CATCHING UP WITH FRANK FRANZE . . . AGAIN

 

I got a call from the blue from Frank Franze, Class of 1950, who lives in Slidell, Louisiana. We had a warm and fuzzy chat about our lives today and memories of our days of roaming as Monongah High students in the faceitiously named Gang That Terrorized Marion County. Frank and Donald “Jake” Halpenny were the chaffeurs for the roaming teen gang.

We would sneak into drive-ins (except for two who had to be in the vehicle), “borrow” watermelons to eat while skinny-dipping in the river and got thrown out of a Clarksburg theater, but I put that one on Ronnie “Cooley” Delovich, with his “Be nice; don’t fight” remark to the theater manager.

 

Others in the gang were the late Lawrence “Sonny” Godby, Lawrence and Regina Boone Godby’s son and the late Jackie Godby Lusczynski’s brother; Steven “Bucky” Satterfield, who lives in St. Albans after retiring from a long career as a West Virginia Highway Patrolman; Anthony “Tony” Eates, who is retired and living in Fairmont with wife Lucy; the late Robert “Satch” Kasper, who had a successful career sitting at the bargaining table for Ford Motor Company before retiring to his homes in South Lyon and Grand Lake (Presque Isle), Michigan; the late Joe Manzo, who survived the Korean war; the late Tom “Judge” Starcher, who began his prowling in Carolina; and me, the runt of the litter.

Frank no longer drives a car after his brother-in-law had a heart attack and drove off the road and into the woods with his wife in the truck with him. Fortunately a first responder was driving behind the brother-in-law and went into action immediately. But the brother-in-law passed away a month later. So Frank decided to stop driving “because I didn’t want to kill anybody.”

Another member of the gang was the late Bob “Satch” Kasper, my friend for 84 years who exchanged 2 Christmas cards with me since 1955. Frank hadn’t heart about Bob’s passing in March so I was the bearer of the sad news. “I liked Bob,” Frank said.

Frank hasn’t been in contact with fellow Lions recently. “You’re the first I’ve talked to in 4 years,” he told me.

Frank has “a ladyfriend who cooks, cleans and drives me to the doctor.” Frank had been taking care of another ladyfriend who had a stroke till it got to be too much of a drain on him even though he’s “doing fine.”

Frank’s daughters in Slidell and Alabama call to check on him daily. “I got out to dinner a little bit,” Frank said. “I live pretty good.”

Frank married 3 times but was never divorced because he out-lived all three. He survived a leg infection in 2015, too, caused by banging his shin on a fishing dock. Hardy stuff, Frank.

Frank grew up in Four States, moved to Jasper, Texas and, finally Slidell.

Kathryn Ann Manuel Marshall, Class of 1960, is Frank’s cousin.  

It you want to catch up with Frank and share Monongah High memories his phone number is (985) 201-7882.