Ramona: Fike begins celebration early
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
There was a gust or two of wind and just enough sun Sunday to make the Fike family be so flamboyant that they brought Naomi's birthday party right out on the front porch!
It began when Joe and Janet Fike arrived from Lawrence, bringing Sunday dinner. Two of their sons came from K-State — Josh and Tyler — to join the celebration. "They rarely turn down a Sunday dinner," said their mom, Janet, with a chuckle.
Then Joe called Pat and me and our mom Martha and said, "come on over at 1:15 and help us celebrate Mom's birthday." Who could turn down such a tempting invitation — they'd brought an ice cream cake all the way from Lawrence for the occasion. Gertie and Hank Schubert got invited, too.
By the time we all arrived on Naomi's porch, it looked like a church congregation, and sounded like one too as we all joined to sing "Happy Birthday." The only thing missing was an offering plate!
Naomi wasn't the only one celebrating her birthday. She shares her birthday — May 11 — with her grandson Tyler, who is turning 20 on Sunday!
More guests arrived as we enjoyed the summer afternoon. You know how it is — you see some folks drive by, you wave them to stop, and more folks join the party. Tony Meyer and his friend Richard Tessman from San Francisco were coaxed to join the festivities. Richard even added some chivalry when he walked onto the porch and gave Naomi a first-class birthday kiss!
"I was out at the cemetery yesterday," said Richard as he told the group what he'd been up to since his arrival last Friday. "I saw where our old school bus driver was buried — Mr. Hicks." Gertie Schubert interjected, "That's my uncle — thought I should tell you before you went further." We all laughed — most anybody who has lived in Ramona (and some of us who haven't lived here long) still have heard many of the funny stories from the past.
Richard Tessman arrived in Ramona last Friday and stayed with his second cousin, Tony Meyer. Tony has an extra bedroom in his house that is seldom used, so he was excited to have a guest. But it was the cooking that concerned Tony — especially breakfast.
"Come over to our Cousin's Corner House Saturday morning," I said to Tony. "Pat and I will cook you a first-rate breakfast." Not long after, Tony left a message on our answering machine: "We'll see you Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and Erich Utech is coming along, too."
"I'm not used to this much food for breakfast," said Erich as I presented a plate with buttermilk pancakes, sausage, eggs, and potatoes. "I thought a farmer like you would need a big meal to start the day," I teased.
As we lingered over breakfast we exchanged stories and memories about Ramona. We discovered that Richard Tessman was in the same graduating class of 1934 as our mother and dad — Martha Schubert and Laurel Ehrhardt. He even was a part of the basketball team, as was my dad, when they won 2nd place in the state tournament.
After graduating from high school, Tessman migrated to California and eventually settled in San Francisco. "After graduation, I was a nomad for about 17 years," chuckled Richard. "I ended up in San Francisco during the war and actually was scheduled to depart on a contract job when, in 10 days' time, I was offered a temporary job and I met my future wife at a New Year's Eve dance."
He remained in San Francisco, worked for 30 years in advertising and marketing for Schenley (a distillery — you might recognize some of their products like Dewer's White Label, H& H Bourbon.)
Ironically, Richard's cousin Tony ended up in San Francisco, too — although Tony would come to Ramona every spring and stay until fall. A couple of years ago, Tony decided to give up his San Francisco home and remain in Kansas full-time, but just like the song says, Tony left part of his heart in that "city by the bay."
"I should have called you up and made you go with me," said Tony as he told about another of his adventures last week. Tony attended the tribute to Homer Socolofsky and the addition of his collection to the Marion Library. "It was a wonderful event," concluded Tony.
And speaking of events, the May 2nd program at Centre Elementary School was stunning, as usual. Of all the programs the kids present, this one is my favorite because it combines great music (inspired by Lynley Remy) with creative athletics (it's amazing what Stan Wiles of Ramona gets these kids to do), and it's obvious that the kids love it.
This winning combination of music and physical education gives the kids many ways to "shine" and be recognized, whether that's spinning a hula hoop (Solomon Brunner of Ramona was a pro!) the longest or wearing a funny pair of sun glasses (Casey Hanschu got the prize in that category) while singing, "Jeepers, Creepers, where'd you get those peepers!"
And Anna Weber and Mikayla Antoszyk of Ramona just stole my heart when they bounced around the floor singing "Hello, My Baby." Or listening to Bryanna Svoboda sing French in "Alouette," a song featuring first grade — she knows more French that I do, and I took lessons!
Tears brimmed my eyes as I watched and listened to the 5th and 6th graders sing "America, Of Thee I Sing!" I wasn't sure whether the emotion was inspired by patriotism or seeing the boys of Ramona growing up to be fine young men — James Weber, Cahn and Zach Antoszyk, and Seth Stroda were directly within my view where I sat, and the song was very stirring.
Jeannie and Jim Weber went exploring this great land of ours over the weekend of April 26. "We did a little gold panning and lots of exploring," said Jeannie. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the town of Guffy, where all the houses are log cabins.
"I even met the mayor and he sat on my lap," said Jeannie with a grin. Now don't go spreading any rumors until you read the rest of this story! Guffy is such a small town that they don't even have a city council — and they elected a pet as mayor!
These folks couldn't get along enough to elect a person as mayor so they elected an animal. The mayor is a black cat named Monster Mayor. "He won over two cats, a dog, and a bird that hadn't been hatched," said Jeannie, laughing.
