Steak Night at Mike's

Prior to the upcoming Davis Reunion, my nephew, Mike Davis, and his wife, Michelle, invited us to their home in Fort Wayne for dinner along with other members of his immediate family. Mike cooked steaks on the grill while Michelle prepared other dishes inside in the kitchen.

Of course, my brother, Ron, played the part of Wine Steward and kept all of our glasses full.








Here Mike, Carole and I are enjoying some great steaks at a table on the back deck. As you can see, Mike and I switched to Corona, but Ron continued to take care of Carole.












After dinner, we all relaxed on the back deck and enjoyed spending time with family members we don't get to see very often. Pictured around the table left to right are Michelle, Carolyn (Marge's daughter), Rod (Carolyn's husband), Fred (Marge's son), and Cody (Michelle's son). Marge is in the background.

Great family! Great food! . . . and a great "Steak Night at Mike's".

A Day at Witmer Lake

My sister-in-law, Marge Davis, invited us to her home at Witmer Lake near Wolcottville for the day. My brother, Ron, is staying at Marge's while he is in town from California. While we were there, Walt Guenin, husband of our cousin, Sharon Price, came by to see us. Walt is on the left in this picture, Ron is on the right, taken in Marge's living room. We hadn't seen Walt for some time, so we had a good visit.









Of course, whenever we get together for any purpose, it always involves eating. In the Davis tradition, I was given the job of grilling hamburger steaks while Marge prepared fresh corn-on-the-cob. Between her and Carole, the two of them came up with several other side dishes, relishes, and dips. As usual, Ron was in charge of the wine . . . and he did a good job.


After dinner, we enjoyed more conversation and reminiscing, but needed to return to "The Bus" before dark. As we were leaving, Ron snapped our picture on Marge's front porch to record the event. That's me in the middle hanging on to Marge on the left and Carole on the right.

And so ended "A Day at Witmer Lake".

Visiting Our Roots

My brother, Ron, and my Sister-in-Law, Marge, came to town today and Carole and I went with them to locate and visit the grave sites of some of our Davis ancestors.

We first went to the Parker Cemetery and located the graves of Samuel and Emma Davis, grandparents on our father's side. We never knew them as both had died before either Ron or I were born.

We then went to Greenlawn Cemetery and paid our respects at the graves of our parents, Dwight and Edna Davis. Nearby were the graves of Grant and Orie Tyler, grandparents on our mother's side. Also nearby was the grave of our brother, Robert (Bob).

We then spent time trying to locate the ashes of our oldest brother, Dwight Jr., but could not find the vault. We contacted the cemetery office to no avail, then called Mike Davis, Dwight Jr.'s son, who told us Dwight's ashes had been moved to another cemetery, where we finally found them.


Then we went looking for the house where Grandpa and Grandma Tyler had lived. So much has changed in those neighborhoods that it was difficult to identify the specific house, but we finally did. This is the house on Minor Street where they lived at the time of Grandpa Tyler's death in 1940. They only lived in this house for a short time.










The house I remember best is the one where they had lived the longest on Walnut Street, the house I remember visiting as a kid in the 1930's. There used to be a detached garage on the back of the lot connected to the house by a huge grape arbor, which you walked through like a tunnel to get from the house to the garage. The walkway was all brick.

There were raised railroad tracks behind the garage across an alley so that when a train went by it almost looked like the train was crossing on the roof of the garage.

Wow! This all brings back so many childhood memories.

Johnny Appleseed Campground

This morning we left the Moose Lodge Campground in Goshen, Indiana, and moved "The Bus" the short distance to the Johnny Appleseed Campground in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The campground is located in a City Park along the St. Joseph River just below the dam.

I have fond memories of this park from when I was a kid growing up in Fort Wayne. On the West side of the river, just below the dam, the city had a sandy beach for public swimming in the river. The sand had obviously been hauled in, but the Municipal Beach had a bath house and life guards. We kids used to ride our bikes out here often in the summer to go swimming. However, the city closed this Municipal Beach some time in the 1940's because of the polio scare. Today, only the park remains which includes the campground with hookups for about 30 RVs.

The campground is located in a nice wooded area just across the road from the river in a grove of very tall maples and pines. The campsites are fairly large and there is some grass, but mostly gravel streets wind among the pine needles.


We are in a nice shady spot. We can see the river and the old Municipal Beach area from our site. The only disadvantage here is we only have hookup for water and electricity, no sewer connection. Of course they do have a dump station and we plan to be here only a week, so we'll be OK for that long.

