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11/26/21 02:58 PM #2742    

 

Richard Center

Thank you, Barbara, for the message and all the work you do on keeping us updated. I really appreciate the messages that are posted and the history of Bloomington Normal.  


11/27/21 02:50 PM #2743    

 

Janice Scott (Vitton)

 

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. 🦃  We wish everyone a blessed Christmas season with family and friends. 🎄

Ryan's Pharmacy:  It was originally owned and operated by pharmacist George Moore, Moore's Pharmacy. Jerry's mother worked there and he did, also, delivering prescriptions etc. Harold Ryan was a young pharmacist at the store and eventually owned it, Ryan's Pharmacy. Several different businesses have occupied that space since the pharmacy closed. Regular customers and friends came in through the back door.

Janice (Scott) and Jerry Vitton 👫

 

 

 

 


 

 


11/28/21 02:14 PM #2744    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

The airport back in "our" day!

 

The Kroger on East Oakland which is now a paint store.


11/29/21 11:25 AM #2745    

 

Ward "Corky" Snearly

Barb, Thanks so much for these fascinating photos of the airport and Kroger Store.  It is amazing how small everything looks and how large everything seems today.  It now can take several minutes to go from one end of a supermarket to the other end--huge!  Please keep finding these great photos as we truly enjoy seeing them.  Best,  Cork & Patty


11/29/21 03:13 PM #2746    

 

Allan Mapel

Barb,  I worked for the Krogers (X227) on East Oakland for about five years.  Coca Cola bottling was just up on Hannah st., Bungalow resturant across the street, Mel Ewerts Standard station just down Oakland, and yes Moores was on the corner. I work there when they first started to open on Sundays. A small store compared to the Mega stores of today.

Iam transferring old Pantagraph, Emerson School, Washington Jr. High, and BHS articles and photos to my computer.  I do intend to post some on our school web site.


11/29/21 09:06 PM #2747    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Allan, I have a cousin who started working at that Kroger store when she was 16 and retired from there and the Kroger pension is amazing.  And you are welcome to put as many pictures as you want on the site, I'd welcome them and anyone else who has some please post, if you have trouble get ahold of me and I'll help.


11/29/21 09:09 PM #2748    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Carol Dunn Fisher!!!!


11/30/21 11:30 AM #2749    

 

Allan Mapel

Barb,  Photo from Pantagraph, December 9, 1960.  This was taken in one of the stair cases at BHS. Iam in front of Frank Foster on the Tuba, on trombone. My face is partially blocked by horn bell.  Tim Nitzel is to my right, and my brother Ron in front of us on a French Horn.  


11/30/21 05:32 PM #2750    

 

Bill Butler

          So many classmates have marveled at the way things have changed in B-ton in the last 60-years.  Don’t those vintage photos prove that this quote, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” (Alphonse Karr, 1808-1890, French), is really a myth.  On the other hand, all the great philosophers from Heraclitus (Greek, 535-475 BC) who said, “You can’t step into the same river twice”, to Bob Dylan who said, “The times they are a changing”, support this obvious premise.  OK, to prove this, all we need to do is compare the Class of 1962 to today’s average cool  HS teenager.  (I sure hope this doesn’t turn into a big ugly confusing paradox.)

          Look at our class photographs.  We had nicely trimmed hair getting it cut (50-cents) every week or two.  These teenie-boppers today get $35-trims when it reaches their shoulders.  Our $6 jeans were clean; they had a pressed perfectly-orthogonal crease in each leg with perfect 1-inch cuffs.  Nowadays, nice new jeans are purposely ripped, mangled, shredded, tortured, cut, burned, twisted, run-over, and dirtied… and never washed;  the long cuffs are stepped on for ‘value-added’ so they look cool…. and they’re worth $90?!!  Sooner or later one of these modern high-schoolers will start a new trend and wear jeans the way they are suppose to be worn, as in 1962, right?  That would be the only reason ol’ Alphonse might be right.  Oh no, maybe this is becoming a paradox.

