SHADY DELL OWNER
HELEN ETTLINE
DIED FEBRUARY 25, 1984,
37 YEARS AGO TODAY.
Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me
of a very special person, the first lady
of the Shady Dell... Helen Ettline.
Unforgettable, Helen...
That's what you are!
We love you and miss you.
Dear Shady I do love that song. I'm sitting in the hospital waiting room while my sister gets ready for her surgery. Gives me time to comment early! I love all the stories of the Dell and getting to know the Ettlines. I'm sure Helen and John are smiling as you take time each year to keep their memory alive. Hugs to you today Tom!
ReplyDeleteHi, Yaya!
DeleteYou take Early Bird honors this week, dear friend! Thanks so much for helping me pay tribute to the First Lady of the Shady, Helen Ettline, on the anniversary of her death 37 years ago. You have encountered this same tribute year after year, but I see no reason to change it because Helen truly was "Unforgettable."
I will keep sister Midge in my prayers as she undergoes surgery today. In the last year it has been a familiar scenario for you to be sitting in hospital waiting rooms, and I greatly admire you for being rock solid for your family like your father always was. I will await a post on your site letting us know how Midge is doing.
Thanks again for dropping in early to pay respects to Helen, dear friend YaYa!
She would be thrilled to know she so touched your life.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteYou narrowly missed being the Early Bird, good buddy! Thanks for being here for Helen Ettline as we mark the anniversary of her death.
Yes, Helen touched my life and the lives of countless other young men and women across Central Pennsylvania. I can still picture her smiling at me and can still hear her voice. I miss Helen.
Thanks again for coming by, good buddy Alex!
Helen lives to this day in your blog and, we know, always in your heart.
ReplyDeleteHi, Arleen!
DeleteI'm delighted to see you, dear friend! Thank you very much for coming over to help me remember Helen Ettline, owner of the Shady Dell in York, PA, and "The Mother of All Dell Rats."
Yessum, you expressed it perfectly. I intend to keep the memory of Helen alive through blogging. She remains near and dear to my heart nearly 50 years since I last laid eyes on her and 37 years after her death.
Thanks again for being here for Helen, dear friend Arleen!
May she live on in the hearts and minds of all who loved her and to many generations thereafter.
ReplyDeleteHi, John!
DeleteIt's so nice of you to be here, good buddy! This might be the first time you have seen this tribute to Dell owner Helen Ettline. I use the same Nat & Natalie performance every year on the anniversary of Helen's death because it is so ideally suited.
Thanks a lot for saying a few kind words about Helen and enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy John!
Hello there friend. What a wonderful tribute to Helen. I remember first seeing this song played on a television show and getting chills. I think it was one of the first times I'd ever seen this type of thing done. Welcome to the digital age, right? Thanks for sharing it again and I know Helen appreciates your continued sentiments. Have a terrific rest of your week.
ReplyDeleteHi, Janet!
DeleteSo sweet of you to come, dear friend. Thank you!
Yessum, that virtual duet involving Natalie and her father Nat was a novelty at the time and was perfectly executed on live TV. Natalie's vocal blended seamlessly with her dad's and the musicians were superb, making it one of the most magical moments in entertainment history. For several years now, on the anniversary of Helen's passing, I have been using this same clip. The song and performance fit so well that I see no reason to change the post.
Thank you again for dropping by, dear friend Janet. Please hug Benny for me and enjoy the rest of your week and weekend!
I never met Helen, my dear friend, but I feel like I knew her personally from reading your blog. She was such a wonderful woman and such an inspiration not only to you, the Dell, but to York in general. Unforgettable, indeed!
ReplyDeleteMay love and light comfort you today, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThank you for the kind words about Helen and the comforting words for those of us who knew her, loved her and still miss her.
Like your Nan... "Unforgettable"... that's what Helen is.
Thanks again for being here again this year for my annual tribute to Helen on the date of her death. Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend JM!
I can only say what I've said several times in the past, that I'm impressed that she and her husband had such an impact on you when you were just a teen, and that it has stayed with you all these years.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for dropping in to say a few kind words about Helen Ettline, good buddy!
