The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 19, Milford, Kosciusko County, 23 May 1984 — Page 47

Summer in retrospect

By CHAR BUTLER - Guest Feature Writer On a hot day, one of childhood’s happiest diversions half-hour or so frolic behind Ernest Clase’s horse-drawn ice wagon. The smooth red brick streets sizzled in sports where there were no shacle trees so we took turns soothing the bottoms of our barefeet in cool puddles made by melting ice blocks gently twirling on the scale. Mrs. Clase picked away, sculpting, as customers waited. He paid no at-* tention to us Muffins but lefr enough palm-sized chunks for everyone. At Center Lake beach, near vmere the pavilion is now, stood a tidy, frame 20x28 boys’ bath house/commissary/girls’ bath house, managed by a pleasant little man. Uncle Zeb Hughes, who looked like a retired welterweight. This building always smelled as if he had just hosed it down, inside and out. A few steps from the girls' dressing room door stood one, maybe two old wash machine rollers used to push water from swimsuits but not intended to gobble little

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fingers as often happened. Out back, unless caught, two or three boys busied cutting knotholes in the wood boards framing the girls’ dressing room. The pier, fifty or so feet long and forty inches wide, was too narrow for weekend and holiday crowds. Built to native pine, it was treacherously s-l-i-p-p-e-r-y when wet. East, and not far from Zeb’s Place, toward a gray, wood water slide several stories higher than most of us had ever climbed a prickly pear tree. The big kids rented toboggans for 15, 30 or 60 minutes and hollared and Indiana war whopped all the way down until dunked at the bottom. The rest of us spent what little money we had on Cracker Jack, grape pop and Baby ruth candy bars. We “just learned’’ to swim; first the dog paddle, then an awkward crawl, later, a better one Two brothers from Chicago, both in their late teens, Bob and Bill Overman, taught some of us the basics of swimming and diving, but not often enough as their vacation only lasted a few weeks here each summer. Too soon it was August and the

county air came to Warsaw’s downtown. The “Side” and “Girlie” shows tented on Main Street on the north side of the courthouse, rides twirled and whirled to the east, concessions squatted on Center and South Buffalo Streets and the wood animal pens were hammered together by workmen on Lake Street. On opening day bean shooters came out of closets and the chief of police closed down shell games and sent packing out of town the tawdry Hoochie Coochie girls. But best of all. . . was the Fun House! Here, recorded shrieks of pain and fear halted your every step as you felt along in the dark. Walls disappeared, floors gave away a few inches under you feet, swishy things flew into' your face and a glowing skelton leaned too close. Finally, and in semi-darkness, you had to decide whether to forever stand where you were or plunge head first and disappear between two huge peo-ple-eating sponge rubber rollers. Before you took the dive, your best beau beside you, stood on one foot, then the other. Suddenly he bent over and gave you a quick kiss. Wow! For ten cents, one-tenth of a dollar, THAT ticket always was the best buy in town! No standard hem Designers have not agreed to any standard hem length for current fashions. One offers knee or midcalf daytime lengths while another shows hemlines at the ankle for daytime. Big in fabric preferences is linen followed by cotton-pigue, wool gabardine and silk.

VENTRILOQUIST PROGRAM - Beth Sutton Roberts, Francesville, provided the program for the Senior Mothers Club yearly May party at Quaker Haven, Dewart Lake. The yearly party was on Monday, May 14, and three other mothers clubs from Syracuse were present. Beth Roberts, a ventriloquist, used several puppets including Mai Ling, the baby and Grandpa in her presentation.

Entries sought for Egg Festival parade

Entries are now being accepted for the Mentone Egg Festival Parade to be held Saturday, June

County students graduate

Manchester College celebrated its 95th commencement exercises Sunday, May 20, with 236 students receiving degrees. The following area students received diplomas: Etna Green — Andrew Lee Kuhn Leesburg — Christine A. Spencer Mentone — Eleanor LuAnn Knoop Sidney — Glenda Fae Ray Warsaw — Kelley Jo Chase, Pamela Sue Shively, Gail Elaine Weirick To save jobs The Navy advanced the planned renovation of its third lowa Class battleship, the Missouri, by five months at the urging of a California senator to save up to 800 shipyard jobs, Navy and congressional sources said recently.

9. This year’s theme salutes the athletic of our area citizens, “A Salute to Athletes: Past, Present and Future.” The parade will form at 1 p.m. at Mentzer Park at the southwest section of Mentone. The parade will start at 2 p.m. Trophies will be awarded to theme float, commercial float, general float, antique vehicle, marching units, horse groups and color guard. Cash prizes will be presented for first and second place for theme, commercial, and general floats. Anyone wishing a parade entry blank should contact either Roger Moriarty, P. O. Box 515, Mentone or stop by the Neighborhood Store in Mentone. More information may be obtained by calling 353-7647.

