'Good old days' are always worth remembering

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 26, 2000 by CARL A. SEUFERT Capital-Journal

When we danced, we knew how it felt to be held close, and when Tommy Dorsey played "The Very Thought of You," we melted.

We made do with what we had.

Gee, weren't we lucky? Gee, weren't we happy? Gee, weren't we honest? Gee, don't we wish we could to it all over again? Gee!!!

I would like to share some nostalgia from my younger years. I remember fun trips to Baughman's Ice Cream store, Akey's Bakery, the Chocolate Shop, Edeblute's Drug Store, Robbie's Restaurant, Maynard's, the Purple Cow, Offen's Hardware and even the more recent Stratton Hardware. The Grand, Orpheum, Gem, Cozy, Coed, Dickinson and Jayhawk theaters were favorite spots for Saturday afternoons. I also miss Woolworth's, Pelletier's, Karlin's, Meadow Acres, Lake Linge, the Palace, the Leader Clothing Co., Lee Samuels, the old Throop Hotel, Crosby's, Frank Griggs Men's Wear, Ray Beers Clothing, Macy's and the rest of the downtown shopping on the Avenue. Somehow the mall just doesn't replace these old favorites.

Another favorite of my family when I was a youth was to visit Mount Hope Cemetery on steaming hot Sundays to sit on a blanket and listen to the concert from the Singing Tower.

I feel fortunate that between the years 1949 and now I have had the opportunity to grow and live in a community with a strong work ethic, to meet my life's partner, to raise two fine boys, to earn a good living, and to look forward to retirement in the wonderful city of Topeka. How lucky can a man be? I actually know that because I am the lucky one.

Carl Seufert is executive director of Mount Hope Cemetery. He spent five years flying with the Strategic Air Command, I spent the next 17 years flying in the Missouri Air National Guard at St. Joseph. He established a life insurance agency in Topeka.