Milan Jackson

 Happy Birthday Ernie Prillaman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milan Jackson

 Finding someone to make decisions for outings for this group is hard. I'll make this one. You folks get the next one.

August 8th, Monday evening at 7pm, we will meet at Gill Street Bar and Grill. Julie, Holly, and Terri will be there. I'll make the reservations but I need a close count on who will attend. 

It's time to bury some hatchets and get this group back together. History is fun to talk about but it's only history. Who and what we were in 1964 has little to nothing to do with who or what we are today. Hard feelings? Get over them. Time to relax and have fun. We want everyone possible to attend this gathering. You folks were always a lot of fun. Show that it's still there. Wall flowers? I was a bit of one too. I think I am living proof you can put that behind you. Come on out and just be friends. I will be sending out a blanket invitation to everyone who has an email account. At this point, not sure if there are enough funds in the kitty to do snail mails so it has to be email. 

Milan Jackson

 We've heard from Linda Bristow Elias and she will also be here for August 8th. Ed Stanfield will be here depending on Malinda's condition. Judy Winquist Neal is planning to come. This is starting to shape up. :)

Milan Jackson

 http://www.pantagraph.com/special-sections/news/history-and-events/d44fdb82-aa82-11e0-a3dc-001cc4c002e0.html

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Hey Milan, thanks for sharing Bill Kemp's article on the Phil-Kron. I used to love going to the drive-in even with those stupid little speakers that you would hang off your car window. HORRIBLE SOUND. Still it was really neat. During the summers of 1962-64 I worked at the Fun Fair in Miller Park which was also owned by Phillips and Karonis. They also owned the amusement park in Decatur and were having a lot of personal battles over how to keep things going. Pete Karonis was like a gigantic teddy bear. Really blustery and all business. He drove a mid-50s Kaiser Frazer, a battle axe of a car with white fenders and black hood, trunk and body. The thing was like a tank going down the street, but you always knew it was Pete when you saw it. Whenever he showed up it was like a mechanical giant panda had arrived. For what it's worth, he was actually a very nice guy who just wanted to protect his business interests. Anyway, never having known an English word for the Swedish smorgasbord, I always thought the word "SINORAK" was the Greek version until I learned it was Karonis spelled backwards.

I have tons of stories about working at the Fun Fair. One of which was the summer I had to run the merry-go-round. It was so boring I read Irving Stone's book "The Agony and the Ecstacy" in my spare time and to this day I hate...I mean HATE organ music because of it. Lots of amazing memories packed in there. Not long ago you had some reference to the train at the Fun Fair, the guy who ran it for years was Smiley, a retired GM&O engineer. He was a really sweet man who loved his job and all the kids. How many of you lost money while riding The Whip? We used to pick up all kinds of lost change at the end of the day which had flown out of everyone's pockets. Kinda made up for all the buckets of water we had to use to wash down the deck from those with weak stomachs. OH MAN, there were some rough days on that job.

Sandra Hammond (McHugh)

 Milan I will be at Gills. I will talk to you Wed. about some other things. See you Wed.

Milan Jackson

 Mel Theobald and Sandy Hammond McHugh are also coming to Gill Street in August. 

Milan Jackson

As a little tyke, this was my favorite part of Miller Park. 

Helen Nicolaysen (Thompson)

Following Smiley, engineering the train, came his replacement which was a really good looking guy!  Carol McCauley and I made special efforts to ride the train so we could flirt with the good looking engineer. Carol stood a much better chance with him than I, but neither of us ever hooked up with him! Darn it!  He was very good looking!

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Helen, maybe the experience with the young engineer wasn't lost after all. Could be that it was the train that Carol had a crush on, not the handsome young engineer. She married Alan Swartz immediately after high school. Alan followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps, becoming a life-long railroad worker. In the end she got what she wanted since they have been married for almost 47 years and are still very much in love. I think she was the clear winner on that one.

I can still hear the sound of the whistle when that little train went through the dark tunnel (which was also it's storage shed). WHOOOOO....whhhhoooooo!!!! And it was a great occasion for every kid on the train to scream as loud as possible.

Milan, thanks for re-running the photo. Smiley was probably well into his 80's at that time and I always marvelled at his hairy ears and red bandana. He always kept a rag and an oil can in the engine, which he took great pride in keeping polished/shiny/lubricated. There were also a couple of old carney workers at the Fun Fair who had no teeth and told jokes so filthy that sailors would have blushed. But that's another story.

Milan Jackson

 Rich and Karen Crusius and Ken and Pat  Lehr will be there August 8th at the Gill Street gathering. 

