GO TRIBE!
By: Stan Jordan
The Cleveland Indians Baseball Team of the American League just hung up a record that will last for a long, long time.
That team won 22 games in a row. That sets a record for modern times, but in the New York Giants, back in 1916, won 25 in a row. That was 100 years ago.
The Indians also won their division of the American League here for 2017, it is called the Central Division. That is sort of like drawing a bye, the wild card winner have an extra game they must win.
The Indians have a very good ball club at every position. The outfielders are speedy and can catch and throw very well. The infielders make outstanding plays all the time. The pitching is great, they average 10 strike outs a game. The bull pen does well all the time in relief, but they will scare you sometimes. If the Indians play good ball they can be in the World Series again this fall.
The pitching is in top form, the batters just have to get some runs.
When the team got beat and the win streak stopped, I saw some of the best sportsmanship I have ever seen. The entire team, coach, trainers and all stood in front of the crowd and waived and waived to show their appreciation to the fans for all of their support.
The coach Terry Francona is a very knowledgeable manager. The team has made a couple of trades this year that has really helped out. On Sunday, the Tribe beat the Royals and started a new win steak.
As Ben Franklin would say, “Team, strike while the iron is hot.”
Get into the World Series again this year.
See ya!
• A young man was going overseas with the army, he was of polish decent.
His wife, who was to stay here in the states, was pregnant and was told she would have twins.
So, the soldier asked his sister if she would help name the twins when they came.
She said that she would.
Well, the babies arrived and there was a boy and a girl baby.
The sister had already picked out the name of Denise for the girl baby. After a lot of thinking she said, “I know! We will call the girl Denise and the boy De Nephew.”
• A new body building exercise that is sweeping the country.
You stand up straight and bring your arm straight out to the side, with a 5 pound potato sack in each hand. Now you do this for 10 minutes, up and down twice a day for a week, then you increase to a 10 pound potato sack with the same system, until you reach a 25 pound potato sack.
Then you revert back to the 5 pound potato sack and you put a potato in each sack.
(This was given to me by Sharon at the Essen House)
• During WWII everybody rode the train because gasoline was rationed and 45 mph was the nationwide speed limit. When there was not a dinner on the train, there would be a huckster go through with the car selling sandwiches, gum, candy, fruit or most anything that would sell.
The sandwiches were two slices of white bread and one very, very thin slice of ham. The old Indian bought a sandwich and the huckster man went on to the next car. Pretty soon the salesman came back through the car again.
The old Indian asked the salesman, “Did you slice this ham?” And the salesman said, “Yes, I did.”
The old Indian said, “You damn near miss ‘em.”
• Two boys were talking out in the back yard and Mike said to Pete, “My dad can whip your dad.” And Pete replied, “Big harry deal, so can mom.”
The Early 1950’s in Antwerp
By: Stan Jordan
I have been sitting here at my desk thinking back over the early 1950’s here in Antwerp and we had a lot of action. I will tell you what I remember about those years.
In the late 1940’s, the Antwerp Chamber of Commerce was trying to get a factory to come to Antwerp and help the city’s progress. So, in 1950 a company out of Cleveland agreed to move some of their operation here. It was called Weatherhead. That was the man’s name.
Well, they agreed to the location and construction started. The whole west wall was laid up of cement blocks and we had a very violent wind storm and it blew that wall down.
At the same time, at the west of town on U.S. 24, Don Lichty was building a roller rink. All of the roof rafters were up, but not tied together very well and that same wind storm blew every rafter down.
That same storm blew down some local barns and other damage. That was a terrible wind storm, it made a sound like a freight train was going by up over head.
That was about the same time that the Old Steel River Bridge was torn down and replaced by the cement bridge that is over the Maumee River now. That was finished in 1951.
The Antwerp Parlor Furniture Company called the Chair Factory was doing good business and had over 100 employees, it covered 1/2 of that block where the VFW building now sits, but it caught fire one Saturday morning and was destroyed.
It was about that time (49 or 50) that the Antwerp softball field was equipped with lights. That was a very big piece of progress as everyone attended those ball games.
That was early 1950 when those cement silos at the Antwerp Elevator were being built. It was in 1953 when a man fell off the bridge over in Indiana on Scipio Road and drowned in the Maumee and was found 6 miles away.
We had four car dealerships in town and about 10 gasoline stations, gas was around 22 cents a gallon, having risen from 6 gallons for $1.00.
See ya!
Memories, 72 years ago
By: Stan Jordan
We were checked as we left the ship and loaded in to a truck and went back to Camp Kilmer, the place we left from, when we went to Europe. Of course, they called the roll as soon as we got off the truck. The officer that called the roll also told us that we would be given a steak, a baked potato and a salad. That’s usual fare for the returning troops, don’t ask for seconds, there won’t be any.
We stayed there that night and they paid us what we were due. I don’t remember now, but I ended up at the railroad depot for the New York Central to Toledo, Ohio and then catch a greyhound bus for home via U.S. 24. I remember in PA that we could see the horseshoe curve of the railroad, other wise just a train trip.
I caught a bus that took me right into Antwerp to the red light. There was an old friend that saw me get off the bus with my barracks bag and he asked me if I needed a ride home. So, he took me out to the farm and I was home.
That next day was August 14th and the Japanese did surrender, WWII was over. At the end of those 30 days I reported to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. After a few days, some of us were sent to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. We joined the 8th Infantry Division there, but I never stood in formation of any type. We were there for a couple of weeks.
