Susie Duncan Sexton's Blog, page 37
February 24, 2012
that is a brave move.
so the hoosier state plans to ban smoking except in bars and casinos?
alcoholism and gambling are fine and dandy? and devouring mammals (in those same eating establishments) which causes breast, colon and prostate cancer is hunky dory? not to mention ingesting flesh and organs causing diabetes and parkinson's disease? chow down...but first watch the film EARTHLINGS!
honestly, watching these films and reading books and articles and listening to lectures by scientists who have earned their doctorates should be required of all...and for those who cannot read, we can offer to read this scientific information to them...probably have to tie many to chairs for the duration...but they will be changed.
many too cowardly to sit still and watch or read or listen, but not too cowardly when they place a burger into their salivating mouths. that is a brave move. toxic to the human gastro-intestinal tract, and human teeth far from comparable to only four meat-eaters on our planet one of whom is the saber-toothed tiger.
we EVOLVED to eat veggies...and no meat and no dairy products. so if one feels sickly, the reason probably is a lifetime of gluttony -- swallowing substances toxic to our fragile little bods.
corporate america kills animals...and people...we are all mammals and we are not healthy nor wealthy nor wise. we are victims. to complain about our health is ludicrous -- visit a slaughterhouse...hitch a ride with pigs, cattle, chickens as they travel frightened and crowded together and freezing in a semi tooling up and down our highways full of vehicles emitting carcinogens from mufflers. ah, breathe in that deadly air. second hand smoke pales by comparison.
wow, what a convoluted ride. of course, we are not actually eating our relatives because, according to creationism which may be taught alongside evolution in our school system from which monies have been withheld, adam and eve and their two sons, one of whom was murdered by the other, are our parents somehow and animals are only on earth for our convenience anyway...and when they inconvenience us we kill them...and then gobble them up...then artificially impregnate to make more and etc. etc. and so forth.
400 million dollars is generated by our state's allowance of hunting so that the poor and prisoners can eat donated flesh which supposedly is diseased? 2300 jobs for relatives are available statewide to keep the licenses flowing from the DNR. not only are mass fatalities happening to hoosier animals but to some "hunters" as well and to by-standers just playing basketball near some field somewhere.
one out of three deaths is due to meat eating. i did not make any of this up...except maybe the adam and eve stuff...and i am not available for rationalizing-rebuttals.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
alcoholism and gambling are fine and dandy? and devouring mammals (in those same eating establishments) which causes breast, colon and prostate cancer is hunky dory? not to mention ingesting flesh and organs causing diabetes and parkinson's disease? chow down...but first watch the film EARTHLINGS!
honestly, watching these films and reading books and articles and listening to lectures by scientists who have earned their doctorates should be required of all...and for those who cannot read, we can offer to read this scientific information to them...probably have to tie many to chairs for the duration...but they will be changed.
many too cowardly to sit still and watch or read or listen, but not too cowardly when they place a burger into their salivating mouths. that is a brave move. toxic to the human gastro-intestinal tract, and human teeth far from comparable to only four meat-eaters on our planet one of whom is the saber-toothed tiger.
we EVOLVED to eat veggies...and no meat and no dairy products. so if one feels sickly, the reason probably is a lifetime of gluttony -- swallowing substances toxic to our fragile little bods.
corporate america kills animals...and people...we are all mammals and we are not healthy nor wealthy nor wise. we are victims. to complain about our health is ludicrous -- visit a slaughterhouse...hitch a ride with pigs, cattle, chickens as they travel frightened and crowded together and freezing in a semi tooling up and down our highways full of vehicles emitting carcinogens from mufflers. ah, breathe in that deadly air. second hand smoke pales by comparison.
wow, what a convoluted ride. of course, we are not actually eating our relatives because, according to creationism which may be taught alongside evolution in our school system from which monies have been withheld, adam and eve and their two sons, one of whom was murdered by the other, are our parents somehow and animals are only on earth for our convenience anyway...and when they inconvenience us we kill them...and then gobble them up...then artificially impregnate to make more and etc. etc. and so forth.
400 million dollars is generated by our state's allowance of hunting so that the poor and prisoners can eat donated flesh which supposedly is diseased? 2300 jobs for relatives are available statewide to keep the licenses flowing from the DNR. not only are mass fatalities happening to hoosier animals but to some "hunters" as well and to by-standers just playing basketball near some field somewhere.
one out of three deaths is due to meat eating. i did not make any of this up...except maybe the adam and eve stuff...and i am not available for rationalizing-rebuttals.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 23, 2012
I shall never stop
I am a hoosier and i have battled deer murders in this backward state forever now...and the stubborn nature of folks shuts my mouth and ignores my mind and stomps on my heart at every turn.
but i continue because i have yet to suffer the indignities and horrors that these poor purposely over-bred gentle beings endure.
I shall never stop.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
but i continue because i have yet to suffer the indignities and horrors that these poor purposely over-bred gentle beings endure.
I shall never stop.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 20, 2012
...where is charlton heston BTW?
...i am appalled that the more i learn the more i am aware of all the money to be made from an overpopulation of cats, dogs, deer, etc. actually being encouraged...bodies for cash move down more avenues than can be imagined. and those who are profiting speak out of both sides of their lying mouths.
i wonder who or what any of us might be eating...where is charlton heston BTW?
and the few barons at the top could give a rat's a$$, and we are so indoctrinated with propaganda that evidently way too many of us refuse stubbornly to evolve?
boggles my mind to argue about killing and the subsequent devouring of animals, whether diseased or malnourished or full of drugs or mad or frozen for decades...we eat decaying corpses of mammals which is what we are i.e. mammals, only we are equipped with fragile intestinal systems (colon cancer directly results from meat lust) and sissy little teeth...
we are not lions or saber-toothed tigers or bears last time i looked?
...killing? either for it or against it...wanton slaughter for profit is wrong. let nature be...let it be. it is not to be toyed with or prostituted for personal monetary gain. which is happening big time. murder, inc. and man can live by veggies alone... meat is toxic and that is the reason for one out of three deaths. hunter/gatherer language invented by those who think they speak a language which will indoctrinate lazy minds.
propaganda for profit. our teeth not designed to eat other mammals...neither is our digestive tract. guilt causes stubbornness...OR intelligent review and change...wisdom dictates the latter. we are all pansies but our brains are supposedly larger than the "beasts'" thus we should start using them? ;D
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
i wonder who or what any of us might be eating...where is charlton heston BTW?
and the few barons at the top could give a rat's a$$, and we are so indoctrinated with propaganda that evidently way too many of us refuse stubbornly to evolve?
boggles my mind to argue about killing and the subsequent devouring of animals, whether diseased or malnourished or full of drugs or mad or frozen for decades...we eat decaying corpses of mammals which is what we are i.e. mammals, only we are equipped with fragile intestinal systems (colon cancer directly results from meat lust) and sissy little teeth...
we are not lions or saber-toothed tigers or bears last time i looked?
...killing? either for it or against it...wanton slaughter for profit is wrong. let nature be...let it be. it is not to be toyed with or prostituted for personal monetary gain. which is happening big time. murder, inc. and man can live by veggies alone... meat is toxic and that is the reason for one out of three deaths. hunter/gatherer language invented by those who think they speak a language which will indoctrinate lazy minds.
propaganda for profit. our teeth not designed to eat other mammals...neither is our digestive tract. guilt causes stubbornness...OR intelligent review and change...wisdom dictates the latter. we are all pansies but our brains are supposedly larger than the "beasts'" thus we should start using them? ;D
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 16, 2012
Latest Homeward Angle: “A STITCH IN TIME…SAVES NINE!”
“A STITCH IN TIME…SAVES NINE!” by Susie Duncan Sexton
“Money talks but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk and long as I can have you here with me, I'd much rather be forever in blue jeans …” ~ Neil Diamond
Bustling about vacuuming, I gingerly avoided three or four disembodied hairballs deposited by two of my best friends ever, Tristan and Isolde, kitties named after legendary star-crossed lovers who cohabited in the Middle Ages. Nice save! I deserved -- break-time! I willingly succumbed to Facebook monitoring where I discovered a lively string of conversation which had been prompted by a nostalgic link called “Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana” -- specializing in memorable trivia.
Captivated by a familiar pair of lovingly worn-out jeans serving as a profile picture, Phoebe Gallagher Roehrs happened onto a discussion of our local Blue Bell plant's probably manufacturing more Wranglers, coveralls, and bib overalls than any other source upon our entire globe! I noticed a post from Bazil Jackson who wrote about his family’s treasured copies of our local plant’s monthly newspaper which either my mom or Majorie Cullimore Anders had dubbed for posterity the…”Stitch ‘N Times”. My dad’s secretary Phyllis Mattix, employee Ruth Runion, and factory nurse Beverly Bevington served as editors.
A week-end visit quickly followed at Bazil’s house where his loyal dog Keyona received alternating pats on her head from Don, me, Don, Bazil, me, etc. We laughed, sometimes nearly cried, as we passed around several copies of the fantastic retro-newspaper. Bob Hiss, Cliff Blanchard, John Moyer, Paul Zumbrun, Clela Richards, Joy Murbach Heinbaugh, Lawrence Wolfe, Erma Travelbee, Ray Ummel, Jack Crabill, Floyd Sullivan, Sheldon Marrs, Cliff Balyeat, Larry Kneller, Tom Hontz, Don York, Bill Winters, Richard Fleck, Bertha Grable, Lucille Scott, and three Jackson family members met our intent gazes A picture of the world’s tallest cowboy (on stilts we presumed), wearing the lengthiest inseam garment ever crafted by Blue Bell, Inc., begs to be seen to be believed! We enjoyed anecdotes, original poetry, announcements, jokes, accounts of successful operations within each Hoosier plant -- whether located in C.C., North Webster, Nappanee or Warsaw -- photos of company picnics at Center Lake in Kosciusko County as well as Christmas parties with Jay Smith as a jolly Santa, and “Identify This Child Who is a Current Employee” snapshot-riddles.
