Talk of yesteryear warms Old Home Week
By KAREN BITNER and PAT FRIDGEN Echo Pilot

Ben Thomas Jr., led a reminiscing session featuring members of the Merle Everts family, discussing their experiences singing at shows and on the radio in the 1950s. From left, Thomas, Juanita K. Everts, Linda Murray, Hylda Everts, Fay Mentzer and Carolyn Waltz. Below is a pictorial history.

They talked about hard times, and how the hard times became good times. They talked about places, people and practices that are now gone. They talked about the past, and what it means for today.

During Old Home Week, three days of Reminiscing sessions gave longtime area residents a chance to remember and remind others of the way things were. Held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, the sessions featured panelists speaking on topics related to their interest or expertise. Four sessions were held each day, with two sessions running simultaneously, one in the church sanctuary and another in a downstairs social room.

Cars, cars, cars

One of Monday's sessions involved three men with long-term experience in car dealerships and repairs: Kermit Hicks, owner of Hicks Chevrolet, Rob Reymer, who owned an automotive repair shop, and Tom Fox, who ran a Gulf station on South Washington Street and later owned a Buick dealership. Led by moderator Ted Alexander, the men talked about the early days of selling and repairing cars in Greencastle- Antrim. "Twenty-one franchises have existed in this town," Hicks told listeners, adding that those franchises were spread among 15 auto dealerships.

The men laughed about one of the first imports in Greencastle-a Honda brought back from Washington D.C., by "Puff" Weaver, who owned a used-car dealership at the time. "He brought it back as a toy and sold it to Ed Carl," Hicks laughed. The pharmacist then used the car to make medication deliveries and it was known as "The Medicine Dropper."

Reymer noted that for many years Europe was well ahead of U.S. in terms of automotive quality. "The cheapest car ever made was the Model T Ford," he noted. "It was $360 in 1917." Reymer said that no financing or bargaining on the price was allowed; adding that he believed people probably thought the car might not outlast the loan. "People who bought them had to have cash on hand," he explained.

Longtime residents share stories about Antrim Township when they were growing up. From left, Jane Valentine, Glen Cump, Fran Elliot, Pickle Diehl, Tom Sellers and Roy Leckron.

Fox described the Chevrolet Deluxe Sedan of 1950-cost: $1600, without a heater or radio, which did not come standard. Fox also noted that he introduced mopeds to the area,. "I went to New York with a friend in a panel truck and we bought a big load," Fox told listeners. "We sold a lot of those little rascals."

A song in his heart

At the same time upstairs, members of the Merle Everts family described growing up in a musical family called the Hilltop Harmonizers who performed at area shows and during live performances on local radio stations. Sisters Juanita Everts, Linda Murray, and Fay Mentzer, along with their mother Hylda Everts and family friend Carolyn Waltz, described it as a fun-filled, busy life, with each member contributing to the group act. "Mother even made all the dresses," daughter Fay Mentzer recalled.

Many people attended the Reminiscing sessions during Old Home Week. They came to hear stories about the good old days in Greencastle and Antrim Township.

When moderator Ben Thomas, Jr., asked matriarch Hylda Everts what her favorite song was from all the years of performing, she shook her head. "I had too many of them," she said.

For a nickel

In the second session, Jane Valentine, Glen Cump, Fran Elliot, Frances "Pickle" Diehl, Tom Sellers and Roy Leckron discussed stores in Antrim Township. Diehl described the Shady Grove stores as community gathering centers. "Everybody loafed there," she said. "The men talked politics . . . different men loafed different places. My uncle lived beside Grove's store but would walk down to Wingert's to loaf."

Diehl said she enjoyed the Wingert store for a different reason: "Mr. Wingert got the Washington Post paper," she said. "I'd go down every day to read it."

Panelists said the stores were favorite spots for children because of the goodies that were found there. "Dick Grove's sisters Nellie and Nora made the most delicious potato chips," recalled Fran Elliott.

Jane Valentine described the cat that lived at Grove's store, where it would lie in the window through which bills were passed. "The cat's other job was to keep the meat slicer clean," she laughed.

At the same time the folks in the session upstairs discussed the stores of long ago, downstairs, moderator Ted Alexander was inquiring into what some consider a present-day mystery: the Loyal Daughters of Greencastle. Loyal Daughters officers Jean Zimmerman, Cora Crider and Betty Fisher assured Alexander that the group's doings are really not mysterious at all. "Any present resident or former resident is welcome," Crider told Alexander. "It's a nice program where women come meet with one another, talk about the past or future and enjoy refreshments."

The past century

During Tuesday first session, Jane Alexander, "Pickle" Diehl, Nan Flaherty, Dick Gingrich, Evelyn Pensinger, and Ollie Smith described life during the Depression; while other panelists reminisced about high school life during World War II. Frank and Shirley Bittner, Bob and Ginny Fitz, and Sonny Rowe even cleared up the mystery of the Blue Devil mascot name. Rowe explained that he and his friends listened to basketball games on the radio, and the Duke Blue Devils were a favorite. In addition, Scotland was the school's big rival at the time, and their team was called the Red Devils.

Convinced that the Greencastle team needed a mascot moniker, Rowe said they approached Bill Conrad. "We want to call ourselves Blue Devils," Rowe remembered telling Conrad, insisting, "If they're Red Devils, we're Blue Devils." And that's how it happened, Rowe said: "Since 1945, you've got Blue Devils for a high school mascot."

