Dear Joe

Dear Joe, We write to personally thank Jay Kerner for the item he wrote regarding our work as “Barney & Clyde”. We hope that it brought back tons of good memories to the many, many kids that we worked to each Saturday morning. All shows being taped on Saturday mornings and aired throughout the following week allowed us to work one on one with untold numbers of St. Joseph Children. These years of Professional Clowning brought us personal satisfaction that we shall never forget.  I have been a member of The Masonic Fraternity for 54 years now, and as a member of Saxton Lodge #508, A.F. & A.M., I will be assisting my Lodge in ringing the bell for The Salvation Army on Saturday, December 20, 2008. I will be doing this as “Barney the Clown”, and would be glad to see the “kids” now that they have grown. The location will be near the J.C. Penny store at the

East

Hills

Shopping Center, with my “ring-time” being to that day. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, December 12th, 2008
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For Gifts They’ll Remember: “Black Velvet, If You Please!”

By Eavin Moore

 

I don’t watch much television normally; an episode of Antiques Roadshow here or there, the occasional production of Masterpiece Theater. So it was really complete happenstance when I spied a commercial recently for a unique local retailer. Perhaps you’ve seen it yourself. It’s the one that features vintage pedal cars, reproductions of the type lucky children enjoyed a half century or so ago. The business is called Black Velvet Nostalgia. I noted the address on North 71 Highway and loaded up the CLAMS van for a look-see.

 

As I approached the location, just a half mile north of The Shoppes at North Village, I recognized a building on the west side of the highway that has, over the years, housed a variety of previous businesses: a daycare facility and a barbeque restaurant most recently in memory. Today an attractive sign adorned with a likeness of Betty Boop greets visitors. I turned in and parked.

 

I was met inside by owner Marcia Abel and a cast of characters straight out of

Hollywood. The previously mentioned Miss Boop had a display just inside the door, with a nice selection of gift items, all featuring the cartoon flapper.

 

“Still looks pretty good for76 years old, doesn’t she?” Marcia asked, as we began our tour.

 

We wandered past an I Love Lucy display, where a mannequin of the famous redhead recreates a scene from the episode with the candy and the conveyor belt. An antique television played taped black and white moments from the show, which probably played on it live when originally aired in the late-fifties.

 

Marilyn Monroe has a corner of her own. Her image graces items from coffee cups up to a life size model, complete with a fan to blow up her skirt, recreating a scene stamped indelibly on the frontal lobes of any young man who ever saw it. James Dean, in cardboard, stands guard at the entrance to the Thunderbird Theater. The majestic movie palace has but two seats, and shows a constant lineup of classics.

 

Just around the corner is a “Gone With The Wind” display. A cabinet holds a number of San Francisco Music Box re-creations of scenes from the film. Through a doorway and the yellow brick road led us right into a display from The Wizard of Oz. Glenda The Good Witch watched over us as we passed. I kept a sharp eye out for flying monkeys as we moved past The Emerald City.

 

A turn to the left and John Wayne peered at us from a wild west town. Man-made rain ran from the roof to the gutter before an unseen pump recycled it up again. “The Duke” lives on in memorabilia bearing his likeness, as well as the video of McClintock playing endlessly for passersby.

 

On through the next doorway, and it’s plain to see where the proprietor’s interests lie. Elvis isn’t just The King of Rock and Roll; he’s also The King at Black Velvet Nostalgia. He has a place of honor in the largest display in the building, complete with a life-size replica with both sound and lightshow. I’ve been to

Graceland and Elvis museums around the country, and it’s clear that this display wasn’t just put together for retail purposes. Marcia is a fan of the first order, but this is a museum where everything on display is also for sale. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, December 12th, 2008
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Red and Green Christmas

Andrea Smith, Manager,

Remington

Nature

Center of

St. Joseph 

One day makes all the difference in a season. Can you believe Christmas is only two weeks away? It’s a time of decorations, presents, wrappings, family, joy, and unfortunately, waste. The accumulation of waste is unavoidable; fortunately there are some things we can do to cut down and do our part to help the environment during this time of holly and glitter. Pine boughs and evergreen trees are a holiday must in many households. As your family gathers to choose that perfect evergreen, consider a live tree that can be planted after the holiday. You would still get that fresh pine scent, as well as gain a new addition to your windrow. When trimming branches to make room for all those presents under the tree, consider hanging the cut boughs for more holiday cheer instead of purchasing extra garland for stair banners.  When decorating your tree, use edible ornaments. There is the traditional popcorn garland for you, and the birds! Dried fruits and seeds can be made into ornaments that will add color to any theme and turn your tree into a buffet for wildlife. If you would like to make ornaments specifically for your avian friends, try pinecones stuffed with peanut butter or suet and rolled in seeds. Your yard will become decorated with the birds from your neighborhood. Another way to cut down on holiday leftovers is to cook the right amount of food for the crowd expected. According to the National Wildlife Federation, if every person in the

United States throws away just one bite of turkey, there will be eight million pounds of turkey wasted. So save those leftovers, and enjoy them in the days to come. Keep in mind that it is not good for your pets to chew on bird bones, no matter how much they beg for it, as the hollow bones of birds can shatter and present a choking hazard.  (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, December 12th, 2008
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“The Wandering Joe”

by Tom Loomer

“Cuppa Joe, please” will not get me a cup of coffee in

Thailand or most other countries in the world except the

USA, maybe. Even in the

USA the waitress would probably have to be older and familiar with the old expression. I find that most foreign countries I travel in, the word CAFE gets me coffee. It is pronounced Caa FEE with the emphasis on the final syllable as in Caa FAY!! with the E pronounced like a hard A. But this is not enough to get me a standard black coffee from a pot of drip-ground coffee (a weak coffee as most people outside the

USA and

Canada would judge it.)  (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Saturday, November 29th, 2008
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The Regular Joe First Fridays Art Crawl

 

When:  The First Friday of every month beginning December 5th, from .

