European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Observation bit of Home officially sent into oblivion Ron Jensen i egg the news from Home is bad. Bobbie Meadows has decided that forever is Long enough and has Hung up whatever it is Post mistresses hang up to signal the end of a career. The postal service reacted to the news by turning out the lights for Good in the Post office in Gerlaw 111. So Long zip code 61435. Gerlaw is not much More than a Brief diversion along a Rural Blacktop Road. It has a Small Church More than 100 years old a handful of houses and now a dark and empty Post office. Some adjustments Are necessary. A i can Stop writing a Chi Bobbie on the backs of envelopes containing letters to my parents. A the Good folks of Gerlaw will have to find a new place to dispense the local gossip. A and the postal service can decide what to do with All the Money this move will save. Initial reports Are that despite the tremendous Windfall accompanying bobbies retirement the Price of Stamps will jump to 30 cents. Gee imagine the Cost if Gerlaw a few dozen feedback postal patrons still had local service. Gerlaw is where i attended Church and received my mail but Alexis is what i consider my Hometown. With a population of 1,000, it is several times larger than Gerlaw. Alexis has stores cafes and Gas stations. Two or three of each at least. And it has a school system. But Alexis too is caught up in this evolution of americans Countryside. On my annual and biannual trips Home the past decade i have seen the evidence. A couple years ago Mcknight hardware closed. The sign in the window said a thanks for 100 the store began with the town and spent its entire lifetime with one of Alexis Pioneer families at its Helm. Its closing shocked me. I miss its cluttered shelves and narrow aisles. No item was too obscure to be found Here. Nothing was Ever tossed away so no appliance or machine Ever went out of style. Last year another of Alexis sacred places vanished darkening another spot on the wide main Street. Sperry a sundries always referred to As Sperry a or the drugstore closed. This was a hard blow. Sperry a was the hangout for students from Grade school through High school graduation. When i was in High school Rabbit Loquist and i would walk Uptown to the drugstore for a chocolate Pepsi from the soda Fountain a chocolate syrup goes in before the soda syrup a and a Peanut butter cup. Sometimes this was dessert. Sometimes this was lunch. Wed browse through the comic books and talk to Howard and Joann the stores proprietors who watched from the other Side of the counter As several generations of schoolchildren grew up. The stores window was a Community bulletin Board with notices of everything from farm auctions to boys looking for part time jobs to women willing to do hairstyling in their Home. When i was in Alexis a few months ago i walked by the store and peered through the Dusty Bare window. There were no comic books in the rack and the shelves that once displayed everything from cosmetics to Model air planes were empty. But this is not written to Grieve Over the demise of two More chunks of Rural America. I refuse to romanticize my farm background or stereotype Small towns As havens of virtue. Greed selfishness and dishonesty Prosper in americans fee stores just As they do in Urban corporate boardrooms. Geography and demographics Are no barriers to sin. So i will make no judgment about the further erosion of this layer of american culture. The loss of our nations Rural roots May be inevitable and perhaps necessary. Farms have been declining in number for most of this Century taking Small towns with them. Who can argue with a pattern so entrenched not me. But on a private level i do mourn the closing of the Gerlaw Post office and Sperry a drugstore. They Are two More slivers whittled from what has always been Home. And Home is something one wants never to change. I will be Back there in october. I already fear the changes in a bound to see. Ron Jensen is a stars and stripes our guest the Sunda y Magazine is setting aside space for guest columnists. If you have encountered anything amusing confusing frustrating or fascinating about life in Europe in the military or in general wed like to hear about it. A this is not a space for gripes or letters to the editor a Don 7 expect an official answer just loads of response from your friends. So sum up your thoughts in 500 words or less and Send them to be our guest Sunda y Magazine the stars and stripes Apo 09211. Be sure to include a Telephone number where you can be reached during the Day. Where do you go for a Good hamburger a or something close a in Europe sgt. Manuel Villanueva a co 1 Ith signal in Kaiserslautern West Germany Mcdonald a. I done to believe there Are any other places not for an american hamburger. Chris Mehwald cafes Post Exchange Secretary Darmstadt West Germany Best place for a hamburger is Burger King a they taste the Best. The German Burger Kings done to taste the same As the american ones. Tech sgt. Dwight a. Hastings on leave from 7275th air base group san Vito a Italy the italian version of hamburgers Are like grilled sausage burgers. Patties up the Way a hamburger would be and served on a Bun with Mustard and Mayonnaise. But you can forget about lettuce and tomatoes. Airman 1st class Michael e. Nickell instructor at air Force Hospital Wiesbaden West Germany i ate one hamburger at a German i miss. It was terrible. The Mcdonald a Here is of but its too expensive. Sgt. 1st class Rodney Miles c co 55th maintenance in Heilbronn West Germany i done to know where one is outside the Economy. The Best is at red top in Colorado Springs Colo. Compiled by stars and stripes staff sunday april 29, 1990
