Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 51, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 22 December 2016 — Page 4
Advance News • Thursday, December 22, 2016
Page A4
My favorite Christmas Like a constellation of blight stars shining down from
a cold winter sky, my Christmas memories are strung across my skein of years, from the holy day scant days away, bade beyond the limits of recall, memorable only because of dogeared photographs.
The narrator of "A Christmas Story," (the musical version of which is still being performed at the Round Bam Theatre) had no trouble selecting his favorite Christmas ever. It was the one where, against all odds, he got the Red Ryder, carbine action, 200 shot range model air rifle! It's not so easy for me to pick a favorite. Perhaps the earliest Christmas I remembW must have been 1958 or 1959. We lived in Anaheim, California, where the big thrill for us kids was to stand in our front lawn and look in the direction of the newly constructed Disneyland and watch tiny fireworks soundlessly explode three miles away. Talk about innocence! We five Ramirez children were told it didn't snow in Southern California, but at some point in December, I watched an episode of Dennis the Menace. You remember. About that kid with the cowlick who always got into trouble. The adults told him the same thing they told me, but he believed in mirades and when he looked out the window on Christmas Eve snow was falling! I went to bed that night sure there'd be snow in the morning, but when I got up the next day all I saw in the backyard was a swirl of dry brown grass with a stagnant puddle in the middle. Christmas came anyway! A year later my father was transferred to Virginia for the final four years of his hitch in the Navy. We kids were thrilled there'd be snow. And there was. It must have been a mini-ice age because we were able to build huge snowmen in the playground at the center of Navy housing every winter. Anyway, in 1963 Dad finished his twenty years, and we headed back to California. We visited Arlington National Cemetery to see the newly lit eternal flame over the body of the recently assassinated President Kennedy. From there we went west and stopped for a look at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where shockingly it snowed. Christmas arrived a few days later at a motel in Phoenix, where Santa - or my mother - surprised us with stockings filled with nuts, oranges, and small toys! Despite the fact that our family, whim now numbered eight, must have had to watch every penny on that trip, Christmas arrived anyway! Another favorite Christmas is one I have no memory of, but my wife Jennie assures me it took place. Jennie and I and our three children received a special gift from her mother - a VCR! It cost over S4OO, way out of our price range. Suddenly we could tape television shows and watch them later. And you know what I discovered? Once I started taping shows I stopped watching them. It turned out I was only watching the shows because if I missed the broadcast I'd never have a chance to see them again. I guess I didn't really like television all that much. What a great gift. Perhaps my favorite Christmas is always this year's celebration. Adding children and now grandchildren to the mix makes this a joyous holiday. The Christ child comes into our midst and gives us the best present of all joy! Merry Christmas, joy to the world, and God bless us, everyone. Frank Ramirez is the Senior Pastor of the Union Center Church of the Brethren.
