Wednesday, August 25, 2004
JANUARY TO JULY....1973
I have finally worked up to the year where I began a journal….1973...in reading through it there are things along the way that might be nice to include in my blogs now and then. Such as: “January 22... President Johnson died suddenly today of a heart attack and Joe Frazier lost the championship fight to George Foreman.
January 23: President Nixon announced signing of peace with Viet Nam.”
Becky and I were surprised on February 12th to find orchid corsages in our mailbox today. (A gift from George Jr.) He was somewhere between Hawaii and the Philippines. In the evening she and I went to the Mother-Daughter banquet at church and Becky won the prize for being the youngest mother present. Jennifer was 6-months old the 3rd of February and Becky was eighteen at the time. It was a nice evening of speakers and a good meal.
On Valentine’s Day I fixed dinner for grandma Strain while Warren drove to Cabool to bring her. In the afternoon we had our friends, Ruth and Floyd Carriger and mom and dad over for Valentine’s cake and coffee. My journal is full of the dinners we had back and forth, the times we were together for cake and coffee or going on a little outing to shop and have a lunch or dessert while we were out. At times dad baby sat Jennifer while we girls went and he was truly up to the task. He just beamed when he would pick her up and she would hug his neck and kiss him. It is something he missed out on with my brother and I…..in those days it would have been a “sissy” thing to do. In dad’s late years he gave in to his feelings and enjoyed the benefits.
Ruth and Floyd lived on one side of us and mom and dad lived on the other side with a small empty lot between us. My journal records the weekly shampoo, set and comb-outs I did for Ruth and mom. I also did a lot of dress-making for them. It was a fair trade. Ruth paid me for the hair fixings and the sewing and mom bought material for me in payment for the sewing I did for her. In those days we helped each other with our talent and ability. Dad and Floyd helped Warren with mechanical, plumbing or heavy jobs while Warren helped them with paper-work and red tape. They were warm and good times.
In March we went to Kansas City to be with John for his birthday. We dropped Jennifer and Becky off at her dad’s to visit and we took John to Dairy Queen where we had a good visit until he had to go to work. It was his 16th birthday. Most kids would be getting their driver’s license at that age but John would never have that luxury. He was OK with that….John made life good no matter what he was deprived of. After we dropped him off at work we went to visit Rose and Gene to catch up with them and to spend the night. We stayed another day and left for home……..we found Jennifer’s first tooth today…on the bottom.
Becky was fully recovered and feeling the need to find a job. Warren took her to interview at the shoe factory and they hired her on the spot. She would begin work the next day sewing baby shoes. It was hard getting used to factory work but in no time she was hammering away with the best of them. To have her own money after such a long time was a real blessing. Her sense of worth took giant leaps.
Dad’s brother, uncle Alfred and their other brother, uncle Emil (and aunt Mardell) and aunt Beulah got together quite often to play cards, visit and have wonderful meals together. It was always a joy to have them come to the folks where we would join in. If they were at Gassville where aunt Beulah lived or at Kimberling City where uncle Emil lived we didn’t go with them. It was easier to take care of Jennifer at home….although she was a good baby and not much trouble, still we had everything needed here at home.
On the 16th of March mom and dad celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary. I had five couples in for a meal, besides the three of us. Everyone brought a dish so it was a great pot-luck…..every one of the women were wonderful cooks. These are such great times to look back on because almost all of them are no longer with us. There was always so much joy and laughter among them…..they truly knew how to enjoy life in spite of the hard times they had overcome in their younger years.
We met John at the bus depot on April 15th. He came to spend a few days with us and had saved his money to buy a Honda. I was not excited about the idea but conceded that it was better for him to ride it here than back in Shawnee with all the traffic. We all took him down for the big purchase and went for lunch afterwards. Of course he spent the rest of his visit on his “new best friend“…thrilled to be on wheels. John’s Easter vacation came to an end and we took him to the bus on the 23rd so he could go back to Shawnee.
On the 21st of May Becky rented a mobile home and we helped her move her things out. After all this time it was quiet and lonely without her and Jennifer here. Mom and dad left for a trip to Seattle the same day so it was a big change for us. John called us on the 26th to tell us George was on his way down, he had rented a Torino and stopped in Cabool to bring grandma Strain. They arrived here around 1:00pm. Aunt Beulah got here in time for supper and we all went to see Becky’s new “home.” She was very proud to be on her own. On the 30th we moved all of Jennifer’s things to Becky’s but we would continue to keep Jennifer while Becky worked.
