Good Living in West Frankfort Summer/Fall 2010

Good Living In

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West Frankfort

Volume 4 No. 2 Summer/Fall 2010

Showcasing the People, Places and Pride of West Frankfort, Illinois

Summer/Fall • 2010

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Summer/Fall • 2010

Letter from the

Publisher

W

ell, the oppressive summer heat and humidity have finally broken and just a hint of autumn is sneaking in to the early mornings of Southern Illinois. The weather conditions have given us a lot to talk about this summer. Personally, I'm a little concerned that this winter will also.

There's also a lot to talk about in this issue of Good Living in West Frankfort. First of all, the cover with the pictures of the first 12 issues. Now you can compare the published issues to your own stash of magazines. At the moment we still have copies available for sale of all back issues. When they're gone, there will be no reprints.

There are details inside on how to order, if you are interested.

We're big on nostalgia, so most issues of the magazine find us looking back, and this one is no exception. Phyllis and Allis Hays, lifelong residents of West Frankfort take us with them on a journey back through the schools and the town of Frankfort Heights with memories that span the years through their childhood and their teaching careers. Most local residents know about the twin sisters who taught together for 41 years in the West Frankfort School System and have a wealth of funny and touching stories to share.

If you, like my husband, were a baseball fan as a kid, and if you are old enough, you might remember as he does the 1960 World Series between the Yankees and the Pittsburg Pirates. He recalls being 13 years old and listening, during a religion class at his church I might add, as a man named Hal W. Smith, hit the three run home run that allowed the Pirates to clinch the championship in the last inning. The surprise in this story is that Hal Smith was born in West Frankfort and still has ties to the community. Imagine Mike's delight in finding Mr. Smith in Texas and getting to call him up and visit with him by phone to get a first hand account of the story. Thank you Mr. Smith for being so cordial, and thank you Jim Wright for tipping us off to the story.

A story of the past from another champion is the World War II account of the West Frankfort Thunderbolt and Charles Mahalic, another West Frankfort boy. The story isn't a sad one, but as I listened to Michael read it aloud tears streamed down my face. Just hearing the story of war and the survivor of a true hero was moving. His bravery overwhelms me.

There's another war going on right now. Not only the one in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also one right here in our community and in every community in the world. No one is spared the possibility of being drawn into the battle against cancer at any time, and for the heroes who struggle with it daily, their bravery too overwhelms me. Our comments on Relay for Life are a tribute to everyone caught up in the fight of their life.

Most of you probably knew that our regular columnist, Sherri Murphy, made a mission trip to Haiti this summer. We were impressed with her bravery in living in the squalid conditions there, and we can learn a lot as she passes on to us the lessons that she learned about courage and persistence from the children there.

On September 16, through September 19, take advantage of the opportunity to visit with friends and neighbors.

Attend the events of the Old King Coal Festival. It is ours to enjoy.

Gail Rissi Thomas, Publisher Summer/Fall • 2010

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Please support our advertisers.

They make this magazine possible: Aaron Hopkins, Attorney ....................... pg. 13 All American Hearing ...............................pg. 21 BFJ Interiors ........................................... pg. 11 Browning Clark Auto Repair ................... pg. 11 Calico Country Sew & Vac ...................... pg. 19 Coleman-Rhoads ...................................... pg. 13 Dr. Dale Brock, Optometrist, ............. pg. 24 Dr. Seb Pagano Dentistry ................. pg. 4 Dr. Fred Whitlatch, Dentistry, ............. pg. 19 First Christian Church ........................... pg. 31 Frankfort Area Historical Museum ........ Back G. L. Williams Real Estate.................... pg. 4 Gandy’s Auto Body Shop ...................... pg. 2 Good Life Publications .......................... pg. 15 Heights Market ...................................... pg. 22 Herron Chiropractic ............................. pg. 9 Howell Insurance ................................. pg. 9 Image Graphics ...................................... pg. 27 Jackson Pools & Spas ........................... pg. 19 JenRuss Glass Design .............................. pg. 27 Johnson Realty .................................... pg. 31 Kreative Design Showcase ................... pg. 19 McCollom Real Estate ........................ pg. 28 McDonald’s .............................................. pg. 24 Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy ................. pg. 2 Mike Riva, Attorney ............................. pg. 24 Nolen Chiropractic Clinic .................... pg. 22 Parker-Reedy Funeral Home ................ pg. 27 Ponton Foot Clinic ................................ pg. 31 Professional Pharmacy .......................... pg. 6 Sandy’s Flowers & Gifts ...................... pg. 24 Severin Garden Center........................... pg. 18 Shelter Insurance Agency .................... pg. 2 Southern Illinois Bank .......................... pg. 22 Stotlar-Herrin Lumber ............................ pg. 18 Teamster’s Union .................................. pg. 31 Union Funeral Home ........................... pg. 2 Volanski Heating & Air ...................... pg. 31 Weeks Chevrolet ..................................... pg. 31 Westbrook Village Apartments ............ pg. 27 WF Chamber of Commerce ................. pg. 8 Contact Michael A. Thomas at 937-2019 if you wish to advertise in “Good Living in West Frankfort”.

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Summer/Fall • 2010

Good Living In

West Frankfort 7

Vol.4 No.2

Table of Contents

10

28

7

West Frankfort native Hal Smith provided the spark that created one of the most memorable moments in World Series history.

10

Phyllis and Allis Hays are practically an insti- tution in West Frankfort. The twins have many memories of growing up and teaching school.

