We'll take a cup of kindness yet. . .

Christmas Party 1954
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.
Robert Burns
Photo submitted by Nancy L., who is taking the photo, and I'm not sure whose mom was hosting this, Lynne's I think. Back row, Fran K., Sara Y., Tina K., Norma C., Salley O.; front foreground Deb P., then behind her Lynne F., Nancy G., Kay A., Priscilla D., and Marion D.

Lynne writes about this photo: "Always lots of great food at our parties after football and basketball games. No matter where we met--brownies, popcorn, French fries, and cokes--supplied by the mothers. One birthday party for Marion D. was celebrated at Lake Ripley at the Plum summer home. We swam, pretended to fish and looked for boys! Notice the saddle shoes, white shirts, rolled up jeans, the shiny, many colored aluminum glasses. Some Mamie Eisenhower bangs--it was 1954 and everyone liked Ike. Christmases have come and gone and I look forward to the Christmas greetings from these friends and remember that long ago Christmas when life was fresh and unfolding."

Memories of the Mt. Morris Dress Shop

By Lynne Fleming Wilburn, December 2006

Some things never change. . .teenage girls are still interested in clothes. Mt. Morris in the 1950s was lucky enough to have Fran Mischler and the Mt. Morris Dress Shop, aka The Corner Dress Shop, or just Fran's Dress Shop. Whatever you called it, girls spent a lot of time there, looking through boxes of scarves, stacks of Ship 'n Shore blouses, racks of Bobbie Brooks coordinates, Catalina sweaters and White Stag sportswear, testing frangrances such as Summer Shower and Wind Song. And when the allowance and babysitting money would allow, Pendleton.

Alas, Fran retired in the early 70s and moved back to Columbus, OH, her hometown. Ownership passed to Lenora Walker, mother of classmate Tom Walker. By the late 70s, she went out of business, going the way of most small town retailers. It was a sad day for "the girls."

But in the 50s, Fran's Dress Shop prevailed. At Christmas, she jotted down wish lists, and shoppers could get an idea of what you'd like, plus size and color. She wrapped with enormous bows--you could spot her packages under your tree at a glance. Classmate Sara Yoder Davidson worked there our junior and senior years, and on Saturday I'd finish my chores around the house and dash up to spend an hour or so just looking and gabbing with Sara.
The Women's Club put on wonderful Spring and Fall Style Shows and I modeled in several over my four years in MMHS. A delightful learning experience. Fran gave me lessons on posture; she taught me how to descend a flight of stairs; would remind me to put my shoulders back. (It makes you taller, and at 5' 5 1/2" I wanted to be tall like my friend, Nancy Lamm.)

And she would say, "Smile, you're young."

A note about the photo and clothing brands: The dress in the photo was blue and gray plaid, the shoes were gray suede, and the collar and cuffs were white angora.

Ship 'n Shore blouses are currently available in the Vermont Country Store catalog; Bobbie Brooks and White Stag are at Wal-Mart and far inferior to the 50s quality. I haven't seen Catalina anywhere, but then I don't get out much! I doubt these items are even made in the U.S. anymore. Pendleton, however, endures and is still a quality product. One of my Pendletons is 45 years old and I must remember to find that jacket next fall. Like the 1957 class members, it is still around.

Thanks, Fran, for the memories.

A town with nick names

In Donald L. Smith's book about Mt. Morris, My Town: Remembering Mt. Morris (privately published by the author, 1997) he includes an appendix about the nicknames we all knew. Smith says that Hoof Martin was the only guy he ever knew who had a misspelled tattoo--Hoff. Many of them I remember--some of the people (older than me) I never knew by any other name--in fact Smith says about his list, that for some they could find no given name. So I tried to think if our class had nick names. Most were just shortened versions of our given or surname, like Mike, or Pris, or Zink. Some shared them with a parent or older sibling. I was Corby, of course, and my sibs all had some version of that, but my dad with the same surname was Cub and his brothers were Duga, Geno and Buck. And I always called my aunt's husband, "Uncle Gramps," which sounds a little strange, don't you think?

But Kay A. was Shike, not what she's listed as in the yearbook, and Dave B. was "Red," and I always called Greely M. "GG" because I knew him from Forreston and that's what we called him. Francine K. was Kitzie and Dick Z. was Zick, Melvin K. was Moe, Sharon G. was Squeeky, and Nelson P. Jr. was Tom (although to me, he was Tommy since we rode our tricycles together). Steven B. was called Pee Wee as long as I can remember which got a little silly when he became the biggest guy at the class reunions. Glen R. was Rowdy and Glen O. was Ordy. Sometimes we would just say "Orr-did-it" when Mr. Burstrom would ask, and eventually didn't we just call him that?

I don't think our class lived up to the town's standards for nicknames that came before us--Ducks, Sweet Pea, Pappy, Gramps, Speedy Gopher, Spirits, Bootsie, and Dew Drop to name a few.

An earlier graduation

Here are some members of the class of 1957 graduating from the kindergarten class to the primary class (I think) at the Church of the Brethren. I'm not sure of the year--may have been 1944. Back row L to R: Sharon R., Dick S., Sylvia T.; Front row L to R: Norma C., Deborah P., Barbara E., Diane B.

Slumber Parties in the 1950s

We girls had some great slumber parties in the 1950s. The one that most vividly sticks in my mind was a "French-fry Slumber Party" at Fran's house. We each brought a few potatoes, someone had a deep fryer, and we ate all night. Lots of screaming and yelling of course, and we played music. I don't think anyone knew how to dance, but if they did, we did that too. This photo seems to be a morning after shot, but was taken at my house in 1956--before Mom redecorated to more neutral tones. Left to right is Francine K., Marian D., Sara Y., Kay A., Mary Lou S. (deceased), and Diane B.; Lynne F. in the front.

There are items in this photo that just scream 1950s: pin curls tied up with a scarf (no one had hair dryers); bermuda shorts with knee socks; hard sided over night cases; scarves tied under the collar of a neatly pressed white blouse; big print wall paper in the living room; book club novels in the bookcase; hair cuts by Mom; and home permanents we gave each other.

Halloween Party 1953

This photo was taken in the community gym, but I don't recall who sponsored the Halloween party--perhaps the youth canteen. I found seven members of the class of 1957 in this photo--but I don't know who is behind some of the masks. The non-class members I recognize are Danny, Joyce, Larry, Mary Ann, Wilma, Murray, Don, Gerry, Joyce, and Bob from Polo.

Can you find the seven members of the class of 1957 in this photo? Are you behind a mask?

Where did you live in high school?

Home on Hannah Avenue
My parents owned this home from 1951-1958, then moved to Lincoln Street until 1996 when they moved to the Pinecrest Apartments. However, it was the third house Dad bought in Mt. Morris that year. It was his habit to buy a home for his family sight unseen by my mother. I think she got tired of remodeling old clunkers, and said NO to the nice new home in the Carr Addition on the east side of town because she thought it was too small. So then he bought a new two story on the east end of Lincoln Street, but it was too small also. So he traded that home with DeKonings who lived in the lovely big old house on Hannah Avenue. It also had room for Dad's truck since it had a large barn/garage, a full basement, full attic, 4 bedrooms, and a den/office that doubled as a music room.

This was a great "kid" house. Within two blocks of us lived the Mayos, Bearmans, Stevens, Davies, Dohlens, Zumdahls, Priemers, Sweets, and Knowles, although not all at the same time. It had a tree in the front yard (not in photo) that was perfect for climbing, and I staked my horse in the back acre. Mom had a huge garden (although that wasn't so great for kids because we had to help) and for awhile we even had chickens (loose zoning). For slumber parties, I took over the living room and Dad's office/music room, and my sister Carol had hers (with Rabbit, Ole, Chickie, Mary Lynn and others whose names I've forgotten) in the attic which had a high pitch and windows on 3 sides. I could have the whole CBYF group (probably 20 kids or so) on the front porch. When Tina K. moved to Florida after our junior year, I had all the girls in the class of 57 in the living room for a good-bye party. Different groups used our barn for floats. I can't identify this one (there were 4 children in our family in high school in the 50s), don't think it was a class float, but perhaps an organization. If it wasn't built in our barn, I have no idea why I have the photo. Can you identify it?

Libby Mayo Woody

Nettie E. 'LIBBY' WOODY - Nettie E. "Libby" Woody, 69, of South Beloit died Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006, in the loving care of her family. She was born to Earl and Ruby (Wilson) Mayo on July 26, 1937, in Atlanta, Ga. Nettie married the love of her life, Earl Woody, on March 12, 1955, in Nazarene Church of Dixon. She worked for many years as a supervisor at McCleary Industries in South Beloit. [from Rockford Register Star]

If you have the full obituary for Libby, please e-mail me and I'll post it here. Libby and I were close friends in elementary school when we lived across the street from each other. Our fathers worked together briefly in the house painting business--one of several that spun off from my dad's entrepreneurial mind. I remember her bright red curly hair and bubbly, vivacious personality--and could she talk with her hands! She left school before graduation, but often returned for our reunions.

