Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Once Upon a Time


This is not the one I attended, but similar. 



When I was 12 years old the world was a much calmer place. Husbands and wives didn’t get divorced. I don’t think the thought of it ever crossed their mind. The worse trouble a kid ever got into was talking back to the teacher, and if that happened they got a sound beating from the teacher, and when they went home they got another one from their father.
 How would the father know what happened? Because there was no phone in the school building; why would they need such a useless thing in a school house? Yeah, we called them school houses in that day. The father knew because the kid that was in trouble had siblings that couldn’t resist sharing the exciting news with the parents.
The school had a play ground with some swings, a slide and a couple Teeter Totter’s. Ah yes, we had a thing we called Johnny Strikes, which I have since discovered the real name is Giant Strides.  It makes a lot more sense than Johnny Strikes. 
 It was a steel pole with a rotating device on the top with six or more chains hanging down at just the right height for a child to grab the loop on the end of or you could put your arm through the loop and hold the chain with both hands, then everyone would run around the pole until we were almost flying. Most if the time we would take turns with one kid taking his chain and walking around all the others, and when we started running the kid wrapped around the top would become airborne, saved by the chain. 
If State Farm ever heard of that contraption they would have tripled the rates. Schools didn’t carry insurance, in fact their overhead was zilch. They had no school buses, meals, nurse, security guard or even indoor plumbing. We had two smelly outhouses, one for girls and one for boys. A water well that we pumped a bucket of water from each day for the students to drink. I believe the teacher brought the bucket of water in each morning before the kids arrived. The bucket of water had one dipper which we all used. We shared our germs in that day.
 Did I mention this school only had one room, grades one through eight.
That is the way it was back in my day.

This is similar to the one we had, but not as tall as this one.



This is what the bottom was like,



 














Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A few Old Things

Taken a few years ago. My two youngest brothers, Gene and Hollis.




This was back when a picnic was to take your food to a park or the woods, and spread it out on the ground and eat.
1946 or so. Left to right, Bud (my husband), me, Mary, Arthur(father-in-law) Lucinda(MIL) The boy is Little Wayne. We called him that because he had an uncle with that name. We sometimes still call him little Wayne. His Dad, Leonard behind him. They are now all deceased except me and little Wayne.





Remembering When
By Bill Boyd, Perkins, Ok

Do you remember when?
The noon meal was called dinner and the
evening meal was called supper?
You went outside to the toilet and ate inside?
Folks said: “I’m much obliged” instead of
“thank you?”
Seeing a picture show for a dime was delightful
entertainment?
Red Christmas socks were hung near the Red Cedar
Christmas tree?
Cardinals sang their melodies, perched above
The snowy landscape?
The aroma of peanuts roasting in the oven,
excited the palate?
The handshake was a binding contract?
Eating snow ice-cream was a winter treat?
Blue-bib overalls were considered fancy dress?
Wagons were pulled by horses, instead of tractors?
Piggly Wiggly was popular as Wal-Mart nowadays?
Western movies were shown at the Mecca and
Camera theaters?
Every Saturday night at 11:30, previews were shown
at the Aggie Theater?
The Glencoe cotton gin was like money in the bank?
Gene Autry did a show at the Campus Field House?
Where did I lay my glasses?