20

22

West Frankfort celebrates Old King Coal.

Look for the schedule of events found on page 26.

Contributing writer Sherri Murphy recently returned from a week of missionary work in earthquake ravaged Haiti. Her thoughts on a life lesson learned while watching children at play are worth reading.

28

Everybody has at least one friend, family member or co-worker who has been diagnosed with cancer. The Franklin County Relay for Life raised cancer awareness as well as $60,000 for cancer research and assistance.

30

Our parting photo shows the men and women of the West Frankfort Police Department, our hometown heroes.

16

16

20

22 30

Good Living in West Frankfort is a magazine about the people, places and pride of West Frankfort. Our goal is to showcase interesting, unique and previously unpublished stories about the citizens, events and places in our community in a positive manner.

Good Living in West Frankfort provides businesses the choice to advertise in a high-quality full-color venue at affordable prices. This magazine is free to our readers because of those advertisers.

No portion of this publication, including photos and advertisements, may be reproduced in any manner without the expressed consent of Good Life Publications.©2010 Printed quarterly: Spring, Summer, Fall and Holiday Season.

Cover Art by Michael Thomas: All twelve issues of Good Living in West Frankfort.

Summer/Fall 2010

Charles Mahalic was part of a five-man tank crew that fought in the Pacific Campaign of WWII. He named the tank “The West Frank- fort Thunderbolt”.

Good Living In

West Frankfort

A production of Good Life Publications 309 East Oak Street West Frankfort, IL 62896 (618) 937-2019 Published Quarterly: (Spring • Summer • Fall • WInter)

e-mail Contact: GoodLifePublications@Gmail.com Summer/Fall • 2010

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(photo courtesy of Earl Williams)

mighty Yanks. But the stage would not have ever been set for Maz’s heroics if it hadn’t been for a southern Illinois native by the name of Hal Smith.

By Michael A. Thomas

I

f you mention the 1960 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburg Pirates to any knowledgeable baseball fan you are likely to hear the name Bill Mazeroski mentioned. It was Mazeroski, a slender second

Hal Smith was born in West Frankfort in 1930. His father was a coal miner and a farmer but during the Depression years of the 1930’s times were difficult. “A lot of the mines were closed during the Depression,” related Smith in a recent phone interview. “We moved to Detroit when I was in the 7th grade. My dad and mom both got factory jobs and my dad eventually went to work with my uncle painting in factories for Henry Ford during the war years.”

Smith went to Townmount Grade School in rural Franklin County.

“I played baseball in school. We had a grade school team and would play teams from other schools,” Smith said. One of Smith’s teammates during those years was Pete Jackanicz, who remembers that even at that young age Smith could ‘hit a baseball like you wouldn’t believe’.

“I went to a big high school in Detroit,” Smith said. “I guess today it would be a 5A school. I was a pretty good athlete.

I was captain of the basketball team and played quarterback on baseman known the football team. I had (Card courtesy of Matt Buffington) more for his a lot of scholarship defense than his power, who hit a offers to play football in college. home run in the bottom of the ninth But what I really wanted to do was in the seventh and deciding game to play baseball. In my junior and of the series to send the Pirates to senior years I hit for over .500 and an improbable 10-9 win against the I had a lot of major league scouts Summer/Fall • 2010

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interested in me. At that time there was no draft like there is today.

The Yankees were one of the teams that were interested in me and they flew me to New York. The moment I walked into Yankee Stadium and looked around I thought ‘this is the place for me’ and I accepted their offer.”

Smith signed with the Yankees in 1949 for $5,000. “That was pretty good,” laughed Smith. “But it was all downhill after that. In 1950 they paid me $200 a month and the season only lasted for five months so during the off-season I would paint with my dad and uncle so I would have enough money for next year’s spring training.”

me that I was too good a catcher to not ever play in the Majors and that if he didn’t keep me that he would trade me,” Smith recalled.

In the fall of 1954, Smith was part of a 16-player trade between the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.

One of the Baltimore players the Yankees got for Smith was a young pitcher by the name of Don Larsen, who in 1956 pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.

would find fame, if not fortune, when in 1960 he became a member of the National League Champion Pirates. The team featured solid starting pitching and future Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski and a young Roberto Clemente. “Clemente’s locker was next to mine and I knew then that he was going to be a superstar. I told him that I had seen a lot of players in my day and had only seen a couple of guys that had his kind of talent.

But you know, he was kind of a hypochondriac and I told him ‘Roberto, if you play every day we’re gonna win the pennant’. He told me ‘Smitty, I play.’”

After honing his considerable skills in the Yankee organization for 4 years, Smith headed to spring training in 1954 with high hopes.

The Pirates were He was scheduled to be the starting An 11-year old Hal Smith poses with his family for a 1941 Christ- big underdogs gocatcher in the Yankees first exhibi- mas photo. Hal’s parents were Earl and Ruth (Williams) Smith. ing into the series.

