Another birthday in Heaven for our beloved Stan!  The office at West Bend News & Print is not the same without him here,  telling his wild, made up stories or telling his memories of Antwerp in the past.

He made an impact on the lives of numerous people and will always be loved and missed. 

Please enjoy these articles pulled from our archives to add a little bit of Stan back in our paper in  remembrance of his birthday. 

(originally 11/25/15)

ON THIS “GETTING OLD” CRAP

By: Stan Jordan

You have heard some of the glorious lines about the sunset years, the golden years, the beauty of getting old and many other flowery lines about the active life in your later years written by some young fellow.

Yes I know you are very fortunate if the powers that be let you live to be in your 90’s. That brings you into the metallic years, silver in your hair, gold in your teeth, aluminum in some of your joints, iron in your blood, lead in your fanny, and sometimes even iron rods in your bones.

You are lucky if you live to be 90, as you are bombarded with lead all of your life in some form or other. Such as, lead in your gasoline, lead in paint, lead in the use of x–rays, your fishing sinkers were made of lead, ceramics contain lead, everything, even batteries contain lead. If you are in the military, you use bullets and they have lead in them, and the government outlawed some of their usage.

There are many elements that see to it you don’t live to be 90. You are considered an old man, you are slow, un- steady, shaky, top heavy, can’t think or remember things. – and don’t want any help. Your fingers are stiff and you can’t button buttons, you don’t see very well, you can’t hear very well and you probably have store bought teeth. You grunt when you are putting on your socks, someone has to explain to you the punch line of a good joke. If you have Med- ical issues and are on medicare with a supplemental insurance you are as welcome as the flowers in May at any medical institution. A fellow told me once, a worker works January, February, and most of March before he has paid all of his check deductions.

This year the federal government has seen fit not to allow the cost of living raise to senior citizens, but did see fit to raise the amount you pay for your Medicare insurance. If they would pay closer attention to some of these so called “non–profit” hospitals, they could reduce our taxes. Ben Franklin told me once, “There will always be death

and taxes.” That phrase is 250 years old and is just as true today. But for us to keep up this beautiful living, in this greatest country in the world, we must pay our taxes.

I have been in this country for 91 years and would like to enjoy a few more yet.

See Ya!

(originally 12/23/15)

FUNNY BLONDE ONE LINERS

Why did the blonde get fired from the banana plantation? Because she threw out all the bent ones.

What do you do if a blonde throws a grenade at you? Pull the pin and throw it back.

What do you call a fly buzzing inside a blonde’s head? A space invader.

What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant? “Are you sure it’s mine?”

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.

How do you make a blonde laugh on Saturday? Tell her a joke on Wednesday.

Why do blondes have TGIF on their shoes? Toes go in first!

Why did the blonde scale the glass wall? To see what was on the other side.

The blonde went into the store and there was a sign “All the peanuts you want for $1.00” so she took $2.00 worth.

The blonde went into the funeral parlor and saw the corpse dressed really nice and she wondered where he was going.

(originally 7/11/17)

Rerun on Blonde jokes

By: Stan Jordan

• There was two blondes fishing from a boat in Wisconsin when the game warden moved in beside them. He noticed that they would cast out and then retrieved their bait as usual, but at the end of the line was a magnet, not a hook.

The warden praised them a little for trying to clean up the beer cans and junk from the floor of the lake.

The one blonde said to the other, “That dummy, don’t he know that there are steelhead trout in this lake?”

• Blondie came home from work and found her house had been ransacked, so she called the police to report a robbery.

The K-9 unit was right in the area, so he told dispatch that he would answer the call.

So he parked in her driveway and got out his dog and went walking up to the house, and blondie growled to herself and said, “ Just my luck, I call the police and they send a blindman!”

• Picture this, there was a blonde standing on of each side the street. The one shouted across the street to the other blonde and asked, “How do I get across the street?” 

The other blonde says, “You are already across the street.” 

• I know a blonde who used Raid for her underarms.

• Blondie was going to bake up a double batch of cookies but she couldn’t get the over up to 700 degrees.

• Blondie was so clumsy she would stumble over the wire to her cell phone.

• Blondie answered a knock at the door, and the man said he was with the census bureau and they wanted to know how many people in the U.S. Blondie asked, “Well why ask me?” 

See ya!

EAGLES

(originally 12/23/15)

By: Stan Jordan

The leaves are pretty much off the trees now and you can see the eagles’ nest pretty easily. Some people told me the other day that they had seen two adult and three young eagles, north and east of An- twerp.

I was talking to some other folks, and they said they said there is an eagles’ nest close to the area where the Briceton Road, or CR 87, crosses Flat Rock Creek. That is probably a good place, with plenty of water and small wild life.