John arrived on the bus June 1st to spend the summer with us…..life was very good!!
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
January 23: President Nixon announced signing of peace with Viet Nam.”
Becky and I were surprised on February 12th to find orchid corsages in our mailbox today. (A gift from George Jr.) He was somewhere between Hawaii and the Philippines. In the evening she and I went to the Mother-Daughter banquet at church and Becky won the prize for being the youngest mother present. Jennifer was 6-months old the 3rd of February and Becky was eighteen at the time. It was a nice evening of speakers and a good meal.
On Valentine’s Day I fixed dinner for grandma Strain while Warren drove to Cabool to bring her. In the afternoon we had our friends, Ruth and Floyd Carriger and mom and dad over for Valentine’s cake and coffee. My journal is full of the dinners we had back and forth, the times we were together for cake and coffee or going on a little outing to shop and have a lunch or dessert while we were out. At times dad baby sat Jennifer while we girls went and he was truly up to the task. He just beamed when he would pick her up and she would hug his neck and kiss him. It is something he missed out on with my brother and I…..in those days it would have been a “sissy” thing to do. In dad’s late years he gave in to his feelings and enjoyed the benefits.
Ruth and Floyd lived on one side of us and mom and dad lived on the other side with a small empty lot between us. My journal records the weekly shampoo, set and comb-outs I did for Ruth and mom. I also did a lot of dress-making for them. It was a fair trade. Ruth paid me for the hair fixings and the sewing and mom bought material for me in payment for the sewing I did for her. In those days we helped each other with our talent and ability. Dad and Floyd helped Warren with mechanical, plumbing or heavy jobs while Warren helped them with paper-work and red tape. They were warm and good times.
In March we went to Kansas City to be with John for his birthday. We dropped Jennifer and Becky off at her dad’s to visit and we took John to Dairy Queen where we had a good visit until he had to go to work. It was his 16th birthday. Most kids would be getting their driver’s license at that age but John would never have that luxury. He was OK with that….John made life good no matter what he was deprived of. After we dropped him off at work we went to visit Rose and Gene to catch up with them and to spend the night. We stayed another day and left for home……..we found Jennifer’s first tooth today…on the bottom.
Becky was fully recovered and feeling the need to find a job. Warren took her to interview at the shoe factory and they hired her on the spot. She would begin work the next day sewing baby shoes. It was hard getting used to factory work but in no time she was hammering away with the best of them. To have her own money after such a long time was a real blessing. Her sense of worth took giant leaps.
Dad’s brother, uncle Alfred and their other brother, uncle Emil (and aunt Mardell) and aunt Beulah got together quite often to play cards, visit and have wonderful meals together. It was always a joy to have them come to the folks where we would join in. If they were at Gassville where aunt Beulah lived or at Kimberling City where uncle Emil lived we didn’t go with them. It was easier to take care of Jennifer at home….although she was a good baby and not much trouble, still we had everything needed here at home.
On the 16th of March mom and dad celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary. I had five couples in for a meal, besides the three of us. Everyone brought a dish so it was a great pot-luck…..every one of the women were wonderful cooks. These are such great times to look back on because almost all of them are no longer with us. There was always so much joy and laughter among them…..they truly knew how to enjoy life in spite of the hard times they had overcome in their younger years.
We met John at the bus depot on April 15th. He came to spend a few days with us and had saved his money to buy a Honda. I was not excited about the idea but conceded that it was better for him to ride it here than back in Shawnee with all the traffic. We all took him down for the big purchase and went for lunch afterwards. Of course he spent the rest of his visit on his “new best friend“…thrilled to be on wheels. John’s Easter vacation came to an end and we took him to the bus on the 23rd so he could go back to Shawnee.
On the 21st of May Becky rented a mobile home and we helped her move her things out. After all this time it was quiet and lonely without her and Jennifer here. Mom and dad left for a trip to Seattle the same day so it was a big change for us. John called us on the 26th to tell us George was on his way down, he had rented a Torino and stopped in Cabool to bring grandma Strain. They arrived here around 1:00pm. Aunt Beulah got here in time for supper and we all went to see Becky’s new “home.” She was very proud to be on her own. On the 30th we moved all of Jennifer’s things to Becky’s but we would continue to keep Jennifer while Becky worked.
John arrived on the bus June 1st to spend the summer with us…..life was very good!!
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
