Camp

When I was eight, Kathy and I went to camp fire girl camp. Of course we were not together because of the difference in ages. I was in a tent with six other eight year olds and our counselor.
I took one of my friends to be my tentmate, so I would at least know someone. Actually I should say she (Mary) was the daughter of one of my mom's best friend Maudie. We knew each other and got along fine, but it wasn't like she was one of my best friends. Maudie and mom cooked this one up--to send us off for a week. Just kidding of course.

The tent was very nice and just the right size for seven cots. It was on a platform about four feet off of the ground, with steps to get up into it. It was a screened in tent with flaps to let down if it rained. The kids from all the tents went to this large dining hall for all three meals. In the afternoon we would have quiet time and were suppose to write letters home. I know my foks must have gotten letters from me two or three days after I was home.

We had a large swimming pool and went swimming every day. We also had a big bonfire one night and had a weiner roast and did some s'mores. I had never had s'mores before and I loved them!

When I got home I was telling my folks all about the fun I had during the day. I told mom I only cried a litttle bit one night in my pillow. We went to camp a couple more times.The only experience I can think of that would be different than what I have already said is that I got poison ivy one year and they couldn't let me go swimming! I hated that because swimming was the main thing I liked about camping. So while everyone else went swimming I got to go to the nurse's office. Poor me!

The chicken story

I have to go back in time to Louisville Ks. again because there is one story that has to be told. I am going to somewhat plagiarize (copy) my sister Kathy's story because I messed it up big time when I tried to write about it. This one definitely has to be in my blog. I was just a baby, if I was even born at all. Kathy of course very little, probably three or four.

My Uncle Elmer, my dad's brother, and his wife Aunt Gertie and my mom and dad drove over to a friends farm. Kathy was along for the ride and was sitting in the front seat on dad's lap. The ladies of course were in the backseat. They stole four chickens--Aunt Gertie had one chicken in each hand and mom had the same. They were holding them by their feet. The friend stopped them and started to reach into the back for the chickens and mom told him laughingly that she would slap his face if he touched her legs! You see both of the women had the chickens covered with their full skirted dresses.

So they took off laughing, still in possession of the chickens. They feathered and cleaned them and got them all wrapped up and put them in their freezer. But the joke was on them when the friend came by later that night and took the chickens back. Mom and dad had done all the work and the farmer friend had four chickens all cleaned and ready to cook!

The circus and my first career choice

Every year either the ice capades or the circus came to town, they alternated. The ice capades were great and so exciting. All the beautiful ladies, so graceful and elegant in their sparkly costumes. This was all very nice but I can't write much about it. It just does not bring out the memories that the CIRCUS did. I may get back to the ice capades after I think about it awhile--maybe in another blog.

Oh! I loved the circus! Everything about it was exciting, the caliope music, the ringleader, the lions, bears and elephants, even the smell was exciting. It smelled like peanuts, popcorn and cotton candy--what more could a littl girl want anyway! You guessed it---the flying trapeeze act!! Oh, they absolutely mesmorized me. I watched so intensely, every move they made and it was awesome! I, of course, decided that I could do that. It was simply a matter of timing--the one that was going to fly (which would be me ) had to leave her stand when the catcher was in just the right spot. After all, that is what they did and no one fell. Oh, I wanted to do this so bad that I decided that when I grew up I was going to join the circus and be part of a flying trapeeze act---This was my career of choice when I was six years old.

We always got a souvinior too. I usually got a little plastic cupie doll, dressed in feathers and extended from a stick that was about two feet long. One year my folks got me a chamelion. A little lizard that changed to whatever color you put it on. I had fun with it for quite a while and I don't remember what happened to it after that. I am assuming I either "loved it to death" or it got set free. I don't recall having it very long at all, maybe through the next day.

The flying frog!

Okay, this is the one a couple of you have been waiting for. One summer when I was six or seven, we went to Louisville with our camping gear. My Aunt Vivy had a huge house with a wrap around porch (large porch that wrapped around a corner of the house, so there was porch on two sides of the house.) We loved this house and the porch. They had a porch swing we liked to swing on and several huge trees for me to climb. She also had a huge yard that went down to a creek. We pitched our tent on the side of the creek and commenced to camp. One evening, after it was pitch black dark dad wanted to go gigging for frogs. We had a row boat available to us so mom got in the point of the boat with a flashlight, dad of course sat in the seat to be the rower, Kathy was in the middle seat and Iwas in the far back seat, actually in front of dad because he was sitting backside to the point of the boat and mom so he could row. Well, off we went, rowing slow and being very very quiet! Mom was in the tip of the boat shining this flashlight along the bank. All at once, we see this humongous bullfrog! Dad stuck out his old cane pole with a large hook on the end. He got it right below the frogs chin and jerked it up. He had him!! Well, that huge bullfrog came flying through the air with front and back legs stetched out. He was coming right toward my face!! To make matters worse--he was peeing!! I started over the edge of the boat. Dad barely caught me in time literally by the seat of my pants. He clubbed the frog and tied him up to the place where you would tie your stringer of fish. Of course that just happened to be real close to my feet, right between my seat and dad's. Well every now and then the frog would just flinch a little, and I was on my way over the side of the boat again. This happened a couple times and then dad moved the stupid frog. By the time he moved it, it wasn't flinching anymore anyway. I was still glad to be rid of it.

