Mayor’s Row…….by Ned Mitchell
“The tree appears to be in the middle of the road” said Sesser resident Claude Hampleman during a telephone conversation. Claude is a retired teacher and minister and he and his wife Betty have made their home in Sesser for several years now. While I don’t get to visit with Claude too often our phone call that began with a question about a cemetery ended up being pretty lengthy and a valuable history lesson for me. Claude had intended to question me, even telling a secretary of mine for me to study up in advance before he questioned me. Claude ended up being the one answering a lot of questions. We began discussing the cemetery he had called to question me about and ended up talking about the blacktop road that in Franklin County is known as Crocker Road and in Perry County as Kimzie Blacktop.
Back in the 1930’s a road was proposed by Franklin County resident Raymond Crocker and Perry County resident Arthur Hampleman. I believe the two men served as township supervisors or some elected office in that day and being the dedicated public servants they were came up with the idea of building a road across the country that would join 148 on the east and Route 51 on the west. Engineers working with the two men and other interested residents plotted out the roadway. Claude relayed to me that he was barely tall enough to see over the weeds he and his father walked through in making this road vision become a reality. Not too far on the Franklin County side stood a huge Oak tree right in the middle of where the road was to be. The owner of the property had no problem with the road being built as it would help him and all of his neighbors too. He did have a problem when he was told the Oak tree would have to be cut down. Not only did he have a problem, he refused to give up the tree. Wise engineers under the direction of Raymond Crocker and Arthur Hamilton devised a plan to gently go around the tree and even said the bend will be so slight you will not notice it when you drive by.
Now I’m not from Missouri but I do have a streak of show me within and that evening I loaded up the family and headed north of Sesser to see the tree in the road. We turned on Crocker Road and headed west. Looking into the horizon we noticed a huge Oak tree in the distance that appeared to be right in the middle of the road. Once we got closer and stayed on the road we went right around the huge tree without noticing a bend in the road. That’s incredible, I said to myself and headed back to town with a local history lesson that I could never have gotten in the class room. These types of stories are interesting to me in that it is part of our heritage. I have known for years about Raymond Crocker and his service to our area but I did not know Claude’s father. I was fortunate enough to know Raymond and did visit with him a few times just to talk about politics. You see I was just thinking about public service at the time and was very young but I sought out Raymond for advice and to listen to an expert. The last time I visited Raymond he had both legs amputated and from his wheel chair he dispersed sound advice. I don’t know if I was a bother to him or not. If I was he did not let on like it and we had a good visit. In all the rush of life and it seems to go by faster every day, my visit on the phone with Claude Hampleman was as important to me now as my visits with Raymond Crocker were years ago. I’m still learning about life and Sesser’s history and the tale of the tree in the middle of the road needs to be remembered for generations to come. The story of how the road came to pass is part of our history. How it was built was a story that I had never heard. Now we all know!
Another lesson in life came about with the sad news that a good friend and Sesser-Valier teacher had been killed in a car wreck Saturday morning. Mike Dean was a fantastic young man who had the vision to become a classroom teacher and mentor to young people in Sesser. Several of us have known Mike and his family for years and when he applied to Sesser a lot of people went to bat for him and recommended him. Little did I know that he was the teacher that he was from day one. He always had a good disposition and came to class prepared and well dressed. He worked hard on community projects and took a great interest in his students.
Actually he was taking three young people to their first Rugby game in Carbondale when he was killed. Four people in the car and Mike was the only fatality. Mike and two of those young people had been in Sesser the evening before working on a computer of mine. I invited the trio to dinner at Bruno’s and they accepted. We ate, visited, and had a good time together. Little did any of us know that 12 hours later he would be gone. It is difficult to understand tragedies like this and a lot of us will be searching for the rest of our lives for the answer to the question why? Of course we will not in this lifetime come to know that answer, but it is our nature to wonder.
Thinking about Mike’s life and then his untimely death has caused a great amount of sadness in our community. Mike is one of those people who will nearly be impossible to replace. Mike and his entire family had been on a vacation to Florida and had only been home 6 days. He was making plans for the upcoming school year and we talked about football and basketball programs and such Friday evening. It is not much consolation, but I am a richer person because of my friendship with him. I was very lucky to have known him and I can tell you that he made a lasting impression on me. What a model young man he was! While I for sure do not understand events like this, my only thought today is that I’ll always remember Mike Dean. True to his nature and that of his family, a scholarship fund has been set up for a Sesser-Valier student to be able to attend college in the future. Mike was all about helping others and while we are extremely saddened by this sudden loss, we can join Mike’s family and make a difference for years to come to honor his memory. I respectfully ask that you donate whatever you can to continue the legacy of this great young man. It is the best way I know to celebrate his life and to continue his work.
Sesser’s Main Street was abuzz with activity Saturday evening. At the Opera House 14 year old Amanda Sheridan of Mt. Vernon put on an outstanding country music show. Across the street Valente’s Terrace hosted the Brat Pack for the second year in a row. Together both events drew over 450 people to our downtown area. Everything went off without a hitch and folks had a good time. There is nothing better for me to see on Saturday night than our Main Street and side streets to be full of vehicles. Folks coming through Sesser are amazed at the crowds we draw to such events. Even though it takes a lot of work to get ready our reward is that people are able to come here and have a good time in a safe environment.
We hope to have a new restaurant owner in the Opera House Restaurant by the second week of September. I can’t reveal the name of the owner his initials are rumored to be Mike Sulser. Just let me tell you that it took a lot of people persuading Mike in this venture and I’m not real sure we have his wife Robin convinced yet or not. I’m convinced that the right person from Sesser can through a lot of hard work and investment be successful in that restaurant. I know that Mike and his family will run a restaurant that we can be proud of and one that will draw folks from other towns to enjoy.
If you need us, give us a call at 625-3611 or 625-5322 or email to nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org or P. O. Box 517, Sesser, Illinois 62884.
| |
|
