Page 5 S

Page 5
Let’s get acquainted
S
ince I’ve been asked to
write for the Generations
page on a monthly basis, I
thought I would introduce
myself starting with the
time I was in my youth. I
was born and raised in Ellis
County to August “Gus”
and Helen (Pfeifer) Befort.
They named me Alberta. Since then, I’ve
married and my
name is Alberta
Klaus. If my name
sounds familiar, it’s
probably because
you remember
me as the
Ellis County
clerk from
lberta
January 1997 Generations
to January.
Some of my childhood
recollections consist of
living on a farm southwest
of Hays, making mud pies
and playing with my doll.
Taming the baby kittens and
petting our cats and dogs
was a favorite pastime.
When I reached 8 years
of age, I entered the milking
business. This was done
every morning around 6
a.m. and every evening
around 5 p.m. This task
of milking by hand is easy
once you learn how to do it.
We sat on T-shaped stools
and hobbled the cows so we
wouldn’t get hit by their tails
or be kicked. This didn’t
always work the way it was
supposed to. Sometimes the
tail came undone, and when
that hard tail hit your head,
it wasn’t too pleasant. Sometimes the cows kicked and
our bucket of milk spilled.
This was a family activity
consisting of my parents,
two brothers (George and
Jim) and myself. Once done
milking, we separated the
cream from the milk, fed
the baby calves, slopped the
hogs, fed the chickens and
gathered the eggs.
By now, we’ve worked up
A
an appetite for breakfast.
My mom was a good cook
and made us a good hot
breakfast and, if we wanted
to eat cereal, there was
Post Toasties Corn Flakes
with cold milk. Do you
remember when they put
prizes, such as a package
of marbles, into the
cereal boxes? I still
have a few of those
marbles. I think I
liked the prize as
much as I enjoyed
the cereal.
After breakfast, it was
time to go to
our country
laus school,
which
was open from
September through April.
First, we went to church at
8 a.m., then to school for
religion class and finally our
public school day began at
9 a.m. and ended about 4
p.m. There were four boys
and three girls in my class.
At recess, everyone in the
eight grades went out to
play. Remember outdoor
toilets? We used them at
school and at home until I
was 12.
One thing that sticks out
about grade school was field
day. We would go to Hays
and visit different sites, such
as Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of
Natural History, Coca Cola
Bottling Co. and XL Potato
Chips House. Before summer recess, we would have a
fun day playing games.
Probably when I was
10 years old, my parents
bought me a new Schwinn
girls two-wheel bike. That
was such a nice gift until I
got caught in the sand row
along the road and flipped
the bike. I had scratches,
bruises and a chipped front
tooth. Ouch, that hurt.
We did not have television
until I was about 12 years
K
old. Our programs consisted
of what was playing on NBC
or CBS, but I remember
once watching part of the
World Series baseball game
on TV at the Antonino Hall
during part of our school
day. We must have done
that during noon recess. Of
course, the Dodgers were
playing the Yankees.
We made homemade
root beer when I was young.
It was delicious. Root beer is
still my favorite pop.
Living back in the ’40s
and ’50s in the country, our
air conditioning consisted
of opening the windows,
so things got mighty dirty.
Guess what? I was the
duster. I also helped do the
laundry with an old wringer
washer, wash tubs and
washboard. Remember that
bluing agent we used to get
whites white and lye soap?
We hung the clean wash on
an outdoor wash line. There
was no automatic washer or
dryer back than. When the
clothes were dry, Mom or
I brought the laundry back
into the house to fold and
prepare to iron. I learned
to iron by ironing hankies,
towels and pillow cases.
Here’s another thing I
remember. Dad and my
brothers drove the tractor
to cultivate the fields. Oh
how I wanted to do that, so
after much festering Dad let
me drive the tractor while
he ate lunch. It was exciting and scary. I think it also
scared my parents.
One other thing that
stands out when I was in
grade school, I took piano
and accordion lessons. That is
one of many good things my
parents encouraged me to do.
I still play both instruments.
Life was simple and good.
To be continued ...
Alberta Klaus is a contributor to The Hays Daily News
Generations advisory group.
Today is Wednesday, June 19, the 170th day of 2013.
There are 195 days left in the year.
theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.
In 1999, author Stephen King was seriously injured when he was struck by a van driven by Bryan
Smith in North Lovell, Maine.
Ten years ago: The U.S. Air Force dropped manslaughter and aggravated assault charges against two
fighter pilots who’d mistakenly bombed Canadian
soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002. (One pilot was later
found guilty of dereliction of duty and reprimanded.)
Five years ago: President George W. Bush surveyed the aftermath of devastating floods during a
quick tour of the Midwest, assuring residents and
rescuers alike that he was listening to their concerns and understood their exhaustion.
One year ago: The Southern Baptist Convention
voted to elect its first African-American president,
Rev. Fred Luter Jr.
Today’s Birthdays:
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (soo chee)
is 68. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 63. Singerdancer Paula Abdul is 51. Alt-country singer-musician
Scott Avett (AY’-veht) (The Avett Brothers) is 37. Actor Atticus Shaffer is 15.
Thought for Today:
Today’s Highlight in History:
On June 19, 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his
wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass
U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y.
On this date:
In 1862, Congress passed, and President Abraham
Lincoln signed, a measure abolishing slavery in
U.S. territories.