My dad at age 10, sporting knickers and a tiny tweed jacket, was featured in a July, 1950, issue. Aha, I knew the answer! Another informal photograph of my pop chatting with employees nestled itself within a collection of some 20 candid shots. Most fun though was a story entitled: "Roy Duncan Gives a Friendly Greeting!"
From September, 1958: “Walking along a crowded Chicago avenue last Saturday, Roy Duncan thought he recognized a familiar face, although the person’s name escaped him temporarily; so with a friendly tone he greeted the approaching man and received an amiable reply. Much to his wife and daughters’ surprise, and even Mr. Duncan’s, the familiar face was that of the TV ("Father Knows Best”) and movie star, Robert Young.”
Bazil single-handedly provided a welcome respite from winter doldrums with his appreciation for how the past informs the present. Keyona, pining for her recently deceased mama named Lady, also participated in our happy afternoon. I marveled that 70 years after my dad commenced his management of four Midwestern factories, stories and snapshots filling those exceptional, lovingly crafted newspapers -- which focused intently and positively on employees’ lives at home-work-play -- resonated on that February afternoon while we turned pages, sharing LIFE which happened only just yesterday it seemed.
Most times the advantages of small-town living outweigh occasional smatterings of negatives. After we waved good-bye to Bazil and Keyona, we lunched at Bob Haisley’s new restaurant and enjoyed viewing Bob’s gallery of 1930s KODAK ads, all impressively displayed on freshly painted walls. These posters, discovered in the former Washburn building which once housed a photography studio upstairs, beckon us to review another era when folks were scrambling for a living – the Depression years. Blue Bell arrived locally at that same exact time, its headquarters located down South in Greensboro, North Carolina. This handsome Whitley Street factory, constructed in 1932, continues to stand proudly in all of its art deco glory to this day, having employed nearly everyone in town --"and his brother" --at one time or another. Bazil’s grandmother Venia and her son Sgt. Delmar Jackson -- among those on the payroll – punched the time clock, and both individuals peppered the pages of “Stitch ‘N Times”! We surprisingly met Delmar’s wife at McDonald’s later that evening for the first time -- out of the blue! Only in a small town!
Thank, Bazil, for loaning me your family’s beautifully preserved “Stitch ‘N Times” issues. Although primarily a dog person, thus perky little Keyona and I bonded immediately as she pranced down memory lane with the three of us, when I returned to my house that evening with my packet of Blue Bell newsletters, I pored through them all with several feline interruptions. Tristan and Isolde, ever curious as befits their species, reminded me that kitties also claim kinship with that 1732 phrase, “A stitch in time saves nine”…meaning to repair a tear quickly to prevent a bigger rip in material as time evolves. We rescued those lovebirds from traffic and Mother Nature’s quirky elements nearly 10 years ago, and as both appealingly nuzzled me while I read, I silently prayed for their health and happiness during the remainder of THEIR "nine lives"! Issie and Trissie qualify as the fabric and the tapestry of our existence. Ah, why fight the inevitable? I am a “cat woman” after all… barefoot, sweeping up fuzz, opening countless Friskies’ cans, endlessly filling water bowls, and also—in harmony with Neil Diamond’s melodic lyrics -- “Forever in (fur-covered) Blue Jeans”!
For extensive coverage of our local Blue Bell Company’s manufacturing operations throughout the 40s to the early 70s, please consult the Whitley County Historical Bulletin’s February 1987 issue for my archived article entitled : “Blue Bell Factory Revisited”! Enjoy! You can also find the article
here...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
“Money talks but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk and long as I can have you here with me, I'd much rather be forever in blue jeans …” ~ Neil Diamond
Bustling about vacuuming, I gingerly avoided three or four disembodied hairballs deposited by two of my best friends ever, Tristan and Isolde, kitties named after legendary star-crossed lovers who cohabited in the Middle Ages. Nice save! I deserved -- break-time! I willingly succumbed to Facebook monitoring where I discovered a lively string of conversation which had been prompted by a nostalgic link called “Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana” -- specializing in memorable trivia.
Captivated by a familiar pair of lovingly worn-out jeans serving as a profile picture, Phoebe Gallagher Roehrs happened onto a discussion of our local Blue Bell plant's probably manufacturing more Wranglers, coveralls, and bib overalls than any other source upon our entire globe! I noticed a post from Bazil Jackson who wrote about his family’s treasured copies of our local plant’s monthly newspaper which either my mom or Majorie Cullimore Anders had dubbed for posterity the…”Stitch ‘N Times”. My dad’s secretary Phyllis Mattix, employee Ruth Runion, and factory nurse Beverly Bevington served as editors.
A week-end visit quickly followed at Bazil’s house where his loyal dog Keyona received alternating pats on her head from Don, me, Don, Bazil, me, etc. We laughed, sometimes nearly cried, as we passed around several copies of the fantastic retro-newspaper. Bob Hiss, Cliff Blanchard, John Moyer, Paul Zumbrun, Clela Richards, Joy Murbach Heinbaugh, Lawrence Wolfe, Erma Travelbee, Ray Ummel, Jack Crabill, Floyd Sullivan, Sheldon Marrs, Cliff Balyeat, Larry Kneller, Tom Hontz, Don York, Bill Winters, Richard Fleck, Bertha Grable, Lucille Scott, and three Jackson family members met our intent gazes A picture of the world’s tallest cowboy (on stilts we presumed), wearing the lengthiest inseam garment ever crafted by Blue Bell, Inc., begs to be seen to be believed! We enjoyed anecdotes, original poetry, announcements, jokes, accounts of successful operations within each Hoosier plant -- whether located in C.C., North Webster, Nappanee or Warsaw -- photos of company picnics at Center Lake in Kosciusko County as well as Christmas parties with Jay Smith as a jolly Santa, and “Identify This Child Who is a Current Employee” snapshot-riddles.
My dad at age 10, sporting knickers and a tiny tweed jacket, was featured in a July, 1950, issue. Aha, I knew the answer! Another informal photograph of my pop chatting with employees nestled itself within a collection of some 20 candid shots. Most fun though was a story entitled: "Roy Duncan Gives a Friendly Greeting!"
From September, 1958: “Walking along a crowded Chicago avenue last Saturday, Roy Duncan thought he recognized a familiar face, although the person’s name escaped him temporarily; so with a friendly tone he greeted the approaching man and received an amiable reply. Much to his wife and daughters’ surprise, and even Mr. Duncan’s, the familiar face was that of the TV ("Father Knows Best”) and movie star, Robert Young.”
Bazil single-handedly provided a welcome respite from winter doldrums with his appreciation for how the past informs the present. Keyona, pining for her recently deceased mama named Lady, also participated in our happy afternoon. I marveled that 70 years after my dad commenced his management of four Midwestern factories, stories and snapshots filling those exceptional, lovingly crafted newspapers -- which focused intently and positively on employees’ lives at home-work-play -- resonated on that February afternoon while we turned pages, sharing LIFE which happened only just yesterday it seemed.
Most times the advantages of small-town living outweigh occasional smatterings of negatives. After we waved good-bye to Bazil and Keyona, we lunched at Bob Haisley’s new restaurant and enjoyed viewing Bob’s gallery of 1930s KODAK ads, all impressively displayed on freshly painted walls. These posters, discovered in the former Washburn building which once housed a photography studio upstairs, beckon us to review another era when folks were scrambling for a living – the Depression years. Blue Bell arrived locally at that same exact time, its headquarters located down South in Greensboro, North Carolina. This handsome Whitley Street factory, constructed in 1932, continues to stand proudly in all of its art deco glory to this day, having employed nearly everyone in town --"and his brother" --at one time or another. Bazil’s grandmother Venia and her son Sgt. Delmar Jackson -- among those on the payroll – punched the time clock, and both individuals peppered the pages of “Stitch ‘N Times”! We surprisingly met Delmar’s wife at McDonald’s later that evening for the first time -- out of the blue! Only in a small town!
Thank, Bazil, for loaning me your family’s beautifully preserved “Stitch ‘N Times” issues. Although primarily a dog person, thus perky little Keyona and I bonded immediately as she pranced down memory lane with the three of us, when I returned to my house that evening with my packet of Blue Bell newsletters, I pored through them all with several feline interruptions. Tristan and Isolde, ever curious as befits their species, reminded me that kitties also claim kinship with that 1732 phrase, “A stitch in time saves nine”…meaning to repair a tear quickly to prevent a bigger rip in material as time evolves. We rescued those lovebirds from traffic and Mother Nature’s quirky elements nearly 10 years ago, and as both appealingly nuzzled me while I read, I silently prayed for their health and happiness during the remainder of THEIR "nine lives"! Issie and Trissie qualify as the fabric and the tapestry of our existence. Ah, why fight the inevitable? I am a “cat woman” after all… barefoot, sweeping up fuzz, opening countless Friskies’ cans, endlessly filling water bowls, and also—in harmony with Neil Diamond’s melodic lyrics -- “Forever in (fur-covered) Blue Jeans”!
