Shingles for Duane

 

Duane Harbert, Class of 1951, who lives in Marlton, New Jersey, is dealing with painful shingles.

 

Let Duane explain it:

 

“They came on suddenly on Dec. 8th and the pain has eased only a little even with the prescribed medication.  I had the shingles vaccination a few years back but it didn't help that I can tell.  The pain is about on the same level as broken ribs.”

 

Duane actually goes by Donald nowadays, but everyone at Monongah High knows him as Duane. The Army made him go by his first name.

 

He was in the faceitiously named Gang That Terrorized Marion County along with Sonny Godby, Satch Kasper, Bucky Satterfield, Bruno Franze, Jake Halpenny, Cooley Delovich, Plumber DeMary, Tony Eates, Joe Manzo, Judge Starcher and me.

 

You’ll notice that I didn’t give their given first names of Lawrence, Bob, Steven, Frank, Donald, Ronnie, Anthony, Anthony or Tom. I was Junebug. You weren't "in" unless you had a nickname.

 

We roamed Marion County, including Drummond’s where we would bring an empty gallon jug to be filled with beer and Melody Manor where I had my first whisky sour (2 of them knocked me on my butt).

 

We would go to the drive-in, with only 2 or 3 in the vehicle to pay their way in. The rest of us would sneak over the fence. If the manager caught us we would scatter throughout the drive-in grounds so that it was impossible to know who paid and who didn’t.

 

We were stupid and mischievious, but not mean. We didn’t beat up people.

 

When the police showed up at Fairmont Field Club because we were swimming in their pool at 3 a.m. the cops tracked us down via the license plate on Duane’s father’s car.

 

Duane’s dad was Frank Harbert, principal at Thoburn School. They lived in Worthington.

 

I walked home barefoot (3 miles?) and thought  I had gotten away with it until the next morning, when I woke up and my father was standing over me with my shoes in his hands.

 

Deputy Sheriff Frank Koloski, father of my sister Jackie’s friend Lorain, delivered them to my father with an explanation.

 

All of us were taken to Fairmont to the Consolidation Coal Company office and given the Scared Straight treatment by authorities with our parents present and approving of it.

 

No juvenile detention. Just trying to put a lid on coal miners’ children. Much easier to survive an encounter with the law than nowadays. More common sense approach.

 

On Duane's final night before heading for the Navy, we partied all night with him, then dumped him at Clarksburg bus terminal for his journey to swabbie town.

 

Long ride with a hangover. Not much fun. But great memories.

 

As my son always says, “If you can keep your children alive till they are 30, they’ll be alright.”

 

Who knew my late wife Monnie Turkette Olesky and I produced America’s Aristotle.