          As I remember, back in ’62 we could memorize the value of constant pi to 238-digits.  Now, when you mention pi, these kids think you are inviting them to the pizza parlor.  Back then we had one landline with a 5-digit number… and maybe an extension ‘cause our brothers or sisters always hogged the main phone.  Now….. well, most kids have a $35-per-month cell, and maybe a burner or two for their clandestine activities.  And 60-years ago we had real cars that could withstand several accidents before our parents discovered the damage.  Now?  Hey, don’t get me started!

          Given that we are senior citizens (OMG!), we have finally (theoretically) arrived at the age of maximum reasonableness, cunning, and wisdom.  It is our duty to set the younger generations straight – it keeps our blood circulating and a reason to complain.  As George Chapman (1605) said, “Young people think old people are fools; but old people know young people are”.  So, I rest my case.  Let’s clap for that one!

          BTW, I’m still researching the meaning of ‘absolute truth’ (Murphy’s Laws are more extensive that you ever knew!), trying to divide 1 by 0, looking for the square with the same area as a circle, contemplating the ‘theory of everything’ that integrates all physical laws and constants, and multiplying infinity squared by infinity cubed.  One day I may surprise you with my results.

          Well, I probably should end on a positive upbeat note.  Kurt Godel, a brilliant logician and colleague of Einstein at Princeton, proved in 1949 that time does not exist (Palle Yourgrau, 2005, A World Without Time, Perseus Books, NY, 210 p.), i.e., there are limits to reality.  He showed that it is possible to go back in time, and if we can do that, time never really passed in the first place.  Ooops…..and if that is true, change cannot occur, …but the best news is that we are not getting any older ….Whoopee!  Old age is all in our mind …and Bob Dylan is wrong?  And my hair is now white?  How can that be?

          One last thing.  Everything I wrote is false.  Wait.  Think a second.  If that sentence is true, then everything I said is actually really true.  But, if that sentence is now true, then it is indeed false as written.  OK, but again, how can that be true if it is false?  Darn!  Without debating this ad nauseam, let’s just say that everything is true, OK?  These paradoxes really confuse me.  Hope everyone had a great, and safe, Thanksgiving.  Stay sharp and focused!  Cheers, Bill.


12/01/21 09:45 PM #2751    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

This was posted on another site this week and I wonder if anyone who lived by Fell Avenue Playground recognizes anyone in the picture.  It was from the early 50's.


12/02/21 02:34 PM #2752    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

We have lost another classmate, Mary O'Neil Spreitzer passed away last week after  heart surgery.  As soon as there is an obituary we'll show it in the "In Memory"section.


12/03/21 07:50 PM #2753    

 

Allan Mapel

Barb, here's another pic from the Pantagraph.   BHS Spring Festival.  I am seated in the lower right corner, first chair,  in the trombone section with the white socks..,.(tacky) 

 


12/05/21 01:51 PM #2754    

 

Bill Butler

          Here are some of MURPHY’S OFFICIAL LAWS as best as I can recall.  No doubt everyone is familiar with them; they’re here just to refresh fading memories.  The second list contains new axioms, and just good logical advice.  My comprehensive research has been long, exhausting, and arduous, but I am happy to share some insight into the critical issues facing us in the modern world.  At our age, and at this stressful time of year, we need all the help we can get.

          By following these universal truths, we can take some uncertainty and costly mistakes out of our busy (mostly TV-watching) lives.  They cover most of life’s major issues.  I apologize for the length, but there’s no test so you don’t have to memorize them or make cheat sheets.  If you combine these with Yogi Berra’s sage advice (see previous post), and have grandkids, you can amaze them with ‘erudite verbal haze’ and maybe score a few sorely-needed points.  It’s only 3-weeks until Christmas, so read these and don’t panic (yet)!