For extensive coverage of our local Blue Bell Company’s manufacturing operations throughout the 40s to the early 70s, please consult the Whitley County Historical Bulletin’s February 1987 issue for my archived article entitled : “Blue Bell Factory Revisited”! Enjoy! You can also find the article
here...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 13, 2012
Some musings...on rodeos & feral cats...and everything in between
it is a new world...took me some time to realize this myself! and wow, i am planted firmly in the new world order!
my dad attended rodeos in new york...and he would be totally receptive to the world-wide disdain now for rodeos...he would be sensitized...his nature was that of one of the kindest souls ever to walk the earth until he died.
he is dead now...i am here and i know his heart and i am proud to be an advocate for what is kind and correct.
i cannot be kind about killing...my father also had to be subservient to the country club bosses at the top who did that dick cheney cowardly stunt of canned/contained hunting...but i reached him on that score and he admitted that smoking cigars and pretending to be big guys shooting at frightened geese or doves or quail absolutely sucked in real time!
i no longer am proud of those rodeo glossies that i inherited with cowboys swigging martinis and smoking big stogies arms wrapped around in each other in odd odd macho revelry while some poor schnook loaded up the abused animals to be prodded and poked and tormented to buck the jerk-wads off their backs at the next hoedown for the ticket-buyers.
_________________________
no such thing as feral cats...there are however cats whom few care about who are foisted out on their own and must fend for themselves and reproduce like mad...
and disposable little feral kittens die by the bajillions under those circumstances...
feral = those victims about whom humans do not give one good damn...
who among us cannot relate to feeling pretty feral in the political climate festering these days where so many either hate...or become completely apathetic about life in general.
feral is a word toward which we humans are all headed if we forget to stop and help each other out and care. and that includes all sentient beings...get your hands a little muddy...reach out!
and learn to call violence and killing exactly what it is...violence and killing. start empathizing...oh, please? thanks!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
my dad attended rodeos in new york...and he would be totally receptive to the world-wide disdain now for rodeos...he would be sensitized...his nature was that of one of the kindest souls ever to walk the earth until he died.
he is dead now...i am here and i know his heart and i am proud to be an advocate for what is kind and correct.
i cannot be kind about killing...my father also had to be subservient to the country club bosses at the top who did that dick cheney cowardly stunt of canned/contained hunting...but i reached him on that score and he admitted that smoking cigars and pretending to be big guys shooting at frightened geese or doves or quail absolutely sucked in real time!
i no longer am proud of those rodeo glossies that i inherited with cowboys swigging martinis and smoking big stogies arms wrapped around in each other in odd odd macho revelry while some poor schnook loaded up the abused animals to be prodded and poked and tormented to buck the jerk-wads off their backs at the next hoedown for the ticket-buyers.
_________________________
no such thing as feral cats...there are however cats whom few care about who are foisted out on their own and must fend for themselves and reproduce like mad...
and disposable little feral kittens die by the bajillions under those circumstances...
feral = those victims about whom humans do not give one good damn...
who among us cannot relate to feeling pretty feral in the political climate festering these days where so many either hate...or become completely apathetic about life in general.
feral is a word toward which we humans are all headed if we forget to stop and help each other out and care. and that includes all sentient beings...get your hands a little muddy...reach out!
and learn to call violence and killing exactly what it is...violence and killing. start empathizing...oh, please? thanks!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 11, 2012
i am in an eternal state of conflict...
i am in an eternal state of conflict which i wouldn't wish on anyone.
i want everybody in the entire world to nurture all animals of the world, therefore, CONFLICT -- just part of my psyche that i try once in a while to ignore -- doesn't work! i imagine i am not alone in those feelings...i get all empathetic and then the thinking part kicks in and then CONFLICT again.
there have been many instances where i faltered and i'll never forgive myself.
it is so easy to figure every human being and every animal out...just takes patience which sometimes i run out of.
shame on me.
thou shalt not kill...such a simple sentence...what about that sentence are people failing to comprehend i wonder...and why are children being encouraged to hunt and kill?
a complete mystery to me...such violence means that either stupidity is at work or supreme cruelty.
hurting and killing are simply not acceptable...two choices, either supporting of murder or not.
i am not. not ever. i am appalled at anybody who does.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
i want everybody in the entire world to nurture all animals of the world, therefore, CONFLICT -- just part of my psyche that i try once in a while to ignore -- doesn't work! i imagine i am not alone in those feelings...i get all empathetic and then the thinking part kicks in and then CONFLICT again.
there have been many instances where i faltered and i'll never forgive myself.
it is so easy to figure every human being and every animal out...just takes patience which sometimes i run out of.
shame on me.
thou shalt not kill...such a simple sentence...what about that sentence are people failing to comprehend i wonder...and why are children being encouraged to hunt and kill?
a complete mystery to me...such violence means that either stupidity is at work or supreme cruelty.
hurting and killing are simply not acceptable...two choices, either supporting of murder or not.
i am not. not ever. i am appalled at anybody who does.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 10, 2012
A brief ode to Issie...
Anxiety changed to relief...sadness turned to happiness. ♥
Pills transform the ailing heart as certainly as a caress.
I write of my own tiny adopted best friend, a cat! =^..^=
I pray ALL other homeless animals find love--and that's that!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Pills transform the ailing heart as certainly as a caress.
I write of my own tiny adopted best friend, a cat! =^..^=
I pray ALL other homeless animals find love--and that's that!
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
February 7, 2012
“Once Upon a December…” and Hello, 2012!
Latest "Old Type Writer" column! In “'Once Upon a December…' and Hello, 2012!" I reflect on the whirlwind that occurs when one year ends and one begins. Add in writing and promoting a new book, enjoying the fun and fellowship of friends old and new, and preparing for a presentation to Columbia City Rotary, and you have the recipe for a zany adventure.
www.talkofthetownwc.com/oldtypewriter
“Once Upon a December…” and Hello, 2012! By Susie Duncan Sexton
Without one doubt whatsoever the final month of each successive year sends me into an absolute tailspin! December’s always super-special within our family, for several glorious reasons, and outdid itself in 2011!
Some new folks entered our lives. Darlene Wright, Teresa Dowell and Nelleen LaFever wrote beautiful letters of appreciation sent to our mailbox.
Jerry Freewalt called with the most supportive words I may have ever heard from another living soul outside of Bob Wannberg and Paul Schrade. Mick Long sat beside us at Coldwater Crossing Theater Complex during our shared enraptured viewing of Stephen Spielberg’s incredibly moving new film “War Horse”, which all of us in attendance literally applauded even though “Joey” the cavalry horse onscreen could not hear our thunderous appreciation.
Cookie trays from neighbors sustained us. Our longtime pal Larry Wardlaw got dubbed Ft. Wayne’s Citizen of the Year! Noel Phegley shall ne’er be forgot. Susan Grabner Wilson (the best cursive writer of all time), Melinda Boyer Kelly (who collected more Riverside Dairy milk bottle caps than I managed to squirrel away into my flip-top desk), and I revisited fourth grade and our West Ward days. Keith Kleespie presented us with a poignant photograph. Nicky and Ricky included us in their New Year’s celebration. The Langohrs and Bakers are such gracious folks, and we shall miss beautiful Jean.
Jane Uhlrich boosted my confidence as she exited Parkview Hospital on December 27th…we stood outside in the falling snow, she a released patient and I about to present a program to Rotarians.
Our son turned Jack Benny’s age right after Christmas, and in his new status escorted his ma to a Rotarian speaking gig at our new hospital. He practically had to drag me there although I am a seasoned speaker and thespian. Stage fright nearly carried me away for weeks on end before this appearance. My nervousness might be the culprit that caused me to mis-step upon our staircase one week prior to the holidays, nearly demolishing my tailbone as I thudded down, down, down. My mind seldom concentrated itself upon preparations for the manic season but rather dwelled upon a pronounced phobia of speaking in public – about my newly published e-book the topic of which is (drum-roll): my mildly candid observations of this community and my “coming of age” here.
Rotary once got circled on calendars as a Wednesday evening event in Columbia City, our own Grover’s Corners, and high school girls, assisting with the “Men Only” club’s weekly suppers at Grace Lutheran Church, used to quarrel over who would serve Mr. Roy Duncan, my exceptionally handsome young father.
Lois Jean Adams Fahl confided this truism to me several times. I attended a total of two meetings as a child, once as a participant in “father/daughter” night and the other at the First Presbyterian Church, to hear a program presented by a seamstress/doll enthusiast who had fashioned inaugural ball gowns, dressing a series of tiny mannequins representing all “first ladies” ever, from Martha Washington through Mamie Eisenhower, the then-current President (General) Ike’s wife! Jacqueline Bouvier, my favorite, probably had recently accepted “Jack” Kennedy’s diamond ring and wedding proposal, so she had yet to join the miniature stationary/runway/red carpet extravaganza!
Thus, some 55 years later, here was I about to “speak formally” to Rotarians ranging from “young enough to be my children” to such stalwarts as Mr. Elmer Heinley and my very own grammar school principal Mr. Dale Pence as well as a quartet of “girls” I attended high school with during the sixties! Dr. John Meier, seated directly across from me while documenting -- in words and photographs -- my presentation, husband Don and son Roy flanking me, and Jim Banks introducing me … all unbeknownst to themselves … added considerably to my angst! Yet they were all very receptive and wonderfully attentive and smiling at me and often laughing at my jittery sense of humor???? Even Mike Rush behaved like a gentleman when I razzed him about his past and squealed (a reverse) “mic check” his direction several times. I feared he might be a potential heckler, so I headed him off – at the pass!
There I stood at the podium, breathless and nervously coughing as beads of sweat accumulated on my furrowed brow. I once appeared in stage plays and musicals and sang solos and delivered speeches at National Forensic League competitions, and I majored in Speech at Ball State. Hyperventilating to beat the band, I am delighted that I did not swoon and faint right there on that spot before God and everybody!