I was driving back into town Sunday and the road was literally blocked with the Anduss family. "We had a parade coming down the street," said Marlene. Reign and Marlene's daughter and family, along with friends, were walking side-by-side, and as I approached there was a line of people from one side of the road to the other.
Connie and David Baker and son Chris were visiting the Andusses from Argonia, and they brought along their friends, Terry and Luanne Soukup from Goessel, and Sherry and Kerry Higgins of Hillsboro.
Several of these guests re-appeared on Tuesday to pick up plants Reign was removing from around their Ramona house. "My daughter Connie also brought all kinds of decorations for my front porch," said Marlene.
Marlene is vice president of the Ramona seniors — nicknamed the Ramona Rowdies — and reported that the recent trip to Wichita May 1 to attend the performance of Copa Cabana, was a great hit. "My favorite part of the show was when one of the actresses crawled on top an old piano to sing one of the songs," said Marlene.
"Don't wear mascara if you go see this musical," said Norma Bird, president of the senior group. "It was so funny I laughed until I cried."
"I've been to a dinner theater in Abilene a couple of times, but this was a musical and I really enjoyed it," said Frances Buxman. "My kids bought me the ticket for Mother's Day and I really had a great time," said Frances Hanschu.
"It was wonderful, it was real light-hearted. I had my elbows right on the stage, our table was so close," said Darlene Sondergard, who went on the trip with her husband, Al. "Now we're looking forward to the next trip!"
The next trip, by the way, will be June 5 to the zoo in Salina. "It's completely full already," said Norma Bird, "and I've got a waiting list.
Game Night was moved to May 4 this month because of Mother's Day next weekend (normally Game Night is the second Sunday of the month). "We had a great crowd," said Darlene Sondergard. "We had new people join us that haven't been there before," said Norma Bird, "Paula and Warren Fike and Gertie and Hank Schubert."
The Bradys — Bob and Rita — are newcomers in town and usually attend Game Night, but this weekend they were in Emporia to be with their daughter Kitty, who underwent surgery and was still in the hospital.
In a small town, you notice when folks move in, or move out — it all makes a difference. This week we're sad to report that one of the stalwarts of Ramona — Harry Cheever and his wife, Imogene — moved from Ramona to Marion.
I saw Harry making his customary rounds of Ramona in his car last week. I stopped him to talk for a minute and to tell him that we'd miss seeing him as he circled the town most every day like a faithful sentinel, making sure all was well within the city gates. "What am I going to do in Marion?" he asked the question of himself more than me, as he registered what it will be like to go from small town to a much larger one.
Harry has been holding down the fort here in Ramona for the last couple of months as his wife Imogene was in Marion undergoing rehab in hopes of eventually returning home. But Harry and his family realized that Imogene wasn't going to be able to come back to Ramona, so Harry decided to join her in Marion.
"Be sure to get the Marion County Record," I said to Harry, as he drove away. "Then you can keep up with what we're all doing. We won't forget you!"
Graduations are approaching and as a result the Ramona Café, owned by Reign and Marlene Anduss, won't be open on Memorial weekend because they're attending their granddaughter, Mindy's graduation in Peabody.
Last week I reported that the Brunner family held their reunion, but I didn't have any fun stories to report. Well, now I do! Mardell Hicks called and between her and husband Gene, I got some fun news.
"We had 89 people at the reunion," said Mardell. "We had the parish hall decorated with red and yellow tablecloths and we used smilie faces as the theme," said Mardell. They even had yo-yos on the table for kids and adults to enjoy. (Those of you who plan your family reunion — take note! These are some great ideas.)
"Aunt Johanna is always our special one at reunion," continued Mardell, "being 101, and she was there visiting with everyone. We were all delighted to be with her."
The Rev. Gene Hicks had a memory quiz of 20 questions for the guests. They ranged from "what kind of plant grew by the back door?" (Answer: hops) to "How did Grandpa Brunner cut off his thumb?"
"One of the responses to the question about Grandpa Brunner's thumb came from Jesse Brunner of Tampa," said Mardell. Jesse reported he didn't know the answer to the question but that his dad (who was a son of George Brunner) would refer to the "lost thumb" as a warning.
"My younger brother sucked his thumb as a child and my dad told him, 'That's how Grandpa Brunner lost his thumb'!" I never learned if that admonition caused the thumb sucking to cease, but it's a great story!
The Hicks' daughters Laura and Mary created a picture directory of the Brunner family. "It was a great bonding experience," said Mardell. "As our daughters called for the pictures and got them, we got to tell them stories."
"Aunt Johanna is the last survivor of the 13 original Brunner children," said Mardell, "and we had the ancestors pictured on the name badges so folks would know which branch of the Brunner family guests came from. When Aunt Johanna saw her name tag she said, "I'm the only one who has her own picture on their name tag."
The concrete's been poured at the repair shop at Nick and Kathy's house. "Now we move to the walls and trusses," said Kathy Werth, Ramona's postmaster. "We got held back a little by the rain so had to delay the concrete until good weather."
Activity at the Ramona post office has increased recently as mail for the Tampa area is being processed through Ramona. "Ramona employees are handling the mail for Tampa temporarily, while they're looking for alternative solutions, since the post office building was closed due to health and environmental issues," said Kathy.
On a personal note, Nick and Kathy have decided to get married in July. The last detail to resolve is where! "We aren't sure if it will be in the little church where I was baptized and where I grew up, or here in our yard at our house in Ramona," said Kathy. Wherever the wedding is held, Kathy said it will be a very private ceremony for their immediate families.
And that's the news from Ramona where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
