Ray Bledsoe

Can't remember if the Pros or Cons are ahead on the "Beet" issue? My great grandma Bledsoe's Tennessee reciepe was a favorite. Need a quart jar of home canned beet juice. (Just save the juice the beets were canned in.) Peel a dozen hard-boiled eggs and pop them in and seal the jar for a week. The eggs absorb a nice purple color and become rubbery and a mild taste of beets. An alternative to deviled eggs. My mom used  to bring these to Pot Lucks at Second Press so some of you must have had these?

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Ray, at last count, I think the Pros are ahead of the Cons in the beet wars. Which leaves me wondering how I could have been so wrong all of these years. NOT!!!  One of my favorite quotes is, "It's too late to agree with me, I've change my mind." So there you have it.

James (Jim) Rookus

HAPPY  BIRTHDAYs

JUDY McCLEAN WILDER  8/14

FAITH CRISSEY CAMPBELL  8/15

                  AND

LARRY CARSON   8/17

    SORRY  I'm LATE WITH THESE 3 !

HOPE YOUR DAYS  WERE

WONDERFUL & BLESSED 

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Hey Bledsoe:

My great-grandmother's family had settled in  Rogersville, TN before coming to Illinois!

Maybe they had the same recipe!

Linda

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Linda, my late husband's, Jim,  family came from Rogersville, Tn.   They moved to Bloomiington before he was born.  His Dad is buried in Rogersville, Tn. 

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Well, I'm not sure that everyone can relate to this, but Marv and I can. So here goes for today's humor:

On another note, I had the privilege of communicating with A. Richard Williams (1914-2016) before he died. He was a friend of Elizabeth Stein and architect of her modern house at 1008 E. Monroe. Bill Kemp will be giving a lecture about him on Oct. 7 at the McLean County History Museum. What I didn't know is that he was also the architect of Oakland Grade School. Thought some of you might be interested in knowing about it. If anyone wants more info, please let me know. Williams lived in Normal before his storied career at the Univ. of Illinois.

David Long

James (Jim) Rookus

HAPPY  BIRTHDAYs

Janet Cox   

              AND 

Ken Kerfoot

HOPE YOUR DAY IS

WONDERFUL & BLESSED 

James (Jim) Rookus

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY

Judy Tynan Danielson  

HOPE YOUR DAY IS

WONDERFUL & BLESSED

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

David Long

Linda Bristow (Elias)

David Long:

I wonder how many ways of drinking a coke exist?

I know some people put a peanut in them.  Others, add vanilla, cherry, lemon, and what else?

Of course, there is always a coke float!   I use vanilla ice cream with it.  What flavor do you use?

Linda Bristow Elias

Rodney (Rod) Hayes

Mel, I was about to comment on this college athletes situation.  But then you mentioned this info on Oakland school.  That really peaked my interest.  I went to Oakland the first year it opened, in 1951.  I'm guessing you and Marv also did.  Not to dispute your post, because it is partially correct.  But, the architects on Oakland school were Lundeen and Hilfinger.  A. Richard Williams, who was a professor of architecture at the U of I, grew up in B/N, and was brought on to give his expertise.  He also worked with Lundeen & Hilfinger on several other projects in the twin cities.  Oakland school was actually the brain child of a school called Crow Island, in Winnetka, Il. in 1940, by a couple of architects from Chicago.  I'm sure people who didn't attend Oakland find this kinda boring.  But, Bill Kemp wrote an article in the pantagraph on June 25, 2013.  It's a great article.  How did I accumulate all this?  Deanne Hilfinger, daughter of Dean and Avis Hilfinger went to Oakland.  I lived right across the street from her.  Many times I heard all about how her Dad built Oakland school. Ha!  I'll go to your personal site and see if I can get you to the article.

David Long

Coke Float

Tallamook Udderly Chocolate 

real ice cream with real sugar and a couple types of chocolate. 

David Long

Truth sometimes hurts 

IT'S NOT MY AGE THAT
BOTHERS ME.
 

IT'S THE SIDE
EFFECTS.

