​I’ve been looking back over our just completed holiday season. One thing I noticed as I reviewed the past few weeks was the times that I connected with folks who attended Edgewood Grade School, as I did. A couple of my good friends, Ted Lobdell and Barry Hix, have been so instrumental in putting together several reunions that covered all classes that attended Edgewood Grade School.

There is a very interesting Facebook page called,” Friends of Edgewood Elementary”. This group has over 650 members. Ted and Barry are in charge of the site where members can post some favorite and funny memories. All sorts of comments, questions and pictures are posted on the site. I was looking at a photo of the 1951-52 Marion County basketball champs, the Edgewood Grade School 8th grade boys basketball team. I quickly recognized a player that I felt honored to be a friend of his for many years.

Joe Simpson attended and played basketball at both Edgewood Grade School and Southport High School. Several years later, we reconnected when I discovered he was working with a good friend of ours at a Southside business. The junior high school building had not yet been built in 1952. Perry Township grade schools had eight grades at that time. Edgewood had many students that a smaller building, the James Whitcomb Riley School, was constructed on the Edgewood property.

I was in the very first 2nd-grade class in the new building that only had 1st- and 2ndgrade classes. My high school class is very close. We have a reunion each year and a breakfast and lunch each month. I attended our first lunch of 2019 last week. I sat beside a young lady that I first met in the 2nd grade. Sharon Brinkoetter-Kinder and I were in the same class in the Riley building.

We talked and laughed during the lunch. We remembered the feelings we enjoyed as we walked through the Riley building after it was reopened a few years ago. The James Whitcomb Riley is again a school building for students in Perry Township. I was reminiscing about my feelings as I walked down the hall to the classroom we attended. I could almost feel myself shrinking down to my height as a 7-year-old boy during that walk. Sharon had some of the same feelings when she visited the building.

There were a few postings on Facebook about one of the very special teachers, Georgia Stevens, who taught at Edgewood Grade School. She passed away in December. She taught in Perry Township for 35 years; 20 years at Edgewood and 15 years at Keystone Middle School. I’m lucky that I have two different experiences connected with Edgewood Grade School. First was my six years of learning from some special teachers and school staff.

Paul L. (Pete) Bailey was the Edgewood Principal for many years when I was a student and later when I became a school bus driver and drove students to Edgewood. A few years ago at one of the Edgewood reunions, I felt honored to sit with Edgewood teachers Verne Chandler and Bill Pickard. It was special to see many of their former students come to the table and visit with them. I have reconnected with several former Edgewood students that I drove to school. The latest being Denise Morris-Clarke. She and her brother David Morris rode with me from their home in Rosedale Hills to school and back each day. 

​I first met them as 4th graders. At one of the reunions, I reconnected with David. A few weeks ago, I received a Facebook friend request from Denise that I quickly accepted. I’m hoping that the three of us might get together for lunch soon. I love it that David is a retired school teacher and now is driving a school bus. Happy New Year !! Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.

Last week I reminisced about my Christmases from when I was a young boy up through the time that I lived in California for a couple of years and didn’t get home for the holidays. Christmas was also special for me when my son, Mark, was young and enjoyed visiting Santa.

I loved watching Mark play with the gifts that  the jolly old fellow brought him. Part of our family Christmas was to visit my wife’s sister and her family on Christmas Eve. Early on I learned that she and her husband didn’t believe in telling their children anything that wasn’t totally true. Their kids were told that there was not a person named Santa Claus who delivered presents to good little boys and girls. On one Christmas Eve we were visiting with them and I had walked into the living room and was quietly sitting by myself enjoying the tree.

Their daughter, Leslie, who was probably 5 or 6 at the time, walked into the room and over to the tree and started looking at the wrapped presents around it. We started talking about the fun of opening all those presents on Christmas morning. At some point I must have mentioned Santa. Without turning around to face me, Leslie said loudly, “There is no Santa!” I then asked her where all those presents came from. She quickly spun around and with hands on her hips replied, “Elves! There are elves!”

I’m sure I had a big smile on my face as I hugged her and thought, “When you want to believe something bad enough, you’ll find a way.” Several years later a great friend of ours, Peggy Hart, told me about her mother making a special Santa suit for her father. She recalled how much fun her dad had wearing his suit and making visits during Christmas season.

One day she brought it to my office. It was beautifully made of satin and there were leather boots, a nice wig and beard. She asked me if I would like to have it. I was shocked. I tried it on and it was perfect. I wore that suit many times for several years while making appearances at Christmas parties, schools, some businesses and friends and grandchildren’s house.

Their mom and I were fairly certain that the boys might figure out that it was me in that suit, so I never went into their house. I just waved to them from the street or the sidewalk. After the three boys grew past their Santa days I slowed down on my Santa duties. A few years ago I got in touch with the daughter of the late Peggy to see if she would like to have the suit, and she welcomed that idea.

