Author Topic: Messages From The Heartland  (Read 2119615 times)

Offline ZouBEini

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #130 on: October 03, 2006, 10:42:14 pm »
Hi David, I'm glad you are improving.

I've spent the last couple of hours (frickin' modem anyway) enjoying your thread. Your descriptions of Indiana are very well written.  Kudos!  I am glad you mentioned that Hoosiers can be verbose.  At least I can and probably will be. 

A few comments: I didn't realize (or remember..) that your mother died so soon after my father.  Dad passed away on 29 July 2003 and I miss him every day.  Of course Mom misses him more, after having been married for almost 54 years.  I'm sorry to hear of your father's illness.  I wish him well.

Wooly worms!  I ADORE wooly worms and always have.  As a 16 y.o. driver, I nearly wrecked my new car while trying to avoid running over the wooly worms on the road.  I was weaving back and forth, trying to miss them (this was on a country road btw) and nearly took out one of my relatives' mailbox.  They crawl rather slowly you know.  The wooly worms, not the mailboxes.

http://mwrop.org/W_Needham/WoollyBearCaterpillar_031122R.htm

The canal photos were great!  I have walked the canal many times during the day and at night and it's beautiful! 

LS Ayres nativity scenes bring back fond memories of my childhood.  My mother was a power shopper and whenever Hoosier Bargain Days occurred, she would make a day of it, with wee Larz in tow.  Being from Hendricks County, we drove an hour to get there, parked in the Illinois Street parking garage and would enter Ayres from the Illinois Street side, through the tiny entrance.  Of course from there, we would climb the stairs down into the basement where the TOYS were.  I learned at an early age that it was much more profitable to stand and look longingly at a toy than to ask for it outright.  Begging for something yielded nada, but being cute and looking deprived worked like a charm.  She would wind her way through to the ladies department and begin rumaging through clothes on tables above my head.  Meanwhile, I would make myself busy watching people and playing with the little (metal, then later plastic) clippy things which fell off the clothes.  She would work her way from table to table, and suddenly panic, realizing I was nowhere to be seen.  After re-tracing her steps, she would find me blissfully playing beneath the first table we had stopped at, totally unaware that she had been lost.  Of course she was the one who was lost, not I!  I was exactly where I was when she wandered away.   :laugh:

A side note:  I was greatly saddened to hear of the recent violence especially (not sure why, but they seem like such peaceful, gentle and forgiving people) toward the Amish children and their teacher.  Very sad.  This horrid situation came to mind while thinking how easily I could have been kidnapped while I was left alone (see my ramblings in previous paragraph).

Annnd we're back: Ayres had a great nativity scene!  We went to see it each Christmas.  I also looked forward to seeing the cherub sitting atop the clock.  I believe the cherub made it's appearance immediately after Thanksgiving each year.  For a time, after the LS Ayres building was sold, the cherub was missing but happily was later found and returned.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1102682844033980473aVCYFm

Vinyl :  I'm such a geek.  I still have all my LP's, 45's and a few inherited 78's.  Sadly I have nothing on which to play them.  Between you, me and the wall, I suspect it's just as well.  They would sound like crap compared to my CD's!  LOL

8-tracks:  I installed an 8-track player along with an upscale (for the time) cassette stereo in my first car.  I bought it shortly after I began driving.  It was a '76 Olds Starfire - silver.  My CB handle was of course "Silver Bullet".  And I wrecked that car multiple times due to my own carelessness and inexperience.  LOL, I again drive a silver vehicle and those who ride with me seem to think I still drive like a 16 y.o. silver bullet.  LMAO  But I digress.  Being a country boy, whenever the 8-track player would "eat the tape" (remember the squeely sound when the player was sucking the tape out of the cassette?), we would roll down the passenger window and see how far we could fling the tape into the corn field.  Not ecologically correct, but there it is.  One could drive by a field and see the tape strewn throughout.   :-\  Hey - at least I wasn't cow tipping, mailbox bashing or TPing the neighbors house! 

Thanks for a great thread David!

See ya!

