Hello Sheila,

I do not know if you remember me, but I know that you remember my Mom, Monica Felver. I'm her oldest daughter, Kelly. I went to school and graduated from Parkway in 1988. Cheryl (Hall) Wolfe wrote me and  suggested to me that I write to you. As you know my Mom, Monica, was tragically killed in the I 69 accident on April 26th. And since that time, I have struggled and struggled. If it wasn't for my kids, my sister and my church family, my faith and ALL the prayers from around the world, I wouldn't be sitting where I am today. This is one thing that  has amazed people on the outside of this accident is the FAITH. That's what everything is about...... My Mom was one of the Chosen Five that day and I am honored that she is in Heaven fulfilling God's greater purpose for her. But since this time I have decided to start  a blog in honor of and kind of a memorial, It's where people can write in and share thoughts, prayers, stories, memories. This has been such a  great healing tool for me. So if you could spread this on, print the address. I would appreciate it. Let me know. Thank you so very much for your time and assistance. In Christ, Kelly Gehle

Mom's  blog address http://monicafelver.blogspot.com./

Editor's note: Monica Gibbons Felver was a Parkway Graduate of 1969. Many of you may remember her from the Chattanooga-area. To use a blog, simply click on the address above, read a posting by Kelly. There is a tiny "comments"  link preceded by a number. If you click on that, you will read the comments that people have sent to her, and you can add your own.  You may click here for her obituary on the PWI.

 

 

In memory of Charles M. and Ethel Van Fleet and Robert L. and Eloise J. Van Fleet

   Submitted by Robert C. Van Fleet (and brother Mike).

 

    My brother Mike and I treasure memories of our family and growing up in Rockford. Our grandfather, Charlie or "Mike", owned Van Fleet's Drug Store and our father, Bob, took it over when grandpa passed away. Both Mike and I learned to work at the drug store where we had various chores ranging from swabbing out the basement after rainstorms flooded it to working behind the soda fountain. In those days the drug store and especially the soda fountain were kind of the social center of Rockford. The hardest parts of our jobs were to be working when all our friends were enjoying summer vacation or when someone would wait until five minutes to nine (closing time) to come in and order a quart of hand-packed ice cream.

    My best memories of my grandpa are about his taking me on turtle trapping and squirrel hunting trips on the St. Marys River. Aside from going with grandpa, as kids, we pretty much lived at the river - building rafts and skinny dipping in the summer and ice skating and hockey games in the winter. Trips with grandpa and his buddies, Skinny Loro and George Kinder, are still vivid memories for me, though I was only 11 years old when grandpa died. Grandpa always used to kid George about his tendency to fall in the river at least once on each of our trips. My daily job in turtle trapping was to empty the bag of chicken heads (from Anspach's poultry plant) that grandpa baited his traps with. It wasn't a real pleasant thing to do but I just loved anything that involved being with grandpa.

    Sadly, my dad died in 1963 when I was a senior in high school. I remember I was at football practice when Coach Hilbert called me aside to inform me that dad had suffered a fatal heart attack. Ironically he died in a drug store in Lima. He had retired from the drug store and he and my mom were going to travel and enjoy just being together. For a long time I carried carbons of traveler's checks that dad had signed on the day he died. Dad loved to play golf on Thursday afternoons when the store was closed and when he bought a King Midget motorized golf cart, he was very tolerant of my and my friend Gary Henkel's endless tinkering and cruising with it in the Tastee Freeze parking lot and occasional clandestine highway trips.

    My dear mom and I moved to California after dad died and I graduated from Parkway. In the bigger scope of things it was probably a good move, but I remember it being so painful to leave my friends and Rockford that I cried most of the way driving my red GTO convertible across the country. Mom drove the last car my dad bought - a 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix - which she owned until just before she died.

    Although mom and I lived at opposite ends of the big state of California we stayed in close contact and saw each other frequently until she passed away in 2002. She was proud of both her kids and she saw me through my graduation from college and my political transformation and radical opposition to the war against Viet Nam and the whole '60's/70's lifestyle change I went through - and about which I have no regrets.

    My brother and I speak often about how fortunate we are to have come from such a good family and about the wonderful memories we have of growing up in Rockford and knowing so many good people there. Those memories will live in us forever and we love to come "home" to visit. Every time I visit I find it very hard to leave. The best part is seeing old friends and I never visit without going to the river to relive the adventures we had there.

    So many things have changed over the years, but I hope the kids growing up in Rockford today will someday treasure their memories of getting a good start in a very special small town - just like Mike and I do.