David Brock

Dave--Seeing the various versions of the Coke bottles over time--It seems to me that the unusual shape was begun/developed in Terre Haute, In.  The purpose was to be able to identify the bottle in the dark so that the person would not confuse the bottle with unintended contents (poison or medicine). 

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Rod, thank you for posting this info. Yes, like you and many other Raiders '64 classmates, Marv and I were in that same kindergarten the year Oakland School opened in 1951. I've already seen the article you mentioned and you are correct in citing Lundeen and Hilfinger as the architects, but they were not alone. The Crow Island School was designed by Perkins, Wheeler & Will in the International Style under the guidance of Eli and Eero Saarinen. Although Lundeen & Hilfinger were the principle architects, they brought Williams on board to collaborate in the design of Oakland School. What interested me was that Williams also designed Miss Stein's house, which is why I corresponded with him in 2016. They also collaborated to design the Bloomington Federal S&L on Wasington St.

This is the promo for Bill Kemp's presentation on Oct. 7, which is being hosted by the Old House Society and will be at the McLean County Museum of History.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Dave B., it's a long story (no, not you Dave L.) but in the 1970's I acquired at fairly extensive collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia. Among other things were several early flat-sided Coke bottles. You are right that the design which became known as the "hobbleskirt" or "Mae West" bottle was first produced in Terre Haute, IN, but for a different reason. The CC company was disturbed that other bottlers were ripping off their product and challenged their bottlers to come up with a unique design that could not be confused with their competitors. The Root Glass Co. in Indiana won the competition in 1919. Because the local sand they used for the glass contained copper, green became the standard color. It had nothing to do with the ingredients. Because CC had to periodically renew its patent on the bottle shape, the 1923 patent fell on Dec. 25, thus the specially dated "Christmas Bottle" has become a collector's item. Isn't history fun?

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

1951 Oakland School

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Sandy, the photo of Mrs. Warren's 2nd grade class was from 1954, not 1951. Oakland Grade School was rapidly growing in those days. So much so that there were two divisions of morning and afternoon kindergarten baby boomers. In 1st grade one group was sent to Washington Grade School. I've never been clear about how that happened, but Jack Keefe can explain it if anyone can. In 4th grade our group was sent to Jefferson School when the new addition was being built. Our teacher there was Mrs. Purdy. By 5th or 6th grade we were all back at Oakland. The photo you posted from 1958 is the 6A half of our class. This one the 6B half of that class. Mrs. Wood was the wife of Mr. Wood, the BHS basketball coach.

David Brock

Mel-- Sorry about the Coke Bottle mistake.  First one, since the last--just give me a couple of minutes and I will work on the next one!

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Thanks, Mel, for the correction of the date.  I'm not sure where I got these pictures from, but it was probably my mistake of putting the wrong year on there.  And thanks for the 6B class picture.  It's nice to see the kids from our class in those pictures.

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Happy Birthday to my favorite Brother-in-law   Garth Golden on Aug 30.  This was taken in 1970.  

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Sandy, I posted that photo a long time ago after trying to ID everyone. All of us in it were in Mrs. Warren's second grade class. The photo would have been taken in the spring of 1954.

Dave B. You have no reason to apologize. As you probably know, I am a bit of a history buff. From architecture to sports and Coca-Cola memorabilia to humor, there is no limit to what we have experienced. I wish others who are silent would jump in here and share their histories, passions and stories. Having said that, here is something special.

Last Thursday, I went to visit Marv for the sole purpose of harvesting tomatoes from his little garden at the end of a cornfield. Well, in about 30 or 40 minutes we (mostly Marv) picked 115 lbs. of the most phenomenal tomatoes one can imagine. He has been sharing them with people all over Bloomington. I took a bunch and have been sharing them with my Chicago neighbors. Today my daughter, niece, ex-wife and best friend had a Labor Day BLT feast and pool party. Wish you could all have been here.

If you think I am kidding, this photo of Marv with about half of our Tues. harvest will give you some idea of what I am talking about. This only half of what we picked.