Remembering to thank members Jennifer Romano and Rick Kreps for their support and for publishing my monthly columns “Old Type…Writer” and “Homeward Angle” respectively, I proceeded to ad lib unleashed, like a house on fire, until reading aloud an excerpt from my e-book “Secrets of an Old Typewriter…Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small-town Girl” (NOT my title, but suggested by my editor-publisher located in Greece).
Poised upon the podium a beautiful framed cover of my ethereal book, my life’s-work -- which only appears in its entirety on a Kindle or Nook or Computer screen—evoked my acknowledgment to an exquisitely talented Polish lady artist whose depiction of me as an inaccurately tiny-waisted silhouette thrills my soul beyond measure! (My sales are high in Germany so I do feel appropriately “international” these days, a citizen of the world!)
Now, after what seemed an interminable passage of time (to me -- let alone the club members no doubt), I concluded with a bit of a bow/curtsy.
However, comical Al Anderson literally shouted, “Question!”
Stunned, I silently prayed that his query would be gentle and inconsequential and easy to answer?
“How much do you cost?” he asked.
“Four bucks and 99 cents…” I replied.
Then I added that I was “cheap”-- but that he might already have heard that theory around town.
What a fabulous and cordial audience; yet how delighted I felt that finally I could plop into a chair -- upon my very sore coccyx (or vestigial tail/tale) once again. “Resting on my laurels”, so to speak…chatting with old friends after the “show”!
On the ride back home, we laughed that I very nearly had replicated the “Shrine Scene” from our 1963 high school production of “Bye Bye Birdie” -- cavorting with fezzed male club members within a private banquet room, behind closed doors. (Math teacher Miss Berniece Carver, “back in the day”, almost succeeded in censoring that particular musical number.)
We recalled Mr. Heinley being photographed with me as he reminisced about shoveling snow for my dad at the Blue Bell parking lot, then rewarded with a steaming cherry pie fresh from Ft. Wayne’s Char-king -- for oodles of consecutive years about a half century ago.
John Meier’s very amiable and complimentary “Axle Grease” coverage appeared that same afternoon via e-mail. Camera-shy and for good reason, I marveled at my (bad-)side-view double chin and another snap-shot of me resembling Macaulay Culkin in the film “Home Alone” and a group photo of my family all lined against a wall similarly to the doomed Romanovs, me in the middle with the prissiest demeanor humanly imaginable! No fault of the gifted dentist!
However, reporter John likened me –in print-- to that former surveillance expert of all time, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover—perhaps I agree somewhat regarding the resemblance? However, I most certainly never would have wiretapped phone calls of JFK or Dr. Martin Luther King, nor do I ever, ever wear dresses! (My book entitled “SECRETS OF AN OLD TYPEWRITER…Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small-Town Girl” can be accessed at my web-site www.susieduncansexton.com, and I am available for live readings and sharing of collective memories as far back as anyone can possibly remember – please leave your cameras at home though? I am very shy.)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
www.talkofthetownwc.com/oldtypewriter
“Once Upon a December…” and Hello, 2012! By Susie Duncan Sexton
Without one doubt whatsoever the final month of each successive year sends me into an absolute tailspin! December’s always super-special within our family, for several glorious reasons, and outdid itself in 2011!
Some new folks entered our lives. Darlene Wright, Teresa Dowell and Nelleen LaFever wrote beautiful letters of appreciation sent to our mailbox.
Jerry Freewalt called with the most supportive words I may have ever heard from another living soul outside of Bob Wannberg and Paul Schrade. Mick Long sat beside us at Coldwater Crossing Theater Complex during our shared enraptured viewing of Stephen Spielberg’s incredibly moving new film “War Horse”, which all of us in attendance literally applauded even though “Joey” the cavalry horse onscreen could not hear our thunderous appreciation.
Cookie trays from neighbors sustained us. Our longtime pal Larry Wardlaw got dubbed Ft. Wayne’s Citizen of the Year! Noel Phegley shall ne’er be forgot. Susan Grabner Wilson (the best cursive writer of all time), Melinda Boyer Kelly (who collected more Riverside Dairy milk bottle caps than I managed to squirrel away into my flip-top desk), and I revisited fourth grade and our West Ward days. Keith Kleespie presented us with a poignant photograph. Nicky and Ricky included us in their New Year’s celebration. The Langohrs and Bakers are such gracious folks, and we shall miss beautiful Jean.
Jane Uhlrich boosted my confidence as she exited Parkview Hospital on December 27th…we stood outside in the falling snow, she a released patient and I about to present a program to Rotarians.
Our son turned Jack Benny’s age right after Christmas, and in his new status escorted his ma to a Rotarian speaking gig at our new hospital. He practically had to drag me there although I am a seasoned speaker and thespian. Stage fright nearly carried me away for weeks on end before this appearance. My nervousness might be the culprit that caused me to mis-step upon our staircase one week prior to the holidays, nearly demolishing my tailbone as I thudded down, down, down. My mind seldom concentrated itself upon preparations for the manic season but rather dwelled upon a pronounced phobia of speaking in public – about my newly published e-book the topic of which is (drum-roll): my mildly candid observations of this community and my “coming of age” here.
Rotary once got circled on calendars as a Wednesday evening event in Columbia City, our own Grover’s Corners, and high school girls, assisting with the “Men Only” club’s weekly suppers at Grace Lutheran Church, used to quarrel over who would serve Mr. Roy Duncan, my exceptionally handsome young father.
Lois Jean Adams Fahl confided this truism to me several times. I attended a total of two meetings as a child, once as a participant in “father/daughter” night and the other at the First Presbyterian Church, to hear a program presented by a seamstress/doll enthusiast who had fashioned inaugural ball gowns, dressing a series of tiny mannequins representing all “first ladies” ever, from Martha Washington through Mamie Eisenhower, the then-current President (General) Ike’s wife! Jacqueline Bouvier, my favorite, probably had recently accepted “Jack” Kennedy’s diamond ring and wedding proposal, so she had yet to join the miniature stationary/runway/red carpet extravaganza!
Thus, some 55 years later, here was I about to “speak formally” to Rotarians ranging from “young enough to be my children” to such stalwarts as Mr. Elmer Heinley and my very own grammar school principal Mr. Dale Pence as well as a quartet of “girls” I attended high school with during the sixties! Dr. John Meier, seated directly across from me while documenting -- in words and photographs -- my presentation, husband Don and son Roy flanking me, and Jim Banks introducing me … all unbeknownst to themselves … added considerably to my angst! Yet they were all very receptive and wonderfully attentive and smiling at me and often laughing at my jittery sense of humor???? Even Mike Rush behaved like a gentleman when I razzed him about his past and squealed (a reverse) “mic check” his direction several times. I feared he might be a potential heckler, so I headed him off – at the pass!
There I stood at the podium, breathless and nervously coughing as beads of sweat accumulated on my furrowed brow. I once appeared in stage plays and musicals and sang solos and delivered speeches at National Forensic League competitions, and I majored in Speech at Ball State. Hyperventilating to beat the band, I am delighted that I did not swoon and faint right there on that spot before God and everybody!
Remembering to thank members Jennifer Romano and Rick Kreps for their support and for publishing my monthly columns “Old Type…Writer” and “Homeward Angle” respectively, I proceeded to ad lib unleashed, like a house on fire, until reading aloud an excerpt from my e-book “Secrets of an Old Typewriter…Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small-town Girl” (NOT my title, but suggested by my editor-publisher located in Greece).
Poised upon the podium a beautiful framed cover of my ethereal book, my life’s-work -- which only appears in its entirety on a Kindle or Nook or Computer screen—evoked my acknowledgment to an exquisitely talented Polish lady artist whose depiction of me as an inaccurately tiny-waisted silhouette thrills my soul beyond measure! (My sales are high in Germany so I do feel appropriately “international” these days, a citizen of the world!)
Now, after what seemed an interminable passage of time (to me -- let alone the club members no doubt), I concluded with a bit of a bow/curtsy.
However, comical Al Anderson literally shouted, “Question!”
Stunned, I silently prayed that his query would be gentle and inconsequential and easy to answer?
“How much do you cost?” he asked.
“Four bucks and 99 cents…” I replied.
Then I added that I was “cheap”-- but that he might already have heard that theory around town.
What a fabulous and cordial audience; yet how delighted I felt that finally I could plop into a chair -- upon my very sore coccyx (or vestigial tail/tale) once again. “Resting on my laurels”, so to speak…chatting with old friends after the “show”!
On the ride back home, we laughed that I very nearly had replicated the “Shrine Scene” from our 1963 high school production of “Bye Bye Birdie” -- cavorting with fezzed male club members within a private banquet room, behind closed doors. (Math teacher Miss Berniece Carver, “back in the day”, almost succeeded in censoring that particular musical number.)
We recalled Mr. Heinley being photographed with me as he reminisced about shoveling snow for my dad at the Blue Bell parking lot, then rewarded with a steaming cherry pie fresh from Ft. Wayne’s Char-king -- for oodles of consecutive years about a half century ago.
John Meier’s very amiable and complimentary “Axle Grease” coverage appeared that same afternoon via e-mail. Camera-shy and for good reason, I marveled at my (bad-)side-view double chin and another snap-shot of me resembling Macaulay Culkin in the film “Home Alone” and a group photo of my family all lined against a wall similarly to the doomed Romanovs, me in the middle with the prissiest demeanor humanly imaginable! No fault of the gifted dentist!
