitors since folks in Ramona don't bother to knock — they just walk in!
When Betty Bevan from Lost Springs and Mindy Roper of Abilene walked into the bank building they explained they were "on a mission" out visiting neighborhoods telling them about Hospice of Dickinson County.
"We're looking for volunteers to help in our hospice program," said Mindy who's the volunteer coordinator for Home Health & Hospice of Dickinson County.
Hospice is a special kind of care created to provide comfort, support, and compassion for persons who are terminally ill. The care that's given extends beyond patients to include family as well. The organization's goal is to improve the quality of a patients' last days by offering comfort and dignity.
"I've been a hospice volunteer for nine years," said Betty Bevan, "ever since the organization started in Herington." When I asked Betty what got her interested in this type of volunteer work she said, "Both my parents died of cancer and in that day and age they didn't have hospice."
In talking with the women I learned the many benefits of hospice work. "You really bond with the patient you're helping," said Mindy. "The greatest reward is walking in the door and seeing their smile.
"When I tell people about the volunteer work I do with hospice I've had people say 'oh, I couldn't be with someone when they're dying,' but with the wonderful training you receive as a volunteer you learn to handle these things and I've also learned there are worse things in life than dying."
At 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Herington Pizza Hut the Dickinson County Home Health & Hospice is having an information volunteer meeting. Pizza and salad will be served. If you'd like to give of your heart, expand your spirit and soul, then try volunteering with hospice and see your life enriched.
Ramona City Council met Monday evening and Fern Leach was sworn in as Ramona's new city treasurer. She's taking the place of Jim Thompson who resigned in December after the loss of his wife.
Due to the recent ice storms and the tree limbs down everywhere the city council voted to assist residents with cleaning up their limbs by asking them to bring their limbs to the roadside ditch, and the city, along with a volunteer team, will pick up the limbs. Limb pick-up will happen sometime within the next couple of weeks.
And that's the news from Ramona where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
