Ramona
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
On the weekend of June 9-10, nearly 90 Fike descendants converged on the Fike home place just southwest of Ramona to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the family farm. Pat and I asked to be included so we could write a story about this milestone for the Ramona News. Our idea was to collect 100 memories for 100 years, and while we're still compiling these stories, I just had to share some of the precious memories that unfolded during this momentous occasion.
Warren and Paula Fike raised their seven children in this stately yellow farmhouse, although it wasn't always painted yellow. "It was originally gray, and then white," said Paula.
"This was a Sears and Roebuck home," added Warren. "Uncle Alvin said it was shipped to Ramona from Kansas City on a boxcar. It was from a 1907 catalog and cost about $2,500 to build. " Warren said there was a house on the land before the current one was built, and it was eventually moved west of Ramona to the Gerhard Meyer place. "Parts of the barn could be as old as 125 years," added Warren.
Three generations of Fikes have raised their families in this big home: the original owners of the two-story farmhouse were Joseph and Priscilla Fike, who had nine offspring: Ida, Sue, Vera, Grace, Sarah, Floyd, Kenneth, Glen, and Horace. Then Floyd married Vinnie and they had three children (Warren, Inez, and Duane), and finally Warren married Paula and they raised their seven children in the house, which didn't have running water until 1964, and that was only to the commode. Faucet water came in 1975.
"We pumped all our water for drinking and washing and bathing, by hand," said Linda Fike Peterson, Warren and Paula's daughter. "Baths were a Saturday night ritual," continued Linda, "and you bet there was more than one of us using the water in the tub or we'd have been a week hauling it!" she laughs.
"After we girls had our bath, Mom would curl our hair, then paint our nails, and we'd sit in front of the television while the next one hopped into the tub. It was fun growing up here."
The grand farmhouse has witnessed every aspect of the cycle of life.
"I was conceived in that upstairs room," divulged Phyllis Jean, Grace's daughter as she points to an upstairs window. "But don't print that," she quickly adds in shy embarrassment. But in the end I convinced her to let me say it, because it's the charm of these memories that reflect the tapestry of all our lives here on the Kansas soil.
"I've always had a special attachment to this house because Mom told me that," she added.
"I was born in that house," said Linda Perry, daughter of Ida. "I was born in the downstairs bedroom — the one with rope across the door so you can just look, but not walk in," she teased.
Linda's adult niece, Karen, came back with a quick retort: "I was already in that room and jumped on the bed!"
But Linda is not the only person who can claim the notoriety of being born in the Fike farmhouse — although she is the only living one to talk about it! Two of her uncles — Kenneth and Horace — were born there, also.
Linda's own mother, Ida, was married in the house, as was Ida's sister, Grace. And the patriarchs of the family: Joseph, and eventually his son, Floyd, both died in the house.
"My dad and grandfather laid in state here." said Warren. "It was the custom in those days to bring the embalmed body back to the home and family and friends came by to pay respects."
Ida's granddaughter, Karen, (her mom is Marilyn), said she didn't remember coming here as a child, but she did remember hearing about "The Kansas House" from early childhood. "I always thought of it as sacred ground, like the Indians speak of holy ground where their ancestors were buried," she said.
Karen's brother Keith, remembers coming out here in 1968-69, but they went to Kenny Fike's farm just west of the home place. "I was about five and Joe and Steve (Kenneth and Naomi Fike's boys) threw me into some corn machine. I don't know what it was called, because I was just a city kid, but it sure was fun playing in the corn."
"Are you sure it wasn't milo," interjected Joe Fike, who lived his childhood just up the road. "I have no idea," admitted Keith, who's still a city guy.
"But all roads do lead here," concluded Keith. "We are all branches of the tree that rooted here."
Duane Fike, Warren's brother, had many memories of the home place. "I wasn't born here — I was born just west on the farm that eventually became my uncle Kenny's. I remember Mondays were always washdays and Tuesday was ironing. Mom did the laundry out at the washhouse and while Mom had an electric washer, all the water for that machine was pulled up by rope from the cistern on the north side of the house. That water came from rainwater from the house roof, and usually there was a frog or two in the buckets. Before laundry could be done the water was heated in a large cast iron butchering kettle."
Ronald Rodes, Grace's son, recalled he and Warren as children, hunting for gold. "We had a little cigar box filled with 'gold' and we buried it around here. We even had a map of where we'd buried it. But when I came back to visit one year, it was gone!" He laughed as he told the story, and then he teased his cousin. "You stole it!"