However, reporter John likened me –in print-- to that former surveillance expert of all time, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover—perhaps I agree somewhat regarding the resemblance? However, I most certainly never would have wiretapped phone calls of JFK or Dr. Martin Luther King, nor do I ever, ever wear dresses! (My book entitled “SECRETS OF AN OLD TYPEWRITER…Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small-Town Girl” can be accessed at my web-site www.susieduncansexton.com, and I am available for live readings and sharing of collective memories as far back as anyone can possibly remember – please leave your cameras at home though? I am very shy.)
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
January 31, 2012
"Blue Bell Factory Revisited" [From the February 1987 Whitley County Historical Society "Bulletin"]
Many People Remember Blue Bell [From the February 1987 Whitley County Historical Society "Bulletin"]
The daughter of the man some people refer to as "Mr. Blue Bell" in Columbia City has chosen to write the following article for our publication. One of the largest employers for over 40 years in the community, the Blue Bell factory touched many lives in more ways than a place to work and to earn a living. To many individuals, it was like a family with hard work and fun times to remember.
"Blue Bell Factory Revisited"
By Susie Duncan Sexton
FOR OVER FOUR DECADES the impressions one observed after mounting the nine concrete steps to the main entrance of Columbia City's Blue Bell factory included the following: glistening highly-polished hardwood floors of native elm from Whitley County, sweeping blades of nearly 200 ceiling fans, pungent smells of massive bolts of blue denim metamorphosing into rugged garments for work and play, rivets, lot numbers, inventories, the thudding and subsequent steaming and hissing of permanent press machines, thread cones, cost improvement, fatigue factors, tapered legs, flare legs, hem stitchers, button inspectors, white pockets, inseams, piece goods, bins of finished garments categorized by size, style, and dye lot, lines of whirring sewing machines, elongated cutting tables, dollies loaded with bundles, salt pills, water coolers, Dictaphones, swivel office chairs at massive desks and busy switchboards. These were all ingredients of a handsome brick building at 307 South Whitley Street that was very much alive and teaming with industrious, loyal workers dedicated to performing their tasks with a constant eye toward a quality Wrangler product.
The many visitors became part of the building's history. These included touring classes of school children, senators, congressmen, representatives from foreign countries who were interested in duplicating the plant's operations, and officials from Blue Bell's national headquarters at Greensboro, North Carolina. Others were from some of the nation's largest industries which were Blue Bell's important suppliers, such as Universal Button Company, Scovill Manufacturing Company and Coats and Clark.
A huge sign above the factory's entrance read: "World's Largest Producer of Work and Play Clothes." A lesser known slogan, but one very familiar among Blue Bell personnel was "The Big Company that pays attention to little things."
Of topmost concern to the Blue Bell company was the welfare and contentment of its employees. Quoted from the August 1944 issue of The Southern Garment Manufacturers' Magazine, ' 'It is worthwhile to note that seldom have Blue Bell's key people left to join other organizations. For one thing the Blue Bell family relationships are based on mutual goodwill and respect. Furthermore, it is a Blue Bell policy that if the company does well, everyone from top to bottom will share in its success."
Brief History of Building
Work clothes were manufactured by the Superior Garment Company in Columbia City in 1907. The building was on East Ellsworth Street behind the bowling alley. This firm merged with Globe Manufacturing Company of Abingdon, Illinois, in 1926 and was known as Globe Superior. In January 1932 the Blue Bell building at 307 South Whitley Street was opened. It was described as "the most modern overall factory in the United States" according to the January 4, 1934 Columbia City Post.
Products manufactured at the plant at that time were overalls, jackets, blanket lined coats, and waistband overalls, all made of chiefly blue denim material.
The town's citizens were proud of this new architectural addition to the southeast end of Columbia City, due partly to the fact that business people of the community had contributed $15,000 toward the building's construction. However, the completion of construction was marred by tragedy when Kenneth Magley's light plane buzzed so low over the building site that it caught on a telephone wire and crashed into a car, killing Mel Miller, owner of the local Ford Agency, and Willis Leininger, who was sitting on the car's running board. Magley's uncle, Virgil Brumbaugh, a passenger in the plane, was also killed. Mr. Magley, who had been operating a steam shovel at the construction site, was hospitalized for several weeks. The accident occurred October 4, 1931.
Nationally, Blue Bell, Inc. was founded by Charles Hudson in Greensboro, North Carolina, while R. W. Baker originated a company known as Big Ben. Big Ben and Blue Bell merged January 1, 1926. The name of the company was changed in August of 1930 to Blue Bell Overall Company. In 1936 the company became known as Blue Bell-Globe. Blue Bell bought out Globe Superior in that same year and changed the name to Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company. J. C. Fox became president and directing head of operations for the new company, the result of the merger between the world's two largest garment manufacturers. According to Blue Bell: Its History, the resulting organization "practically corresponds to the United States Steel Company of the work clothes business." Blue Bell-Globe grew extensively as it merged with other companies and became nationally known through progressive advertising campaigns. The name of the local plant became simply Blue Bell, Inc. in 1943. Blue Bell's first large acquisition after its name change was the Casey Jones Company in 1944. The plants in Blue Bell in 1936 were located in Greensboro, N.C. and Middleboro, Kentucky. Globe Superior plants were located in Abingdon and Canton, Illinois, Commerce, Georgia, and Columbia City. The products included bib overalls and dungarees.
Physical Aspects of Structure
The three-story brick building in Columbia City contained 25,000 square feet per floor. Though market demands dictated changes from time to time, the basement area was the location for the cutting department. In this location 50 thicknesses of material were stenciled and cut with a six-inch blade cutting machine which moved up and down with such rapidity that workers had to be highly skilled in its operation. This operation was masterfully handled so that there was minimal wasted cloth.
The main floor housed the offices and the shipping department, the loading docks being located at the north and east sides of the building. The receiving room was consistently full of bolts of denim shipped to Columbia City from Alabama and Mississippi. The baling operation also occurred at this level as boxes were banded after applying air pressure which compressed shipping cartons into firm containers. The centrally located giant scale, built into the hardwood floor, was the next destination of these cartons. The boxes were weighed, marked, and delivered to the trucks waiting at the loading docks.
The top floor, perhaps the liveliest floor, where surging (individual pattern pieces being joined in a continuous chain), ticket making (sewing a leather ticket on the "W" trademark hip pocket), joining (joining left and right front of the garment), felling (joining the front and back half together), zipper tacking and waistbanding, all of these steps kept busy feminine fingers flying in the sewing department. Prior to and during World War II, sewing machines occupied nearly the entire floor. After the war, the number of machines was reduced. The demand for combat pants, jungle suits, regulation khaki dress pants and shirts, and fatigue clothing had ceased. Government workers returned to their home offices. Blue Bell resumed the manufacture of work clothes and also diversified into children's play clothes and casual apparel for women. The initial use of the stopwatch and slide rule had led to assembly-line production of the first order.
Duncan Becomes Local Manager
Roy E. Duncan became the local division manager in February 1942, supervising plants in Columbia City, Nappanee, Warsaw and North Webster. The manager preceding him was Albert L. Lomax. To quote the Whitley County Observer, February 23, 1967, "... it (is) apparent that the success and growth of the company is due to its very capable management team and their attention to even the smallest detail in the operation." Manager Duncan was well aware that Blue Bell's loyal and dedicated employees, who became a "family," had contributed mightily to these successful and productive years.
The local Blue Bell operation was truly appreciative of its work force during its years of expansion, accommodating the part-time schedules of the busy housewives whose sewing proficiency was vital to the industry. Interior renovations to update the surroundings and make the work place pleasing to the eye, conversion of the Vandalia Depot on the north side of the building to a lush, tree lined park, and replacement of a coal yard with an employee parking lot were all improvements. The Blue Bell Cafeteria, for approximately 12 years one of Whitley County's finest eating establishments, had as its specialty Lucille Scott's meatloaf. Lucille worked at the Blue Bell 46 years and had worked 10 years prior to that in the garment industry for a total of 56 years. She was the manager of the cafeteria.
Other innovations were the conversion of a cloak room into a Canteen with vending machines, and a company store with an extensive inventory of Wrangler clothing manufactured by Blue Bell factories across the nation. These alterations and additions were designed to improve and enhance the working atmosphere for the industrious employees whose combined efforts produced approximately 250,000 dozen garments each year.
Reminiscences of Longtime Employees
A great portion of the joy of piecing together this Blue Bell article was interviewing many of those long-time employees who made up the local "Blue Bell Family." The process reminded me of that familiar childhood finger game: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the doors, and here are the people!" You see, what makes a building come to life are the people who inhabit it, and who make it bustle and hum and produce.
Don York, who worked in many aspects of production, confirmed my memory of a "few" ceiling fans by informing me that there were indeed 200 fans and that the addition of just one more would have sent the factory blasting off into the sky faster than a 747! Don should know as he worked his way up from bundle boy to a chief mechanic during his 26 years of employment.
Gladys Albert worked on white pockets, leg hemming, pitch hitting until she became one of Blue Bell's "best-ever" and most frequently recognized supervisors racking up 40 years with one company. In glancing over old copies of the local company's semi-monthly newspaper, STITCH 'N TIMES, (named by Mrs. Roy Duncan), one is impressed with a picture of Gladys being presented a dozen rose for quite simply being "a very good employee."
"Coach Leonard Barnum, who served as a carpenter during the summers of the early 50s, assisted in designing and building the bins on the top floor, which later were to bulge with finished Wrangler products. Leonard also lent his talents to the building of the Warsaw plant and indicated that he, along with countless other teachers and college students, was grateful for the opportunity for summer employment. Leonard shared the anecdote that the first day he reported to work Manager Duncan crept up behind him with a pair of scissors and began to cut the coach's Levi jeans off, starting with the pant legs. Once the competitor's product was removed, Mr. Duncan presented Mr. Barnum with a pair of durable Wranglers which Leonard still wears to this day.
