Ramona kids had a hoppin' good time
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
"If it starts raining by seven, it should quit by eleven," said my aunt Naomi Fike one stormy day last week, "That's what my dad always used to say."
On Saturday, the day of the Bunny Hop in Ramona, I was counting on my grandfather's adage being true! A serious downpour already was under way by 7 a.m., but when the blue sky broke at about 11 and the sun peaked through soon thereafter, I felt optimistic enough to call Kent Brunner and tell him we wouldn't need to accept his gracious offer, after all, to use his sale barn for the egg hunt. We'd stay in the Ramona Park for this yearly tradition.
The Easter Bunny (Tooltime Tim) was praying for cool weather, so he wouldn't roast to death in the large, brown, furry suit that was awaiting him. He was rather pleased that the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds.
By the time our intrepid Bunny rolled into the Ramona Park at 2 p.m., there were 24 children and their families waiting in the shelter house for the games to begin.
While Sandra Svoboda kept the youngest children busy with egg races (egg on spoon, run/walk to the finish line), Pat and Tim hid eggs.
My favorite group to watch was the 0- to 4-year-olds because for many of them, this was their first Easter egg hunt. Most had to get help from parents and grandparents.
Tucker McGrath, Kent and Jean Brunner's grandson, was the winner of the tiny tots division! Almost two years old, this was Tucker's first egg hunt and it took a little bit of instruction for him to get the hang of this hunting business — where to look and how to retrieve. The first eggs he found were still clutched in his arms when his eyes suddenly saw a whole string of eggs — one leading to another — in some grass under a tree.
No matter how much his mom Jill entreated him to put the eggs in the basket she was carrying, he didn't want to let go of his precious cargo. He was in a big dilemma though, and you could see by the expression on his face that he was "processing" — wanting to grab the eggs, but holding on for dear life to what he'd already found. Little hands reaching out to get the prize and losing what he had. Finally, he understood the purpose of the basket!
Andrea and Amanda Kleiber had watched their brother, Nick, out hunting with the 10-year-olds, and when it came to the final hunt of the day when everybody was invited to participate, they didn't hesitate to join the falderal, even though it had begun to rain by this time.
"When I ran into Andrea she had a sack-full of eggs already," said her older sister Amanda. The two sisters, it seemed, were indulging in a little sibling rivalry. "You're dang right," replied Andrea, "I know how to Easter egg hunt!"
"So how many little kids did you shove out of the way when you were out there hunting?" teased their dad, Lynn.
Between egg hunts everybody enjoyed treats — three different varieties of cupcakes my mom, Martha, baked on Friday. Chocolate milk and cupcakes made us all feel like kids again.
"So who wants to do the raw egg toss?" asked Sandra Svoboda, who helps create this annual event. I wondered if anybody would be brave to weather the rain to toss raw eggs, but even the adults got in the action.
"I don't think this is a raw egg," said Jayme Brunner as he got out and played along with his kids, Solomon and Kaitlyn. But suddenly a "splat" was heard and Jayme no longer doubted he was playing with raw eggs!
Winners of the raw egg toss were Makenzie Deines and Bryanna Svoboda.
On Easter morning, Trinity Lutheran Parish Hall was beautifully decorated and scents of biscuits and gravy, hot coffee, and Danish wafted out the door as we arrived at 9 a.m. for breakfast.
The pastel tablecloths, flower arrangements, and colored eggs made the tables look like beautiful stained glass windows in the early morning light. Standing in the kitchen, making juice, cutting coffee cakes, and pulling hot biscuits out of the oven were Barb and Rick Hanschu. Jean Brunner, Yvonne Brunner and even Yvonne's son, Tanner, helped serve the guests.
Norma Weber arrived wearing a beautiful corsage of daisies surrounding a lavender rose. "It's from my son, Jim," said Norma with pride. "He got one for both Jeannie and me." When Norma asked Jim why he did it, he simply replied, "Oh, it's just a guy thing."
The entire Brunner family was at the breakfast, including Ann and Bernie Koch from Wichita and their daughter Emily, who is working on her master's degree at K-State. After church, they all gathered at Lauren and Orvell's for lunch. "We had 18 around the table," said Orvell.
