The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 61

PAGE 6 NEIGHBORHOODSMid-County, DECEMBER 29, 1993 Memories held deer Santa's crew among recollections of 40 years at Dixie Manor center Highland Recreation set to join ministries Wft lip its tV fk I 1 1 hi-." 1 of the street. It appeared to have a set of antlers and bells around its neck," wrote Patterson, who was 8 years old at the time. "I looked at David, he looked at me, and we both screamed, 'Santa's They and their playmates joined workers from Dixie Manor in chasing the deer along Alreva Road. "I kept thinking, 'Why doesn't he just fly Patterson wrote. The deer was soon caught and returned to the shopping center, leaving the lifelong memory.

"I tell my kids how they had real reindeer and a sled and how Uncle David and I caught the loose reindeer," Patterson wrote. Ed Jenkins, of Bruns Drive, likewise recalled the "look on the faces of children when they saw the live reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on the sidewalks of Dixie Manor." Jenkins also wrote that he got his first job, first rifle and first Bass shoes at Dixie Manor. In 1961, he bought a ring at Kay's Jewelers and gave it to his girlfriend now his wife of 26 years. Two years later, Priscilla Pursiful received an engagement ring, also purchased at Kay's. "That ring has been on my finger for over 30 years," wrote Pursiful, of Malcolm Road, who is married to the Rev.

Larry Pursiful, associate pastor at Carlisle Avenue Baptist Church. Jim Marking got more than a ring at Dixie Manor. He found his wife there at Walgreen's. "She was a waitress, and I was a dishwasher," wrote Marking, of Pierce Way. "We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary June 22, 1993." Rose Lippelt's most vivid memory of Dixie Manor was of a different sort.

"It was Dec. 4, 1958. 1 was nine months pregnant with my first child but had driven to Dixie Manor from Brandenburg with my sister Ruby. Lippelt, of Alandale Drive, went into labor while they were shopping, but that didn't stop her sister at least not at first. By BILL PIKE Staff Writer Del Weyer didn't expect an outpouring of emotion last month when his company asked for memories of Dixie Manor shopping center.

"We were surprised by the quality of the response" to the contest, said Weyer, a vice president of Plaza Centers, which manages Dixie Manor. The company had asked for people's memories on the occasion of the center's 40th anniversary. "A lot of the responses were from the heart. A lot of them were charming," Weyer said. "The center was such a strong part of so many people's childhoods.

That took me by surprise." The center opened in the fall of 1954, but the anniversary celebration started early so "we could have something special for Christmas," Weyer said. Other events will follow, he said. Responding to newspaper and radio advertisements, about 100 people sent in memories of Dixie Manor and long-gone businesses such as Moss Bakery, Dipper Dan ice cream, the C. G. Murphy's variety store, Ben Snyder's, Levy Bros, and Kaufman's.

But Santa and his live "reindeer," which were holiday staples during Dixie Manor's early years, drew more response than anything else. "Everyone you talk to about Christmas at Dixie Manor remembers the reindeers," wrote Pam Medley, of Silverwood Lane. John Patterson, of Mills Drive, submitted the most vivid recollection, according to workers at Plaza Centers, who judged the entries. Patterson, who received a camcorder for winning first place, wrote about Christmas 1960. That year, one of the deer escaped from its pen at Dixie Manor to the wonderment of Patterson, his brother David and other boys in a nearby neighborhood.

"We noticed something at the top FILE PHOTO the "official opening" of the Dixie Manor shopping center on Dixie on Nov. 16, 1955. The center actually opened the previous fall. U.S. Marines ran up the flag for Highway in Pleasure Ridge Park "Ruby kept saying, 'Just one more she wrote.

"We finally left and drove to Hardin Memorial (Hospital) in E-town, where my daughter Karen Yvonne was born." Deborah Pait, of Garrs Lane, sounded like a little girl all over again when she wrote about Murphy's in the early '60s. "But the best part was the little counter snack bar My mom and I would wait in line to get a stool at the snack bar. Our food order always included grilled cheese, french fries, dill pickles and the best fountain Coke ever. What a treat it was! "After a long enjoyable day with Mom shopping, we would call my dad to come and pick us up. We waited inside the glass windows of Murphy's, watching for our car "Once in the car, oh what chatter took place! I told my dad everything we had seen, bought and eaten.

What a wonderful day!" Lynda Denny, of LaSalle Avenue, summed up what many writers said: "The memories of Dixie Manor are so many, I could write a book." Tom Byers, a professor of English at the University of Louisville and a student of American culture, said he wasn't surprised that Dixie Manor meant so much to so many people. "As American culture has become suburbanized, the shopping center has become the center of social activity. We have lost the center of town." Weyer's final comments on the contest were down-to-earth. "We'll have to bring those reindeer back next year. If there was one item that meant a lot to people, it was the reindeer.

