there is good crying and not so good crying. writing this blog always makes me cry. It takes me down
memory lane,, thinking of things gone by, never to be captured again, makes me think of loved ones
already gone and, the ones that are here, and the ones that will be coming soon.
BUT Sunday was something else. Maybe being Memorial Day weekend had something to do
with it, maybe being in touch with people I haven't heard from in a long time--who knows and does
it really matter--it just happened.
I really was trying to come up with some excuse to stay home from church, but I had missed the
week before and I really didn't have a good excuse, except I was tired and achy from being on
my feet for a couple of hours on Saturday, serving cake and Irish Coffee at the Emerald Island
Casino, celebrating their 5th anniversary. I have come to the conclusion I am getting too old for
some of this stuff, so I will have to come up with something else to help the people I love.
Anyway, the good Lord kept nudging me one way and the devil the other and the good Lord won
this round. I went to church, very small attendance and horror of all horrors Pastor Diane was
preaching. Now, don't get me wrong, I love her, but her sermons usually end with me not knowing
what she was talking about. She gets sidetracked so easily and then forgets where she is. She does
a wonderful funeral and is really great ministering to the sick, but sermons are not her big thing.
This too is not only my opinion, but the feelings of many..
This Sunday was different. We started out singing PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY THE
KING OF CREATION. OH MY SOUL PRAISE HIM FOR HE IS MY HELP AND SALVATION. Off to
a good uplifting start. I can do this. The theme for the morning was "worry", ie, we shouldn't
as we should cast all our cares on Him. Yeah, sure, easier said than done. I don't consider myself
a chronic worrier, but I do worry about lots of things sometimes. Pastor Diane started out by
telling us about 18 years ago that very day she gave birth to her first child. Paul. Everything
seemed fine at first, but then he was dx'd with Downs Syndrome and the usual health problems
that come with that. Not only was this a worry, but her mother had just been diagnosed with
cancer. It's hard not to worry about these "little things" I know, I know, let go and let God.
The past 18 years had produced many "worries" kidney failure, pneumonia, her mother passed
away, but thanks be to God, today was Paul's 18th birthday. I don't believe there was a dry
eye in the house. Oh, let me back up a moment. The reason she was preaching that day was
because the flu had run rampant thru their house the previous week, one person at a time,
and Sat. night Pastor David had woke her up in the middle of the night and said You have to
do Sunday, I have the bug. Another worry is Pastor David's parents have moved in with them
and his mother is very fragile, and they worried she would catch whatever everyone else had.
Well, seems the organist/pianist also got the bug, so we had a substitute. He sang during the
Offering and guess what - you know it - HOW GREAT THOU ART. Ohmygosh, is every ganging
up on me.
The closing Hymn was DAY BE DAY. I knew the melody, but the words were new to me. It
said that day by day we should give our concerns to our Heavenly Father and just live each
day preparing for that final day when He will gather us to Him. Sorry, that did it.
I am not a pretty crier. My nose runs, my eyes get red--you get the picture, so I fumbled in
my purse for my keys etc, until everyone had cleared out of the sanctuary (as I said small
attendance, finally one thing in my favor) and Pastor Diane was greeting people, and she
took one look at me and gave me a big hug (she is not normally a hugger) and Bonnie our
secretary pulled me on the side and said "You can tell me"
Talk about crying--well trust me it was a soul cleansing cry, which touched more than me.
So enjoy your cries and then get on with the business of daily living. Worrying doesn't
change anything. love you all.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
SPECIAL MOMENTS.......................
I am sure most marriages have their special moments, but even though we had lots of them, these two are really special
and seemed to mark the beginning and the end--the Alpha and Omega
As I mentioned before, we arrived back in Milwaukee after leaving Fort Lee and stealing an extra night of our very own in
Chicago, saying our luggage didn't make the connection. I guess we will never really know whether it did or not. We stayed
at the Palmer House in Chicago and had dinner and then a movie I can't remember the name of it but it was with Judy
Holiday and really funny. We knew once we got back home our time would be shared with family and friends and then
Wayne would go overseas to we don't know what nor for how long. Can you blame us? This was in June and we had been
married just over 2 months.
Moving on, it was chaos and total running around, and time was short. At one point, tho we were the only ones in my parent's
house and I walked into the living room and Wayne was on the telephone. Not that this was unusual, but the conversation
was different. He said We will meet you in an hour, will that work? I stuck around waiting to hear where we would be in
and hour and who we would meet up with. Wayne said "get ready, we are going to church and I am going to be baptized."
This was his (His) plan and I was so thankful. An answer to prayers. We arrived at Immanuel about 2 in the afternoon.
Just the three of us. Wayne, Pastor Meyer, and myself in that huge cathedral like church with the stained glass windows.
For added effect, the Children's Choir was in the balconey practising . We waited until they finished and Pastor Meyer
baptized my husband. What a beautiful moment. Special, I'd say so.
SPECIAL MOMENT #2
TIME: November, 1987 PLACE: Inter-Community Hospital
We had not been very faithful about attending church. Things always seemed to get in the way. Jobs, kids, not liking the
church we had been attending, sickness, but our hearts were faithful and as our life together seemed to be coming to a
close I suggested to Wayne that we have Rev Box come and give us Communion. Ray Box was more than happy to do this
for us and he asked his wife to join us. The 4 of us received the Lord's Supper together. After the Box's left I said to Wayne,
"thank you for doing that for me" He grabbed my hand and said "I love you, but I did it for ME" That was close to the
last clear moment we had. It was almost 9:10 pm for the last time.
and seemed to mark the beginning and the end--the Alpha and Omega
As I mentioned before, we arrived back in Milwaukee after leaving Fort Lee and stealing an extra night of our very own in
Chicago, saying our luggage didn't make the connection. I guess we will never really know whether it did or not. We stayed
at the Palmer House in Chicago and had dinner and then a movie I can't remember the name of it but it was with Judy
Holiday and really funny. We knew once we got back home our time would be shared with family and friends and then
Wayne would go overseas to we don't know what nor for how long. Can you blame us? This was in June and we had been
married just over 2 months.
Moving on, it was chaos and total running around, and time was short. At one point, tho we were the only ones in my parent's
house and I walked into the living room and Wayne was on the telephone. Not that this was unusual, but the conversation
was different. He said We will meet you in an hour, will that work? I stuck around waiting to hear where we would be in
and hour and who we would meet up with. Wayne said "get ready, we are going to church and I am going to be baptized."
This was his (His) plan and I was so thankful. An answer to prayers. We arrived at Immanuel about 2 in the afternoon.
Just the three of us. Wayne, Pastor Meyer, and myself in that huge cathedral like church with the stained glass windows.
For added effect, the Children's Choir was in the balconey practising . We waited until they finished and Pastor Meyer
baptized my husband. What a beautiful moment. Special, I'd say so.
SPECIAL MOMENT #2
TIME: November, 1987 PLACE: Inter-Community Hospital
We had not been very faithful about attending church. Things always seemed to get in the way. Jobs, kids, not liking the
church we had been attending, sickness, but our hearts were faithful and as our life together seemed to be coming to a
close I suggested to Wayne that we have Rev Box come and give us Communion. Ray Box was more than happy to do this
for us and he asked his wife to join us. The 4 of us received the Lord's Supper together. After the Box's left I said to Wayne,
"thank you for doing that for me" He grabbed my hand and said "I love you, but I did it for ME" That was close to the
last clear moment we had. It was almost 9:10 pm for the last time.
Monday, May 19, 2008
WHAT A WEEK...............................
I know, for you mommies out there, you would like my week, but for and old grandma--
well, that's another story. As you know I have been busy planning my Wisconsin vacation
in June. I really am looking forward to the train trip as well as to seeing all my family
and friends. My body may be slowing down, but my mind is going a mile a minute. I
received both my invitation to the class reunion and to my cousin's 60th wedding anniver-
sary and lo and behold, they are being held at the same place, on on Jun 22 and the other
on June29th. Fortunately the hall (?) is in Brookfield, which is really close to Lori's place.