Reference to breaded tomatoes

It was shortly after the breaded tomato incident (and it was the "breaded" and "cannned" part I hated, that this one happened. I wish I could remember what mom was cooking, but it was something I didn't like! I asked her "oooh mom! why are you making that? You know I am just going to get in trouble again!!" She said "well, sweetie, the only thing you like is meat, potatoes and corn---we need to eat more than just that." I personally could have lived a long time on my menu but of course we didn't. Mom must have told dad what I said because there were no more incidents like the "tomato" one. Funny thing is, I have loved tomatoes since I was very young. Kathy and I use to sit in the tomato patch and eat them right off of the vine in Louisville. Fresh ones, okay! Canned and breaded, NO!

Socializing and bus behavior

I was what you could call a social animal. I loved and got along with everyone, had lots of friends. I was a chatty little girl. This got me in trouble on more than one occasion---lots more actually. I was always getting caught talking in class--spent a lot of time standing in the corner. I asked my teacher one time "how am I suppose to learn anything when I'm always standing in the corner". She did not think that was funny or cute in any way. She did let me know in no uncertain terms that I couldn't learn if I was chatting all the time either.

I got in a lot of trouble from my behavior on the bus. The older girls that rode the bus were made bus monitors---or tattle talers! We were suppose to stay in our seat and talk quietly. I just couldn't figure out how I was suppose to do that when my friends that I wanted to talk with were scattered all over the bus. I had to get up if I wanted to tell them something. I spent a lot of time out in the hallway over this one. Again,I ask, how am I suppose to learn anything out in the hallway? lol

Breaded tomatoes

My dad thought that when mom prepared a meal we should eat at least a couple bites of everything. So when it was something we didn't like he would put a little bit of it on our plates. Back then you tried to stretch a meal --add something that was not only cheap but filling. Something dad liked and was cheap was breaded tomatoes. Mom would take a large can of tomatoes and squeeze them to squish them up to make more juice. Then she would drop in clumps of white sandwich bread. Needless to say these clumps of bread got real soggy and soppy. I hated it! It made me gag! Dad told me to eat it and not to gag. He said if I gagged I would be in big trouble. So there I sat, I knew I was expected to eat it or else I was in trouble. I also knew if I ate it I would gag and probably puke and would be in trouble anyway. This was a no win situation. Everyone else had been excused from the table, the table had been cleared and the dishes were done. I still sat there with those nasty tomatoes on my plate. I finally pushed my plate back a little bit and folded my arms on the table. I put my head down on my arms to rest. I sat that way for awhile, and mom finally came in the kitchen and said." oh just go on to bed". I went off to bed with my problem solved!

Music lessons

Well, came the time that mom thought Kathy and I should take some music lessons. They got Kathy an accordian that was almost as big as she was. She couldn't have been but about ten years old. They got a piano for me and we started taking lessons. Kathy may have been taking lesssons for awhile before me, I can't really remember that. I liked the pretty blonde piano, my teacher and even the lessons. I did not however like to practice. This was near torture for an active outdoor child to sit still for any length of time and practice. I think I took piano lessons about a year and then mom got tired of trying to get me to practice and let me quit. They at one point rented me a small accordian from the place that Kathy was taking lessons. I liked playing it and playing around with it, but I just wasn't one for doing any serious practicing on any instrument.

The tooth fairy

I was in the second grade when I lost my first tooth. That tooth was real loose for a real long time--although I was a daredevil and adventurous, I was part chicken when it came to pain. Dad would try to get to it once in awhile because he got tired of me messing with and wiggling it all the time. I ,of course would clench my mouth shut and he of course would just leave me alone. They knew that eventually it would just fall out. Well, that did finally happen, the tooth was out. The tradition at the time was to put the tooth in a small glass and put a little water in it. The fairy would come and take the tooth and leave a few small coins. Although this is quite cheap compared to the dollars that the fairy gives now days, we could buy a larage full size candy bar for a nickle! Well as clever and precocious as I was, I told mom that I wanted to put the tooth under my pillow in case the tooth fairy wanted to give me some paper money it wouldn't get wet! I was quite serious, I was not trying to be funny (sometimes that just happens).
Mom convinced me to put it in the glass and of course I didn't get any paper money.