We were moved a time or so and we ended up at Camp Shelby, Mississippi waiting to be discharged. After we were there a few days an order came down that they needed some truck drivers. So we volunteered to help, just to pass the time away.
What we done was we drove around camp and we had about half a dozen German prisoners and we emptied the barracks of bunks, mattresses, lockers, etc. and took all of it to a warehouse. You know, just something to do.
One of the guys from the company that was still with us was an older fellow about 30 named Pesarkowizc from somewhere in Wisconsin. He was a PFC but he would borrow my Eisenhower jacket, as I was a S/Sgt., and he would get down to the Non Com club in the evening. He wasn’t the kind to cause any trouble, he just sat at the end of the bar and had a couple of beers, I will never forget old Pesark.
Along about the last part of November they called us in and said, “You’re going home!”
See Ya!
From Where I Sit
By: Stan Jordan
On Wednesday morning, September 6th, about 4:50 in the morning there was a bad accident on the new U.S. 24 where it crosses over C.R. 11. A driver from Bowling Green, Ohio left the east bound side of the highway and his complete rig ended up down between the two overpasses sitting on C.R. 11. The engine caught fire and the driver became a fatality. A terrible situation.
I know that is easy to be a Monday morning quarter back, but to me the truck traffic off of U.S. 24 that day was not handled right.
Hundreds of semi-trucks came through Main Street here in Antwerp and to me, it should have not have had to be that way.
The east bound truck traffic should have been routed from Indiana S.R. 101 right through Antwerp right on east, down to U.S. 127 Then it would be a lot easier to get to U.S. 24 than going south on Main Street in Antwerp. At the same time the west bound traffic off of U.S. 24 was being routed north on S.R. 49 and then to C.R. 424 up to Indiana 101 and then back to U.S. 24.
All of these trucks met each other at the downtown red light here in Antwerp and each one was trying to turn at that crossroad. Let me say right here that I think those truck drivers done a fine job and policed themselves very well.
Most of the time, if there was any problems at the corner, it was not the truck driver’s fault, it was some automobile driver who did not stop at the white line like he should, then he would not back up to help the truck to round the corner. I know that happened more than once.
To me there should have been a sign or a traffic director at Indiana 101 and old U.S. 24 and to tell those east bound drivers to go right on straight through Antwerp east to U.S. 127 and turn right to U.S. 24. The way it was, truckers were backed up for miles to make that turn to U.S. 24 in Antwerp and it would not have had to be that way. Those trucks could have gone east at 50 miles an hour instead of waiting for hours sitting on the roadside.
I know that was an emergency, but the powers that be should have a plan for just such cases. If they do have such a plan, it was not in effect this time.
I don’t know of any problems with that traffic, but I still say, it would not have to be as hard on the other drivers as it was.
But I’m not done growling about the situation, watch for my column next week.
See ya!
Sam Rivers, Indian Agent Chapter 50
By: Stan Jordan
We are at the fort now as General Kearney sent the runner over to the Indian agency and asked us to come here for the holidays.
This is January 13, 1859 and we have had a fine time here with all the military balls and celebrations. The boys are almost five now and they are typical boys. I want to give Callie all the credit because they are well-mannered and polite little fellows, and she has done most of the raising and the schooling.
I have met with the general a number of times and he is very worried about the slavery question that confronts our nation now. Even here at the fort we have boys from the north and the south and they have some heated arguments in the barracks about this situation. The general and myself can see a lot of trouble coming. Lots of people look at this problem from different ways.
The southern people say, this none of your business. They say you folks buy a team of horses to do your work. We buy these black folks and feed them and give them a place to live and they work for us. It has been like that for years and we will not let you tell us how to live. The feeling is so strong about this they will fight or even secede from the Union over it.
The general is so worked up over our nation being divided. He said, “Some of my classmates at West Point could be fighting me! I am so bothered about this. I have heard from Washington D.C. that we won’t be getting anymore supplies from the Indian Affairs Office.”
The general continued, “You have been doing so well with those tribes. I know the natives will say, ‘The Great White Leader has lied to us again.’ That isn’t at all true, but they don’t know our position, Sam. I want you and Callie to come in tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.”
Callie and I went to the general’s office this morning and we talked for a long period of time.
The general said, “Folks, I think we will have a war between the north and the south over this slave situation. Here in the north we are not prepared for war. I have been informed that the south is tooling up for a confrontation over this whole deal. It seems most of the guidance for the south is in Atlanta and Charleston. Sam, you come from the south, what are your feelings?”
“Well, general, I have to dig deep to look at both sides of this. I know how the south lives and works, because I did some work there. It would seem that the big cotton people would have to start working themselves in order to have that big mansion and estate. But I also know that the same Constitution that gives them the right to do as they want, also says, that all men are created equal. That means there will be no slaves.”
The general said, “Well Sam, what side will you fight for? Have you thought this over? What are your feelings? You don’t need to answer if you don’t want to.”
“General Kearney, I have been all over this nation, I was in Texas and California for the army. Then I trekked across the nation seven times. I love this country, I’m free to do what I want. I know that people in the south want to do as they want, but the law says that everyone is free. No slavery. I’m a northerner now and I will serve this nation. Yes, I would be a blue belly.”
The general said, “Sam, I don’t know for sure yet, but you might be called up into the army, because of all your ability and knowledge of the Indians.”
See ya!
