Roosevelt News

-- East Coast Edition –

 

-- Printed in Loving Memory of Wanda J. Jackson 1934 - 2011 –

 

News Center

Read old/current issues and send news or comments online at:

http://www.234enterprises.com/RooseveltNews/newscenter.htm

 

Editors:

E-mail: mmay@234enterprises.com

 Carolyn Niebruegge May                      Michael L. May

Vol. 1, Is. 36                                                                                      Mar. 23, 2012

 

 

From the Editor

 

Thursday will be here before you know it so I must get started on my editorial for the week.  Another week of rising gas prices—and the President insists that the economy is getting better.  I so wish I could see evidence to make me believe him.  On the gas price issue alone, he insists there is nothing he can do.  Mr. President, “Can you say Keystone Pipeline?”  Estimates are that approval of this pipeline alone (which he adamantly opposes) could generate literally thousands of jobs from the Canadian border to the gulf.  I’m again, obviously missing something.

 

I do wish that some of my Democratic friends (and I do have a few) would enlighten me on what I’m missing about this President’s performance.  More importantly I would love for them to tell me if the only reason he has such a good chance of re-election is because there of more people in the U.S. receiving “handouts” than there are those of us paying for the handouts—and yes statistics support that a majority of those on the receiving end do vote Democratic.  Why?  Because our President is their biggest cheerleader and supporter.  I give it to him-- he does know how to get that vote.  And no, before you jump to conclusions and suggest racism, this problem crosses ethnic and non-ethnic lines alike.  Believe me, laziness is not limited to any particular group.  I am so tired of that segment of the population getting a “free ride” and in fact enjoying a less stressful lifestyle than I am.  We worked for 31 years and established an adequate retirement and sufficient savings that should have been all we needed for us to live out our years in comfort.  However, no where in our plan did we include the President’s belief that it was our responsibility to “spread our wealth” and take a few “free loaders” under our wing into retirement with us.

 

I most certainly admit that there are “genuine” Democrats that believe in the cause of the party and DO NOT fall into the group we’ve been discussing here.  It’s easy to “paint” all of the opposing party with the same broad brush—truly a mistake.  I respect the fact that in a free country there is room for all of us.  I also am not blinded to the fact that we Republicans have not done a very good job of fielding strong candidates.  Shame on us!

 

That said, it brings to mind a story I saw recently (again directed to the group of “free loaders—who happen to vote Democratic—not you TRUE Democrats) in which two individuals are entering into a discussion when the first individual asks the other, “Don’t you think you should be able to pass an intelligence test before you’re allowed to vote?”  The second individual responded, “No, you don’t have to be intelligent to vote.”  The first individual responds back, “Well what if there are more stupid people than intelligent people?”  The second individual responds, “Then the Democrat wins!”  (editor’s note:  …and it is this portion of the party that the Democrats can always depend on)

 

mlm

 

 

Content Contributors for the Week

 

Austilene (Turner) Borum, Class of 1962

Amy Cooper, Class of 1974

Charles Curtis, Class of 1965

All those who sent messages to the Email “Bag”

 

Thank you all!

 

 

Remembering…

 

Laundry Memories

 

Recently after spending about 3 hours watching the “Maytag repairman” work on our washing machine, I started reflecting back on my experiences of doing laundry over the years—well actually my earliest memories are of watching/helping my Mom.  Wow, how things have changed!

 

My earliest memories are of going with my Mom to the laundry—yes, the laundry as there were only wringer washing machines—Maytags I am sure.  Mom always had the clothes separated by color before leaving home.  Color was all that really mattered because in those days virtually everything was made from cotton so you didn’t have to worry about the different material types.  Of course, we washed the whites in the hottest water and always used a “bluing ball” in the rinse water.  As I recall, we washed the colors in cooler water and were very careful to be sure we didn’t mix colors that might “bleed” with other colors.  Mom let me help her as I got a little older but always cautioned me to be careful as I put the clothes through the wringer so that I didn’t catch a finger in between the rollers.  As a very little girl, Mom had stuck her finger in the cogs of an old wringer machine and lost the end of her finger—that misshaped finger made me a believer that I needed to be careful.  I, too, remember the “extractor” which Mom used for the towels.  It would spin the clothes so hard that it took very little time for them to dry once hung on the line.  In later years of going to the laundry, there were the big commercial dryers available and if the weather was inclement Mom would dry some of our things. 

