Jack Habich

Agreed that the above is the way to go.  I'm in.

Ed Stanfield

Me too..

I'm in!

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Hello Linda... good to hear from you.  Great idea... count me in, too.

Jack Habich

Jack Habich

On the above, I went to a wake last Friday for an (effectively) 109 year old black lady, who I assume was one of the oldest people in the country. The things she saw! She didn't do badly with her offspring.  I had met 4 of them (grandkids) and they all had Masters from U of I.  Another brother is an MD.

Ed Stanfield

That is an amazing story.... but I question the fact that as a black person in Tennessee in the early part of the 20th century, in the middle of Jim Crow, she attended a boarding school in Chattanooga. That alone would have been an extraordinary event IMHO

Jack Habich

Ed,

I wondered about that myself, but I was thinking that because of the fact that she was born on a plantation at that late period perhaps means she was considered upper echelon and went to some sort of black upper echelon boarding school, if that existed. 

Also, because I once heard that a Japanes person was 115 or so and was the oldest person in the world, the above mentioned woman has to be one of the top twenty oldest people in the U.S., I would think. 

Fawnsdale anywhere near you?

Ed Stanfield

Jack,

Florence is in Northwest Alabama, Fawnsdale is in Marengo county in Southwest, Alabama.

According to Wikipedia, the town only has 87 residents and the plantation is about the only reason the town exists.

Marengo county is very close to Sumpter county and the town of Panola which is our ancestral home, as much as we have an ancestral home. Panola is about the size of Fawnsdale and my guess would be that your lady would have been as poor as a churchmouse, growing up black, when and where she did.

Jack Habich

Ed,

Don't know, I wasn't there or from there, but  I do know she didn't like to talk much about her early years because of some pain involved.  What I also do know is that her offspring are petty darn successful under the circumstances, even more noteworthy if your premise is correct.

Ed Stanfield

Yes they are and she was justifiably proud of them..

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Steve, Milam, Maxwell, Rod and Jack:

Thanks for the interest.   I think I will just send a check to a friend and ask that my name be anonymous and donate $100 for food for a family as a gift from the Class of 64 from BHS.   Most often alumni leave a bequest to the school.   I think this could start a trend to be effective to the community from which we came.   I have a friend that is a social worker in Bloomington who I can rely on to find a family.

Can you imagine if we started this trend?   Other classes could follow suit.   It would be so effective to get at least 20 other classes to do the same thing.

Now....I'll keep my nose out of your business!   Blessings and Happy Halloween to all!   I will resume riding my broomstick!  (my favorite mode of travel).

P.S.:  What are you all serving for Thanksgiving dinner?   Ever thought of a class cookbook?  Hmmmm, I know most of you had mother's who were exceptionally good cooks?   Raid the recipes, maybe?

Back then their recipes were not junk food either.   Those wonderful recipes are what the world needs now (except for love)!

Toodles, ......y'all,

Linda Bristow Elias

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Milam:

One question for you please.......Did you say you volunteer at the McLean County Historical Society?

I serve on the Board of Directors currently for the El Paso County Historical Society.   Could you get some info on joining your Historical Society......for me please?   I want to belong to both.   I am completing info for myself, my daughter and granddaughter to join the DAR currently.  My email is eliasli@sbcglobal.net.   I appreciate your help with this info! 

Thanks, Linda Bristow Elias

Milan Jackson

Linda, I am not a member of the McLean County Historic Society. I am a volunteer researcher at the McLean County History Museum. I can get you that info and send it to you anyway.

Gerald (Jerry) Plummer

Linda and everyone

The idea of contributing to feed a needy Bloomington family is a wonderful idea.  Our family is already contributing to the Contra Costa Food Bank.  Is there a similar organization in McClean County?  Please publish the address and count us in. 

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Milam:

I would appreciate that info.   Thank you.   Please send it to eliasli@sbcglobal.net.  

Linda Bristow Elias

Milan Jackson

 Here it is, Linda:

http://www.mchistory.org/membership.html

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Linda and Milan,

Thanks a heap for instigating the interest in the McLean County Museum of History. I just went to their site and WOW, was it fun. So much info about the train yards, the fire of 1900, and tons of other stuff. The piece about WJBC was absolutely intiguing. And on and on and on.

In Chicago I have long known that WGN radio, owned by the Chicago Tribine, stands for World's Greatest Newspaper, WTTW for Window to the World and WLS, once owned by Sears, meant World's Largest Store. Now we know what WJBC stands for. Anyone want to play a little challenge game? To the first person to post the correct answer about WJBC, I will send you my 2012 desktop calendar as a prize (as soon as it is printed). This could be lots of fun.

Jack et al,

Thanks for keeping an eye on Steve, tabs on Rod and a leash on Ed. I was worried they were setting up an LLC with our funds and planning to invest it overseas. OOOOOOOO...that would be really scary. Really, thanks to all of you for helping manage our assets. Hopefully all of this activity will help fund and inspire great participation in the 50th Reunion.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Mel -  I'm going with... WJBC = Where Jazz Becomes Classic as my guess.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

This is quite a website!  I had never heard of A. L. Pillsbury, the architect, but learned today that he designed what seems to be a large chunk of Bloomington, back in the early 1900s.  He designed many of the schools, including BHS, churches, banks, businesses, and residences.  Many of them are/were very prominent structures in town... as well as many in other towns. Awesome!

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Geez Terry, that only took you 20 minutes. I'm impressed. YOU WIN. You said your "guess" but I'm guessing it was more than a guess. I'm hoping to have the calendars in a couple of weeks, so watch your mail.

Another little fact in reading about WJBC was that "Problems and Solutions" was the longest running radio program in history. Although the first host's "stage name" was Jerry Collins, he was our backyard neighbor and his real name was Jerry Clough. He was extremely kind, had a beautiful wife and daughter. He was about as close as I got to a celebrity while living in Bloomington, except for the six-shooter showdown with Sheriff Sid at Kroger's.

Does anyone else remember being on the "Uncle Al Show" at WBLN-TV? The musical theme of the show was Sherwood Anderson's the "Syncopated Clock". Our Cub Scout den (Barry Ehrmine's mother was our den mother) went to the cinder block building off old Rte. 66, descended down a long steel staircase into the underground and was in the land of early TV magic. The whole place was like a big open cavern with studio sets blocked out for news, weather and Uncle Al. And to top it all off, all programming was in black & white. How about that?

And another thing. Terry, next time I'll make the quiz a little more difficult. (laugh)

Ed Stanfield

Well,

I thought the call letters stood for: W (all stations east of the Mississippi river use this letter in their call sign.

W

Just

Be

Cause

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Ed... you are correct, and all stations west of the Mississippi start with K, I believe.  We could probably make up some other things WJBC could stand for, but I like yours.  Can I add one word to make it...          Well, Just Be Cause?

Ed Stanfield

perfect!

Jack Habich

If Sue ran a station, they'd call it WTF.

Also, if you haven't yet looked at the "Sue" pictures on the Menu List, and are interested, look now because they'll be gone in about a week.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

So Jack, is that a quiz? I get it...

Way Too Funny

Ed and Terry, you guys are real good at this. Sue would have loved knowing those were her call letters. At least she was on the right side of the Mississippi.