Kids are mean about names, aren't they? I have our 8th grade class photo (Mrs. Burstrom) where Libby Mayo is standing next to Betty Labbe. Betty had an older brother named Bob. We used to chant, "If Libby Mayo married Bob Labbe (pronounced Labby), she'd be Mrs. Libby Labbe." We thought we were so funny!

Mt. Morris Boy Scouts

This photo was probably taken in either 1951 or 1952 because they all seem to be pre-adolescent. I count six members of the class of 1957. Two were in the class of 1956 and two class of 1958--if my memory serves--and if often doesn't.


Quiz: Do you remember the name of the scout leader? Where was this photo taken? Who was the den mother when they were in Cub Scouts?


class of 1957
Boy Scouts
Mt. Morris, Illinois

Can you identify class of 1957 members?

I can find 6 members of the class of 1957 in this photo, which I think was taken in March 1956 when we were juniors and Mt. Morris won a sectional (I think that's what it was called). Perhaps you can't tell it from the photo, but people dressed up to go to ball games in those days--not church clothes, but probably better than school wear. Our wardrobes had a lot more variety in the 50s than the 15 kinds of blue jeans and t-shirts kids wear today.



Quiz: I can spot 3 cheerleaders in the photo, one former cheerleader, and one future cheerleader. Can you name them? Also, I see 2 cousins, a father and son, and a brother and sister in this photo--can you name them?

Update: Murray has identified this as the Fulton Holiday Tournament, which probably means it was in Dec. 1955 and not the spring.

Lester Mayes

The last time I saw Les was at a class reunion, but I don't remember which one. Our 20th? I think he was a popular guest at many reunions.

BY OGLE COUNTY LIFE STAFF
ROCK ISLAND — Services for Lester Mayes, 85, who died Tuesday, Oct. 3, were held at the St. James Lutheran Church, Rock Island, on Friday, Oct. 6. Lester was a former teacher of industrial arts in the Mt. Morris High School from 1953 to 1965.

From the Hodgson Funeral Home site:

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.hodgsonfuneralhome.com Lester was born on September 20, 1921 in Kinderhook, Illinois, the son of Orlando and Freida (Hack) Mayes. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, in the 460th Bomber Group, stationed in Italy. He married Marjorie Reed on June 17, 1948 in Cambridge, IL. Lester earned his bachelors at Western Illinois University, and his masters at the University of Illinois. He was an industrial arts teacher in the Mt. Morris, Rock Island, and then the Moline school district, retiring in 1984. Lester was a longtime member of St. James Lutheran Church, Rock Island, where he was active for many years on the church council. He belonged to the Moline Retired Teachers group. He served on the local board for the American Cancer Society and was active in their fundraising. He also worked very extensively with, and served on local and state boards of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill. For a time, he delivered Meals on Wheels. In his free time, he enjoyed woodworking, hunting and fishing, and spending time with his family. Survivors (and spouses) include his wife, Marjorie, Rock Island; daughters, Ruth E. (Mark) Paunicka, Champaign, IL, and Diana L. Mayes, Bettendorf; sons, Paul A. (Ann) Mayes, Muscatine, IA, Marvin Mayes, Peoria, IL, and Larry L. (Michel) Mayes, Davenport; six grandchildren; sister, Rebecca (Marvin) Blair, Parker, CO; and brothers, Paul O. (Nancy) Mayes, Palm Court, FL, Perry D. (Joan) Mayes, Bettendorf, and Ted (Jill) Witham, Bowling Green, OH. His parents, sisters, Irma Willdrick and Nettiebeth Dalton, and brother, Daniel Mayes, preceded him in death. "

MMHS in our freshman year 1953-1954

Remember when we had to run between two buildings? The part with the gymnasium was built first. Brrr. . .it was a cold hike to classes, wasn't it? When was the rest of the building built?

Our second class reunion

The Mt. Morris High School graduating class of 1957 held its 10 year reunion at the Mt. Morris VFW on July 1, 1967 with 30 of the class members present, along with friends, husbands and wives. Dancing and reminiscing followed the smorgasboard and program. Members had come from as far away as Hawaii (stationed in the Navy), Texas, and California to attend.

Today's quiz: Who is the mystery woman in the back row hidden by Jean's head? How many years before the guys would be trading those skinny ties for fat ones? Our first guest and commenter was a member of what very famous class of MMHS?

class of 1957