ELRA

A Story by ToddK

A brief glimpse into the life of the luckiest twelve year old on the planet

In the summer of 1973, I got the greatest gift a kid could get. We had just moved to Lexington, NE and I didn’t know anyone. In many of the moves we made over the years, it was often at the end of a school year that we would pull up stakes and go. That would put us in our new town at the beginning of the summer. It was a tough time to get to know other kids in the summer as there was no central place like a school where everyone would gather during those months. At our house in Lexington, we had a few neighbors with kids, but they were younger and that didn’t help much in getting prepared for the school year. Going to a new school was difficult enough, but it was the most difficult when you knew absolutely no one. It was going to be a long and boring summer.

Out of the blue, I remember getting the news. My folks told me that my grandparents, Leonard and Frona, wanted me to come spend the summer with them. Most kids who visit grandma and grandpa have a completely different experience. I can’t really explain what this news meant to me at that moment, at that time, but I can tell you it was like I had won the lottery. MY grandparents lived on and operated a country club in the middle of the corn and wheat fields near a lake in southwestern Nebraska. The place had a restaurant and a 9 hole golf course! It was going to be so great!!!!! I would actually work for my grandma and her sister, my aunt Anita, in the restaurant as a bus boy. I would set up and clear all the tables every night after all had finished in the dining room among the other duties they would have for me.

During the day, I would play golf. I golfed that course so many times I can’t even tell you. It was like a dream come true. My grand dad had the job of running his tractor and cutting the grass on the course. That didn’t require a helper at all. So I golfed. I golfed that course sometimes 3 or 4 times in a day. I got pretty good.

On the weekends, the men from all around who were members there would come and play. If they needed a 4th for a foursome, they’d call me over. I can’t even begin to tell you how much that summer helped to shape my life from then on. Another great thing was Whipper. My uncle Rod had a black lab named Whipper and he left him with my grandparents when he moved into town. Rod had taught Whipper a lot, he was such a smart dog. Whipper needed room to run, and ELRA (the name of the Country Club, which stood for Enders Lake Recreation Association), was the perfect place for him. Some time before I got to ELRA, a guy who had once been a member moved away and left his golf cart behind. My grandpa did some work getting it running and that cart became my mode of transportation all over that huge compound for the summer. Whipper and I became inseparable that summer. Everywhere I went, EVERYWHERE, I was in that golf cart and Whipper was right there with me. If I needed to go from the house to the restaurant, about 75 feet, Whipper and I took the golf cart. I drove that thing till the wheels nearly fell off it, especially on the course. Whipper was my sidekick and always rode shotgun! Everyday he would sit outside by the cart just waiting for me. I’d get in the driver side and he’d hop on and ride passenger. Thank God gas was still cheap back then; it was a wonder I stayed a skinny kid through it all though, I mean I didn’t walk ANYWHERE.....Neither did Whipper!

My gram was the oldest and pretty much ran the operation though she and her sister, Anita, were partners. Gram would run the bar, but was always moving. She would be in the bar and get everyone set up with drinks then move to the dining room, stopping at tables to check in with the patrons and guests. She would always have a funny story to tell. I would be helping with bussing tables, Anita would be serving food and rushing back and forth to the kitchen and we’d all hear my gram’s high pitched voice as she brought her tale to a crescendo. I could almost count the beat to my gram’s voice. It was always on time and always in key. Her voice would start soft and easy as she began her story, then, as she took it to the outrageous, her voice would get little louder and a little quicker until the tempo of her voice became almost shrill. I can still hear that voice when I put my mind to it and it is truly a beautiful sound. Then, wait for it, (one...two...three....) and bam!, the punchline, followed by the roar of laughter from her audience. She was something else, Frona Kerchal. She had a real way with a story that would take you by surprise and grab you, and keep you there, for just a few fun and glorious minutes.

After she would finish laughing and visiting at a few tables, she would move to the kitchen and check on Floyd and Maxine, the husband / wife team she and Anita had hired to run the kitchen. She would touch base with them and back out she’d go, touching the shoulders of one or two of the people still eating as she made her way back to the bar. She would do this many, many times each night. She was always within reach to anyone who needed her. She and Anita were a team and they never had to question why the other made the move that they did. They seemed to think with one shared, business savvy mind. I learned so much from both of them and my grand dad too that summer. Mainly, I learned how important it was to remember that people will respond to you in a very positive way when they know how much you care about them. They all walked that walk and I am so thankful I got to see them all in action living life to it's fullest for those few months that summer. My gram and gramps and Aunt Anita were such good role models for me.

I earned $90 that summer working for Anita bussing those tables. She would give me a cut of her tips at the end of each night. Sometimes it was just a dollar or two, sometimes more, sometimes less. She paid me what she could based on the night and the crowd. I bought a 10 speed bike at the Coast to Coast store in Lexington right before my 8th grade year when I got home. None of them knew it back then and really, neither did I. No one could have known that I’d have gladly worked there for free just for the fantastic memories I would take into my later years. Every kid should get a summertime tour at a place like ELRA among a grand-family like mine when they’re 12. It left a mark on me that I’ll carry forever.

© 2020 ToddK

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Samuel Dickens

I love these kinds of stories, especially when written so well. Your family life seems to have been marvelous in every way, with so many loving folks around, guiding and setting good examples for you. If only it could be the same for everyone.
A lovely story, I enjoyed it a lot.