the Grabers: Nostalgic memories on the way to Colorado

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Nostalgic memories on the way to Colorado

I was going to Colorado to help Mindy with the children but on the way had to drive through Hutch first as I needed to drop off something at a store. I took a little nostalgic trip through Hutch.

After graduating from high school in 1973, Al went on to Hutch JUCO but I chose to go to secretarial school. The road took me past my old alma mater, Adela Hale, at 1st and Plum. It was a business college back in the day, located in a white old Victorian home. Now a family lives there.

Adela Hale was once the private secretary to Emerson Carey , the leading salt manufacturer. There is a huge salt mine under Hutchinson "stretching 27,000 miles, one of the largest deposits of salt across the entire U.S."

Adela and her sister, Erlene, began Adela Hale Business College in 1935, although in a different location. By the 1950's, attendance was up to 250 students! When I started school in October of 1973, there were maybe 30 of us? Adela and Erlene were quite elderly by then. Adela was born in 1907 so she would have been 67. Oh wait. That isn't so elderly. That's younger than I am now!

School was every day 8:30-3:30. I carpooled with a lady from Pretty Prairie for a time. But later drove a 1952 Chevy that my brother gave to me when he bought himself a hatchback. It was quite the car. I had to fight the steering wheel - back and forth - to keep it straight on the road. No power steering, of course. Sometimes it wouldn't go above 30 mph. I'm sure it wasn't safe to drive! But it got me to Hutch and back to Pretty Prairie!

At school I learned to type on an electric typewriter (fast and proficiently), penmanship, learned the Ten Key adding machine and we had math too.

We had to learn how to type from a dictaphone. In those days a boss would dictate his "letter" onto a dictaphone and we learned to type that letter onto the electric typewriter. They must have taught short hand, but I didn't take that class.

We learned manners - how to answer the phone, how to dress, and conduct oneself among people. We even had a charm class! Yes, I had to walk the hall with a book on my head, nice and level!

The school was sold to Cranford School of Business in 1985.

1974 - swinging with Al on our front porch. During the week, we would often meet for lunch or after school since we were both in Hutchinson. On weekends, we were at either his parent's house or mine. We were together a LOT!

We often went to see movies at the Fox.

After I graduated from Adela Hale, the school helped me find a job. That is one thing they promised their students. They taught us how to do an interview of course. I had to take a typing test when I applied at the Great American Life Insurance Company. I guess I did okay because I got hired on and started in August of 1974. I think I made $350 a month; $17 a day. The office was located across from the Fox. Now it is a pool supply store.

I remember working on a machine that punched addresses onto metal plates. It was really noisy and we had to wear ear plugs. These were used to print off addresses of all the customers the company served.

These were the people I worked with for the year. I quit by the following summer because Al and I got married and moved to Lawrence. Go KU! Such quality photos we took back then!

Back to the present....I left Hutchinson on 4th street and picked up highway 14.

Went past Lyons to highway 4. I drove past the geographical center of Kansas; it is on Main street in Bushton.

"Claflin - Home of Jackie Stiles." Who? I had to look her up, I'm afraid.

I got out to stretch at the overlook of Cheyenne Bottoms; 41,000 acres of wetlands.

Sometime we'll have to come back when we can drive the pickup and take all the little paths around the wetlands. And my big camera to get photos of the water birds.

Past Hoisington, I took 281 north to Russell and stopped in to see my friend Sheryl. I forgot to get a photo. Had a good visit, then I hopped on I-70.