Ronald, a retired Nazarene minister, held a simple, yet touching, church service for all the Fike relatives who gathered Sunday morning. Warren and his sons pitched a big blue tent just northwest of the house and that became the gathering place for all the meals as well as Sunday morning devotions. The family arrived early on Sunday for coffee and donuts and so when Ronald called everyone to be seated, he humorously said, "This is the First Church of Krispy Kreme," and that was just the beginning of a delightful and thoughtful Sunday sermonette.
"My Grandpa Fike influenced me a lot," said Ronald. "I'd see him routinely reading his Bible and praying. I remember coming to the Kansas House, and I thought as a kid that it was the only house in Kansas. We'd come in the summer when Grandpa Fike was harvesting wheat. When everyone would come in for lunch Grandpa would always say, 'We're going to have devotions,' and as a kid, I'd groan. But he passed a great blessing on to all of us."
Ronald concluded his remarks by challenging us all: "If you've been blessed, then pass it on!" The Fike family has indeed blessed Ramona for more than 100 years! The Fikes are one of the strongest roots of this tiny town. The Schuberts are another family that have a long history here, although not as long as the Fikes.
The Schubert family reunion, held Father's Day weekend, was a little smaller than usual this year — 24 rather than the usual crowd of around 45 — but that didn't keep us from having the most fun ever! Folks began arriving as early as Thursday and began checking into all our houses — which is, of course, one of the main reasons we have these homes. The world seems right when the cousins are back home.
The most important arrival was our aunt Gertrude Schubert, who spent most of her life in Ramona, until recently moving to Colorado to be near her children. Having Keith and Gary and their families here makes our Ramona picture complete because the boys grew up here. The theme this year was "The Schubert Short-Film Festival" so everybody brought their old home movies to enjoy Saturday night while we munched on popcorn and our favorite theater candy. This year all our festivities happened at Mom's house, which is now Pat's home.
"Oh, look at Keith in his little cowboy outfit on his third birthday," we cooed in delight, as we watched Keith sticking his finger into the frosting and taking a lick. We relished the pictures of grandparents, long gone, and more recent triumphs of graduations, weddings, and new grandchildren.
But the best movies of all were the ones we made during reunion! We asked cousins to pick a movie title that would best describe the year since our last reunion. To make the selection easier Cousin Vicki brought lists of movie titles she'd gotten off the Internet. Then my sister directed the movies (often writing the "scripts" as she went along), while cousins were prop and make-up people.
Pat's living room became "the set," and cousins held up tablecloths for "backdrop" while cousin Vicki played director from a comfy spot on the sofa. "Quiet on the set," she'd command. And then, "Action!" and we'd dutifully say our lines to Pat's camera.
Aunt Gertie's movie was "True Grit" as she talked about the courage it took to move from Ramona to Colorado, after having lived here with Hank all her life. Her daughter-in-law, Carol, had her movie picked out for her, which was "Wonder Woman" because she watches out for everybody while holding down a full-time job as investment banker. Carol spent much of the reunion with a big "W" on her chest since she continued to be Wonder Woman throughout the reunion, getting Gertie her meds, taking granddaughter Tasia to the lake, cooking her famous buttermilk pancakes for our breakfast.
Gary was The Lone Ranger, willing to gallop through the hay field on his stick horse, wearing cowboy hat and mask, as he explained how he rescues damsels in distress since he lives with six women and is the only guy!
Cousin Becky had the most challenging movie to film because her title was "Stand by Me," with a side of "The Exorcist." This short film attempted to discuss the rigors of menopause on one's relationships. (For some reason there were a lot of guys leaving the set on this picture.)
Becky's mom, Frieda, filmed the comedy in our family production. We titled her life movie, "Nurse Betty," since Frieda still works three days a week in a doctor's office. Various cousins came with complaints and nurse Betty fixed 'em up. For example, Tooltime Tim told Nurse Betty he had constant headaches, and the next scene shows Frieda holding a gigantic screwdriver up to Tim's head and she's pronouncing, "I think you have a screw loose."
Next, 18-year-old cousin Kristina says she has a "cell phone attached to her ear," so Nurse Betty gets out her chisel and hammer and does surgery.
Frieda provided such great humor that her character started to appear in everybody's movie. When Kristina filmed her own movie — "Anger Management" — where she discusses what makes her mad and various options for handling her anger — Nurse Betty shows up in the final scene, giving a little medical advice which also happens to be a family stance.
"This is how the Schubert family has dealt with this issue for generations," Frieda announces, as she wraps an ace bandage around Kristina's head: "Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil," she says as the bandage covers Kristina's mouth, eyes and ears.