Waldo Ferris spent many years as a sewing machine mechanic. He explained the cutting room, an area which called for artistry and a spirit of adventure. Waldo explained that the electric spreader was a machine which laid the massive bolts of material on the long cutting tables until the thickness was 50 layers. The cutting machine, which was a motor with six inch sharp blades attached, had to be pushed through the many thicknesses while masterfully following patterns stenciled onto the blue denim. Voila! Result? Piece Goods!
One of Blue Bell's many success stories was that of Treva Wolfe who rose from sewing operator to training specialist in her 48 years with the company. Treva and her husband Lawrence travelled extensively, assisting in the development of new plants in Alabama, Oklahoma, Canada, and, as Blue Bell began expanding into international markets, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, and a Wrangler unit in South Africa. Lawrence specialized in establishing office operations, while Treva concentrated on engineering and time studies. Treva referred to, the Blue Bell Company as a "life-line for an incredible number of people." She remembers that in the 30s and 40s, employees wore blue uniforms. Men were required to wear blue chambray shirts and women wore blue wrap around dresses with white collars. When all of these "blue" workers had lunch-breaks, the other citizens of Columbia City were well aware as the town was deluged in a sea of blue.
Bill Winters, presently manager of Indiana Knitwear Corporation served as a cutting room consultant during the last years he spent with Blue Bell. Mr. Winters was made acting manager of the local division in 1978 when the Greensboro office made the decision to phase out its midwest division. He shared an anecdote which brought back vivid memories of Roy Duncan, who had retired on December 31, 1974. Upon hearing that Mr. Winters was named acting manager, Mr. Duncan, although happily retired, rushed down to the plant, climbed the front steps, and entered the front office which he had previously occupied for 42 years. Mr. Duncan congratulated Bill heartily, requested that Manager Winters sit down at the executive desk, and sized up his loyal 26 year employee. Mr. Duncan liked what he saw and gave Mr. Winters his stamp of approval with a firm handshake and a smile which signified a heart full of pride.
Mr. Duncan Retires in 1974
At the time of Roy Duncan's retirement in 1974, E. F. Lucas, senior vice-president in charge of marketing wrote: "Roy, all of us know and appreciate what a great job you have done for Blue Bell in every way throughout the years. You have done so many goods things for Blue Bell that I wouldn't even try to list them here, but one thing stands out in my mind and that is your loyalty and support which has had great influence on many of our people, particularly the newer and/or younger people." The Duncan family received a letter from Rev. Harold Oechsle, former Columbia City Methodist minister, following Mr. Duncan's death in October of 1983. Rev. Oechsle concluded his message by writing: "Roy will be remembered for his warmth, charm and generosity. He had his own style toward life and was very much a Christian gentleman ... I know you are filled with joy remembering who he was and continues to be in our memories." This quotation captures not only Roy Duncan's personality but that of the Blue Bell family, those people whose perseverance and loyalty and caring for one another make Blue Bell memories very special ones indeed.
Phyllis Mattix Locks Door for Last Time
Phyllis Mattix began working for Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company on April 15, 1938. She ended her employment in the spring of 1978, assisting in the termination of the local operation. Phyllis, Robert Hiss, and Ermal Day were the last three employees to leave the building. Day was largely responsible for the development and upkeep of the park-like area north of the factory. Phyllis, Blue Bell's Gal Friday for precisely 40 years, literally locked up the building for the last time.
Just as the front door to the Columbia City division of Blue Bell, Incorporated—"World's Largest Producer of Work and Play Clothes"—was secured, at that very moment so were nearly half a century of memories. These memories included Christmas parties for employees' children where the little girls received dolls dressed by the factory's accomplished seamstresses, summer picnics at Center Lake in Warsaw or Camp Whit-ley grounds, special banquets followed by the Ice Capades for Columbia City's new teachers, plant parties with entertainment provided by well-known magicians and Nancy Lee and the Hilltoppers, luncheons for the Columbia City Joint High School Athletic Department, and the women's three-part harmony chorus billed as the Blue Bell Choraliers led by Mrs. B. V. (Flossie) Widney with Evelyn Zumbrun at the piano. Manufactured Wrangler jeans were worn by rodeo star Jim Shoulders and movie star Robert Mitchum in the motion picture entitled The Lusty Men, Roy Rogers, who wrote a personal note of thanks for his free pair of Wranglers. More memories include the popular company store called The Corral, company style shows, and visits from Dr. Roy Standahl of Blue Bell's Psychological Services Department who brought a scientific approach to employee selection and placement. Engineers and their families were transferred to the Columbia City division, and they became an integral part of our community and were missed greatly when they moved on. Finally, additional memories are of the STITCH 'N TIMES newspaper, Lucille's Cafeteria, the Canteen, Manager Roy Duncan's faith in the potential creativity and productivity of people, and of course, all of those diligent employees who gave years and years of loyal service toward the manufacture of a quality product.
Acknowledgments
To the following individuals for their recollections: Gladys Albert, Leonard Barnum, Waldo Ferris, Phyllis Matrix, Lucille Scott, William Winters, Treva Wolfe and Don York.
Blue Bell: Its History, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Bell Ringer, Blue Bell's national publication.
STITCH 'N TIMES, local Blue Bell division's publication.
The Observer, February 23, 1967, Vol. 3, No. 6.
"The History of Blue Bell, Inc.," from Southern Garment Manufacturer Magazine, 1944.
"Columbia City for Over 50 Years Home of an Overall Manufacturing Establishment," Columbia City Post, February 2, 1959.
"New Buildings Bring Employment Gain," Columbia City Post, January 4, 1934.
[Read more of Susie's writing at www.susieduncansexton.com]
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Randy Grimes
We look back over 1986 as a growing and changing year. We are very pleased with the renovation accomplished in 1986, and are looking forward to completing the last two rooms on the first floor of the Thomas R. Marshall Home. These are the parlor and the dining room.
We are awaiting the arrival of the final report and evaluation of the professional consultant from the American Association for State and Local History. He will be making recommendations on efficient use of museum space and use of additional buildings within Columbia City. The result of this study will be shared with anyone interested.
Plans have been made for the annual dinner April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the El Comedor Restaurant. The Spring Lecture Series will follow during the next three Thursday evenings. Some very interesting speakers are being chosen. It has been brought to our attention that a few Historical Markers are in need of repair in our county. We are investigating the cost at this time.
The Board of Directors of the Whitley County Historical Society meets on the first Thursday of each month. I personally invite you to come and see for yourself what is happening with your Society.
THE BULLETIN
THE BULLETIN is published by the Whitley County Historical Society, Columbia City, Indiana every other month: February, April, June, August, October and December, and is mailed to all Society members. THE BULLETIN is intended to bring to light and preserve stories, articles, anecdotes, accounts of the personalities and events, and pictures, all relating to Whitley County and its history. Readers are encouraged to contribute such material. The Society is a non-profit educational organization. New members are welcomed; types of membership are listed on the back cover. THE BULLETIN is printed by the Tribune-News Publishing Company, South Whitley, Indiana. The Society office is located in the Museum, 108 West Jefferson Street, Columbia City, IN 46725. Telephone (219) 244-6372 or 244-5931.
Note from the Editor
The pen and ink sketch of the Blue Bell building on the front cover of the February issue of The Bulletin is used courtesy of the Whitley County Art Guild. The artist is Phillis Mattix who was a long time employee at the factory. We are grateful to Susie Duncan Sexton who took such pleasure in writing the story of her father’s workplace.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
The daughter of the man some people refer to as "Mr. Blue Bell" in Columbia City has chosen to write the following article for our publication. One of the largest employers for over 40 years in the community, the Blue Bell factory touched many lives in more ways than a place to work and to earn a living. To many individuals, it was like a family with hard work and fun times to remember.
"Blue Bell Factory Revisited"
By Susie Duncan Sexton
FOR OVER FOUR DECADES the impressions one observed after mounting the nine concrete steps to the main entrance of Columbia City's Blue Bell factory included the following: glistening highly-polished hardwood floors of native elm from Whitley County, sweeping blades of nearly 200 ceiling fans, pungent smells of massive bolts of blue denim metamorphosing into rugged garments for work and play, rivets, lot numbers, inventories, the thudding and subsequent steaming and hissing of permanent press machines, thread cones, cost improvement, fatigue factors, tapered legs, flare legs, hem stitchers, button inspectors, white pockets, inseams, piece goods, bins of finished garments categorized by size, style, and dye lot, lines of whirring sewing machines, elongated cutting tables, dollies loaded with bundles, salt pills, water coolers, Dictaphones, swivel office chairs at massive desks and busy switchboards. These were all ingredients of a handsome brick building at 307 South Whitley Street that was very much alive and teaming with industrious, loyal workers dedicated to performing their tasks with a constant eye toward a quality Wrangler product.
The many visitors became part of the building's history. These included touring classes of school children, senators, congressmen, representatives from foreign countries who were interested in duplicating the plant's operations, and officials from Blue Bell's national headquarters at Greensboro, North Carolina. Others were from some of the nation's largest industries which were Blue Bell's important suppliers, such as Universal Button Company, Scovill Manufacturing Company and Coats and Clark.
A huge sign above the factory's entrance read: "World's Largest Producer of Work and Play Clothes." A lesser known slogan, but one very familiar among Blue Bell personnel was "The Big Company that pays attention to little things."
