How it all got started...

It's hard to believe, but this week marks the one year anniversary of my Throwback Thursday blog. I have always been interested in the history of Raymond, Illinois, and had the opportunity to learn a lot about it when I served on the committee that published Raymond’s 125th Anniversary Book back in 1996. Prior to that in the late 80’s/early 90's, I worked for The Raymond News shortly after John and Sheryl Bandy sold the newspaper to The Hillsboro Journal. Each week, I included a column called “Flashbacks” that featured interesting news items from the past. I spent a great deal of time at Doyle Public Library in Raymond perusing archived issues of The Raymond News. I copied articles that I thought would be of interest to the community, and shared them in the paper each week.

I also copied news items pertaining to my family and friends. I found the article to the right in the November 26, 1942 issue of The Raymond News. It features a letter to to the editor that was written by our family friend, Raymond "Jiggs" Hough, when he was serving in the Army during WWII. (Jiggs enlisted in the Army on October 6, 1942 and served until December 23, 1945). I love this letter and I think it captures the true spirit of Raymond. I dug it out on a Thursday in December of 2013, and posted it on my Facebook status for "Throwback Thursday." My Facebook friends from back home also loved it and I received many comments. That's when I got the idea to launch a TBT blog. My very first Throwback Thursday blog post appeared on February 20, 2014. Now, one year later, I am happy to report that my little weekly blog about Raymond, Illinois (population 950), has had over 22,500 page views. It has also been viewed by people in over twenty different countries (see the full list of countries below).

When I started out blogging just for fun, I did not anticipate such an overwhelming response. I have heard from so many people -- classmates from elementary and high school, former colleagues, a long lost cousin, folks from New Jersey who have ties to the Panhandle area, and even from complete strangers who read my blog and either have some connection to back home or are simply interested in the subject matter. I would like to thank all my readers for your kind words and weekly encouragement. I love hearing from all of you and enjoy reading about your memories as well. It's a great feeling to know that something I enjoy doing so much helps keep the history of our little hometown alive.

And now, here's a little more on Jiggs...

After the war, Jiggs did “make a beeline” back to Raymond. He married Marjorie Trinkle on February 23, 1946 and returned to his job at the First National Bank of Raymond where he worked his way up from cashier, to vice-president, and then to bank president. He served in that capacity until he retired in 1986, and then remained on the board of directors until 1991. Jiggs had a genuine concern for the folks in Raymond, and through his job at the bank, he helped many people get a start in life and survive some tough times. Jiggs will always be remembered as one of the great leaders of our community.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jiggs Hough. It appeared in Stars and Stripes magazine during WWII:

-- SIGNAL CORPS PHOTO

RAYMOND MAN IN CHINA – Tech. Sgt. Raymond R. Hough of Raymond, a veteran of the Salween river campaign, is pictured at a Chinese training center directed by the U.S. army forces somewhere in China, with his youthful Chinese friends. The Raymond soldier was recently decorated with the Bronze Star for his service at one of the American portable surgical hospitals on the Salween front. He is the son of Mrs. Clara P. Hough of Raymond. 

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The TBT Blog about Raymond has been viewed by people in the following countries: 
United States

Ukraine

France

Venezuela

United Kingdom
Trinidad & Tobago

Italy

Russia

Poland

Germany

Romania

Canada

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Egypt

Singapore

China

Japan

Kazakhstan

Mariana Islands

Ireland

Mexico

One

More Citizens of Tomorrow

Well, I'll probably catch a lot of grief over this week's post, but they sure were cute, weren't they? This appeared in The Raymond News on 6/11/64...

Last week, my blog was viewed over 500 times, breaking an all-time record. Looks like those Beelers are even more popular than I suspected! It's hard to believe, but next week will mark the one year anniversary of my TBT Blog. Be sure to check back to read a special post related to how the whole thing got started. It's a great story that, in my opinion, captures the true spirit of Raymond.