  • 90% of everything is crud.
  • No good deed goes unpunished.
  • Anything that can go wrong, will.
  • Don’t mess with Mrs. Murphy.
  • If you’re feeling good, don’t worry, you’ll get over it.
  • Leakproof seals will.  Interchangeable parts won’t.
  • All warranties expire upon payment of notice.
  • A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.
  • Friends come and go but enemies accumulate.
  • If you try to please everybody, nobody will like it.
  • Never eat prunes when famished.
  • The other line always moves faster.
  • Everyone has a scheme for getting rich that will not work.
  • When in doubt mumble; when in trouble delegate.
  • If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don’t know what the hell is happening.
  • Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
  • Mother Nature can sometimes be a really mean bitch.

Bill’s Axioms and Corollaries:  A Mere Sampling of Good Rules to Live By!

  • The mask you are suppose to be wearing is NOT the Lone Ranger one.  Stop stealing stuff from your grandkids.
  • Do the right thing not because someone might be looking, but because the surveillance cameras are definitely always on…. and they’re everywhere.
  • Food in the microwave will explode exactly 1-second before the microwave stops automatically.
  • All clever (at least in your mind) short passwords have already been used and hacked.  You’re probably naïve.  Ask your grandkids how to make good passwords.
  • All clever long passwords that cannot be easily decoded will be quickly forgotten at the least opportune time.  Sorry, you’re probably screwed!
  • The one time that you ride your motorcycle around the block in shorts, t-shirt, flip-flops, and no helmet …...  Always wear a bandana and headband so witnesses can use them as tourniquets.
  • You will fail to make a copy of your federal and state tax returns in the only year in the history of the USPS that a mail truck (carrying your returns) catches fire.  Always have spare ink for your copier.
  • That special spot where you dug a posthole in your back yard is exactly where the underground power line crosses the water line and the TV cable.  The bad news is your insurance won’t cover the damage or medical bills.  The good news is that you probably have special divining powers and should go into the profession of mind-reading.
  • The emergency $20,000 in cash you’ve had in the safe for 50-years, and almost forgot about, is finally used to fix your car’s transmission and pay off some bills;  it has been traced to D.B. Cooper’s extortion scheme.  You get a call from the Feds and they aren’t amused.  Always retain the best criminal defense lawyer money can buy.
  • When the dentist’s office calls, they have really good news – you do not need all your teeth pulled…. only 4 root canals.  If the caller ID says ‘DDS’, don’t answer!
  • You eat 3 bean burritos for lunch then take the stairs to go home after work.  The stairs are being repaired; you must use a packed elevator.  Your boss and secretary are on the elevator.  From now on don’t be lazy -- pack your own darn lunch.
  • Do not say, “Naw!, relax dear, we’re good, trust me!” when your wife tells you to stop for gas.  You are halfway between Vegas and Reno at 2 AM; your gas gauge registers half;  unbeknownst to you, the gauge has registered half for the last 5-weeks.  Trust your wife.
  • You park your beautiful new car at the farthest edge of the big-box store’s lot;  you actually believe that the shopping carts will never get it there.  Sucker!  Some robotic rogue carts have evolved devious primitive brains.
  • If a recipe calls for ascorbic acid (vitamin C), you will find an empty bottle of acetic acid in the trash.  The good news is that you have eaten only half the dessert.  The bad news is that the urgent care clinic is closed Sundays.  Do your own shopping from now on.
  • You accidentally butt-dialed a number and Elvis Presley answered; you are so stunned you are speechless;  he hangs up.  Buy a recorder that can remember dialed numbers…. and don’t dial with your butt!
  • The lottery ticket you gave the paperboy as a tip…… well, let’s just say he is now buying Lamborghinis and going to the Riviera for a month.  Don’t be so generous, or always have spare change handy.
  • Your new tires are guaranteed ….. to find the only 2 nails on I-70 between Denver and St. Louis.  Always draft behind 18-wheelers.
  • Never drink hot coffee right after leaving the dentist’s office with a numb mouth.  Never wear nice clothes to the dentist.
  • The Sunday shoes that you put on for that critical job interview feel extra cushiony;  they have cat vomit in them;  you only realize this when the interviewer maintains a 15-ft. distance.  Keep your closet door closed, then have your nose checked for dysfunction.
  • You cancelled your accident insurance because your nice new neighbor is going to write you a better and cheaper policy tomorrow;  today you go shooting at the range with your ‘wild and crazy’ beer-drinking poker pals.  Wear a bullet-proof vest, front & back, when you go shooting.  Better yet, all your clothes should be made of level-III Kevlar.
  • You talk in your sleep.  If, in the morning your wife, Abigail, covertly picks up a rolling pin and casually asks who Ginger, Honey Buns, and Candy are, plead the 5th…. then run like hell!  Sleep with a mouth guard so you mumble.  Better yet, also sleep wearing a helmet and your Kevlar jammies.
  • Always ask if the plate you grabbed to eat dinner on is the plate your dog licked spotless.  Because you have already used it, google ‘kennel cough’ and ‘parvo’ as key words.
  • Never argue with, or underestimate, or laugh at, a grown woman who at age 8 told you that she has imaginary friends and can calculate the square-root of -1 without a calculator.  At age 10 she told you she knows the largest prime number in the Universe.  This woman has an IQ of 300, or is a spy from another galaxy…. or both.
  • Never buy a product that uses the words ‘secret’, ‘as seen on TV’, and ‘millions sold’ in its ads;  Come on now, it’s a secret?!.  Beware of all oxymorons, e.g., civil war, freezer burn, sanitary landfill, friendly fire, plastic glasses, good grief, awfully nice, a fine mess, adult male, an accurate estimate, and temporary tax increases.
  • All superfluous, excessive, and unnecessary relentless repetitious redundancy essentially needs to be abolished, stamped out, and totally eradicated because it’s unwanted, unneeded, and basically just too darn wordy -- not to mention completely useless, pointless, and effete.  You can always find some words to delete.  Therefore, it’s generally best to always avoid redundancy like the plague in order to diminish the chance for any confusion, but more specifically, any inadvertent misunderstanding.  In other words, if you write, get right to the gist ASAP;  condense, but only if feasibly possible of course, your most important points so they manifest the main idea or crux, essence, and meat of the issue into a smaller more compact nutshell, ya know.  You can always find some super-trite words to leave out because they won’t make any difference anyway.  Finally, vary carefully proofreed everrything that you have that you have rote.  Eschew obfuscation and pompous bloviating BS.   wink

