Voiles: Be sure brain is in gear before putting mouth in motion

Jan Voiles

It has been said (Jim Scott, we miss you) that a person should be sure their brain is in gear before putting their mouth in motion. I’m thinking the 21st century version of that is be sure your brain is in gear before putting your keyboard in motion (or should that be hands)?

I’ve also noted before, dear readers, that my mind works better in reverse. This past Sunday was a great day for reverse thinking. Let’s call it “Treasuring Trinity.” It was “standing room only” for the crowd that attended “Celebrating 100 years in His house” at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Rushville.

The service was enjoyable, especially attending with two of my three brothers. No. 3 brother Don had a granddaughter priority which was an acceptable reason for not making the two-hour drive down from Kokomo.

Also a treat was the flood of memories prompted by entering the beautiful stone edifice at the corner of Seventh and Harrison streets. Known as First United Presbyterian Church back then, that was the church in which we grew up. I remember the day we voted on changing the name to Trinity United Presbyterian Church. Later the “United” was dropped as the result of another merger.

Sunday, as local gifted singer Carol Tressler shared a medley of familiar hymns, my mind raced backwards. “How Great Thou Art” sparked memories of Claire McMichael (now Young) singing that poignant song. Then I recalled the Sunday-night-after-youth-group gatherings at her home. She had four teenage daughters and lived just a couple blocks from the church. Although she was a single mother, she always managed to come up with enough toasted cheese sandwiches and popcorn to fill the teenage crowd. We even had a taffy pull there a couple times. I can almost feel the buttery hands and the heat of the taffy, and taste the sweet-sweet morsels. She also was one of the adult supervisors when Trinity ran a youth center on Tuesdays in the church basement.

Youth group was lots of fun and fellowship. Since Mother did a lot of the driving for the group, I frequently got to tag along. The first time I had White Castle sandwiches was when the group went to “The City” to see “The 10 Commandments” on the big screen.

Back to Sunday at Trinity, the organizers planned an inspiring service and nice fellowship time afterwards. It was a blessing seeing their pride in the Lord. Dr. Pat Coons did an excellent job compiling a history of the church. Her dad, A. Hartwell (Tippy) Coons, often took some of the youth on Sunday afternoon to Runions for horseback riding. We went so often they quit sending a guide with us because we knew the trails so well.

Pat’s mother Alvene Coons and my mother were very good friends. Thinking about them reminded me of the early 1950s cookbook from First United Presbyterian Church. The recipes bring back lots of savory memories, but the names do even more. Sunday School and VBS teachers included Ruth Kirkpatrick, Mary Myers and Mrs. Poulos. Special ladies through the years were Jessie Redden, Fannie Redden, Bernetta Wagner, Laura Brett, Marjorie Lambert Shoemaker and Mabel Dudgeon.

I haven’t even mentioned the ministers who made an impression on my young life or the blessing of teaching Sunday School while I was in high school, but I guess it’s time to come back to the present, This has been a fun trip down nostalgia lane.

Speaking of nostalgia reminds me—Alvene Coons was one of the excellent contributors to our 2006 Progress edition and the Remember When pages. We would like to bring back the Remember When page, but we need your help. I’ve got some pictures, but need stories. Please take time to sit down at the keyboard or take pen and paper in hand. Set your thinkers on reverse and share with us what your childhood was like. Do you recall a big event from the past or a special day? What was an ordinary day like? Do you recall the first time you drove a car, saw television, went on a field trip or vacation? Contact me at the address below if you want to submit stories or pics.

There’s no prize for contributing, not even a yellow pencil like the Qwill Pen gives out (fellow Cat Who fans know what I mean). You will get a credit line, if you want, and our abundant gratitude.

Rejoice.



Watch for Jan Voiles Fridays in the Rushville Republican. Add a comment at www.rushvillerepublican.com.

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