Hal had a younger brother, George, and a sister, Joyce. tion game of the spring when he Mickey Mantle, (photo courtesy of Earl Williams) became ill with a severe case of Roger Maris, mononucleosis. He lost so much Whitey Ford and weight that he was reassigned to Smith also played for three seaYogi Berra were just a few of the the minors to regain his weight and sons for the Kansas City Athletics weapons the Pirates faced. “We get his strength back. where he had his best seasons. “In always thought we had a chance,” 1957 I was the only catcher to hit said Smith. “We had a lot of guys Seeing his dream of playing in the over .300,” said Smith. “They were who knew how to play baseball and Major Leagues given a setback, paying me $14,000 and the next we knew if everybody did their job Smith naturally wondered if his spring I held out for a $2500 raise, we could win.” chance would ever come again. which I got. People tell me if I was It was then that Yankee manager playing now I would be a multiIndeed, the Pirates won the firstCasey Stengel gave Smith some millionaire.” game of the series 6-4, but any words of encouragement. “He told But it was in Pittsburg that Smith confidence the players gained

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Summer/Fall • 2010

was quickly lost when the Bronx Bombers took the next two games 16-3 and 10-0. “ I remember it all,” Smith said. “When they beat us, they beat us bad. We only had one good relief pitcher, Elroy Face. Our other guys were just mediocre.”

If the Pirates had given up hope after their two lopsided losses, they didn’t show it. They took the next two games on the road in New York when pitchers Vern Law and Harvey Haddix tamed the bats of the Yanks with 3-2 and 5-2 wins respectively.

it was the most famous homer in Series history. It’s still the only Game 7 walk-off homer ever hit. The Pirates had done the improbable; they had defeated the mighty New York Yankees in the World Series.

“The fans went crazy,” Smith said. “The Yankees couldn’t believe that we had won. Mickey Mantle cried.” Mantle said in later years that losing to the Pirates in the 1960 World Series was his most disappointing moment as a ballplayer. But for Hal Smith and the rest of the Pittsburg Pirates, 1960 was a very good year.

With their backs to the wall and the series returning to Pittsburg, the Yankees put on another powerhouse display winning Game 6 in a 12-0 rout, setting the stage for Game 7.

The Bucs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the Series’ final game and, with Vern Law pitching another fine game, they looked to be in good shape. Law carried his shutout for 5 innings, but in the 6th the powerful Yankees tallied 5 runs and added two more in the 8th inning to take a commanding 7-4 lead. The Pirates had added two more runs in the 8th when Hal Smith stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on base. He blasted a pitch over the left field wall of Forbes Field sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy as the Pirates took the lead 9-7. But the Yankees were not done. Aided by some smart base running by Mickey Mantle, they tied it in the 9th by scoring two runs.

The first Pirate batter to face Yankee reliever Bill Terry in the bottom of the 9th was Bill Mazeroski who belted the second pitch he saw into immortality. Many say Summer/Fall • 2010

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By Gail Rissi Thomas

they be thinking?” Allis laughs.

“Have you been twins all your life?”

“‘Are you twins?’” people would ask us. We’d answer, “Yes.” “Well, are you sisters?’ Now what could

The Hays Twins—or just “Twins” by other members of the Hays Family—is how they have always been referred to in West Frankfort. The two identical ladies, who have resided in Frankfort Heights all their life, still live in the same house in which they were born in 1923. The twins not only share the same house, the same appearance and mannerisms, but to make things

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That may sound like a pretty dumb question to ask of a pair of identical twins, but Phyllis and Allis Hays have heard them all.

more confusing, they both taught in the West Frankfort School District for 41 years, retiring together 27 years ago. They sound alike, and Allis (left) and Phyllis Hays as babies in 1923.

(photo provided)

share the same twinkle in their eye.

Arriving in the middle of a family of nine children, they were not born in a time when sonograms warned their parents that they should expect their next baby to arrive in pairs.

“We were born in 1923,” Phyllis says. “My mother always told us that they only had one baby bed, but she had a cedar chest. She said they put two pillows side by side and laid us both on top of the cedar

sisters,” Allis recalls. “Other people referred to us as Twins. I never minded. My dad always said he had a hard time sometimes telling us apart. Not our mother though. She said she could tell us apart by our foreheads. I don't know what she meant, but I guess she knew something.”

As the case with any big family

eventually, the Hays family was touched by tragedy and as so many others, they suffered a personal heartbreaking loss during World War II. Allis relayed the details as if watching the scene in a home movie.

“Our brother, James Taylor, was killed in the war; he was three years older than us. We first got

Allis and Phyllis as freshmen and (below) graduating seniors.

(Photos provided)

Allis

Phyllis

FCHS Graduation

chest. A lady at church told us that she always remembers a long line of people who filed past just to look at us. Maybe she was just trying to make us feel important,” she laughs.

The twins had four brothers and three sisters. “They always called us Summer/Fall • 2010

Pg. 11

a telegram that he was missing in action. Then not too much later—I remember it was on a Saturday—I was ironing, and I looked out the window and saw that we were getting a telegram. I said, 'Oh look, there's the telegraph boy, no it's a girl.' My mother jumped up and ran to the door. She knew right away that it was the news that he had been killed. They buried him overseas, but after the war, they sent

used to make apple butter every year. There was a place out on Rt. 37 by where Bonifield's house was, and there was a swimming pool out there where you could pay to go swimming. They had a big huge apple butter kettle, and people would sign up to rent it. We would put that kettle out over an open fire, and we would have to help stir it all day long. We used a big long paddle; you had to because you couldn't stand too close to the fire. I remember that we always put two silver dollars in the bottom to keep the apple butter from sticking.”

