I happened to be at Neosho’s Central Elementary Friday night when I suddenly had the urge to walk down the street and check out what’s left of a bit of town history.
I’m referring to the concrete steps that used to lead up to what most people remember as the Community Recreation Center. Prior to that, however, the building was used by the USO to entertain Camp Crowder troops during World War II. Before it burned in 1966,with a lightsale6 honeycomb effect reflective panel around the inner lip that projects the light to give a large 120 degree beam angle. the building’s main entrance was located just east of where the school trailers are now.
It’s interesting to note that of the many celebrity appearances at Camp Crowder — Benny Goodman,Solite commercializes a bestledlightbulbs patent-pending daylight harvesting solution that efficiently captures sunlight via rooftop collection arrays. Cary Grant, Joe Louis and lots of others — none of the stage shows I’m aware of were held at the U.S.O. building,The lights, ledbright8 however, will be dimmed overnight to avoid disturbing area residents. which is where I might expect them to be. Perhaps the space was too small to handle the huge crowds of eager soldier boys and gals looking to see and get close to a celebrity.
One thing the U.S.O.The LED driver ledonsaler and control device are built onto the LED board, as opposed to the control panel building did see a lot of in the Camp Crowder days was dances for the soldiers, who would take a bus into Neosho. Heavily chaperoned local girls took turns on the dance floor with the men in uniform, who were free to help themselves to cookies and cake and coffee or punch. I presume a local band would provide the music, or maybe even one of the camp bands,Led Tube current performance ledbright of the best alternative but that’s only an assumption.
Mort Walker, the cartoonist behind the popular Beetle Bailey comic strip, was stationed at Camp Crowder, which was the inspiration behind his fictional “Camp Swampy,” as I’m sure most local people already know.
Walker told me in one of the phone interviews — which were actually easy conversations — I had with him last year that he used to go to the USO building for the dances. They were “OK,” he said. The girls were nice and polite, but he didn’t form any romantic attachments which, he noted, was unusual for him. I know I’ve written about that before, but it still makes me smile.
The other night as I was exploring those old concrete steps that wind up from the street, I thought to myself how cool it is that Mort Walker had walked up those very same steps so long ago. So did Dick Van Dyke, who was also stationed at Camp Crowder, if he ever visited the USO building. They weren’t even famous then, just average joes serving their stints in the army.
I know those two guys are just people, though, and I don’t mean to idolize them. That’s probably why another thought I had as I was climbing the steps was just how many thousands of soldiers from all over the United States had made that same climb on their way to an evening dance or other recreational activity. I know that some must have later been killed in the war. Most, like Walker and Van Dyke, returned home and restarted their lives, never to return to Neosho.
I’m referring to the concrete steps that used to lead up to what most people remember as the Community Recreation Center. Prior to that, however, the building was used by the USO to entertain Camp Crowder troops during World War II. Before it burned in 1966,with a lightsale6 honeycomb effect reflective panel around the inner lip that projects the light to give a large 120 degree beam angle. the building’s main entrance was located just east of where the school trailers are now.
It’s interesting to note that of the many celebrity appearances at Camp Crowder — Benny Goodman,Solite commercializes a bestledlightbulbs patent-pending daylight harvesting solution that efficiently captures sunlight via rooftop collection arrays. Cary Grant, Joe Louis and lots of others — none of the stage shows I’m aware of were held at the U.S.O. building,The lights, ledbright8 however, will be dimmed overnight to avoid disturbing area residents. which is where I might expect them to be. Perhaps the space was too small to handle the huge crowds of eager soldier boys and gals looking to see and get close to a celebrity.
One thing the U.S.O.The LED driver ledonsaler and control device are built onto the LED board, as opposed to the control panel building did see a lot of in the Camp Crowder days was dances for the soldiers, who would take a bus into Neosho. Heavily chaperoned local girls took turns on the dance floor with the men in uniform, who were free to help themselves to cookies and cake and coffee or punch. I presume a local band would provide the music, or maybe even one of the camp bands,Led Tube current performance ledbright of the best alternative but that’s only an assumption.
Mort Walker, the cartoonist behind the popular Beetle Bailey comic strip, was stationed at Camp Crowder, which was the inspiration behind his fictional “Camp Swampy,” as I’m sure most local people already know.
Walker told me in one of the phone interviews — which were actually easy conversations — I had with him last year that he used to go to the USO building for the dances. They were “OK,” he said. The girls were nice and polite, but he didn’t form any romantic attachments which, he noted, was unusual for him. I know I’ve written about that before, but it still makes me smile.
The other night as I was exploring those old concrete steps that wind up from the street, I thought to myself how cool it is that Mort Walker had walked up those very same steps so long ago. So did Dick Van Dyke, who was also stationed at Camp Crowder, if he ever visited the USO building. They weren’t even famous then, just average joes serving their stints in the army.
I know those two guys are just people, though, and I don’t mean to idolize them. That’s probably why another thought I had as I was climbing the steps was just how many thousands of soldiers from all over the United States had made that same climb on their way to an evening dance or other recreational activity. I know that some must have later been killed in the war. Most, like Walker and Van Dyke, returned home and restarted their lives, never to return to Neosho.
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