Hope you folks have a lot of time to read for I have a lot of news to catch up on.
I have not written the news since the store in Bennington burned. It was such a sad loss and now there is such a big job of getting it cleaned up. It is not an easy task to get all of the tin and glass and debris sorted through and with this building having a basement it makes it all the more harder.
I remember when my family moved to Bennington the store was the meeting place for us kids to gather to play. There was a long bench out in front by the big plate glass window and we would sit out there in the evening and eat ice cream cones and watch cars go by. When we got tired of that we would go inside and Mr. Sample would let us play on a long counter which ran the full length of one side of the store.
This was the side of the store where they kept dry goods which were sewing notions such as dress material, thread, needles, pins, ribbons and work clothes for men and ladies gowns, socks, gloves, underwear, stockings for ladies which were very heavy cotton and had elastic around the top to keep them up. If they didn’t have the elastic there were garters for sale which was a wide piece of woven rubber and elastic together which held the stockngs up. This was years before nylon stockings were on the market. How I remember when my mom got her first pair of nylons. She was so proud of them and tried hard not to get a runner in them.
This long counter was always kept clear of anything so if someone came in to buy material they would measure it there. So of an evening Mr. Sample would let us kids play on that counter. It was tall enough we could sit and let our legs hand down and watch people come in the store. If someone was interested in anythng on that side of the store we knew we had to get down out of the way. Marie Osborn was very small for her age and when her dad brought her to the store with him us girls would lift her up to the counter so she could play with us.
There was Mary Higgins, Wanda Higgins, Barbara Pate, Marie Osborn and me who were the ones who were there the most and those childhood days were good in many ways.
There was the lodge hall up on the second floor of the building and Hope Rebekah Lodge ladies would have their meetings up there. It seemed like about once a week and us girls would sit on my front porch across the street and watch them go up.
It was a very formal occasion with the ladies dressed in lonog evening dresses and to me being a poor country kid I was just amazed when the ladies started getting out of their cars with all this finery on and their hair in big upsweep dos. I thought when I get grown up I am going to have a long dress and do something like that but as I got older it seemed rather silly to me to want a long dress when I was really a tomboy so I asked my dad for a horse, which I got.
The years went by and Mr. and Mrs. Sample passed away and their son Bob took over the store. I had just as good a time being around Bob and Harriet May as I had in days past.
It’s very sad this beautiful old landmark is gone but I have some very fond memories of my childhood growing up near it.
Much has taken place in our community since I last wrote the news and I must extend my thoughts and prayers to my friends Cliff and Darla Miller. May you know that you are thought about and prayed for that you may find the strength to carry on with this heavy load.
Glo Asbury was operated on at the Cincinnati Eye Institute on Tuesday and had an iris implanted in her eye. The operation went wonderfully and she is home. On Wednesday afternoon I was preparing her some food to take when Bob got home from work and he looked out the door and said here comes Glo. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was already driving her car. Great news.
Betty Smith has been in King’s Daughters’ Hospital in ICU with a serious infection for five days but is now at home and doing fine.
Carl Bovaard was admitted to King’s Daughtrs’ Hospital and is going through a lot of tests to determine his problem. He is not too well as of today (Thursday).
Get well wishes and prayers go out to all of these folks.
I had the good fortune to run into Janet Hendricks and Peggy Eckerty in Walmart the other evening and those two are a hoot, talking about school and also the music club. I told them I was sorry not to get to the music club show this year but I had to make a choice between the music club show and getting to see my doctor Wllage get up there and perform and going to the election headquarters to see how my son-in-law Steve Lyons came out so needless to say I was there for the election results. Steve is a very knowledgeable person and I feel would make a good commissioner. My family is truly blessed to have him.
I told Janet maybe the music club could have another show just for those of us who did not make that one but she and Peggy just shook their heads.
Dr. Mark and Mrs. Willage just returned from a wonderful vacation in Alaska. It’s good to have him back.
Happy birthday to Kobe Chatham who celebrated with a party with his friends from school spending the night and a lot of others attending to enjoy lunch and cake and homemade ice cream.
I won’t try to put all the names in because I will leave some out but his grandmas Linda and Nina were both there for sure.
Bob and I visited my sister Dorothy and my aunt Myrtle at Swiss Vila on Tuesday and on the way home stopped and said hello to Edna and Lavina Schwartz.
Lavina had some wonderful strawberries this year but they did not bear as well this year as usual which she thought was due to the frost which we had about the time they started blooming.
Congratulations to Dusty Carfield on being on the dean’s list at Ivy Tech. We are proud of you.
Also to Kelsey Bovard for the scholarship she received.
Our sympathy to Ronald and Marcia Lock at the loss of their loved one Marianne.
Bill Madison has been putting a lot of hours in the hayfield and it is beginning to catch up with him. He is just not as young as he used to be. Oh, well, that’s the way it goes Bill.
Get well wishes go out to Mary Jane Rogers and Barbara Banta recovering from recent surgery.
Sue Purcell of Milan went with Glo Asbury when she had her eye surgery and spent the night with her. Glo’s son James and wife Miranda were also there during her surgery. James called me to say everything went well.
Rick Van Norstran’s brother Ralph and Susan from Tennessee were the guests of Rick and Carla last weekend.