Paul Berger
marpa@ypisp4u.net
Ann, I have enjoyed reading Olney Memories, having just completed the 39th edition. Took me a little time to digest the complete load. While my perspective is different, not centered around Olney schools, I do have a lot in common because of my affection to the Olney area.
In early 1890's my grandparents on my father's side came to Illinois from near Bern Switzerland. I was born in a farm house about 31/2 miles west of Olney during the depression year of 1931. My parents paid off the 80 acre farm during the depression years. I did not realize we were poor for a couple reasons. 1) We had adequate food, raised most of it on the farm. 2) Our neighbors were experiencing the same. But finding that old black stuff called oil really changed much of the neighborhood. They just did not go to Beverly, Beverly Hills that is.
The first eight years of my education, I attended a one room school (
Rock Branch). It was a 1/2 mile walk. Some of students walked 11/2 mile. Our teacher (my favorite
Sibyl Campbell) had to teach four different class curriculums. One year 1,3,5,7 and the next 2,4,6,8. We had the recitation bench which was used for some class assembly. I am confident this sounds archaic to many. The school was composed of, usually, 26 to 30 students. My first Superintendent of School was
Earl Hostettler(sp) and the second was
Vincent Van Cleave. When I graduated from the 8th grade my parents purchased my first suit.
My first experience of an in town school was the fall of 1946 when I started attending Noble High School. The building seemed so GIGANTIC and now I have a locker combination to remember and get to a different class room on time. It seemed overwhelming, what if I forget my combination I would have to go to the office and I would surely be late!
I received my first pair of gym shoes when I enrolled in high school. Our first class meeting I was elected to represent the freshman class on the student council. I ask myself, "what is a student council???" This experience helped this country boy to make friends on all class levels
and soon I knew everyone by name, just like Rock Branch. Although I graduated from Noble High, class of 1950, much of my life centered in and around Olney. I too, have Olney Memories.
I remember prior to Michels taking over the ice cream parlor on West
Main, it was owned by
Elmer Smith. In that same block I remember
Borah Ford dealership, Seems like it was
Dave Borah. East of there
was
Nix Harness Hardware (John and Albert) (Booner's dad). Then
the
Godeke store,
Carl Godeke started this business and then sold to
his brother Frank and my uncle
Charlie Berger. Uncle Charlie worked
for Carl and Frank gave assistance. Few years later Frank sold out to
Uncle Charlie (his sons Kenny and Loren joined him) thus it became
Berger and Sons. Frank went back to work in education at the high
school. Uncle Charlie operated that business until they built a new store
and gas station on Rt. 130 on the corner of
West Butler.
Across from Godeke store, corner of West Main and Kitchell was a
DX gas station. I visited them regularly because they gave away DX
reflectors and I used them on my bike. Continuing on west there was
a
Day's Produce,
Prairie Farms, and the
Congregational Christian Church.
Going east on Main, from IC tracks, I remember a tavern and its stint,
Pearl Harrell's Plumbing (Jack' father), a restaurant started by Carl
Godeke and managed by Wayne Salisbury. This was the first restaurant
I had ever gone into alone. I did not know what or how to request food.
I sat at the counter and ordered a piece of pie(10 or 12 cents). Just east
of the restaurant was a stair that took you up to the
Duck Pin BowlingAlley. I remember wishing I could work there and set pins and have
opportunity to earn some money. The Alley was over the old Kroger
store on the corner of Main and Walnut.
In the second block on North Walnut (between York and Butler) on the
west side was
Schneiter Bros.Grocery Store. Ray, Johnny, and Paul
were the proprietors.
Melvin and
Frosty Harms along with a teenager,
Sterl Keen worked for them. Sterl has been a successful cordial
businessman for years. Later in the late forties I began working for Ray
and Johnny during the summer and on Saturday's during school term.
Denny Bemont (Neal's father) was the meat cutter during this time.
On the same side of the street on the corner of Walnut and Butler there
was
Jenning's Dairy. My father would take weekly, prior to selling whole
milk to
Prairie Farms, the cream, we had separated from the whole milk,
to
Jennings Dairy. My mother took eggs to Schneiter grocery. Thus
every Saturday they would go to town to do their trading. I can not
recall ever hearing them say they were taking eggs and cream to sell
and to buy food. Jenning's Dairy sold out to Mid West Dairy.
In the same block on the east side of Walnut I remember
MeadowsMeat Market (across from Schneiters). North of them was Mr.
Rinehart(sp) Bicycle shop, a place I visited almost every week. Then
came Hurn's Lumber yard. The night it burned I remember seeing the
red sky from the farm. The firemen had great difficulty fighting the fire
as it was so cold the water was freezing.
