Dennis McFarlin (From Past To Present: The History of Adams County)

Remembering Friendship, 1955
Dennis McFarlin
Spring
The last couple of weeks had brought the harbingers of
spring weather to the sand county and I knew from the bright
sun streaming through my easterly bedroom window that this
morning would be a great time to play on the recently formed ice
on the court house lawn "pond." I rushed to complete the usual
Highway 13 north before it was improved in the 1990s.
obligatory tasks in preparation of another school day and made
an extra 15 minutes so that I could play "ice breaker" on the
freshly formed ice. This exercise really amounted to nothing
more than an opportunity to break ice which had, and still has, a
great satisfaction for a young boy. Having fit in this early
morning playtime, it was off to school.
School was the Friendship Grade School, formerly known as
the Friendship High School. In fact, if you look closely at the old
portion of the building, you can still see the name "High School"
etched in the mantle over the front door of the original building.
This building, of course, harbors many memories since I
attended grade school for eight years in this building. I knew its
every nook and cranny including the dirty dark coal room, since
Otto Lindner, the elderly janitor, would occasionally employ
Roger Allen or myself to shovel coal into the old coal furnace
stoker. Our pay was $.50 for filling the stoker twice a day. Gladys
Goff was our school lunch cook. School lunch was a daily ritual.
I remember the line for lunch, the long tables with the hard bench
seats, and Miss Goff dishing our portions at the big cook stove.
I think everyone's favorite lunch was barbecue sandwiches.
They weren't served often, but when they were, they were a treat
and there was no limit on the number you could eat. To this day,
120
one of my favorite meals is barbecue sandwiches and chocolate
milk.
Being springtime, the snow was fast disappearing from the
playground and the baseball diamond across the road was now
mostly mud, but that didn't prevent the first games of softball.
Morning recess,
lunch hour break,
afternoon recess,
and sometimes even
after school, would
be consumed with
one endless softball
game. You worked
your way from out in
the field, up through
the bases to pitcher,
and finally to batter.
Of course, baseball
was not the only
entertainment since
the playground included an "old"
merry-go-round, a
merry-gonew
round, a slide, a
teeter-totter, a swing
set, and last a device
we refer to as the
horse"
"hoopy
whicn can only oe
described with a picture but was certainly one of our favorite school playground
devices. And of course the playground surrounded the school
house, thus providing ample room for various tag games.
There were four main classrooms in the building, and each
classroom contained two graded classes. The teacher would
alternate lessons between the two classes. I remember that Mrs.
Mamie Hintz was the teacher for the third and fourth grades, and
after concluding an arithmetic class with the fourth grade, she
would then undertake a class with the third grade students, and
we fourth graders would be expected to be quiet above all and to
studiously complete our assignments. For a young boy, of
course, the school day was a long one in which a primary
occupation was the anticipation of whatever activities might
ensue after school and in the early evening. The most visible
sign of spring having arrived was when we all were able to get
our bicycles out and no longer had to rely upon foot power to get
around town. Bicycles were the mode of transportation and they
took us from one end of town to the other and from one side of
town to the other. My friends were scattered throughout the
village and one's bicycle provided the freedom and mobility to
have the whole village as our playground.
The first major school vacation break in the year was Easter
break. Easter break normally coincided with the beginning of
spring weather and therefore it was not unusual to find nearly
every young person in town climbing Friendship Mound. It was
as if a rite of passage that at a certain age one was now allowed
to climb the mound without any older sibling supervising. That
magic rite of passage age was just about ten years of age and,
having reached that mark, I now found endless exploration
opportunities. There were caves to discover, new crevices to
crawl through, and endless pinnacles to conquer. One of the
highlights of our many climbs was to traverse the length of the
mound along the top, finally coming to the fire tower. From there
it was a long 100-foot climb to the top. The local watchman at the
tower always welcomed us and encouraged us to visit. Of
course, your first climb up that tower was always hair raising
because when you got to the top, it was a little tricky transferring
from the ladder to the trap door entry. And of course on a windy
day, it was downright challenging to hang on to the ladder while
that tower slightly swayed 100 feet above the ground.
It was not unusual to spend several hours swimming and then
take a break for an hour to climb the mound, and then head back
to the pond to cool off. Although our summer days followed
pretty much the same routine, they were never boring, and
always exhilarating.