​It’s my hope that “Santa” is still making good little boys and girls happy. Our grandsons are now adults. We are looking forward to some great-grandchildren someday. Yikes! It is 2019! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the new year.

​Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.

Walter Williamson, with whom I became good friends several years ago when we drove charter buses, contacted me last me last week. I didn’t know until recently that he attended Southport High School. Walt wanted to know if I had or the Perry/Southport Historical Society had any photographs of the old SouthWind Drive-In Restaurant.

He told me that his mother and his grandmother worked there in the 1950s. The restaurant was located at the corner of Shelby Street and Carson Avenue. Walt even remembered that the owner’s last name was Halcomb. I remember that restaurant well. From our home on Madison Avenue, that was a direct route to my grandparents’ house just north of Raymond on Shelby Street.

One of my memories of the SouthWind Drive-In was that Mr. Halcomb came up with an idea to erect a small “pole box” on his property and then have someone sit in it for a long time to try to break a world record. I recall driving past it. Lots of guys honked and waved to the gal sitting in it.

Walt informed me that Mauri Rose Kirby, 17 at the time (so was I), spent 211 days living in that box, which was 3 feet by 3 feet by 6 feet. It was equipped with an electric heater, a sleeping bag and a telephone. She stayed up there from August 1958 until March 13,, 1959.

Mauri Rose Kirby was quoted as saying, “I’m glad it’s over. I’d never do it again or advise anybody else to do it.” In October 1986, Dick Turner, former owner of the Tee Pee Restaurant, wanted to have a pole sitter take a shot at the world record. He had just opened a restaurant - The South Pole - near the corner of Southport Road and Madison Avenue.

Mr. Turner attached a 6-by-7-by-9-foot “pole house” to a couple of 43-feet-tall poles next to the restaurant. The “building” was equipped with heat, air conditioning, carpeting, a telephone, a television and a stereo. The real intriguing thing about this pole-sitting adventure was that the young lady who was going to attempt to break the record had not taken the advice of Mauri Rose Kirby, although I’m sure she ample opportunity to discuss it with her.

The lady who spent 516 days atop the pole was 18-year-old Mellissa Sanders, daughter of Mauri Rose Kirby-Sanders. Mellissa entered the box Oct. 26, 1986, breaking her mother’s record May 23, 1987. On March 24, 1988, after 516 days in the air, she finally had her feet back on the ground Mellissa did have some company for at least part of her stay on the pole: her cat - Pole Cat.

I don’t remember much about Mellissa’s time on the pole. I was just returning from about 12 years in Michigan and was in the process of starting a small business. I hope her record is still intact and that she is still listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”

Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.

I was reminded of something that I was involved with during my freshman year at Southport Junior High.

I remember being in a wood shop class that year. The classroom was down some stairs into a large room under the cafeteria. I have no memories of being skilled in wood shop, but I do remember being instructed to go down to an even lower level to get wood supplies for projects. The supplies were stored in an open area. The remainder of the level was fenced off and contained the heating ducts and water and sewer lines. We students payed little attention to anything beyond the fence.

I remember being down there one day with a couple of my classmates to get some wood planks. All of a sudden a custodian landed on the floor just on the other side of the fence. He was busy and didn’t seem to pay any attention to us. We were startled by his instant appearance. After looking closer we noticed that he had been up and inside one of the ducts.

There was even a large door that swung open to allow entry. That seemed interesting to some of us. This area was off limits to students. There was a small gate that allowed human entry, and it was equipped with a small chain and padlock. Only selected school staff had keys.

A couple of weeks later when we were down there, a student pointed out that the gate wasn’t often locked during school. One day we stepped into the restricted area to check out how to open the trap door to the duct. I remember sitting down later with this same group of guys and forming a plan. We checked out how to open the door, and one of us peeked inside to get a good idea of what we had to work with.

As our plan came together we decided that it needed to be placed on hold until near the end of the school year. We felt it would be warmer then and the heating system would be shut down. At that time there was no air conditioning in the school. When we were ready one of the guys put together what we needed to accomplish our mission.

He took a candle and attached it to a firm candle holder. He then cut out a small section of the wax. Leaving the wick in place, he attached it to a small string of firecrackers. This was then tested a couple of times to see how long it would take from first lighting the candle to setting off the firecrackers. Once all was tested and adjustments were made, it was taken to school and placed in a locker. We then watched each morning to see when it might be a good time to put this plan in motion.

A few days later it looked like our plan was ready. One of our guys opened the trap door, and we boosted another one of the guys up into the duct. He taped the candle holder to the bottom of the duct and lit it. He then jumped out, and we closed the door and headed to class. A couple of hours later during our third period class, the sound of firecrackers echoed through the building.

Within seconds an administrator came onto the public address system telling teachers and staff to step out of their classrooms and detain all students in the hallways. They were to be brought to the office. To my knowledge, all of the guys involved were seated at their desks in their proper classes. As Col. John

“Hannibal” Smith often used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” That gate was almost never left unlocked after that. None of us were ever questioned about the incident.

Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools