From Where I Sit

By Pat Spilseth, Columnist

Fall seems to bring back nostalgic feelings and memories of when we felt life was more innocent. Who doesn’t wax nostalgic at times? In this time of uncertainty and chaos, doesn’t it feel great to remember past days of a simple life? Some memories can’t be beat!

Growing up in Glenwood in the fifties and sixties, life was so good for a kid like me. Remember  the TV show set in Mayberry, that idylic little village where Andy Griffith and Barney Fife were the local law enforcement? I miss those “good times” shows on TV featured in the fifties and sixties. Remember Hoss and Little Joe from “Bonanza”? I fell in love with the devilishly handsome black-masked Zorro, and regularly watched Jack Webb on “Dragnet” and my after-school favorite, “Dick Clark’s Bandstand.”

What happened to that Mayberry life? Where is Sheriff Andy, Goober and that quaint rural hamlet of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the No. 1 show on CBS from 1960-68? I bet I’m not the only TV watcher who misses those nostalgic shows. I’ve had too much of critical “Bachelor” shows and shoot-’em-up gangsters, blowing up buildings, and cars speeding, crashing and killing! I’m really sick of the today’s news shows and all the political hollering!

I loved watching Sheriff Andy’s cruiser, the Ford Galaxy, prowling the town giving rides to friends. Many folks of my age and background want to view TV shows which recall memories of a simpler life when we were kids with two-parent families and happy times riding bikes without helmets and safely playing in the woods.

The same nostalgia brings to mind my hometown of Glenwood, Minn., back in the ‘50s and ‘60s when Sheriff Hank DeKok and his grinning deputy Lynn Krook patrolled Pope County keeping law and order. Though those years had a few notorious gangs and bank robbers, most of the prisoners at our jail, where my family lived, were mild outlaws and friendly drunks. However, my dad, Sheriff Hank, did have a paroled prisoner from the notorious state penitentiary in Stillwater. Our family never considered Elmer anything but a good guy who made some bad decisions. How disappointing to discover that he was killed in a high-speed robbery chase.

Every fall, my favorite, Blackie, would land in jail. He was a gymnast, entertaining friends and me at the jail windows with acrobatic flips and tricks performed on thin jail mattresses piled on the bullpen floor. His only visitor was Nicotine Nelly, his mom, who picked up cigarette butts on the sidewalk downtown, which she felt were still worth a smoke.

Verdi was another regular jail resident. He attracted girls from the entire area with his Brylcreemed blonde curls which he combed with his ever-present small black comb, missing a few teeth. A man of few words, he never failed to mention how good looking he was. He said little; he merely smiled. That seemed to be enough for his adoring, giggly admirers.

Several memorable characters I never want to forget are Glenwood’s two newspapers’ publishers, enemies from the start. Both papers existed for a short time until the powers-that-be ran the in-your-face, Irish-kilted character out of town. In Glenwood, men wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a kilt! Shannon published a weekly newspaper “The Green Sheet” which called the other newspaper editor “Barnsmess.” Though I bet most newspaper readers got a kick out of the name-calling, that wasn’t acceptable in our little town of Lutherans and Catholics.

Church was instrumental in our social lives. Religiously, we never failed to attend Sunday morning worship. Any absence was sure to be noted and questioned. Our reputations were sacred; we listened to our parents, most of our teachers and doctors in those days.

Church services were conducted at the jail on Saturday nights. Pastor L.D.Kramer of the Assemblies of God church brought his lectern, Bible, and his accordion-playing wife to sing hymns with the silent, subdued prisoners sitting in folding chairs in Dad’s office. It was the highlight of the week for the jail guys, a chance to get out of their cells for an hour.

Though we didn’t have Mayberry’s Floyd’s barber shop, we had Al’s Barber Shop with the red and white barber pole and Cal’s next to Wimpy’s Café where folks gathered on swiveling stools for morning coffee or an early breakfast served by the Knoffs. 

Swisher’s bakery shop on the corner created succulent cinnamon rolls, caramel rolls, pies, cookies and breads with plenty of butter, white sugar and white flour. We didn’t much care for whole wheat and nuts in our breads back in those days. But frosting and plenty of sugar were requisites. Dessert was enjoyed at least three times a day at coffee parties and following daily meat and potatoes noon dinners and evening supper when the whistle blew at 6 p.m. I wonder if desserts weren’t a big reason why we had so many “repeat customers” at the jail. Guys in the jail loved Mom’s chocolate cake and cookies. 

My favorite hangout downtown was Potter’s Dime Store where penny candy was stored in glass showcases and on low shelves where I could choose waxed red lips or black mustaches, coconut chews, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Rolls and colored gum balls. What a treasure of sweets was available for only a penny!

Chevys and Fords were angle parked on Main Street downtown every Saturday night when the farmers came to town to do their week’s marketing. While dads sat in their cars visiting with the guys, moms shopped at Bob’s Meat Market on Main Street or Andersons’ grocery on the corner. Prescriptions were filled at Setters or the Corner Drug Store. At Setters kids would order cherry or lemon-lime cokes at the counter, spinning on the stools and talking about their latest crushes.

Life was simple, unsophisticated and oh, so innocent for many of us. We didn’t realize how lucky we were until we moved away for college, jobs, marriage and families. Life wasn’t that good for everybody. We were the Chosen Few in our own little Mayberry of Glenwood, Minn.

To contact Pat, email: pat.spilseth@gmail.com.