From the February 22, 2023 edition

I have been thinking quite a bit about the Southside Animal Shelter this week. There was a terrible fire at their facility last week. The fire totally destroyed a building that served several of the shelter’s needs.

I learned several feral cats enjoyed staying in that building and it was also the main storage facility for the shelter. It was one of the main hubs for both the staff, volunteers and animals on the property.

Lyn and I have a strong connection with this shelter. About 15 years ago, we adopted our dog, Stuart from them. He very quickly became a strong member of our family. He became the registered therapy dog and held that title for over 14 years. He also had a column in this newspaper where he promoted the Southside Animal Shelter.

About a year ago, we lost Stuart to old age. A couple of months later, we visited the shelter and adopted our newest family member, Simon. He is in training to also be a therapy dog. He is progressing very well.

A few hours after hearing about the fire on the morning news, Simon and I drove over to see what happened at the shelter. There was still quite a bit of fire inspection and insurance inspection going on and visitors were not allowed on the property at that time.

We did find out that the Southside Animal Shelter has a website and it also has a Facebook account. We were told that most of their supplies were destroyed in the fire. A complete up-to-date list of needed items is on the shelter’s website at  (www.ssasi.org) and Facebook page. Last Friday, I got a call from Lyn while she was helping out at her favorite food pantry, Anna’s House. She explained to me that they had a couple of top opening freezers that they were not using and asked if I could contact the shelter and see if they might be able to use them. I did check with them and I believe something is going to be worked out. We are looking for a good storage location for them until their new building is constructed.

I have been following their Facebook page and the list of things they could use. I’m really impressed with the responses from folks all over central Indiana. Several businesses are collecting donations and then transporting them. I saw a beauty salon that was offering some eyebrow work and donating the proceeds to the shelter.

I saw where the shelter posted the need for an electrical thing of some sort that was needed to support animals. They said they could use two of them. I looked at the responses from people and it looks like about seven of them have been purchased and are being delivered.

It is so impressive to see how quickly and wonderfully so many families and businesses have come together to make sure all the animals and their human caretakers have the needed things to get back to shelter normal.

I even saw where some folks (both adult and kids) are having birthday parties and collecting things for the shelter. 

Lyn, Simon and I are very proud of all the folks helping the shelter. Keep up the wonderful work and the shelter will pull through this tragedy and be stronger.

Last week, Lyn and I decided to go out for dinner. We decided on seafood. I am purposely not naming the restaurant because I don’t want to embarrass our waitress. We arrived and were quickly seated. Our waitress came to our table and took a drink order. 

We quickly understood that our waitress enjoyed laughing and having fun while providing very good service. The menu had mostly seafood. That was cool because that was our dinner plan. Just to have fun with our waitress, I ask if there was anything on the menu that resembled a White Castle. She shook her head and said, “No”.

After she delivered our meal and had checked on us several times, we were talking about food with her when she announced that she very much disliked seafood. I was shocked and ask her why would she be working in a place that promotes seafood.

She explained that it works out very well because she never eats anything while she is working. I bet she stops at White Castle on the way home.

That is a very interesting young lady.
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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. He can be reached through email at fdshonk@aol.com.

My wife, Lyn and I have recited the very same sentence many times in the last few months. We have been trying to help each other get through a very tough year. The great thing is that along with our family and friends, they have really helped each other. 

Exactly one year ago today, (Feb. 15, 2022) we had to say goodbye to our dog, Stuart. He was going on 18-years-old and had been a registered therapy dog for more than 12 years. His health was failing. It took a few weeks to pass on the information to his friends at nursing homes and schools that his days were winding down. We remember standing with him in the veterinarian’s office and saying goodbye to him for the very last time.

About six weeks later, we adopted another dog from the Southside Animal Shelter. During this year of many difficult situations that both my family and friends have encountered, our new family member, Simon has been our bright light at the end of the tunnel.

A few weeks later, the young lady that was known as “Stuart’s Girlfriend” passed away. Stuart and I had visited with Christi in her room at Manor Care Nursing Home for 10 years. She was such a sweet gal. I got permission to visit Christi one time with Simon. It really touched my heart that the two of them bonded in just a few minutes.

Lyn and I have been dealing with some physical problems also.  I took a bad fall and messed up my spine and back. I was under orders to not move about much and no heavy lifting. We learned that Simon was a very proficient canine nurse. He spent many hours each day sitting on my lap and monitoring my healing progress.

A couple of months after that, Lyn really hurt her back. She also was instructed to take it very easy. It was astounding to see Simon double his canine nursing duties. He had spent most of his time with me until Lyn got hurt. It was so special to see him hop up into her chair with her and spread the canine love.

Members of Lyn’s family had been dealing with medical problems this year also. Even with her physical / back problems, she spent lots of time connecting with her family and helping any way that she could.

I lost a few family members in the last few months. By far the toughest was the death of my son, Mark. He suffered for over half of his life with alcohol addiction. He dealt with so many peaks and valleys over the years. He stayed with us a few times when things were not going well and he was homeless. I don’t think his passing was a big surprise but it was and still is very heart-breaking.

I also lost a couple of cousins in the last few weeks. Sue Ellen Johnson was my cousin on my father’s side of our family. Her mom and my dad were brother and sister. I also lost a cousin on my mother’s side. He lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. His sister, who lives in Texas lost her husband that very same week. I can’t imagine losing a sibling and a spouse in less than a week.

After experiencing these tough times this last year, one more terrible thing happened last week. A wild animal, probably a weasel got into the pen with our chicken girls and we lost two of them. This was very tough on both of us. Those girls are part of our family and they all have names.

There have been other things that have been tough to deal with, but I’m really beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We have so many wonderful, special friends and family and many have come forward and made things much better.

I was interrupted during the writing of this article. Simon reminded me that this was Sunday. Beside it being Super Bowl Sunday, it is also Puppy Bowl Sunday. We stopped our article production and went back into the house to watch the 19th Annual Puppy Bowl.

During the first half of the contest, if the puppies got excited and started barking and running around, Simon would start growling, barking and sometimes jumping toward the television.

Lyn and I couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, Simon figured out those crazy dogs were on the television and not in our house or our backyard. He then took a nap until the second half began.

I bet he sleeps through all of the Super Bowl.  Well, at least until his dinner time.
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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. He can be reached through email at fdshonk@aol.com.

From the Wednesday, February 8, 2023 edition

“Love the School Bus” month has arrived once again. It is celebrated each year during February, giving people across the country time to reflect on the importance of those yellow school buses in their communities.

School buses continue to serve children every school day through all sorts of weather. It becomes that bright yellow beacon for students as they stand at their bus stops each morning. People have a lot of love for the school bus.

I began my background riding a school bus as a 1st grade student at Edgewood Grade School. I continued riding school buses until I qualified to obtain a driver’s license at the age of 16.

During my high school years, my father bid on a Perry Township school bus route and became a driver. I found it a bit disconcerting that should a Southport High School teacher or staff member have a need to discuss something about me, they could just step outside any afternoon and speak with my father.

At our service station on Madison Avenue, we took care of several school buses that were part of the Perry Township contractors. I learned school bus driving skills just moving buses around the property and carefully moving them in and out of our service station.

A couple of years later, my father bid on four new bus routes and received the contracts. We began operating a school bus fleet. A couple of years later, at the age of 21, I was qualified to legally drive a school bus.

My very first school bus passenger rode with me before I had obtained my legal public passenger school bus driver’s license. We had contracted with the Southport High School Band to take them to an outdoor performance during the middle of summer. Four buses were needed to transport the band members and staff and one additional bus to transport all the large, heavy music equipment.

I was not yet licensed to drive the band members, but I could drive the equipment vehicle. We successfully completed the drive to the performance area. The band members took over and did a wonderful job with their musical band assignment.

When the festivities came to a close, we loaded the equipment onto my bus, the band members all climbed aboard their buses. The buses did not have two-way radios during those years. I saw the drivers waving to each other and one-by-one they began pulling out onto the street to return to Southport High School. 

The band members had a process that allowed them to confirm that every band member was on their bus. The drivers waving to each other confirmed that all the students were accounted for and it was time to go.

My equipment bus was the last one in the line. I had been assured that all the band equipment was loaded and secured on my bus. As I started to move forward to follow the other buses, I saw someone running toward me yelling and waving his hands in the air. It was the band director, Mr. William Schmalfeldt.

He must have been visiting with people or solving a problem. I’m sure his name wasn’t on the, “Be sure they are on the bus” checklist. I stopped and opened the door to hear ranting about all the buses pulling off without him.

Because there were no two-way bus radios or cell phones, I had no way to contact any of the other buses and request one of them to return to pick up Mr. Schmalfeldt. He climbed on and found a space big  enough for him to sit and I drove us back to Southport High School.

Providing transportation for my very first rider was a very unforgettable experience.

By the numbers:
      489,748 school buses in use coast to coast
      185,715 new drivers hired recently
      20,542,922 students transported in school buses
      2,710,918,484 miles traveled by school buses annually

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. He can be reached through email at fdshonk@aol.com.

From Wednesday, February 1, 2023 edition

​Early in December, we lost our son, Mark. It has been a very long couple of months. I have been so lifted up by the response for our family and friends. I have received telephone calls from friends that now live in other states. It’s so special to pick up the phone and hear one of those special voices.

I fully believe that when you make a special friend, it should continue for a very long time. Changes in jobs or locations should not cause the end of a friendship. Years ago, long distance telephone calls caused your telephone bill to increase. Those calls were always very special. 

Most calls are part of your monthly contracts now. We can contact family and friends quite often for the same amount on your monthly statement. We can also send e-mail messages and be a member of the social media application, Facebook.

I so enjoy Facebook. I have many, many friends that I have known for a long time in real life that are now also Facebook friends. I also have few friends on Facebook that I have never met in-person.

I both enjoy reading and posting things that make everyone that reads it smile. I even post the current weather on occasion.  I might post on a very rainy morning these three words, “It is raining”. I always get several responses. I have Facebook friends from all stages of my life.

One of the organizations that I have been a member of for several years is The Perry Township / Southport Historical Society. Last week, we had our semi-monthly meeting and program. Jay Danner presented a great program that explained the history of his family’s retail store businesses. I remembered their Danner’s 5 and 10 Cent Store in Fountain Square and a Danner’s Store in the Greenwood area.

It is so special to me to sit in those meetings and look around at all of my great friends. I purposely do not often toss out names of friends that I encounter at meetings or gatherings. I learned a long time ago that one of my best traits was to forget to mention someone’s name.

I’m going to override that today and tell you that Sharon Darko-David sat with me at the meeting. We are former high school classmates and both members of the historical society. Several members asked me how I was doing and I even got a couple of special hugs.

A few months in the future, the historical society will be presenting a special program that will honor the Kautsky family. It is in the works now.

David Ladd has a Facebook page known as, Southport High School Alumni. This is a very special site. David posts photos from yearbooks. He allows folks to also offer their own photos. There are pictures of businesses from our southside past. Last week was a great photo of the Kautsky’s store at Madison Ave. and Epler. Many members posted their own responses about their days of working at Kautsky’s and explaining about other businesses in the area.

David posted a picture of the 1959 Southport basketball team. I believe it was taken just after the game against Manual. It also received several comments from Southsiders. David does a wonderful job taking special care of this site.
 
I really enjoy checking out this site and recognizing names of folks that offer comments. Like I said at the start of my column, family and friends are so important and special. I even have a good friend and family member with me right now as I finish this article.  His name is Simon.

Simon says, “Have a great week”.

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. He can be reached through email at fdshonk@aol.com.