Historical October 1989 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Halloween is right around the corner. Halloween parties are probably my favorite—sure beats having birthdays— and I’m convinced that this holiday is wasted on kids.
But the young ‘uns insist upon also having a good time on this occasion, so it behooves us all to resolve to take certain reasonable measures to make sure that our offspring all survive enjoying this night on the town.
First, bring ’em in early. Parkview, for example, is definitely shutting its doors at 7:30 P.M. and it would be an idea for everybody else to do this too, as 7:30 is plenty late for little tykes. I am not sympathetic with big tykes who have no business horning in on the youngsters’ act. Second, put the kids in sensible costumes. Sensible costumes are visible at night, easy to see out of, and fireproof (lotsa folks line their sidewalks with candles in bags). Third, travelling in groups is a terrific idea.
It helps deter those yahoos that try to literally take the candy from the baby. Make sure at least one adult accompanies the group.
It is also good tact not too have too big of a group.
Many folks are intimidated by large groups of kids and turn off the lights. Fourth, if a trick-or-treater doesn’t wear a costume, he deserves what more and more folks are giving out: nothing.
Finally, if you’re old enough to drive, you are too old for trick-or-treating. I think twelve to fourteen ought to be the upper limit, but I’m encountering some resistance from my twelve year old. Oh well, I hope she has a good time and that all of you do, too. Halloween season is a good opportunity to point out that once again there are aliens among us. Over on 60XX McPherson, Miriam Roy has left la belle Francais to serve as a Teaching Assistant at UMSL.
There are also some nefarious critters called Exchange Students lurking about, but I am still tracking them down.
Please notify me immediately if you see any in the neighborhood.
We export as well as import around here. Bob Horner of 62XX Westminster (the younger of the two Bob Horners living there) has almost joined the Navy to See the World. Almost?
Well, the Navy observed the Pat Holtz Singers perform and invited them to spend next March through June giving performances at various Naval installations in the exotic Far East. Bob is the only member of the group from around here.
So he gets to see at least a big chunk of the world at gummint expense without having to say, even once, “Yessirrrrrr!”.
And Grant thought war was hell.
Our favorite part-time Belgians were here to visit us last month. Tom and Ginni Klevorn (of 61XX Washington when Monsanto eventually transfers them back) came in to visit. Both of them look terrific; the rich Belgian cuisine has obviously not gotten to their waists.
We learned to our delight that they are expecting their second child in January. John Nunley has been getting lots of favorable press for his “Caribbean Festival Masks” exhibit.
After its extremely successful debut at the Art Museum, the exhibit is now on national tour. Spies tells me that he received great writeups in both Smithsonian and outstate editions of Newsweek. Neville Vatcha (61XX Westminster) turned 50 on September 15, with friends throwing a nice surprise party. About fifty showed up to throw a bash that Neville’ll (I’ve always wanted to do a contraction like that!) probably not forget for another half-century. Bruce Smith (60XX) Pershing has been certified as a state Hunter Safety Instructor.
This is a handy skill to have in the neighborhood, as anyone born after 1967 (and it seems like there are more of these people with each passing day) must take a ten-hour hunter safety course to obtain a hunting license. Bruce is available to scout troops, etc. to teach this material. Hunter safety revolves mainly around the concept of how to make absolutely sure that your firearm isn’t pointing where it shouldn’t be, thus assuring that it doesn’t go off by accident; or that the wrong sort of things are not endangered when it goes off deliberately. I always seem to miss the stories that are happening right under my nose. Joe and Nancy DeBettencourt (62XX Washington), right down the street from me, are expecting their second child in February.
We also note with sorrow the passing of Olga Ahrens of 61XX McPherson.
A longtime resident of the area, she was a member of Bethel Lutheran Church. How do you upstage a birdhouse patterned after the (in) famous Coral Court Motel? Watch for the Everyday section of the good ol’ Post-Dispatch to feature Bill Christman of Christman Studios on 60XX Kingsbury (right next to the good ol’ SDCC orifice).
The article spotlights an old milk truck that Christman & Co. have transformed into a VooDoo Chili Parlor. You got it friends; this is humor in a jugular vein.
This ghoulmobile will be on prominent display during the Art Exposed affair on October 15. Organization Activities: The annual St. Roch Book Fair will be held from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, probably at the gym. Their Youth Activities Dinner will be Saturday, Oct. 28. St. Roch’s Bridge Rondelet meets once a month at various houses in the neighborhood.
They currently have 11 couples (all ladies), and there’s always room for a new face or two. Contact Jane Hart (62XX McPherson). Camerata Chorus has started rehearsals for their Christmas concert. Rehearsals are Tuesday nights at DuBourg High School.
We would like to have a few more folks from the neighborhood join. Call me at 727-0839 for more information. Ottie’s Corner Our good friend Officer Ottie Edwards thought that last month was really slow and Your Correspondent was lamenting the fact that this would lead to a skimpy October column. Then Ottie got caught napping on the job. What actually happened was that he got the itch.
In his eyes.
It seems that Officer Edwards is one of those rare individuals that suffers from allergies. Recently, while on patrol in the famous Parkview Pursuit Chevette, he put some drops in his eyes to alleviate the itching, then closed them for a couple of minutes while the medication took effect (this was all done at curbside, of course; Ottie seldom drives when he’s blind).
While thus indisposed, he overheard two youths, who approached him and duly remarked that he appeared to be asleep.
This pair then proceeded to steal a bicycle from a nearby porch. Boy, were they surprised when, shortly afterwards, Ottie opened his eyes, opened the car door, and nailed the offenders in flagrante delicto!
This put an end to a summer-long bike stealing spree in the area. Ottie also put paid to a car thief who was more clever than most.
This particular felon’s modus operandi was to steal a car, then equip it with plates stolen from another vehicle of the same make and model year.
His mistake was to park these cars in front of a house that Ottie knew was unoccupied during the day.
The car thief was a local resident; an ex-thief who was training the folks in one of our local department stores on how to detect thieves.
He doesn’t live here any more.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, October 1989.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1989_10.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