The eagles are getting more acclimated to the area as nests have been sighted for some time now at the little town of Florida, Independence and a number in the Defiance area, Antwerp and east of Cecil. I hear from people sighting the eagles at Hicksville, Bull Rap- ids, Gar Creek Road and the Payne area.

An eagle will eat road kill, just like a buzzard will, but the eagle would rather have some live game to teach their young how to hunt.

I was talking to a truck driver today and he said their is an eagle’s nest over in Indiana where Ohio SR 249 enters. They are slowly populating this area.

Mark Larimore told me that he saw two young eaglets the other day. They still had a black head, but they were eagles because of their size. I haven’t talked to anybody that has saw any snowy owls yet this years I imagine that the warmer weather we are having this winter is keeping them up in Northern Michi gan.

See Ya!

This issue of West Bend News marks nearly one year since our beloved Stan Jordan passed through those “pearly gates”. We still miss his office banter, his jolly chuckle, and his fierce devotion to family, to Antwerp and to Paulding County. Sit back and reminisce with us a few of Stan’s articles that he wrote over the years.

PAULDING COUNTY 

First published 2/25/20

By: Stan Jordan 

Last night was February 12, 2020 and here in Paulding County we celebrated being 200 years old (1820 – 2020). There was a big gathering at the former armory, that was remodeled into a fine church, and all the seats were taken. 

I was seated down front so I could hear and see what was going on. I was sitting right across the aisle from Governor DeWine and we had a nice talk about WWII and his father being a veteran. I enjoyed talking to him. 

The program consisted of a number of dignitaries from the area to Columbus, but there was some local people who talked and made the evening very interesting. After the meeting everyone was invited to go to the court house and see the 200 years in pictures. 

Some of these pictures are from the John Paulding Historical Society, assembled and finished by the West Bend News. 

The Governor visited all the floors of the court house and were very interested in all of the pictures. He re- marked that he had not seen any display that was any better. When the people started home, it was snowing and I think it got worse the farther south people traveled. I hope everyone got home alright. 

I had a very interesting talk with Mr. and Mrs. George Carter, the CEO of PPEC. I want to thank An- gel and Julia Steiner for all of their help for that memorable evening. Most people don’t know how many volunteer hours were put in by everyone involved with get- ting this event prepared. 

I am going to take this means to try to thank all of them, from all of us…Thank You! 

See ya! 

THE 589^th FIGHTER WING: THE LOW-BOW (LOBO) OUTFIT 

First published 11/12/14

By: Stan Jordan 

This is May of 1944 and I am Willie Wilson, first lieu- tenant of the Army Air force. I hail from Pale Moon, Montana, back in the good ol’ U.S.A. We are here in Lop- shire Airbase in southern England. We fly the P51D Mustang for the 589th Fight- er wing, but basically we are a tank busting outfit. At the present time, our ship is armed with 6 – .50 caliber ma- chine guns, 2-20 millimeter cannons, and 4- 4 inch jumbo rockets. We are the best tank busters in the ETO, bar none. 

We are off by ourselves here in Lopshire Air Base at the end of the runway. We eat at the main mess hall and obey all of the rules and regulations of the base, but we answer to Col. Baxter Bain- bridge from Rocky Ridge, Tennessee. We are a hush- hush group, we usually get all of the new equipment to try out. We get all of the new ordinance and ideas from General George Patton. He is the best armored man in the continent. We have our crew and boys that keep our planes flying. We have Lt. Alva Ames from Bad Axe, Michigan. Next guy we have is Basil Barnes from Komo, Mississippi. Then, we have Neil Nelson from Grafton, Minnesota. We are loaded up for to make the dawn patrol, as soon as we get enough light to take off. 

I am Willie Wilson, and my wing man is Basil Barnes. The other two planes fly off to our right and a little to our rear all the time. We head east across the channel to the Calais area to see what is up this early. We see a huge flight of B17 bombers coming back from a night-raid over Ger- many. There is a large number 

of English bombers headed towards Germany. We are over France now and we must remain alert at all times. We are plenty safe from ground- fire, but there are still a lot of German fighter planes around. 

We are looking for trains, trucks or any other type of vehicle that belongs to the Krauts. We went down to 1,000ft. and slowed down to about 250mph. There is plen- ty of daylight now and we can see pretty good. Here we go, there is a column of supply trucks heading for the coast. I blow up a truck and Basil gets a truck and the other boys are also having a little luck. We have the whole column burn- ing on the roadside. 

We fly south towards Caen, but we don’t find any more action. We turn and head back towards Lopshire. We hold it at about 350mph and fly right down on the waves of the channel. 

See ya! 