Country Kids

Earlier in the week, I saw this recent picture of Carl and Martha Beeler's kids on Facebook (from left -- Rosemary, Moe, Resa, Phillip, Margy, Tom, and Joanie). I swear those Beelers never change and they are all just as cute as ever. Even though they were “country” kids, I've known them for as long as I can remember -- at least 45 years now. Tommy Beeler sat at my table in Kindergarten. Seeing their photo reminded me of a couple of funny stories from when we were growing up. 

It was sometime during grade school that I was invited to a boy/girl party at the Beeler farm in honor of Tom’s birthday. I remember that Martha, and I believe Rosemary and Joanie, were trying to corral all of us. It was mid-March and the spring thaw was underway so there was mud everywhere. After we had cake, they sent us outside (I’m sure Martha was relieved to get us out of the house). All the girls at the party immediately proceeded to pile up together on the porch swing and the chains gave away, tumping us all on the ground. After that, all hell broke loose with girls chasing boys, boys chasing girls, people having cooties, and everyone running amok all over the farm. Being the “city” girl that I was, I didn’t realize that when I fell into the pig pen that the brown stuff in there wasn’t just mud. I proceeded to run through it. Many times. They had to call Mom to come and get me and I was lucky that she let me ride in the car on the way back to town.

In 1977 when I was in 8th grade I volunteered, along with my friends, Pam and Sherri, to be a school cafeteria helper. This meant that every day we got to go over to the high school side of the cafeteria and help serve lunch. That's when we met high school senior, Maurice “Moe” Beeler.  Moe would come through the line and flirt with us. I thought he liked us but he really just wanted extra mashed potatoes and dessert (obviously he was cute AND smart). Pam and I had a major crush on Moe as did probably most of the girls in the school. After all, he was a mysterious older man and he was tall, dark, and handsome.

One day there was quite a commotion in the lunch line and it turned out that Moe was giving away wallet-sized senior pictures. By the time he made his way through the line and got up to the counter, he only had one picture left. He flashed his last senior picture in front of us, and held it there just long enough for us to admire his adorable sideburns and blue leisure suit. Pam and I both asked for the picture, begged for it, while he tantalizingly waved it back and forth in front of us. And then… he… gave it to…PAM! I was crushed. I begged her to give it to me, but she said there was no way she would ever part with that picture.

Moe Beeler's Senior Picture

Later that day, Pam and I walked Sherri home and then the two us continued on to the other side of town. We stopped at Mizera’s Market. Pam didn’t have any money on her and I selfishly bought a Hostess Apple Pie for .30 cents. It was fresh off the truck and the Hostess delivery man had just put it on the shelf. It turns out that Pam was really hungry. As we were walking down Main Street toward home, I told Pam I would trade the Hostess Apple Pie for Moe’s picture. She thought about it. Nope, no way would she do that. I crinkled the package, um-ummm, look at this nice fresh apple pie. No, she would not part with that picture. I opened the corner of the package and waved it under her nose hoping that the aroma of all that wholesome apple pie goodness would influence her. And boom, it did. It got to her. She caved. By the time we got to Convery’s corner, I was holding Moe Beeler in my hand.

And that’s the story of how I got Moe Beeler’s last senior picture. To this day, almost forty years later, when Moe sees Pam and me together, he always tells us that he can’t believe that he’s worth less than a Hostess Apple Pie.

I kept the picture on my bulletin board in my room for a few years. In fact, I still have it somewhere, but in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I could not locate the original for this week’s blog. A special thanks goes to Terri Lanter Olack for working some magic and sending me a yearbook copy.

Harvel Grade School

This photo was taken at Harvel Grade School sometime around 1927. I love looking at the expressions on the children's faces. I've always heard that back in the day, photographers instructed people not to smile when they were being photographed, so I guess that's why they are such a sober looking bunch. 

My Dad, Charles Bandy, is in the first row, second from the right. It's possible that one of the other boys is Bob Hendricks but I can't say for sure. If you can identify someone in this picture, please let me know.