9/2/2009 6:00:00 PM
JUST AMONG FRIENDS
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By RACHEL EVANS
This week's focus is on birthday celebrations, far away, nearer and near. Julia Risher Kelly shares the birthday she celebrated in Burbank, Calif. on a combined business-pleasure trip with her husband, Layne.
We landed at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif. on an extremely beautiful afternoon. The weather was perfect! Layne surprised me by renting a new Mustang convertible. After checking in at the hotel, we put the top down and took the hour long drive through Malibu Canyon and onto the historic Pacific Coast Highway. The views were amazing! All of God's wonders were right there to see. (In "typical Julia fashion", I forgot to bring my camera along for the ride so I have no pictures!). We ate supper at a great restaurant named Bob Morris' Paradise Cove Beach Cafe that is well known for hosting many celebrities. The food was excellent and our table had an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean. We drove back to LA at sunset and got some much needed rest after our busy day. Layne worked with his clients at the Eaton Aerospace facility the next day while I lounged around the pool and took in the sights of the Burbank shopping/restaurant district. It was a wonderful birthday gift to be able to spend time with my sweet husband in such a beautiful place!
Returning from a trip to Oregon and Idaho to celebrate her 85th birthday with family and friends, Sanna Heckman gives the credit for getting there and back to her friend and traveling companion, Mary Louise Blanks. "Had it not been for Mary Louise, I'd still be in Texas, as I didn't hear them announce the change in our loading gate," she laughed. Marvin Blanks was the early morning courier who got the ladies to Jackson to catch their
6 a.m. flight. Arriving in Portland, they were met by Sanna's niece, Alice Miller, and her husband, Lee, their host in Eugene, Ore. The highlight of the late-afternoon barbecue birthday party was "seeing my family, which included my grand-niece, Ann Risley." While in Oregon they walked along the waterfront of the Pacific Ocean, strolled through interesting little shops in charming old towns, and enjoyed delicious seafood in coastal restaurants.
Leaving Oregon for Idaho, they rode through the La Paine Mountain area which is mile-high, desert-dry cattle country. In Nampa, Idaho, located outside Boise, they were guests of another of Sanna's nieces, Laurel Vines, and her husband, Gary. Next year's birthday trip? Perhaps to Rochester, Minn. to visit Sanna's grand-niece, Peggy Cunderla, and her husband, Joe. And that's where it all began for Sanna. She was born and raised in Rochester when it was a city of 25,000, having now mushroomed to over 100,000 plus. She has lived in Connecticut, Up-State New York, Oregon and Alaska. Having spent a little time in the South during the time she was in the military, Sanna knew about our Mississippi weather.
Sitting one day in Oregon where it rained all the time, she announced to herself, "I'm going where there is sunshine!", thus her move to Mississippi. "It was a wonderful trip and I loved being with my family, but I'm glad to be home in Philadelphia," Sanna, my neighbor, told me.
On a nearer note, Frances Molpus, Billie Latting and I were guests of Frances's daughter, Dorothy, Tom, Iris and Caple at the Howorth compound on a peaceful Oxford hillside to celebrate Frances's 93rd birthday.
And on the home scene, by the grace of God and the love of my family and friends, my first birthday without Harold since I was 16 years old, was a happy one.
When the First Baptist Church B.A.L.L. group met for their August potluck luncheon, they were delighted with the paper mache table decorations which were designed and made by Neshoba Central High School and Middle School students. This project was sponsored by the Futura Club in an effort to promote youth's interest in art. Each piece had been exhibited at the Neshoba County Fair and had won ribbons. The work was under the tulage of Neshoba Central's art instructor, Gail Leslie, and Futura Club members, Alene Griffith and Estelle Fowler. Among the colorful paper mache creations were a rainbow cross, duckling, dinosaur, frog, butterfinger minis and a Hershey Bar. Also, a pink panther head, taco, flower, Tweety Bird head, lamb, Blu, duckhead, dolphin, peanut M&M's, even a mummy.
The artists were Madi Trapp, Courtney Wells, Nick Tubby, Jackie Lipscomb, Tanner Kittrell, Brittney Smith, Cameshia Smith, Kyle Peebles, Amber Clark, Shanna Isaac, Haley Hodgins, Bethany Monk, Ashley Butler, Cody Warren, Brandy Tolbert and J.K. McWilliams.
Following an invocation by JoAnn Height, Steve Turner entertained with a musical concert in which he sang "Good News", "Loving God, Loving Each Other", "Beulah Land" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". Those attending the meeting were Lamar and Estelle Fowler, Jane Parker, Rev. Dan Howard, Everett and Mildred Estes, Steve Turner, Katherine Farned, Bob Turcotte, Mary Bennett, Ellene Turcotte, Roy and Eunice Jones, Joan Hight, Ollie Fay Flint, Myrtis Richardson, Aaron Tucker, Bill Nation, Larry Fletcher, Jane Cole, Ada Mooney, Rachel Murphy, Ethel Lundy, Jean Griffith, Rena Harmon, Sylvia Bengs, Sue Lewis, William W. Smith, Debbie White and Ruth Hamilton.
B.A.L.L. is interpreted to mean "Be Active Live Longer". It works! On Thursday, Aug. 20, their fun-day in Meridian began with a guided tour, brief history and video at the Jimmie Rogers Museum. Next they visited the Dentzel Carousel in Highland Park. Here the tour guide gave a history of the Carousel as they rode to the calypso music. After lunch at Ryan's, they were entertained at a private organ and piano concert by Ronnie White in which he included some musical history and background information. Those enjoying the day were William Smith, Lamar and Estelle Fowler, James and Ada Mooney, Jane Cole, Jean Griffith, Katherine Farned, Myrtis Richardson, Loree Brown, Ethel Lundy and Jo Lynn Parker.
Estelle provided me with some information she got while visiting the Carousel. I'm sharing it with you. Sounds like a fun day indeed and as the motto says, "let's be active and live longer!"
The carousel was manufactured in 1896 by Gustav Dentzel of Philadelphia, Pa., for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition and later sold to the City of Meridian. A cabinet maker by trade, Dentzel was a young German immigrant to the United States. In 1860, he established the Dentzel factory. His family had manufactured carousels in Germany and offered great support to Gustav's American venture. The Dentzel factory manufactured two to three carousels per year and supplied parks throughout the East and South. All of the animals were hand-carved out of poplar or basswood. The carousels often had original oil paintings as well. The arrival of the Great Depression spelled the end to the factory in 1929. The Highland Park Dentzel Carousel arrived in Meridian in 1909 and has occupied its same location since. Its house is the only remaining original carousel building built from a Dentzel blueprint.
In 1977, Meridian's Dentzel Carousel and Carousel house - along with Highland Park - were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In October 1986, the Department of the Interior designated the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel and Carousel House as National Landmarks. This honor was given to 11 carousels nationwide, with Meridian's being the only one located in the South.
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