Happy New Year Hog City!

The Staff of Wapella.com, The Wapella Barber and Hairdressers Guild, The Dole Pineapple Corporation, The Dollywood Foundation, Coach Ron Zook, The Zeigler Chamber of Commerce, and The Ol' Possum Himself, Mr George Jones, all wish you a Happy New Year.

Perhaps a dance a the Wapella Auction House, with a toast of '57 Chevy's at the Irish Circle, then some greasy eggs at the Dixie would make this the perfect evening. Any Wildcat memories of New Years Eve Past?

Wapella.com mourns the passing of Pat Rolofson

Priscilla P. "Pat" W. Rolofson, 80, Clinton, died at 10 a.m. Wednesday (Dec. 26, 2007) at Hawthorne Inn in Clinton.  Mrs. Rolofson, a fixture in Wapella at WHS for a generation was a well liked bus driver, serving Wilson Township, among other routes.

Pat Rolofson was married to one of  DeWitt County's finest, Louis Rolofson,  for 56 years, from 1943 to his passing in 1999.  Mrs. Rolofson is remembered as a charitable and kind person.  Our condolences go out to her Son, Louis Jr., daughter-in-law Joy Rolofson, and her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Wapella.com flies the Wapella flag at 1/2 mast for Mrs. Pat Rolofson.

Great Beauticians Honored

What better way to top off 2007 than with a tribute to the Hairdressers, Beauticians, and Coiffurists that have kept the main manes of Wapella so neat and fashionable throughout the years.

Here is the first Champagne glass of the New Year's Celebration in honor of the hair trade, the Great Lock Wranglers of Wapella.

The first toast...goes out to none other than Vee Bray Welch, of Vee's Beauty Nook. Vee is the one of the greats, a pleasant businesswoman, and a tremendous hair manager. Here's to you Vee!

Who else would you like toasted (preferable to being scorched in the Perm machine)? What hairdressers did the best work on men's hair? Who are some of the past greats? Who is currently working the trade in the highest Hog City style?

Nobody Does Christmas Better than Kenny and Dolly

This album from 1984, when Kenny & Dolly worked together to bring a very Merry Christmas to their many fans. Kenny and Dolly look very merry indeed in this album cover.

Here's a little story I found about Kenny

I remember the day I first met Kenny Rogers like it was yesterday. I arrived to take Kenny from a large meeting of corporate executives to his press interviews on behalf of Dole Pineapple. I slipped in the door, intending to stay in the back until Kenny was ready to go. Kenny saw me come in, stopped the meeting with the Dole CEO and approached to shake my hand, "I'm Kenny Rogers." This was just one example of the way Kenny Rogers treated everyone with respect and made them feel that they mattered. He sent a powerful message that he valued others, from CEOs to press assistants.


Here's a clip from Kenny & Dolly singing "I'll be Home with Bells On". Merry Christmas to All you good people from Wapella from Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and the entire staff of Dole Pineapple and Wapella.com.

More Useless Inventions

For some reason I can't get enough of Useless Inventions.

Is it a Blessing or a Curse to have such things a complete catalog of Porter Wagoner videos?

Or in this case, is it really a good thing to have one click access to the greatest song ever recorded by an Ex-Monkey?

Here's Mike Nesmith with Some of Shelly's Blues. Click and decide, is the internet the ultimate invention?

Ernest Hemmingway vs. Kenny Rogers

Hemmingway wrote a pretty good story named "Islands in The Stream" later a pretty good movie with George C. Scott as the Papa character. Yet as good as it was, Hemmingway didn't have Dolly Parton as a Duet Partner. In response to overwhelming Wildcat demand, here's Dolly and the great Kenny Rogers doing "Islands in the Stream".

Hello Dolly, Hello Kenny

Help Identify this Man

Larry David was on a pro-am ski tournament Saturday, in between football games, I switched over to see some amusing skiing featuring celebrities with varying degrees of talent. Larry was awful, skiing much like myself, and let wail a diatribe at the cameras after finishing that was totally inappropriate for a charity event, but in character for his curmudgeonly persona.

The list of celebrities included Buzz Aldrin, Carlos Bernard, Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Susie Essman, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chris Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Sheila Kennedy and Patrick Warburton...though I noticed the man pictured below, the Funkhouser character from the Larry David show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Funkhouser is played by Bob Einstein, who has been performing since being a comedy performer on the "Cher" variety show.

Yet, most people know Bob Einstein as his most famous character. Take a look at the picture, and tell me, what was Bob Einstein's most famous role...which was a very popular and inspiring show in Wapella, as many people dressed like Einstein's character.



Update
Here is Super Dave Osborne with Fuji. Thanks to everyone who participated in the quiz.

"This would not have been possible without the Frymans"

The Pantagraph has a fine story on the generosity of the Ronnie Fryman family. What a great Christmas gift.

Here is the story.

Three Cheers for the Frymans and Habitat for Humanity for their selflessness and service to others. The Wapella Flag flies high today.

Dan Fogelberg, Rest in Peace

Peoria's own Folk Rock Legend, Dan Fogelberg has died of cancer at age 56. The Peoria Journal Star puts it best "Before he ever played the famed Carnegie Hall in New York, Dan Fogelberg played basements in central Illinois". Dan was not Ike Turner, but he could conjure up a memorable song, and was a pleasant tonic to the suicidal freaks playing at Champaign-Urbana coffeehouses in the 1980's that followed his 1970's career there.

Anyone out there see Dan Fogelberg in action? Red Lion in Bloomington perhaps? Fannie's Trolley?

Here is a good obit in the Peoria Journal Star

Zeigler Man Identified

The man known only as BEP has correctly identified Ted Schanafelt as being the chain that links Zeigler, Illinois to Wapella.

Ted was a great sportsman and sporting columnist for the Daily Pantagraph, as well as being a very good coach and a decent athlete himself. Many Wildcats owe their sense of hardnosed fair-play to Ted Schan, and offer a grateful round of applause to him.

As I do not have a current photo of Ted, I substitute one of Robert Conrad and Ross Martin from Wild Wild West. Ted vaguely looks like Ross Martin/Artemis Gordon, but has more of the hardball attitude of Robert Conrad/James West.

Go Zeigler!