BILLY METZGER JOURNAL – 1846 

First published 4/13/11

By: Stan Jordan 

It is 1846 and our family is just leaving Germantown, Ohio, heading west. Here in the Midwest, Ohio hasn’t been a state very long – 1803 and Indiana in 1816. We are Buckeyes but the Indiana State Line is just a few miles to our west. 

My parents, William & Mollie Metzger and I and my 2 younger sisters, Margo is 12 and Mazie is 10 years old and I am going on 15 years old. 

Grandpa Metzger fought in the Revolutionary War and for a bonus he was given 160 acres called the Firelands. He had to improve it and we did. After grandpa died, my father inherited the farm. My folks talked a lot at night about going west on the Oregon Trail, to the Land of Milk and Honey. 

Dad sold the farm and bought 2 wagons with canvas covers to get us to Independence, Missouri. Dad burned the house and buildings down about 2 days before we left. Then we searched the ashes for all of the wrought iron nails. We have been told to do this as iron nails are hard to get after you leave the Mississippi River. 

Dad bought a team of mules to pull the second wag- on. This is filled with supplies more than household goods. It carries all the food for the animals and a crate of chick- ens. We have a small barrel of water on each side. We have 3 bushels of potatoes, cabbages, carrots, etc. from last year’s garden. 

I drove the horses today and dad drove the mules. The girls rode on the seat with 

me.We crossed through Ohio and Indiana, it’s pretty much straight west to Indianapolis. I think that is the capital of the state. This land is also pretty flat, a little rolling maybe. 

We went through a town today called Richmond, Indiana. It’s a little place but the townspeople said it would soon be incorporated. An-other nice day, pretty dry for April. 

I haven’t written for a few days, they are all the same. We are about half way to Indianapolis, pretty good roads, quite a few people going west and a few going east. When you are in the sun you can take your coat off for a while. 

Met a local man today and he said pretty good trail into Indianapolis, four maybe three days travel yet. Well, we finally left Indianapolis. We got groceries there, salt, bacon, flour, baking soda, beans, coffee, sugar, soap, dried fruit, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, hard tack, tobacco for dad, cornmeal and a sack of horehound candy. 

All of the supplies we put into the first wagon. Filled the water barrels also. I guess we go about 10 miles each day. Not too much mud. We keep the mules on the first wagon now, they are slower than the horses. 

Had a goose drown last night and we didn’t only go a couple of miles. Lots of sandy ground here and our wheels sink down in the sand, slow going. 

Met a horseback rider to- day, he was going east. He said about 3 days at a mules pace to the Illinois line, a little place called Danville. This country is flat, but the farm ground looks good. That rider said they call this the prairie. 

Got into Danville today. Been on the trail about 6 weeks. An old timer told us today to stay pretty much straight west to get to Quincy, the last town in Illinois. 

The days are getting a little longer and mom has school every night before dark. Boy, she sees to it that we can read, write and cipher. If we have a rainy day and don’t travel she holds school in the big wagon. 

See Ya! 

This is just the first install- ment of the Metzger’s journey across the Oregon Trail. The next installment will be in the W.B.N. next week. 

First published 1/15/14

One liners

**The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. 

**Maybe I’m not always right, but I’m never wrong. 

**There is the correct way and then the Army way. 

**What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever. 

**Why are husbands like lawn mowers? They’re hard to get started, emits foul odors and don’t work half of the time. 

**I never understood why women liked cats. Cats are independent, they don’t listen, don’t come when they’re called, they like to stay out all night and when they are at home, they like to sleep. In other words, everything women hate in men, and they love in cats! 

**What is the difference between a new husband and a new dog? A dog is always glad to see you, and a dog only takes a couple of months to train. 

**Farmer John took his cow away and had her de-calfinated. 

**Today is the tomorrow, you worried about yesterday. 

**She took her half of the road right out of the center. 

**When a woman drives with her arm out of the window she might be signaling left turn, right turn, drying her nails, flipping the ashes off her cigarette… all you can be sure of is, her window is down. 

**The waiter at the restaurant asked me, “How did you find your steak?” 

“I moved three peas and there it was.” 

**A bad day at fishing, is still better than a good day at work. 

**I graduated with an illness diploma, they were sick of having me around. 

**Charlie got his new wife at the Bargain Barn. 

See ya! 

ANTWERP HISTORY 

First published 10/24/07

By: Stan Jordan 

In the History of Antwerp, the Schilb family name stands out quite brightly. Andrew Schilb started the first mortuary in Antwerp in 1857. It sat on the west side of South Main Street about where the McQuire Building now sits. 

But this column is about a lovely lady of 92 years named Ruth Schilb, who with her husband, Tom, I consider modern day pioneers for An- twerp. So why don’t I start in the beginning. 

