Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2016 i Reminisce Extra

TRAVEL CAN BE THE BEST ELIXIR. That’s the feeling I had a few weeks ago when I returned from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after spending three days at the National Genealogical Society’s Family History Conference. The seminars I attended offered a wealth of ideas for future articles, and the people I met were generous with resources. Upon my return, I talked to everyone about what I had learned, and much to my gratification, many responded with stories from their own family trees. One friend in particular shared her grandmother’s daring adventure in the 1900s. The story goes that while in her early 20s, the woman left Minneapolis bound for Montana with a desire to homestead. She built her own cabin, plowed the fields and worked the land for the next eight…

GROWING UP IN RUSSIAVILLE, Indiana, during the ’50s and ’60s was a real treat, especially living next to my paternal grandparents. My grandfather Omer Bauer lived on a small farm and raised chickens and cattle. I enjoyed watching him work with the animals. Petting cows and chasing chickens were my favorite pastimes as a little boy, too. One of those chickens, a White Rock hen called Myrtle, became famous in January 1958. She laid a king-size egg that weighed in at 5.9 ounces and measured more than 3 inches in length and 9½ inches around from end to end. An average chicken egg is 2 ounces and about 2 inches long. Inside Myrtle’s large egg was a second egg, also oversized, with a hard shell and a single yolk. The…

DURING WORLD WAR II, my uncle Lewis Long Wilhelm was a flight leader and part of the 7th Ferrying Group out of Gore Field in Great Falls, Montana. The group flew warplanes from the continental U.S. to Alaska, where the planes were turned over to Russian pilots. The flight across Canada and Alaska was often dangerous during severe winter weather. For his service to the U.S. and the USSR, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, which I was told was the highest award the Russian government gave at that time. The medal is now displayed in The History Museum in Great Falls. In 1994, Uncle Lewie was invited to the White House for a ceremony in the Rose Garden honoring him and 21 other pilots. Afterward, they…

The Snackdown at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California, challenges food vendors to create the fair’s most outrageous comestible. The 2015 winner was deep-fried, wood-fired pastrami pizza. New England’s Eastern States Exposition, nicknamed The Big E, is known for its chocolate eclairs, deep-fried jelly beans and deep-fried Kool-Aid. “If you can think of something to deep-fry, we’ve probably done it.” The Wisconsin State Fair has 15 types of foods on a stick with bacon, including Deep-Fried Fat Elvis on a Stick—a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup dipped in banana batter, fried, and topped with chocolate and bacon bits. The Bacon Bomb Explosion was the People’s Choice winner at the Florida State Fair this year. A bacon-wrapped patty on a roll with cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and more bacon strips, it’s…

AFTER MY lattice-top cherry pie won first prize at the New York State Fair in 1961, the organizers told me that I’d need to bake another pie to give to the governor the next day. With my husband and four kids off to a drive-in movie, I set to work. When I presented Gov. Nelson Rockefeller with my masterpiece, he said it was a work of art. CORINNE M. BRIDGE LARGO, FL I TOOK A HORSE to the Ross County Fair in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1958. I was 13. A group of guys had horses down at the other end of the same tent. The blond, blue-eyed, 6-foot 16-year-old in the group offered to help me with my saddle. We dated 5 1/2 years and then married on Dec. 25,…

This photo was taken in the 1980s, though Marlene Duncan has always had standout gams and style, her husband, Jack, writes from Lake Havasu City, Arizona. “At age 90, I’m still pretty proud of my choice in a wife” At 67, Gloria Anderson was a chic grandmother who was fearless about showing a bit o’ leg at a park in Potsdam, New York, in 1950. Her granddaughter Heather, of Buffalo, New York, sent the picture. Dot Grego Dziedzic was ecstatic to get her first job when her family moved from a Pennsylvania coal town to New Jersey in the 1940s. She set her sights on the latest fashions. “These short-shorts were one of the things that I saved up for” says Dot, now of Roselle Park, New Jersey. Marilyn Jacobsen…

1968 In the mid-1960s Pepsi devised a cool gimmick, depicted in a series of jaunty print ads. The company froze its products in huge ice blocks and used the slogan “Taste that beats the others cold!” The ads came soon after the highly successful Pepsi Generation campaign, which transformed the brand’s image from a cheap version of Coke into a soft drink for the young and hip. 1949 Both Budweiser and Schlitz (right) liked to show women enjoying a beer, although Bud was more likely to show only men actually pouring the brew. Widely known commercial artist Howard Forsberg created this colorful ad. 1950 How does grapefruit juice compete with beer and soft drinks as a summer beverage? By being the “healthy” choice. Among the beneficial qualities listed here are…

Hattie has lost two hatpins in this issue! If you find them, tell us at reminisce.com/hatpin. We’ll randomly select 10 winners who will receive a year’s subscription to Reminisce Extra. In the May issue, we hid the hatpins on page 4, on a city street at the top left, and on page 44, along the right side of the refrigerator case. There’s no purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec). Sweepstakes begins on 7/4/16 and ends on 9/2/16. For official rules, visit reminisce.com/contests/hatties-hatpin-rules-rem/. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes sponsored by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC.…

Corn dog, cotton candy, plenty of iced tea and all the scariest rides are a must for me! WENDY SMITH VIA FACEBOOK MY SON AND I always have to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl—more than once! That’s the first ride we take every time at the midway at the Schaghticoke Fair in Schaghticoke, New York. We have to have some yummy fried dough from one of the church booths, fish fry from another church booth, and a frozen banana, and, of course, we have to watch the demolition derby on the last day of the fair. PUTTIE WILLIAMSON VIA FACEBOOK WE ALWAYS WENT to the Tri-State Fair in Superior, Wisconsin. (I still haven’t figured out why it was called “Tri-State.”) The rides were my absolute favorite things. Unfortunately, my mother didn’t think…