 

As I recall about the time I was in junior high, we got our first automatic washer and dryer at home.  What a change!  We could do laundry whenever we wanted or as the need arose.  Mom was content with using the dryer and not worrying about the “fresh” smell of line dried clothes.  I liked not having to hang clothes to dry. 

 

I still remember the days when virtually everything had to ironed.  Cotton didn’t dry without wrinkles whether hung on the line or dried in the dryer.  I remember the sprinkler bottle—ours was a soda bottle with a sprinkler for a cap.  We would sprinkle the clothes, roll them up tightly, and let them sit in a basket for a few hours.  Then the iron and iron and board would come out to begin ironing.  I learned to iron on handkerchiefs, pillow cases, and Dad’s work shirts.  From there, I was soon ironing everything.  I remember the days before refrigerated air conditioning and ironing.  We had a “water cooler” for an air conditioner—it just mainly circulated humid air.  When standing over the ironing board with the hot iron and that humid air circulating, I was miserable.

 

Well, when Mike and I first married, we didn’t have a washer or dryer so back to the Laundromat I went.  I remember bringing his jeans home to line dry.  Does anyone remember the pants’ stretchers we used to help with the crease in the jeans.  I would put the stretchers in the jeans and hang them on the line to dry.  Of course, Mike wanted his creased perfectly and I believe starched.  I hung most of our other laundry on good days as well as I didn’t like to use the commercial dryers which heated way to hot.  After about 6 months of marriage, we moved into a new house with a hookup for a washer and dryer.  Off to the Maytag store we went for our first washer and dryer.  Fortunately, we have never been without since and I don’t recall hanging any clothes on a line to dry since.  I don’t worry about the “fresh” smell of lined dried clothes either.

 

Just as other things have changed, material has changed as well.  Over the years, I would iron some things—used a steam iron avoiding the necessity of “sprinkling” clothes and letting them set to dampen throughout.  Every year brought a better blend of material which required less and less ironing.  Yes, I still have an iron in the house but don’t remember when the last time I used it.  I just make sure I am near so I can hear the dryer when it cuts off, remove the clothes quickly before they can wrinkle, and then hang them on the hanger ready to wear when pulled from the closet. 

 

What a change in laundry habits in my lifetime!  Today’s younger generation cannot relate to wringer washing machines and probably don’t even know what a wash board was for—I never used a wash board but certainly knew what it was and how it was used.  I wonder what my granddaughters will remember about their early days of doing laundry.  How can machines change in the future?  Only time will tell.  I have a hard time believing they will change as much as they have in my lifetime.  

 

Now after reflecting on my memories and still dealing with a less than two year old Maytag washer that will not spin towels enough that they will dry in less than two hours, I wonder if maybe some of those old time methods were so bad after all.  I know that towels washed in a wringer machine and run through the extractor dried very quickly.  Mike has spent hours on the phone with Maytag trying to get a resolution to our problem –he is now awaiting the call that is suppose to confirm Maytag is going to give us a prorated settlement on this machine.  We hope this is the answer to our problem.  cnm

 

 

Thoughts from the Squirrel Lair

 

Matthew 6:34:  Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.

 

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

 

No one can make you serve customers well…that’s because great service is a choice.  Harvey Mackay tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

 

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport.  When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine.  Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

 

He handed my friend a laminated card and said, “I’m Wally, your driver.  While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like to you read my mission statement.”

 

Taken back, Harvey read the card.  It said:  Wally’s Mission Statement:  To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

 

This blew Harvey away.  Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside.  Spotlessly clean!