12/05/21 09:02 PM #2755    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Breakfast this Wednesday, the 8th at 9:00 o'clock at Shannon's, hope you'll join us!


12/05/21 09:06 PM #2756    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Marty Fugate Kusmaul!!!!

 


12/07/21 08:54 PM #2757    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Frank Bailen!!!!


12/08/21 06:58 AM #2758    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

I saw this on Facebook this morning and couldn't resist, don't think we're there yet but getting close!


12/08/21 12:16 PM #2759    

 

Jane Ringo (Maupin)

Love your humor, Barb!  Thanks for cheering us up!  

Jane


12/09/21 09:10 PM #2760    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Stephen Thompson!!!!


12/11/21 10:52 AM #2761    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Two pictures of Downtown Bloomington during the Christmas Season when we were young.  Livingston's with the Santa Claus on either end of the entrance.

 


Rolands with the fantastic window displays they used to have.


12/12/21 10:17 AM #2762    

 

Phil Hershey (Hershey)

Barb,

Thanks so much for posting the two Christmas pictures. It brought back many memories of Christmas for me.

 


12/15/21 07:25 PM #2763    

 

Allan Mapel

Barb,  Here is a picture for all the  classmates that attended Washington Jr. High.  This is the 9th grade class of 1958-1959.  Yes, I do see some familiar faces.  Enjoy!

  


12/15/21 08:36 PM #2764    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Thanks Allan for the Washington Junior High photo, I have the one from Irving which I'm posting below, anyone have the one from Bent?


12/16/21 08:58 PM #2765    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Karen Johnson Hostetler!!!!


12/16/21 08:59 PM #2766    

 

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Mike Quinn!!!!


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