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Olney
Memories # 1 |
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HI
everyone,
I am Ann Weesner King, originally from Olney and I took the liberty to copy all
the letters that were sent to me and combined them into one, and I will
send them back to you and on to some more "Olneyites."
Maybe we will get some more people to ADD to the
comments that are listed below and they will keep sending them back to us
so we can see what they have written about their memories of Olney life.
One memory sometimes trigs another!
Thanks for the memories. I have enjoyed reading about many of the things
I had forgotten. Thanks Mary Ann Neely for originally including me on this
"letter of memories."
A few of my memories are below....
------------------
I remember the unique way Penny's had of making change in their store.
And I do remember WVLN being upstairs over Penny's. Also I went to the
3rd floor when I was 5 years old, for dance lessons! That was a
Ann
pianoann97@aol.com
Class of 1960
-----------------------------------
This REALLY DID bring back lot of memories. More than I have. I do know
that the radio station was above the old J.C. Penney building but do not
remember the change deal at all. Do any of you remember the old
Schmalhausen drug store with the fountain and had all the ceiling fans
which hung way down from the ceiling on the South side of Main St. a
short ways west of where the theater is now? Remember F.W.Woolworth 5
and l0 cent store next to Sherman's. Remember the 5 and 10 cent store a
short time across the street just east of where First National Bank is
now? Right on the corner. Remember the old Weiland-Goudy Hardware store
on the South side of main close to where Bowers is now? I'm not sure I
have that spelled correctly but, it was there somewhere. My Dad worked
for Melvin Graves northeast of Olney about 6 miles and we went to the
Fehrenbacher store fairly often. The old Mikes had
the l0-4s that were sooo good. They still have them at Hovey's on east
main. My mind is going blank already, was born earlier than some of you.
Graduated with Ann Weesner (King).
Bye now. Pat Harrison. Keep it growing!
=========================================================
Just wanted to add my two cents worth - I am Terry Ratcliffe, class of
'59.
I agree, there were a lot of steps up to WVLN, first as a Boy Scout
doing a weekly show, and later going up there to rehearse & record with
a band, carrying my drum set up all those steps.
The Little Farm Market with the sawdust floor - I remember it well,
going there for a snack while I waited for my Dad to finish running the
projector at the Elks Theater (previously the Roxie). And speaking of
the Elks Theater (which no body mentioned at all - I must be older than
I thought), is any one of you old enough to remember the Teen Club that
we set up over the Elks?
Someone mentioned a newsstand where the First National Bank is, that was
the original location of Beal's newsstand and the Greyhound Bus stop.
That was where I had my first paying job, and where I spent most of my
money buying comic books. This is the same Beal's (or is it Beales?) who
owned the bowling alley and skating rink, and opened the Holiday Inn,
which later became the Holiday.
I remember all of all of the gas stations mentioned, especially the Star
station, which gave Trading Stamps, when you filled up your book you
could get (I think) $2.00 worth of gas free .... which at less than 25
cents a gallon was quite a bit at that time.
The IGA on North East Street WAS originally Quayles.
I believe the restaurant on 130 y'all have been talking about was the
M&M Cafe.
Dan mentioned the Dog N' Suds. The thing to do when I was in school was
to drag Main Street - going down Main - around the Dog N'Suds and back
to the A & W Root Beer (on the East end of town, across from the Star
Gas Station) and then back again (all night long - while I was working
at the Arcadia).
Mike's West Side - originally "Mikes" was the home of the "White Squirrel
Bowmen" we met weekly in the basement, and practiced our target
shooting down their driveway into the garage.
Well, I've rambled enough, so I will close for now.
=========================================================
You are all obviously much older than I--but I have been enjoying your
e-mail exchanges!
I remember a little grocery store at corner of 130 and old 50--there used to
be a street with a narrow strip of houses that ran parallel to 130, next to
the Coke plant. I remember it because it was my grandparent's store, and I
worked there during my junior year!
Hope everyone is having a great "01." Gary, I'm still envious of
your retirement. It's just more proof that you are much older!
Alan
-=========================================================
Hello,
I hadn't thought about those old Olney memories for years. There was a
hardware store in the building before Jupiter's called Murray's I believe.
Olney did have a Kroger store on east Main, when the building was brand new.
I worked there when they first opened. Must have been around 1966.
The drive in on the East end of Main was the Town Talk,which later became a
KFC.
Turnipseed's restaurant was also out there. Also Joe's Tonsorial Emporium.
And Helen's Auto Sales. I remember when the intersection had a gas station
on all four corners and the Highway Cafe was just west of there. They had a
nickel pin ball machine there and the owner would pay off in cash for points.
Taylor's store was south and west to Wilson Street. Remember Fessel's
Cleaners and the bakery on Whittle? J & J Market? Gary
=========================================================
Lets not forget many of the places on North Whittle. The Little Farm Market (Daryl "Big Daddy" Kuhl); Jones Cycle and Toy Shop (Mickey Jones), where I worked a summer dusting mikes and making change; Speith Camera Shop; Whittaker's Record Shop; Town Talk Restaurant run by the Jones (Becky Jones); and Wagner's Barber Shop (Frank Wagner). I also remember their being a newsstand I think where the First National Bank is. We would stop their after church and I would often buy a nice Donald Duck comic book. I have a rather large collection of now ratty comic books from that era.
Do you remember Maas' grocery on Main located close to Bowers Drugs. I remember going their with my grandma to buy Mince Meat Pie, with I still despise. Do you remember where WVLN station was located originally? (I do) And I was also fascinated by the unique method of transport for change used at JC Penny (hint).