In addition to the adventures at the north end of the village,
the pond and the mound, we would occasionally bike out to
Jensen's farm one mile east on County Trunk J and entice one of
the horses over for a bareback ride. I don't believe that the
practice was fully approved by Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, however, I
suspect they may have looked the other way on occasion. We
would also bike out to Jefferson's farm which was about a mile
northwest of the village where we would be able to play in the
hay mow. There was usually a baseball game or practice
available at the fairgrounds on certain mornings of the week and
while I didn't usually participate, it was available to those that so
desired. Another game that was often engaged in was what we
That consisted of
referred to as "Cops and Robbers."
on our bicycles;
town
around
another
one
essentially chasing
elaborate rules
with
games
these
however, we would organize
on one side of
only
being
territory
the
such as the boundaries of
and find
to
elude
trying
hours
spend
Main Street, and we could
favorite
my
of
two
I
recall
"gang."
members of the opposite
store
Krejchik's
behind
passage
a
narrow
hiding places, one,
of
bank
the
on
right
creamery
the
and the other, behind
it
village
the
in
places
popular
of
Friendship Pond. Speaking
Summer
Summer started when the school year ended. The school
year always ended with a fantastic school picnic where every
child and their parents would bring a dish to pass; it was a major
event of the year. Report cards were always handed out and it
was always reassuring to know that next year I would be going
into a new grade, moving up the ladder to the ultimate goal of
upperclassman. Summer, it seemed, was
simply one long wondertul party. In
addition to multiple excursions on
Friendship Mound, the most popular
spot in town was Friendship Pond. I'm
sure the parents were most grateful for
the swimming hole, since the village
provided a baby sitter, i.e., a life guard,
for all of the children of the village. Burt
Morris was the first lifeguard that I
remember and it was at his hands that I
learned to swim. I remember well one of
the greatest days of my life, when I was
finally' qualified to swim to the raft
without supervision. From that time
forward, the whole Friendship Pond was
my domain and there were days when we FriendshipLake frorn atop the mound.
would be engaged in swimming lessons
might be interesting to reminisce somewhat along the line that
all morning, then spend the entire afternoon playing King of the
Winn McGowan did some sixty years earlier regarding the local
Raft, and on occasion going back to the pond in the evening for
landmarks in the village.
one last round of horseplay. From time to time several of us
As a young boy I remember Friendship as a thriving village
would get the urge to prove our aquatic prowess and engage in
serving a farm community. During our many games of hide-andswimming the full length of Friendship Pond, about one mile in
seek in the village, we considered every business as a potential
length from the dam to Mochovich' s Bridge. The swim itself was
hiding place. For example, Bowers Feed Mill located on the
never a problem, other than the creepy sensation of swimming
northwest corner of Second Street and Adams Street was always
through weed beds on the eastern end of the lake. Friendship
a thriving business and a wonderful place to hide amongst the
Pond not only provided unlimited swimming opportunities, but
feed sacks in one of numerous storage rooms. Perhaps most
also provided the resources for water skiing. Jim Horan, Russ
amazing, Al Bowers never objected as long as we stayed out of
Nelson and Ted Ashworth were but several of the local boat
the grinding room because there of course we could get
owners to tow us avid water skiers. Most of my water skiing was
seriously injured. In addition to Bowers Feed Mill there was also
done with Jim Horan and he was a most gracious person in
the Union Cenex Feed Mill located on the south side of Second
allowing any of us to join him with a few laps around the pond.
Street between West and Raymond Streets just east of the old
He provided the boat, water skis, and many hours of enjoyment.
"I
o-
-
--
1
A
-
-., .
T-
121
Bower's Feed Store.
GAR Hall building. There were three farm implement stores in
town, John Deere run by Mr. and Mrs. Macourek located on the
south side of Second Street midway between Main Street and
West Street in the old World War II quonset building; Case
Implement, operated by Mr. Nichols, located on the northeast
corer of West Street and Third Street, and the Ford Implement
Company located in the Jerdee building south of the McGowan
House. The principal general store was Picus & Sons located on
the northwest corer of Main Street and Second Street. Picus
had everything. They were the major clothing and sewing
supply center, and they also had a grocery store. The other major
grocery store in town was Hintz IGA located just west of Bowers
Feed Mill. Roseberry's Funeral Home was of course situated at
the south end of Main Street where it still operates today. It was
always exciting and a bit scary to explore the basement of
Roseberry's where that old horse drawn hearse was stored.