Perhaps someone will remember me, I would be pleased to hear from
you. Now residing in Florida I am
Paul Berger ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Dale jdale@uark.edu Jim Dale—Class of 1940 While looking at some old issues of the Olney Daily Mail on microfilm, in the December 6, 1944 issue I saw a death notice regarding Aunt Teeny Anderson. It is shown verbatim: 'Tina' Anderson, Beloved Colored Citizen, Passes "Aunt Tina" Elizabeth Anderson, aged colored resident of Olney and in many ways one of its leading and most respected citizens, was found dead in bed at her home 106 E. Lafayette street, this morning. Her grandson, Paul Guthrie, principal of a colored high school at Lexington, Ky., will arrive here tomorrow, and funeral services will probably be held Friday afternoon. The body is at Schaub Funeral Home. "Aunt Tina", Olney's only colored resident, has been an institution in this city for many years, her ability at fortune-telling bringing to this city people from near and far, many coming hundreds of miles to consult with her. Those who were acquainted with her knew her as a lovely, kind personality, and were grateful for her friendship. Coming to Illinois as a little girl with her father, "Fox" Anderson, a liberated slave who was the personal servant of Captain Harris, Newton Civil War officer, she was brought to Olney from Newton when her father moved here a few years after the Civil War, living here about 75 years of her life Comments by Jim Dale: Although the above newspaper article makes interesting reading, the information in the article does not agree with census data mentioned in a previous Memories. For example, the article says she came to the Newton-Olney area with her father when she was a little girl. Factual census data of 1900 showed that she lived in Knox County, TN, was 42 years old, was widowed, had 3 children, and was a school teacher. The article says her father was a liberated slave named "Fox" Anderson. It would be unusual for Elizabeth's married name to be the same as the surname of her father. From information given in the previous Memories article it is my opinion that Elizabeth came to Olney some time between 1900 and 1910. It would be interesting to know the source of the information cited in the newspaper article. Jim Dale—Class of 1940 Gloria Dean MasDean33@aol.com I'm sure that all of you, like me remember WELL the Kralis Plant on South Camp Ave and of course the smell associated with it and the Vinegar plant. But as many of you already know, the Kralis building is NO LONGER. The following article was in the Olney Daily Mail and many of you read it then but for those of you who didn't get to read it, I thought you might like to read the information given there. Also there is a great article in a magazine called the Firehouse Magazine that was submitted along with pictures by an Olney Fireman. The web site address for that article is http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionld=45&id=41219 . Here is another site: Fire Destroys Plant in Olney, Illinois - (Firehouse.com Photo Stories) Below is a write up from the Olney Daily Mail.
Gloria Dean Class of 50 Kralis burns
By Kevin Ryden Thick, black smoke billowed high into the sky as the old Kralis Poultry Company building was destroyed by a massive fire on Tuesday afternoon.
Olney Fire Department received a call of the fire at 3:04 p.m. and arrived three minutes later at the burning building at 600 S. Camp St.
Flames could be seen on the roof of the building upon arrival of firefighters. There was also a high amount of heat, according to the department's report.
Olney Fire Chief Norm Bissey said about 30 paid on-call firefighters were at the scene and the department also received mutual aid from Noble-Wakefield Fire Protection District and Claremont-Bonpas Fire Protection District. The building, owned by Sloan's Water Well Drilling & Service, and it's contents were a total loss.
There were no injuries and the cause of the blaze is under investigation by the state fire marshal's office.
Tom Sloan, who has owned the building since the Rich-Land Turkeys processing plant closed in 1994, said he was in Clay City when he got the call about the fire.
"Everything's gone," he said Wednesday morning, adding that he did not want to comment about a possible cause at this time.
Much of the building had been remodeled, he said, and many people had used it over the years. Some of the contents included boats that Cal Schrey stored for other people. Sloan said Steve Sterchi also used the building for woodworking and painting.
Equipment from the water-well drilling business was also destroyed.
Sloan said that despite the loss of the building, he was extremely pleased with the firefighters.
"The fire department worked their butts off down here," he said. "I'm really proud of them."
Firefighters had the fire controlled by 6 p.m. and left the scene at about 1:30 a.m. today after cleaning up.
There were still some hot spots at the scene this morning, which were extinguished by firefighters.
The wind proved to be a challenge as the fire spread along the roof of the building.
"The wind was pushing it pretty good," Bissey said.
Some grass and weeds near the scene of the fire ignited and were extinguished.