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County Road Seven By Frank Ramirez Pastor
Community
I Mining to crawl to buying houses, interpreting lemon laws... the cyde of learning never ends
I still remember my insatiable desire to be a mother. I promised God I would welcome every growth, development, hardship, misbehavior, moments of celebration, great achievements, and anything else that came with the precious gift of a child. The wait was long and the battle hard fought against infertility, but in
December 1995 the Lord blessed Allen and I with our two most precious Christmas gifts Alec and Andrew. They are second only to the Christ child bom to free us all of sin. Those early years with the boys were most wonderful and awe inspiring! To see their tiny infant faces light up with recognition when I walked in the room, or picked them up, and they looked at me it completely melted my heart! I loved watching them bud into compassionate and curious toddlers who showed love toward others and desired to learn more about the world around them. \ I was delighted beyond description when they arrived home from elementary school excited to tell me the fascinating details about Columbus discovering America...frowned upon the years of slavery which they learned about in class...handed me sign-up sheets for Little League Baseball Wa-Nee Waves junior high football and golf FFA and tractor restoration at the high school. Then suddenly it was time for our boys to graduate and become adults. Andrew finished school early and was already working full-time as Christmas break ended during his senior year. Both boys walked with their class at graduation. Then Alec was headed off to a new school in literally under one month to achieve higher education. This year I have sat by and quietly witnessed each of them learning to balance wants and needs as they budget out paychecks. Andrew is learning to plan restitution for unexpected medical bills. Alec is learning the checks and balances of home ownership and maintenance. Most recently the boys invested in new vehicles. They each chose the same model of car. It was a little sportier than either had currently been driving, and both chose used models to keep things affordable. Andrew drove his vehicle off the lot and in less than 24 hours, without excessive miles or any neglect/mistreatment, it broke down and had to be towed. And so began his latest journey of learning the difference between trusted hometown businesses, run by hometown residents, and bigger companies ran by those not familiar with our local residents. Our son contacted the dealership and was told he must handle his own arrangements and costs of towing the vehicle to the dealership garage. He was given the usual rundown of—our people will check it out ranty Whatever it is should be fixable. That was a true learning experience because our sons are used to the excellent customer service of McCormick
All Those Years Ago
100 YEARS AGO December 22,1916 E.E. Mummert and Otto Gengnagel, traveling salesmen of Goshen, were passengers on a B. & O. railroad passenger train which was held in the the country, a short distance west of Nappanee, an horn and a half for a change of crew. Passengers were unaware of the cause of the delay until they were informed of the 16 hour time limit for the crew had expired and it would be necessary to get a new crew before proceeding. The dispatcher by mistake sent only an engineer and this brought on more confusion. Finally the required crew was provided and the train started reaching Milford Junction at such time that the Goshenites were compelled to wait for interurban connections. With the mercury near the zero mark they found the Winona waiting room locked. While filling a carbide tank early Tuesday evening, that furnished the gas for an acetylene plant which lighted his home, Daniel Miller, a well known farmer living 21/2 miles southwest of Millwood, was instantly killed when the carbide exploded. The tank was located on the south side of his house, and Mr. Miller and his two sons were replenishing it with carbide, which makes the acetylene gas for the housing . It is said that it was snowing at the time and the carbide became wet, and the carbide became wet, forming a gas and causing the explosion. Mr. Miller perished, one son has a bad gash and may lose the sight of one eye, and the other son is badly bruised. Wmdows in the house were shattered. 75 YEARS AGO December 25,1941 Some one surely wanted to enjoy smoking during the holidays, if the things taken from the garage of Sears Price means anything. When Sears returned home Monday night from his bread route, he found the door to the garage open and inquired of Mrs. Price as to whether she left it open or not only to be told that she had closed it. Just a short time before Mrs. Price had placed some new goods on the shelves in the garage, and investigation showed the following had been taken from this new supply: 3 cartons of Camels, 1 Kool, 1 Lucky, 2 Marvels, 1 Chesterfield, one-half Wing, and 1 Philip Morri and to top the smokes, 4 cartons of candy bars were also taken. A quick check-up showed these articles missing, which had a wholesale value of approximately $13.00. Bob Stump's car was stolen from the Huffman Bakery parking lot Friday evening and in its place was left a 1941 Studebaker belonging to a South Bend men. It had been stolen in South Bend. No trace of the Stump car has been found, although police believe it is probably parked somewhere in one of the larger cities in this vicinity. A number of cars have been stolen in northern Indiana during the recent months, driven a little ways, and then parked and another machine taken. Only last week, a young man was caught in South Bend who confessed to 22 thefts. Police thought he might have been implicated in the stealing of the Stump machine but he did not confess to it.