May Day

Something we did in the fifties, fast became a dying tradition. Even just one generation later, my kids didn't do this or know anything about it. It was May Day and no this is not the distress signal. It was the day (May 1st) that we handmade small paper baskets complete with a handle. We made them out of any kind of paper we could find. Sometimes it was construction paper, wrapping paper, even plain white paper that we would color a picture on. We would put a few pieces of candy like jelly beans or candy corns in the basket. Then we usually put a couple little flowers in there. The flowers were usually from the lawn, like dandilions or " small yard daisies". These are very pretty to a child, not weeds at all. We would deliver them to our friends in the neighborhood. We would hang them on their doorknob or lay them on their porch for them to find. Of course all kids knew to check the porch and doorknobs on May Day!We liked this as much if not more than Valentine's Day. For that we would buy a box of valentines and pick out special ones for our best friends. We didn't give cards to everyone like the kids do today.

You can't reach me

I was 5 or 6 when this unfortunate incident happened. We had a station wagon that had three rows of seats. The far back seat would fold down flat for hauling groceries, luggage, or the such. I loved riding in the backseat the best unless I could get to sit up front with mom (when dad wasn't along. ) Well this particular time I was way in the back and was doing something ornery and mom kept telling me to stop it. I was probably koochie-kooing my sisters because I thought that was funny. I mean what is the harm of a little tickle under the chin. Well, for some reason the sisters didn't think it was as funny as I did so were hollering about it. Mom finally got tired of it and said "Jackie, if you don't stop it I'm gonna give you a swat." And right back at her, out of my mouth came "you can't reach me mommy." Well I should have thought that one out a little better, because mom curbed the car and got out, opened up the back hatch and I got some swats that time.

Pukin' on a nun

I think it was when I was in the second grade that I was served something in the cafeteria that I didn't like. It was some kind of kidney bean salad type of conglomeration and looked really bad. I ate everything else on my tray, but left those beans alone. I knew if I ate them I would gag and then of course puke. This nun was bound and determined that I was going to eat them. Although normally I was a very obedient child, I was not going to eat them. She was unrelenting--I told her "if you make me eat them I will throw up". She said something like "oh no you won't, now eat them. " By this time, all the other kids had finished their lunch and were at recess. I still sat there alone with my beans on my plate. Then recess was over and I was still holding out as classes were resuming for everyone else. This nun finally went and got Kathy out of her class, and asked her to get me to eat them. Kathy told her "if you make her eat them she will throw up!" When that was also unsuccessful, Kathy was sent back to her class. She kept on me until I finally just gave up. I put a bite in my mouth, tried my best to swallow it, but I gagged and I puked all over her and all over me. She spent the next half hour or so cleaning us both up in the restroom. The next day, we started taking our lunch to school. Even taking my own lunch, that same nun would come by occasionally and say something like "you know you must eat all of your sandwich before you can have those cookies." I'd just smile at her very respectively and say "I know". That is one nun that not only should not have been a teacher or working with children in any capacity, and indeed needed to say a few Hail Mary's.

Games we played

I know that I would love to have known what my grandma and even great grandma played when they were a little girl. It shouldn't surprise you that most of these games and activities are for playing outside. I loved being outside and was miserable if bad weather made me stay inside.

We played the group games of course with all the neighbor kids. So here we go: crack the whip, blind man's bluff, red rover, kick the can, Simon says, mother may I, softball, dodge ball, jump rope, kickball, hopscotch, swingset, climbing trees, Building tents or forts out of old blankets, high jump and walking on stilts. Dad made the high jump and stilts for us. We loved to play in the rain if it wasn't lightening (we didn't get to do this very often so it was quite special.) On summer nights after it was dark we loved to catch lightening bugs (fireflies) and put them in a jar. We had hula hoops, roller skates and bicycles that we used a lot. I loved to play jax--but i didn't like the little rubber ball that came with them so I used one of dad's old golf balls. It worked great on our kitchen tile floor. For inside we had the usual dolls and accessories, a dollhouse and paper dolls. Michelle and I would also get an old catalogue and cut out all the cute kids, moms and dads and build us a "family" out of them. We played for hours with these. Of course in the winter we had the same activities that kids from all generations have played. The main difference is the style and build of our equipment. For instance our roller skates fastened on to our shoes and had a skate key to tighten them up. Our bikes had one speed--however fast we pedaled. We didn't shift gears to go faster we just had to pedal harder. Our sleds were made of wood slats, and had metal runners underneath.