Where: Downtown, from 5th to 8th on Felix and Francis.

Art, like the opposable thumb, it’s one of the things that separate us from the lower beasts. I don’t know what deep seated motivation made the Neanderthals (or was it the Cro-magnons?), draw pre-historic bison on their cave walls. Possibly they were documenting migratory patterns in ancient game animals, but then again, maybe that was just their version of the Dogs Playing Poker.

Whatever the reason, some of us are compelled to create art, and many of the rest of us are compelled to display it.

Art is subjective. One man’s paint by number on black velvet is another’s priceless masterpiece. Speaking of price, isn’t it interesting how two canvasses can be the same size and hold the same volume of paint, yet be priced as far apart as possible. The only real difference is how the pigments are distributed. The starving artist cliché is just as prevalent as the genius who isn’t appreciated until after his or her death.

I have no concept of what makes one better than another, but as the man once said, “I knows what I likes.”

St. Joe, for all the self deprecation we heap upon ourselves, has always had an appreciation for art. It’s just a theory, but maybe a lot of 19th century settlers left their art treasures behind when they swapped them for bags of flour and coffee before heading west in their covered wagons. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Saturday, November 29th, 2008
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Taking Care of Number One

By Jay Kerner

This holiday season will be one of the strangest in recent memory. Retailers are nervous. The stock market is in the toilet. The price of gas rose to an all time high this fall, before teasing us with lows not seen for several years, though projections call for it to go back up soon. Most people I talk to are re-thinking all the financial decisions in their lives, and certainly included in this is their holiday spending.

f you’ve been a regular reader of The Regular Joe, you know our position on buying local. Whether we’re talking tires or tenderloins, jeans or jewelry, spending your precious dollars here in town with locally owned, locally operated businesses, is vital to our community like never before. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, November 28th, 2008
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Community Update

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”~ Mother Teresa 

What a profound thought! So many times, when people are asked what they would wish for our world, we often hear things like “world peace” and “solve world hunger.” However, Mother Teresa was wise enough to recognize our incredible need as humans to love and be loved. We should be so proud Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater St. Joseph volunteers and donors also recognize this innate need.            Big Brothers Big Sisters strives to make a difference in the lives of children from one-parent and non-traditional homes by pairing them with adult mentors who show the love and appreciation that Mother Teresa spoke of. The love, appreciation and guidance that volunteers give to children helps establish their sense of self-worth and self-confidence. When children feel good about themselves it shows in everything they do. The show of love and appreciation is then passed on to those around them. It becomes contagious.            The Big Brothers Big Sisters program benefits the entire community by providing prevention and intervention to at-risk youth. Children in our program are less likely to begin using drugs and alcohol, experience increased self-esteem, and are less likely to skip school. Everyone would agree that our children’s education is extremely important. Knowing the benefits that our program provides, the more children we have involved in the program, the better education every child will have. The program helps alleviate the burden that has been thrust upon educators over the past several years. Teachers will be able to spend less time handling behavioral issues in the classroom and be able to focus more time on teaching. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, November 28th, 2008
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Restored Architecture adds Flavor to Two Local Dining Spots

By Eavin Moore

I got a call from a friend telling me about a new restaurant in an old restored house on South 10th. I remembered hearing something about a lady who was struggling to restore an old brick structure that had formerly been scheduled for destruction. Now after overcoming countless obstacles, The Gothic House Tea and Eatery is open for business. I called and made an appointment to stop by. That’s when things got confusing.

I mentioned the scheduled visit to my wife, who proceeded to inform me that I had the address wrong. Some friends from work had recently eaten there and had nothing but the most flattering things to say, but it was in the 1300 block of Felix not South 10th. Huh? I loaded up the CLAMS Van and decided to go on a little reconnaissance mission.

It turned out that I did have the address right for The Gothic House. The place on Felix is The J.C. Wyatt House, another lovingly restored 19th century home serving amazing food. I decided to combine my efforts and do a story on both.

The Gothic House Tea and Eatery, 720 South 10th (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, November 28th, 2008
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Dear Joe

Dear Joe,

A late congratulations on your first year.

 

As I’ve been preparing for family to arrive, buying all of the groceries typical this time of year and putting out all of the extra bedding I thought a lot about some of the stories, features and events you have done in your first year. 

I don’t always agree with what I read in your paper, but I have always been pleased with your position. This is a wonderful community and I, like so many of your readers, am proud to be just a Regular Joe! 

Please keep us posted through this holiday season as to ways we can help take care of our other Joes. And keep pushing for the local organizations like Grace House and Second Harvest….they too are Regular Joes!!

A proud, yet Regular Joe,

Jessie Brown (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, November 28th, 2008
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Caveman Weekend ‘08

by Jay Kerner

If you’ve been reading us for a while, you might remember how some friends and I get together every fall for a little Bacchanalia fest we call “Caveman Weekend.” Our motto: booze, bikes and bullets, but never more than 2 at a time.

 

Many of the attendees are… let’s call them gun aficionados. Rifles, hand guns, assault weapons. Let me tell you, this little patch of the

USA had no fears of terrorism during our get together. Just to be sure, many rounds of ammunition were spent in readiness drills. Numerous pumpkins, squash and gourds of various shapes and colors went to be with their makers.

 

As word of Caveman Weekend expands from year to year, new arrivals compete for precious bed space. To settle minor disputes without the use of the assembled arsenal in anger, Cave came up with a shooting contest to assign sleeping arrangements. It took me four shots to knock the Mr. Peanut can from the stump, which got me the couch. Whatever! (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, November 13th, 2008
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