I am really trying to work it out so I can see everyone and still have lots of time to visit.
I mentioned to my Duluth cousin about my plans and they plan to be in Milwaukee the
end of June and would tell his 3 brothers of my plans. Two of them I have not seen since
we moved to California in 1956. These are my crazy aunt Dorothy's boys. I got addresses
and phone #'s but best of all I got a phone call from my cousin Dan who lives in Texas.
He and his current wife (#5)(I know wife #4 passed away, but I don't know what happened
to #1,2, or 3) and we had such a great talk. This man has such a memory, he even
remembered working on our car before we left Milwaukee. Well, to make a long story
shorter, he too plans to be in Milwaukee and we arranging a get-to-gether on June 28
with Jim and Phred and families at the Machine Shed, which too is close to Lori's. Larry
the youngest and my God-child, is in Mexico and probably will not be there. They are
as excited as I am.
Sunday, the beginning of THE week I was sitting comfortably waiting for my mandatory
Mother's Day calls when Surprise, Surprise, my phone rang. "Is this Dorothy, yes it is
well, this is Alarmco and the alarm went off at the Mine. Happy Mother's Day, well it
was in the afternoon, so I went down there. Apparently someone had not locked the
door and kids got into the yard and tried the door. When they opened it, it was pitch
dark in the building and the alarm went off. They took off, I am sure going home to
change their underwear and when I got there the same thing happened to me, no, I
didn't get the socks scared off of me, I knew what was going to happen. I secured
everything and then locked up. Wednesday, I get a call you need to be at the mine in
1 and ahalf hours to do an interview for a power point presentation. Ok, I did say I would
do it, but thought maybe I would have gotten a call the day before or something. I was
still in my nightgown and had to shower and do my hair, it's not supposed to be a scary
presentation! With all this going on I did manage to work on some of my crafts and
I made some really cute wooden soldier ornaments. Our fund raising Gala was on
Saturdaynight and I was in charge of getting the u-haul for moving the steel drums
from the school to the Fiesta (only they forgot to tell me) So, with a lot of phone calls
we got that straightened out. Then on Friday WHAM another phone call from the
alarm co. The alarm went off. Before I had gotten ready to check it out, another
phone call, this one from the chairman of the board. He had set it off. Not only that
he set it off 3 times I finally told the alarm co to just ignore it, as it was the boss and I
never could teach him anything anyhow.
saturday morning, bright and early I met Steve at the u-haul and we picked up the
truck. From then on it was his project. I got to the Fiesta around 3 pm. Checked in
I had taken a room because 1, I dont like driving at night and 2 I intended to party.
I helped get the place set up and then went up to my room to get ready. It was a
good party. Met some of my friends who I had worked with for years. Alyson I saw
Marilyn Kreutzer, she was on pins and needles waiting for Katie to have her baby,
which I guess is due on Tues 6/20 and no one knows what the baby is going to be.
She said to say "Hi" the food was excellent and we made lots of money (I hope)
ANYWAY, that was my week, I don't know when I ever had the time hold a job!
Hmm, well I will get back to "Memory Lane" in the next day or so. In the meantime
I am going to sit back with a cool one in my hand and ignore the 109 degree temps
outside. This weekend my favorite hangout "The Emerald Island" is celebrating
its 5 anniversary and I am going to help them out a little.
Be back soon, love you all....................................
well, that's another story. As you know I have been busy planning my Wisconsin vacation
in June. I really am looking forward to the train trip as well as to seeing all my family
and friends. My body may be slowing down, but my mind is going a mile a minute. I
received both my invitation to the class reunion and to my cousin's 60th wedding anniver-
sary and lo and behold, they are being held at the same place, on on Jun 22 and the other
on June29th. Fortunately the hall (?) is in Brookfield, which is really close to Lori's place.
I am really trying to work it out so I can see everyone and still have lots of time to visit.
