Ramona kids celebrate last days of summer
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Emily Staatz poked her head in the car window just as I was zooming off to accomplish an endless list of errands. "Me and the kids are putting on a cheerleading show sometime this afternoon," said Emily. "Would you have time to come down and watch?"
Now normally, although I'm ashamed to admit it, I don't commit to such things because I'm often "on a roll," which is what I call it when I'm very involved in my work and don't like interruptions.
My sister Pat, however, is an inspiration in that department because when the kids stop by and say, "Pat, come look at our new baby colt," or "come take a bike ride with us," she stops whatever she's doing and gets involved in their lives.
One day she said to me, "I'm so honored when the kids invite me to do something — one day they may stop asking."
So, when Emily asked if I'd come and watch the cheerleading show, I followed in my sister's inspirational footsteps. "You bet I will come!" I said. "Do you have pompons for your show?"
I retrieved the box of pompons that's part of our permanent Fourth of July decorating supplies and when I handed them to Em and the kids, some childish part of me added, "If you come down to the office I'll help you kids make an invitation and you can take it around to your parents and friends in town and invite them to the show, too."
Emily liked the idea of the invitations and as we worked on them, another inspiration struck — why not include ice cream sundaes for the spectators, after all we have a gallon of ice cream that needs eating. Oh, and let's add chocolate syrup, nuts, and whipped cream. This was beginning to be lots of fun.
Then the question of where to hold this stupendous event. "Why not on my aunt Naomi's porch?" I said to Em. "It's got lots of room to sit, it's in the shade, and you kids can do your routines out on the lawn." One quick phone call to Naomi Fike and we had a porch. Voila! There was going to be a show in town!
When the seven o'clock hour rolled around, the spectators started to arrive at Naomi's front porch. Terry and Jim Thompson and oldest son Ben (the new folks who moved here from California) arrived to watch their son, Terren. Chet and Sheila Mercer came to support their three kids — although Josh and James had to be convinced that men actually participated in cheerleading.
I told them the story of a gorgeous guy, that I almost married, who was an amazing cheerleader. If guys aren't around, who's going to throw the gals in the air? Although these little fellas were light years away from throwing anyone in the air, I figured it was something to aspire to.
David Staatz, his daughters Jennifer and Stefanie, son-in-law Ben, and two grandbabies Mathew and Alyson all came with cameras to record the event. And the stalwarts of the community, like Hank and Gertie Schubert, my mother Martha, Frances Buxman, and Naomi Fike, came to encourage the younger generation.
Naomi's son Steve and his wife Maureen from Walton happened to stop by for a visit and got in on the show. They helped me get everybody seated and served the ice cream sundaes. What great cousins!
The kids were excited about having such a crowd to watch. Can't you imagine it? When you were a kid wasn't it intoxicating to be the center of attention? To hear applause?
They put on a brief, but enthusiastic flourish of routines. And when they came to the finale — the pyramid — my mother called out, "Is that the end? Do it all again for us. We want to see more."
Emily called the kids to a quick huddle and the three girls, Molly, Em, and Bryanna, created some new routines right on the spot! "I'm Molly. M-O-L-L-Y!" and Molly kicked her feet while swaying the pompons. Emily and Bryanna followed in Molly's footsteps, spelling their names for the crowd.
The spectators had barely taken the last bite of ice cream and the show was over. Although brief, it was delightful. As the young performers polished off their ice cream sundaes, Emily confided that they just might put on another show sometime.
Emily has been the "pied piper" of the younger kids in town. At 11, she's the one "they look up to," and I often see her walking down the street with three or four kids in tow, looking for something to do.
Pat and I have a rule with Emily: "There's no complaining 'I'm bored!' If you're bored, you're just being a boring person," says my sister, Pat. "So create something!" Em has taken this creed to heart and the cheerleading show was the result.
I also was reminded of how delicious it is when you have an idea and others join in the falderal and say, "Oh, that would be fun!" Or somebody offers an embellishment, or stops what they're doing to attend. It all says "You matter," and I've come to believe it's a basic human need — no matter what our age.
I have a fascinating woman sitting in my antique shop," said Norma Bird, owner of Norma's Attic in Ramona. "I think you'd like to talk with her and she says it's her last trek to Kansas."
I couldn't resist; I'm always terribly curious. Who was this mystery woman?
