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Page 4 - PLAINDEALER HERALD, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28,19M Stoxen Country provides great countryside tour .y>W At last I have seen the Car jrthwest corner of McHenry Last week Judge Herrmann ced up his gas buggy and ive me a tour through the tutiful farm country. Mrs. Herrmann, Fran (Sis to r big brother), grew up in that of the county known as ry. Her maiden )xen Country ijame was Stoxen We drove through Lawrence, a neat unincorporated village where Fran walked three miles to attend grade school. A highlight of our trip was a visit to one of the most unusual homes I have ever seen. A farm home! Of course, the pleasure of a visit to the beautiful home was enhanced by the presence of the lady of the house, a most gracious lady. .s. ; We drove over roads adjacent to acres and acres of flat fields vlith rich soil. I „ * On one farm, the owner or tenant raises cabbage over a So I Hear by Earl Walsh vast area. An extensive irrigation system assures a good crop. I don't remember meeting a ar as we drove miles of blacktop roads, just farm tractors. On one Stoxen farm they have a huge recycling plant that mixes waste material with chopped up soy bean plants. It is said that interested parties come from foreign lands to see this operation. We saw hundreds of steers being fattened for market. Guess you could call part of that area "Steak Country". Machinery and equipment. You wouldn't believe! You can have the big cities. I'll take Stoxen County. I won't soon forget that trip. It was truly one of the mostin- teresting and enjoyable events in many a moon. Now, I can say I have seen McHenry County! Grandpa to granddaughter: "In my day, girls used to blush." Came the reply: "What was it you used to say to them grandpa?" I'm not used to the new ab­ breviations for states. Our grade school teachers taught us it was disrespectful to abbreviate the name of a state. One reader said, "How come they say Nunda (with a soft a) these days. All through the early years it was prenounced "Nunday". That's the way I remember it and the way I still pronounce it. This great month of November is fading away, but not without Verona Etten and I celebrating our birthdays on the same day. Of course, we are not twins. She is much younger. Our granddaughter, Aleen, celebrated her birthday one day earlier. Actually, Aleen and I celebrated together. Had a phone call from "Zeke", all' the way from Arizona. He knew I had a birthday and only missed it by a day. Since he is a regular Chamber of Commerce booster for Tucson, I bragged about the fine weather we were having. Of course, as they say, if we wait a minute, it will change. An IRA that guarantees you an income for life. With a Country Companies annuity, you can direct your money into an IRA that guarantees you a lifetime income. Ask your Country Companies agent about our annuity and other tax-qualified plans. RICHMOND IlllNO'S Ml McHENSY ILLINOIS M. M4-17T1 McMCNRV «. r% AlmlMNlinn MULYVteft MTV to! MM 10 to I Holiday Scoop! Save $$ at Our Coat Clearance 20% .o 35% Off Regular Prices Hurry in! There's plenty ot fashion excitement at Spurgeon's with a clean-sweep clearance of our entire stock of coats for ladies, boys and girls! Get the looks, the fabrics, the colors, you want--at the prices you want to pay. Jr., missy and half s 2-14. Yours while they last! sizes. Boys' 2-18, girls Memories of early days brings me back to Thanksgiving Day when we were young. One of our uncles used to hitch up the team to a bobsled, fill the box with straw and come to town to give us a ride to Grandma's. The days of real sport. It made my day when Glenna House (teacher) phoned to in­ vite me to the Landmark Old Fashioned Day again this year. You can bet they have some very fine, dedicated teachers at Landmark. Both the teachers and their students were dressed in old fashioned garb for the occasion. On display were Indian relics, shaving mugs, old desks, old dolls, toy cook stove that could actually be used, old magazines and many more items. I was surprised to see a young girl demonstrating a spinning wheel. She knew her stuff. ~T~ It was no surprise to see Glenna's mother demonstrating how to make doughnuts. She gave me one so I bragged it up and came home with a brown bag full. Like my father before me, I am a doughnut fan. Glenna had real help from ther husband, Rob. He pitched right in to make the event a success. I had a lot of fun answering questions for those young boys and girls. One boy asked, "Do you know my brother?" When I asked his brother's name, he said, "Joe"! Sure I knew Joe! When I told how students used to drive to school with horse and buggy, one boy asked how I got to school. When I told how I rode a pony, he wanted to know how they would find me if I fell off the pony. was about q; desks and if we USed crayons. I'm sure they use crayons now 'cause they presented me with some nicely colored sheets. Tlie^e was more. I had great fun and hinted to Glenna that I would like to go back next year. In writing my Thanksgiving column last week, part of my ramblings were misplaced on my desk. Grandma used to say, "You'd forget your head if it wasn't tied to you." Why not use them to help fill this column? One of our readers, George Riley, gave his OK. Here they are: -For greeting cards. My trouble is that I never want to dispose of them. -For sunshine and the stars above. -For the old lady who had only two teeth, but thankful they met. (Sure-I've used that before.) -For fond memories of my parents. I also have fond memories of Alvina's parents of whom I once said: "If I had it to do all over again, I'd choose the same grandparents for my children." -For St. Patrick's Day. Do we have fun! -To wake up each morning and realize my name isn't in the obituary column. -That Mary Nolen and Marion Doenecke are trying to make a reservation for me in heaven. No hurry, girls. Plaindealer Herald photo by Donna Santl Former student revisits Earl Walsh answers questions from an audience of first graders at Landmark School's "Old Fashioned Day". He talked about the early days of the school, when he himself attended the historic schoolhouse. Safety brochure available The National Safety Council has a brochure available, "How to Survive the Holidays," which pro­ vides safety tips on holiday safety items. These include information on winter travel safety, fire prevention and poison prevention. For a free single copy of the brochure, send a self-addressed, business size stamped envelope along with a request to the Public Relations Department, National Safety Council, 444 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 60611. Quantity purchases are available. Hey Kids! Send Us YQH* • jaai Y i f f * 4 TO SANTA l" THE PLAINDEALER-HERALD / invites area youngsters to write letters to Santa, which will be printed in a special Christmas Supplement published Friday, December 14th. Children should state their desires, \ sign their full name and deliver letter to: The PLAINDEALER-HERALD 3812 W. Elm Street McHenry, IL 60050 (All letters will be published as received) DON'T DELAY...LETTERS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY MONDAY, DECEMBER 3rd! PLAINDEALER-HERALD