Paddy Day

Top 'o the day t' you. Thanks to 

Judi Dunkel Headrick for the note, above,

And to Harriett Smith Sidoli for

this little charmer of an animated card.

Did you notice that the O'bamas

perpetuated a Chicago tradition

by tossing green dye 

in the White House fountain? 

Lois Body

On March 23, 2009, Miss Lois Body will turn 95. To put her life in perspective: in 1914, the year she was born, Charley Chaplin made his film debut, and Babe Ruth played his first game for the Red Sox. All of Europe fell into the first World War, the Panama Canal opened, and the last known passenger pigeon died in Cincinnati.

She's lived through seventeen U.S. Presidents, one Great Depression, and countless recessions. During her 30-year career at SHS, she taught thousands of students, marked endless sets of papers and exams, and somehow always managed to be alert, cheerful, and supportive, even of her least committed charges.

Today she lives in a resident home in Watseka, near her birthplace, a farm in nearby Woodland. Her life has diminished, but she still enjoys receiving notes and cards, which the staff reads to her. If you could please take a moment to write her, that would say that many '58s remember her well.

Address: Miss Lois Body, Iroquois Resident Home, 200 East Fairman, Watseka, IL 60970.

A Request

 

We received the following post today:

Dear Springfield High School Class of 1958,

My name is Seena Tabibi and I currently attend Springfield High School as a student in the class of 2011. In the past month or so, a group of Springfield High School students and I started a "Rally Against Childhood Cancer" for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Then our group created a Facebook cause as well as a Facebook group to help us raise awareness and donations for cancer. I would be glad if you could help us spread the word to people whom you may know.

Click here to reach the Facebook group.

Thank you for your help,
Sincerely,

Seena Tabibi
March 9, 2009

John Sowinski

John Sowinski, pictured here in our 1958 yearbook, died from a heart attack on Saturday, March 7 in Springfield. He was 78.

Sowinski attended St. Patrick High in Chicago, served in the Marines, and earned a B.S. and M.S. in education from Eastern Illinois University.

He joined the SHS faculty in 1956, teaching history and economics in the Social Science department. He coached tennis and was assistant coach in football, for coach Willard Duey. Sowinski served as head football coach in 1962-78. He had 9 winning seasons and a career record of 76-69-8.

He then became manager of field service in the State Employees Retirement System. After retirement in 1987 he worked as a coaching assistant at Sacred Heart-Griffin for 22 years.

Among city coaches, Sowinski holds the fourth best-winning record and positions in two sports Halls of Fame, for Springfield and the state of Illinois. For a full story, see today's SJR.

Pluto Day

Are you ready for this?

Pluto is a planet once more.

At least in the state of Illinois.

The IL state legislature has so ruled.

Why? Because the discoverer of Pluto,

one Clyde Tombaugh, was born in

Streator, Illinois. He is the only planet-man

ever born in Illinois, so by gum,

the state will recognize him

by declaring March 13 as Pluto Day.

I'm not kidding. Here's the story.

As for Pluto the Disney character,

He has no known connection to Illinois.

Yet.

Back to the Sixties

A little bit of spring in the air today,

So it's time for nostalgia.

Several classmates have recommended a site:

Take Me Back to the Sixties.

It's a slide and music show, well done.

It's more Fifties than Sixties,

But fun to watch.

Tip: set your browser window

to avoid the ads at top and bottom.

Strange College Courses

A friend sent me a link to

The Fifteen Strangest College Courses in America.

Some are doozies.

Did you ever have a strange course

in college?

Rifle Club

(click to enlarge)

A moment of memory for Rifle Club, to which I belonged for two years. We met in the basement of the old YMCA, across from the Lincoln Library. 


The above shot is 1957 and all boys, but girls belonged in other years. (Look just beyond Rod Gabel's shoulder.) 


The club had no social purpose: we rarely talked, just practiced shooting, studying the targets, and cleaning up rounds. It was a brief pastime, but memorable. Perhaps you had one like it. 

Lincoln Day

Big excitement in Springfield today:

200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

Visit and speech by President Obama.

Landing of Air Force One at Capitol Airport.

All details, and video, at the SJR site.
See also pictures here.

Thanks to Judi Dunkel Headrick for the heads-up.

Boat House

A story in the SJR today reports that the Washington Park lagoon will once again have a boat house, thanks to an anonymous half-million dollar donation.

Designed by famed landscape architect Jens Jensen, the boathouse was built in 1914 and stood until the 1960s, when it was torn down.

I remember ice-skating on the lagoon in the 1950s. We went into the boat house to warm up by a pot-bellied stove and sip hot cocoa provided by the Girl Scouts, at five cents a cup.

But that building was on the south side of the lagoon and it was shingle-style, all closed in. This postcard drawing may be of an earlier boat house, built in 1903.

Do you remember the boat house, the concession stand and natural spring, the riding stables west of the park? So do the commenters on the SJR story.