We'll make a great effort to get them back." Iations; Final Hurstbourne link is on target for summer '94, city hears By MARTHA ELSON Staff Writer After a 10-year engagement, Highlands Community Ministries and Highland Youth Recreation Inc. are moving toward tying the knot in the new year. A newly formed steering committee voted this month to dissolve the recreation group and transfer its assets so it can formally become a program of the ministries. The ministries' board still must vote, probably in February, said Stan Esterle, executive director of the ministries, former treasurer of the recreation program and a member of the steering committee. The two organizations had worked so closely that they were already "fairly synonymous" in some people's minds, said steering committee member Tom Fitzgerald.

But before the community ministries agrees to the proposed merger, a new paid director for the youth league must be found to take over for Rich O'Malley, who resigned at the end of the fall season after 10 years, Esterle said. A subcommittee began searching earlier this month. The director would work 120 to 140 hours each season for $9.92 to $11.06 per hour, depending upon how much responsibility he or she assumes. (Applications should be sent to 1140 Cherokee Road, Louisville, Ky. 40204 by Monday.) The selection committee is scheduled to screen the applicants Tues day, and the full steering committee hopes to select a director Jan.

11. "It would be my hope that the committee would take responsibility until someone else is found," said Rick Roberts of Audubon Park, another steering committee member. Esterle, of the Cherokee Triangle, has volunteered as treasurer since O'Malley became president in 1983 and the program began its close alliance with the ministries. He and O'Malley essentially ran the league for years until O'Malley resigned. Esterle said he is not willing to take over the director's duties.

For the past 10 years, the ministries has advertised for the recreation program, let the program use its phone and provided other services. But the ministries is no longer willing to shoulder such responsibilities for an independent group, Esterle said. The connection also raised questions of liability, he said. Highland Youth Recreation was incorporated in 1970 and now has 72 teams with 600 to 700 participants in each of three seasons spring, summer and fall. When O'Malley became director, the league was heavily in debt to the Jefferson County Public Schools for renting Highland Middle School's gyms, where it had held a basketball program.

The previous director asked the ministries for help. The recreation program and community ministries didn't pay off the approximately $2,000 debt, Esterle said, and it was forgiven by the school system. The basketball program was turned over to the Metro Parks' Douglass Community Center. O'Malley and Esterle stabilized the organization, oversaw its growth and have left it with a nest egg. O'Malley, who lives in the Belknap neighborhood, is a prosecutor in the county attorney's office.

He's regarded as a tough act to follow, and that's why Esterle worries about finding a new leader. While the search goes on, the recreational well-being of hundreds of 5- to 16-year-olds and their enthusiastic parents is at stake. Sue Tritle, a steering committee member from the Hayfield-Dundee area, has an 8-year-old son, Drew, who has participated in soccer and T-ball for three years, and another son, Will, on deck. Said Tritle: "He's 4, and he can't wait until he's 5 and he can play." Lords of Soccer camp dates set University of Louisville soccer coach Victor Petroni will conduct the annual Lords of Soccer indoor soccer camps for boys and girls ages 7-17 next month at several sites. For more information, call Petroni at 267-2337 or 588-0105.

Volleyball Coed teams sought The Salvation Army South Louisville Boys and Girls Club is seeking six-member adult coed teams. Call Tony Goodwin at 361-2397. ments, including installing a bigger drainage pipe, in the spring. But in the meantime, Daley said, "We need a stop-gap solution. How can we go about protecting Tiverton Way properties?" Storm said MSD is considering several options, including a detention basin and an earth berm behind the school.

But Jefferson County Public Schools, which owns the land, hasn't been approached yet, he said. Adams said he will try to meet with the school board early next year and report back to the commission at its next meeting, Jan. 17. Mayor Paul Baar and commissioner Joshua Cummins asked Adams and Storm to intervene on behalf of the city to get left-turn signals added to the traffic light on Hounz Lane at Westport Road. The single lanes of north- and south-bound vehicles back up in both directions there during rush hour.

Also, hundreds of cars cut through Meadow Vale to bypass the congestion, Cummins said. "We've already asked the state. Can you intervene?" Baar asked. Adams said the new intersection will have those turn signals, but "the electronics alone for the signal cost $30,000," so it wouldn't be practical to install them for the existing roadways, then re-do it for the rebuilt intersection in a few months. STAFF PHOTO BY ARZA BAHNETT A Jumbled Jigsaw puzzle was sent out as an Invitation to Garrett and Lane Adams' Christmas puzzle party.

About 30 guests were Invited to the annual get-together. A season of pieces Family's annual party pulls together friends, puzzles -STL bors back the next year and soon began inviting others too. They've added puzzles all with Christmas themes and by last week seven puzzles were in various stages of assembly on tables throughout the downstairs. An eighth a 100-piece puzzle for the children illustrating Peanuts characters was already assembled on the stair landing. The food, spread out on a long table in the dining room, was much easier to find than the puzzle pieces.