Ruth was born on August, 29, 1915. At that time, her parents, George and Rose Clemmer lived right in the area of the Bethel Church and school. She did not attend that school. They moved to Antwerp in 1920. She had three brothers and two half sisters. 

One of the sisters married Russell Jenkins and the other married Paul Jump. 

After they lived in Antwerp a while they moved to Montpelier, Ohio. Ruth’s father, George, was a construction man and there was plenty of work up there. While at Monpelier, George helped build the Roundhouse for the Wabash Railroad. I think the Clemmer boys graduated there. 

They moved back to Antwerp and Ruth started in the 7th grade. She liked school very well and she met a neighbor boy named Tom Schilb. 

Tom graduated in 1933 and they were married that same year. While Tom was away to college in Cleveland she stayed with his parents and helped out at the funeral home. Tom’s mother was very helpful in getting her used to her new job. 

I forgot that Tom had a twin brother, Andrew, and they both went to college at the same time. 

Tom and Ruth had a baby girl named Mary. After a few years they had Jane and then Walter. While this was going on Tom worked at the Schilb Furniture Store, the Appliance Store and the Funeral Parlor. Meantime, two of Ruth’s brothers, Wilber and George, became teachers at Antwerp High School. 

In the early years, they stored the funeral caskets on the upper floor of the furniture store. Later on, the house was remodeled and made bigger and they had a casket showroom upstairs. 

Tom built the appliance store across the street with an apartment upstairs, they lived there a few years. That building is now a laundromat. 

Before this and during this time, Tom got interested in the new game of softball. He organized a good team and got permission to play and remodel the high school ball diamond. 

Everyone helped at the ball diamond. The Schilbs made coffee in a ten gallon milk can. They then took the funeral tent to the ball park and used it as a concession tent. It was a good time then and a busy time. But everyone came to Antwerp on Sunday night. Schilb’s Reds were as good as any area ball club and the town backed them also. 

Well, after a few years, Tom retired from all the Schilb businesses and he and Ruth moved to Sebring, Florida in early 1970’s. They fit in down there very well. Tom was a good golfer and they had a beautiful home just a stones throw from #1 tee. They had their own golf cart and there was an easement to the club house. 

After a couple of seasons, Ruth became a good golfer and she was President of the Ladies’ Golf Association. Tommy served a couple terms as President of the Country Club. Like I said, they really enjoyed living in Florida and they had a million friends. 

After a good retirement life, Tom died in 1990. Ruth lived in Sebring for another 10-11 years. She came back to Antwerp to her children and grandchildren in the year 2000. 

She lived in an assisted living apartment a couple of years and then her grand- daughter, Karen (Walter’s daughter) wanted her to come live with them. Now let me tell you about that situation. Her granddaughter, Karen Fenker and her husband and children live at the corner of Lockner Road and The County Line Road in Allen County. They have llamas, dogs, cats, birds, and various and asunder creatures for pets. Besides the llamas, they have a dog that is a German Shephard that is called Wahoo, a house dog (Bishon) named Coconut that loves Ruth, a cat named Potsie, Zebra Finches and a tropical bird that rides on Karen’s shoulder. 

The Fenker’s have five children: two boys and three girls and all the above mentioned pets. Ruth is very happy in this fine home, you can tell by the big grin and her smiling eyes. She gets along fine with all the pets except for the bird—he will bite once in a while. 

She watched the Chicago Cubs along with her grand- son, Mark, and they did plenty of coaching and umping from the living room. Mark now goes to college. There are two children left at home, with the rest being in college. 

I have known this lovely lady all my life. When she and Tom had that lovely home in Sebring they had the Powells and the Jordans over for a fine dinner. You might say Tom was a role model for me and they had a zillion friends. 

Yes, you bet, I really enjoyed seeing Ruth again and I think she enjoyed seeing Sue, Pauline and I. Ruth, a tip of 

my ball cap to you and may you enjoy many more years at that very homey place. 

See, Ya! 

EL PASO SAM, INDIAN AGENT CHAPTER 1: SAM & CALLIE GET MARRIED 

First published 2/8/12

By: Stan Jordan 

El Paso Sam and Slim Jim Martin arrived in North Platte, Nebraska Territory right at Christmas time in 1851. 

The fellows had to go to the livery stable and take care of the animals and equipment. When Billy Metzger was with them he always did that chore and they sure miss him now. 

After they took care of the animals, they walked down the street to the North Platte Hotel. When they walked through the front door Callie looked up from her job and ran to Sam and gave him a hug and a kiss that was a little more than friendship. Everyone stood around and shook their head for a bit then things settled down. 