“We kids always got along well,” Phyllis says. “I don't recall ever having fights. “I did always favor Allis in games,” she says with a smile. “I rememThe twins are shown in a goat cart with brothers James Taylor and younger brother Robert. ber playing jacks with (Photo provided) our brother Robert. I always let Allis throw his body back home and we buried the ball up with one hand and pick him in Tower Heights. I remember up the jacks with her other hand. that the government paid $300 for 'You can't do that,' he said. He got the funeral, and my dad went up to real upset. I said, 'Oh yes she can.

Union Funeral Home afterward. He I always let her do that.' But he told Willie Nichols, the funeral diwouldn't stand for it. She could only rector, 'I know I must owe you more get by with that with me.” money. I know a funeral costs more than that.' Mr. Nichols wouldn't take The twins grew up in Frankfort it though. He said ‘You don't owe Heights in a time when it was a me a penny.’” thriving community, separate from West Frankfort. “There were a lot of The twins grew up during the businesses up in the Heights when Depression years, but say that their we were kids,” Phyllis says. “We family fared well in comparison to had The Family Theater, several many. Their father, Robert Hays, restaurants and about five grocery a self employed painter and paper stores. I remember it cost a nickel to hanger, usually had work. go to the show. On Saturdays they showed serials; you know, they left “Oh our mother used to can every you in the lurch until the next week. kind of fruit and tomatoes, and we You could get two scoops of ice all had to help,” Phyllis says. “We cream for a nickel too at Beulah's

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Cafe. The parking was in the middle of the street and there was a big flag pole with a flag there at the intersection of Odle and Main Street at the top of the hill. At Christmas they strung lights out from the top and made it into a big Christmas tree.”

“I remember when they paved over the middle of the street and didn't use it for parking anymore,” Allis says. “They had kind of a celebration and they had a dog driving a car down the middle of the street.

I'll never forget that. I don't know how they did it, but I guess a guy was sitting behind it somehow,” she laughs. “The Heights was a busy place. The Post Office was on Dorris Street at the time, not on Main where it was later when it burned down.”

The times were simple, and any activity that varied from day to day routine was memorable. “Mr. Hancock, the principal at Logan School, had a truck with benches on each side in the back,” Allis says.

“For thirty cents he would take you places. When we were in 7th or 8th grade we all went to Fort Massac.

On the way we stopped at a scenic overlook and we also saw the George Rogers Clark Monument.

Boy I thought I had seen it all. In high school we went twice to Cardinal ball games. The first time we went it was the first time I had ever been out of the State of Illinois.”

“We never went out to eat or anything like that,” she added. “My sister went to school in Evansville and one time we went with my brother to pick her up. On the way home, we had a flat tire in Harrisburg and he gave us money to go to the drug store to get a cold drink. We didn't know what to do there. We didn't know how to go about getting a

drink. She sat down and ordered a coke, so we ordered a coke. I just figured that must be OK,” she laughs.

One time Phyllis and Allis got a special invitation just by virtue of being twins. “They had some Siamese twins at the Strand Theater,” Alice says. “They were girls and they played the saxophone. Anyone who was a twin was invited to go see them for free, so my mother took us to see them. That was really something, just going all the way down there to the Strand, and then all the twins that were in the audience got called up on stage. We felt pretty important. It was a big deal.”

“Our father was elected mayor,” Phyllis says.

“It was just at the time when Frankfort Heights merged with West Frankfort, so he never got to serve in office. That was a pretty controversial thing, because the Heights had money and West Frankfort didn’t. A lot of people in the Heights didn’t want it, but it finally happened.”

The Hilton Twins, a pair of Siamese Twins, made an appearance at the Strand Theater in West Frankfort which the Hays twins saw as special guests.

www.aaronhopkinslaw.com

“Dr. Lamont was in the Heights too,” Phyllis says. “He had an office in his house. You would go downstairs.

I remember during the flood of ‘37, we went there to get smallpox vaccinations. And once my brother broke his arm, Dr. Lamont wrapped a magazine around it and tied it until it could be set. He said, ‘I could take you clear to St. Louis like that, and it would be fine.”

Allis also has an unusual memory of a rather insignificant incident when she was growing up. “You know the house that was right next to the Heights Bakery?

They just tore it down last week. Well I remember when Youchoffs bought that and moved it from the corner of Sunnyslope and Clark to Main Street,” she recalls. “Well they moved the house down Oak Street past our house, and they left it sitting in the middle of the street all one night. I remember that there was a player piano in it, and it was playing that night. I don’t know if someone was in there playing it or not. Maybe

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“Back then, of course, they sold live chickens in the stores,” Phyllis recalls. “You had to take them home and kill them and dress them yourself. I remember they used to put them in a paper sack and tear a hole in the bag for the chicken to poke it’s head out. Our mother used to kill them and dress them. I never bought them because I was a little afraid, but Phyllis and I did have to learn to pluck the feathers. And then I remember when our mother used to sit at the dining room table and cut the chicken up, we kids would all sit around the table and watch almost like it was a show.” “Our youngest brother, Robert, always got the pulley bone. Why? I don’t know. Because he was Robert, I guess,” she laughs.

Phyllis and Allis graduated from FCHS and attended college together at SIU, rooming at Anthony Hall. “We worked our way through school,” Allis says with a little groan. “washing dishes and waiting tables.” Only two years of college were required at that time to obtain a teaching certificate, so the twins graduated and began their careers at age 19. Phyllis landed a job in the West Frankfort School District.

