Where are you from?

[W. Gray]

Perhaps others on this forum have had similar exhilarating experiences.

In the late forties, while living in Independence, Missouri, our family developed a friendship with a family named Pulley on the next block. About a year later, we were sitting on these folks front porch in their swing and in lawn chairs snapping green beans. The woman remarked they were going to visit some relatives the next week. We asked where and she said, "Oh in a little town named Howard, Kansas." Everyone was all smiles and it was like old home week. The husband was from Howard and I think the Howard Pulleys might have lived on Jefferson.

My sister was hiking with some friends in the sixties in Washington State in the high country when they saw an old man sitting on his front porch. They stopped and a conversation ensued in which she asked where he was from. He responded by saying he was from a town in Kansas no one ever heard of, Howard.

In 1980, I pulled into a Denver filling station and noticed Kansas EK plates. Upon inquiring of the driver, he was from Moline. He was rather happy I knew where Moline was. He was assigned to Lowry AFB, but I cannot remember his name.

In 1966, when I went to the Armed Forces Induction Station in Kansas City, I was waiting around with 200 others getting ready for swearing in and shipping out. Someone in authority called out my name and took me to a Navy field grade officer who asked where I was from. Since I had only come about fifteen miles, he seemed disappointed. He then mentioned he knew a barber in southeast Kansas with my name. Turns out, he was from Howard. We commenced to talk about an hour or so about Elk County, etc. For the life of me, I cannot remember his name.

[Teresa]

Yep.. we were in Arizona, standing outside one of the saloons in Tombstone, and someone commented on the heat.
Of course ..me knowing no strangers, I piped up that it was better than Kansas heat. That led to "What part of Ks you from..
I said ..."The pretty part in the flint hills"..
They said .. I know of that area..
I was shocked and ask what part and they said the Howard and Moline area...
They had cousins that used to live in Moline and they would come to Howard as youngsters and get their hair cut by Waldo Gray.. Holy Moly! I told them that Waldo was my ex father in law and we were all amazed at how small a world it really is.

[W. Gray]

You might have seen combat movies where someone in a command post or headquarters tent somewhere in the middle of nowhere has put up a hand lettered sign on a pole that says "Peducah, Kentucky, x miles" with an arrow.

When I was in Vietnam, I always wanted to put a sign that said "Howard, Kansas, 8800 miles" with an arrow pointing in the right direction.

But, I never got around to doing it.

[Janet Harrington]

Jim and I made a trip to northern New Mexico.  While traveling through some mountains, we stopped to rest at what looked like a well that water was running out of.  There was a small mountain stream close by.  Cold water by the way.  While we were there, a rancher drove in to get some water for dinking water at home.  While we visited, he asked what part of Kansas we were from.  Of course, Howard.  He knew exactly where it was.  He served in World War II at Fort Riley and his wife was raised in Coffeyville.  It is a small world.

I run into people everywhere that know where Howard is, but it is fun to say, (when asked where we are from), to say, "Oh, you wouldn't know it.  A small town in the middle of nowhere called Howard."

[Jo McDonald]

Janet -- I went to work yesterday morning, and when I was handing in my time sheets, the Park Manager, Chris, said, "guess who I ran in to yesterday?"  Well  DUH  I hate that game, and I told him that, but he would not tell me until I sat there and guessed and guessed and finally I told him I was not going to play any more..then he told me, but Jodi, we were just talking about her the other day.... sighhhhhhhhh   again, I HAD TO GUESS.  Finally he told me it was you.  I was pleased and I said " Janet likes me" ( I hope that was correct   lol ) and he just grinned and didn't even answer.  Darn !! I wanted to hear something REALLY GOOD that you had said.    

[Roma Jean Turner]

Hey Jo!  I was talking to my stepsister Cynthia about this forum and giving her some of the
names of participants. She recognized your name and said you all worked together at the extension office in the early 70's.  Her name was Cynthia Durbin (Jack's ex) at the time.  She said she took Gracie's job when she left, then when Cynthia quit 5 years later to marry Marvin Weddle,  Gracie came back.  Anyway, a small world.  (Cynthia's mother married my father when I was 15 and Cynthia 25).  Even though we didn't grow up together, being two only children, we have always stayed in touch.

[Judy Harder]

This is a cool topic.
when my grandmother had  finally accepted that she had to go to a nursing home, I was up in Topeka and went to see her.
Now, as you know Longton is just on the map........not like Howard..........LOL. yep I am out numbered.....
But when I got to the nursing home, Grandma took me all over the place and introduced me.

Well, one of the ladies there was just becoming friends with Grandma and when she asked where I was from of course, I said Longton........(now most of the time I had to tell people what part of the world this is in) but (sorry, but I don't know if Grandma ever told me the lady's name or not, but can't remember it) this little old lady said.........
"I know where that is. I use to live in Howard" Felt pretty good not to have to explain just where in the heck this part of the back woods is.
I am finding the more I venture out, the more people have heard of Elk  County and Longton and or Howard...it is a small world and getting smaller. Is that a good thing? 

[Rudy Taylor]

I love these stories. Military guys have millions of them to tell.

It was only eight years ago that a close friend of mine from Caney, Bud Bridenstine, was talking on his ham radio
to a contact who lived in the south --- could have been Louisiana but not sure. They had talked on a regular
schedule for several years.

The southern ham commented to Bud, "I've always meant to ask if you ever knew a guy named Bridenstine from Caney, Kansas," he
said. He was a sergeant when we served in the Marines during World War II. He took two Jap bullets when we
were fighting on Okinawa and I was the medic who wrote a big "M" on the sergeant's head using his own blood
as paint. It meant "morphine" and usually the guy didn't make it. So, I was wondering if Sgt. Bridenstine died
or what? Our outfit had to move on and I never heard how it came out."

My friend Bud collected his emotions then responded, "Yes, Sgt. Bridenstine did make it but only after two years
of recuperation in a Navy hospital. He went to college and spent his entire working career at Phillips Petroleum Company and today his
hobby is ham radio.  You're talking to him right now.  Bud Bridenstine is my name."

To shorten my story, Bud called me to say that his friend was coming to Caney for a reunion of the two WWII
pals.  When he arrived, I went to Bud's house, took their picture together and enjoying listening to their stories
about the Leathernecks who fought from island to island in the pacific. We carried a nice feature story on our front page
about the experience.

His friend told me he always assumed Sgt. Bridenstine was dead because sure looked that way when he stuck
him with a needle and administered morphine to him.

An interesting sidelight: That was almost the last battle of the war.  If Bridenstine had made it through that
battle he would have come home on a troop ship within two weeks. As it was, he doesn't even remember that day
because of the terrible shock. He was flown back to the States in critical condition condition.

So, the "where are you from?" thread conjured that memory for me.

[Diane Amberg]

 You just gave me goosebumps. What a story.

[MarineMom]

You know its a small world when you grow up in a small town in England spend the next 28 years living all over the USA move to Howard Kansas and meet a neighbour who grew up in the same small county in England as you did and down in Moline is a lady who spent her Army years also in the same county in England