If you will remember, Callie is the hotel owner’s niece but she is also Sam’s girlfriend and more than that even. Things was sort of slow in the hotel lobby so Callie could spend a lot of time with Sam. 

All went into the restaurant and got a table in the corner and the happiness flowed like spring rain. 

They all had the evening meal and talked quite a bit. Slim went on upstairs to bed, but they all agreed to meet for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. right here at the same corner table. 

Callie Thorton was born in Cape May, NJ in 1825. She graduated from high school there and had a year at the Community College. 

Cape May is on the sea shore and damp most of the time. She didn’t like any- thing about this area, so she went west to North Platte to work for her uncle in his hotel. That is where she met El Paso Sam Rivers. 

If you will remember, Sam was born in Como, Mississippi in 1824. He went on west in his late teens and worked for the El Paso Devil’s Gate Stage Coach Line. He got quite serious with a girl there, but she wasn’t so serious and Sam left El Paso and worked his way on west to the desert southwest and was a civilian scout for Colonial Stockton in California Territory. He left that outfit and worked his way back to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory. He caught a ride with a wagon outfit going back to Independence, MO. He met Slim Martin there and signed on with a wagon train going west to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory. That was in 1848, and he and Slim are still together having just disbanded the 3M Wagon Train. 

So Sam proposed to Callie and she accepted readily. Those two just seemed to be made for each other. The wedding was set for the day after tomorrow in the hotel lobby at 11:00 a.m. on December 31, 1851. Slim Mar- tin was the best man and Callie’s Aunt Nellie stood up with Callie. Aunt Nellie also gave her mother’s wed- ding ring to Callie because there was no jewelry store in North Platte. 

After the wedding there was a fine dinner for all the folks and friends, and it last- ed well into the evening. 

Jim, Callie and Sam all discussed when they would head east to Fort Kearney. Callie could be ready in three days, and then the boys could load all her be- longings in Sam’s wagon. Jim was ready to go any- time. 

Sam wanted to be in Fort Kearney before the first of February so he could start his new job by February 1st. Sam is to be the Indian Agent 

for the Lakota Nation. It was located in Broken Bow, Nebraska Territory. The build- ing was already built and ready for occupancy. 

Callie had all her clothes packed and in a few trunks and bags, and she had some furniture and a dandy bed complete with mattress and bed clothes. That is just fine because Sam doesn’t have hardly any possessions be- cause he has been on the road in a wagon train for about three years. 

Well, they left North Platte and headed east to Fort Kearney. Jim’s wagon went first and broke a trail for Sam’s wagon. Callie sat with Sam’s buffalo robe and was plenty warm, but she wasn’t used to all the bouncing the wagon got from the holes in the snow on the trail, but it really wasn’t all that bad. 

She was a good rider, she knew she would have to get used to the trail riding as it is around two hundred miles to Fort Kearney. 

Next Week: On the Trail to Fort Kearney 

See ya! 

Old Blue

First published 2/26/19

By: Stan Jordan 

This is sort of a testimonial of a blue and red farm truck that works for Kenny Hahn and Nick Bragg. 

I am a 1982 Chevrolet farm truck and I would like to publish my history before I end up in the crusher. 

For years, I hauled grain for a nice fellow over in Payne. I liked those folks, we got along fine, but he needed a bigger truck to haul his grain so he put me up for sale. 

Kenny Hahn bought my services and I have been here on Hahn Farms ever since. Now, I’m not the only truck on the farm that hauls grain. Kenny has 2 semi outfits also, but I have a little seniority over them. 

I don’t work much till it’s soybean harvest time at the end of September. Then Nick will come out to the new barn and take me over to the gas tanks and check my oil and get me ready for the big push. They will fill the semi trailers first and then I and my trailer, “Jenny” come into use. You can cut beans from about noon till supper time or a little later according to the dew. 

What we don’t get to the elevator that evening we take over in the morning while someone gets the combine ready for a day’s work. And someone is working up the bean ground so it will be ready for corn next spring. Everybody works on the farm, even some extra long days at harvest time. They keep me and Jenny and the 2 big trucks ready at all times. That’s the way it goes, about two weeks and we have soy- beans combined and a lot of the corn ground worked up. 

Those big semis will haul about a thousand bushels of grain and I and Jenny about 700 bushel all together. 

I don’t know why, but Mike and Nick would rather drive one of the big semi trucks. Well, yes they do have more power, but I have a 427 engine. One time Nick was driving me and we had a big load and right in down town Antwerp my tranny stuck in fourth gear right under the light. I couldn’t move and the traffic was held up and the police came and said, “What’s the trouble?” Nick said, “I can’t move, it’s in fourth gear, stuck there and I can’t get it out of fourth. 