When I arrived at Norma's Attic, Norma introduced me to 88-year-old Bernice Dappen Zuhr, who was a one-time resident of Ramona when she was a child.
"I was born in Durham in 1915 and my parents, Otto and Margaret (Musick) Dappen, moved to Ramona at about that time, and lived here until my father's death."
Mrs. Zuhr, who resides in Gardnerville, Nev., was returning to Kansas for the last time, visiting the graves of family members, and attending her 70th anniversary high school reunion.
"I come back to the area every five years or so to visit the cemetery in Lost Springs," said Mrs. Zuhr. And part of her visit usually includes a stop at Norma's Attic antiques since Mrs. Zuhr also is an antique collector. "I had a shop once and thought I'd open one in Nevada, but never did."
Her maternal grandfather W.W. Musick was the president of the bank in Ramona. "I remember when the bank got robbed because one of the cashiers took off with the money and went to Canada," said Bernice, "and my grandfather personally repaid the bank for the loss."
"My grandfather Musick also owned the Musick Mercantile, which was located on the west side of the street in Ramona." She said her grandparents lived in this area from 1890-1912. "In 1912, Grandpa moved the mercantile to Canton, and that's where my mother and my sister and I moved when my father died in 1919."
"My father died in the second flu epidemic in 1919," said Bernice. "You know the first epidemic was one year earlier in 1918," she says half-asking and half-telling. "My baby brother Arnold was less than a year old when he died in 1919, within two weeks of my father's death. Both are buried, along with other family members, in the Lost Springs cemetery."
Bernice has a remarkable memory of her Ramona experiences, despite the fact that she was only four years old when she moved from here. "I remember my aunt Kate's funeral and I wasn't even three years old at the time," said Bernice. "My aunt Kate died in childbirth and she and her baby were buried in the same coffin. I can even remember the color of my aunt's dress." She also swears that the old Ramona barbershop on Main Street (which we now own) was once a clock shop. "Jr. Clover's father owned it," said Bernice. "Clover" is another name in Bernice's family tree, along with Lemley and Kline. "Most of my history is right here in Marion County," she said.
When our visit came to a close, Bernice read a poem she'd composed for her high school reunion in McPherson that was held the weekend of Aug. 2. "I read a poem at our graduation exercises 70 years ago," said Bernice, "and now I've composed one for this reunion."
"Can it be 70 years have come, have gone. Spring, summer, fall are past, winter comes at last. Though the building we knew is gone, General McPherson in the park, rides on. Wickersham (taught Latin), Potwin (school superintendent), Haight (English teacher), Augie (band director) and the band. Remember them? Remember when stardust was in our eyes, on our lips in 1933? Old rocking chairs got us now, so let's rock around the clock in 2003!"
As our visit came to an end, Mrs. Zuhr said this would be her last trip to Kansas. "I'm going to miss seeing her," said Norma Bird after she and Bernice hugged goodbye. "She's probably stopped here four or five times over the years and we've become good friends. In the future we'll just have to visit by letter, I guess."
Shirley Spohn Jester has been getting the Ramona News for quite some time, so I was familiar with her name when she called to make a reservation at our bed and breakfast for Aug. 1.
"My husband Tom and I are going to a wedding in Manhattan," explained Shirley, "and I also want to visit family and friends in the Tampa area."
My favorite part of owning a B&B is cooking breakfast for folks and sitting down for a chat. As Tom packed the car Saturday morning in preparation for their departure, Shirley lingered over breakfast so the two of us could talk about her connections 'round here.
"Our family home in Tampa was on the land that Art and Betty Mueller now own," said Shirley. "I lived there for the first seven years of my life." So Shirley made a stop at the Muellers' for old time's sake.
"I remember my dad walking out to the pasture to mend some fences one day," said Shirley. "I was just a little tyke. I wanted to follow Dad in the worst way, but I knew he'd forbid me following if he knew I was tagging along, so I kept a fair distance from him as he headed down the road."
At one point Shirley's dad, John Spohn, turned south, but Shirley wasn't sure which way he turned, so she turned north. "I was heading toward the Utech farm and I remember I was about as tall as the weeds along the road. I even remember what I was wearing — coveralls with a white tam hat."
Shirley walked and walked but never saw her dad. "Finally a Cardie Oil truck came down the road. The driver of the truck picked me up and took me into town and dropped me at the grocery store. Of course, Olga, who worked at the store, knew I was John and Ella Mae's daughter and my parents came immediately to get me."
