Memories of Maple Ave.

History - Marion

Memories of Maple Ave.

Maple Avenue

My name is Thelma Frances Gobeyn Vermeulen. I was born August 27, 1928, to Hector and Irene Smith Gobeyn at 10 Maple Avenue. These are my growing up years and memories of life on Maple Avenue. Believe me, Maple Ave. was a busy street and probably the busiest in town. I have many recollections of the 30's and 40's.

First of all, from Main Street going down on the left, was the First National Bank and Mr. Roscoe Bush was the president. He lived on Buffalo Street with his wife and two sons, Sanford and Harold. Next, was a two-story building called Clark Hall. They used to have a lot of entertainment, such as music and plays upstairs there, that attracted a lot of people. On the street level, was a feed store operated by Mr. Malcolm Bremner. He lived on Mill Street and had a wife and son, George. When he retired, Lee Domser had a garage and gas station there. My father had a garage there, too, but it was before I was born.

Next to the feed store was a lot and it belonged to Harry and Stella Theodorides. They had a garden and shared it with my Mom and Dad. Next was our house. It was red brick and had a nice front porch with 'rose of sharon bushes' in front with a row of peonies, with lily of the valley flowers mixed in. We had a pear tree in the front yard and I remember having to pick up the dropped pears. We had a rope swing from its branches and a lot of kids in the neighborhood had fun on it. In the back of the house, my Dad had a big, two-story garage and gas station with Texaco Fire Chief gas. He always had a hired man. I remember Hank Bremes, Alvin Clark, and Lee Domser and others. Bert Freeman would do some of his bookwork. The boys in town would love to come to the garage, I guess they always had so much fun there. Sometimes they would have boxing gloves on and box and sometimes they would wrestle.

There were five girls in our family, Evelyn, Thelma, Hazel, Marian and Carol. Four of us had auburn hair, like our Mom's, and Carol, the youngest, had dark hair like our Dad.

Our Dad went to Sweeney Auto School in Kansas City, Kansas and, believe me, he knew how to fix anything from a school bus to a snow plow, a model T or a Ford and a farmer's tractor. He made spinach forks and invented the beet and onion topper. He was something special and very talented.

The house next door was a double and many different families lived there, from time to time. I remember the Rider family, Mary Anderson, Ralph and Gertrude Collier and family, Arlene and Carey Merton, Joann and Peter Michelsen. Then, Ike Adriaansen family, Sue, his wife and four children, Roger, Gordon, Eleanor and Rodney. We had lots of fun playing together when we were kids, too. Ike was owner of the Marion Produce Company. I remember him smoking his cigars. The next house was lived in by the Sanfords, Mary and Steve and her brother, Mr. Eisentrigger, from Michigan. She made good cookies and always gave us some when we went to visit them. They had a very big, beautiful clock. It had chimes and a moon and stars and was very unusual. I remember picking red currants in their back yard, along the driveway and there was a big barn there, too. Next to their house was a big empty lot. Sometimes there was corn growing there. It went to Union Street and was on the corner.

On the other side, coming back up the street, was the Catholic Church and next to that was the Howard Stark residence. They had a daughter, Shirley. I remember Jim and Blanche DeRidder living there and their two sons, Lawrence and Howard. By the way, later in the Sanford's house, the Govener family lived. There was Ed and Helen and children, Lloyd and Pauline. (and Barbara) Helen was a sister to Ike Adriaansen and Blanche DeRidder. Next door to the Starks lived Lester and Katherine Nevil, and three children, Robert, Edward and Ann. I also remember the Corchorans, Bessie and Lawrence who lived there, too, or were frequent visitors. Mr. Nevil owned and operated the meat and grocery store and Katherine was the post mistress. Next, was the Frine residence. Addie and her husband and daughter, Lucille. She had two boys, Phillip and Richard Van Orman. She was married, again, to Alvin Clark. Addie was as neat as a pin and took in washing and ironings and worked very hard. She also had a beautiful flower garden. After her husband died, I remember seeing her walk down the street with a basket of flowers to take to the cemetery to put on his grave.

Next, the croquet court which was next to the Grange Hall. It was a very busy place every afternoon, for all the older men in town to gather and have a good time visiting and playing croquet. I remember Mr. Sanford, Sam Cook, Grandpa Warner, Mr. Luce, StanleyRogers, father, Mr. Merson and a lot of others. Then, the park with the Grange Hall and a bandstand, where every Saturday night the band would play. The park was where the firemen had their carnival and the parades ended there. What great times! The Firemen would have all of their water races on Maple Avenue. The Grange Hall was always busy with their folks having meetings and dinners there.

A red brick building was built by the Telephone Company, next to the park driveway, at the end of Julian Merson's garden. And then, of course, the corner house of Main and Maple belonging to the Mersons'. He was the town justice of the peace or judge. They had two sons, Julian and Hugh. My husband, Ernest, and I had our first home there when we married in 1948.

1 remember the ice man, milk man, fish man and the bread bakery man coming down the street and even Mr. Kenyon and his horse and wagon with fresh vegetables and eggs.

We roller skated, jumped rope, and rode bike. We had a victory bike during the war.

The street had a lot of Maple and Chestnut trees. Those growing-up years on Maple Avenue will never be forgotten and they were happy days.

top of page
return to history index