Rick and Barb Hanschu had their kids home for the holiday and even had their help in the kitchen for the breakfast event. Their daughter Danelle and husband Mark were here from Ashland, Neb. "How many more weeks until your baby arrives?" I asked Danelle. "Four more weeks!" And all around erupted sympathetic comments from women who remembered what it was like to endure the final four weeks of pregnancy.
Brandon also was on the scene. Even though I'd written about his engagement to Amber Svitak, I'd never met him. So when's the wedding? "In January," replied Brandon. "Right after Amber and I graduate from K-State in December." Warren Fike, his son Dennis, and grandsons arrived for the breakfast at the parish hall. There were no ladies in sight. Folks joked that they were probably still at home putting on their make-up, but in truth, when I heard how many people were arriving for dinner that day, I would guess Paula and her daughters were in the kitchen!
"So how many are coming home for Sunday dinner?" I asked Warren. "Don't know for sure," said Warren with his characteristic grin. "Everybody but Gary will be home, plus other family members, too." "That's why we need it to be nice outside," said Dennis, "so everybody doesn't have to be in the house."
After the fact, I learned from Paula that they had 54 guests. "So, we won't name them," said Paula, laughing. Besides kids and grandkids, there was Warren's brother Duane and his family from Colorado, Ernest Peterson and family from Wichita and Valley Center. And Sarah's oldest girl, Ariel, brought along an exchange student from Germany.
Don and Norma Bird rented the Ramona Senior Center for their family gathering. "The kids think they're too big for an egg hunt," said Norma, "so we played Card Bingo for prizes. We had a blast!"
Frances Buxman had 16 around her table. "All of my children were represented except for one."
Naomi Fike got to see both her sons on Easter weekend. First Steve and Maureen from Walton came Saturday night and took Naomi out for supper at the Ramona Café. Then Joe arrived to take his mom to his home in Lawrence for Easter Sunday. "I'll be there until Tuesday," said Naomi.
Gertie and Hank Schubert received a stunning Easter lily from their children in Colorado and for Sunday dinner they joined Pat and me, along with Hank's sisters — Martha (our mom) and Anna Schimming of Herington. Somehow having just a table of six seems pretty "light weight" considering all the huge family gatherings happening around town.
As I walked the quiet streets on Sunday afternoon I spotted the Sondergards' daughters out hiding eggs to the south of the house. "We had 22 for supper," said Darlene. "There were children, grandchildren, and great-grandkids, too. We've done this for years, ever since our kids were little."
Treva Schneider entertained 14 for Easter. One of the highlights was a bunny cake made by Treva's granddaughter Michelle Whitehead from Topeka.
Irene Beames had a full house for the weekend and has had one for several days now. Her son Rusty and his fiancée Samantha arrived a week or so ago and are planning to reside in Ramona. For the holidays, Samantha's parents from Minnesota also arrived. "The house is full and I'm loving it," beamed Irene.
David and Jane Staatz, their daughters, and grandchildren took a trek to Herington for Easter. "We went to my sister-in-law's house, the Castleberrys," said Jane. "There were around 40 people there."
The Cheevers had a special Easter. "We celebrated Easter with my folks," said Ron Cheever. "Mom got to come home for the weekend and we took her back to Marion on Sunday." Imogene Cheever has been residing in a nursing home in Marion where she's been undergoing rehab. "We had 15 or 16 of us at my folks' table," reported Ron.
The Antoszyks took a trip for Easter. "We went to Pennsylvania on Wednesday," reported teenager Thieen "and saw my grandparents." Thieen's dad John also was there for the holiday. He's working in the Grand Cayman Islands at the present.
Reign and Marlene Anduss closed the Ramona Café Sunday so they could spend Easter with their kids. It probably was a real treat to have somebody else do the cooking for a change!
An earache and a runny nose kept Alston Cunningham from enjoying the Bunny Hop on Saturday. (A couple of years ago, Alston was the youngest egg hunter.) But on Sunday, he and his mom Catina came to spend Easter with his grandma, Connie Smith.