Home in the Country

On our last night in the Goshen area, we were invited to Lee & Loraine Borntrager's "Home in the Country". They have a beautiful place Southeast of Goshen, where they bought an old farm house and completely renovated it, built a barn, and dug a really great pond with an island.

The barn is particularly fascinating. The upper level is a basketball court. Yes, a regulation size basketball court, properly striped and marked, with a regulation lighted scoreboard, and a spectator balcony at each end of the court. This is indeed not your regular barn on the farm.

We enjoyed a fine dinner while Carole and Loraine talked about old times, kids, families, and antiques. After dinner, we had a tour of the barn and pond, then relaxed in their living room. Carole, Loraine, and Lee are shown relaxing below.



It was great to spend our last night in Goshen with enjoyable friends at their "Home in the Country".

Dinner with the Girls

Carole has so many friends and relatives in the Elkhart area, we have a difficult time getting to see everyone, and when we do, it seems that it always involves eating . . . either eating "in" or eating "out". Tonight we were invited to eat "in" at Dianna Jackson's, a long time friend of Carole's. Also present were "Sis" O'Dell, Dianna's mother, who we have known for many tears, and Peggy Hann, a long time friend of Carole's. In fact, both Dianna and Peggy were vacationing with Carole in Florida five years ago when Carole and I met.

Dianna has a beautiful home with a gorgeous backyard in a very secluded setting and a really nice, very large back deck. A great place for a nice, relaxing get-to-gather. And so it was, as we were having a glass of wine and a few munchies on the back deck before dinner. Below, left to right, is Dianna, Carole, Peggy, and "Sis". I was seated in the foreground, except while I was taking the picture.


I had the honor of being the "grill chef" cooking steaks outside on the deck while Dianna prepared the rest of a delicious dinner in the kitchen. We all left the outdoors and went into Dianna's dining room to eat "in". It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening . . . and it was especially nice to have "Dinner with the Girls".

Carole's Schmuhl Roots

Carole's mother, Regina, was a "Schmuhl", which is a good old German name. Rigina's brother, Carole's Uncle Louis, passed away recently and the Administrator of his estate invited family members to Louis' home on Saturday to select any personal items which they would like to have.

We went to Louis' home today and it was almost like a Schmuhl family reunion. Many Schmuhl family members were there and Carole had the opportunity to see and visit with relatives she sees only occasionally. Carole is pictured below in the left photo looking over old family pictures with her Aunt Jane and Aunt Dee. In the right photo, Carole is shown with her Aunt Iva.

















Carole had a great time with her relatives and we spent much of the day at Louis' home. Carole brought away many old family pictures, which I know she will cherish. We also picked up some DVD's and videos tapes of British comedies, which Carole goes "nuts" over. She will certainly have a good time watching those and, while she does, remembering her Uncle Louis.


After we left Louis' home, we drove to the Rice Cemetery in Elkhart to pay our respects to Carole's Grandmother and Grandfather Schmuhl.

This was a day Carole could review and reflect on her Schmuhl Roots.

Farewell to Brenda

Carole's daughter, Brenda Stafford, is leaving tomorrow morning on a trip to the West Coast to spend some time with her brother, Bruce Krallman, who lives in Marysville, Washington. Today is the last time Carole will see her daughter for a while, so she decided we should all go out for dinner to bid "Farewell to Brenda". We will be back in Kansas by the time Brenda returns from Washington.

We went to Das Dutchmen Essenhaus, an Amish restaurant in Middlebury, Indiana. It's an interesting place to go, with lots of gift shop areas and good home cooking. We invited Brenda's family to join us as in this photo. Left to right is myself, Carole, Aaron Holdread (Brenda's son), Brad Stafford (Brenda's husband), Brenda, Victoria Rodriguez (Aaron's friend), and Edwardo (Victoria's 4-year old son) at the near end of the table.

We enjoyed a nice meal and good family chatter. But most of all, we were able to bid "Farewell to Brenda" and give her a good send-off.

The Old Bag Factory

We went to an area in Goshen called The Old Bag Factory. It's located at the site of a factory that originally produced flour, onion, potato, and other types of cloth and mesh bags. The factory closed in the 1980's and a developer converted the buildings and grounds into a shopping area, which has now become a "destination".



