****NEWS NOTES****
Mature Driver Program Coordinator, Debbie Tahiri' will be speaking to us at the Mason Senior Center Thursday morning, October 22nd at 11:00AM. Ms. Tahiri will speak about traffic safety educational opportunities. The talk will include the effects of aging on driving and the problems and common challenges aging drivers might face. The Mature Driver Program is funded by a grant through the Texas Department of Transportation. Admission to this program at the Senior Center is free of charge.
Nashville entertainer, Cameron Sutphin, is heading back to Nashville from a tour in New Mexico and is swinging through Mason. He's dropping by the Mason Senior Center as our guest Monday October 26th from 10AM until 11AM. He'll perform classic country and folk music for us. Everyone is invited!! There is no charge but donations will be welcome and Cameron's CDs will be available.
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I must send an apology to the Mason County Sheriff's Deputy who pulled up next to me at the Post Office the other day. Mag the Dog barked at him insanely. Please note, sir, she barks insanely at everything including me when I stop her from barking insanely at everything else.
The news keeps getting stranger: Sadly, BEVO 14, the beloved University of Texas Longhorn Steer Mascot has passed away from Bovine Leukemia. BEVO had been forced into retirement for the same reason several weeks ago; I read a study by somebody somewhere that claims if you like your coffee black you might be a psychopath...uh oh; I was watching a North Korean demonstration of their "goose stepping" army and is it just me or do the North Korean Military hats seem to be hilariously large? It's like you could carve a turkey on one. (Speaking of carving a holiday turkey, special thanks are going out to Shirlene Carson for her fantastic job decorating the Mason Senior Center dining room for the holidays. Shirlene spent many hours doing this great job and it has to be seen to be appreciated. I helped immensely by staying completely out of the way).
Some of the things that happened way back when include the Revolutionary War which ended this past Monday in 1781. On October 24, 1861 the Transcontinental Telegraph was completed. This linked the Eastern United States with the Western United States at Salt Lake City Utah.
Senior Spotlight
Today's Senior Spotlight shines on a really nice and special lady, Allene Garrison. Allene and I talked for a while last week and she finally said, "When are you coming over to interview me?" I said, "How about Wednesday?" She told me, "I have a beauty appointment Wednesday but Thursday would be fine." So here we are. Allene was a treat to interview. It seems like she's been everywhere and done everything.
Allene was born Allene Alexander to Jack and Mamie Alexander in New Waverly, Texas in 1920. Allene told me, "One very vivid memory of my early childhood came when I was about 16 months old. My father had put up a horse inside the fence. I went and crawled under the fence and was kicked in the head by the horse. I remember that." I asked her if she ever did that again and she replied, "Nope. Never did. Guess I learned" Allene was the 4th child in a family of 10 children. Allene was proud to tell me, "I had 3 sisters and 6 brothers. My brothers all served in the military in WWII. Four were in the Navy, one was in the Air Force (At that time known as the Army Air Corp) and one was in the Army. All came home."
Allene said, "I met my husband, Leroy, in Houston while he was there on a Texas A&M Corp trip. We were married for 39 years." Leroy Garrison worked as a Manager for the Davis Ranch in the League City, Texas area and they lived in a number of cities in that area for a few years. She said, "Leroy then went to work with Soil Conservation until the start of WWII. Leroy went into the Army (Army Air Corp) on July 4th 1942." That was an appropriate day to enter active duty since Leroy served in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam.
"Leroy served in the military until 1967. After that he was reinstated in the Soil Conservation. We moved to Childress and met Jerry Wright who lived in Childress at the time." Jerry as you know is with the Senior Center here in Mason. Allene told me, "After Childress we moved to Follett, Texas or as we called it Slap Out because it was so close to the Oklahoma border it was slap out of Texas. After living in Follett for 16 months Leroy asked me if I was ready to move. I told him I had been ready to move for about 16 months. At that time we moved to Mason and Leroy did a number of jobs for the Hoerster Ranch."
During WWII, Allene worked for Shell Oil. She said, "I was a Special Tester of oil and high octane gas for Shell. I realized the importance of my job because I had brothers who served on aircraft carriers and depended on that Shell super fuel to make the planes take off and land. I was one of a very few women who worked for the company at that time."
Allene told me, "My passion has always been bowling. I formed bowling teams and competed in tournaments all over the country and in foreign countries like Germany. I started the Houston Main Ally Bowlers and led the league for weeks with the high score of 210. I competed in the WIBC (Women's International Bowling Competition) for years with teams from Childress, Fredericksburg and other cities. Allene said, "I've bowled in competitions in places like Iowa, South Dakota, Reno, Tulsa, Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Houston, San Antonio, Niagra Falls and even Germany. I've competed in 34 National Tournaments." She then told me, "When I was in Niagra Falls for a tournament I went over the Falls in a barrel!" I expressed my shock at that and she said, "I have a picture." She then pulled out a picture album and showed me a photo of her going over the Falls in a barrel. After she let me marvel over that for a while, she added, "That's a fake picture. I was just pulling your leg." It makes for a great story, though. Allene finally put the bowling ball down in 2008.
Allene has three grown children, Donna, Wanda and Mack. She showed me pictures of her whole family told me, "We were always close and always kept in touch."
Allene told me so many fantastic stories about where she's been and what she's done like being the designated driver a number of times. She helped cover for the other ladies during bed checks by lying in their beds to make it look like they were there. She toured the Minute Man Missile tubes in Rapid City, South Dakota and she remembers once when Nita Height and she were in a tournament in Reno and Nita saw all the slot machines and Nita asked why there were so many candy machines there. (Nita's husband, Bill Height, does the "From Erna Road" column in the Mason County News) This one Senior Moments column cannot do Allene Garrison justice. It may have to be a 2 or 3 part column... or a book. We'll see. I do know it was a pleasure to talk with her and I hope to do it again soon.