Someone called the elevator and they came over with a tractor and chain and pulled us down to the elevator and got us out of the city traffic. 

As luck would have it, one of the boys there waiting in line knew what to do and he got my tranny out of fourth gear and we went on from there. 

It’s according to the weather, but we might get a few days being a little slower till the corn is dry enough to combine. Then it’s “Nellie hold hold the nanny goat” at corn time on Hahn Farms. Everybody works early morn- ing till late at night, Sunday and all, and probably an extra driver or so. Just like in the beans, they fill the big trucks and then me and Jenny; this goes on till we are done with the corn. 

It makes no difference if it’s eastern standard time or Russian standard time, we work around the clock. 

It is usually Kenny and Nick doing the farming, but at corn combining time we need about 3 more drivers and me and Jenny do a lot of road work. 

Then all at once, the busy work is done. Kenny and Nick make the necessary repairs on 

the equipment. Then Nick cleans everything and washes and waxes everything before they put it away. 

They take Jenny and me out to the new barn and we get pushed back in the far, northwest corner. Jenny gets nothing, but I get about two quarts of Zerex for the winter. 

I guess Kenny is going to put me up for sale. I’m sure sorry about that, I like all these boys. 

See ya! 

SOME JORDANESE

By: Stan Jordan

• He is not the sharpest knife in the drawer

• He is two french fries short of a happy meal

• She is wound a little too tight

• News to her is in both ears and out the mouth

• That ain’t worth a plated nickel

• She is some kind of typo

• He had up a full head of steam

• It was up hill both ways

• His car had seen better days

• His feet didn’t match

• She wanted to be a big frog in a little pond, but she was a little frog in a big pond

• You can’t be optimistic with mistyoptic 

• Speed on big boy, Hell ain’t full

• Cheer up son, life is never fair

• She laid down the law

• Tell it like it is

• It was not the apple in the tree, but the pair on the ground

• On down the road

• The key is in the mailbox, come on in

• I’m a fixin’

• You win a few, you lose a few

• Slim is dead and gone

• I will do it tomorrow

• Not by a jug full

ME, ME, ME

By: Stan Jordan

I was thinking, if I am going to write my life history, I had better get started, because I am over the hill and started down the other side.

I was born June 27th, 1924 up on Wentworth Road here in Antwerp. There were three of us boys and I was the youngest. I remember quite a bit about that area, but we moved down on East Canal St. about 1929.

I started to school in the fall of 1930. My first grade teacher was Lucile Carr Stiver. The Depression came along about that time and I can remember that alright.

About the middle of the 1930’s things started to be better. We three boys spent a lot of time fishing, playing ball or in the park playing.

The city ball diamond was at the east end of Stone Street and lots of boys played there. We had all the kid diseases  and that included “the itch”, yes everyone had that.

The world rolled along and I was soon in high school. I played football, basketball and baseball. I soon had my letter “A” for sports along about the end of 1939. We lost our father, Jim was called into the army with the Ohio National Guard. Brother Jack quit school and worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad shops and kept the family together: Mom, my two sisters (Grace born in 1932 and Ruby born in 1934) and I.

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we were at war whether we wanted it or not. Now that war changed the world, the times and everyone’s lifestyle. I don’t mean it was bad, it was certainly different. Everyone done their part in one way or another.

 Life went on and I enjoyed my junior and senior year at Antwerp High School and we graduated in May of 1942. As soon as I was 18 I worked at Bowers in Fort Wayne Defense Plant. Everybody worked somewhere. Then in November of 1942 I enlisted in the army. 

 I spent the biggest part of the year here in the states and then a few months over in Europe. Then the war in Europe  ended May 8th, 1945 and we were rushed around and sent home to the states to be ready to invade Japan on November 1st of that year, but Japan surrendered after we dropped the ‘A’ bomb, thank goodness.

In November of that year I ended up in Camp Shelby, Mississippi and I was discharged there around November 26, 1945. Pauline and I were married in January of 1944, so I was very glad to get home. 

I started the post office July 1st, 1946. We lived in some of Taylor Long’s new apartments at that time. After two years as a window clerk, I started in the Railway Mail Service for a few months, mostly from Fort Wayne to St. Louis and from Delphos to Akron. I worked for the RMS until January of 1949 and then I received my appointment as Rural Carrier on R1 out of Antwerp.

Pauline and I  moved in 1948 to the corner of Archer Drive and North Main St. She worked for Carl Langham at his Chrysler dealership. Along about then, Gale was born, December 31, 1950. Around that same time the Weatherhead Plant was built, so was the roller rink and pretty soon the bowling alley…Antwerp was growing!

A couple of new churches, some lodges and the midway organizations were all moving along. The firemen held a big day and parade for years and Pauline and I would help out.