Bob Fitz described the custom of "thumbing it"-hitchhiking-to Waynesboro. "I'd ride with Doc Hess. He told me 'Brace yourselfget your hands on the roof,' Fitz recalled. "I'll never forget his rides."

They remembered scarcityand mischief. Frank Bittner described trying to save typing paper by using toilet paper to practice typing. Bittner said he got in trouble when the teacher noticed. "She said, 'Frank, why don't you go down and tell Mr. Grove what you're doing?"

Bittner said he and his friends also enjoyed stealing cherries from an oxheart cherry tree located in Principal Grove's back yard. "We stole cherries while he was reading the paper in the front room," Bittner confessed. "Mr. Ambrose, the policemen, couldn't catch us all . . . we'd go in all directions."

Another remembered trick was breaking into the gym on Sundays to play basketball, and cleaning up afterward.

Shirley Bittner admitted that she and her friends once stole a suit of long underwear from a clothesline near Red Run. They needed the long underwear for a play, she explained.

Ginny Fitz clarified: "The kid in the play who was to be wearing it was large. We had long underwear, but not big enough, so we stole a large pair."

Other pranks involved releasing baby skunks and barn swallows in Mr. Whitmore's laboratory and setting off fire crackers in study hall. Moderator Greg Hoover assured the panelists that they would likely suffer no retribution for their crimes. "The statute of limitations is up," he laughed.

War time

Korean and Vietnam veterans also shared memories of their experiences; "It was not a war," Korean Veteran Don Coldsmith remarked. "They told us it was a police action…I've never seen so many cops in my life."

Bill Wolford said one of his most vivid memories of Korea is the signing of the truce that ended the war. "I was there when the truce was signed, boy, talk about one happy person, I was thinking I'm going to get home," he said. Wolford said his company was under heavy fire until the peace agreement. "The night the truce was signed everything was coming our way . . . I was hiding, down on the ground. About 10 o'- clock it cut off, and it got so quiet the crickets kept me awake."

Coldsmith said Principal Grove was the indirect cause of his joining the Navy after Coldsmith and three friends played hooky one day. "We skipped school and drained the hoses at the gas station for enough gas to go to Hagerstown for a movie," he said. Unfortunately, Grove noticed their absences and questioned the four boys. "We told him 'We went to Hagerstown and joined the Navy," Coldsmith said. "That was all fine, but in a few days we had to go back to Hagerstown and join the Navy." Coldsmith left for training one day before graduation from Greencastle High School.

Vietnam veterans John Easton and Bruce Wesley, and moderator Ted Alexander who also served there, discussed their experience during that conflict. The three men agreed that coming back to face the anti-war sentiment prevalent at the time was really tough. "Coming back through Ft. Lewis, Washington, I almost wanted to take my uniform off," Wesley said. "The hatred was unbelievable."

Alexander said that antiwar sentiment wasn't apparent in the Greencastle-Antrim area. "Everybody welcomed you," he said. "People around here supported the military."

Easton, a pilot in Vietnam, pointed out that many advances in emergency medicine emerged during the conflict. "Those flight nurses on those 130s were just unbelievable," he said, adding that evacuation of the wounded usually took place in 15 minutes, unlike previous wars, where care of the wounded took much longer.

Wesley noted that learning about history from the people who actually experienced it is important. "I think people need to know from veterans what really happened," he said. "You got a distorted view of Vietnam from the news media . . . I speak for myself as a Vietnam veteran that we need to be behind these troops today."

On the home front

While Jane Alexander, Pickle Diehl, Marie Louise Gingrich and Evelyn Pensinger talked about the life of women on the home front during World War II at Wednesday's session, another group shared stories about the stores in Greencastle.

Pete Goetz' dad owned a butcher shop. "I had my first apron when I was six years old," he said.

He recalled that every Saturday night was like Old Home Week. The streets were filled with people as the farmers came to town to do their shopping. Store owners often did not get home until midnight.

Ed Bittner, who eventually purchased the Goetz Butcher Shop, spoke of delivering meat in a 1934 Ford panel truck. "It had no refrigeration. It's a wonder the buzzards didn't follow us around."

Both men were pranksters as boys. Vendors often returned to their trucks to find Limburger cheese under the dash, lard on the steering wheel or missing keys.

Evelyn Shinham Shatzer mentioned her father's compassion as he served grocery customers during the Depression. "He gave credit. Some people paid him back, some didn't. It didn't matter to him."

And he never turned away 'a hobo or a tramp.'

"One man was fed often," said Shatzer. "In thanks he carved a wooden spoon for dad. His name was Frank Feather."

She showed the spoon created by the well-known transient whose work is highly prized today.

Jim Craig told about his dad's plumbing and heating store, which also expanded into other products and services.

"The store would never pass inspection today," he said. "We had asbestos, lead and mercury in there. That's what makes me goofy."

Paul Mummert told of the time he tried to weld the frame of a boxspring to fit into the delivery truck of a furniture store. The mattress ticking caught fire in the store, with flames shooting up 10 feet. He quickly extinguished it.

"We still sold it to the lady in Waynesboro. She never knew."

Their tales were followed by Oliver Goetz, Gladys McCrae, Max Myers, Marie Myers and Fred Oaks telling of farm life in Antrim Township. The final session allowed members of the public to tell of a memorable moment.

The afternoons were sponsored by the Allison-Antrim Museum, with co-chairs Ken and Bonnie Shockey creating DVDs of the presentations. All in all, the memories of yesteryear were fond ones.

"It was a fun time to grow up," said one man.