Eunie

We had to get a babysitter after Grandma passed away. Mom interviewed and met several people before she chose Eunie (You-knee). Eunie just lived down to and around the corner and up a block from us so that was convenient. She kept Michelle through the day while we were at school, then Kathy and I would go there for probably a half hour till mom and dad picked us up on their way home from work. Of course in the summer we were all three there all day. Seems funny, but with all the memories I have and some of them so long ago at even a younger age, I don't really remember anything about Eunie except we went there to be taken care of. Maybe it's because she was always making us stay outside if the weather was nice. I do remember trying to get her to let us come inside to play one time and she said it was a beautiful day and we needed to stay outside. This would normally have been my preference to stay outside, but I didn't like not having a choice. I remember she had a daughter that was older than I was--maybe about Kathy's age. Maybe Kathy can tell us something about Eunie.
That is all I have to say about Eunie! lol

Grandma's passing

We lost our Grandma Gros when I was in the first grade. She died in her sleep, very peacefully one night. She died in our room--the one that Kathy and I shared with her. We were hustled off to school while mom and dad took care of arrangements. They were going to have her taken "up home" which is what we called the area of Kansas that we came from. It was still the location of the majority of our relatives. Anytime we were going to go visit them, we would say we're going "up home". Later that day, they came to the school to pick us up, and I put my head inside my desk (we had the kind of desks that you lift up the tabletop and there is a storage place inside for your books). My fears and worries were closing in on my little six year old mind so I played ostrich so I could ignore it. Sister Mary Neil approached me and said "Ohhh" and was hugging me as she took me to mom and dad.

After all that mom and dad changed rooms with us. That is when we got our bunkbeds and had a single bed in there for Kathy (or maybe it was Michelle in the single bed, not sure) One thing I am sure of is that I got the top bunk!!! I know a couple times I did go in to check on my mom, her twin bed was in the same place that grandma's had been. I would stand beside her to watch if she was breathing or not--of course that in itself woke her up and I would tell her that I wanted to be sure she could wake up. She comforted me and told me she was still real young and was going to live a real real long time. Then I'd be just fine and go on back to bed.

Grandma's passing

We lost our Grandma Gros when I was in the first grade. She died in her sleep, very peacd

The Christmas Pageant

Christmas season came around and our school was going to put on a pageant. My class was going to do "Santa Clause is coming to town", you know "you better not pout, better not cry" ect. We were going to wear our pajamas and we had all the hand motions all worked out that we were going to do to the song. I mean we were prepared!! Mom bought me a brand new pair of real cute pajamas. We (the kids) gathered in our classroom to get ready. I had a VERY full and ruffley dress on so when I put those new pajamas on I looked quite large. lol We were suppose to take our dresses off but I was too modest and didn't do it. When it was our turn to go on stage, we all marched out there as we had rehearsed, all of us looking so cute in our pj's. Well, we started singing and doing our thing, and then all at once my eyes locked on my mother's face and I was just frozen. I stood there through the whole song doing nothing but smiling at my mother! I mean my face was all lit up with the biggest smile one could imagine. Afterwards mom told me I did great and that I was the cutest one up there. I'm sure, to her, I was.

First grade at Mary Magdalene

I started first grade at Mary Magdalene, and felt like such a big girl. I got to walk to the bus stop with Kathyk

Mary Magdalene and my illnesses

I started first grade at Mary Magdalene, and felt like such a big girl. I got to walk to the bus stop with Kathy. I loved that part because I loved being with her and she always did a good job of looking out for me. My teacher that year was Sister Mary Neil and I absolutely loved her. It was this first grade of school however that I began having so many ear infections and eardrum perforations. Ear pain is the most severe excruciating pain I could ever think of. It is a series of piercing stabbing shots right through your eardrum. For those of you who have never had problems with your ears, consider yourselves fortunate. I missed a lot of school that year because of illness. Kathy would bring my schoolwork home for me each day and mom would help me with it at night, then Kathy would take it back to my teacher and so on. I missed so much school that Sister Mary Neil wanted to hold me back a year. There was also the factor that I was really so young. Mom convinced her that I knew the work so I was passed on a sort of trial basis---if it became too hard for me to keep up I could still be put back. I of course worked real hard so that wouldn't happen. If I would have been kept back from the beginning for missing so much school , would have been alright. But I didn't want to be put back after passing because I looked at that as failure.

Roller Coaster at Kiddieland

We had an amusement park called kiddieland, which like the name sounds, had rides for small children. One day we were driving past it (we had not been to it yet). I saw the roller coaster running, it was the closest ride to the street. Right out of the clear blue sky I said " boy, I'll bet that would make your bowels move." I did not even know what that meant. I had obviously heard someone say something about a bowel movement and it just popped out of my mouth at that particular time. Mom and dad just about cracked up! I didn't understand why until some time later.

We did go to kiddieland one day and of course the first ride I rode was the roller coaster. It soon became my favorite ride. I mean, who wants to sit in a boat or a car and just roll around in a circle. Not me , that's for sure.

Kindergarten

I started kindergarten one month before I turned five years old. The cut-off date to start school was you had to be 5yrs old by the 30th of September. With my birthday on the 29th, I was up to a year younger than the other kids in my class all through my years in school. Although that didn't make much difference after about the third grade, at first it did make a difference. I started at a very young five, maybe even closer to four in maturity.

I started kindergarten at a public school, while Kathy was enrolled in a private catholic school for the third grade. The private school was Mary Magdalene and they did not have a kindergarten.

