The Belle of the Ball

At age 96, Ellen (Fiala) Kennedy was the Belle of the Ball when she returned to Hugo, Colo., for her 77th class reunion.

"I can't believe how nice they were to me," she said. Her special treatment included a standing ovation at the alumni banquet and a prominent spot in the homecoming parade.

Ellen, who now lives at Willow Ridge Retirement Community in McCook, has witnessed immense changes in her near century of living.

Her father, Joe Fiala, was a true sodbuster, turning the soil for the first time ever on prairie land in Kansas and Colorado in the 'Teens and '20s.

On her return to Hugo, which is 13 miles south of Limon, Colo., Ellen couldn't believe all the changes which have taken place.

"We stayed overnight in Limon and I have never seen so many trucks in one place at one time. It seemed like there were a 1,000, although I'm sure there weren't that many."

Ellen was also impressed with the lights she saw in the distance. "I was told they were for prisons. That's quite a change from when I was there in the last few years of the 1920s."

Ellen lived with her aunt and uncle during her high school years, walking three miles back and forth to school every day. At first, life was good for the Fialas in Colorado as the newly broken ground yielded bumper crops. But then hail came two years in a row, ruining the crops and forcing her father to leave the land and return to Kansas and other sodbusting experiences.

In the years since, life has been good to Ellen. She takes special pride in her five children: Sally, Kathryn, Fred, Pat and John. And she enjoys her memories, including the years at Hugo High School. "Those were different times, but they were good times," she says.

Other special days are ahead. In a little over two weeks -- on Oct. 25 -- Ellen will celebrate her 97th birthday.

Early Day Airplane Factory

While reading about Pawnee Aviation's test flight accident, L. F. "Bus" Bahl of McCook was reminded of an aviation manufacturer which was based in McCook in the mid to late 1920s.

Bus, who turned 96 last Tuesday, knows about the early day plane maker because he was a Gazette carrier in the '20s and delivered papers to the airplane factory, located between what is now East Sixth and East Seventh streets.

"The Morton brothers were the plane builders. They kept warning me not to get too close because the fumes could make you light-headed, if not intoxicated," Bus said.

At the time, plane-makers covered the frame of the plane with muslin, then coated it with banana oil to tighten the fabric. Taking their own advice seriously, the Morton brothers donned gas masks before applying the potent oil.

The Mortons were not here long. They moved on to the Denver area to pursue their aviation dreams.

But Bus stayed around, joining the full-time Gazette staff and rising to the position of mechanical superintendent. In retirement, Bus and his wife, June, 92, live at 402 Missouri Avenue Circle.

A Son's Decision

This ditty appeared in Pat Young's column in the Callaway Courier. It was spotted and clipped by Joeleen Snyder, who serves as receptionist and picture book coordinator for the Gazette. Since this is an election year, Joeleen and I agree: There's no better time to poke fun at politicians.

And, so, in that context, here's the light-hearted parable:

An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession, Like many young men, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and on his son's study table placed three objects:

* a Bible.

* a silver dollar, and:

* a bottle of whiskey.

"I'll just hide behind the door," the old preacher said to himself, "and when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which object he picks up.

"If it's the Bible, he's going to a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be!

"If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be OK, too.

"But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunkard, and, Lord, what a shame that would be."

The old man waited anxiously and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eyes, he walked over to inspect them.

Finally, after much study, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink.

"Lord have mercy," the old preacher whispered. "He's going to be a congressman."