Chester Chatter: Magic working at Magic Mountain in 1960s

By Ruthie Douglas
©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC

My years working at Magic Mountain were a great pleasure and made for a happy time.

In the 1960s, when I was Magic Mountain’s base lodge manager, we worked hard to get up and running, yet we still had many laughs and good times. I worked there five winters and, one year, I ran the restaurant at Route 11 at the Magic entrance.

Our farm tore down the old barn and we sold barn boards, beams and planks to the restaurant. While wiping down the bar with a wet rag, I felt that I was back in the horse stall, thanks to the odor.

One of the best things about that job was the people I got to meet. Dionne Warwick rented rooms. As an early riser, she often wandered into the kitchen, no make up but wearing sweats and slippers.

She would pour herself a cup of coffee and we would chat while I made breakfast. She loved to lend a hand, perhaps stirring up a batch of blueberry pancakes and delivering them to the dining room, where most had no idea it was the famous singer serving them.

Family visits and farewell to a friend

Ricky Howard of Virginia drove his mom, Karen Howard, home this past weekend. She had spend three months visiting this family. Nice to see Ricky.

Shirley Hale is getting better at Cedar Hill Nursing Home, where she is being treated for a bout with a sore leg. She has also celebrated her 91st birthday.

Kevin Forbes of Colorado is home for deer hunting and a time to visit his dad Skip Forbes.

Melvin and Betty Stowell have headed for the sun and their winter home. See you in April.

A loving, caring and wonderful person — Joyce Carleton — has died, leaving so many sad. At the American Legion Post 67, she was the backbone of bingo games. She always offered her help on the many projects undertaken by the Ladies Auxiliary. She was the helping hand at the events at the Gassetts Grange. Joyce was always there and she will always been remembered.

A pork roast dinner with the fixings was served at the American Legion Post 67 on Saturday, Nov. 11. Some 60 people attended, including combat veterans from the area.

Once again, Chester Legion Ladies Auxiliary held a basket raffle. The annual popular event raised funds for scholarships for students at Green Mountain Union High.

Production of Twinkies ended on Nov. 22, 2012. What a sad day for many of us who carried the treat in our school lunch box.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

• This week’s trivia question: What was the last year school was held at Chester High School?
  
• Answer to last week’s trivia question:  It used to cost a nickle to play one song on the jukebox at Country Girl Diner.
  

Street Talk

If you could invite a famous person for your Thanksgiving dinner, who would it be?