September 2003                                The Megaphone                                             Page 8

Wood Glider

The company was the National Aircraft Co. and was run by a man named Carl Woolam and his nephew, Carl Morley.

The wood glider was Model WACO CG4A and only one was ever towed in the air. In fact, it was towed over Elwood in 1942 and several of our group witnessed it. Harlan Kiddy was 13 and remembers seeing it towed over Elwood.

WACO CG4A

        
Carl Woolam was from Ohio. He rented a room from Connie Hester's mother who lived next to the Christian Church on Main Street. This big house was just recently torn down and is now a part of the church parking.  If you remember, Connie Hester was a little woman who taught piano to many kids in Elwood and played the piano and organ at the First Baptist Church across from Cophers at South D and Anderson Street

Larry Courtney '57
Versailles, KY

Puzzles

Hi Everyone.... It has struck me that we are engaged on a new puzzle concerning the time of our lives in Elwood. Isn't it fun to remember these things and piece them together?

Larry - I remember Carl Woolam very well. He was dating a lady who roomed with my folks and I was always waiting when he came to call on her. I must have been about three years old. He always brought me candy! He must have called me "Sugar Plum" because that's what I called him. I remember his car too..... It was a sort of beige color and had a strange grill on the front and he would park it on D Street before they went out. When we moved to Ohio, I looked them up and found that he had passed away a few years before and his widow lived in Celina where he had a similar business.

The White Cabin brought back memories for me too. My dad worked at Dietzen's garage across the street and he often had a lunch over there and I remember when he took me there for my first hamburger at that place. A coke and a hamburger was my dad's favorite lunch! Mother was more leery. ..... you always had to spread the paper on your "place" at a restaurant and never eat anything that touched the counter because you might get germs. Guess that is why we ate at home a lot where she could control the germ factor. Nowadays, we eat out more than we eat at home and Bill always tells people that I couldn't remember the last time I ever cooked anything! (He's so sweet!) We always "swiped" the coke top before you put your mouth on it and could never touch your mouth to the drinking fountain, etc., etc. I guess we are lucky to be alive considering all the places we've been to eat!

Going uptown on Friday nights was a real treat too. Thanks Larry for the nice memory of that.  Uncle Charlie and Aunt Helen said that was the night that all the farmers came to town to do their shopping and so it really was a visiting night. The dime stores were open until 9 pm!!!!
Uncle Charlie went to work at the bakery early and was done by 2:30 so he would go park the car and walk home or else we'd all ride the bus uptown for the evening parade and a sundae at Hinshaw's. Saturdays, after the show, we might stop by Doty's and have a pork barbecue
sandwich and a milkshake. Ummmm good! Remember the candy counter at Woolworth's? I must have inspected the store relentlessly because I can remember where the merchandise was displayed and can't remember where the remote got to yesterday!

I liked to go to Montgomery Wards on the corner of Main and Anderson streets. Remember when they had bath fixtures up on the second floor? It is rumored that one little kid had to go to the bathroom and he took advantage of the stools there. His mother had lost him in the store and was mortified when she found him "taking care of business." Perhaps I should say it wasn't anyone I know personally.

I bought a sewing machine at Wards too when Bill and I were first married and it lasted forever. When we bought our first house out on west Main street, Bill sent me to Ward's to buy a "goose neck" and Mr. DeLong was very helpful. He was a good teacher when it came to
hardware  parts for the house. Bill was repairing the kitchen sink and had to go under the house and found quite a mess and was in no shape to go to the store so I got elected. That was just the first of many adventures with plumbing. Perhaps we could all write a book on house repairs.

Connie Hester was also my music teacher and somewhere I have a picture of her and her red convertible. I took lessons from her several years and she was always nice to me.... I didn't like to practice much either and I never could do well at memorizing things. I marvel at people who have photogenic memories and can remember a whole page of music as if it was right in front of them. I rebelled when I was 12 and said no more piano and yet when I bought a piano about twenty years later, I was surprised how much I could recall to pick the music up again.  It must be like swimming or riding a bike.... you can do it again after you learn the basics.

Thanks again to you all for the memories. Sharon has certainly hit the nail on the head about who we are as the Panther Den . . . my sentiments exactly.

Linda Meltzer Harris '57
DeBary, FL

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