Looking north from Roseberry's Funeral Home on the east
side of Main Street was the Ford Garage run by the Sharapata
Brothers. Immediately north of the garage was an apartment
building which was the original Adams County Courthouse.
North of this apartment building was Attorney James Horan's
house. Although Mr. Horan's principal occupation was
postmaster, he would provide some legal services, such as
drafting wills, out of his residence. North of the Horan house was
the Holm house located on the southeast corer of Main and
Fourth Streets.
Across Fourth Street to the north lying just south of the
courthouse was I believe the Jereczek residence. And of course,
next to the north was the courthouse. I always considered the
courthouse as my living room, since my parents ran a coffee
shop in the same block and we did not have large living quarters;
thus much of my playtime was spent in the halls, underground
passageway, and sheriff s quarters (including empty jail cells) of
the courthouse building. Even when the courthouse was closed,
we spent endless hours playing on the steps and the fire escape.
Perhaps most delightful, we used the steep grade of the
sidewalks going up to the courthouse as our track for home made
122
race cars. As an aside, building a race car was a major activity for
us. We first had to go over to either Picus or Hintz grocery stores
to find a perfect apple crate. From there we would bike over to
Bob Soucek's shop on the west side of town to find a few 2 X 4s
for building the structure of the race car. Then we had to
meticulously plan a major bicycle trip down to Steffen's junk
yard south of the railroad tracks in Adams. There were no
sidewalks south of the railroad tracks, meaning that for a block or
two we had to push our bikes through the sand along the
highway's edge. Once we arrived at Steffen's we were able to
procure the necessary steel rods and most importantly, good
buggy wheels. We had to bike all the way back, assemble our
respective stock cars, and the races were on! This whole
process usually consumed the entire summer of building and
rebuilding our stock cars and racing them down the courthouse
sidewalk. Once in a while we would schedule an evening race
when there was no business at the courthouse so that we could
use the back driveway ramp which was even better than the front
sidewalk.
Continuing along Main Street from the courthouse, the first
building was a very small office, utilized as Fulton Collipp's law
office. North of that was the barber shop owned and operated by
Bob Gerike, with his assistant Les Galbraith. North of the barber
shop was Mac's Dairy Bar. This was not a full restaurant, but
more of.an ice cream and sandwich shop along with magazines,
newspapers, school supplies and tourist novelties. Operated by
my parents, Packy and Alyce McFarlin, this was my home and
our living quarters were in the back. The living quarters by
today's standards were small, yet I didn't give it a thought since
to me, my living and play space extended to the whole village.
Continuing north from the Dairy Bar was the Post Office. Every
day it was my job to run next door to the post office and pick up
the mail. Either Postmaster Jim Horan or his assistant, Bud Lowe,
would greet me. On occasion 100 baby chicks would also greet
me since some local farmers would order young chickens and
have them delivered by mail! That post office lobby could be a
noisy place. North of the Post Office was an old vacant building
which wasn't too well secured and thus I had ample opportunity
to play and explore in an interesting cavernous room with a
vaulted ceiling and very thick walls. I have later learned that this
"playroom" was the fireproof vault of the original Gunning
abstract Office building built in 1899. The last building on the
block was the Corer Bar which remains in operation today.
On the northeast comer of Main and Second Streets was Bill
and Rena Murphy's Gambles Store. Upstairs of the Gambles
Store were apartments. North of the Gambles Store was the only
restaurant in town which was known as the Friendship Caf6, or
Blanche's Caf6. North of the caf6 was, and still is, the Masonic
Temple Hall. A vacant lot north of the Masonic Hall separated Dr.
Treadwell's building to the north. I don't recall precisely whether
Dr. Treadwell was still in practice in 1955 but I do remember going
to him for some cough medicine at one point in my life, and his
office was located on the north side of the building. Gambles,
formerly known as Skogmos, had originally occupied the south
side of Dr. Treadwell's building, but I believe this space was
vacant in the mid-1950s. Moving north, the next building is
Krejcik's Clothing Store located on the southeast corer of Main
and First Streets. All during my childhood this store was closed.