The grounds include very attractive landscaping and beautiful flower gardens as well as several historic buildings, one of which is a "historic" log cabin, and there is a very nice brick walkway between the buildings. The brick is laid between old railroad tracks and forms a very unusual walkway.

















One of the buildings is the original power plant for the bag factory and has an old tall brick chimney still standing.


















Inside the original Old Bag Factory building is a number of very attractive shops and restaurants in an open mall layout. We had lunch at the Trolley Cafe, which was one of Carole's favorites when she lived here. She's pictured below right in the Trolley Cafe.

















We really enjoyed our afternoon at The Old Bag Factory. It's a very attractive and fascinating place . . . a great place to spend a relaxing afternoon.

Tristen

Carole's daughter, Brenda, will be leaving next Sunday for a month-long visit with her brother, Carole's son, Bruce, who lives in Marysville, Washington. So Carole wants to spend as much time as she can with Brenda this week.

Brenda's step-son and his wife live with Brenda and they have a baby, Tristen, who is now nearly a year old. Tristen is a cute baby with lots of blond curly hair.



We will undoubtedly see Tristen several more times when we visit Brenda before she leaves for the West Coast.

Goshen Moose Lodge

We pulled into Goshen, Indiana, mid-day today and drove to the Moose Lodge on the north edge of town. Behind the clubhouse is a large pond around which are over 100 RV campsites with hookups. We were assigned a spot along the edge of a wooded area where we had lots of space. The whole area is in a large grassy field with a few trees.




Previously when we have been in the Elkhart/Goshen area, we have stayed at a commercial RV Park where we paid around $220 for one week. Here at the Moose Campground, our cost for a week was only $50. Quite a savings!


The pond and large grass area of the campground attracted geese, which were all over the place. We had to shoo them away from our area a couple of times and, when we went for a walk, we needed to watch where we stepped.

Also Goshen is a railroad town and it seems like a train passes through town every few minutes, all day and all night. You have to learn to sleep through the train whistles.






The campground is nice, the view of the pond is nice, and the clubhouse is very nice. In addition, they have a nice lounge and serve food in the lodge. We went to a fish fry one night and I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast one morning. It was all pretty good.

The campground and the area is well worth the savings we enjoyed here, so we'll probably be back. For the price, we can tolerate the geese and the train whistles.

A Night at Holly's

Today on the road to the Elkhart area, we were coming up on the exit to Michigan City, Indiana, where our good friends, Michael & Linda Buda, live. We had not seen Michael or Linda for about 18 months, it was getting late in the afternoon, and I was tired of driving . . . so we decided to pull off the road at Michigan City.

Michael owns a sports bar called Holly's, so we pulled into the back of Holly's parking lot where we could have drinks and dinner, then walk "home" and spend the night in Holly's parking lot.

















We called Michael at home and he and Linda came down to Holly's to have dinner with us. Our very good friends of many years are shown on the left below. We also called Jim Geleske, a friend from many years of vacationing on Estero Island in Florida. Jim also came down to Holly's to join us for the evening and is shown on the right below.

















We had a great evening renewing old friendships . . . and after numerous drinks, all we had to do was walk "home". That's the beauty of being able to park your "home" in the parking lot of the bar.

We had a good night's sleep in Holly's parking lot!

On the Road . . . Again

Finally, after several weeks at home in Kansas, we fired up "The Bus" and got "On the Road Again". It was a great feeling . . . the surge of the engine, the hum of the tires, the scenery sliding by, Rush Limbaugh on the radio, and idiots on the road pulling in front of our 30,000 lb missile. Yes, it's a great feeling!

We were heading for Indiana with the plan of spending a week in the Elkhart/Goshen area to spend time with Carole's family and friends, then a week in the Fort Wayne area to visit Dean's family and friends and attend the annual Davis Family Reunion.

Last fall I joined the Moose Lodge primarily because many of the Lodges have campgrounds with RV hookups at a very reasonable price to members. We had not yet stayed at any of the Moose facilities but plan to stay at some on this trip. For our first night on the road, we stopped at the Moose Lodge in Iowa City, Iowa. They had four RV hookups and a very nice club house.

It was on a Sunday evening and the lodge was closed, but several members were there working. We arrived just when they were wrapping it up and they congregated on the patio for a drink. We wandered over and joined them and had a great evening meeting some new friends.

The next morning, we were back "On the Road Again", but we enjoyed the group so much that we may stop there again on our way back to Kansas.

