Note to Readers: As a substitute driver, I have delivered Meals on Wheels to Donald Ennis for about three years. Since my initial deliveries to him, I have known there is something special about him and many times “threatened” to have lunch with him. Finally, I had a series of lunches with Don resulting in this series of articles.
I entitled this series “Donald Ennis’s Treasures” because he has an extraordinary array of photos, documents and stories he collected over his 93 years, which entertained me for hours. I was privileged to talk and ask question after question, as well as be trusted with albums and documents that he allowed me to take home to review.
One such item was a class autograph book with writings from his mother, teachers and classmates from some of his years in school from 1933 to 1937. The writings expressed love, encouragement, friendship and whit as shown by the following: “Never let anyone outdo you in courtesy.” or “This little line, Donald Mine, tells you that I’ve a notion my love for you (it’s really true) is big as all the ocean.” Both of these were written by his mom. Also, from different schoolmates: “Present your body as a living sacrifice. – Romans 12:1” and “Yours until I marry and then I am his.” or “Yours till the statue of Liberty dances a jig to the star spangled banner.”
Don’s dad had an appointment to Annapolis only until Don’s grandmother put the kibosh on the appointment because she did not want him to leave home. His dad then worked on the family farm and took classes at Goldey Beacom. Don was born and raised on a farm in Clayton, Delaware, along with his younger sister, Peg. As Don and I talked, it was evident to me that he enjoyed every aspect of life and had many friends. Compared to his life, mine seems mundane. I kiddingly used the old maxim on Don that he wasn’t as dumb as he looked after reading a newspaper article about him from while he was in high school, when he won the Delaware State Championship in Oratory, sponsored by Boys State, a group sponsored by the American Legion. Boys State included the creme de la creme of high school boys. Don gave a twelve minute prepared speech on religious tolerance under the Constitution, followed by an extemporaneous six minute speech on the Bill of Rights. As the winner, Don spent a week in Washington, D.C., chaperoned by men of the American Legion. He advanced to the next round, the regionals, in Richmond, Virginia, where he placed second.
Another accomplishment of Don’s while in high school was achieving the rank of Life Scout in the Boy Scouts, which is the sixth of seven ranks, the seventh being Eagle Scout. He thought he would have been able to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout except he discovered girls!
Don had a love for the water, living close to the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. He was a boating enthusiast and won a large loving cup trophy with his sailing partner, Jack Thompson, by accumulating the most race points over a four year period during high school, the summer after high school and when on leave from the Navy while sailing on the Chesapeake. Winning the trophy contributed to an more than two year romance, which nearly resulted in marriage.
The trophy was taken to a local pub where it was filled with beer and passed around to some 40 people, who each took a sip. The beautiful lady sitting next to Don, who like Don was 18, Bernice Frankel, had trouble holding the cup because of its size and Don offered to help her. Little did Don know that Bernice would in the future use the stage name of Bea Arthur! As many of you older fans may know, Bea was in Broadway shows, had a guest appearance on All in the Family and eventually starred in the television series Maude and The Golden Girls. The romance ended when Bea went to California with RKO Pictures (a film production and distribution company) with which her brother was involved. Poor Don, he lost his Bea! But have no fear, He is a resourceful guy. Next time, he may not wait more than two years to decide on a wife.
Jeff Hall, of Honey Brook, contributes columns to Berks-Mont Newspapers.
