Eight years ago this week, I submitted my very first newspaper article to The Southsider Voice. I was encouraged to give it a try by Kelly Sawyers and Denise Summers. I was very surprised when I was asked to do a second one the following week.
Below is a copy of my very first article.

Hoopster standouts played at Edgewood
OK, here’s the deal. My name is Fred Shonk, and I grew up in Perry Township, attending Edgewood Grade School and Southport High. During my youth I lived on Madison Avenue in the house that is now the Longacre Inn.

My father opened a Sunoco service station on Madison when I was 14. Working there allowed me to meet many of the great people who lived and worked in Perry Township. A lot are still good friends.

Our service station was close to the grade school, which had (if memory serves me correctly) 11 outside basketball courts, making it the roundball capital of the Southside.

On nice weekends you might wait an hour to find a court that needed a player – but even they you had to be invited. Some of the courts had such talented players that I was relegated to tossing the ball in and nothing more.

Big-name high school players from Manual and Washington often played with Southport’s top guns. I remember Louie Dampier, Jesse Blackwell, Joe Simpson, twins Tom and Dick Van-Arsdale, George McGinnis, Morris Epler, Leland Richards and others playing for hours.

On weekends I would fill my pockets with the proceeds of my Indianapolis News route and ride my bicycle to the school. In between games, we would go to Roehl’s Drug Store or Kauskey’s Grocery for something to eat and drink.

Soon after my father opened the station, some of the players discovered that our shop had the closest pop machine. The drinks cost 10 cents, and there was supposed to be a 2 cent deposit charged if the bottles were taken off the premises; however, that rule never applied to the players.

About twice daily someone from our station climbed into the service truck and drove over to the courts, where there would always be two or three piles of empty bottles. Seldom did we ever come up short on empties when the delivery trucks came to restock.

Looking back, I took pride in my ability to toss the ball into play … it was a wonderful experience.
Inside, I still beam with pride whenever driving past the location on Epler Avenue.

I totally enjoy learning about friends or members of a friend’s family who grew up on the Southside that excelled in various stages of their lives. Whether it is their education, profession, family, sports or a combination of any or all of these, their stories are sometimes very amazing.

I have been acquainted with friends and members of the Krug family for a long time. Paula Krug attended Southport High School and graduated a couple of years behind me. We were friends for many years, and I have very fond memories of visiting with her and her husband. Paula now lives in Florida and I keep in touch with her by phone.

Edward Krug graduated from Southport High School in 1971. When he was 12 years old, his parents died. He then lived with his sister and brother-in-law. His brother and sisters affectionately nicknamed him “Little Eddie.” He has the last laugh on them because he grew to six feet, seven inches. He towers over his sisters but sees eye-to-eye with his brother.

Eddie has always been a hard worker. At age 14 years, he would ride his bicycle to Boyden’s Bakery at 3:30 a.m., where he worked during the summer. It was a miracle that he made it to and from work without being in an accident on busy Southside streets. Two years later, he went to work at the Thrifty Corner gas station until he graduated from high school.

After graduation he was a work-study student with Pillsbury in Terre Haute where he studied at Indiana State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He later received a PhD in bio-chemistry at Purdue and did his post-doctoral studies in regenerative medicine at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Krug became a professor of regenerative medicine and cell biology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He also served there as Associate Dean of Postdoctoral Affairs with oversight of 200 scholars and staff scientists.

He also has served on numerous advisory boards, research committees and as a mentor. His office door was open to anyone who needed help, including immigrants who were having difficulty adapting to American ways. He is described as a true proponent of postdocs in transition from student to independence.

In April, Dr. Krug was awarded the NPA Garnett-Powers & Associates, Inc. National Mentor Award at the National Postdoctoral Association convention. The association is dedicated to supporting new researchers through innovative practices. The former Southsider who learned the value of hard work is very deserving of the national award.

He retired in May and travels with his wife Marilyn in a camper throughout the U.S. She took time to send me a copy of an article about her husband receiving the award that was very informative.

It just proves that getting started as a youth working in a bakery or gas station can begin a path to tremendous success.
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Congratulations to Dr. Krug on your tremendous career; now enjoy your retirement.