Ramona: Two guys cause traffic jam
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
Twenty of Hank Schubert's close friends received an intriguing party invitation in the mail a couple of weeks ago. The invitation was on the back of a playing card and it read: "Celebrating a great card shark! You're invited to Hank's 89th birthday for a 10-point pitch party and pie and ice cream."
But a week before the party, Hank landed in the Herington hospital and on his birthday Saturday, March 22, he was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed when we all arrived, surrounded by plants, flowers, and fruit baskets — all in celebration of his big day.
In an attempt to honor the doctor's medical concerns about Hank eating too much sugar, I tried making a coconut cream pie with a sugar substitute. Saturday, on the way to the hospital I took a nip of the meringue and that fake sugar tasted so foul, I wondered if the pie would be edible.
As we entered Herington I told Tooltime Tim to stop at the grocery store, and I dashed to the pie section and bought the only coconut cream pie they had.
We arrived at Hank's room with pies, plates, and candles — the whole nine yards. There was even a room full of people: Gertie, Pat, me, Tooltime Tim, and our cousins Georgia and Ed Lehman from Lawrence.
But celebrating your birthday in a hospital just doesn't do a birthday justice. And my attempts to make Uncle Hank's favorite pie just really flopped. Not only was the sugar free pie not edible, the store-bought pie was FROZEN! It was just a "dud" of a day when it comes to dessert — which was a profound disappointment for somebody like me who loves to make desserts.
But, hey, we had candles, we sang and everybody, including the birthday guy, was well and happy, so we focused on that instead of pie.
Afterwards I just said to myself — you know, life's too short to not have a decent piece of pie
By the time you're reading this newspaper, Hank should be back home and in his familiar rocking chair, watching TV. His grandson, Micah Schubert, came on Sunday and so Gertie had some wonderful company until Hank came home. Micah returned to Aurora, Colo., on Wednesday.
Randy Hanschu and wife Jo were in Ramona to see Clinton and Frances for the weekend. Clinton was seen driving around the block in his old blue truck — a familiar and welcome sight. "Randy and Jo did lots of things for me around the home place while they were here," said Frances, "and then they took Clinton home to Salina on Sunday.
Orvell Brunner's new motto is "Have Tylenol, Will Travel," since she hurt her wrist last week. "I was trying to clean the steps with the sweeper," explained Orvell, "and I thought I was down on the bottom, but I still had one step to go. I tried to catch myself, but fell on my wrist."
But that didn't keep Orvell and Lauren from attending a wedding this last weekend in Lawrence. Kristen Brouhard married Greg Unru on Saturday. Kristen is Orvell's sister's granddaughter. If you want to know all the connections, here goes: Orvell's sister is Arvis Shields, her daughter is Rosemary, and Rosemary's daughter is Kristen.
"It was a real pretty wedding, held at Danforth Chapel," said Orvell.
Our mom, Martha Ehrhardt entertained guests for Sunday dinner — the first time Mom's been able to entertain in close to 10 years. Dad's health precluded visitors and guests. Being a dedicated minister for 60 years of his life, he'd given all his emotional energy to his ministry and in his final years, couldn't tolerate much excitement or personal interaction.
Mom's first guests for lunch were Dad's sister Naomi Fike and her daughter Virginia Bowyer from Haysville. When we called Naomi to ask if she'd join us she told us Virginia was coming, so they brought what they were having for lunch, combined it with what Martha had prepared, and it was a first-rate banquet.
It was such a lovely day that Naomi ventured from her house with her walker and walked across the street to Martha's house.
Pat and I were invited to speak to the Mentor Club of Hillsboro Monday evening. We had a delightful time with this progressive group of women who are dedicated to serving the community.
The organization began 75 years ago when a group of women were inspired to create a library in Hillsboro. Their fundraising projects and dedication brought that dream to reality and today they describe the club as a service organization, committed to learning and growth.
"Whenever a member of the club dies, we buy a book in their honor and place it in the library," said Marilyn Jost. So no matter how the group has evolved, they're still connected to books and personal expansion for themselves and the community.
Warren and Paula Fike just returned from a week-long trip to Ohio to see their new granddaughter, Grace. "We went to baby-sit with the boys," said Paula. "Carol had a meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, and she took baby Grace with her. Gary also had a meeting in Iowa, so we took care of the boys."
But Paula and Warren got to spend a day with their new granddaughter before they returned home. "I think Grace looks like her little brothers," said Paula. "She's perfect and beautiful." Wouldn't you expect that summary from Grandma?
Paula and Warren's youngest daughter Sara, from Topeka, and her two daughters Kirsten and Paige all went along on the trip, too. "We had a fun time!" said Paula.
Neysa Eberhard of Newton left a message on my answering machine this past week. "I haven't seen anything yet in your column about the May tea party, but I saw the announcement in the Explorer Newsletter, so I'm putting in a reservation for a table of six."
A few days later she sent a card with her check. "Oh, if you do those fabulous chocolate scones, I'm placing an order for a dozen to take home," wrote Neysa. Well, I'll just have to make sure that's on the menu!
The May Tea Party invitations will be mailed in April, and if you'd like to make reservations you can call us at 785-965-2621. Every year we'd sold out and had a waiting list, so don't delay, call today!
The tea is at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in Ramona. Bring a friend, your mom, your daughter, or just bring yourself! Reservations are $10/person and must be purchased in advance. The menu will include a dozen treats from tea sandwiches to scones, cheesecakes, puddings, and of course, teas!
And that's the news from Ramona where we're eager for a Spring celebration and a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
