Discover the Web

Ever wish you could surf the Web with ease and dispatch,

discovering new sites like a true cybernaut?

Take a look at StumbleUpon.

Just make a random pick,

or choose a topic that attracts you.

Man vs Food

As I pay the fuel bill and eye my woodpile on this brisk fall eve, Champ Davis sends a brief seasonal note:

The Travel Channel will feature the Den Chili Parlor on "Man vs. Food" on Wed Oct 7 at 9 pm. Also the horseshoe sandwich at another Springfield restaurant! The preview referred to Firebrand Chili as "evil"!

Ah, chili (or chilli): nothing better than a spicy, steamy pot bubbling on the stove as cold weather returns. Check the  Travel Channel for your local schedule; mine says Fri Oct 9 at 8 pm for the Springfield show.

More evidence of spreading fame: the October issue of Gourmet magazine has a feature on horseshoe sandwiches and recommends three local restaurants.

To encourage discussion, here's a recipe for Springfield Chili at a site called Cooking Light. If you have other memories and recipes, send us a comment!

The Past in Color

Do you recall poring over the pages of magazines (Life, Look, National Geographic) and learning to see the world? Two articles on the web sites of popular news magazines show stunning color pictures of the past.

Newsweek has a slide show, In Revolutionary Color, depicting Russia in 1907-1925. The portraits are so vivid they still seem to be living people. 

Time has a slide show, The FSA and the Dawn of Kodachrome, showing color scenes of rural workers and labor migrants in the 1930s. You may glimpse parts of Illinois, before your time.

End of Summer

Larry Workman

Labor Day brings the end of summer, the start of school. 

Here's a film on this rite of passage by Jeff Scher, a painter and writer.

For me, September always seems the best month to travel.

Are you going anywhere?

State Fair Film

from MSNBC.com

The State Fair went by quickly this summer.

In keeping with these hard times,

Admission was $3.00, and many attractions were free.

If you missed it, there's a nice quick film

On the '58 web site: look under Video.
And for a view of the annual Butter Cow, click here.
This one munches grass beside a book-reading Abe Lincoln.
(thanks to Judi Dunkel Headrick for the tip)

Blogger or Facebook?

Friends,

We've been on Blogger for four years. I just made some changes to the interface, adding the "slide show" in the upper right corner. We also now have a Follower page, for those of you who want to show your reader loyalty.

But I'm beginning to wonder if we might do better over on FaceBook. Some of you may have signed in there to stay in touch with friends or family. (Anne and I have a presence there as Dana Hand, to promote our first novel.)

FaceBook is an easier way for me (and you) to write brief notes about our lives, memories, and reunion plans. It lets you stay in touch with close friends, relatives, and colleagues. Writing comments and sharing pictures or videos is a snap.

I enjoy writing the blog, but it's a lot of work and there aren't many comments. The site gets much traffic, but most viewers "lurk" and don't say anything. Facebook is far easier to navigate, add comments, and share pictures. We all get to contribute.

So I've created a trial Group page called SHS Class of 1958. Please stop by and sign on as a Fan. You won't get any spam, and it could be much more fun for all of us. (Reunion Committee, post all of your notes there!)

Will

PS: Never fear, we won't abandon Blogger.

Isabelle Blazis

Isabelle Blazis
SPRINGFIELD - Isabelle Blazis, 95, of Springfield died at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at Lewis Memorial Christian Village. Isabelle was born Nov. 10, 1913, in New Baden, the daughter of William and Ann Zitchaukus Luishes. She married John A. Blazis; he preceded her in death in 1991. Isabelle was a homemaker and a devoted wife and mother. She was a member of Christ the King Parish and also belonged to the Lithuanian-American Club. Isabelle enjoyed crocheting, quilting, gardening, and reading. She was also preceded in death by her son, Robert Blazis in 2001; her parents; three sisters, Catherine Luishes, Margaret Zia and Anna Kuzmisky; and one brother, William Luishes. She is survived by her son, John Blazis Jr. of Springfield and Punta Gorda, Fla.; four grandchildren, Michael Blazis of Chatham, Denise Blazis-Mataya of Petersburg, Stephen (wife, Jennifer) Blazis of Chatham, and Mark (wife, Sue) Blazis of LaGrange; three great-grandchildren, Sydney, Vincent and Isabelle; one niece; and one nephew. Family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until the time of Mass at 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at Christ the King Parish, 1930 Barberry, Springfield, with Rev. Msgr. David S. Lantz celebrant. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Christ the King, 1930 Barberry Dr., Springfield, IL 62704. The family of Isabelle Blazis is being served by Kirlin-Egan and Butler Funeral Home, 900 S. 6th St., Springfield. Please visit Isabelle's online life story at www.butlerfuneralhomes.com to offer your condolences.