Helen Nicolaysen (Thompson)

 Mel, Carol has been my lifelong best friends.  She and Alan Swartz celebrated their 47th Anniversary yesterday and sarted going together in 7th Grade.  She almost delivered our daughter while staying at our house 36 years ago yesterday, on their anniversary.  She and Alan use to meet at my house when dating because her Mother wouldn't allow her to date.  She idolized the young engineer at Miller Park before Alan and she dated.  I spoke with her yesterday to tell them Happy Anniversary.  Alan and Carol are God Parents of our 2 kids.  I understand that you phoned Alan a while back.  We just saw them in June along with some other High School friends.  We'll be wintering with them, Judy (Tynan) and George Danielson, and some other people this forthcoming winter in Alabama at an RV Resort.  Judy, Regina Peterson, Steve Chesney, Sandra Hardin, Sandra Jenkins, Dave Coit, all lived in the same neighborhood and attended Kindergarten together at H G Bent School.  Carol joined us in 3rd grade.  We have so many good memories to reminence about. Fred Walker, Fred Livings and David Goodpasture are also names of people we started school with.  I'm certain I've left some people out, but you know the excuse we can make at our age.  Anyway, you brought lots of things to light mentioning Miller Park.  "Thanks for the memories!" as Jack Benny would say.

PS Yes, Alan DID retire from Amtrak and worked for the Railroad all his working years thanks to his Grandpa Curruthers!

Milan Jackson

 Happy Birthday Sue Jaske !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milan Jackson

 I got a note from Judy Walker and she is planning to attend the gathering at Gill Street. Our numbers are building. :)

Milan Jackson

 It has been said that Gill Street Bar and Grill is just another bar. In fact it is a restaurant that serves liquor. Sure it is a sports bar but has quite a menu and lots of people go there for the food. Here is their menu. It would be near the same if we went to Lucca Grill or CJ's. Most restaurants in our area serve. 

http://www.gillstreet.net/themenu/

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Helen, great to hear about all the things you do with everyone. I did see Alan last year on my way to Florida. He met me at a restaurant in Indianapolis for a couple hours and we had a wonderful time sharing stories. My dad also worked at the GM&O and was a close friend of Alan's dad. Alan, Marv and I were in the same homeroom in 8th & 9th at BJHS and had a really good friendship which was extended during the 3 summers I spent working in the train yards after BHS. They are great people and I am just tickled to know you have all been in touch all this time.

Looks like the mini-reunion isn't going to be so "mini". Hope Gill's can handle everyone. This is getting exciting. The 'one more thing' that would make it all perfect is if Sue could be there. All fingers are crossed for that.

Karen Sue (Suzi) Denton (Merritt)

My dad worked on the GM&O RR with the engineer many years ago.  Dad retired in 1972 but he always loved working on the Railroad.  He worked for the RR for over forty years.  He was in his sixties and still jumping off and on moving trains, because thats what you had to do to be a switchman.

Terri Baxter (Whirrett)

 My grandfather, William Baxter, was an engineer on the GM&O railroad for years.  Some of my fondest memories are, as a child, getting to ride to Chicago on the train by myself to visit my aunt and uncle.  The porters knew me and would watch out for me.  I loved sitting in the dining car and eating like a grown up!   My brother Ray is a major train buff today, as a result of all those memories.

See you all in August!  Glad the numbers are growing!

Boo Baxter 

Rodney (Rod) Hayes

Mel,

As many of us, I used to ride that train over and over, along with the other rides.  I used to take my kids to Miller Park a lot and I would always tell them about when the rides were there.  Just before the rides went away, I had sort of an inn to ride them, very cheaply, like maybe free sometimes.  Gus Reynolds and my Dad were great friends and he ran the concession for quite awhile.  If you remember Gus, I can tell you a whole bunch of stories and how knowing someone makes for some great times in your life that may never have happened.  I guess as you got older, you never thought learning to play the organ would be great.  By the way Mel, I rode that Whip many many times with tons of change in my pockets.  So I guess you might be sending me a large refund for all that change I lost. Ha! Ha!

Jack,

As I suspected, after further review of the injury to Animal Kingdom, his racing days are over for awhile.  Most likely until next Spring.  Some say he will come back strong, maybe, but I don't think so.  Time will tell. 

I would really enjoy coming back for the August 8 reunion.  My wife and I had thought about possibly coming back the end of July.  However, my Mother is going to have surgery, hopefully, next week.  This is something she should have had done several years ago, and now that she has agreed to go through it, we have to stick with it also.  The recovery time will not be determined until after the surgery, so we're in kind of a hold pattern right now.  I need to get back to B/N, since I have been playing a lot of Baseball with my Grandson, I'm ready to take on my old buddy Jetton in a game of Wiffle Ball.  I put that on my Bucket List Steve.

Judy Tynan (Danielson)

My grandfather migrated from St. Ann, Hungary back in the early 1900's and worked for the railroad.  Not sure what he did but sometime in the 1930's he lost an eye while working and was guanteed a lifetime job, when most didn't have one.  I never knew him as he died a year before I was born but love the history of of the railroad yards as I grew up just 2 Lots from Gm&O!!

Milan Jackson

 Happy Birthday Sharrie Peasley Orendorff !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milan Jackson

 What was your grandfather's name, Judy?

Milan Jackson

Milan Jackson

 If things go well, Sue Watson Ehrmantraut will be home in a week.   

Sharrie Peasley (Orendorff)

Thank you for the birthday wishes Milan.