~Larz
« Last Edit: October 03, 2006, 11:01:52 pm by ZouBEini »

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #131 on: October 03, 2006, 11:13:27 pm »

LS Ayres nativity scenes bring back fond memories of my childhood.  My mother was a power shopper and whenever Hoosier Bargain Days occurred, she would make a day of it, with wee Larz in tow.  Being from Hendricks County, we drove an hour to get there, parked in the Illinois Street parking garage and would enter Ayres from the Illinois Street side, through the tiny entrance.  Of course from there, we would climb the stairs down into the basement where the TOYS were.  I learned at an early age that it was much more profitable to stand and look longingly at a toy than to ask for it outright.  Begging for something yielded nada, but being cute and looking deprived worked like a charm.  She would wind her way through to the ladies department and begin rumaging through clothes on tables above my head.  Meanwhile, I would make myself busy watching people and playing with the little (metal, then later plastic) clippy things which fell off the clothes.  She would work her way from table to table, and suddenly panic, realizing I was nowhere to be seen.  After re-tracing her steps, she would find me blissfully playing beneath the first table we had stopped at, totally unaware that she had been lost.  Of course she was the one who was lost, not I!  I was exactly where I was when she wandered away.   :laugh:


Larz...

Yeah, I loved the basement at L.S. Ayres too. Did you ever ride the glass elevator? I remember riding it from the basement up to the Tea Room, and I always loved watching the floors zip by through the glass door as we went up.

Do you remember Ayr-Way? Of course Ayr-Way was started after the Ayres downtown basement became so popular. The Ayr-Ways all changed over to Target back in 1982 I think. I bought my first home computer at Ayr-Way. It was a Texas Instruments TI 99 4/A. I think the computer was probably the very last thing I bought at Ayr-Way before they closed.

Thanks for the post Larz. I hope to see you around more often!  :D
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #132 on: October 03, 2006, 11:23:43 pm »
I just had another LS Ayres memory...

Do you remember that annoying woman always getting on the PA system?

A little chime would ring and she would say "9-9.....9-9....... (ding).... 9-9.......9-9"

I always wondered what "9-9" meant. I think 9-9 was the only thing that woman knew how to say.  ???
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Offline ZouBEini

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #133 on: October 03, 2006, 11:37:09 pm »
Larz...

Yeah, I loved the basement at L.S. Ayres too. Did you ever ride the glass elevator? I remember riding it from the basement up to the Tea Room, and I always loved watching the floors zip by through the glass door as we went up.

Do you remember Ayr-Way? Of course Ayr-Way was started after the Ayres downtown basement became so popular. The Ayr-Ways all changed over to Target back in 1982 I think. I bought my first home computer at Ayr-Way. It was a Texas Instruments TI 99 4/A. I think the computer was probably the very last thing I bought at Ayr-Way before they closed.

Thanks for the post Larz. I hope to see you around more often!  :D

OMG - I had forgotten about the glass elevators!  I remember wondering about their mechanical workings when I was little.  I'm slightly older than you, and clearly recall the elevator attendants, but am not sure if they were at Ayres or not.

Thinking of Ayres, when I first began working at IUPUI, I used to take Ophthalmology departmental photos downtown to Lyman Bros. for framing.  I don't know the exact history, only that Lyman Ayres was the creator of L.S. Ayres and that there was some relationship.

Of course I remember Ayr-Way!  I was in mourning when they closed the one on Lafayette Road.  It was my favorite.  A few weeks ago, I was cleaning out my winter auto kit and found a can of spray deicer for the windshield and had to laugh that it had an Ayr-Way label.  You can guess how that is, but I just put it back.  Couldn't bear to throw it away.  

In fact, when a tornado touched down near Southern Plaza (and damaged houses two blocks from my house while I looked out the back door-Duh me), it tore the facade off Target.  Jacki got a picture of the "Ayr" which was peeking through.  

I'm looking for some more things to add...working on it.  hehe

Pre-enter edit:  I just saw your latest post.  Yes, I'm now hearing the bonging of that chime in my head.  Gee thanks!  LOL  I think 9-9 meant "child cowering beneath table while women rumage randomly through clothing in the basement".

Offline ZouBEini

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #134 on: October 04, 2006, 01:24:32 am »
Yes, I have a thing for architecture, so deal with it.  hehe  I’m having some difficulty finding exactly what I want, but here are a few favorites:

The Scottish Rite Cathedral is gorgeous at night!! 
http://www.preserveindiana.com/pixpages/indy/moreindy.htm

Here’s the Madam CJ Walker Building, aka the Walker Theater. 