 

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, “Would you like a cup of coffee?  I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.”  My friend said jokingly, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.”  Wally smiled and said, “No problem I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”  Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.”

 

Handing him his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today.

 

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card.  “These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.”

 

And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

 

Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day.  He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

 

“Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?”

 

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror.  “No, not always.  In fact, it’s only been in the last two years.  My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do.  Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.  He had just written a book called You’ll See It When you Believe It.  Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself.  He said ‘Stop complaining!  Differentiate yourself from your competition.  Don’t be a duck.  Be an eagle.  Ducks quack and complain.  Eagles soar above the crowd.’

 

“That hit me right between the eyes,” said Wally.  “Dyer was really talking about me.  I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle.  I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.  The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy.  So I decided to make some changes.  I put in a few at a time.  When my customers responded well, I did more.”

 

“I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said.

 

“It sure has,” Wally replied.  “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year.  This year I’ll probably quadruple it.  You were lucky to get me today.  I don’t sit at cabstands anymore.  My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine.  If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.”

 

Wally was phenomenal.  He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.  I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it.  Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call.  The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

 

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice.  He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

 

How about us?  Smile and the whole world smiles with you.  The ball is in our hands!  A man reaps what he sows.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up…let us do good to all people.

 

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar!

 

 

Alumni Website

 

We have renewed the account that Wanda Jackson had set up at the photo sharing website, picturetrail.com for the Roosevelt Alumni:  http://www.picturetrail.com/rooseveltalumni.  She had posted many pictures from past reunions, class panels, and old schools buildings along with write ups about them.  We thought you might find these interesting if you haven’t visited this site in the past.

 

 

Interesting Tidbits

 

How are Baseballs Made

 

It is amazing in these modern times so much of the baseballs are made by hand, in particular, all the sewing.  This is really interesting.

 

 

Turn on the sound, run in full screen (left click the little box at the lower right of the You Tube screen)

 

http://www.reliableplant.com/view/25724/how-baseballs-are-manufactured

********

 

My Name is America

Have you heard this song yet? This is the one all of America is talking about!  Please help spread the amazing message of this incredible song.  This is the “America” that we are all proud of--not the America that some of our leaders are attempting to redesign.

Turn on the sound, run in full screen (left click the little box at the lower right of the You Tube screen)

 

http://youtu.be/6TPgJSZf5Vw

 

 

 

News

 

It’s A Spring Thing

 

Don’t forget “It’s A Spring Thing” sponsored by the Southern Kiowa Chamber Saturday, March 24 in Roosevelt.  Thirty vendors will be at the Vendor Fair in the Senior Citizen Center from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The Decorated Bike Contest is at 11:00 a.m. and the Easter Egg Hunt is at 2:30 p.m.  Be there early to find that bargain at the town wide garage sale beginning at 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon.  Concessions will be available at the Senior Citizens Center from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The Wichita Mountain Bluegrass will play on stage in the afternoon.  There will be a large moon bounce from JB Moon Bounce and the Easter Bunny along with various cartoon characters will be around for photo opportunities.  Take the whole family and enjoy a great day in Roosevelt.

 

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries

 

We have compiled all of the birthday and anniversary information we could from Wanda’s files.  We are sure we are missing some.  Please send us the birthdays and anniversaries for your family and friends so that we can have as complete as list as possible.  We are going to start with what we have from Wanda’s files so if we miss you, please send us the information so we have it for the news next year.  In addition, should any of the birthdays we list be wrong, also please let us know.

 

Happy Birthday To:

 

March 23 – Debra Wiser, Class of 1985
March 24 – Kyle Downen

March 24 – Gayla (Wilks) Hite, Class of 1967
March 26 – Phillip Lile, Class of 1973  
March 27 – Anna (Barnes) Everhart, Class of 1989
March 27 – Warren Richardson
March 29 – Gladys Schiffner
March 29 – Brandon Saville

March 29 – Judy (Nash) Williams

Happy Anniversary To:

 

March 27 – Ned & Betty Callen

 

 

Humor

 

Making a Wedding Bearable

 

Little Johnny was in a relative’s wedding.  As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and then turn to the crowd, put his hands up like claws and roar.

