Ward "Corky" Snearly

Barb,  Many thanks 👏 for posting these nostalgic photos.  Years ago when Lyn Roseman was hospitalized in Lafayette, Indiana, where Patty and I lived, we went to visit Lyn and just for fun we tried to reconstruct and draw a diagram of all of the businesses on the square.  We had some blanks 🧐 as none of us could recall all of the various stores and businesses.  So your posting these photos is fun!  👍    Best, Cork & Patty in "The Carolinas"

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Sandy Singletary Eich-Koester!!!!!

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Jerry Brooks!!!!

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Larry Troxel!!!!

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Here is a picture of the East side of the Square and I don’t believe any of these buildings are there anymore.  There’s a Bank on the Northeast corner of Washington and Main-and the Pantagraph left the building they were in and are located in a building with a series of Offices located there.

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

This is a photo of General Telephone on East Empire which was brand new when we were in high school. I'm sure quite a few people either applied for a job or worked there.

This is what it looks like today.

Dan Shickle

I worked in the lower floor in the data processing office for a year and a half while I was taking classes at ISU.  The 3PM to Midnight shift was a killer especially when I had an 8AM classs and ISU had little parking lots a few on the street spaces.   The job peaked my interest in computers and I learned to program and install computers after I graduated.   

We had the cafeteria just outside of our space, so dinners or suppers, while not available for our shift was good for breaks and chatting with co-workers.

Marty Fugate (Kusmaul)

That's what brought us to Bloomington. One summer I alphabetized phone books. Another I marked IBM cards for some study. Kept me in school. Didn't want to do that stuff as ll my life.

Susie Dowell (Emery)

I enjoyed working in the "sewing notions" department at Woolworths in the summer after my junior year, and, by that time, the bar stools and counter had been removed.   Also, Barbara, thanks for remembering my brother Joe's record Wooden Heart. Those were very exciting times for our family, with some of my older relatives buying record players for the first time to listen. And they also listened to the radio more than they ever had.  He had a second record out Little Red Rented Rowboat which was so cute, and it went up to number 14, I think, for awhile. You can still hear them on YouTube and somebody has made a clever cartoon out of the rowboat song. And, Philip, thanks for mentioning our swimming, at State farm park; those were glorious 
summers, spending the day out there most days because my mom worked at the daycamp. Did anybody else go to daycamp at State Farm or swim on the team?  Philip, I remember your sister Lois out there. I think she was on the swimming team also, wasn't she?  "Those were the days, my friend, I thought they'd never end."

Thanks so much, Barbara, for continuing the message response! Superb!!!

Tom Chambers

I could not resist to respond to your comments regarding the State Farm swim team. Those were

good times for us especially with Ed Lambert as our coach. You may not recall, but after Ed

got married he gave up the coaching job and Jim Bowers appointed me as the new coach. I did

that for 5 years.  I also foundly remember your mother with Day Camp.

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Ira Keown!!!!

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

This is a picture of the beach at Lake Bloomington.  I never used it but I'm sure many of you had the opportunity to go there.

Susie Dowell (Emery)

Tom Chambers, weren't you on the diving team at  BHS? And probably at State Farm? Jim Bowers was my swim coach. I started swimming when I was six until I was about 14 at State Farm, so Ed Lambert may have been my coach the last year. Yes, Barbara, I did swim at Lake Bloomington. I also swam at Camp Heffernan when my dad was Scout Executive, until 1950 when he passed. Was anybody in scouting who stayed at Camp Heffernan? Another memory, talking about swimming, does anyone remember being on the water ballet team? This was the time when Esther Williams was so popular, so we formed a water ballet club.

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Happy Birthday Karol Lowery Bowser!!!!

Phil Hershey (Hershey)

Hi Barb any chance you could post a picture of State Farm's original building downtown. I had heard it was sold and then going to be torn down, but may have been saved as a historical landmark.

Also recent thread on swimming, does anyone remember Tom Stock he was a classmate two years ahead of our class. I think he went to Indiana and may have set some world records in the backstroke. I remember someone saying he should have gone to the 64 Olympics but illness may have prevented it.

Any thoughts on a 60 year class reunion?

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Phil, here's a picture of State Farm looking East.  It's sad to go downtown and see the State Farm sign gone. As far as a 60th Reunion, I'm all for it and several of us will get the ball rolling when the time comes the good Lord willing.

Tom Chambers

Susie, yes and yes. Judy Miller (Prillaman) and Susan Rowe were the divers for SF. I did dive

and swam (fly &IM) at BHS. Take care. Chiliu

Karen Schad (Vincent)

Speaking of State Farm....... I remember my father worked at State Farm on the thirteenth floor..... this floor was moving to Jacksonville, Florida......my mother didn't want to move....she worked at The Daily Pantagraph....State Farm would get my mom a job at the newspaper there but she refused....her mother was a widow and she just couldn't leave her.....my mother retired at The Daily Pantagraph!!!  She did say that Adalai Stevenson would visit the paper, he knew everyone's name...just wanted to share..... my brother and I attended State Farm day camp, too👍

Larry Shoup

I'm all for a 60th..Don't know what I can do from Florida but keep me in the loop.

Phil Hershey (Hershey)

Thanks Barb for the picture.So is the building still there or is it in danger of being torn down?

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

The State Farm Building was purchased by someone from the Rockford area with the idea of turning it into Condominiums.  Then an Optical Business from here in town decided to buy the top three floors as their Corporate Headquarters and I just assumed the plans had changed making it office space.  I haven't heard anything further on this and if I'm mistaken on the subject somebody please jump in and correct it.

Phil Hershey (Hershey)

Thanks Barb,

Really appreciate the great job you do keeping this site going and helping us stay in touch with each other.

Barbara Kincaid (Menken)

Here are two pictures of  the Train  Depot and the bridge  which  used to cross over the tracks.  Our City Fathers tore both of them down which I felt was unnecessary, they could have saved the station as a Landmark.   You stop and think how many parents dropped off their sons and left from there to do their time in the service, so sad.

Susie Dowell (Emery)

I agree, Barbara, it is sad that these stately, old buildings are being demolished. I'm sure we all remember going to that station at one time or another. We used to go up and visit our family in Chicago.  Did you say that the State Farm building has already been demolished? I remember when my brother and I would climb to the top of the tallest maple tree in our yard, we could see the roof of the State Farm building. We thought that was so exciting since we lived near Oakland school; that was quite a distance. 

Susie Dowell (Emery)

Karen Schad, Tom Chambers, Philip Hershey, ( anyone else) what do you remember about going to the State Farm daycamp. That was such a significant part of my life during elementary school since Mom worked in the craft area and went every day, so I frequently tagged along. Besides the swimming team, I remember learning canoeing, lifesaving, shuffleboard, croquet, tennis( and played frequently with Mary Lou Farnsworth) We also had steal the flag parties on Friday nights. So many fun memories!