Here are the Pyramids on the north side of Indianapolis.  David, do you have any interesting stories to tell about them?


The Indianapolis Motor Speedway original Pagoda.


And the modern day pagoda. 


And just for fun, here’s Mr. Bendo at Ralph’s Muffler Shop on 16th Street! 



Oh, another Ayres story:  After a marathon shopping session, my mother was trying to leave the store with her purchases when one of the sales clerks began screaming and running toward us.  I don't recall the incident, but apparently when we got into the revolving door, only my head made it inside while my body was dangling on the other side of the door, still inside the store.  Mom was inadvertantly choking me as she pushed the revolving door.  At least the newly purchased clothing and housewares were safe. *snickers*

Same thing once happened with a cat getting caught in the overhead garage door.  Hmmm.  I'm seeing a pattern there.  [mjeyds]  Is it too late to call Child Protective Services?   :laugh:

edit:  Apparently this guy took his photo before the rest of the facade fell off.  This is very nearly the photo Jacki took after the tornado that I mentioned above.  Recognize the a and part of the y from Ayr-Way?



This is the only Ayr-Way photo I could find.
http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fdc012&CISOPTR=1177&DMSCALE=100.00000&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMMODE=viewer&DMFULL=0&DMOLDSCALE=44.44444&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=Washington&DMTHUMB=1&REC=19&DMROTATE=0&x=94&y=92
« Last Edit: October 04, 2006, 01:33:07 am by ZouBEini »

mvansand76

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #135 on: October 04, 2006, 07:08:08 am »
When I attended high school here in Indianapolis from 1976-1980, the scariest thing I ever had to deal with was the three bullies waiting for me outside in the school parking lot. In those days, the closest thing to a weapon at my school was a water balloon, a squirt gun or a drinking straw loaded with spit balls.

You know what, I think two bullies waiting in the school parking lot is still the main concern of most children who have a hard time at school. Even though this has now happened three times in one week and it's in the news everywhere, I don't think these shootings are things they worry about when they go to school, I honestly think the main concern for children and schools to deal with is bullying, the kind of thing that you (and Jan-Willem) had to go through as a child. Bullying still scars millions of children for life!

Offline Andrew

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #136 on: October 04, 2006, 08:26:04 pm »
I just was remembering a game I'd used to play with a few neighborhood kids in fall in my big backyard in Indianapolis.  We would rake the leaves into elaborate mazes sort of like this one (but not so perfect!):



And then try to catch each other by running through the maze without jumping over 'walls'!  We didn't use a pattern for the mazes, we just let them grow quickly and spontaneously by accretion.  Otherwise, it would be getting dark before it was time to do the chasing!

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #137 on: October 04, 2006, 08:34:52 pm »
Current Weather in Indianapolis: Thunderstorms   Temp: 86 F (30 C)
My Current Mood: Happy


Well, I guess I try this again. After typing my entry last night, I was rudely disconnected from the Internet just as I was about to click  the "post" button. So, I'm typing this offline. If it happens again, at least I will have a backup copy I can  use.

It is now October, and I have been thinking of unpacking my Halloween decorations. A good friend of mine from London, England is coming to Indianapolis for a visit, and he will be here for Halloween. While I was contemplating the autumn season and Halloween yesterday and today, I started thinking once again of my childhood, of Halloween, friends, and of course our frequent childhood adventures at "The House of Blue Lights".

The house I grew up in sat up on Old Avalon Hill (the subdivision is called Avalon Hills). Avalon Hill and the area surrounding it was once owned by a business tycoon named Skiles Test. Back in the 1920's, he sold some of his land to be developed into a country club. After the club was completed it was named Hillcrest Country Club and at that time, it was one of the few country clubs on the northeast side of town. Mr.Test continued to sell small parcels of land to private individuals wishing to build homes near the country club. The house I grew up in was one of the very first homes to be built in Avalon Hills. Of course when we moved into the neighborhood in 1973, the entire area was fully developed, and even stretched north of 71st street.