Getting Older

We hear a lot of bad news about old age, and the most annoying is that we are a drag on the younger generation. You know: they will have to support us and, God forbid, listen to our moldy stories about the good old days when Cokes were a nickel.

The US Census bureau says that by 2020 elders will outnumber the young, world-wide. Bad news? Not at all, according to this article. Longer lives also bring to the world better education, greater wealth, less disease or war, and happier lives. And green technology to improve the health of our planet.

Growing older? Rejoice.

Memories of Pop

(Click to enlarge)

When you were growing up, what did you call a soft drink? Pop? Coke? Soda? Champ Davis once told me that in southern Illinois, a Coke was Dope. In New England, the favored name is Tonic.

Check out this map in the Boston Globe. Springfield lies on the Pop/Soda line, north and south. Wisconsin has a similar division, but east-west. The usage is regional (North, South, West), following historic patterns of migration and settlement. 

Ah, the many good memories of Pop. If you drank it on site, five cents a bottle; otherwise, an extra penny for the return.  All the bright colors of Nehi: orange, grape, strawberry, lemon; the tangy sweet of root beer (A&W, Dad's, Hires); the varieties of cola (RC, Pepsi) or lemon-lime (7-Up, Bubble-Up), and one odd favorite of mine, Squirt.

In small grocery stores, the "vending machine" was a metal ice chest full of cold water. Plunge your hand down into that dark pool, groping for a bottle. Bring them up, one after another, until you have your prize: ginger ale, Coke, grape Nehi. Nothing better on a hot summer day. Do you have Pop memories?

Summer

Wherever you are today,

Happy 4th of July,

Independence Day,

Summertime.

May you have a safe and sane holiday!
PS: Enjoy this card from Libbie.

SHS Organ

The Barton Theatre Organ in the SHS auditorium is a source of great musical fun to the community. I believe the organ once sat downtown in the Orpheum theatre. Early in the 1990s, it moved to SHS and was restored. (Locals, please comment if I'm wrong.)

Today it's used for school programs and public concerts, the latter often featuring Mark Gifford, an expert on church and silent film music. You may catch Mark on July 3-4 in Pittsfield and Springfield, and again on Dec 6 and 26 for carol concerts in Springfield.

Our Video channel has a brief film of Mark performing at SHS. For the memory-challenged, check out Music.

Father's Day

Tom Brosch '58 had an early Dad's Day present this year. His wife, Bev Francisco Brosch '60 invited her Chi O pledge sisters from the U of I ('64) for a weekend in Gatlinburg and the Smokies. 

Festivities included dinners, wine tastings, riverside lunch in Sevierville, a mountain drive, two hikes, and a picnic.

Tom served as host and designated driver. Here he tipples with the Springfield contingent, left to right: Louisa Pedigo Snyder, Marlene Barlick Burton, Tom, Bev, and Sue Lanich Jackson.

If you have photos of recent events, please send them in.

Taco Salad

Jo Ankeny Lindamood and Bonnie Bruce Baker recently met for lunch in sunny Phoenix. Bonnie was visiting her mother, and Jo has become a resident of Arizona. A welcome relief, she says, after many winters in Ohio. Addresses are in our class directory. (If you have recent photos, please send them in.)

John Harrison

John Harrison '58 died on June 11, 2009, in a home hospice after his diagnosis last fall with lung cancer.

In Springfield, John attended Butler grade school, where he showed an early talent for art and writing. At SHS he edited the Capitoline and wrote for the Senator Speaks. He was a member of Jr. Choir, Wranglers, and played varsity tennis all four years.

He attended Carleton College, earning a B.A. in European History in 1962. During his Army service, he was a Russian interpreter and later taught Islamic art in Turkey. In 1966-72 he worked on MA and PhD degrees at UCLA in the fields of Russian history, Islamic politics, and Islamic art.

In later years we lost track of John, though he remained close with Stephen and Joann Grove Dilts, who knew him at Carlton and named one of their sons for him.

Before his final illness, John worked for many years in the travel section of AAA and volunteered almost daily at an animal shelter, The Lange Foundation. John was 69 and is survived by his older sister, Diane.

Memorial donations may be made in John’s name to: The Lange Foundation, 2106 S. Sepulveda Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90025, 310-473-5585. Thanks to Stephen Dilts and Judy Vicars Van Hagen for the information.

D-Day

A brief tribute to D-Day and the greatest generation.

This picture is the favorite of their children.

Nelson & Mary Howarth, in California, in late 1943.

He is about to ship out for combat duty in the Pacific.

She will go home to care for three kids, all under seven.

Since they married during the Depression,

This time together was their only honeymoon.

Their generation made so many sacrifices

So that we and others would live and prosper.

On this day of tribute, we salute them.