“And so we leave the cave in darkness, as we found it. We have unlocked many of nature’s secrets… history will record the monumental effort of The National Speleological Society in the Year of Our Lord 1954.” JOE LAWRENCE JR. AND ROGER W. BRUCKER THE CAVES BEYOND WHILE I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN Trenton , New Jersey , in the late 1940s, I joined the National Speleological Society, which promotes the study, protection and exploration of caves, as well as rock climbing and other caving activities. I enjoyed these endeavors and became fairly proficient. That brought me to the attention of the local news, most likely because of my age and because those were predominantly male activities. There were several older women in our grotto (chapter), but…

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE IF WE COULD… DARLENE MESSERLI GREENVILLE, NC IN 1972, MY HUSBAND, Charles, was dating an East Carolina University student who shared his love for the Beach Boys. When news came that the group was coming to the campus in Greenville, North Carolina, she bought two tickets. However, on the day of the concert, Charles learned that he couldn’t go because he didn’t have a student ID; he was not enrolled that semester. So the pair decided that if they couldn’t go together, neither would go. As they walked around outside Minges Coliseum trying to sell their tickets, they saw a couple of young men relaxing on a nearby grassy knoll. “Hey, man!” Charles shouted. “Want to buy some tickets?” One of the fellas got up slowly…

ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES IS visiting my Italian grandfather’s house in Milwaukee’s Third Ward. The cobblestone streets were jarring, and the houses, built at the turn of the century or earlier, were so close together you couldn’t see daylight between them. The wind off Lake Michigan, just a few blocks away, was cool in summer, cold in winter. My nonno (Italian for “grandfather”) would greet all of his grandchildren by leaning down, pinching our cheeks and giving us a kiss. His handlebar mustache scratched horribly. On one of our regular visits in the summer of 1947, when I was 4, Nonno asked me to join him for breakfast. It was after 1 p.m., and while I felt it was late for breakfast, I was eager to spend time with…

WHILE A STUDENT at Michigan State University in 1956, I had an excellent job busing tables at the Mason-Abbot girls’ dormitory cafeteria. One day, this beautiful brunette came dashing down the aisle to the serving line. I told myself right then that someday I would marry that girl. I asked one of the young women I worked with to introduce us. Soon Marlene and I started dating—mostly library study dates, church and movies. I asked her to the junior dance, the J-Hop. We dressed in our formal best and double-dated with a boy and girl from my hometown because he had a car. After the dance, we went to a restaurant where I spared no expense from my meager budget for a steak dinner. About a week later, we went…

SKY HIGH The Texas Star (left), a 212-foot observation wheel at the State Fair of Texas, is the largest on any U.S. fairgrounds. On clear days, riders can see Fort Worth, almost 40 miles away. KEEPS ROLLING ALONG Ye Old Mill, a tunnel boat ride at the Minnesota State Fair, dates back to 1915. Its paddle wheel still runs on the original 1911 electric motor. TRAVELING THRILLS The Comet II roller coaster is the largest portable steel roller coaster of its kind in the country, and it takes two weeks to assemble. Originally built for the State Fair of Texas, the Comet II now travels to a handful of festivals throughout the U.S. every year. BIRD’S-EYE VIEW At half a mile, Ohio State Fair’s SkyGlider (below left) is one of…

MY FIRST TRIP to the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse was in the early ’70s, when I was 14. I went with a bunch of my buddies, and I’m pretty sure we were like the packs of teenagers who roam the fair today—loud, rambunctious and irritating to everyone over 50. Then, as now, the midway barkers loved to see groups of unsupervised teenagers heading their way. With some cash in our pockets, we were fresh meat for the sharks of the carnival. We fell for every challenge we saw. Toss a ring onto a Coke bottle? Sure. Shoot a basketball at an undersize hoop? Why not? Ring a bell with the sledgehammer? “We’ll give it a try!” The feelings of camaraderie and independence that we enjoyed that day…

EAST COAST EXPLORATIONS JIM DOHREN DAVENPORT, FL Back in 1956, my Uncle Walt and my cousins Mark and Ken drove from California to my home in Aurora, Illinois, to begin an unforgettable tour to the East Coast with me and my dad, Les. Uncle Walt drove a ’54 Mercury station wagon that hauled us and our luggage. The adult brothers sat up front. Ken sat on the split middle seat with his comic books, and Mark and I had the flat open space in the “way back”— no seat belts, and only open windows to cool us. Our trip took us to Detroit to see Ford automobiles being assembled at the gigantic River Rouge Complex. Then we went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. After that it was…

NOT QUITE THAT HAPPY During a funeral service, the minister asked if anyone wanted to say a few words about the deceased, a man who had coached baseball. A boy, about 10, stepped up. He said that his former coach was always happy. “He jumped around like the Viagra man on TV,” he said. MURIEL WHITE OSHAWA, ON AN ERR TO REMEMBER While I was bedridden with a severe case of Epstein-Barr chronic fatigue syndrome, I passed some time tutoring my 6-year-old grandson on proper manners—including how to address his elders. That evening, at his annual school program, he loudly announced to the audience, “My grandmother isn’t here tonight. She’s at home in bed with Mr. Epstein Barr.” My husband, who was in attendance, had to spend the rest of…

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