We went on vacation a couple of times out through the west and visited the National Parks…

EDITOR’S NOTE: We know Stan’s story definitely didn’t end here, unfortunately, he was never able to finish writing it down. He spoke of many fishing trips to Florida, years spent on his mail route and times helping emcee events. Stan loved his lunches at “the round table” (as he always called it) at the Oasis with his friends and he enjoyed getting visitors here at The West Bend News and could sit and chat for hours. We love you Stan. You will be missed! 

West Bend News writer and Antwerp resident Stan Jordan passed away yesterday evening, January 13.

Please be considerate of his family and the West Bend News family, and give time for mourning at this time.

We miss you very much! Stan gave us many years to great fun, history and friendship. 

Rest In Peace

1924-2021

Stan wrote one final, unpublished article that will be printed this next week. He wrote this piece just before he was to taken in for care.

By: Stan Jordan 

Previously ran 1/25/12

She was so blonde that she thought a quarterback was a cash refund. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she tripped over the cordless phone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she took a ruler to bed with her so she could see how long she slept.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Blondie sat and stared at the orange juice box for 25 minutes because it said concentrate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she got stabbed in a shoot out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she thought Taco Bell was a Mexican phone company. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she thought Meow Mix was a re- cord for cats. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was so blonde she thought Ertha Kitt was a gar- den tool. 

See ya! 

By: Stan Jordan 

Previously ran 2/22/12

Tom’s wife was a dizzy blonde. She was going to make Tom an angel food cake. The recipe said to beat the 12 eggs separately. A neighbor was kind enough to loan her some extra bowls. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom wanted a fruit salad for dinner. The recipe said to serve without dressing. So Blondie didn’t dress. Boy, was she surprised when Tom brought a friend home for dinner. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blondie was going to have rice for dinner. It said to wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. She said it sounded silly but she took a bath any- way. It didn’t seem to improve the rice at all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blondie found an easy recipe for cookies. It said to put all the ingredients in a bowl and heat it. She said something must be wrong here because when she got back things were just like when she left. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blondie is going to surprise Tom. If he will buy a bigger oven she will surprise him with a Chocolate Moose. 

See ya! 

By: Stan Jordan

Previously ran 3/21/12

The door bell rang and Blondie answered it. A work- man complete with a tool box stood on the front porch. 

He said, “Madam, I am the piano tuner.” 

The blonde said, “I didn’t call for a piano tuner.” 

The man replied, “I know you didn’t, but your neighbors did.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blondie was driving south bound on Interstate 69. Her cell phone rang and it was her roommate warning her that she heard on the radio that a person was traveling going the wrong way on the high- way. “So please be careful.” 

Blondie replied, “It’s not one car, there’s hundreds of them. 

See ya!

Beloved writer and local historian Stan Jordan now resides at the Gardens of Paulding. You can mail a card to:

Gardens of Paulding

Room 402,

199 CR 103

Paulding, OH 45879

These stories below are reprinted from previous editions. 

By: Stan Jordan

A fly was buzzing along one morning when he saw a lawn mower someone had left out in their front yard. He flew over and sat on the handle, watching the children going down the sidewalk on their way to school.

One little boy tripped on a crack and fell, spilling his lunch on the sidewalk. He picked himself up, put his lunch back in the bag and went on. But he missed a piece of bologna. The fly had not eaten that morning and he sure was hungry. So he flew down and started eating the bologna. In fact he ate so much that he could not fly, so he waddled across the sidewalk across the lawn, up the wheel of the lawn mower, up the handle, and sat there resting and watching the children.

There was still some bologna laying there on the sidewalk. He was really stuffed, but that baloney sure did look good.

Finally temptation got the best of him and he jumped off the handle of the lawn mower to fly over to the baloney. But alas he was too full to fly and he went splatt!, killing him instantly.

The moral of the story: Don’t fly off the handle when you are full of baloney.

By: Stan Jordan

Two old guys are pushing their carts around Walmart when they collide. The first old guy says to the second guy, “Sorry about that. I’m looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

The second old guy says, “That’s OK, it’s a coincidence. I’m looking for my wife, too. I can’t find her and I’m getting a little desperate.”

The first old guy says, “Well, maybe I can help you find her. What does she look like?”

The second old guy says, “Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, with red hair, blue eyes, long legs, and is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?”

To which the first old guy says, “Don’t remember, let’s look for yours.”

Received from Natasha Jones; courtesy of www.gcfl.net

Caleb’s no good, very Bad Jack of a Day

By: Stan Jordan

Caleb McHerford was driving on the Blue Tick Road just outside of Fairview, OK when he had a flat tire on his pick-em-up truck.

