Ed Stanfield

last month, when I was in Texas with my Houston friends, one of them remarked

"Gentlemen, no matter how you look at it, we are in the last quarter of the game"

Yep!

Steve Jetton

Saw a Pantagraph article this morning about the old Maplewood Country Club …. another case, I guess, of the truth ruining a good story.

I’d always bought into the story / urban myth that: (a) the impressive looking older house on the corner of Linden and Jersey was the old club house; and (b), that the Club met it’s demise because Gus Belt had been denied membership due to “unsavory character” and in a fit of pique bought the place and turned livestock loose on the golf course.  

Per the P-graph, the house was built in 1951, over a decade after the Country Club closed.   Regarding Mr. Belt, he did indeed buy the place but after it had gone into foreclosure.   No mention that he was getting back at the club for blackballing him.

The article did say that he put cattle on the grounds, supposedly for steakburgers.

Maybe one of our local history mavens (Milan, Jack Keefe ….) can offer some  further insight.  I’d like to be told the old story was at least partly true.

Mike Howard

Steve...I bought that old story too as told by my parents. Would be interesting to know the truth about that area.

Milan Jackson

Steve, I helped do a lot of research on that story. I can verify much of the content with dated articles from the time. It didn't turn out the way I had known the story as I was growing up but we have our share of urban myths even here in good old Bloomington/Normal. What parts do you not believe?

Milan Jackson

1938-44 Gus lived at 1405 S. Main in Normal. 1946-49 he lived at 1110 E. Emerson. The property behind that house on Emerson was part of the acreage he purchased which was later part of Maplewood Heights. Riser and Ethell Parkway. There was no listing for 1100 S. Linden in Normal until Dr. Brian's house was built in 1950 or 1951

12/26/1945 Pantagraph article.

Milan Jackson

Maplewood CC clubhouse was at 1104 S. Linden and Dr. Brian's house is at 1100 S. Linden. We have found no written reports of Gus being rejected by the club. That doesn't mean it didn't happen but Bill Kemp doesn't like to use a negative rumor in his articles unless he is confident of the facts.

Bloomington has for many years claimed to have Center Street being the original brick street in the USA. There is even a plaque showing it. It just isn't true. We claim to have had a haunted federal prison on West Market St. We find no record of a federal prison ever being in Bloomington/Normal. The things I grew up believing aren't all true.

Steve Jetton

Milan, good stuff.  It was actually interesting to see that the old story wasn't entirely a fable - even though the juicier stuff has to be left to the imagination.   

I assume you get involved in research for this series on a regular basis, a fun gig, I'd think.

A "gee whiz" thing,  the 16K looked really cheap so I ran it through an inflation calculator.  A little over 2 million in today's dollar.  Still a steal for a whole subdivision but who knows how prospects were looking back then.

Steve Jetton

Actually that's $228,000, not $2 million.  An even more incredible steal, in hind sight.

I do that all the time.  Just ask my wife, the math major.   I think I'm rich for a minute or two and then, it's "oh sh-t."

Jack Habich

A subdivision for $228,000?  That's a steal.  You should get yourself one.  Even with a math blunder, you could pull that out of your checking and put your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to use.

Steve Jetton

Jack, I’m not allowed to write checks.  I’d have to borrow the money from you.  My wife gives me a cash allowance, provided I perform a few menial tasks.  That money goes for beer and ice cream at Gene’s – on South Main where the Dairy Queen was back in your Bloomington days.

Which makes me recall that I worked there briefly.   Along with Julio Palazon, who was in our class for a short time.  Junior year?   Julio dazzled me with outrageous tales of track and field prowess back when he was in HS in Mexico.  I recalling him talking a mile time in the four teens.  He went out for track at BHS but soon dropped out due to knee problems or whatever.   Lucky for Dave Long!

Last I heard of Julio in Bloomington he was down at the schoolyard doing something inexplicable.  Even Paul Simon denies knowing what it was.  I sensed some sexual innuendo, but this is a family site.

God bless Julio, wherever he wound up in this big world.

Re the subdivision, I recall home hunting years ago and being informed that I was persona non grata in the Maywood development.   If I could get my hands on it, I’d bull doze all the homes and turn feral pigs loose on the rubble.  

Well, I need to go clean the bathroom.    Then figure out where to go with my allowance.    A glass of Big Butt Porter at the local watering hole or a chocolate soda at Gene’s?

Jack Habich

Steve, it’s heartwarming to know that somebody else lives off of an allowance, based on the performance of specific tasks.  I bet, though, that you don’t have notes on the kitchen counter that guide you through steps to organize your daily activities.