Even the youngest members of the family filmed a movie. Two-year-old Tasia, — Gertie's great grandchild — had a movie "Little Miss Sunshine," even though she had no idea we were filming one. Pat just followed her around as Tasia experienced chickens and the wonders of gathering eggs and other country delights. I've had so many things happen in the last year that I wanted to film a double feature — "Shall We Dance?" and "Stranger Than Fiction."
"You always have a lot to say," teased my sister. In the end, I consolidated everything and filmed, "Great Expectations!" Pat, who has her training in therapy, picked "Analyze That" for her movie and Tooltime Tim was the therapist (a therapist with few words!). As to when our family film will make its debut, we don't know, because the editor (my sister) is so busy mowing and gardening this summer, but until the big premiere, we have memories to last a lifetime.
Yvonne Brunner and her son, Tanner, stopped by Cousins Corner so Tanner could see Gertie Schubert before she returned home to Colorado. While Yvonne saw Gertie several days earlier when the Kent Brunner family hosted a barbecue for Gary Schubert and his family, Tanner had been in Nebraska at a cattle show.
Tanner and his cousin, Bryant Brunner, and Bryant's dad Mark, took six heifers to the show and won first in three classes, second in two classes, and third in one class. Tracy and Yvonne also were at the show over the weekend.
"We were winners in our class," said Tanner, "and Bryant won our division in junior heifer calf."
"You're also looking at the state champion in shoot dogging," said Yvonne with pride. The first of June, Tanner competed in the Kansas Junior High Rodeo Association competition. He will now go to the national competition in shoot dogging the first week in July in Gallup, N.M.
At the June 11 city council meeting a $50 investment in our youth was approved for The Cougar's Den, a teen center concept conceived by Terri Turley, a Ramona resident from the country.
"There were quite a few young people from the Centre school area who wanted a place to see each other during the summer," explained Terri, "and we wanted to have a positive environment for junior high and high school kids to get together and have fun. I had a place like this available to me as a youngster when I grew up in Pratt."
The City of Lincolnville offered their community center and park for free to the youth (grades 7-12) of the area to meet from 6 to 10 p.m. every Wednesday. Turley then asked the surrounding town councils to contribute $50 each to buy the initial equipment like basketballs, volleyballs, and board games. "There'll be concessions for the kids, too," said Terri.
The youth are required to pay a one-time membership fee of $5. The teen center opened in June, and will meet July 11, 21, and 25 and Aug. 1 and 18. A back-to-school wiener roast will take place Aug. 18. If parents have questions, they can call Terri at 785-965-7175.
"Do you know what happens in 16 days?" quizzed 10-year-old Cassy Thompson, who was helping my sister paint the porch railing at her house. "The 4th of July," Pat replied, and then smiled to think how much the kids anticipate this yearly event.
Ramona's 4th of July is a Rockwell moment. We even got an e-mail from some folks in California, saying that their kids love Ramona's 4th of July so much they want to spend the holiday in Kansas again this year. "Please send the schedule by e-mail," they wrote.
"Redneck in Ramona," is the theme this year, which promises to be the most fun ever. The day begins with a fun run at 8 a.m., followed by biscuits and gravy breakfast at the senior center. The afternoon sporting events begin at 2 p.m. with horseshoes, followed by 3-on-3 basketball at 3 p.m. Farmers and their tractors are invited to the city park for a tractor show from 3 to 6 p.m., followed by the parade at 7 p.m. on Main Street.
Ramona's the perfect place to show off your "redneck tan" or anything else that's "tastefully redneck" if there is such a thing! Depict a redneck joke, or maybe your favorite country western song or just a plain old farm scene. If you can't figure out how to make a parade entry from these ideas, you're not breathin'!
Between the parade and fireworks you'll be entertained by musicians, dancers, and revelers as they participate in pie eating contests, corn eating contests, and the first-ever Redneck Relay. The fireworks at dark will be the best ever, as Connie Smith can attest. She called me last week with great excitement in her voice.
"I had the neatest thing happen today when I took off to purchase the fireworks," said Connie. This is the third year that the Smiths' business, DC Trucking, has helped sponsor the fireworks finale in Ramona, along with Tampa State Bank. "I got into my truck and there on the seat was a folded piece of paper. I picked it up and inside was $250 and a note that read, 'Thank you for what you do for Ramona. Here's a gift to help make the finale on the 4th the best tribute to our town and our nation.' Wasn't that just amazing?!"
Indeed it was. Ramona may not have a big population, but we have big hearts, and we invite you to come celebrate independence and freedom with us on July 4th.
And that's the news from Ramona, where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