"It didn't present too much of a problem," Bissey said.
Smoke filled the area and portions of area streets were closed, including the 200 block of West South Avenue and the 600 block of South Camp Street. No one was evacuated from their homes.
Bissey said a portion of the railroad line near the building was temporarily closed. When it was re-opened, trains were asked to go through the area at 10 miles per hour.
Lee Morris, of AmerenCIPS, said there was a brief power outage.
Two circuits were shut off at 4:04 p.m.
One circuit affected 667 customers and power was restored at 4:14 p.m. The other circuit affected 436 customers and power was restored at 4:30 p.m.
Morris said power was turned off for safety reasons. Once the situation was deemed to be safe, power was restored, he said.
"They were very brief interruptions," he said.
Bissey said there were many spectators at the scene of the fire.
He said many people assisted by bringing drinks to firefighters and helping to straighten fire hoses. He said the department appreciated the help.
Bissey said he did not hear of any debris falling from the sky, although he said the high winds probably pushed some of the ash away from the burning building.
Prior to being purchased by Kralis in 1951, the building was owned and operated by Blackburn Poultry House.
Kralis, a wholesale buyer and seller of hens and eggs at the time, moved to Olney from Newton.
In 1960, the company started an eviscerating process, running 25,000-30,000 birds each day and employing 75 people.
By 1981, processing and employment reached its height at 51,000 chickens a day, employing 180-200 workers.
Frozen chickens were shipped in thousand-pound tote bins daily.
The company processed birds from Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Supply had dwindled by May 1983 and the plant was forced to close.
Rich-Land Turkeys renovated the building and converted it into a turkey processing plant in 1989.
Rich-Land received state funding and local and citizen investments to start the plant.
On Oct. 9, 1989, Rich-Land began processing a limited amount of turkeys.
The plant employed about 125 people and processed about 7,330 turkeys daily with hopes of increasing production to 8,000-9,000. Gloria Dean Class of 1950 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Herma Jenner Dycus-Class of 1936-Herma@mymailstation.com
Ruth Jenner Zwermann-Class of 1938.
Helen Jenner Mehmert Bauman-Class of 1940. helenbauman@netzero.net
This part is written by Herma with input from Ruth. This is my answer
to Wm. Kallansrude. He is a little mixed up on his streets in Olney.
First I must say that the Kallansrudes we knew lived in the 700 block of
N. Boone St. I decided that maybe your family did not know us that well,
but we felt a little left out. You mentioned Gassmanns on the corner and
Eaglesons in the 3rd house and the Jenner family (with 3 girls) Herma,
Ruth, and Helen lived in between those two families. Summit St. is where
Morgan St. ends and starts up again a block or two north of there. Scott
St. is the street just north of the Silver St. School and where Charles
Schneiter's grocery was located. By the way, there were 3 Schneiter
grocery stores. Charles had a store on Scott. Three brothers John, Ray,
and Paul had their grocery on N. Walnut St., and Fred Schneiter had a
store on S. Whittle Ave. just south of Bower Park.
We recall the kite flying, in fact Tubby Gassmann used to play with
the kids some when flying kites. One time when he was flying one, it
took off and Mrs. George Gassmann took us kids in the car and we
followed it clear to the B. & O. tracks which was quite some distance.
We also lived in the 30's Depression. We sure recall Jim Dale's
darned socks. Our mother made all of our clothes as she was a good
seamstress. We three girls could all wear the same size and Helen always
being the early bird always got the pick of the clothes. If you stayed
in bed and decided what you were going to wear, then when you got up
Helen had it on. Our family never owned a car in those days and I can
remember our Dad renting a horse and buggy to take us to our Grandmas
farm. When it snowed he also pulled some of us in a sled to the Elm
Street Christian Church. As kids we also played in Tippit's Woods on N.
Silver St. where everyone put their initials on the big tree there. We
often had picnics there. Some kids picked crawdads out of the creek and
pole-vaulted across it. One thing for sure, we made our own
entertainment in those days. We three sisters now all live near each
other in Greenville, TX
This part is written by Helen-
I am the youngest of the Jenner Sisters (Helen) and I want to add my
two cents to the Olney Memories, which I have enjoyed so much. Saying I
am the youngest isn't saying much since we are all in our eighties. At
present we are all living in Greenville, TX, and in pretty good health.
I grew up in Olney and lived in the same house on Morgan St. until I
left to get married in 1943. I married Henry Mehmert, a doctor from
Chicago, but who was also born in Olney. Many of you remember the
Mehmert Jewelry Store on Main St. His dad was a partner in it until they
moved to Chicago.