Ice-Storm

The most dreaded winter words are ice-storm. On Jan 27-28 a big one hit Richmond KY, and Allan Stephens sent us an account of his epic struggle with Ma Nature. 

Electricity went off at 7:30 pm, and his basement sump began to overflow.

He lit candles around the sump, then began to bail with a pitcher into a bucket. Each bucket was two gallons, or 16.68 pounds. Then up a flight of five stairs to dump in the toilet. 

A few trips would not be bad; he did this for nine hours until 5 AM, with help from wife Mary Lou and an additional, heavier 5-gallon bucket. 

On day 2, the rain turned to snow and the sump level subsided. Al went out in search of a generator; no dice. Tried McDonald's for coffee; the line was three blocks long.

Finally at Wal-Mart he found a bilge pump and marine battery, hooked it up and began to empty the sump.

By now the inside temp was 40 so he lit a wood fire and raised the house to 50. While he enjoyed some hot soup, the power returned after a 25-hour outage.

Five days later, some of his neighbors STILL do not have power. Thanks to Al for his letter, and get some rest!

Cuckoo

In this time of national economic crisis, Illinois and its current governor are providing a bit of comic relief. Mayor Daley of Chicago, normally no barrel of laughs, had this to say about the Governor's state of mind the other day.

Obama Horseshoe

Springfield restaurants, ever ready to set trends, have fashioned three variations of an "Obama horseshoe sandwich" to mark the inauguration of the 44th president, and the fourth from Illinois (we include Grant and Reagan).

The State Journal-Register proposed a competition, and three chefs responded, at Maldener's, Sangamo Club, and D'Arcy's Pint. You won't find the usual combination of hamburger, fries, and cheese sauce; these concoctions emulate Chicago-style hot dogs and Hawaiian comfort food, in keeping with the new President's tastes.

The story appears today in the SJR. For background on the horseshoe, see this Wikipedia article, which proclaims that Springfield is indeed the birthplace of the artery-clogging sandwich. Do any of our readers still eat this stuff?

A Considered Life

As promised two years ago, Jim Hollis has produced his 13th book. They keep rolling out, each one building a bigger audience for Jim's profound yet practical approach to human problems.

What Matters Most draws on Jim's background in literature and psychology to ask how can we find our way to what he calls a more considered life. He asks us to deal with fear, tolerate confusion, learn to grow, and always pursue life as a journey.

You may learn more at Jim's web site , which lists his lecture schedule, perhaps at a city near you. His latest book is available at Amazon or your local store.

Happy 2009

New Year's Eve in Sydney, Australia

It's Jan 1 there, so let's celebrate!

Enjoy some nice cards from

Judy Van Hagen 

Al and Diane Urbanckas 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to us all!

A Year Goes By

As this year ends, watch one go by in 40 seconds.

Moving

On Jan 12, 2009,

the '58 website moves
to a new address.

Boston Charlie

From Walt Kelly's Pogo Website

Of the many ways to express holiday sentiment,

one of my favorites is Walt Kelly's parody

of the traditional English carol,

Deck the halls with boughs of holly.

Kelly's version begins:

Deck us all with Boston Charlie,

Walla Walla Wash., an' Kalamazoo!

The rest you may read at the Pogo site.

And if you want to hear the tune, 

here's a scene from a movie we like to see

every year at this time.

Jim Taylor

Our classmate, Jim Taylor, died on Thursday, Dec 11 2008, at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown, KY. 

Jim was born in Springfield and attended Stuart grade school. In the 50th Reunion book, he wrote that his favorite memories of SHS were faculty members Lenore Ashinhust, Marguerite Zimmerman, and Jack Turner. He was also fond of formal dances, the Alamo, and the Tick-Tock Inn.

Jim married his high school sweetheart, Carol Schroeder Taylor, also a '58 classmate. He was a former manager of O'Charley's and credit manager of Sears. He was an avid fisherman and lover of horses.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Gail and Edith Barnett Taylor; and a brother, William Taylor. He is survived by his wife, Carol Taylor of Elizabethtown; a daughter, Laura Taylor and John of Elizabethtown; a brother, David Taylor of Chicago; a sister, Frances Myerscough of Springfield; two grandchildren, Preston and Ian Taylor, both of Elizabethtown; and several nieces and nephews.

Condolences may be expressed online at Brown Funeral Home in Elizabethtown, which is in charge of arrangements. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Season's Greetings

Diane Gurgens Urbanckas enjoyed the story on elder ball and sent a picture of her Mom, who will be 88 on Jan 23. Here she is with Santa at the 2007 Christmas Pops concert of the Springfield Symphony, held each year at UIS. They make a good match, in their red and black velvet, of course recalling our SHS colors as well.

In another picture, Diane appears with the art and environment committee at St. Jude Church after they finished decorating the Advent wreath. She and I got to speculating on the little sphere that appears in the picture's center. Some folks think these are spirits; Diane says a speck of dust, and I say it's a flash reflection on the shutter, just before it closed. She was using a timer.

What do you think? Let's hear some comments.