However, from time to time, Glen Krejchik would have the front
door open and several of us would find our way into the store. It
was a fascinating place because everything was in place and it
was as if the store could be opened the next morning and
business would continue as usual; yet everything in the store
was from the day it closed in the 1940s.
Moving north into the next block was Alice Nemitz's house,
and north of that was Charles and Rena Fichter's residence. We
would often go up to Fichter's house because in the back of the
house was an old tire
engine. We could spend
hours playing on that old
engine. Just north of
Fichter's was the headquarters for the local
Rural Electric Co-Op, then
simply referred to as the
"REA" and today known
as the Adams-Columbia
Electric Cooperative. This
originally
building
housed an auto garage
and in fact was the first
location for the Friendship Fire Department.
Moving northward at the
north end of Main Street
was George and Mary
Polivka's residence, and
to the west was the Leslie
and Mary McFarlin residence, formerly known as
was George Polivka' s
Standard Oil Service Station. George Polivka was of course a
relatively wealthy man, having acquired his good fortune
through hard labor and a keen perception of the importance of
electric power and his involvement in the development of
electricity in the community. George was known as the "banker"
in the community. One could always get their payroll check
cashed at George's station if the banks weren't open. Moving
south from Polivka's Service Station was the old Adams County
Press building. This building had long been abandoned and was
used as a storage building for George Polivka's many auto parts.
Immediately south was a small unpainted shabby house formerly
known as the millinery shop. To the south of this was Hok's
Meat Market, formerly Wormet's Meat Market, located on the
northwest corner of Main and First Streets.
Beginning in the next block, set back some distance from
Main Street, was an old dilapidated abandoned house which was
originally J. W. Gunning's residence. South of this old building
was the bowling alley run by Clyde and Millie Giessel, formerly
known as Wesley's Bar and Bowling Alley. During the winter
months, this was a popular place for us since you could bowl for
$.25 a line. South of the bowling alley was a building that was
used for storage by Picus but was in an earlier day the Friendship
Library building. And, as earlier noted, Picus's clothing and
grocery general store was located on the northwest corner of
Main and Second Streets. This building was built in 1920 and still
stands today.
Moving south into the next block was an abandoned
building which was used for storage purposes by Picus also, and
was originally Hill & Sons General Store, probably the major
th. AchePrcn -Hntel
Moving in a southerly direction along the
west side of Main Street
at the corner of Mill Hill
Little Leaguers, 1956: top, l-r: TomiRobertson, George Woodruff Gary Sorenson, John Lecy, David
Moran, Clinton Lecy, Jim Allen, Howard Edwards.front, l-r: Tom Murray, Gordon Klaus, Howard
Ochs, Merritt Klaus, Dave Tuttle.
123
highway shop on the west side of town
located west of Quincy Street and
between Second and Third Streets.
Another favorite place was Bob
Soucek's woodworking shop located
in the old Robert Roseberry residence
on the southwest corner of Raymond
and Second Streets. One other activity
I would mention that played a big part
in my life in Friendship as a young boy
were the times spent at the residence of
Floyd Easterman located on what is
now known as Airport Drive and is
presently occupied by the current
Sheriff, Roberta and her husband,
Frank Sindelar. This residence was sort
of a second home to me because it had a
wonderful swamp where we could
pursue grass snakes, frogs, tadpoles,
and other miscellaneous critters of the
Celebrating the Friendship Centennial, 1957: Ray Kiedrowski, retired Sheriff Frank
swamp. Furthermore, my good friend
Parks, Committee member William Murphy, Co-ChairmanDon Hollman.
Floyd Easterman had constructed a tree
feet
in
the
air. That tree house constituted my
some
35
house
general store of Adams County during its many years of service,
during
the course of a summer, without
the
sky.