Of topmost concern to the Blue Bell company was the welfare and contentment of its employees. Quoted from the August 1944 issue of The Southern Garment Manufacturers' Magazine, ' 'It is worthwhile to note that seldom have Blue Bell's key people left to join other organizations. For one thing the Blue Bell family relationships are based on mutual goodwill and respect. Furthermore, it is a Blue Bell policy that if the company does well, everyone from top to bottom will share in its success."
Brief History of Building
Work clothes were manufactured by the Superior Garment Company in Columbia City in 1907. The building was on East Ellsworth Street behind the bowling alley. This firm merged with Globe Manufacturing Company of Abingdon, Illinois, in 1926 and was known as Globe Superior. In January 1932 the Blue Bell building at 307 South Whitley Street was opened. It was described as "the most modern overall factory in the United States" according to the January 4, 1934 Columbia City Post.
Products manufactured at the plant at that time were overalls, jackets, blanket lined coats, and waistband overalls, all made of chiefly blue denim material.
The town's citizens were proud of this new architectural addition to the southeast end of Columbia City, due partly to the fact that business people of the community had contributed $15,000 toward the building's construction. However, the completion of construction was marred by tragedy when Kenneth Magley's light plane buzzed so low over the building site that it caught on a telephone wire and crashed into a car, killing Mel Miller, owner of the local Ford Agency, and Willis Leininger, who was sitting on the car's running board. Magley's uncle, Virgil Brumbaugh, a passenger in the plane, was also killed. Mr. Magley, who had been operating a steam shovel at the construction site, was hospitalized for several weeks. The accident occurred October 4, 1931.
Nationally, Blue Bell, Inc. was founded by Charles Hudson in Greensboro, North Carolina, while R. W. Baker originated a company known as Big Ben. Big Ben and Blue Bell merged January 1, 1926. The name of the company was changed in August of 1930 to Blue Bell Overall Company. In 1936 the company became known as Blue Bell-Globe. Blue Bell bought out Globe Superior in that same year and changed the name to Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company. J. C. Fox became president and directing head of operations for the new company, the result of the merger between the world's two largest garment manufacturers. According to Blue Bell: Its History, the resulting organization "practically corresponds to the United States Steel Company of the work clothes business." Blue Bell-Globe grew extensively as it merged with other companies and became nationally known through progressive advertising campaigns. The name of the local plant became simply Blue Bell, Inc. in 1943. Blue Bell's first large acquisition after its name change was the Casey Jones Company in 1944. The plants in Blue Bell in 1936 were located in Greensboro, N.C. and Middleboro, Kentucky. Globe Superior plants were located in Abingdon and Canton, Illinois, Commerce, Georgia, and Columbia City. The products included bib overalls and dungarees.
Physical Aspects of Structure
The three-story brick building in Columbia City contained 25,000 square feet per floor. Though market demands dictated changes from time to time, the basement area was the location for the cutting department. In this location 50 thicknesses of material were stenciled and cut with a six-inch blade cutting machine which moved up and down with such rapidity that workers had to be highly skilled in its operation. This operation was masterfully handled so that there was minimal wasted cloth.
The main floor housed the offices and the shipping department, the loading docks being located at the north and east sides of the building. The receiving room was consistently full of bolts of denim shipped to Columbia City from Alabama and Mississippi. The baling operation also occurred at this level as boxes were banded after applying air pressure which compressed shipping cartons into firm containers. The centrally located giant scale, built into the hardwood floor, was the next destination of these cartons. The boxes were weighed, marked, and delivered to the trucks waiting at the loading docks.
The top floor, perhaps the liveliest floor, where surging (individual pattern pieces being joined in a continuous chain), ticket making (sewing a leather ticket on the "W" trademark hip pocket), joining (joining left and right front of the garment), felling (joining the front and back half together), zipper tacking and waistbanding, all of these steps kept busy feminine fingers flying in the sewing department. Prior to and during World War II, sewing machines occupied nearly the entire floor. After the war, the number of machines was reduced. The demand for combat pants, jungle suits, regulation khaki dress pants and shirts, and fatigue clothing had ceased. Government workers returned to their home offices. Blue Bell resumed the manufacture of work clothes and also diversified into children's play clothes and casual apparel for women. The initial use of the stopwatch and slide rule had led to assembly-line production of the first order.
Duncan Becomes Local Manager
Roy E. Duncan became the local division manager in February 1942, supervising plants in Columbia City, Nappanee, Warsaw and North Webster. The manager preceding him was Albert L. Lomax. To quote the Whitley County Observer, February 23, 1967, "... it (is) apparent that the success and growth of the company is due to its very capable management team and their attention to even the smallest detail in the operation." Manager Duncan was well aware that Blue Bell's loyal and dedicated employees, who became a "family," had contributed mightily to these successful and productive years.
The local Blue Bell operation was truly appreciative of its work force during its years of expansion, accommodating the part-time schedules of the busy housewives whose sewing proficiency was vital to the industry. Interior renovations to update the surroundings and make the work place pleasing to the eye, conversion of the Vandalia Depot on the north side of the building to a lush, tree lined park, and replacement of a coal yard with an employee parking lot were all improvements. The Blue Bell Cafeteria, for approximately 12 years one of Whitley County's finest eating establishments, had as its specialty Lucille Scott's meatloaf. Lucille worked at the Blue Bell 46 years and had worked 10 years prior to that in the garment industry for a total of 56 years. She was the manager of the cafeteria.
Other innovations were the conversion of a cloak room into a Canteen with vending machines, and a company store with an extensive inventory of Wrangler clothing manufactured by Blue Bell factories across the nation. These alterations and additions were designed to improve and enhance the working atmosphere for the industrious employees whose combined efforts produced approximately 250,000 dozen garments each year.
Reminiscences of Longtime Employees
A great portion of the joy of piecing together this Blue Bell article was interviewing many of those long-time employees who made up the local "Blue Bell Family." The process reminded me of that familiar childhood finger game: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the doors, and here are the people!" You see, what makes a building come to life are the people who inhabit it, and who make it bustle and hum and produce.
Don York, who worked in many aspects of production, confirmed my memory of a "few" ceiling fans by informing me that there were indeed 200 fans and that the addition of just one more would have sent the factory blasting off into the sky faster than a 747! Don should know as he worked his way up from bundle boy to a chief mechanic during his 26 years of employment.
Gladys Albert worked on white pockets, leg hemming, pitch hitting until she became one of Blue Bell's "best-ever" and most frequently recognized supervisors racking up 40 years with one company. In glancing over old copies of the local company's semi-monthly newspaper, STITCH 'N TIMES, (named by Mrs. Roy Duncan), one is impressed with a picture of Gladys being presented a dozen rose for quite simply being "a very good employee."
"Coach Leonard Barnum, who served as a carpenter during the summers of the early 50s, assisted in designing and building the bins on the top floor, which later were to bulge with finished Wrangler products. Leonard also lent his talents to the building of the Warsaw plant and indicated that he, along with countless other teachers and college students, was grateful for the opportunity for summer employment. Leonard shared the anecdote that the first day he reported to work Manager Duncan crept up behind him with a pair of scissors and began to cut the coach's Levi jeans off, starting with the pant legs. Once the competitor's product was removed, Mr. Duncan presented Mr. Barnum with a pair of durable Wranglers which Leonard still wears to this day.
Waldo Ferris spent many years as a sewing machine mechanic. He explained the cutting room, an area which called for artistry and a spirit of adventure. Waldo explained that the electric spreader was a machine which laid the massive bolts of material on the long cutting tables until the thickness was 50 layers. The cutting machine, which was a motor with six inch sharp blades attached, had to be pushed through the many thicknesses while masterfully following patterns stenciled onto the blue denim. Voila! Result? Piece Goods!
One of Blue Bell's many success stories was that of Treva Wolfe who rose from sewing operator to training specialist in her 48 years with the company. Treva and her husband Lawrence travelled extensively, assisting in the development of new plants in Alabama, Oklahoma, Canada, and, as Blue Bell began expanding into international markets, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, and a Wrangler unit in South Africa. Lawrence specialized in establishing office operations, while Treva concentrated on engineering and time studies. Treva referred to, the Blue Bell Company as a "life-line for an incredible number of people." She remembers that in the 30s and 40s, employees wore blue uniforms. Men were required to wear blue chambray shirts and women wore blue wrap around dresses with white collars. When all of these "blue" workers had lunch-breaks, the other citizens of Columbia City were well aware as the town was deluged in a sea of blue.
Bill Winters, presently manager of Indiana Knitwear Corporation served as a cutting room consultant during the last years he spent with Blue Bell. Mr. Winters was made acting manager of the local division in 1978 when the Greensboro office made the decision to phase out its midwest division. He shared an anecdote which brought back vivid memories of Roy Duncan, who had retired on December 31, 1974. Upon hearing that Mr. Winters was named acting manager, Mr. Duncan, although happily retired, rushed down to the plant, climbed the front steps, and entered the front office which he had previously occupied for 42 years. Mr. Duncan congratulated Bill heartily, requested that Manager Winters sit down at the executive desk, and sized up his loyal 26 year employee. Mr. Duncan liked what he saw and gave Mr. Winters his stamp of approval with a firm handshake and a smile which signified a heart full of pride.
Mr. Duncan Retires in 1974
At the time of Roy Duncan's retirement in 1974, E. F. Lucas, senior vice-president in charge of marketing wrote: "Roy, all of us know and appreciate what a great job you have done for Blue Bell in every way throughout the years. You have done so many goods things for Blue Bell that I wouldn't even try to list them here, but one thing stands out in my mind and that is your loyalty and support which has had great influence on many of our people, particularly the newer and/or younger people." The Duncan family received a letter from Rev. Harold Oechsle, former Columbia City Methodist minister, following Mr. Duncan's death in October of 1983. Rev. Oechsle concluded his message by writing: "Roy will be remembered for his warmth, charm and generosity. He had his own style toward life and was very much a Christian gentleman ... I know you are filled with joy remembering who he was and continues to be in our memories." This quotation captures not only Roy Duncan's personality but that of the Blue Bell family, those people whose perseverance and loyalty and caring for one another make Blue Bell memories very special ones indeed.
