TODAY'S NEWS - QUICKIES THAT CHANGE OFTEN

"I WILL NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD, BUT I WILL GO WHERE THERE IS NO PATH, AND I WILL LEAVE A TRAIL." Muriel Strode -KHS65 class motto.
"The good old days....when we weren't good and we weren't old" Barbara Schwarz Moss 2010
SEE WWW.KHS65.COM FOR 169 PIX FROM OUR 45TH REUNION - CLICK THE SMALL PHOTO FOR LARGER VERSION. See lots of NEW grade school pix!
CHECK THE LABELS, GO TO KIRKWOOD HISTORY ARTICLES & CLICK THE POST ABOUT FRANCIS SCHEIDEGGER'S PIX FOR A GLIMPSE OF A PLACE I BET EVERYONE REMEMBERS - and much more!


We seem to all be suffering a common problem these days, WHERE DID OUR LIVES GO? Our brains seem to still be 18, but our bodies are talking a different language. Sarah Orne Jewett puts it much more eloquently than do I:

“Neither of my companions was troubled by her burden of years. I hoped in my heart that I might be like them as I lived on into age, and then smiled to think that I too was no longer very young. So we always keep the same hearts, though our outer framework fails and shows the touch of time.”

FOR LATEST NEWS BE SURE TO CHECK OUT KHS65 AT FACEBOOK TOO!


Interactive news, reviews, gossip, musings, activities, photos, mysteries, histories, stories, truths, lies & video tapes from & for graduates of the Kirkwood (MO) High School fabulous class of 1965. Email us anything you would like to share to leslieatkhs65dotcom. See photos at www.khs65.com - comment here or on the website to make yourself heard! FIND US ~ www.khs65.com ~ www.khs65.org ~ FACEBOOK KHS65 ~ http://khs65blog.com ~ KHS65 MAKE IT A HABIT!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

ALAN YOUNT'S MEMORIES JOG THOSE OF BRUCE ANTLE - MUSICAL MEMORIES GALORE!

I recently received a wonderful message from Bruce which he has given me permission to share.  I am always so gratified when the memories or information from one classmate prompts contact from another!  And it's especially pleasing to know some of our classmates actually read what I write!  Thank you all for that!  Here goes Bruce's article:

"It is amazing to me the names of the people I either didn't know or can no longer remember, yet still sound vaguely familiar.  Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for what you do on your blog.  I do check it out every couple of months.  Like this morning, for some reason I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and said, oh, what the heck.  I have been working on our own family genealogy and as I sat down at the desk with my laptop for some reason thought I would check your blog to see if there was any new news regarding classmates.  Sorry to hear about Jim Olson.  I do not remember Jim, at least I don't think so.  I could tell you had become good friends.

Your posting of the JerryJazzMusician [Alan Yount's poetry has been published there twice lately, see earlier posts here] brought back my own horn playing memories.  At Keysor and North I played Alto Sax.  Lew Williamson was 1st chair in band at North, I was 2nd chair.  My music teacher at Mel Bay's encouraged me to enter into a music contest called the "Five Penney Music Contest" named after the movie of the same name starring Danny Kay who played trumpet in the movie.  I played NOLA and for my age group and instrument won first place which was my one and only musical claim to fame. For first prize I think I got a $15 gift certificate from Mel Bay's Music Store and a "Five Penney" record album.   Mel Bay's son, Bill Bay, asked me to join his band, to which my parents said no.  Doc Williamson was our family's dentist and prior to my musical accolade I thought I wanted to be a dentist because he was always complimentary after a visit.  My parents thought keeping me on a track of dentistry was a better option than musician. The music teacher at North asked me to join the orchestra as the only saxophone player, which I did, although he asked me to insert a mute to soften the tone. I was also asked to perform on stage at the high school during some kind of talent show.  Bobbie Jo Leech accompanied me on the piano.  I wonder what happened to Bobbie Jo? [she was living in Florida as is Bruce currently.  I'm not sure if she's still there.]  I believe she also played trumpet in band at North.  I got so nervous on stage, somewhere in the middle of NOLA I forgot where I was, as I had memorized it, and Bobbie Jo somehow  picked up on my memory loss, and either caught up with me or filled in the blanks, she was just great and a real life saver.  Either way it was my last semi-professional performance.  

Looking back, I wish I would have continued playing the sax in high school.  I would have enjoyed playing in the marching band at halftime.  It would have been a better option for me then football.  I did try out for football in 9th grade.  I thought I was a pretty good quarterback, at least in our neighborhood.  For J.V. made third string but at 5'8" and around 100 lbs. was no match for the bigger guys.  Jim Ballard wanted to learn out to play the sax and I gave him some instruction sheets and tips. He picked it up immediately and really became a great saxophone player and I believe part of the KHS marching band.

Just last week I asked my daughter who has five children (two who are in college, two in high school and one in middle school) if any would be interested in my sax, which I hadn't played in many years?  She replied, no, but wanted to hear me play as they are coming for a visit to warm, sunny Florida over the Christmas break.  I pulled it out of its case, not knowing if it would even play, if all the pads were hard and needed replacing?  Surprisingly it did play.  Not surprisingly, it was very hard, not the pads, me.  After several days I might be able to play Silent Night, but NOLA, not a chance."
A bit later I received another fun message from Bruce:  
"Alan Yount's memory of his great grandparents' house stirred up some additional ones of my own.  

The House on Woodlawn
My mom was always proud of being a KHS girl.  Of course, in her days Kirkwood High was as we know Nipher.  She moved to Kirkwood from the city in 1925 at the age of 12.  Her father, Percy Wall or P.H. which was for Percival Herbert built the house or at least his company, Wall Construction, built the house.  It was red brick with black mortar, a special request by her mom, Sadie. The house was located on the "other side" of the Ferguson-Kirkwood streetcar tracks, just down the hill and on the same side as the stately residences that lined the street north of Adams (Lockwood)​. It was across the street from the Kirkwood.Country Club (later renamed the Woodlawn Country Club.)  When golfers would tee off from the #3 tee, balls would often land in their yard. Today streets with the name of Par and Bogey are a little reminder of the past. The street [Woodlawn Avenue] from their house up to Manchester had not yet been paved and in the winter they would help to oil it.  Heavy rains or wet snows would cause cars to get stuck and for a modest fee there were always a few neighbors still with horses and wagons to help in their distress. My grandfather lived in the house for almost 40 years.  When it was sold the new owners painted the brick white and built on top of it.  They couldn't believe how thick the foundation was.  Wall Construction was a commercial builder.  They built schools, factories and breweries.  Very little evidence remains of the street car tracks next to the house.  As boys my brother and I used to collect a few spikes from the area.  Last summer I got out of the car just to prove to myself of its existence, and although most of the area has long since been turned into roadways, houses and lawns, I could still see and walk next to the ditch where the bed of the track use to be.  The one picture we have of the house was taken during the winter. The second is as it currently looks."



I love these stories of our childhood and especially those also about Kirkwood.  If YOU want to send some memories, please do and I'll post them.  And thanks to Alan Yount for his sharing of his memories which inspired Bruce to be in touch too! 
 

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