Greeting summer, bank retirement and drugstore drop-ins

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Topper Slinkard.

Happy Father's Day to all our dads!

Happy birthday to Terry Glenzy, Pat Burger, Donald Moss, Brenda Parker, Regina Wall, Ashlie Smith, Randy Rister, Laura Schilling, Ronnie Eichhorn, Robert Stovall, Jerry Lee, Mamie Cooper, Nick Powderly, Brittaney Bennett, Devohn Foulk, HB Rice, Sarah McDonald, Kathy Leggett, Betsy Rice, Dan Burger, Randy Payne, Barb Urhahn, Harley Wicker, Ruby Dixon, Victor Powell, Jack Simpson, Courtney and Chelsey Walter, Ashley Davis, Mark McGuire, David Griffin, Sarah Benton, Jeanette Pentecost and Judy Jones.

Happy anniversary to Joe and Anna Kinder, Jeremy and Angie Ruiz, Steve and Wanda Hahn, Jim and Bonnie Haney and Mike and Cindy Wibbenmeyer.

It's summer

Today is the first day of summer! Summer solstice is the longest day of the year. The earliest sunrises of the year come a week or two before, while the latest sunsets occur a week or more after the solstice.

City Council meets at 7 p.m. tomorrow at City Hall.

Best wishes, Charlotte

Charlotte Dirnberger will retire from First Commercial Bank June 30. She started working there in 1968 right after high school graduation. During her 47 years there, the bank has changed names three times and had different owners. The bank is having cake this Friday for her and the customers of the bank. Drop by Friday or before she leaves to thank her and wish her well!

Make way for ...

We are on "hatch" watch in Dallas, since the wood duck hen is wrapping up her incubation period of 28 to 32 days. All of the eggs hatch the same day, then the little ones leave the box the very next morning with their mother. We were unable to confirm the exact number of eggs, since we didn't want to disturb the nest box in any way, but we are looking forward to seeing the fuzzy little ones make their debut. God gave them little toenails on their webbed feet so they can climb up to and out the opening.

There are lots of baby birds around now, so keep an eye on your pets, especially cats. Better yet, keep them in the house. Cats are responsible for killing more than 3 million songbirds a year in the continental U.S.

Lankford lore

In the 1920s and early 1930s, before the band stand at Circle Park was built, little Miss Mary Lankford, known to us later as our English teacher, Mrs. Mary Hopkins, sang with 140th Infantry Band under the direction of Oscar T. Honey.

Most of us remember Mrs. Hopkins' brother, Les, and his wife, Lela, when they owned and operated Lankford Drug Store and were active in our community. They had a son, Leslie, often called Little Les, who worked there after school and on the weekends. Big Les served on the city council from 1932 to 1940, when he stepped in for Mayor Honey for two years. He served as elected mayor from 1947 through 1950. Les ran for judge of the county court and served as presiding judge. He ran for state representative in the mid-1950s, won a two-year term, returned to Chaffee and again ran for presiding judge.

Keeping up

Back in the day, men dropped by Lankford Drug Store for their mid-morning visit. Mark Hopkins worked there part-time and said men who were regulars included Ralph Mattox, Fred Thornton, Joe Perry Rice and other names such as Heeb, Capshaw, Essner, Grasser and Kielhofner. The ladies came in mid-afternoon for cherry cokes and to visit with Lela; names included Vickery, Casebolt, Cheatum, Simpson and Miller. Most of us kids dropped by after school or during summer break to sip our cherry cokes. My half-brother, Wayne, always dropped by to visit with the Lankfords, Mr. Mattox and Bob Capshaw, when he was in town; he often left me at the counter with a chocolate sundae while he chatted with the menfolk. According to the Centennial Celebration Book, longtime employee Kenny Hindman and Randy Dooley purchased Lankford Drug Store in 1982; it was remodeled in 1989 and the name changed to the Medicine Shoppe. The store went out of business in 1991 after a fire.

Special words

Remember to tell those special people in your life you love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing loved ones, our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes. Email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at 573-887-6430 or 214-207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the day when one Coke lasted throughout an entire meal.