Allis took a job at Union School, a one room school house out by the city lake.

fort, the only time in their lives that the twins ever lived apart. “I came home on weekends,” Allis said. “A lot of Fridays after school I would come home and we would see that we were wearing the same dresses, Allis laughs. We had dressed alike without even knowing what each other was wearing.”

(photo provided)

not, because it was a player piano, but I remember that house sitting there and hearing the music coming from it. It was so weird.”

The twins took a sewing class in college and made identical dresses.

“We always dressed identically,” Phyllis says. “Sometimes we would buy the same dress in different colors or have something a little different, but we had dressed alike for so long I guess, that people would always ask us why we had different colors or whatever. It seems like it just got easier to dress alike and not have to explain everything.”

“I only had eight students; I hated it,” she recalls. “I think if I had to continue teaching there I would have quit and done something else, but the second year, I went to teach at Harrisburg.”

Allis taught there for two years before taking a job in West Frank-

Their commitment to dress alike even extended to details like their rings and bracelets and wrist watches. “We bought these rings when we first started teaching,” Phylllis says, referring to identical birthstone rings that they wear. “We each made $85 a month at that time, and we only got paid eight months.

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Summer/Fall • 2010

We saw them at Jacob Lane Jewelers, and they were $18 which was really pretty expensive. We weren’t too sure that we could afford it, so we bought them for each other for a birthday present.”

Throughout their careers in the Frankfort Schools they each made a tour of serving in most of the neighborhood grade schools. Phyllis taught at Logan, Franklin and Denning Grade Schools, and Allis taught at Franklin, Edwards, Lincoln and Denning. Both women finished their careers as kindergarten teachers at Denning School, and if you think the world can be confusing for a five year old, try starting school when your teacher has a a carbon copy in another classroom just down the hall.

“I can always tell which room is mine,” one kindergartener said.

“My teacher has a different colored carpet than the other one.’ Some of the students said they could tell us apart, because we had different colored whistles” “I heard a little boy crying one morning,” Allis says. “I knew it was probably one of mine, a kindergartener, I went around a corner and there was a little boy, crying so hard. His aunt had delivered him to school that morning, and took him to the wrong school. He was actually in my sister’s classroom, but as soon as he saw me, he was so happy. He just knew then that his teacher was there and he had to be in the right place. “ “I remember one Halloween,” Allis says. “The children were in costume, and we did the traditional parade around the school. We guessed who each one was, but there was one little boy that nobody could

of her favorite stories of mistaken identity.

guess. Well,” she laughs, “when he took his mask off, we still couldn’t guess him. Even I didn’t know who he was. As it turns out, he was in Phyllis’s class and had gotten off the bus at the wrong school and found his way into my classroom.”

Their years since retirement have been filled with activity. Sunday School teachers for years, both sisters are active in their church.

“We like to cook and bake and we always take treats to the First Baptist clothing room where we work every week. We travel and take trips with Jane’s Journeys. Our youngest sister is the only one still living.

She’s in St. Louis. We don’t see her often, but we talk to her on the phone.”

There are probably hundreds of stories over the years of little children

or even coworkers involved in cases of mixed identity, but being a twin seems to agree with both Phyllis and Allis. In spite of the stupid questions that people sometimes ask, such as ‘Do you ever get mixed up and forget who you are?’

“I was trucking up the hill, going home one day. I probably was speeding, because you know how you do when you get up that way on Main Street out of the traffic. Well I got pulled over by a policeman; it was John Bryant. He came up to the car and talked to me and said, 'Oh my gosh, I can't give my kindergarten teacher a speeding ticket,' and he let me go. As I was driving home, I was thinking, 'I was never your kindergarten teacher,' but I didn't tell him that.”

“Of course not,” Phyllis laughs.

“Can you imagine? I know who I am.”

Did she ever tell him that at a later time? “No, she giggles, I never did.”

But twinship does have it’s privileges, and Allis tells what may be one

Well John, guess what?

Phyllis

Allis

The twins retired from teaching in 1983. (photo provided)

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By Michael A. Thomas

I

t may not have made the headlines or the newsreels of the day, but a little bit of West Frankfort made history during WWII as part of the liberation of Manila, capital city of the Philippines, in February of 1945. Charles Mahalic and Laverne “Potsie” Lawrence, both of West Frankfort, were part of the 44th Tank Battalion which played a vital role in the battle. Mahalic was a gunner and Lawrence the driver of the tank, with the name “West Frankfort Thunderbolt” painted on its front in red and gray. They saw extensive action in the island-hopping campaign in the Pacific.

The tanks were part of the first wave to land in the Philippines in October of 1944. From the island of Leyte then to the island of Luzon, the 44th Tank Battalion and

the “West Frankfort Thunderbolt” pushed the Japanese back towards Manila. In Manila, the fighting turned from jungle warfare to street fighting. Not only did the Japanese fight the allied forces, they set fire to the city—known as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ and the most beautiful city of the Far East—and committed many atrocities and killings of the civilian population.

The Japanese troops stubbornly gave up their ground. Surrender was not part of their military code as it was considered a disgrace to one’s family and a dishonor to the Emperor to be captured by the enemy.

“We would try to help wounded Japanese, but they would not let us. They would try to kill us. So finally our commander told us to take no prisoners,” said Mahalic.