And when guests got frustrated or stumped, they could always take a break and load up. "Some go right to work," Lane Adams said. "Sometimes they come and stand in the dining room and eat for an hour. One year, I despaired that the puzzles weren't even going to get touched." It's not uncommon for the party to last until 1 or 2 a.m. Last week's party ended about 2 a.m., with two puzzles completed, and one "very close," Lane Adams said.

The family usually finishes them, she said. Some years, the Adamses have even sent jumbled jigsaw puzzles as invitations. When assembled, they read: "CONGRATULATIONS! Since you have successfully completed this puzzle, you are invited to join us for our Christmas puzzle party." Lane Adams orders those small, blank puzzles from a catalog and VOW i writes on them with a marker. Before the party, the Adamses start the puzzles usually filling in the borders so people don't get too discouraged. Some guests this year attacked the puzzles with intense enthusiasm and special strategies.

Others had more modest objectives. "I just sit here and stare and gawk," said David Mueller of River-wood. "I'd like to get one piece, so I feel like I've done something." In the next room, Dave Loeffler of Lyndon contributed to the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" puzzle by placing one piece in the center of the table with a flourish. Karen Rabalais of Thornhill was working on the Charles Dickens puzzle with her daughters, Nicole and Nina, and Cherie Marshall of the Goose Creek area. The Raba-laises had delayed a trip to New Orleans to be at the party.

"There are so many pieces to put in this thing," moaned Nicole, 9. Her mother seemed to have figured out the event's essence: The way it works, she said, is when you put together some pieces, you feel as if you deserve a reward, so you go get something to eat. Then you work some more. "You feel like you deserve another treat, so you go back to the table and start on another one." And that's how all the party pieces fit together. By GAYLE PRESSMAN Staff Writer Meadow Vale officials got some mixed news last week.

Construction of the Hurstbourne Parkway extension is back in the fast lane after being stalled for 11 months, and a related drainage problem will be fixed next spring. However, residents and motorists will have to wait a while longer for relief from congested traffic on Hounz Lane and Westport Road. Parkway construction from Dor-sey Lane to Westport Road "will be completed on time by the end of 1994 probably late summer," Mark Adams, a manager for the county's Public Works and Transportation Division, told the Dec. 20 Meadow Vale commission meeting. A court case over land acquisition that had delayed construction is being settled out of court, he said.

After construction, Hurstbourne Parkway will extend from KY 22 south to Bardstown Road. It is open now from Dorsey Lane south to Bardstown Road, and from West-port Road north to KY 22. The disputed property is owned by former state Sen. Daisy Thaler and her husband, Jim. The county condemned the land at the southeast corner of Westport Road and Hounz Lane in May 1992.

But construction at the intersection stopped soon afterward when the Thalers appealed the condemnation to the state Court of Appeals. That court ruled in the county's favor last month, and the Thalers petitioned the state Supreme Court to hear the case. Adams said an agreement between the county and the family "is being finalized and will allow construction to resume early next spring." Meadow Vale officials have monitored the construction adjacent to their city and negotiated with the state and county since its start. Meadow Vale Commissioner Thomas Daley invited Adams and Rick Storm, a project manager for the Metropolitan Sewer District, to the Dec. 20 meeting.

MSD and the county are collaborating on the project, and Daley and other residents have concerns about drainage and traffic. Heavy rains cause some flooding of Tiverton Way yards that back up to Zachary Taylor Elementary School on Westport Road, and the additional parkway pavement will increase the problem, Daley said. The county plans some improve Sports in Brief By SHANNON MATTINGLY Special Writer SOCCGr By MARTHA ELSON Staff Writer The circumstances were puzzling, to say the least. About 30 guests were gathered at the Crescent Hill home of Dr. Garrett and Lane Adams last Wednesday evening, and most were huddled around tables looking for something.

Something tiny. It might be a Santa's nose. It might be a candle flame or a piece of a pear on a Christmas tree. It might be part of an in "God Bless Us Everyone." "Well, there's a long way to go," said Margaret White of the Glen-view Acres area, as she surveyed the scattered pieces of a antique Christmas-card puzzle on a table in the foyer. Thirty minutes later, her son, Stuart White of the Cherokee Triangle, had joined her.

Progress, in such matters, does not come in great leaps and bounds. "We've got a long way to go," Margaret White remarked again. They were participating in an Adams family tradition the annual Christmas puzzle party. It began about 12 years ago when the family invited neighbors in to help finish two puzzles, which were presents from relatives. The family, which includes four grown children now, had such a good time that it invited the neigh Ice hockey Louisville Youth Hockey Association BANTAM travel team, ages 13-15 AT BROADBENT ARENA.

DEC. 18 Chris Edwards and David Phillips each scored as the Junior IceHawks beat the Northern Kentucky Norsemen 2-1. AT CARMEL, OHIO, DEC. 18 The Junior IceHawks beat Park Tudor Junior Varsity 4-3 as David Phillips scored twice. Brett Dowden and Ryan Knight scored 1 goal each, and David and Ryan each had an assist.

Barbara Knight.