Kindergarten in 1950 was mostly socialization---learning to play nice and get along with others. Learning to share and that sort of thing. I didn't have any problems with that stuff because I was a social butterfly. I don't remember a whole lot about it but I do remember painting on a large pad of paper that was on an easel---I had my own apron or smock to wear. We also had to lie down for a while to nap or at least rest on a rug of which we all had our own. I know the school wasn't far away because I walked to school. I also know that an older girl walked me to and from school---I can't remember who she was but assume she was probably a neighbor girl that also went to that school.

Gorgeous George

Now that we were living in Wichita, a whole new world opened up to us that we couldn't have experienced before. There were play parks, picnic grounds, amusement parks, wrestling matches, ice capades and a circus, plus more that I can even think of right now. This little story will be about Gorgeous George.

Mom had been wanting to go to a wrestling match, so dad started taking her to the matches every now and then. Well, they heard that Gorgeous George was coming to town, of course they had to go to that one. Mom told us girls all about it when she got home (well actually the next day.) She said he had long platinum blonde hair, with gold hair pins in it. She said he strolled out to the ring to "pomp and c
ircumstance" . He was escorted by his valet (not a trainer) and he had a purple spotlight on him. she said he had on a robe with sparkly sequins on it. As he came down the aisle he tossed his gold hairpins to the people in the crowd. She said it of course was all show, that even when the wrestling match started that he cheated at every chance and absolutely infuriated the audience.

There were other matches that evening also. During one of the matches--the REAL wrestling match---mom was sitting close enough to the ring to hear one of the wrestlers say "ease up a bit, that last one really did hurt". Mom then knew for sure that the whole thing was phoney and never wanted to go again.

The Swingset

It wasn't long after we moved in to our new house that we got a new swingset. It had a couple swings, a trapeeze and a glider. I liked swinging okay but it didn't take my adventurous spirit long at all to start exploring more exciting options. I started out by climbing up and around the bars at the end of the frame, and of course hanging upside down by my knees. After getting a little bored with that, I started to do tricks on the trapeeze. I would get it swinging real good and then drop to me knees. I would keep it swinging real good and then slip on down and hung by my feet (I'd wrap my feet around the chain on each side. ) I worked up to swinging on it by my heels. I then decided to climb up on the top of the swingset. I first just sat astraddle of the top bar. Then I decided to stand up on that top bar and walk across it like a tight rope walker. I was very good at the tricks and never did have a bad fall. Grandma worried so much that I was going to hurt myself. She was always cautioning me to be careful, but never told me not to do it. I think that is because it was normal play for me and I did it while mom and dad were home too. she often said "little one, you are going to give me a heart attack", as a figure of speech. However, when she did die it was of a heart attack and Kathy blamed me for my shenanigans on the swwingset. She was only nine and didn't know any better.

Mom and Dad

I had an incredible childhood (as a child I probably didn't think so at times, especially those frustrating pre-teen years). The reason this is so is because I had wonderful parents.

My dad was my protecter, my security. He was my warm fuzzy feeling when I nestled up in his lap. He was my hero, my knight in shining armour. He was the one who would chase the boogie man away. He would get the monsters out from under my bed, the spooks (shadows) out of my closet and check if someone was prowling around my window. He would always hug me and tell me they were gone but I couldn't believe that until he got up and checked for me. He did actually go outside in the middle of the night and walk around our house to show me that I was safe. and no-one was there. Sometimes he would let me cuddle up beside him in the his bed for a little while and that always made me feel better and then I would go back to my bed, knowing that my daddy had gotten rid of all the demons.

My mother was the center of my world. I adored her--she was my nurturer, my comforter. She always talked to me about anything that was bothering me and she always had the right answers to my problems. I loved to cuddle and nestle with her too, but it was different than with dad. With mom I would sit beside her (as close as I could get) and she would put her arm around me. I loved nestling beside her in church during the sermon, or watching what bead she was on while we were praying the rosary so I could be sure I was on the right bead. I would also do the same thing with our prayer book, (missals) to be sure I was on the right page. She was my role model. She is also where I got my ornriness from. Dad use to say "you are the ornriest woman I ever met" after she would pull some kind of prank on him. We had a lot of fun together tickling and playing around.

Our new house

We moved into a small two bedroom house (seemed large to us girls at the time). And guess what it had---INDOOR PLUMBING). We could now go potty in the house and flush it away. We also had a huge white bathtub. Well, it seemed huge to Kathy and I after bathing in a round metal tub in a kitchen. It had faucets on the wall that you just turned and water came out of, and one of them even had hot water!! This was so exciting to me at age 4! Mom even had a sink in the kitchen that had hot and cold faucets too. Daddy did ask us not to make anymore mudpuddles because he was going to try to grow some grass. We figured that was a very small sacrifice for what we were getting in return.

Kathy and I shared a room with Grandma--she had her own bed of course. Michelle had a crib in mom and dad's room. I remember that the living room walls were dark green, and the kitchen floortiles were red and white checkerboard. The dinette set was grey and white, kind of a swirled type pattern. There were hook-up faucets for an automatic washing machine, but we didn't have one right away. We got one soon though because we didn't bring mom's wringer washer with us. When we got the washing machine, it was one that had a round glass front window and we thought that was really neat to watch it slosh the soap and clothes around.

Our new house

We moved in to our new two bedroom home with INDOOR PLUMBING!!! Now we could potty in the house and then flush it away! We had a huge white bathtub, seemed more like a swimming pool compared to our round metal washtub in a kitchen. We could also just turn on a faucet to get water and one faucet even had Hot Water! Mom even had a sink in the kitchen with hot and cold faucets. This was quite incredible to a four year old. We also had a lawn that daddy didn't want us making big mudpuddles in because he wanted to get some grass to grow. Small sacrifice I would say.

Kathy and I shared a bed in the same bedroom with grandma (she of course had her own smaller bed). Michelle had a crib in mom and dad's room.

Oh! And Wichita! Can you imagine the amazement in a child's eyes to see this huge city compared to the little town with dirt roads that she had been living in?

Daddy's new job

Dad got a job at Beech Aircraft in Wichita, Kanas. He would be gone working Monday thru friday, and come home on the weekends. When he came home he would always bring Kathy and I a little toy or trinket. Mom and dad bought us a house and we moved to Wichita when Michelle was a small baby, I was 4 yrs old and Kathy was 7.

Mom got a job at Beech also and we brought Grandma Gros down to live with us and take care of us girls while mom and dad were at work. Grandma Gros was my mother's mother. I honestly don't remember a whole lot about Grandma. I know she was a very kind and gentle woman--kind of quiet and she loved to sew. I can still see her in my mind sitting at the sewing machine.
I also remember she worried a lot about my adventurous nature. My dad once said"Ijust wish I could come home from work just once and not get told all that Jackie did all day." Keep in mind now, I wasn't a mean or disobedient child, I just had twice the energy and spunk than most children. She particularly worried about my antics on the swingset---that will be coming up a few more posts from now. (Can't give it all to you at once!) lol

The climber

Mom said I was climbing before I could walk. I know I loved to climb, and would climb anything I could get a grip on or a toe hold on. The older I got the higher I could and would go. My favorite thing to climb of course were trees and our swingset (I'll tell you about the swingset after we get to Wichita, which is coming up fairly soon.) I don't want to get ahead of myself. In the beginning (age 3) I could get up in the tree okay, but looking down once I got up there was a bit scarey. A few times my daddy had to come lift me down out of a tree. It didn't take me long at all to get over that though and I got to be a real tree-climbing pro. I would go higher and higher, as long as I could find something to grab on to and get my toes into. I loved sitting up there listening to the birds chirp and watching them fly in and out of their nests.

No more swats!

It didn't take my mother long at all to figure out that I really didn't care much if she swatted or spanked me, it was over with relatively soon and didn't hurt all that much anywy. I would just lie there across her lap and grit my teeth until she was finished. I was bound and determined not to cry---possibly a bit stubborn, ya think? She finally figured this out and started sitting me on a chair--equivelant to today's time out. I hated this. I was an extremely active child and loved to be outside and running and climbing ect. I was to busy to sit still. I told her one day"why don't you just spank me and get it over with?" Big mistake on my part because she knew for sure she was on the right track for a better punishment for me.

I would sit on that chair in every position you can possibly imagine, I would lock my feet around the legs of the chair and hang off to the front , both sides and sometimes almost under it. I wasn't trying to be naughty or disobedient, I was merely squirmy and bored just sitting there! Mom finally told me that the time on the chair (in minutes) didn't count if I was squirming. My oh my---this was torture!

Boo-coos of cousins in Kansas

My mother, Mary Lucille Gros/Younge was one of 12 chidren. She was born Dec.30, 1918. She had three brothers and eight sisters. Her brothers were Felix, Ray and Johnny. Her sisters were Agnes, Adelia, Ann, Isabel, Dorothy, Gertie, Wilma and Loraine (we called her Aunt Toots).

My dad, George Wendell Younge, was one of 7 children. He was born Feb.6, 1919. He always joked with mom that he married an older woman (which he did by a little over a month). He had two brothers and four sisters. His brothers were Elmer and Hank. His sisters were Hazel, Pauline, Vivian (Vivy) and Mildred.

They were all raised in this same area of Kansas that I was born in and lived till I was not quite four. Most of them married and raised their children in the same area. Most of them had quite a few children, but a couple of mom's brother had none. If any of you ever want to look up some of your 3rd, 4th, 5th ect. cousins a good start would be around Topeka, Manhattan, Wamego, Louisvillle and Flush area.

Red Boots

One day mom was going to take me shopping for some pretty little dress shoes to wear to church. When we got to the shoe store--we were looking in the huge front windows at all the shoes on display. Mom was pointing out different dress shoes we could choose from. It didn't take long at all for my eyes to zoom in on a little pair of red cowboy boots! I was so excited---my heart was fluttering! Mom said something like, "yes they are cute but you need some church shoes." We went on in and sat down in the chairs. The salesman came over and mom told him that we wanted a pair of dress shoes for me. I told him I wanted the red cowboy boots. He was smiling as he measured my foot to find my size. He came back with several different styles of dress shoes for me to try on. I promptly sat on my feet. Mom told me to get off of my feet so the salesman could try them on me. Obedient as I was, I of course did that. As he started to put a pretty little dress shoe on my foot, I scrunched up my toes so the shoe wouldn't go on. This continued for a while much to mom's dismay and the salesman'ts humor. He couldn't laugh of course, but he was having trouble hiding a smile, afterall I was really cute!! Mom gave in and I got my coveted red cowboy boots and I thought they looked great with my dress that following Sunday at church.

Say Duck!

This happened in late May of 1949. I know this because mom was about due to bring our new baby sister Michelle into our family. She was very "large with child". We had an old two door car. To get in and out of the backseat, all you had to do is push the front seat forward. There were no buttons ect. to make it difficult for a 3 1/2 year old child.
We had gone to the grocery store. When we got home mom had a bag of groceries in each arm and her big tummy in the middle. She used her elbow to pull the seat forward for me to get out. I was in the backseat on the far side of the car. I started giggling and wiggling and said "say DUCK" mommy". Mom said "come on Jackie get out". Once again I said"say DUCK". We exchanged this conversation a couple more time and mom finally said "OK DUCK--now get out of the car!!!" Some would call this funny (me for instance), some would call it frustrating (mom for instance), but I ask this---why didn't she just day DUCK to begin with?!!!!

Making it feel better

Back in the late 1940's and '50s it was not mean, cruel, inhumane, sinful or child abuse to give a naughty child a few swats on their "hinie". One day mom thought I needed a few swats for something I had done, so she laid me across her lap. When she gave me a swat, even though it was't that hard, she broke a blood vessel in her hand. This hurts a lot! She immediately let me go and grabbed her hand. I backed up a few steps, started rubbing my hinie, smiled up at her and said "I can make it feel better mommy." Her hand was throbbing , I was rubbing and smiling and she said "oh just get now, get on out of here".

Mudpies, pouts and pest-free zones

Although we had our fair share of toys and dolls to play with, one of my favorite pasttimes was making mudpies, usually with Kathy. Of course, first we would have to make a large mudpuddle---now what little kid wouldn't like that. (Did I mention that I was more of a tomboy than a prissy girlie girl.) Then we would start patting these globs of mud into different shapes---most popular though was pies. Then we would have to bake them. We did this by putting them in the sun and letting them dry.

Kathy and I would sit and do this for quite some time because we thought it to be very entertaining. I loved playing with Kathy. She not only was my big sister, I regarded her as a best friend and protector. She always watched out for me so I would be safe and not get hurt.

HOWEVER---You knew there would be a big however coming right? Occasionally she would tire of me and want to play alone. Imagine that! She would go into a space between a bush and the side of the house as if it were a fort. She could get a bit hostile (not physically though) if I invaded her sanctuary or pest-free zone. Ornery as I was, I would go on in there anyway and she would just pout. Kathy was a great pouter! During these times I really wasn't trying to pester her, I just couldn't understand her not wanting to play with me anymore.

T-bone and Shortcut

One day dad brought home two of the cutest little calves. They were very small, had probably just been weened from their mother. He told kathy and I (ages 3 and 6) that their names were T-bone and Shortcut---and made us feel like they were our pets (Kathy said he said that so we would feed and care for them.) We did mess around with feeding and such, but I mostly recall playing with them. They had the cutest and biggest brown eyes!

I'm not sure how long we had them, but one day they got loose from their pen and gave dad quite a chase in and around the cornfield. Us girls thought it was hilarious, but dad was getting really angry because they were very hard to catch and they were causing damamge to our cornfield and garden.

Well, unfortunately, they met their demise that day. Dad told us he they run off so as not to break our little hearts. However, we did have plenty of meat on the table for quite a while. I know this will sound cruel to all you little ones reading this, but that was the whole purpose for them to begin with. It is just part of providing food for the family.

The garden & Mickey

While living in this small plumbing-free house in Louisville Ks. we had a huge garden. We even had a large cornfield that I liked to play hide and seek in because there were lots of places to hide in there. Mom and dad counted on this garden to feed us through the winter months. We were
rather poor in material things at the beginning of our family, but we were oh so rich in what counted the most and that was love. Kathy and I would sit in the tomato patch and eat the tomatoes right off of the vine. It was a very small and friendly community, and they all shared their bounty with their neighbors. If Mr. Jones wanted some corn on the cob for supper, he would just come over and pick a few. And if we wanted a watermelon, mom or dad would just go pick us one in the neighbors garden.

When mom and dad first married, dad joined the navy for a few years. After that he worked at a gas station up on the hi-way. That is the same hi-way where we lost our beloved cocker spaniel named Mickey. I have pictures of myself with him but was too young to actually remember him. Kathy was so sad. Mickey had gotten out of the fenced yard and ran up to the hi-way and got run over by a truck.

This was just an extra bonus story because it is a holiday and I didn't have anything else much to do. I have quite a few of these stories, but like I said before, I have been making notes and writing them in my head for a few years.

The rest of you bloggers better get on the ball, you are lagging terribly behind!!

The spittoon & the kick in the butt

A spittoon (for my young readers) is a large metal bowl or urn shaped receptacle that sits on the floor in public places. The purpose of the spittoon is for tobacco chewing men to spit their tobacco juice into.

When Kathy (older sis) was about three she went to the bank (or post office--not sure on the place) with mom. Next thing you know, mom looked over and saw Kathy sitting on the spittoon going wee wee in it. She, of course thought it was a potty!

Now one on me. Mom took Kathy and me to the bank (or post office) one day and I was doing one of my favorite pasttimes---pestering my sister. At this time I would have beein about 3 and kathy would have been 6. Mom raised her foot and gave me a little nudge with it so I would stop it. I put my little hands on my hips, looked up at her and said "how'd you like it if I kicked you in the butt?!) Of course everyone in there heard me and were smiling, but of course it embarassed my mom a little bit. Funny huh?

About me

I was a very loving, trusting (some would say very gullible), kind and happy little girl. I loved everybody and knew no strangers. I would befriend everybody. I was always trying to be helpful if anyone was sad or hurt. Sounds perfect , huh?

I was an extremely ornery child. I loved pulling tricks and pranks, and in particular loved to pester my sisters. I never did anything mean to anyone, never was a mean bone in my body. But I did particularly like to pester, tickle or koochie-koo Kathy because I could always get a good reaction out of her. Plus, when I started my koochie-kooing, Michelle was still a baby. She did get in on some of it when she got older, but she didn't give me as good of a reaction as Kathy did.
Mom always said she could tell when I was up to something (ornery) because my eyes would just sparkle!

I guess if I want my great grandchildren to read this someday, I should explain that Kathy is my older sister by three years, and Michelle is my younger sister by four years.

Outdoor plumbing!

Mom talked in my older years about how hard I was to potty train. Truth be known, I knew that I was suppose to go to the outhouse or my potty chair to potty, but I hated the outhouse and i was just too busy playing to go inside to the chair. I was a very busy and active child and couldn't be bothered by such things.

We lived in a very small house in Louisville Kansas. I don't remember everything about it because I was so very young. I do remember we did not have any plumbing to the house. I think we had a hand pump at the sink but am not sure. l do remember taking out baths in the kitchen in a large metal wash tub.

However, I got away from the outhouse story and the reason I hated it so. Common knowlege would tell you that it stunk to high heaven and was just nasty inside the hole. Dad had put a very small hole in there for us kids to use. I was terrified to sit on it because I was afraid a snake was going to come out of that nastimess and bite me on my "hiney". (That is the word that mom used for out bottoms).

The good news is that we moved to Wichita Kansas when I was four, and we had an inside bathroom complete with a real clean workable toilet.

Now you know "the rest of the story".
W

A special memory of me and my dad

I have so many memories of my childhood that are so special to me, but I have this one that was just my "daddy and me". This is the one I will share today, I don't think even my kids have heard this one.

When I was 6 and in the first grade I joined the bluebirds ( that is the like a brownie to the girl scouts) which is the little kids prior to becoming a campfire girl. I loved being a bluebird, we did such fun things. We also had such cute uniforms, navy blue skirt, white shirt, and a vest that was navy blue on the back and red on the front and it had a little bluebird on the upper chest.

One of the annual events for us was the father/daughter box supper banquet. I decorated up a box for us and mom made us a special supper. We had fried chicken, potato salad, rolls, and a piece of apple pie. We sat at a long decorated table that was just for our troop. when it was time to eat, dad had me dish it up for us and I felt so big.

After we ate, there was some entertainment going on up on the stage, and I climbed up in daddy's lap, and just nestled in there so cozy with my head on his chest. I think this was the most special part of all because I just felt so loved and warm on his lap.

I often did climb up on his lap, always with a big hug and a kiss on his cheek.

When I was telling him about it a few days ago (I was standing beside his bed and was holding his hand) he sqeezed my hand a few times and the slightest hint of a smile came to his lips.

I then told him that I really did have him "wrapped around my little finger" and then he gave a big smile and said, "yes, you really did".