He got out and looked and made a diligent search inside and all over that truck but he couldn’t find the jack nor the handle. He had a good spare tire and lug wrench, but no jack.

He had a problem here, he had to raise the flat tire wheel up off the road to get his spare in place.

He looked this situation over good and he realized he had to get a jack from somewhere.

There was a house about a quarter of a mile on down the road on the right hand side. Caleb was not one to borrow anything, but right now he had to jack up his truck and change the tire.

As he walked on down the dusty road he started to think about what kind of people lived in this house. They were probable very nice people and would gladly let him use their jack.

Oh, gee, we’ll probably become good friends and they will want to come over to our house and visit and play cards. They will probably want us to come over to their house. Gee, whiz, they will want to meet on Wednesday night and I always go to the Herford Cattle Raisers Meeting on that night, darn it.

They probably will want to play Euchre and I hate that game. She will probably serve that new type of raspberry flavored coffee and I hate that stuff. We’ll all get to be friends and he will want to borrow my prize bull for free, no way! They probably got one of those new HDTV sets and will want to show it off. They’ve probably got a young daughter who will make big eyes at our boy and a lot can come out of that. Since he loaned me his truck jack he will probably want to borrow my truck. By golly, he can use his own tie down straps.

Caleb was getting closer to the farm house and he was getting more frustrated by the minute. I suppose this fellow is a fisherman and a hunter. Oh, holy smoke, he will want to borrow my coon dog and that ain’t going to happen, no way, no time, no how! My Nellie made the second page of the Oklahoma Coon Hunter’s Gazette and by golly, I’m not letting anyone hunt with Nellie except me. That’s the last straw, I’m done with ‘em.

Caleb was on the porch now and made three distinct knocks on the door. As a nice lady opened the door Caleb spun around on his heel and as he left he said, “You can keep your darned old jack!”

See Ya!

By: Stan Jordan

This picture is off of a Facebook page, submitted by Walter Lang asking about the location of it. 

Well, that water is running over Maddison Street at the very west end of Franklin and Archer Drive. You older people will remember that is the playground for the old elementary grades of Antwerp school.

Most of that area is the parking lot for the Manor House. That ravine ran all the way past the Town Hall and under Oswalt Street then behind the Methodist Church. That was deep ravine years ago, one of many at that time.

See ya!

By: Stan Jordan

The above old time picture was given to me by Donnie Shaffer. He found it in some his mother’s old time collection. I think it came from one of the Paulding papers. What I mean here, is look that scene over slowly and it tells you a story.

I assume they are either going to church or retiring from church. One of those farmers has a team of oxen and a cart of some kind. It seems that all of them have on their Sunday best. The driver probably has one of his grandson’s riding on one of the oxen. There is about three ladies on the cart and the one lady on crutches couldn’t crawl up on the cart. 

Notice that nearly all the males are wearing weaving hats, now a days that would be a ball cap. Notice that there is a good wooden sidewalk and sort of tells us that this picture was taken in the late 1890’s. They don’t have cars yet and the cement sidewalks came about 1900.

The oxen are standing easily, that is what they done best, but yes they are slow.

See ya!

By: Stan Jordan

This picture of the people at the depot waiting for the train was given to me by Charles Zuber, Class of 1968, who lives in Florida now.

I have a number of pictures of the depot, but none that shows so many people waiting for the train.

Some of the “old timers” tell me that the people waiting for the train or arriving from somewhere always caused quite a commotion. There wasn’t much other excitement that went on. People would take the train into Fort Wayne, Defiance or Toledo as there were no cars or buses. I would imagine that these people are waiting for the interurban from the east into Fort Wayne. I think both big trains were around 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. You can also see that travelers are also waiting for a ride. 

I can only guess it is after 1900 by the electric wire and it is summer time by the leaves on the trees and some ladies don’t have jackets on. Maybe there is a big party somewhere. I think that many at the depot might be unusual.

The railroad came in in 1855 and it hauled a lot of products from the factories until about 1890. The canal was not busy after 1870. That is why there was three sets of track on the rail lines here.

I understand there was 3 or more hotels in town at this time, so the trains were loaded with passengers in and out.

See ya!

By: Stan Jordan 

A gentleman came in the shop the other day with the above picture post card and asked if we knew anything about it. He also thought it might be the church at South Scipio. The notation about West Union and Donat Corners really throws me off.

Now years ago, I called Road 7 the Donat Road because I had Oliver, Harry, Charlie and Pete in that mile, but I have never heard of Donat Corners.

I went over to the church at the corner of Scipio and the Antwerp-Harlan Pike and that church has been remodeled a few times and the sign above the door originated in 1891 so it is not the same one as the picture.

If you know anything about this picture, please let us know.

See ya!