I mentioned to my Duluth cousin about my plans and they plan to be in Milwaukee the
end of June and would tell his 3 brothers of my plans. Two of them I have not seen since
we moved to California in 1956. These are my crazy aunt Dorothy's boys. I got addresses
and phone #'s but best of all I got a phone call from my cousin Dan who lives in Texas.
He and his current wife (#5)(I know wife #4 passed away, but I don't know what happened
to #1,2, or 3) and we had such a great talk. This man has such a memory, he even
remembered working on our car before we left Milwaukee. Well, to make a long story
shorter, he too plans to be in Milwaukee and we arranging a get-to-gether on June 28
with Jim and Phred and families at the Machine Shed, which too is close to Lori's. Larry
the youngest and my God-child, is in Mexico and probably will not be there. They are
as excited as I am.
Sunday, the beginning of THE week I was sitting comfortably waiting for my mandatory
Mother's Day calls when Surprise, Surprise, my phone rang. "Is this Dorothy, yes it is
well, this is Alarmco and the alarm went off at the Mine. Happy Mother's Day, well it
was in the afternoon, so I went down there. Apparently someone had not locked the
door and kids got into the yard and tried the door. When they opened it, it was pitch
dark in the building and the alarm went off. They took off, I am sure going home to
change their underwear and when I got there the same thing happened to me, no, I
didn't get the socks scared off of me, I knew what was going to happen. I secured
everything and then locked up. Wednesday, I get a call you need to be at the mine in
1 and ahalf hours to do an interview for a power point presentation. Ok, I did say I would
do it, but thought maybe I would have gotten a call the day before or something. I was
still in my nightgown and had to shower and do my hair, it's not supposed to be a scary
presentation! With all this going on I did manage to work on some of my crafts and
I made some really cute wooden soldier ornaments. Our fund raising Gala was on
Saturdaynight and I was in charge of getting the u-haul for moving the steel drums
from the school to the Fiesta (only they forgot to tell me) So, with a lot of phone calls
we got that straightened out. Then on Friday WHAM another phone call from the
alarm co. The alarm went off. Before I had gotten ready to check it out, another
phone call, this one from the chairman of the board. He had set it off. Not only that
he set it off 3 times I finally told the alarm co to just ignore it, as it was the boss and I
never could teach him anything anyhow.
saturday morning, bright and early I met Steve at the u-haul and we picked up the
truck. From then on it was his project. I got to the Fiesta around 3 pm. Checked in
I had taken a room because 1, I dont like driving at night and 2 I intended to party.
I helped get the place set up and then went up to my room to get ready. It was a
good party. Met some of my friends who I had worked with for years. Alyson I saw
Marilyn Kreutzer, she was on pins and needles waiting for Katie to have her baby,
which I guess is due on Tues 6/20 and no one knows what the baby is going to be.
She said to say "Hi" the food was excellent and we made lots of money (I hope)
ANYWAY, that was my week, I don't know when I ever had the time hold a job!
Hmm, well I will get back to "Memory Lane" in the next day or so. In the meantime
I am going to sit back with a cool one in my hand and ignore the 109 degree temps
outside. This weekend my favorite hangout "The Emerald Island" is celebrating
its 5 anniversary and I am going to help them out a little.
Be back soon, love you all....................................
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
HMMMMmmmm where was I
Oh yeah, in Virginia. No Melanie, grandpa wasn't ready to kill our neighbor. We just didn't make an
issue of it. At that time people were exploring open marriages, and some did and some didn't. We
didn't. Grandpa wasn't worried at all, after all I had held out for marriage (but then he hadn't offered
me a car). This was the beginning of an era where open marriages and wife swapping parties were
becoming a way of life. That happened a lot on Shipman in La Puente. We didn't believe in that style
of life and no one suggested we should. Anyway, back to life in the Army. In those days you either
enlisted (4 yr stint) or were drafted (2 yr stint) There was no choice when you were drafted, the
service would either make or break you. Grandpa always said, I didn't choose this, but I intend to
make the most of it. The strict rules and regulations surely were not his thing. He liked staying up
all night and sleeping all morning, the army changed that. The bugle blew at 5 am and you better
be ready. Living in town meant we had to get up around 3:30 am and drive Dick and grandpa to the
base which was about 10 miles away. Carol and I often went in our nightgowns and prayed we wouldn't
get a flat tire on the way. A funny service related story: these guys were not military minded or
regimented (you know the type) and it was politically wrong to call your rifle a gun. If you did this
you had to run laps on the parade field with no pants on shouting "this is my rifle; this is my gun;
one is for fighting and one is for fun!" Grandpa said he never had to do this, but Bob Linder admitted
he had to.