 

That’s the was it went all down the aisle:  step, step, ROAR…step, step, ROAR…step, step, ROAR.

 

As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing by the time he reached the pulpit.  When the priest who was celebrating the wedding asked what he was doing, Little Johnny sniffed and said, “I was being the Ring Bear.”

 

 

From the Email “Bag”

 

Hi Carolyn and Mike.

 

I was looking at the Kiowa County pioneer book.  In there is a picture of Roosevelt Main Street at Christmas time 1925.  The photo was taken about where the old phone office was.  An old Model A or T or another type of truck was the main attraction because Santa Claus was sitting on top of the truck.  In the bed of the truck it looks like sacks of candy or what we got from our local church at Christmas.  There were a least a hundred people standing around.  Down the middle of town parked in the dirt were about 30 old cars and teams and wagons.  There on the corner was the old hotel where Sandra Pitts lived and to the south were two old buildings, Ben Talley junk yard, north of his dealership was a vacant lot.  That was a first for me.  I have always seen a junk yard there and today it is still a junk yard.  My eyes were just fixed on that photo for a long time.  My dad came from Texas with his wife and two daughters, one of the daughters being Carolyn Martin’s mother.  They came to Roosevelt to live in 1923.  By looking at this picture knowing my dad was there in 1925, he could have been one of the hundred of people standing there in the picture.  Also the picture was taken 21 yrs before I was born, the hospital being above Nash's Dept Store. There is a saying that all things change for the best.  As for me I don't think that’s the case for Roosevelt.  If anyone saw this picture of Roosevelt in 1925, I think they would agree with me.  One other thing that came to mind as I was looking at this photo is how many of the people standing there all happy about seeing Santa and getting a sack of goodies and that in just 4 years of the good life, it would end when the depression hits.  My dad and his two brothers all being farmers did quite well farming.  When the depression hit them, all of the brothers couldn't pay for their farms. They ended selling all their farms to a man name A. D. Root.  Most people of my age knew him.  Not sure how A. D. dodged the depression.  Any person that had money in the bank lost it.  I don't even know or have heard how many farms he brought, but do know of 3.  

 

Jerry Hayslip, Class of 1964

 

 

Political Fodder

 

Marxism in America

 

The narrator in this short video is Gen. Boykin.  He was the general who pulled off the action which led to the movie “Black Hawk Down.”  He is a dedicated Christian.  This is really something to think about.

 

Turn on the sound, run in full screen (left click the little box at the lower right of the You Tube screen)

 

http://www.morningstartv.com/oak-initiative/marxism-america

 

 

 

Obituaries

 

Walter Elix, 83, Roosevelt resident

http://www.rayandmarthas.com/CurrentObituary.aspx?did=69bdc3e2-8c01-43d6-8da1-6e87501efb04

 

Useful Links:

 

Becker Funeral Home of Snyder, OK

http://www.beckerfuneral.com/?page=snyder

 

Ray and Martha’s Funeral Home of Hobart, Mt. View, and Carnegie, OK

http://rayandmarthas.com/

 

Roosevelt Cemetery Layout

http://www.234enterprises.com/Roosevelt%20Cemetery%20Layout.htm

 

Roosevelt Cemetery Markers (Picture Trail)

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/listing/user/rooseveltcemetery

 

Roosevelt Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99397&CScn=roosevelt&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Hobart Rose Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99399&CScn=Hobart+Rose&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Hobart Resurrection (Catholic) Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2246374&CScn=Resurrection&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Mountain Park Cemetery on Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=99042&CScn=Mountain+Park&CScntry=4&CSst=38

 

Snyder Fairlawn Cemetery on Find A Grave

 

 

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