A New Road

I have lived in the country in Kansas for over 20 years driving the last two miles to our house on gravel roads . . . except when it rained, then the last two miles were on mud roads. And people wondered why my car was never clean.

Now that we have decided to sell our country home and move to a downsized home on a paved road in town, the county has decided to pave the road to our house.

In preparation, they cut down all of the trees and brush along one side so they could widen the road, grade new ditches, and install new culverts under driveways. They also hauled in numerous truckloads of dirt to raise the level of the roadway.




So we're going to have a paved road to our house. Maybe I can drive a clean car until we find a buyer for the house. Come to think of it, maybe a paved road to the house will help us find a buyer sooner. I sure hope so!

Antique Show

Carole periodically needs an "Antique Fix" so when we saw an ad in the newspaper for the Annual Antique Show at the Overland Park International Trade Center, we just had to go. The show was scheduled to run three days and I was afraid Carole would want to go every day.

We went the first day and, I must admit, it was a very nice show. All of the dealers had attractive displays and, for the most part, no junkie stuff was shown. All of the antiques looked very good and were well presented.

We walked through about a third of the show, then stopped at a concession booth for some lunch. By that time, Carole had walked enough, so we left and returned home . . . empty handed! Carole had not seen any thing she couldn't live without.

The real surprise was when she decided to not go back the next day, but I'm sure we will return next year. At least she got her "Antique Fix" for this year.

A "Long Lost" Cousin

One of my first cousins, Leila (Smith) Parks, who I had not seen for probably 35-40 years stopped by our home last night on her way from Texas to Indiana for the Smith Family Reunion. She was traveling with her step-son, John Parks.

They arrived too late at night to spend much time talking, but we made up for it the next morning. After a nice breakfast prepared by Carole, we sat around talking about the good times we had growing up in the Fort Wayne area and swapping stories about our lives and our families during the intervening years. We talked until nearly noon when they had to resume their trip.

Below Carole is flanked by Leila on her right and John Parks on her left.



I hope we see each other before another 35-40 years passes.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Yes, Greg's visit had to come to an end sometime . . . and today was the day. He had an early morning flight out of Kansas City International Airport north of Kansas City, which is an hour's drive from our house in the country south of Kansas City. So, we had to get up at 4:00 AM just to get him to the airport on time.

Here he is pictured getting his bags out of the back of the Blazer at the airport. We left home before daylight and you can now see the sunrise reflected in the windows of the terminal. He looks a lot more awake than I was.



It was sad to say 'goodbye' to him this morning, and I'm already looking forward to his next visit.

Have a safe trip, Greg! It was wonderful having you home even if it was for such a short time. We'll include fishing during your next visit home. That gives you another reason to come back soon.

Greg's Last Hurrah

Greg wanted to say goodbye to John, Becky and the kids, so after while we finished running some errands and doing some last minute shopping Greg wanted to do, we stopped by the Crowl-Moore household.

We caught Becky in the kitchen heating up soup and fixing grilled cheese sandwiches for the boys who were getting ready to head off for a ball game, as usual. Becky is in the left picture below at the kitchen stove with Alex and Jordan in the background. In the right picture is Kyle (in the background) and Sam, Luke, and Alex wolfing down soup and grilled cheese sandwiches while seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

















At least Greg got to say some goodbye's before he leaves in the morning.

Our First Kansas Home

While Greg was home, we drove around the Kansas City area to see some of his old haunts, one of which was the old "Davis Homestead", our first home in Kansas, which is on 81st Terrace in Overland Park.

The red sidewalk is a handicap ramp someone has added to the property.

We moved to this house from Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1972, the year Greg graduated from Snyder High School in Fort Wayne. This is where we lived when Greg started to college at Johnson County Community College and subsequently transferred to the University of Kansas.

Seeing this old house brought back a lot of memories for both of us.

Kansas City Steak

When Greg told me he was coming home from Guam, he said he wanted to do three things:
(1) play golf
(2) go fishing
(3) eat a Kansas City steak.

We managed to play golf twice, once in Overland Park and once in Pittsburg. It was too hot while he was here to go fishing, the fish weren't biting. The only thing left was to eat steak.

So, we picked up a couple of Porterhouse steaks cut at least an inch and a quarter thick and put them on the grill. Carole put some twice-baked potatoes in the oven, sauteed fresh mushrooms, and prepared fresh asparagus.