Skiles Test died in 1964 but his house remained standing many years after his death. The old abandoned mansion stood deep in the woods just off Johnson Road. The building was not visible from the road and the only way to see it was to venture up the dirt path which wound far into the woods and eventually over a small creek. On the other side of the creek the path continued  through yet more woods and then up a small hill. Finally, at the top of the hill the mansion became visible, looming over the landscape like something out of a Stephen King novel. Except for the narrow black trim around the windows and the green shingled roof, the house was totally white and completely encased in shiny ceramic tiles. Few people dared to venture up to the house; even fewer actually considered going inside. Only after several excusions to the property did we work up the nerve to open the front door and cautiously enter the structure.

You see, The House of Blue Lights was haunted.


The House of Blue Lights.
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting




I suppose every neighborhood in the world has a haunted house, and The House of Blue Lights was ours. Many rumors and stories surrounded the house, and since I was a typical teenager, I believed every one of them.

Supposedly, Skiles Test buried his wife in a glass coffin, surrounded her in blue lights and kept her laying in state within a secret room. We were told if we could find the secret room (hidden just off the living room or dining room) we would find the wife still laying in her coffin surrounded with the blue lights.

Another popular story was about  the solar heated swimming pool. It's true. Skiles Test did have an olympic size swimming pool in the back yard. The story told of Mr. Test burying his wife under the swimming pool. (It's funny when I think about it now. Only years later did I realize the two stories about the wife actually cancel each other out. How could she be laying in state in a secret room and buried under the swimming pool at the same time?) The innocence of youth!

Other stories included Mr. Test's ghost wandering the wooded property at night to guard it from trespassers; the spirits of Mr.Test and his wife appearing in the living room mirror at midnight, especially on their wedding anniversary; blue lights mysteriously appearing in all the windows of the abandoned house late at night; the tortured screams of the undead from deep inside the cellar and underground tunnels; and unseen attacks from the "ghost cats" that reportedly wandered the cemetery in the woods.

The truth is, Mr. Test was a strange man. He was also a very kind man and gave generously to many local charities. Mr.Test was also very fond of the color blue. One year he hung blue Christmas lights all around the outside of the house. After receiving many compliments from his neighbors and friends, he decided to keep the lights up year round, and he turned them on almost every night. After his death in 1964, he was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery and his legendary house was finally torn down in the mid 1970's.

Skiles Test (1889 - 1964)
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting




Other buildings and amenities located on the Test property included a small farmhouse which served as servant's quarters (the mansion and servant's quarters were connected by an underground tunnel), a three floor cabana connected to a multi level diving board (the cabana was complete with a kitchen, bathroom and several bedrooms), an olympic size swimming pool, a cemetery (including a cemetery for his many cats), a water tower and a barn.

Today, the house and buldings are gone. Private homes now stand on part of the Test property and a local park (Skiles Test Nature Park) is also located there. Dozens of coyotes now call the park home, and their lonely howls can frequently be heard coming from the old Test property early in the evening.

On many weekends my ex-lover and I would go and hike the trails at the park, and we often referred to the area as our "Brokeback Mountain".   :)



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« Last Edit: October 05, 2006, 03:36:13 am by David925 »
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #138 on: October 04, 2006, 08:48:50 pm »
You know what, I think two bullies waiting in the school parking lot is still the main concern of most children who have a hard time at school. Even though this has now happened three times in one week and it's in the news everywhere, I don't think these shootings are things they worry about when they go to school, I honestly think the main concern for children and schools to deal with is bullying, the kind of thing that you (and Jan-Willem) had to go through as a child. Bullying still scars millions of children for life!

Melissa, I'm  sure you are correct. Children worry about those things more "immediate" to them such as bullies, homework, and showing mom and dad that "F" on their report card. It still discourages me though when I hear about this things. I'm sure they discourage you too. I really feel bad for people like Geri (Arad) who actually has teenage children in school. I can't imagine how frightening it must be for her after hearing about these kinds of things.  :(
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injest

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Re: Messages From The Heartland
« Reply #139 on: October 04, 2006, 08:50:29 pm »
I just was remembering a game I'd used to play with a few neighborhood kids in fall in my big backyard in Indianapolis.  We would rake the leaves into elaborate mazes sort of like this one (but not so perfect!):



And then try to catch each other by running through the maze without jumping over 'walls'!  We didn't use a pattern for the mazes, we just let them grow quickly and spontaneously by accretion.  Otherwise, it would be getting dark before it was time to do the chasing!

LOL! well I live where we have tons of pine trees...and we would rake up the leaves to build houses, towns, farms...just about anything...