June 2005                                                                               The Megaphone                                                                                    Page 5

A Letter To The Editor

 Submitted by Linda (Meltzer) Harris

  I found this amongst my Elwood gleanings and thought maybe you could use it for the Megaphone sometime. It was written by Mae Williams and is old but it captures a glimpse of Elwood at another time The Farmer's Almanac on the flip side of the article says the date is December 29, 1998. I tried to keep it as close to the print as possible. I don't agree with some of the hyphenated words but copied it as it is.    

Linda

"To The Editor:
  
  I read the article in The Call-Leader that the Quincy Masonic Lodge was building a new home at 1200 No. Anderson Street , and I started remembering my teen years were spent just across the street at 1205 No. Anderson Street . The old man who lived just across the alley wasn't very nice. We called him "Bossy Jackson." I was scared to death of him. My sister and I slept upstairs and at night we could see him throwing wood or coal on his fire in his stove. I thought he was the devil.
  

  Next door to him lived Frank McCarty and his family. Ardella was my best friend. She's now gone. They had a coal yard and filling station. He would crank up the number of gallons of gas you wanted then take the hose and put it in your car. Gas was five gallons for a dollar. Yep, five gallons for a dollar.
  

  My dad had a meat market across from the Wonder Bar at 1423 Main St . It is the city parking lot now. I started packin' potatoes when I was 10-years-old. Hamburger was three pounds for 25 cents. Bread was three loaves for 10 cents. Chuck roast was 19 cents a pound. I think. The Call-Leader was 3 cents a copy. For as long as I can remember in my 73-years, our home always had The Elwood Call-Leader. Except when we moved to Frankfort for a year.
  

  I remember on the front page of the paper down in the right-hand corner they always had an item called " Round Town ." During World War II a lonely British soldier who was stationed in Malaysia related how some of the guys had pin-pointed a map and came up with Elwood , Ind. He wrote to the editor and asked for some penpals. I had time on my hands so I answered his letter. Much to my surprise I got a letter from him. Thrilled -- I guess!
  

  He said he chose to write to me as my letter was the most interesting. I was bursting with pride. I wrote to Eddie Bendel for two or three years. Then when the war ended we lost track. Just a few years ago I got to thinking about him and I wanted to get in touch again. I knew he was from London , so I asked Jack Barnes what paper I could write to and he said The London Times would probably be the best, so I wrote to publish my story.
  

  I never heard from Eddie, so I don't know if he made it home or not. I wrote to my two brothers, Mike and Gerald (Eddie) Justus, Eddie McGuire, Harold Carpenter, Bud Ward and Max Wilson to name a few. I had lots of time on my hands and this is how I spent my free time. I met the mailman every day to see who I'd hear from next.
  

  At that time there was a prisoner of war camp just north of Callaway Park , mostly German soldiers. From our house (quite a way) we could hear them singing and laughing. It would echo through the night. Of course, our town was filled with soldiers. You had no trouble getting to skate with at the skating rink. The Sweet Shoppe run by the Mangases was always full. When our soldiers came home on leave they would stop at Mangas Cafeteria for a free meal. That was so patriotic of them.
  

  I remember walking by Montgomery Ward Store and Mark Winings was walking towards the cafeteria and I recognized the man with him when they passed. It was Wendell Willkie! That was another precious memory.
  

  There were lots of eateries for the G.I.'s. There was Wolf's whose roast beef is still famous. Coxies Restaurant who served lots of good food--one of my favorite places. Leah Wilson had a cafe across the street Ballard's Bowling Alley. The Main Restaurant was across the alley from the Bonham Hotel. French's had a bakery located where Railroadman's exit drive is on So. Anderson Street . There was a building there. Then they had Frenchies's Drive-In located where Jim Dandy is now. There was a lot for the G.I.'s to do in Elwood, including a tavern located almost every other store. Really!
  

  Well, all these years have passed and we still have The Call-Leader in our home and we still have our boys and girls in harms way. I write letters now and then, the last to Chad Altherr who was in the Navy for four years and was on the ship Enterprise when it was in the Gulf before.

  
  Say a prayer that they will all be home soon. And remember the reason for the season is Jesus. Merry Christmas.
  

Sincerely,
Mae Williams"

Submitted by . . . 

Linda (Meltzer) Harris '57 

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