"We watched videos of our newest grandbaby Bryanna," said Connie. Bryanna is the daughter of Connie's son Bryan. "Then we transplanted some flowers that were out in my orchard and brought them up near the house — Alston really loved that."
Connie's husband Dan was on the road and called from New Mexico. "He knows that New Mexico is my favorite state so he calls and gloats about the weather," laughed Connie. "He calls to report that it's 83 degrees — mild, beautiful, and great sunsets," said Connie, "and I was reporting cloudy, rainy weather. Oh yuk!"
When I called the Thornhill/Bickford residence and asked what they did for Easter, Bob replied, "Not much of nothing! But we ate mushrooms. I've been on one hunt already!" Bob is an expert in finding morel mushrooms.
I saw Jeanetta Hanschu in the grocery store before Easter and figured she'd have a crowd, but she informed me otherwise. "We're not getting together until a couple of weeks from now. Everybody had scheduling problems, work, or other commitments," said Jeanetta.
Myrna Eskeldon said things were pretty calm at their house, too. "Just our boys came for lunch," said Myrna.
"Sharon from Olathe came and got Clinton and me for Easter," said Frances Hanschu, "and Randy and his wife Jo brought us back on Sunday. Clinton did real well. We had a nice little vacation."
The Deines family celebrated more than Easter this last Sunday. April 20 was Merv and Leona's 45th wedding anniversary. Guests were: Leona's brother Fred Warns and his wife Adeline, their daughter Sandra Kinkelaar and her husband Ron, and Taylor and Kaitlyn Sly, all from Salina. Alisa Sly came from Hope, Cathy and Lyle Riedy and Rachel, Tony, and Nicole Riedy and a friend from Topeka, and of course the Deines' children were there: Jeff and Gayla Deines, with Jessica, Justin, Shelby from Ramona, Ross and Debbie Coup with Adam and Samantha from Hope, and Terry and Julie Deines with Makenzie and Dillon from Ramona.
Merv and Leona were married April 20, 1958, at St. John's at Lyons Creek. "Do you remember when you first met Merv?" I asked, always a sucker for a good romance story.
"You know, back then you just grew up knowing each other because everybody belonged to the same church group or went to the same school. I feel like I've known him all my life. We just grew up as friends — that's how it always used to be around here. We just didn't stray too far from home."
Last Thursday the Ramona Rowdies (that's the fun name the Ramona Seniors have dubbed themselves) got together for their monthly potluck. Frances Hanschu got first pick of all the luncheon goodies since she's turning 80 on the 23rd. We all sang "Happy Birthday," but it won't be the last celebration in honor of Frances. She has another party scheduled on Wednesday — I'll report on that next week.
The Ramona Senior Center was surrounded by cars again on Friday. The Senior Citizens of Marion County board was having its monthly meeting in Ramona. Ten board members (Naomi Fike from Ramona was one of them) and 15 others attended the meeting.
Ramona had a little of everything happening this weekend — egg hunts, Easter events, family gatherings, and even a wedding shower! Cars lined both sides of the street around Cousin's Corner B&B as the Jirak family and friends gathered to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Teresa Gfeller to Albert Jirak, son of Francis and Mary Jirak of Tampa.
Hosting the event were all the Jirak sisters-in-law: Vickie Jirak of Ramona, her sister Jackie Jirak, Glenda Jirak, Linda Jirak, Rose Jirak, and Theresa Jirak. Mary Jirak was the only one who didn't help host the event since she's the mother of the groom.
Teresa's mother Janet and her sister Kathy both came from Nebraska to attend the party.
Teresa met Albert when she decided to go out-of-state to attend college at K-State. The two met at the Catholic church there on campus. Albert will graduate in May in computer engineering and Teresa is studying to be a teacher. Their wedding will take place in July in Lincoln, Neb. The couple will reside in Goddard following the wedding; Albert already has a job secured in Wichita.
And that's the news from Ramona, where the whole town was hoppin' and now that Monday's here, a traffic jam is back to being two parked cars and a dog in the road.