In 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen.
Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with
news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free.
In 1910, the first-ever Father’s Day was celebrated
in Spokane, Wash. (The idea for the observance is
credited to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd.)
In 1973, the rock musical “The Rocky Horror
Show” premiered in London (it was later adapted into the movie “The Rocky Horror Picture
Show”).
In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star
Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics,
suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Lou- “Free thinkers are generally those who never think at all.”
isiana law requiring any public school teaching the — Laurence Sterne, English author (1713-1768).
Monday, Community
Tuesday, Arts
Wednesday, Generations
Thursday, Community
Friday, Faith
Generations
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
To submit content
for this page, email
[email protected]
How to spot and avoid fraud
her include reminding her
to never give out her Social
Security number or financial
information unless she initiated the contact and knows
the institution.
or large withdrawals.
Also, see if your mother
If, however, she doesn’t
would be willing to let you
want you looking at her
sort her mail before she
financial records, there are
opens it so you can weed out
Dear Troubled,
other clues.
Financial scams that target
For example: Is she getting the junk.
To reduce the junk mail
the elderly continue to be a
a lot of junk mail for contests,
and email she gets, use the
big problem in the United
free trips and sweepstakes?
Direct Marketing AssoStates. In fact, it’s estimated
Is she receiving calls from
ciation consumer opt-out
some 5 million Americans
strangers offering awards
service at www.dmachoice.
older than 60 are scammed
or moneymaking deals?
org. And to stop credit card
out of approximately $3 bil- Also, notice if her spending
and insurance offers, use the
lion every year.
habits have changed, if she
Here are some tips that
has complained about being Consumer Credit Reportcan help you spot a scam,
short of money lately, or has ing Industry opt-out service
and what you can do to pro- suddenly become secretive or at www.optoutprescreen.
tect your mother.
defensive about her finances. com or call (888) 567-8688.
All these might be signs of They will ask for your mom’s
Social Security number and
trouble.
date of birth.
Register your mother’s
Spotting a scam or a con
home and cellphone numbers
artist is not always easy to
do. They range from shady
The most effective way to on the National Do Not Call
Registry, www.donotcall.gov
financial advisers to slickhelp protect your mom is to
talking telemarketers, from
alert her to the different kind or (888) 382-1222) to reduce
telemarketers. And help her
professional caregivers to
of scams out there.
relatives who steal from the
The easiest way to do this get a free copy of her credit
report at annualcreditreport.
very people they’re supposed is by visiting the Financial
com to make sure she isn’t a
to be looking after.
Fraud Enforcement Task
victim of identity theft.
The most common scams Force website (stopfraud.
targeting seniors today come gov — click on “Protect
in the form of free-lunch
Yourself ”), where you can get
seminars selling dubious
a rundown on the different
If you suspect an older
financial products, tricky/
types of scams making the
relative has been the victim
high-pressure telemarketrounds these days.
of a scam, report it to your
ing calls, and endless junk
The Better Business
mail peddling free vacation
Bureau Scam Stopper site at state securities regulator’s
office (see nasaa.org for
packages, sweepstakes, phony www.bbb.org/scam-stopper
contact information), or
charity fundraisers and more. is another good resource.
Adult Protective Services
And, of course, there’s the
If your mother doesn’t
— call (800) 677-1116 for
ongoing problem of identity have access to a computer,
theft, Medicare fraud, doorprint out the materials your- contact information, which
investigate reports of elderly
to-door scams, credit card
self and use them to start a
financial abuse. Also report
theft, and Internet and email conversation.
the incident to local law
scams.
It’s also a good idea to
enforcement.
The best way to spot a
keep close tabs on your
scam is to help your mom
mom’s social circle. Has she
Send questions to:
manage her finances — or at acquired any questionable
Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443,
least monitor her accounts.
new friends lately, or is she
Norman, OK 73070, or visit
Reviewing her financial
seeing anyone who’s givSavvySenior.org. Jim Miller
statements each month can
ing her advice, financial or
is a contributor to NBC’s “Toalert you to questionable
otherwise?
day” show and author of “The
checks, credit card charges
Some other tips to protect
Savvy Senior” book.
Dear Savvy Senior,
Can you offer some tips on
protecting seniors from financial
scams? My neighbor’s elderly
mother recently was swindled out
of $10,000, and I want to make
sure my own mother is protected.
Troubled Daughter
Scam watching
Protect your parent
Report it
Reception
After 35 years with the
Kansas Forest Service,
Jim Strine,
northwest
area district
forester, is
retiring.
A public
reception will
be from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday
at the Hays Agricultural Research Center auditorium.
Mandatory retirement age for Pa. judges upheld
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
— Pennsylvania’s highest
court this week unanimously
rejected a challenge to a
constitutional provision that
requires judges to retire by
the end of the year in which
they turn 70.
The state Supreme Court
ruled on a pair of lawsuits
filed by judges who argued
the mandatory-retirement
provision, part of a 1968
amendment, amounted to
age discrimination.
Robert Heim, the lawyer
for three judges who filed
the lawsuit, said he does not
plan to appeal, but vowed
to continue litigating a similar suit pending in federal
court.
The decision was the latest
in a string of unsuccessful
efforts to knock down the
retirement requirement.