I do remember the Depression days, even thought it did not affect me
as much as my two older sisters, Herma and Ruth. I remember when my Dad
was laid off from his job on the B. & O. Railroad for quite a while.
Herma was the only one with a job, working as a waitress at Bell Roney's
Restaurant after school. She shared her measly salary with all of us,
helping to buy necessities. I can remember not being able to afford
season tickets to all the basketball games at Central School when I was
in the 7th and 8th grade. Our coach, Ed Wright, thought I should be
there since I was so into sports and played on the girl's team, so he
arranged for me to sell candy at the games so I got in free. He was so
good to me and saw that I got into all the sport activities, even to the
end of the season party at his house that he had for all the team
members and their dates. We played a lot of softball at Central School
during the noon hour and after school. There were teams made up of both
boys and girls teams within the school and we competed against each
other.
I remember Phyllis Jean Meinhold especially during that period. Her
family was so good to me. Her dad would give us money to go to the
movies now and then and Phyllis would walk me home at night after the
show all the way down Boone St. and then turn around and go back to her
home. Phyllis also sold candy with me at the ballgames. She was into
acrobatics and very good at it. She taught me backbends, cartwheels, and
handsprings, which we practiced all the time on a mattress in an
upstairs room of her house. I remember Neva Schneiter and Suzanne
Gassmann who lived next door and across the street from us. We remained
friends all of our lives. Neva and I still talk and visit each other
periodically. I remember her dad's little store behind their house on
Scott St. across from Silver Street School and how Neva helped to sell
the penny candy. We often got a penny's worth of redhots and a penny's
worth of peanuts which they measured out in a little wooden barrel about
2 inches high, and we mixed them together.
In our neighborhood we were a close-knit group of gals, called by
some "The North End Gang." We went everywhere together and lived in the
same houses all of our school years. We made our own fun. We often
played softball on the Silver St. School yard after school and on
Saturdays. I remember collecting movie star pictures and trading them.
Neva and I helped her mother clean their house once a week and she gave
us a quarter, which meant a couple of movies and a coke maybe. My
sister, Ruth, since we were so near the same age, also ran around with
my age group. We both joined the Sub Deb Club, which was a social club,
started in 1939 I believe. We had dances and outings at Vernor Lake
where we all camped together in someone's cabin. It was a fun time, with
so many more fond memories, too numerous to mention. I remember Virginia
Roberts and how good her parents were to let us take over their dining
room on weekends, roll up the rug, and dance to our big band records.
Many of my memories correspond with those of Jim Dale, whom I knew
through all my school years and have enjoyed reconnecting with at
Reunions and on the Internet.
I am living in Greenville, TX, and have been since 1946. I married
Jack Bauman after my husband died and we enjoy our golf and tennis
regularly. Herma Jenner Dycus-Class of 1936- Ruth Jenner Zwermann-Class of 1938.
Helen Jenner Mehmert Bauman-Class of 1940. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_____________________________
Jim Dale. jdale@uark.edu Prices of items advertised in Olney Daily Mail, 1943.
While looking for information about Olney and Richland county
veterans of WWII on microfilm of old Olney Daily Mail Newspapers, I
decided to look at ads to check the prices of various items. Following
are some prices of items advertised in 1943:
J. & J. Grocery. Sandwich cookies, 19c/lb; white syrup, ½ gal for 39c; Lifebuoy soap, 3 bars for 22c; oranges, 24c/doz; sauerkraut, 2 lbfor 15c; sausage, 1 lb for 29c; Jello, 2 pkgs for 15c. Bond Drug Store. Toilet tissue, 3 rolls for 11c.
Olney Cleaners. 2 plain garments cleaned for $1.00.
LaRuth Shop. Spring hats, $1.95 to $2.95.
Firestone Store. Car battery, $9.45; jersey gloves, 15c.
Robb's Café. Complete dinner with dessert and drink, 50c.
Gayla Beauty Shop. $3.00 permanents, 2 for $3.00.
Lopins. Ladies shoes, $2.95 to $6.95; men's shoes $3.95 to $11.00.
Godeke's store. Motor oil, 35c/gal; Johnson regular gasoline,
16c/gal; ethyl gasoline, 18c/gal.
Groceries at A. & P. Name brand cigarettes, $1.43/carton; Bokarcoffee, 26c/lb; donuts, 13c/doz; bread, 10c; grapefruit, 10 for 29c;
potatoes, 5 lb for 29c; Northern tissue, 4 rolls for 20c.
Jim Dale Class of 1940 ====================================================================================================================
