By Dan Dauw
Geneseo Current
“When I Wasn’t Old”
If you regularly read this column you know that towards the end I have an article entitled “HUMOR,” followed by the “QUOTE of the Week.”
Starting this week, I will add a regular article, “WHEN I WASN’T OLD.” It will be about various happenings, experiences, and so on when growing up in the Quad Cities, Geneseo/Henry County, and foreign countries I visited “when I wasn’t old!”
So, let’s get started! 1) I had no siblings. I think it was one of those, “Ooops, no birth control pills in 1942. 2) Asthma was not fun, but I lied about not having it to get into the Navy. 3) Dad had a good job at International Harvester, East Moline Works. Great Dad, but alcohol, smoking and cancer took his life. 4) Mom worked at Grossmans store in downtown Moline. I worked there when I was a junior at Alleman H.S. Made .60 cents an hour. One time I took Miss America (1958 or ‘59) in the store’s elevator to second floor. There were other dignitaries with her. She wanted a hat and, as I remember, Mrs. Grossman gave her the one she liked. 5) Remember the three movie theaters in downtown Moline? There was also one on 23rd Avenue and the Roxie theater on 15th street. On Saturdays there were serials. “Rocket Man” was my favorite. Movie tickets were .25 cents and .10 cents for popcorn. 6) There were still electric trolley car tracks on 4th Ave going east from 34th St. Can’t remember seeing any trolleys in the late 1940s or ‘50s. 7) We got our first black & white, 14 inch screen TV set. It’s tubes kept burning out! 8) I remember my dad once said that Geneseo was a rich man’s town and that most folks there were farmers. In high school, myself and two friends rode out there a few times on our Mo-Peds with a top speed of 32 m.p.h. One time I got hit by a 1953 Buick in Rock Island. Just suffered bruises, didn’t wear a helmet, but no one did back then. 9) Do you remember parking meters? They had them in downtown Moline, but people and merchants complained so they were Kaput. 10) Okay, last one! One time, for fun, my best friend and I wore bright yellow pants to high school. Not too smart! Anyway, maybe some of the things I mentioned you can relate to, or find interesting?
Ag Days
Bishop Hill’s “Annual 19th Century Harvest Festival” will take place on Saturday, Sept 28 and Sunday, Sept 29, 2024. The Bishop Hill Heritage Association have scheduled a ton of events from old ways of farming to musical performances to a petting zoo to great food, etc.
Added to all this is the celebration of the “40th Anniversary of the Henry County Historical Society Museum” to be held on Saturday, Sept 28, 2024, at 2 p.m. just outside of the museum.
The guest speaker will be William Furry, historian, journalist and the Executive Director of the Illinois State Historical Society. For entertainment, Dan Holmes is an “old school singer and songwriter.” He has performed in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida, Ohio and California. His music will touch you and inspire you.
In the museum I will present a program on “Military Cutlery” at 10 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. It was very well attended at the recent “Vintage Farm Equipment Show” in Atkinson, IL. We hope to see you at Bishop Hill, IL., on Sept 28, 2024.
Model Trains
While I still have my Lionel trains all set-up on our ping-pong table, they pretty much gather dust. Our 5 grandkids have little or no use for them.
So, I went on the internet to see if they had any worth, but the trains I have, while old, are not among the top 5 model trains. Joshua “Lionel” Cowan and Harry C. Grant founded Lionel Corporation in 1900.
Their first trains were on O gauge tracks. Mine are on the later model .027 tracks. One of the most expensive Lionel train sets went for $250,000 in 1934 at an auction house. There is some place in downtown Geneseo that have model trains. Someday I’ll see if they would like them.
Dayton Valley View Cookout
This Colona housing addition will have their annual cookout in the DVV Court on Friday, October 18, 2024. I don’t know the time, but I suspect 5 or 6 p.m.
As to the ending time, figure midnight or there abouts! Lots of Kool-Aid downed so it’s nice were all in walking distance of our homes! Great neighbors, great time!
Geneseo Ikes Cookout
All members and guests are invited to the Geneseo Izaak Walton Fall Weiner Roast. It will be held on the outside east patio on Saturday, October 26, 2024. It starts at 5 p.m. It’s always a fun event. Bring a chair, hot dog stick and covered dish. The club will supply the rest. There is just something nice about gathering with friends around a firepit.
‘Da Bears
They had better clean-up their act, or it’s going to be a long, long season. As to QB Williams, so far he isn’t showing all the hype bestowed on him. College football is one thing, but the Pros is quite another!
Humor
Bob Sellman told me once that he was allergic to peanuts. It’s so bad that he can’t even read Charlie Brown in the funnies! Bob’s lovely wife, Jan, really wants to buy one of those supermarket checkout dividers.
The problem is the check-out lady keeps putting it back. Years ago, I remember our daughter saying I don’t give her enough privacy. At least that’s what she said in her diary.
What did Beethoven become after he died? Ans: A Decomposer.
Here is something I really always wondered? Why do scuba divers always fall backward in the water? I finally found out why! It’s because if they fell forward, they’d still be in the boat!
Quote of the Week
“A slowness to applaud betrays a cold temper, or an envious spirit.”
Hannah More