One of Mahalic’s proudest moSummer/Fall • 2010

ments of the war was his participation of the liberation of Santo Tomas Internment camp. The Japanese had turned the University into an armed compound which held 3,700 American and allied civilians. Businessmen, housewives and children who had been unlucky enough to be caught in Manila at the outbreak of the war in 1942, were rounded up by the Imperial Japanese forces and taken to Santo Tomas to live out the next three years of the war under cruel domination. With few belongings and dependent on their captors for food, starvation and sickness became a way of life for the prisoners. By the time Mahalic and the ‘West Frankfort Thunderbolt’ reached the walls of the compound, the situation had become desperate.

Several tanks of the 44th, including the ‘Thunderbolt’, crashed through the main gate and walls of the compound to attempt a rescue.

But in spite of overwhelming odds against them, the Japanese forces would not give up their prisoners.

“Their commanding general threatened to kill them all,” recalled Mahalic. A tense standoff lasted for a day before the American troops agreed to let the Japanese garrison leave Santo Tomas if no civilians were killed. “They let them all go, but we caught up with them a few days later,” Mahalic recalled.

“They had gone to some caves outside the city where we found them.

They wouldn’t surrender so we had to take them out with flame-throwers. You know, if they had given up, some of them could have been alive today.”

A 1939 graduate of Frankfort Community High School, Charles Mahalic and Laverne ‘Potsie’ Lawrence entered the service together in 1942. Even though both men hailed from West Frankfort, they never met each other until their army training. The two trained at Fort Campbell, KY, as part of the 12th Armored Division. The 12th was scheduled to be a part of the D-Day invasion of Europe, but at the last moment the 44th Battalion and its 800 men were pulled out of the division and were assigned to duty in the Pacific.

There were 18 tanks in the battalion, and Mahalic used his artistic talents to decorate most of them. “I was taught commercial art in high school,” he said. “My teacher told me I had a special talent. I painted

the ‘Thunderbolt’ and most of the other tanks in the unit. If there was something painted on a tank, I was the one who did it.”

The 44th first saw duty on the island of New Guinea. “We left the States aboard the Kota Baroe, a Dutch ship,” said Mahalic. “We soon found out that German Uboats were in the area, so we had to take a zigzag course instead of heading straight to New Guinea.

One day, one of the men was looking over the railing of the ship and fell overboard. But because of the U-Boats, we couldn’t stop and go get him. We had to keep going on. We were at sea for 56 days, a record. We weren’t trained for anything for the Pacific Theater, so they trained us onboard the ship.”

After a rough crossing, Mahalic and the 44th reached Oro Bay, then Camp Washington Casual Camp, Finschafen, New Guinea. It was the first tank battalion in the Southwest Pacific. Throughout 1944, it played a major part in routing the Japanese, ending the year in the Tonga area.

The jungle fighting in New Guinea was fierce. But the Japanese Imperial Army was not the only thing to worry about. Mahalic and Lawrence faced oppressive heat and humidity, a monsoon rainy season that lasted six weeks, insects, disease and wild animals. Mahalic contacted yellow jaundice while in New Guinea. “They were getting ready to invade the Philipines.

Even though I was sick I went anyway.

“They had pythons that got up to 26-feet in length,” said Mahalic.

“They would hide up in the trees so

you had to keep a look out above you. If they dropped down on you they would wrap themselves around you and try to strangle you.”

There were also New Guinea natives that Mahalic became acquainted with. “They were very primitive people,” Mahalic While stationed in New said. “They Guinea, Mahalic became friends with Zungallie, a didn’t 14-yr old native, and his wear much family. clothing and they lived in grass-roofed huts that they built on tall poles so the snakes and wild animals couldn’t get them at night. I became friends with a 14-year-old boy named Zungallie.

When we weren’t fighting the Japs I would take my carbine out into the jungle—I wasn’t supposed to be doing this—and we would go hunting. I would shoot monkeys and wild pigs for Zungallie and his family to eat.”

Photo by Charles Mahalic

“We were one of the first to crash through the walls,” said Mahalic.

“You should have seen the prisoners. They were in terrible condition, just skin and bones really.”

Being close to the ocean, Mahalic had some off-duty time to do some swimming. “One day Potsie and I went to the beach,”he recalled. “We had gone swimming before and we were both pretty good swimmers.

But this day the tide got us and carried us out to sea. We tried swimming back in, but the tide was too strong and we got farther and farther away from the beach. We were about a mile out and could barely still see the land. We yelled but nobody could hear us. I started praySummer/Fall • 2010

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ing ‘Dear God. Help us. Please help us.’ An Australian warship spotted us and pulled us from the ocean. When we got on board the captain told us we were lucky to be alive and if the ocean hadn’t gotten us the sharks probably would have. My prayers were answered and we never swam in the ocean after that.”

“I wasn’t really afraid. All my life I have never been afraid much of things. We had to take turns at guard duty at night. Two of us would set up a machine gun in a foxhole. Some of the guys were scared to death to go on nighttime duty so they would pay me $30 to take their turn. I never turned them down.” (Edit. note: $30 in 1944 is equivalent to about $370 today.)

“Another time I was on guard duty in Manila. It was at night and I saw something crawling towards me. I yelled ‘Halt!’ but it kept coming at me so I fried off a couple of rounds. The next morning I went out to investigate and saw that it was just a dog.”

Mahalic and Lawrence were preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended in September 1945. “They signed the peace treaty on the battleship Missouri,” Mahalic recalled. “On the morning of the signing we were aboard a ship that sailed alongside the Missouri.”

Charles Mahalic and Laverne Lawrence both returned to West Frankfort after the war.

