Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Helen, dear Helen, I knew that!!! (see revision to entry) And congratulations on Entry No. 1,000. A real milestone for the Message Forum. This is all great fun. I was just trying to poke at Milan a little bit, not at you. I love your entries, so please stay funny. And he did come through didn't he? I admire all of you and am so enjoying all of this.

Jack, where can I get one of those phones? Makes a lot of sense to me.  No instructions needed.

Jack Habich

Mel, I think it's the same outfit that sold us the class rings, now gone high tech.

Milan, as I understand it, for the class of '63 model, an operator may sometimes be required , and, depending on area, you may have to have a party line.

Milan Jackson

I think my ring came from someplace called Terryberry? Just a guess. :)

Does the Class of 63 phone have a camera?

Jack Habich

Yes Milan, the '63 model has two camera solutions.  You can easily hook it up to a flash unit, or, for extra charge, a guy from Olan Mills Studio runs around with you (one week free trial).

Milan Jackson

Harriett (Holly) Rust (Wood)

 I love everyone's commitment to volunteerism.  My masters is in non-profit management and I have worked and volunteered with non-profits for most of my life.  Milan, I was very interested in your work with the McLean County History Museum.  That and the McLean County Historical Society were among my mom's favorite non-profits.  She spent many years working with them and getting the museum from the McBarnes Building to the Courthouse.  

I was really active in Junior Historian's at BJHS and BHS.  Mrs. Ivans was the teacher/sponsor.  I know Ginny Spry was also involved with them.   Anyone else remember the group?  I got to have lunch with the governor three different times as a Junior Historian of the Year.  It was all pretty cool and nurtured a lifelong interest in history, especially the Civil War era.

Milan Jackson

Holly, I am one of the researchers for the Cemetery Walk. This year the theme is the Civil War Years. So the person not only has to be buried at Evergreen but also had to have been involved in the war or reconstruction. Very interesting. This area is rich in history.

Milan Jackson

As I see it, as a volunteer, I am finally getting paid what I am worth. (laugh)

Helen Nicolaysen (Thompson)

I work voluntarily from time to time at our church for Care and Share.  Two weeks ago my husband and I made three trips to help pick up over 13 ton of food to bring back to our church where food is distributed to feed the hungry.  It's a government program which feeds about 165 families weekly.  We had some adventure with one of the loads of canned vegetables.  They started sliding in the bed of our truck and we almost lost everything.  We pulled over to try pushing the heavy stacked canned goods back in place and out of no where appeared a very nice and helpful young lad who also serves in the Army.  He and Tommy pushed the top 4 layers of canned goods back into place.  He was like an angel sent to us from heaven since I didn't have the strength to push all those cans back into place.  Then as we continued our slow slow journey back to our church once again the canned vegetables began sliding again.  Once more we stopped and 3 nice gentlemen helped push the cans back into place.  We finally made it with all the canned goods enabling us to continue feeding the hungry.  It is very rewarding knowing we are a part of such a worthwhile charity.

Mel, sounds as though we're all on the same page.  It's fun chatting with everyone and yes, I'm still laughing!  (Laugh).  Milan, it's contagious!  (Laugh)    

Can we still name the Administrators?  Mr. Holcomb is on the far right.  He wore many hats.  He was a Counselor, PE Coach and Teacher and Disciplinarian, right?  Can't pull the names of the other two out of my memory bank!  HELP!!!!

Milan Jackson

Mr. Holcomb was at Panera in Bloomington last year when the class of 1963 was having a breakfast. One of our classmates asked me is it was Mr Holcomb sitting behind me so I turned around and asked him. He said yes and he is still alive. He died a couple of months later. He still looked good. A good guy too.

Ed Stanfield

Holly,

I would love to chat with you about the War to Prevent Southern Independence, AKA The War of Northern Aggression or Mr Lincoln's War, sometimes called The Late Unpleasantness. I would, I suspect have a slightly different slant on it than you :)

It has been a lifelong interest of mine as well

Ed

Milan Jackson

Time for a little peace and love. (laugh)

Milan Jackson

Jack Habich

We buried friend Rocco today, and had a lot of laughs about his personality and quirks.   An unforgetable character wherever he went, I took him downtown to get his hair cut a few times, and Sandy, my "stylist", used to send me e-mails after about how much fun they had at the shop whenever he came down.  She put it this way on his obit page:

April 27, 2011

Milan Jackson

Our lives are richer partly because of the friends we make. Jack, I think you are rich.