The Spohns were overwhelmed by their daughter's sudden disappearance. "They'd even discussed draining the pond on our property, for fear I had drowned," said Shirley. Hip, hip, hooray for the Cardie Oil driver!
Shirley's idyllic childhood on the farm abruptly ended when lightning in June 1945 killed her father.
"My father and his hired hand Irvin Bernhardt were out cutting wheat on a Saturday morning when a storm came up," said Shirley. When the two men finally decided to abandon harvest they jumped in the truck to head for home.
"They came to a gate that needed to be open and Irvin was going to get out and open it," explained Shirley. "But as usual my dad was a jump ahead. He was out of the truck first and when he got to the gate, the lightning struck. Our lives were forever changed. My mother didn't see how she could continue at the farm, so we moved to Newton and lived with my mother's sister."
Lingering and listening to Shirley's stories reminded me of why I love living here. The land holds the history, the old houses spark the memories, and the names that forever remain in a community ensure we are never forgotten.
Shirley happened to call me this week and she mentioned she visited Leona Kleiber during her recent Tampa voyage. Shirley tried to explain the lineage that connects her to Leona, but I got lost along the way. "Leona said you're related to her, too, through the Schubert side of your family."
Aren't we all? That's another phenomenon of life in the country: look long enough and you'll probably find you're related!
Several Ramona kids recently returned from church camp in Colorado. Thieen and Steve Antoszyk, Matt and Josh Leach, and James Weber were sponsored by the Rosebank church to attend the camp.
"Our church sent 20 kids to camp in Colorado," said Norma Bird, who attends Rose Bank.
When I saw James Weber after his return, I asked what he liked best about the camp. "The tubing," he said. After a few more questions I got the picture: tubing is riding an inner tube down a river.
Other Ramona kids are in the news this week for winning major awards at the recent Marion County Fair in Hillsboro. Several of my sister's art students at Centre Elementary submitted their watercolor paintings and drawings and came home with impressive ribbons.
Jacob Jirak won Grand Champion — an award he richly deserved for his whimsical drawing of a cow.
Cole Svoboda won Reserve Champion in Fine Arts for his pastel painting of a cowboy and his horse — a painting Cole did expressly for his father, A.J.
Peggy Kleiber called and announced that her son Nick won Reserve Grand Champion for his age group (he's 11) in open class. That's quite an accomplishment since Nick was competing with many different types of entries, not just art and drawings. Nick submitted his watercolor painting of a rodeo bull-riding event.
"Pat has a lot to brag about," said Peggy, as she continued to list Pat's art students who won ribbons over the weekend.
"This was certainly our best year for the fair," said Peggy as she started to list all the categories her children Amanda, Andrea, and Nick entered at the Marion County Fair.
There was Amanda's crochet hat that won her ribbons, and the rabbits she entered this year. "She got purple for her rabbits. Usually she enters goats, but she decided to do something different this year," said Peggy.
Amanda even had to do "showmanship" with her rabbits. I kept imagining what that would be. Do they leap, jump, prance, wiggle their nose? I guess I'll have to attend this event next year and get educated.
Andrea Kleiber won Grand Champion overall, for all age groups, for a scarf she wove. "As she walked around the fair, people kept congratulating her and she didn't know why," said Peggy. "Finally she asked Mary Jirak, 'Why are people saying congratulations?' and Mary told Andrea that she won Overall Grand Champion."
"Some years we come home with lots of red ribbons (which is at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to recognition, only white is lower), but this year the kids just cleaned house!" said Peggy with lots of laughter. "I'm so tickled with my kids and how they did."
The only part of the fair that I attended this year was the women's ranch rodeo Wednesday evening. I had two tickets for the event so I got brave and said to my mom, "How about coming to a women's rodeo with me?"
She amazed me and said "Yes!" And that was after a hectic day of canning tomatoes in the morning and freezing corn in the afternoon.
We took our "cushie" chairs and sat right on the front row, just feet from the dirt and the action. As rodeo gals charged down the field to rope and throw a calf, my 86-year-old mother was in awe and heard to mutter, "I didn't know that women did things like this?"
Ramona cowgal, Paula Morgan, was part of the women's ranch rodeo. She was actually the person who got me to attend my very first competition in Cassoday a couple years ago.
Paula was working behind the scenes at the rodeo last Wednesday — keeping the competitors organized and on cue.
And that's the news from Ramona where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