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Merrie’s Musings By Merrie Chapman Staff Writer
Motors, Nappanee, as that is where all four of us have done business over the years. Based on past experiences, had the purchase been made at the entrusted dealership with which we are all familiar, at any sign of trouble the company tow truck would have been dispatched instantly to Andrew. A loaner car would have been pro-
vided during the period Andrew's car was being inspected and/or repaired, and his sales representative would have instantly been putting the wheels into motion to rectify the situation. There would not have been any instant question about whether Andrew was at all responsible for whatever issues were occurring. Rather he would have instantly been taken care of and answers sought. Instead Andrew was now being told he must schedule and pay for the towing...find his own ride to wherever he was headed...and that the car dealership needed to determine if it was a mechanical problem or something Andrew had done wrong while driving it. None of that is wrong or illegal. It just is not the selfless commitment our family has been previously blessed by at our hometown dealership. The second red flag came when I went with Andrew back to the dealership and their loan officer insisted that Indiana lemon laws did not apply to used vehicles. This came as a surprise because research shows Indiana Motor Vehicle Protection Act IC 247-58-13 commonly known as the "Indiana Lemon law" specifically outlines "new" or "used" vehicles in its description. That's a matter that will require further research and better understanding. In the new car dealership's defense, they are a big company so it is instinctive for them to naturally look out for themselves. And because they are not familiar with hometown residents it is natural that they do not have that same trust ini their customers or personal connection and commitment in customer service. I'm sure that can be developed in time. And if they back up what they said about everything being covered through warranty and purchased care packages, it will be the first step in establishing that connection—with our family at least. In the spirit of the Christmas season, my hope goes beyond wanting the new company to work out the bugs with the vehicle my son purchased there. My wish is that this newer company remains in our city long enough get to know people more personally and make that caring hometown connection with our residents. Should they do so, I have full faith that they could be an asset to our community and build their own league of families who continue service through their dealership for each new generation. Everyone residents and businesses alike should be blessed enough to feel the underlying caring, compassion and trust this beautiful city is built on. Merry Christmas, everyone!
50 YEARS AGO— December 22,1966 The Nappanee Common Council chambers are freshly painted, and Clerk-Treasurer Elmore Senff had attractively and appropriately decorated the room for Christmas. On Monday night, the Council was in a year-end mood, although they all indicated a desire to get moving on some of the proposed projects. It was decided that in the near future, it would be a good idea to talk out the ideas about annexing adjacent land and to arrive at a plan for it. This would include just what to do about supplying water and sewer and how to pay for them. Also discussed was the plan of getting a new city hall. Councilman Ray Schwartz still favors the Community Building for his purpose and he suggested that study be made to determine just how much this building was needed and used for its present purpose of recreation. Ray Miller, president of the Nappanee Lions Club, announced the judges for Nappanee entries in the essay contest which Lions International is sponsoring. Contestants are asked to write on the subject "Is Peace Attainable?" The purpose is to generate awareness and understanding of peace among the youth who will be tomorrow's leaders. The judges will be Lion John Wolfe, teacher of English at Nappanee High School, Rev. Darrell Prichard, pastor of the Mt. Tabor Church of God, and Mrs. Daniel Metzler, former English teacher at Nappanee High School. The ten high school students who have submitted entries are Nancy Jo Berger, Brenda Brenneman, Ruth Brenneman, Ann Clouse, Anita Conrad, Jane Kindig, Cynthia Kurtz, John Ruhl, Diana Stump, and Christine Wise. 25 YEARS AGO December 25,1991 Nappanee's new radio station, WLRX, is on the air, with staff members taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week at the broadcast site just south of Nappanee. Among those who participated were Vikki Johnson, who will host the afternoon shift, Freeman Borkholder, Scott Mahalack, consultants Jim and Marilyn Cobb, owners Larry Andrews, Mayor Robert Callander, Chamber Director Wendy Johnson, and Andy Hochstetler, of Ideal Construction. The 24-hour FM station will feature music, local news, weather updates, and sports. Mayor Robert Callander was given a special gift during the city Christmas party. With the help of Clerk-Treasurer Kim Ingle and mayor-elect Ken Walters, the Mayor was presented with a large wooden plaque bearing pictures of the various city departments, all mounted on a wood base, along with a sign matching those at the city limits. The gift was a fitting departure for Callander's 12-year reign as Nappanee's mayor.
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