Jack Habich

On the Administration pic #1008, the Principal's name (in the middle) was Knight, Robert Knight if I'm correct.  The name of the asst. Principal on the left is on the tip of my tongue, but that's where it remains.  The sports teams were also called The Knights, I think.

Milan Jackson

I think his first name is George. Mr. Knight was the assistant principal. :)

Ed Stanfield

Today was a great day. It was the annual Sons of Confederate Veterans, IL Division convention here in springfield. A good time spent with friends I rarely get to see and a very good program on the Civil war prison at Alton. the prison was closed in 1860 as inhumane, then the war came and it was reopened. It never got better.

Then we all went to Lincoln's home where we assembled in front of the house and ufurled 2 battle flags and had our pictures taken while we sang Dixie. There were a couple hundred Boy Scouts there and they had a ball watching us... pictures and a u-tube may follow .

Afterward went to Camp Butler National Cemetery, final resting place for 879 confederate soldiers who were POWs and died in captivity. They were mostly captured at Ft.Henry and Ft. Donelson. They for the most part, froze to death.

Milan Jackson

Ed, I did research on two veterans from that war. One was at Camp Donelson. Very interesting character. They both are buried at Evergreen Cemetery and will be a part of this year's Cemetery Walk. They both lived through the war and came back to Bloomington.

Milan Jackson

Happy Birthday Diane Gardner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Victor Jackson

ED youall go! I think milan needs a good poke... But don't we all Do that phone come with a hearing AID

Harriett (Holly) Rust (Wood)

Ed, I wrote a very interesting paper in the mid-60s comparing the chapters on the War Between the States using a high school American History textbook from Atlanta and one from Illinois.  You had to read between the lines to recognize that the two books were talking about the same events.  I used to be really on top of all my history from that time period.  I remember writing a poem about the prison at Rock Island which was far larger than Alton and a humanitarian disgrace...poem was something like this (please excuse my inability to get the phrasing right in this format consider each capitalization a new line):

Blood    Lying on the snow  Flowing through the grass   Coming from the broken hearts of men left here to die.

10,000 Confederate soldiers toiling in the sun   All hope of freedom lost  As if it had ne'er begun.

Wish I could really remember it as it had a powerful effect on me.  I believe there were over 2000 Confederate soldiers buried there.

Milan, when is the cemetery walk this year?  It is such a fascinating thing.  I did it one year when Mom was still alive and I was in Bloomington.

Ed Stanfield

Holly,

there was not a single shot fired in anger in Illinois during the war, but there are in excess of 14,000 confederate soldiers buried here. Most from the 5 POW camps here.. Alton, Rock Island, Douglas, Butler, and Mound City. In addition Decatur has a significant confederate section in the city cemetery as they were on the rail line between Mound City ( a holding point, not a prison) and Camp douglas. Men who died en route were thrown off the trains at Decatur and the townspeople had to deal with the bodies.

You are right, there are about 2,000 at Rock Island, 6000+ at Camp Douglas (no one knows for sure) almost a thousand at Camp Butler, a couple of thousand at Alton ( smallpox Island) and a  thousand  more at Mound City, along with the private burials and those at Decatur.

Milan Jackson

Holly, It's usually in October but I haven't seen the schedule yet. Our research has to be done by mid-February so they have time to pick out who they will use and have time to write scripts.

Helen Nicolaysen (Thompson)

We've attended 4 cemetery Walks here in Colorado Springs.  With the history of Cowboys, Indians, Slaves and Ladies of the Evening.  it's quite interesting.  The Historical Society presents themselves in costumes of that time and speak scripts about the individuals at the various grave sites.  It's usually presented in late August.  I'm curious how the Cemetery Walks are conducted in Bloomington?