Phyllis Mattix Locks Door for Last Time
Phyllis Mattix began working for Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company on April 15, 1938. She ended her employment in the spring of 1978, assisting in the termination of the local operation. Phyllis, Robert Hiss, and Ermal Day were the last three employees to leave the building. Day was largely responsible for the development and upkeep of the park-like area north of the factory. Phyllis, Blue Bell's Gal Friday for precisely 40 years, literally locked up the building for the last time.
Just as the front door to the Columbia City division of Blue Bell, Incorporated—"World's Largest Producer of Work and Play Clothes"—was secured, at that very moment so were nearly half a century of memories. These memories included Christmas parties for employees' children where the little girls received dolls dressed by the factory's accomplished seamstresses, summer picnics at Center Lake in Warsaw or Camp Whit-ley grounds, special banquets followed by the Ice Capades for Columbia City's new teachers, plant parties with entertainment provided by well-known magicians and Nancy Lee and the Hilltoppers, luncheons for the Columbia City Joint High School Athletic Department, and the women's three-part harmony chorus billed as the Blue Bell Choraliers led by Mrs. B. V. (Flossie) Widney with Evelyn Zumbrun at the piano. Manufactured Wrangler jeans were worn by rodeo star Jim Shoulders and movie star Robert Mitchum in the motion picture entitled The Lusty Men, Roy Rogers, who wrote a personal note of thanks for his free pair of Wranglers. More memories include the popular company store called The Corral, company style shows, and visits from Dr. Roy Standahl of Blue Bell's Psychological Services Department who brought a scientific approach to employee selection and placement. Engineers and their families were transferred to the Columbia City division, and they became an integral part of our community and were missed greatly when they moved on. Finally, additional memories are of the STITCH 'N TIMES newspaper, Lucille's Cafeteria, the Canteen, Manager Roy Duncan's faith in the potential creativity and productivity of people, and of course, all of those diligent employees who gave years and years of loyal service toward the manufacture of a quality product.
Acknowledgments
To the following individuals for their recollections: Gladys Albert, Leonard Barnum, Waldo Ferris, Phyllis Matrix, Lucille Scott, William Winters, Treva Wolfe and Don York.
Blue Bell: Its History, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Bell Ringer, Blue Bell's national publication.
STITCH 'N TIMES, local Blue Bell division's publication.
The Observer, February 23, 1967, Vol. 3, No. 6.
"The History of Blue Bell, Inc.," from Southern Garment Manufacturer Magazine, 1944.
"Columbia City for Over 50 Years Home of an Overall Manufacturing Establishment," Columbia City Post, February 2, 1959.
"New Buildings Bring Employment Gain," Columbia City Post, January 4, 1934.
[Read more of Susie's writing at www.susieduncansexton.com]
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Randy Grimes
We look back over 1986 as a growing and changing year. We are very pleased with the renovation accomplished in 1986, and are looking forward to completing the last two rooms on the first floor of the Thomas R. Marshall Home. These are the parlor and the dining room.
We are awaiting the arrival of the final report and evaluation of the professional consultant from the American Association for State and Local History. He will be making recommendations on efficient use of museum space and use of additional buildings within Columbia City. The result of this study will be shared with anyone interested.
Plans have been made for the annual dinner April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the El Comedor Restaurant. The Spring Lecture Series will follow during the next three Thursday evenings. Some very interesting speakers are being chosen. It has been brought to our attention that a few Historical Markers are in need of repair in our county. We are investigating the cost at this time.
The Board of Directors of the Whitley County Historical Society meets on the first Thursday of each month. I personally invite you to come and see for yourself what is happening with your Society.
THE BULLETIN
THE BULLETIN is published by the Whitley County Historical Society, Columbia City, Indiana every other month: February, April, June, August, October and December, and is mailed to all Society members. THE BULLETIN is intended to bring to light and preserve stories, articles, anecdotes, accounts of the personalities and events, and pictures, all relating to Whitley County and its history. Readers are encouraged to contribute such material. The Society is a non-profit educational organization. New members are welcomed; types of membership are listed on the back cover. THE BULLETIN is printed by the Tribune-News Publishing Company, South Whitley, Indiana. The Society office is located in the Museum, 108 West Jefferson Street, Columbia City, IN 46725. Telephone (219) 244-6372 or 244-5931.
Note from the Editor
The pen and ink sketch of the Blue Bell building on the front cover of the February issue of The Bulletin is used courtesy of the Whitley County Art Guild. The artist is Phillis Mattix who was a long time employee at the factory. We are grateful to Susie Duncan Sexton who took such pleasure in writing the story of her father’s workplace.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
January 29, 2012
i cry every day...empathy is the only word i believe captures what seems to be missing
Following is a series of excerpts from a Facebook conversation I had last night with a wonderful friend and animal rights activist Trish Chambers:
___________________________
i cry every day...those who brag about never crying or wonder about crying? make me really wonder about their ability to feel and empathize...how sad NOT to cry. (and some of those types make others cry BTW)
i am totally flabbergasted at the insane lack of caring...i can barely bear to observe it one more second...it is an epidemic of apathy...zombie time...where is rod serling when we need him...very creepy how self-centered people are. and i stand by that. cannot literally believe it. keep caring...means we are alive and have hearts...brave hearts that do not mince words.
certainly there are many many like us who think our same thoughts. i enjoy the comments from people who realize the significance of life and caring ... i do not enjoy how haunted i feel though from blank stares and the inability or the stubborn-ness to NOT connect or to simply argue or to refuse to reach out to other people -- and animals who are literally being massacred and demeaned and tortured with seemingly no second thoughts or acknowledgment from us of the physical pain and the horror.
when we venture out we wonder where sincere friendliness has gotten to and return home and scratch our heads. empathy is the only word i believe captures what seems to be missing...and there are hosts of folks who do possess empathy and yes i admit i do love those people the best and wish that quality would proliferate.
humans are becoming more and more isolated from one another and so hypercritical without true understanding or taking real time to appreciate others and to let them know that they do in real time not after death. human relationships seem to be going into the toilet...and facebook just reflects the human condition. it can be such fun and then someone gets snarky without fail so even hiding from each other via facebook is not always working i guess... ;D
these moments when some of us click are magic and i believe as meaningful as face to face contact. i enjoy facebook immensely but those times when shallow differences and adolescent behavior erupt boggle my mind --and mind sets toward prejudice and hatred established in people.
just like in life...we have to allow for each others' differences. but those who act as if they sanction killing? beyond comprehension to me. thanks for for being there for others...truly being there...not superficially either.
i can usually recognize the keepers! and there are many. the rest maybe will connect with somebody else. so they can go their own ways. but the time for universally contemplating our own navels and licking our own wounds should be over...look around at those who really suffer like these poor "unimportant" living beings we discard like garbage and then go to a restaurant and eat them and discuss our weight and our health and chow down.
cannot watch anymore.
we eat vegetarian at home. i recommend that and do not give a hoot or a holler who might disagree with what is humane and sensible. some folks never change and that is their misfortune.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
___________________________
i cry every day...those who brag about never crying or wonder about crying? make me really wonder about their ability to feel and empathize...how sad NOT to cry. (and some of those types make others cry BTW)
i am totally flabbergasted at the insane lack of caring...i can barely bear to observe it one more second...it is an epidemic of apathy...zombie time...where is rod serling when we need him...very creepy how self-centered people are. and i stand by that. cannot literally believe it. keep caring...means we are alive and have hearts...brave hearts that do not mince words.
certainly there are many many like us who think our same thoughts. i enjoy the comments from people who realize the significance of life and caring ... i do not enjoy how haunted i feel though from blank stares and the inability or the stubborn-ness to NOT connect or to simply argue or to refuse to reach out to other people -- and animals who are literally being massacred and demeaned and tortured with seemingly no second thoughts or acknowledgment from us of the physical pain and the horror.
when we venture out we wonder where sincere friendliness has gotten to and return home and scratch our heads. empathy is the only word i believe captures what seems to be missing...and there are hosts of folks who do possess empathy and yes i admit i do love those people the best and wish that quality would proliferate.
humans are becoming more and more isolated from one another and so hypercritical without true understanding or taking real time to appreciate others and to let them know that they do in real time not after death. human relationships seem to be going into the toilet...and facebook just reflects the human condition. it can be such fun and then someone gets snarky without fail so even hiding from each other via facebook is not always working i guess... ;D
these moments when some of us click are magic and i believe as meaningful as face to face contact. i enjoy facebook immensely but those times when shallow differences and adolescent behavior erupt boggle my mind --and mind sets toward prejudice and hatred established in people.
just like in life...we have to allow for each others' differences. but those who act as if they sanction killing? beyond comprehension to me. thanks for for being there for others...truly being there...not superficially either.
i can usually recognize the keepers! and there are many. the rest maybe will connect with somebody else. so they can go their own ways. but the time for universally contemplating our own navels and licking our own wounds should be over...look around at those who really suffer like these poor "unimportant" living beings we discard like garbage and then go to a restaurant and eat them and discuss our weight and our health and chow down.
cannot watch anymore.
we eat vegetarian at home. i recommend that and do not give a hoot or a holler who might disagree with what is humane and sensible. some folks never change and that is their misfortune.
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
