December 20, 2017 News

Birthdays: December 20, Jarrett Packard; December 21, James Reeves, Chris Zimmerman, Parker Scott, Allen Casey, Bruce Winter, Holly Schkoda; December 22, Angie Timson (40), Audrey J. Werth; December 23, Sue Davis; December 14, Gage Podrybau; December 25, Martha House; December 26, Bruce Davis, Mary McCormick, Audra Holland.
Anniversary: December 16, Albert and Alouise Zordel.

Janet Dennis and Carolyn Thompson returned home Thursday from Mexico City. They join 40 other pilgrims for the Feast Day at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12. The Mass was called The Mass of the Roses. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of Dodge City Diocese and all of the Americas. She appeared to Juan Diego in 1531. Other sites we saw were the pyramids of the Moon and the Sun, many ornate churches decorated in gold leaf, and an active volcano. Because of the volcanic ash, land is productive for alfalfa and corn. The tour was led by Father Rafael Perez of Brooklyn, New York and was arranged by 206 Tours.

Bill Zeller was honored by a funeral mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church, by The English Bell Choir of McCracken United Methodist Church and by the firing squad of the American Legion Post 59. May he rest in peace.

Our sympathy to the family of Gail Harris, 77, who died December 14, 2017 at the Ness County Hospital.

Kansas State University will play in the Cactus Bowel in Phoenix vs. UCLA on December 26 at 8 p.m. C.T.ESPN This is a Big 12 - Pac 12 bowl.

Jan North was hostess to a coffee held at her home Thursday afternoon. Those who attended and enjoyed homemade ice cream and cookies were Janice Stull, Pat Derr, Twila Higgins, Angela Murray, Norma McNair, Joann Micheli, Jean Schutte, Pat Petz and Shirley Higgins.

There are copies of our History Books, Vol 1 – Vol 2 – Vol 3 – Hampton on the Ft. Hays – Ft. Dodge Trail; Yankee on the Prairie by Dr. Allen Miller. Don’t you think they would make great Christmas gifts? Contact Carolyn or Shirley if interested!!!

The McCracken Fire Department appreciated everyone who attended and helped with the soup supper last Saturday evening.

Kyra Reese and Tammy Horesky attended the women’s NCAA volleyball championship semi-final matches at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Thursday, December 14th. Kyra and Tammy were part of a record number crowd that watched No. 1 Penn State fall to No. 5 Nebraska in a 5 set-thriller and No. 2 Florida hold off No. 3 Stanford in another outstanding 5-set match. They ran into former Hutchinson High School volleyball coach, Tina Johnson, at the concession stand.

I was very saddened about the death of Bill Zeller, he was my ‘computer’ friend. I felt he could ‘fix’ any problem that I caused, and he did. I will miss him.

We wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas with Peace and Joy in the New Year.

History Notes:

1948 In the district tournament at Dodge City, McCracken Boosters defeated Dodge City 11-10. The district win allowed McCracken to advance to the state tournament in Wichita; however, the team did not place. In 1949, manager, Syl Scheideman, had high expectations for his ball club and fans were anxious for another successful season. The players responded with outstanding games including games with the Kansas City Monarchs and Pratt’s Ban Johnson Lions. KVGB a radio station from Great Bend broadcast the game versus Pratt. At the conclusion of the 1949 season, three players from McCracken received honors; All-District Team; Chet Irvin – pitcher Paul Gilkinson – utility Wilfrid Higgins – second base. In the early 50’s, hometown baseball seemed to be dying in many small towns. McCracken fell victim to this and left the WCKL prior to the 1951 season. Fortunately, a resurgence of baseball happened in 1959 and McCracken re-entered the WCKL. McCracken ended the year placing 6th place in the league. McCracken lost to Hill City in the first game of the league tourney, 19-14. Glenn Conner (third base) was named to the league’s first team and was the third leading hitter with a final batting average of 404. Along with Conner, Joe Pfeifer and Vic Higgins received post-season honors. Joe Pfeifer (pitcher) and Vic Higgins (utility) were placed on the league’s second team. Pfeifer also led the league in strikeouts with 63. Bob Fear was also listed on the All-Start game roster as a centerfielder, however no record of the game being played was found.


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Patricia Petz:

Monday was quite exciting for me as I stepped into the Government and History classes of LHS to view a movie with the students of "The Men Who Built America."  How many of you recall hearing about Cornelius Vanderbilt?  He became a shipping and railroad tycoon (1794-1877) who became a multi-millionaire in the 19th century.  As a boy, he worked with his father, who operated a boat that ferried cargo between Staten Island, New York, and Manhattan.  After working as a steamship captain, Vanderbilt went into business for himself and eventually became one of the country's largest steamship operators.  In the process, the "Commodore," gained a reputation for being competitive and ruthless.  In the 1860's, he shifted his focus to the railroad industry, where he built another empire and helped make railroad transportation more efficient.  He is known for having built the "Grand Central Depot" in New York City, which is the largest train station in the country, and for donating over a million dollars to build the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.   I'm sure that I had learned about Vanderbilt before, but it sure was exciting to relearn about this individual.  

Monday evening, mom and I enjoyed attending the La Crosse Middle and High School Winter Program directed by Sally Jacobs.  There were several Christmas songs sung by the choir members and we especially enjoyed listening to the numbers presented by the band members.  It was a very nice program.  

I was up bright and early Tuesday morning as I was called in to help at the High School.  Most of the students were either studying for finals or taking their finals for the first semester.  Where has the time gone this year? I don't know about the students, but for me, the time has slipped away very quickly.

Thursday became a very busy, but fun day.  I was invited to attend a Christmas coffee at Jan North's home in the afternoon.  Her home was beautifully decorated and she served some delicious refreshments, such as home-made peach ice-cream and freshly baked cookies. She also shared her favorite recipe of peppernuts with us.  She had a table surrounded with ladies having fun visiting with one another.  

Later that afternoon, I had business to take care of in La Crosse and then I had to have a patch put on a tire as it decided to pick up a nail on my way.  As soon as my tire was fixed I headed to Hays to enjoy another music program at the Hays Middle School gym.  My grandson, Kameron Petz, is a fifth grader at the Wilson Elementary School and they were presenting their Winter Concert, which was directed by Gloria Blackwell, a former classmate of mine during my high school years. Once the concert was over, we headed to "Jalisco's," a favorite restaurant of Kameron's.   

Friday and Saturday was used to make batches of my favorite "Scramble" mix, oyster crackers, a cake, and some brownies.  My oven was rarely able to slow down!  Saturday evening I attended the Soup Supper at the McCracken Methodist Church.  Donations went to the Rush County Ministerial Alliance.  I almost forgot to tell you that before I made it to Mc Cracken I blew out another car tire. Instead of a nail this time, I managed to pick up the remains of a deer antler going around my curve.  I guess this was my week for tire repairs! 

Sunday morning, mom and I attended mass at St. Michael's church and after mass several people stayed to help decorate for the Christmas masses.  It looked very nice with the church all decorated for the Christmas season rapidly approaching. Mom and I went to lunch at Tracy's and then I headed home.  

I attended a rosary Sunday evening for Bill Zeller at St. Mary's Church in McCracken.  Bill will be missed by the community, and I know that I will miss him restating the "Gettysburg Address" on Memorial Day at the cemeteries. Rest in peace, my friend.