Lawrence died a few years ago. Mahalic, 90, now lives in Marion with his wife Carol.

“We fought with five different divisions,” said Mahalic proudly. “And Charles Mahalic currently lives in Marion the ‘West Frankfort Thunderbolt’ survived every battle.”

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Photo by Michael A. Thomas

With the war officially over, Mahalic did not immediately return to the states.

“We were stationed in Japan for about a month. The Japanese people were very friendly to us. I remember some of them even inviting us into their homes for dinner.”

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A

By Gail Rissi Thomas hh the smell of the corn dogs, the squeals from the midway. The Old King Coal Festival has had a long and prestigious history in West Frankfort. Trying its wings in 1941, the first festival, held during a time when coal truly was king, boasted huge crowds, some estimates claiming crowds of over 200,000. Unfortunately, instead of building on that success as one might think, World War II soon ended such frivolous ventures.

The festival has been on again and off again throughout the years, enjoying a memorable comeback in 1976 for America's Bicentennial.

During the following years when the festival was held, at times it was staged in the center of town and was held for several years at the Frankfort Community Park. It even had a brief interlude of being held at the VF Mall parking lot.

But without exception, the festival has always been much anticipated and highly successful, something of a community homecoming.

Ron Tate, a retired Old Ben coal miner, was chosen as Mr. Old King Coal 2010.

Tate worked at Old Ben mines #24 and #25 until 1994. (Photo by Michael Thomas)

will be offered for those wanting to enjoy the evenings with neighbors and friends. Steve Sawalich and his committee will again be the organizer of all the activities, volunteering hundreds of hours to help bring the gift of community spirit to West Frankfort.

Several years ago, the festival was brought back to its present location at the center of town, directly north of Main Street behind City Hall.

Luehr's Carnival Rides will again be available for the thrill seekers, and plenty of free entertainment

Some aspects of the festival have never changed, and this year Ron Tate has been named Old King Coal to preside over all the festivities. Tate began working at Old Ben #24 in the early 1970's and later went to #25, where he worked until 1994. He retired at the same time that the mine closed. He will be crowned at the Coal Miner's Memorial Ceremony on Main Street, which kicks off the festival

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on Thursday evening, September 16.

The Princess Flame Pageant will be staged at 2 pm, Sunday, September 12th at Paschedag Auditorium at Frankfort High School, when girls from throughout Southern Illinois will vie for the 2010 title.

Residents should also note that this year's grand parade will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, September 18, a change from its usual morning venue.

The Old King Coal Festival is a busy week, much anticipated by young and old alike. Enjoy.

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Story and Photos by Sherri Murphy

D

uring this time of year, Back-to-School sales and tips and trends bombard us on television, radio, newspaper and other forms of social media. They are constant reminders of the many needs and opportunities of school children of all ages. There is always excitement in the air as a new school year begins. Another chance to learn, grow, meet new friends and make some memories.

Many lessons will be learned in the classroom while the teacher addresses the pupils and shares wisdom and techniques to drive home important ideas and instruction necessary to cultivate knowledge to help the student succeed in the future.

Equally as important though, are the life lessons that are being taught that were not included in the lesson plans...they are learned through experience and observation. Those unplanned lessons happen to be my favorite as I have found them to be priceless lessons in my education that continues to this very day, as I have become a life-long student--eager to learn. The world is my classroom.

Recently, some school-aged children were my "teachers" in Lagosette, Haiti, a tiny village where I was honored to serve on a short 10 day-mission trip with a group of 23 other missionaries from all across America.

The lesson plan? The three-legged race.

The idea of the three-legged race is a simple one: A three-legged race is a game of cooperation between partners as much as it is one of speed. It involves two participants attempting to complete a short sprint with

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the left leg of one runner strapped to the right leg of another runner.

The object is for the partners to run together without falling over, and beat the other contestants to the finish line."~ From Wikipedia An ordinary race to the finish line is very predictable--the fastest runner wins. A three-legged race, however, involves much more than

speed. It involves cooperation and perseverance. Both runners participate in the race with an obvious handicap—a “third leg" that belongs to two people—making it very difficult to make it to the finish line without stumbling or making good time. It has been a favorite game of American children who enjoy mastering the art of cooperation and skill and a great

teaching tool for all of us.

While I was in Haiti, I learned so much more from this gamelessons I don't believe I would have grasped otherwise. Among my many opportunities in serving the villagers, I enjoyed participating in the Vacation Bible School held for over 150 Haitian children. Cultural differences, language barriers and Summer/Fall • 2010

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extreme heat and humidity were a few obstacles we had to overcome; however, we were able to communicate our message and enjoy some wonderful experiences, as expected.

Much like the Bible Schools here in America, we sang songs, created crafts for the children to take home, performed skits, enjoyed snacks, and of course played games.

The hands-down favorite game was the three-legged race.

Eager to take their turn in the three-legged race, two boys stand leg against leg.

After a brief explanation of the rules of the game, the energetic children waited patiently for their legs to be strapped together to begin the race. A couple of missionaries demonstrated the technique as they spoke in broken Creole trying to communicate to the wide-eyed smiling children.

The whistle was blown and the races began. The children were trying their hardest to run faster and faster while stumbling, and giggling, and rising to their feet again, only to fall and repeat the series: smile, run, fall, giggle, stand up. Finally, near the end, a couple of our men strapped their legs with two of the teenager's legs and helped them approach the finish line quicker. The children, of all ages, were giggling very hard- laughing at our grown men willing to act so silly and enjoy this Two Mission workers team up with local game with youngsters to teach them the finer techthem. niques of the three-legged race.