Ever since 2008 when I started blogging about Helen, John and their Shady Dell hangout, I have often asked myself, "Why me?" Why was I called upon? Why was I inspired and compelled to make public in the form of a blog this ongoing series of articles and tributes to the people, the place and the times of my young life? Did the Dell and The Ettlines somehow have a more profound effect on me than on other teenage patrons? If so, why? Perhaps it's the writer in me. A great story deserves to be told, needs to be told, and the rich and colorful history of the Shady Dell makes a great story.
Thanks for your visit and comment, good buddy Kirk. Have a safe and happy weekend!
Hi Shady. This is a very nice tribute to Helen! I'll bet Helen had so much fire and strength in her, that enabled her to be such a gracious hostess to the sometimes, quiet, and other times rowdy teens of the 60's. She had to be a multi-tasker, what with keeping a counter clean and stocked with the favorites of the day.
ReplyDelete"Unforgettable" is a timeless classic. It is so clever how this video was done, bringing Nat and Natalie in a duet of this lovely song. She is so pretty, and really enjoys the performance.
Shady, I know how you miss Helen and John, and how you value the friendship you had with this wonderful couple. It was more than a friendship, I'm thinking they were 2nd parents, counselors, and providers of a safe haven for teens to spend time away from home once or twice a week.
I hope you and Mrs. Shady are doing well. We are now having rain for a couple of days...like we needed it! What a mess there was last week, and our trash was just picked up this morning, two weeks late. What a relief!
Have a wonderful weekend, dear Shady!
Hi, Suzanne!
DeleteThanks for being on hand again this year to join me in remembering Helen Ettline on the anniversary of her death. The years keep rolling on. It is hard for me to believe it's been nearly 37 years since the day I stopped in at the Shady Dell for one last visit before moving to Florida. I entered the snack bar expecting to see Helen. Instead I found John sitting at the counter reading the newspaper. Not having been to the Dell in the last 13 years, I happily struck up a conversation with John. A minute into it, I asked John where Helen was. My smile quickly turned upside down when he informed me that she had died a few weeks earlier. I was stunned. I never got word of her death or I might have attended the service. Anyhow, thank you for being here to offer musings about Helen and her impact on my life and the lives of many other young men and women.
You have seen this Nat and Natalie Cole virtual duet several times before, because I post it every year at this time. The song is indeed a timeless classic, and that live performance by Natalie and the orchestra stands as one of the great moments in show biz history. Natalie was only a couple of months older than me, and sadly she took ill and passed away five years ago at the age of 65. Surely she and father Nat are now singing heavenly duets in the afterlife.
Yessum, what I had with Helen & John, what I felt, was more than friendship. They were part of a vanishing breed. I liked and respected them both, miss them to this day and vow to keep memories of them and their Dell alive for as long as I can keep blogging.
Here in Florida our temps are hovering around the 80 degree mark this week. Me no likey! I think the groundhog gypped us out of those few more weeks of winter he promised on February 2. I'm sorry you are now getting soaked with rain after enduring snow, bitter cold and power outages earlier in the month.
I hope you and Scootie are well. Please have a safe and happy weekend, and drop by Sunday or sometime next week to catch the latest edition of Ernest P. Worrell's radio show Rock-A-Billygoat. Take care and God bless, dear friend Suzanne!
I got to know her through you and you always give such a lovely tribute to your 2nd mom. I love that song you chose...always gives me chills.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThank you for coming, dear friend! Yessum, I never get tired of this wonderful performance by Natalie as she weaves her tender vocals through those of her dad as together they sing the bittersweet love ballad "Unforgettable." I'm glad the performance affects you the same way it affects me.
Thank you again for helping me to honor Helen Ettline, The First Lady of the Shady, on the anniversary of her death. Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend BB!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteFabulous song to honor Helen's memory. I'm sure she's smiling down on you and the rest of the Shady Dell Rats. :)
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteIt's nice to see you, dear friend! Thanks for taking time out from your weekend to visit and say a few kind words about Helen on the anniversary of her death. I can't help thinking Helen would approve of this Nat - Natalie virtual duet that I have posted several years in a row in her honor.
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Time to especially remember certain peeps lovingly and forever, friend Shady. At this time I especially remember the birth, the short life, as well as the death of my baby daughter Jenny Rose (Feb26,1986 - Oct09,1986). Sending love, c.
ReplyDelete