MEMORIES, MEMORIES

      The Kornerman's recent talk at the Boone County Historical Society prompted some memories for Tony Crandall, BHS-59.

      Tony wrote, "At it's beginning, I recall KWBG being on the sixth floor of the Boone National Building. After 70 years, the name of the station manager came to mind, Mr. Higbee. My mother would type up the police, fire, funeral home and hospital news two or three times a week for KWBG and also for KASI, Ames. I would get on my bicycle and pedal from West Boone to KWBG and deliver her news. There was a lady at KASI who could take shorthand and mom would give her that news over the phone."

     He added, "Another memory of that bank building. My aunt, Katheryn, lived above what was then the Oasis Tavern on Keeler Street (first building north of Sunstrom-Miller press). I was looking out the window in a heavy rain storm....and, at that moment....lightning struck the northwest corner of the bank building, knocking some stonework off. It was the "loudest" bang I had ever heard. Both my grandma and aunt lived on Keeler Street in the same block and I was able to pretty much roam downtown whenever I wanted to. I couldn't have grown up in a more interesting place. By the way, at that time, I could ride the bus from home in West Boone to downtown for five cents until I was 12 years old, then it became 25 cents. What a deal."

K-----K

     A memory from Mike Loehrer, BHS-64.

     "Probably 25 years ago, I was playing Honey Creek and on the 10th hole, I saw Jim Curell playing alone. He asked me to join him and all we did the entire round was talk about his dad, Bill Curell, and the influence he had on him. Bill was the assistant to Jack Bass when I played Little League and a finer gentleman I never knew. The best part of that golf round was that Jim never once laughed at my horrible golf swing. Thanks for engineering a memory."

     Editor's Note: We just, in a recent Korner, provided the great news of Jim's induction into the Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame.

     We knew what a great golfer Jim was but, perhaps even more important, he was a very humble, very quiet but wonderful person.

K-----K

     Back in 2009......boy, that seems like a long time ago........in the Korner, we apparently had some kind of question asked about that year's Napier girls basketball team.

     Good friend Jerry Anderson's wife, Karen Judge Anderson, was a member of that team and recently, Jerry provided me with an email copy sent to the Korner at that time regarding that team. It has provided an interesting memory.

     The Napier girls team was going into state tourney play that year and the email states that the Napier Cardinals had a 16-3 record as they were ready to play Goldfield in a first round game.

     In part, the Napier girls team consisted of five Judge girls and three Snider girls, all related. There were two seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, two eighth graders and three seventh graders listed on the team roster. Schools were only allowed 12 players for the tournament so the seventh and eighth grade were taken to the tournament but were not eligible to play in it.

     Goldfield won the game, 63-51, in the first girl's high school tournament game played in Des Moines' new Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

     The following year, Napier and Jordan consolidated to become United Community.

     P.S. This was still a time when the Iowa girls played six-on-six basketball, each team featuring three offense players and three defensive players.

K-----K

     Through the magic of modern day technology, Dick Longworth, BHS-53, clear away in downtown Chicago, picked up a recent KCCI-TV story about the Boone outdoor piano. He was very impressed. Yes, it was a good story.

K-----K

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