Thus,
home
in
owned and operated by Albert Hill. South of the old Hill store
our
life was amply abundant in the
and
computers,
television
building was a small shop that I recall as abandoned. South of
in
the
Village of Friendship. All of the
activities
joys
of
everyday
this building was Rank's Bar located in the original William
integral
part of my world growing up in
were
an
above
locations
Wrchota Saloon Building. This building is probably one of the
Friendship.
oldest wooden structures in Friendship. South of this building
Summer came to an end for me on Labor Day, when summer
was a large two-story double store front office building
school
vacation ended and it was time to start another school
originally built by Gunning & Purves. Located on the north half
Yet
just as this transition occurred, another major annual
year.
of the building was Jerry and Elaine Kotek's radio shop, and on
was
in the making. The most important place in Adams
event
the south side of the building in the rear was the abstract office
at
the end of every summer was the Adams County
County
where one could always find Polly Willard toiling over her
Usually right after Labor Day beginning early in the
Fairgrounds.
abstract records. I don't recall what business, if any, occupied
rides would start to arrive, and commence
week,
the
carnival
the front south office space, which was for many years the
with
eager anticipation that all of us would rush
up.
It
was
setting
Friendship State Bank until it closed during the depression. Next
after
school in early September to watch the
to
the
fairgrounds
to the Gunning building on the south was the old Langer
of
the
rides.
We
usually took Thursday afternoon to
erection
Hardware Store. It was an ancient weather beaten building
our
fair
booths
in
the school exhibit building located
construct
located on the northwest corer of Main and Third Streets. My
the
fairgrounds
in the old horse exhibit
on
the
north
side
of
recollection is that the store was not in operation in 1955.
is
correct,
we
had Friday off of school
building.
If
my
recollection
South of Third Street of course was the Hotel Friendship
ourselves in the many
into
the
weekend
to
immerse
which
led
leading
to
The
stairs
operated by John and Kathryn Sanderson.
event
was
the stock car races on
of
the
fair.
The
big
festivities
a
the old basement storefronts in the hotel building were always
lucky
because
my father was
night.
I
was
usually
pretty
Saturday
great hiding place. South of the hotel were two residences, first
to
ride
with him on
meant
that
I
got
the
fire
department,
which
on
the Purves residence, second the Harold Ashworth residence
truck
and
be
out
in
the
center
of
the
ball
diamond
to watch
the
fire
located on the northwest corer of Main and Fourth Street.
the old
-both
the
new
and
races.
The
grandstands
the
South of Fourth Street was the Carl and June Hanke
full
to
capacity.
Being a
to
the
west
-were
always
grandstand
Miss
residence, and moving south along Main Street was
"city"
kid,
I
was
probably
not
as
interested
in
the
many
Katherine McGowan's house. South of the McGowan house
all
there,
and it
as
I
am
today,
but
they
were
agricultural
exhibits
along the curve in Highway "Lucky" 13 was the Nultemier
weekend.
boy
a
fantastic
to
a
young
was
that
was
Implement and Appliance Store, and south of
Petruska's house which was originally the Buckhorn School
Fall
building converted into a residence. Petruska's driveway,
Fall was ushered in with the beginning of school, the Adams
a
convenient
was
to
West
Street
Street
from
Main
extending
County
Fair, and the first nippy evenings. While softball was still
of
that
to
school.
South
on
our
way
shortcut for us youngsters
popular
on the school playground during recess, after school
beer
the
old
root
I
believe
that
Station.
was the Citgo Service
centered on a football scrimmage on the courthouse
was
usually
station
had
of
the
Citgo
to
the
north
immediately
stand located
the days got cooler, the whole community began
front
lawn.
As
by
1955.
been removed
for
hunting season. Almost every Saturday and/or
to
gear
up
the
county
included
in
the
village
Other points of interest
124
Sunday either my father or uncle would take me squirrel hunting.
However, the hunting part was merely part of the fun. The best
part was being able to drive the car on the country roads looking
for good squirrel trees. By the time I reached ten years of age, I
was proficient enough that it was expected that whenever we
went hunting, I would do the driving. As hunting season
approached in October, after school or on weekends would find
several of us out at Ki Roseberry's house on the far east edge of
town where we could practice with our bows and arrows. Ki had
set up a hay bale backstop and targets out in the old apple
orchard area east of his house and always welcomed any of us
youngsters to sharpen our skills at his shooting range.
In the midst of brisk cold evenings came Halloween.