Mary Howarth

Mary Watson Howarth, 94, formerly of Springfield, died Saturday, May 30 in Nashville, Tennessee. The wife of former Mayor Nelson Howarth, she served as first lady of Springfield for twelve years (1955-59, 1963-71), when the city made great advances in race relations, urban renewal, and modern planning. In addition to being a full-time mother, Mrs. Howarth was an officer of several community organizations in Springfield, a skilled social hostess, and a tireless political campaigner. 

Born Mary Watson Prindiville on September 8, 1914, she was descended from Irish families who emigrated to Chicago in the 1840s and remained a proud fourth-generation Chicagoan to the end of her life.  She graduated from Wheaton High School and attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and business school in Chicago. After working in law and insurance offices, she married Nelson Howarth on March 2, 1935, in Chicago.

The Howarths moved permanently to Springfield in 1941, where Mrs. Howarth raised a family of five children, including three under the age of seven, during the years her husband served as a naval officer in the Pacific in World War II.  After the war, two more children were born in Springfield, and beginning in 1950, Mrs. Howarth assisted her husband over the course of a 25-year political career and six mayoral campaigns.  

When the Howarths retired from politics in 1975, Mrs. Howarth went back to work as a legal secretary in her husband’s law office until his retirement in 1989. Throughout their fifty-six year marriage, and in the 18 years since his death, she remained her family's foundation and inspiration.  

In 2002 she moved to Nashville, where her vibrant spirit, sharp wit, practical wisdom, and personal strength drew to her many new friends.  The Howarth family wishes to acknowledge the extraordinary caretakers and staff of The Health Center at Richland Place for their loving care of Mrs. Howarth in her final years and Alive Hospice for their kind assistance at her death.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William Aloysius Prindiville and Gertrude Mary Shepherd, and by two sisters, Ruth Prindiville Ahern and Susan Prindiville Bichl. She is survived by her five children, Susan Howarth Eastman of Alton; William Louis Howarth of Princeton, NJ; David Nelson Howarth of Cortez, CO; Lydia Howarth of Nashville, TN; and Jo Howarth Noonan of Atlanta, GA; also by thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in Nashville in mid-June. Burial and a family service will be in August at Homewood Memorial Gardens, Homewood, IL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Mary and Nelson Howarth Scholarship at the University of Illinois in Springfield.

Summer of '45

(l-r) Alan Kennedy, Bobby Denton, CE Welch, Ginger West.

CE Welch sent this picture from his family albums.

Check out the abs, and the shades on Alan.

The date is 1945 or 1946, perhaps the summer after kindergarten.

CE lived on Fayette, Ginger behind him on Williams Boulevard.

Bobby was Feitshans '59, Ginger SHS '59.

Sadly, she died in an auto crash in 1957.

Memorial Day

Centuries ago a family arose near Courcy, a village in Normandy, France. Later they emigrated to Ireland and then the USA, settling in the Midwest. By 1944, a young descendant named Robert Ahern, Jr. was flying a P-38 fighter-bomber out of High Wycomb, England, toward Alençon in Normandy.

The date was April 23, six weeks before D-Day, the Allied invasion of Europe. Robert was on a strafing mission, looking to knock out German defenses. He made a pass over Alençon to warn civilians of his intent; on a second pass, he was shot down and killed by anti-aircraft fire.

Today he rests in one of the military graves at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. The place is 54 miles from Courcy, where his family began.

Robert was my cousin, gone before I could know him. On May 19 I visited his grave for the first time. It's a peaceful spot, on a bluff above Omaha Beach, where so many died in 1944. All the graves face westward, toward the USA.

Bressmer Fire

May 2, 1948

Some of you may recall the John Bressmer store downtown.

First escalators in Springfield. Departments on each floor.

Ladies wearing white gloves, shopping on Wednesdays.

Then lunch at Maldener's and a matinee at the Lincoln.

Sixty years ago this month, the store burned down.

I stood there with my Dad, watching this scene.

Later they rebuilt the store. 

It remained on East Adams until 1980.

A full story, with more pictures, here.

Thanks to Judi Dunkel Headrick for the tip.

Monica Maisenbacher

Monica Maisenbacher
Monica Maisenbacher, 40, of Round Rock, Texas, died Saturday, April 25, 2009, after a prolonged illness. She is survived by her daughter, Erin Morgan Maisenbacher of Springfield; her mother, Marcia Ruzes Maisenbacher of Round Rock, Texas; and her sister, Vivion Maisenbacher of Chicago; as well as her sister, Susan Robinson, nephew, Zachary Thomas, and her grandmother, Marietta Ruzes, all of Springfield in addition to many close cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Gerald Maisenbacher. Monica graduated from Southeast High School and was an EEG technician. A gathering for family and friends to remember her and celebrate her life will be held this summer in Springfield at a family reunion. Friends of Marcia Maisenbacher '58 may write her at the address in our class directory.