I recall that there were a number of small grocery stores throughout the town. When we lived close to Silver School their was one a block from our house, but cannot remember the name. And I have been trying to remember the very small grocery located on main about a block from where the pizza hut now is but on the North side of the street. It was run by one man. Seems like it was a small store with a gas pump. It's long gone now.
Who can forget Lakeside Grocery located at the Res run by the Fehrenbacher family. I don't know how much business they did, but with that large family I imagine it save them considerable on their food budget. ( And they had a VERY LARGE family)
At one time we shopped at the little store where Quale Antiques is today. I believe it was an IGA. At any rate the closest thing we have to those small markets today are the 7-11 type business.
Little towns like Olney have changed so much. We don't see the variety of small businesses or the active down town areas. It really is a shame. One could walk from most places in Olney to the main shopping area. I am not sure we really saw the boom in downtown Olney as they had in the earlier part of the century, when many of the farm folks would drive the several miles to town on a Saturday to do their shopping, selling, visiting or take in a show.
Sorry to carry on, but you guys brought back some pleasant memories.
Roger
=========================================================
Limbline1 writes:
I remember when the intersection had a gas station on all four corners and the Highway Cafe was just west of there.
I remember that one of those gas stations was a Pure Oil Station. My Daddy worked for Pure. Across the street, wasn't it Marathon? On East Main Street, on the South Side there was a Star Gas Station that was run by Herman Lathrop, my piano teacher's husband.
I remember gas at that Pure station being 28 cents too. And there weren't credit cards then. But my folks had a blackbook kind of looked like an old checkbook, where they charged the gas. It had very light card stock in it with -----heaven help us all---holes punched in it. Just ripe for a problem with chads.
That was Cammon's IGA on North East Street where the antique shop is. Wasn't it also Quayles at one time?
Was the original WVLN radio station located in part of the top of the JC Penney building? The unique transport of change at Penneys....that I don't remember.
You beat me to Taylors Market. Clyde Sechrest used to run a little diner type place on 130 south where the Marshall Brothers building is now. They had the best ice cream. I remembered the name of Maas Market, but couldn't remember where it was located.
Anyone remember Goose Nibble and the old poultry factory?? EWWWWW the smell.
I remember from my junior high years an Italian place on Main St. next to Penney's that was called Luigis Pizzeria.
I suppose you all remember the Olney Sanitarium and then the Weber Medical Clinic where Trust Bank is now. We have a small table that I was told came out of the old Sanitarium.
One of my most unforgettable teachers was Arrah Jean Schumaker in high school. I felt very honored several years ago as I was asked to come down to Stringtown and give a talk on lupus to the community. She came to that. A young girl, whose parents were Jerry and JoAnn Bahl (Rennier) had died of lupus as a high school student. It was something they hadn't really heard of down there. But she came, as did about 50 others.
But then there was also Edmund Snively. :) And "Red Roman" Eileen Hostettler our beloved Latin teacher. Another favorite of mine was Margaret Griffin. She encouraged me so much in my music career.
Rog, it just occurred to me that these other people may not know who in the heck I am. I'm Mary Ann Neely--class of 1970. I grew up north of town and west of Dundas under what is now the TV station.
I'm including PianoAnn97 who accidentally sent me an email thinking I was Ruby Neeley about a year ago. We've had fun emailing off and on ever since. I'll let her introduce herself further if she likes.
She is the one who originally sent me the Older Than Dirt thing which I customized for us Olney-ites.
This really is fun.
====================
Clyde Sechrest used to run a little diner type place on 130 South where the Marshall Brothers building is now. They had the best ice-cream. I remembered the name of Maas Market, but couldn't remember where it was located.
Anyone remember Goose Nibble and the old poultry factory? EWWWWW the smell.
=========================================================
Before Mr. Sechrest started the White Spot on 130, he was the owner of the Dairy Queen on the West end of town. It was next to the Dog N' Suds.
Yes - I remember Goose Nibble and the Chicken Factory. Our School Bus used to go through it. There was also a vinegar plant there that added to the smell. Yuk! I remember feeling sorry for the kids that got off the bus there.
I also remember going to Mike's West side where there was a model airplane shop in the basement. I bought supplies there to build my model which was powered by an old McCoy 19 engine that my dad had for an old model he built. Mike's West side was across the street from a Congregational Christian church, which was torn down just a few years ago.
I also remember Ealey's Jewelry Store next to the Arcadia. That is where I bought Charlotte's engagement and wedding rings. There was also the old Olney Sanitarium where I was born in 1947. It was at the end of the little street that runs parallel to Main Street from Whittle. That street also provided back entrances to many of the stores on Main Street. It was also where our family doctor, Dr. Eyer, had his office.
When I started first grade in Calhoun, not only did we have to use an outhouse on the farm where we lived, we had outhouses at the school. The Calhoun school had grades 1 through 8. At the time, the school also had indoor plumbing but it was a few years after it was installed before the outhouses were removed. I also remember all of the boys bringing their pocket knives to school. We used them to dig little tunnels on the playground. We then used the tunnels to play with the toy cars we would bring to school. (I don't think there is any school around that would allow such a thing today. They would be afraid that a kid would get mad and stab someone. They also would not appreciate the little holes in the playground -- someone might trip and sue them. At that time, however, the janitor would just fill them in whenever there got to be too many holes. Anyway, we did not do this in a walk area.)
I also remember the old Coca Cola Bottling Plant at the Northwest corner of the 130/50 intersection. I toured it a couple of times. I always enjoyed the free coke at the end.
Have a nice day,
Dan
======================================================
In a message dated 1/3/01 11:16:10 PM, terryrat@flash.netwrites: