I’m hearing all to often about the passing of my friends and former classmates from Southport High School. And last week was no exception. 

For about a month people had been asking me about the health of Bob Glidden,73, a friend of mine since the mid 1960s and a drag racing legend. He won 85 pro stock events and 10 season championships en route to being named to the NHRA Hall of Fame in 2005.   

Stuart, my therapy dog, and I had visited him a few months ago at his house in Whiteland, but I wasn’t aware of him having health problems.

Our initial connection was because of our interest in fast cars in the ’60s. Back in those days a lot of the guys who were interested in drag racings had a specialty that they shared with friends. Mine had to do with the electrical systems of engines. One of our buddies was a great welder and maintained the exhaust system. Bob Glidden was different as he had mastered several.

Sometimes I worked on an electrical engine part for him, and several times he provided assistance to me. Once he rebuilt an automatic transmission for a car I was building to race. 

A few years later I had taken a job in Southern California. Bob and his wife, Etta, showed up for the NHRA Winter Nationals driving a semi with four race cars strapped down on the trailer. I spent a couple of days with them but I’m sure I was of no help.

Several years later we connected again. I had moved back to Indianapolis and was an outside sales person for a company that sold fleet and industrial maintenance supplies. Bob had a shop on Emerson Avenue in Beech Grove. He became a good customer as well as a great friend. 

About eight years later I was promoted to district manager and sent to Michigan. There are a couple of NHRA drag strips in Western Michigan. I got to see the Gliddens several times when they traveled to Michigan for a race.

When I moved back to Indy we reconnected at his Whiteland facility. 

Near the end of our visit two months ago, Bob noticed Stuart, my therapy dog, sitting in my car. I let Stuart out and Bob played with him.

A couple of weeks ago I found out that Bob was hospitalized with major heart problems. I didn’t know what hospital so I drove to his house to see if anyone was around to provide information. Bob’s wife answered the door and told me that he had just arrived home from the hospital and there were some hospice people with him.

She invited me in and said I could visit with Bob when hospice folks leave. When they left I talked to Bob, who seemed to be in good spirits while holding his great-grandchild on his lap. We had a couple of good laughs. 

Near the end of our conversation, Bob asked me how Stuart was doing. I told him that Stuart was in the car and probably napping. “Bring him in here,” he said. They reconnected at once.
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I am so happy that we got to have that last visit with Bob Glidden, who died Dec. 17. 

I really enjoy being with family and friends at Christmastime.

A couple of days ago I was considering a nap but I started thinking about Christmases of yore. 

My family (Mom, Dad, sister Kathy and myself) always went to my mom’s parents’ house for Christmas Eve. Every time I drive south from the Fountain Square area down Shelby Street I think about those visits.
On Christmas afternoon we drove around to visit my dad’s family. I remember that one of my uncles was always proud of the new underwear that he had received. Sometimes he also got some socks.

We lived on Madison Avenue at that time, and I recall getting my first bicycle from Santa. Since Madison was a two-lane state highway at that time and there were no bike lanes, I was restricted to riding my bicycle in our driveway. It was really cool when I could go through neighbors’ backyards to get to ride on Morgan Drive.

My newspaper routes were nice to have around Christmas. I always had a small gift for my customers, and I was always treated to some nice gifts from them. Sometimes the saddlebags on my bicycle was packed full of boxes of Cherry Cordials.

When my father owned his service station, Christmas was the only day that we were not open. 

During the years that we had our auto repair business and the fleet of school buses in the building (now Long’s Bakery) in Southport, we always had a Christmas party for our bus drivers. 

I spent a few Christmases in Southern California when I was single. Those holidays were spent with my co-workers’ families. One year I was invited to three or four homes. 

A few years later I returned to Indianapolis, got married and had a son. Those Christmases were so special. We would have an Indianapolis Christmas with family here and then go to Ohio and spend some time at my wife’s parents.

When we moved to Michigan things got a bit more complicated. I always liked driving the Michigan-to-Indiana-to-Ohio-and-back-to- Michigan triangle, which became a 10-year tradition. 

After returning to Indianapolis I started a small business on Main Street in Greenwood. It was special to begin making new friends and reconnecting with friends from earlier times. 

A wonderful lady who I met at my office surprised me one day by giving me a Santa Claus suit. It had been handmade by her mother for her father. I felt so honored and thought about them each time I wore that suit at Christmas parties.

I wore the suit to my daughter’s house and waved at my grandsons from the sidewalk because I didn’t want them to recognize my eyes or voice. 

A couple of years ago I contacted the daughter of the woman who gave me the suit. I told her that my time to be Santa had expired and I would love to put that suit back into its original family.
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My wife, Lyn, Stuart, our therapy dog, and I hope you have a special and memorable Christmas.

Things seem to be getting holiday busy around our house. 

My wife, Lyn, and I made our annual trip to Brown County in late November to celebrate our anniversary, and we took Stuart, our therapy dog, with us.

Our drive time took a little longer than normal because of all the road work.

It was a beautiful day, and Nashville wasn’t that crowded. We visited several businesses that allowed Stuart to come in with us. Sometimes he just curled up in the car for a nap.

We drove over to the main office of Brown County Schools, where Dr. Laura Hammack is the superintendent. I got to know her when she served as an assistant superintendent for Beech Grove Schools.  The receptionist told me that Dr. Hammack would be getting out of a meeting soon. 

I asked the receptionist to tell her, “Stuart is here to see you.” 

Dr. Hammack later told me that she was excited to hear that message and that she knew exactly who Stuart was. 

The next day The Perry Township/Southport Historical Society held its meeting. 

Over the years the society has collected many old newspapers from the Southside, including The Spotlight and The Perry Township Weekly, and many of those were on display. Some of the papers were so old and fragile that we were asked not to touch them. 

Jerry Cosby, former Spotlight owner and publisher, attended the meeting and shared some stories.

Barry Browning, the society’s former president, coordinated the program. On one occasion he pointed to a couple of old newspapers and told an amazing story. He told us that one of them was started as a Southside weekly and a few years later the other one was a weekly based in Beech Grove.

Both of those papers was launched by George Dudgeon, a Southsider who was stricken with polio when he was 5. He graduated from Southport High, where he was involved in the journalism program, and attended  Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis).

The journalism department at Indiana Central ended up in the red for about $100 the year before George enrolled. This was probably due to not enough ads sold in the yearbook. George took over those responsibilities his freshman year, and the journalism budget was in the green around Christmas.

Mr. Dudgeon accomplished and learned many things during his freshman year. So much so that he figured he had learned enough. He dropped out and started his first newspaper circa 1925.

In 1932 he started a bicycle store at Madison and Epler avenue. It later became The Supreme Bicycle Shop, which he owned and operated until 1992.

George was 100 when he died in 2004. He was confined to a wheelchair for many years, but he was a bicycle legend. He trained Little 500 teams for more than 20 years and won the race 10 times.

There are so many wonderful stories about Southside people and businesses. I have so much fun being involved with the society. I bet you would enjoy being a member. 

Editor’s note: Stuart, the therapy dog of Southsider Voice columnist Fred Shonk and his wife, Lyn, is back at the keyboard. This time he’s writing about the latest events in his life.

The end of fall and the beginning of winter is one of my favorite times of the year because we go to Brown County. 

We visited Dr. Laura Hammack. I hadn’t seen her in a while, and when I heard we were going to stop at her office I trembled a little. I’m generally not a big fan of doctors offices. 

She used to work for Beech Grove Schools, but now she does stuff at Brown County Schools. It was so much fun to see her. She is a nice lady. 

Back home we have had a few sad days. A couple of my animal friends died: Charlie, one of my canine pals; and Alberta, one of our chickens.

I had been friends with Charlie and Libby for a long time. They come over to visit and check out the creek that is next to our yard. A couple of years ago a new friend, Rowan, started to stop by. When she visits she brings her human mom, Lora. I enjoy running with Rowan, but she likes to run for a long time. I generally stop and try to communicate to humans about our need for tasty treats.

We got word that Charlie got sick and had crossed The Rainbow Bridge. It’s sad now when we see Libby and Rowan without Charlie.

Alberta was one of my mom’s three chickens. Alberta got sick and I heard my human folks – Fred and Lyn – talking about a visit to a veterinarian’s office. I quickly passed the word to all of my animal buddies. A few hours later Mom and Dad came home without her. It was explained to me that Alberta had also crossed The Rainbow Bridge.

I still really miss Alberta and Charlie, but when I think about them my tail starts swishing from side to side.

We have been having a great time visiting at the nursing facilities, and our reading program at Beech Grove Schools is also special. I have six or seven elementary school students who read to me every Thursday. I’m sure you can understand how tough it is to have to lay quietly and have students read to me. I am one lucky fellow.

Now, I have something really important to tell everyone. Last year my neighbor Charlie O’Donkey (yes, he is a real donkey) and I spent some time at the Kroger at Madison and Edgewood avenues helping The Salvation Army. We had so much fun greeting people and thanking them for their donations. We will to do it again from 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Saturday at the same place. 

Be sure to read my dad’s weekly column in this paper to get an update on our adventure.
Merry Christmas from all of us in our house and backyard!

Rowan and Libby (neighborhood dogs), Betty and Jackie (our chickens), Guessie (the neighborhood cat) and me.