Halloween was always celebrated with extensive trick-ortreating. However, since the village of Friendship had a limited
population, we discovered that if we would go to Adams, we
could get a lot more "hits," thereby greatly enhancing our illbegotten gains from All Hallows Eve. The local town folks tried
to entertain us with free movies and perhaps a Halloween party
at the school, but those events simply could not compete with
the thrill and adventure of traipsing around Friendship and
Adams in our finest costumes. While I am sure some parents
accompanied their children, my recollection does not include
any parental guidance on Halloween Eve, which may be the
reason it was so much fun.
Two major events always happened in November. First was
the snow, and second was deer hunting season. Life in
Friendship became very hectic during deer season and the whole
community transfixed its attention on the rigors of bringing
home a deer. Pot luck dinners and hotels and restaurants were
full to capacity. Red (not orange) from one end of the county to
the other prevailed for deer hunting season.
Winter
While summer was definitely the greatest time for adventure
as a young boy growing up in Friendship, certainly winter
provided its share of entertainment. I do not recall a year in which
we did not have some snow cover by deer hunting season.
Certainly by the end of November there always seemed to be
significant snow cover. Like summer, winter also depended on
Friendship Pond for the principal entertainment of us young
folks. Ashworth Brothers still conducted their ice cutting
operation on Friendship Pond and therefore they would clear the
whole west end of the pond area for ice cutting operations. Thus,
it was a natural ice skating rink. Interestingly, the only protection
between open water and the ice skating was a few ice blocks
placed on the ice. It was clearly understood that one stayed clear
of the open water. I can certainly never remember anyone even
threatened by falling in open water. It was simply a natural
situation that everyone knew about and understood and did not
tempt with unnecessary risk. Friendship Pond was the social
center of winter life. There was always a hockey game going on
and always a bonfire to warm one's cold hands and feet.
Ashworth Brothers even took the liberty of setting up a sled
attached to a long pole that pivoted at a center point, sort of a
merry-go-round type of device where the person on the sled
would be propelled to speeds sufficient to literally throw one off
the sled, flying across the ice. This was a fantastic device that
entertained us for hours throughout the winter season. In the
evening hours, especially Friday evening and Saturday evening,
there was always a bonfire going down on the pond and if there
were not enough to get a hockey game going, we could still play
ice tag.
In addition to the activities on the pond, there was always
sledding. There were two principal sledding areas in town. The
first consisted of Zika's Hill which was located on the south side
of what now is Friendship Park. Back in 1955 there was no park
and in fact the area at the bottom of the park area was a
marshland because of the natural springs located there. Thus,
when we slid down the steep embankment we would invariably
go into this marshland and, without fail, eventually end up with
water in a boot as we broke through the fragile ice covering in the
swampy spring area. There were actually several hills which we
identified as Big Dynamite and Little Dynamite and we could
spend hours challenging one another to see how far our sleds
could be propelled across the marsh area without breaking
through the ice. The other major sledding area was referred to as
Laughing Trail on the mound. It's located just south of Chimney
Rock on the east side of the mound. It's a very long trail, starting
at the top of the mound and ending at the base of the mound in
the ditch off Highway 13. The trail had several curves and if one
wasn't properly attuned to the trail, one would inevitably run the
risk of a sore rear-end or worse, such as a cut lip, from the rigors
of a bad spill. In spite of the many trees lining Laughing Trail, I
cannot recall any serious accident which was probably a miracle.
Another treat in the winter was the hay ride. Usually one of
our farm friends would organize a hay ride at some point during
the winter and we would be invited out to that friend's home
where we would be treated to a hay ride through the country side
and then hot chocolate and goodies afterwards.
Not only does it seem, but I'm quite confident that in 1955
the snow falls were substantially greater than today and I
certainly recall the snow piles around town being fantastic
mountains of snow for that most popular game of "King of the
Hill."
The village would plow snow into heaping piles throughout
the village. Every intersection had at least one mound of snow.
For example, I remember every year a popular spot for piling
snow was in the alley south of Second Street just east of Main
Street. This area snow pile was one of my favorite hills and we
would be able to spend endless hours playing on the snow hill
and building snow forts, and of course engaging in snow ball
fights.
As a young boy, I eagerly looked forward to each of the
seasons -- each with its unique and exciting challenges. As one
modem commentator has suggested, it takes a community to
raise a child. The Village of Friendship was as fine a community
as a young boy could ever have as his own back yard.
125
From Past To Present: The History of Adams County - Link Page
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