As we usually do, Carole and I split one of the steaks. She took the fillet side of the bone. This is my plate with the strip side of the bone . . . only half of the Porterhouse.












Greg tackled the other Porterhouse all by himself . . . and he ate nearly the whole thing!














So, Greg had his Kansas City steak. Truly a meal fit for a King!

I always thought Greg came home to see us, but maybe it's the Kansas City steak he comes home for.

Well, maybe this will hold him until he returns for his next visit.

Independance Day

This morning at the Crowl's in Pittsburg, Frank cooked sausage and pancakes for the whole gang . . . and that was a bunch of people. After breakfast, I helped with the massive clean-up while the kids engaged in board games, riding the golf cart or 4-wheeler, and played yard games. Some watched a DVD movie on television.


I took Greg on a tour of Pittsburg including the Pittsburg State University campus and the Vietnam War Memorial. Seeing "The Wall" at the memorial is a very moving experience.

This is Greg at "The Wall" in Pittsburg. It is supposed to be a replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C.








We returned to the Crowl's just in time for a traditional Fourth of July feast of hamburgers and brats on the grill along with potato salad, Cole slaw, baked beans, and all of the trimmings . . . washed down with a cold beer. That was followed by home-made ice cream. Yummy!

The kids were playing games, riding the golf cart and 4-wheeler, and beginning to set off fireworks while the adults sat around in the yard talking and watching all of the activity . . . a typical family Fourth of July.


















I thought it was a fairly laid-back day, but the "confusion" of too many kids, too much noise, and too much activity got on Carole's nerves. She wanted to go home. So we skipped the kids nighttime fireworks show and headed for home.

We arrived back home about 8:00 PM and watched the Fourth of July fireworks display in New York City over the Hudson River, then the fireworks display in Boston out over the bay, all on television. It was very impressive, but not as much fun as it would have been watching all of the kids setting off fireworks in Pittsburg.

So ended our Independence Day.

Chicken Annie's

Carole & I, along with Greg, were invited to spend the Fourth of July weekend at Frank & Bonna Crowl's summer home in Pittsburg, Kansas. Frank & Bonna are the parents of my son-in-law, John. They have a very nice home-away-from-home setting on about 10 acres near the edge of town and have hosted a large family gathering over the Fourth of July holiday for many years.

We have been invited to their get together for several years along with John & Becky with all of their expanded family, John's brother and his wife and kids from Nashville, Tennessee, and a number of other Crowl relatives. Many of my grand kids also invited a friend, so there was quite a crowd, especially lots of kids.

Carole, Greg, and I fired up "The Bus" and drove to Pittsburg for the festivities. We parked in the Crowl's driveway and settled in for a long weekend of fun, fellowship, and fireworks. "Kid watching" is always a popular activity as Frank has a 4-wheeler ATV and a golf cart for the kids to drive around the property. Also numerous yard games were set up, such as boche ball, blongo ball, and bean bag toss. Numerous board games were also available for the kids indoors. In addition, the kids had lots of fireworks to set off.

Pittsburg is known for several things: (1) the historic heart of the business forms printing industry, (2) the location of the main campus of Pittsburg State University, and (3) fried chicken.

Back in the 1930's and 1940's, southeast Kansas was principally a large coal mining area. The husband of a local lady, Annie, was injured in a mine accident and unable to work, so Annie started cooking chicken dinners to feed miners in her home to support her family. She started raising her own chickens and expanded the house to accomodate more people. She became known as "Chicken Annie".

Annie's sister, Mary, also started serving fried chicken in her home. Chicken Mary's was located just down the street from Chicken Annie's. Annie's children and grandchildren now run Chicken Annie's restaurant and several other copy-cat fried chicken restaurants have opened in the Pittsburg area over the years building the town's reputation for fried chicken.


Greg had not been to Pittsburg before, so we had to take him to one of the famous fried chicken restaurants for an authentic Pittsburg fried chicken dinner. We selected the original, Chicken Annie's.

We arrived in the late afternoon and the place was packed. We had to wait in line for quite a while and, I think, ended up being one of the last customers served. But the wait was worth it! Chicken Annie sure does know how to fry chicken.

And Greg got to experience the "original".

The Sound of Music

For a little Stateside entertainment for Greg, Carole and I took Becky and Greg to the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas. The musical, The Sound of Music, was playing. It was a great production.





And the dinner was great too . . . along with the drinks and the Creme Brule for dessert.

Greg thought it was all pretty good "Stateside Entertainment".