Phyllis Bowser Is Egg Festival Parade’s Grand Marshal
Phyllis Bowser Is Egg Festival Parade’s Grand Marshal
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Phyllis Bowser Is Egg Festival Parade’s Grand MarshalMENTONE - This year’s theme for the Mentone Egg Festival parade is “Celebrating Family and Food,” which coincides with the parade grand marshal’s and her family’s history.
Phyllis Bowser, 96, is the honoree for the parade that begins at 11 a.m. Saturday downtown Mentone. She will be 97 on Oct. 18.
Chamber President Rita Price Simpson said, “She and her husband (Wayne) had a family business called L & B Foods. The business was started by her father, Fred Lemler, and then (Wayne and Phyllis) took it over.”
L & B Foods was located downtown Mentone. The store began during The Great Depression by Phyllis’ dad where Java Jacks currently is, and then changed its name to L & B Foods when it changed location to a bigger space, Simpson said. The L & B stood for Lemler and Bowser.
They owned and operated L & B Foods for 32 years. Business partners were Wayne Bowser and Phyllis’s father, Fred Lemler.
Eventually, Simpson said she bought the building from Phyllis’s mother around 1978 and it became Valley Furnishings.
“The main reason, frankly, we’re making sure we honor her is as much for their business, what they did in business, as it is for her individually. That’s what the (‘Celebrating Family and Food’ theme),” Simpson explained.
Phyllis moved to Mentone when she was 5 years old, after living in Bremen, Bourbon and Nappanee. Her favorite subjects in school were math and music, and she played the trumpet. She studied opera.
She graduated from Mentone High School in 1945.
She is the only charter member of the Jolly Janes left. Jolly Janes is a women’s club that started out as a home economics club. She has been a member of Eastern Star, a lifetime member of the First Baptist Church of Mentone and the Mentone Be-Abouts, another women’s club.
Phyllis worked at L & B Foods, but also sold Avon. Later on, Wayne also sold Avon.
Phyllis won a trip to Monte Carlo for two through an Avon promotion in February 1980. She had been a representative since June 25, and assumed the area when her daughter left for Germany. She was in the top 30 for her district. While in Monte Carlo, Phyllis got to see Princess Grace, which was one of the highlights of her life personally.
After the store closed, Phyllis worked at the Mentone school as a paraprofessional and then for a short time at the Mentone library.
Phyllis and Wayne were married for 56 years. Their children are Vicki, Deb and Fred. Her sister is LeahNell Yeiter. Her mother, Lois Lemler, lived to be 101 years old.
The home Phyllis lives in was built right after World War II and she’s never lived anywhere else since.
Now she enjoys sight-seeing, shopping and going out to lunch. She’s still a member of the Jolly Janes.