I captured

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photos and yelled encouragement as the teams continued until the whistle blew to end the game. Only as I returned to Southern Illinois and started viewing my photos did I realize the beautiful life lessons that were presented to me.

I am a visual learner. Within my photos I noticed a wonderful visual illustration of the oppressive chains of poverty and the struggle of the Haitian children and country as a whole.

They are running the same race as those of us who live only a few hours away by plane; however, it's as if they have one of their legs strapped to another—slowing down their progress, making it difficult to stand and move forward without stumbling. They continue to smile and laugh as they attempt to stand again, only to fall within minutes...a constant struggle to find the finish line that seemingly continues to be moved further and further away from them.

Sometimes, in order to get to the finish line, someone more powerful, or with more experience or wisdom must come along and be willing to strap one of their legs in order to become a part of this three-legged race to aid their teammates to the finish.

That "lesson" gave me a perfect visual of missions.

Whether here or abroad, the choice to reach out and help another rise to the front will also slow our pace a bit; we will feel some of the burden but we will also share in the rewards of completing the race.

One morning only a few short days after returning from my trip, I was again studying my many photos as my heart became heavy when I realized there were still so many needs in this country I had gone to help. I hadn’t put a small dent in the enormous pain and suffering that the Haitian people are experiencing. I tried to figure out the best plan to help them...they needed better education, infrastructure, more missionaries, health care...I could see their legs all strapped together as they attempted this race on a track going nowhere. Just as I started to feel totally overwhelmed by their great need and my inability to truly make a difference, I could sense God speaking to my heart as I was reminded that He didn't call me to meet their every need (not my job) but He commanded me to give to the needy.

I can see myself strapping one of my legs, to one of their legs and helping them cross the finish line. We will smile, and stand and run and fall and get up and smile again. And stand and run and fall and get up…and smile. That's the best lesson they have taught me.

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2010 Honorary Survivors and Official Torch Bearers Cheryl Shaeffer Collins and Doug Graff walk in the opening ceremonies.

Cancer Survivors and their family members and friends walk around the Frankfort Community Park as part of the open ceremonies for this year’s Relay for Life

Story by Gail Rissi Thomas Photos by Michael A. Thomas

T

he Franklin County Relay for Life raised $60,000 in June for the American Cancer Society. We heard a lot about the event and the fund raising efforts before the big night at the Frankfort City Park; and we heard

a lot about it's success after it was over. It probably seems like old news now, but we wanted to acknowledge it in our magazine.

Since our magazine only comes out about four times a year, if we covered much local news at all it would hardly be news when we got around to writing about it. But

David McCollum Broker/Owner

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Cancer is never old news. It's a new diagnosis every day for someone.

It's a current battle for hundreds, maybe thousands of area residents.

It's a new heart aching loss to some family every day, and most importantly, more often all the time, it's a jubilant victory for the survivors who celebrate at the relay every year.

As a writer, I searched for some-

thing new to say about cancer that would make it seem interesting and noteworthy to those of us who have not been touched by the disease.

That should be easy for me as cancer chose our family this year when my sister was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Now radiation, chemotherapy, oncologist, are all a well understood new vocabulary for us. We can all realize the importance of a phrase like chemo vacation, and we have a new image to accompany the generic term “cancer survivor.”

Cancer survivor Renee Mifflin (green shirt) and her team, ‘Renee’s Breast Friends’, were just one of many groups who raised money for Franklin County Relay for Life.

Hundreds of Luminaries, each lit in solemn honor of a cancer victim, line the walking path at Frankfort Community Park.

Washington for 24 hours to bring more awareness and more revenue to the American Cancer Society's battle against the disease. Relays patterned after the original one spread throughout the country and today they are held in universities, cities and counties in 21 countries throughout the world. They typically began at 6 pm and last until 6 am to emphasize the fact that cancer never sleeps.

The first Relay for Life was held in 1985 when Dr. Gordon Klatt, a cancer surgeon walked around the track at Baker Stadium at Puget Sound University in Tacoma,

I spent some time searching the Internet for meaningful thoughts or inspirational quotations about fighting cancer. Oddly enough, I found only a few quotations that

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caught my attention. They are all from Winston Churchill, and none of them were about cancer, but appropriately, all of them were about war. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” he said.

How true, and the positive attitude demonstrated by the cancer survivors, their caregivers, their family, friends and every volunteer is the life blood of the Relay for Life.

“When you're going through hell, keep going,” Churchill said. How could there be more sound advice for a cancer patient who is in the midst of the fight of their life, suffering the toxic therapies with all their side effects and probably wondering not so much if they will survive the disease, but will they survive the cure.

So here's to the fundraisers, the organizers, the volunteers. Here's to the survivors, the brave warriors, some going through battle for the third or fourth times. There is one more piece of advice that Churchill offered about fighting a war. “Never give up. Never, never, never give up.”

Come See The Friendly Staff at Ramey Insurance Summer/Fall • 2010

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“If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.”

- Lane Kirkland

Teamsters Local # 347 • (618) 932-3191 President: Terry Rawson • Vice President: Tracy Davis Secretary-Treasurer: Rosi Miller • Recordiing Secretary: Jerry Cunningham Trustees: Terry Gossett Stan Patterson Charles Mazur

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