I can remember some people that came and went through our school system, but Julio Palazon rings no bell.  One does not like to gloat about other people’s injuries, but it sure sounds like David Long dodged a bullet on that one.  I do remember a couple of names like Joe Carrier and Jim? Wade or Ware who appeared in the 9^th grade, and then you never heard of them again.  Think they were from Mississippi, and they used to yell “the South shall rise again” during football practice.

Now, I don’t know a lot about the folks at the Maywood development, but I think you’re misinterpreting their intent.  I just got off the phone with one of the subdivision elders, and had told him I’d like to see something in a house in his neighborhood.  He started asking me a bunch of questions, then asked where I lived in Bloomington.  “Well, I started off in a basement at 305 W. Monroe, sir” I said apologetically, thinking this would nix the deal.  He cut me short and said “well then, just come on down”.  So, I can only conclude that you were just too much of a hotshot for these good people.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Steve and Jack...

Maybe Dave Long didn't really have that much to worry about.  Julio told you he could run a four teen mile, but when he came out, he developed a quick knee injury and never ran a mile to prove it.  I could have told you that I had run a 4:15 mile and then when I came out for track you'd have found out I meant 6:15... oops!  I remember Joe Carrier whuppin' it up about the South, too.  I think once he said something that contained 'hell' in it and practice stopped for him to do push-ups.  Funny I can remember things like that and I don't have any idea what I had for lunch yesterday!

My lists don't contain organized instructions of how to attack my 'honey-dos'.  Just a list of what I should accomplish so I get my allowance like you guys.  And be sure not to get caught putting any money in your weasel sack to save for a day when you come up a little short! 

Max

Steve Jetton

Yeah, Max, I was being a bit tongue in cheek about good buddy Julio.

Several of us had gotten an earful of his stories over the winter.  Once track practice started we got together with him and said let’s run a 440.  Okay, we said,  we aren’t  gonna go all out, we’re gonna run this at about  mile pace.   Well, we ran like hell, fast as we could,  and to nobody’s surprise Julio couldn’t keep up.  He dropped out  part way through, pleading  the knee injury.   That may have been his last day of track at BHS.

He also informed me that he had a Corvette that his brother was keeping for him out in Arizona or New Mexico.

An amusing story but at the same time I feel a little bad telling it.  I mean, we were all kids with our anxieties and insecurities.   I hope the guy has had a good life.

Jack,

Your comments about Maywood provided me some valuable insight and I appreciate it.  I will start working on humility. 

You’re never to old for self improvement.

Jack Habich

Strange, I still don't remember a thing about Julio Palazon, but I suspect he doesn't remember me either.

And Max, I now vaguely remember the push-up incident with Carrier.  He was a loud and aggressive guy at that age who, in the 9th grade, reminded me of what I thought a Marine drill seargent would be.  Probably an mild mannered guy who likes to avoid conflict now, if he's still alive.  But what about Ware...or whatever his name was...who was the other half (maybe 1/4 since Carrier overpowered him) of the Southern connection?  I have no memory of either ever going to BHS.

Steve, I thought you learned your humility way back in about '65 when I lost my hard earned allowance (and meager poker earnings) betting on you in your race at Miller Park.  As Hayes would have probably told me,  "you bet the wrong horse".

Jack Habich

Diane Gardner celebrated her 39th recently at Cheeks, along with old friend Patti Miller Popejoy.....

as well as the more of the crew that you will recognize.

Helen Nicolaysen (Thompson)

Karen Sue (Suzi) Denton (Merritt)

Helen,

All I can say to all that is a big "AMEN".  So much truth to all that!

Milan Jackson

I saw Dianne Shaffer this morning at Shannon's. We had a nice talk and she is doing great considering she tried to devour a highway. I hadn't seen Di in years. We were neighbors for years and I always knew she was special. She still is.

Linda Bristow (Elias)

News Flash!!!

Astronauts in space drank recycled urine for drinking water.   The head of our water company has decided this same recycling will begin in El Paso!    M   a  y  b  eeeee   its time for me to look for a house somewhere ELSE!!!!!

PSSSSSSED in El Paso!

Linda

Ann Bailen

Richard Gray it was so nice to see you at last night's mini reunion. Hope you will start coming to all of our events. And what a treat to see Vicky Keller (and Dave) too. Nice evening. I sent photos to Habich to upload!

Jack Habich

Here are the (autocorrected) pictures from last night in the order that I received them. 

Jack Habich

Jack Habich

Jack Habich

Jack Habich