Time Fidgets

By CHAR BUTLER Guest Feature Writer Every January I’m a year older, grayer. At my birthday party one of my childhood friends asked me, “How are you?” “Good! Great!” I answered. “In fact,. I believe I feel as if I’m 34...0r 35!” “Wow! That excites me!” he said, meaning it. Sorta excited me, too. I excused myself and walked toward some newly-arrived guests and wished someone would invent an instant wrinkle-fade . . . and I could lose 20 pounds. The thought also struck me that just maybe I’d like to do it all over again - dinners out, dancing to big name bands . . . the can-dle-light-and-soft-music-thing. When everyone had said their goodnights it was a little after 2 a.m. I dimmed the lights, placed a Sinatra record on the turntable. “A11... or nothing at a11..." I sat on the lounge, twirled a warming glass of champagne and thought about some of the big bands we had danced to: Goodman, Miller, Dorsey, Dorsey, Basie . . . and the singers for whom we stopped dancing to listen - Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Hutton, Whiting, Beneke. Favorite dance pavilions, summers, were Waco on Lake Wawasee, Lake Manitou at Rochester, Tippy at Lake Tippecanoe and winters were danced at the Eagles in W’arsaw, the Palais Royale, South Bend or in Chicago at the Aragon. Remember how Pappy Crooke, Tippy owner, clucked over us, and after the dance announced on the P.A. system, “Thank you, all ... for being with us tonight. And ... be careful driving home,” as Ted Nering’s orchestra softly played ‘‘Goodnight, Sweetheart?”

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Jacob William Keefer: overcomes handicap to win

By MYRNA DUTTER Guest Feature Writer The career of Rev. Jacob W. Keefer, a leading citizen of Kosciusko County, is a vivid and interesting example of character and industry in overcoming early disadvantages and hardships. He was 23 years old before he could read or write. Before that, he spent his time in the humblest and most laborious, unskilled labor. It is with great admiration that we find him becoming a large property holder, a real estate and insurance man of prominence. He was, at one time, also a minister of the First Christian Church of Warsaw. When he was pastor of the Central Christian Church of McComb, 111., he received a unanimous call to the Morris Street Church of Indianapolis. However, due to poor health, he decided to stay at McComb. He later regained his health while farming near Warsaw. It was during this time that Rev. Keefer became the pastor of the first

E Serving our country

‘ KENNETH TURNER Marine Pfc. Kenneth D. Turner, son of Tai and Kay Turner of r 1 Cromwell, has reported for duty at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Computer school at(IU Yoti’re never too young to learn abopt computers at Indiana University at South Bend’s division of continuing education. Two sections of “Pre-Computer Skills for Primary Children (Grades 1-3)” will be offered on four consectutive days, June 25 to 28, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from l:30 to 3:30 p.m. The class will meet in the Microcomputer Demonstration Laboratory located in the IUSB administration building, 1700 Mishawaka Ave., South Bend. Enrollment is limited and registration may be completed by calling the IUSB continuing education office at 237-4167 or call toll free from Elkhart County at 674-5905, ext. 4167. There will be a fee for the class. On Tornadoes From the mountains to the prairies, the geography of the U.S. forms a west-to-east assembly line that helps make the nation the most tor-nado-prone on Earth. The area between the Rockies and the Appalachians is the most vulnerable to tornadoes. Crime cost Personal and household crime cost Americans $10.9 billion in 1981, including an average S4O in personal theft, the Justice Department reported recently.

Wed., May 23,1984 - THE MAIL-JOURNAL

Christian Church of Warsaw. Jacob Keefer was born on what was known as Bone Prairie, Kosciusko County, September 17, 1867. He was the son of Joseph and Maria Elizabeth (Brittell) Keefer, the latter of direct French ancestry. His paternal grandfather was a Pennsylvania farmer, whose father had come from Germany. During the boyhood of Jacob, the illness of his father kept the family in limited financial circumstances; so, because his help was needed, Jacob was never sent to school. His father died when he was 13 years old and he became the sole support of the family until his mother married again 10 years later. Therefore, at age 23, he found himself utterly unfitted to compete with other men because of his lack of education. Jacob was unable to read or write so he decided on a course of action to better himself. For one term, he attended a country school. His application and energy brought about such progress that he was able to enter a preparatory school at Angola. After six weeks, he wa put in regular classes and continued there for four years. At the end of this time he was prepared for teaching. He taught at a rural school in Lake Township for one year. During the 1895-1896 school year he taught at Silver Lake where he also acted as assistant principal and later as the principal. Jacob Keefer was married at Warsaw in 1897 to Miss Ruth Henderson. She was a daughter of George* C. and Almeda Voorhees Henderson of Thornville, Ohio. In 1897, Keefer entered the ministry of the Disciples Church and for a time was pastor at Salem arid Sycamore. Later he held pastorates in Milford and

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Ligonier, Indiana; Astoria, McComb, and Coldbrook, 111. Back in Warsaw in 1918, Jacob, purchased a farm and engaged also in the insurance business. Later, he added real estate operations to his activities. His businesses became large and prosperous. Fraternally Jacob was a Mason. Originally he was a Democrat, but later became a Republican in his political allegiance. However, he never sought public office. Mr. and Mrs. Keefer had two children; Agnes Willadene and William Sheldon. Agnes was born August 22, 1900. She graduated from Galesburg (Illinois) High School in 1916 and then attended the State University at Bloomington and Broom business College at Galesburg. She later graduated from Elkhart Business College. Agnes became secretary to the president of the L.P. Hardy Printing and Lithographing Co. of South Bend. William was bom at Ligonier on May 20, 1902. He graduated from Warsaw High School in 1922 and that same year he entered the medical department of the State University at Bloomington. Became of ill health, he left school and became his father’s associate in the real estate business as Keefer and Son. This connection was dissolved in 1925 when William became constable under Judge Plank. When he left this position, he became manager of a filling station for Standard Oil Co. in South Bend and later was made manager of the corporations branch at Jackson, Mich. In 1929, he resigned to take a position with the Associate Finance Corporation of South Bend. On November 19, 1927, William was married, by his father, to Miss Bernadine Don of South Bend.

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