I told you earlier about the pillars at our apartment. Well, one Saturday, grandpa was CQ (in charge
of quarters) so he had to stay on the base for a 24 hour period. I wasn't sure what I was going to do
as there was a carnival in town, or we (other service wives) thought we might take in a day at the
beach or a movie, anyway plans were up in the air. Grandpa said, call me when you get home. OK
Well, the only phone in the house was downstairs. We were free to use it, so when I got home, I
put a call into the base, but they said that was a secured number and they couldn't put me thru. I
said OK just give Pvt Webb the message so he knows I am home safe and he wont worry. He said OK.
Iwent upstairs and got ready for bed, read a while and went to sleep. Next thing I know there is a
knock on my window. Mind you, I am on the 2nd floor. I got up walked to the window, lifted up the
shade and saw a face looking at me. I said Just a minute, went and got my robe and then went and
opened the window. It was Dick. He said Wayne is worried about you. I told Dick I tried to call
him, but I couldn't get thru and Dick said he had been calling me, but no one answered. As I said
the phone was downstairs and I couldn't hear it upstairs and the landlords were old and deaf. I
said I would go down and sit on the steps and wait for the phone to ring. Carol said to me, Why
did you make Dick go down the way he came up. You could have let him out the front door. I
never thought of it. He had to slide down the pillar to the ground level. Well, anyway, Grandpa
called and all's well that ends well.
As I said our kitchen was very small and whenever we had company for dinner (usually hot dogs,
couldn't afford much else) two people ended up sitting in the hallway. the table was long and
narrow and could fit thru the door, so two chairs in and two chairs out. Worked for us. The ice
box was our nemesis tho. We were not used to emptying the drip pan and the landlord would
yell up, Mr webb you are watering our plants again. Well, one night we decided to wrap up our
hotdogs and take them to the drive-in-movie. I told Wayne he'd better dump the ice box water
before we left. That meant carrying the almost full dishpan all the way down the hall to the bathroom.
It was at least two room lengths long and then a turn at the stairs, well he got to the stairs when our
good friend Dick shot off a firecracker. Our landlord (remember he can't hear too well) comes
running out to the steps and yells, who got shot, who got shot. Of course Wayne got spooked and
dropped the full dishpan and said "it's ok I just dropped the pan" We were laughing so hard, we
cried.
We did go to the movies tho and all 4 of us fell asleep and when we woke up we were the only ones
there.
Yes, we had fun in the army,j but we knew our time was running out and then the guys would be
sent overseas somewhere, facing who knows what for who knows how long.
Wayne got his orders a couple of weeks before Dick did. He was to report the end of June in
San Francisco. The Army paid his transportation (train) to SF via Chicago, where he had a 10
day delay-en-route time to go home before he had to report in Calif. As long as I was willing
to sleep in the same berth as he did my fare was included. We were on a troop train with only 1
other woman on (she was 7months pregnant) and 2 sailors. the 2 sailors got most of the teasing
until I came on board, then it was my turn. Probably 90% of these guys were shipping to Korea
and really not excited, so it was my patriotic duty to keep up their spirits, and if giving me and
grandpa a bad time, so be it. We didn't know at that time that Grandpa would end up on Okinawa,
so keeping their spirits up helped us a lot too.
The guy sleeping in the berth over ours stayed in the chair car all night so in case we wanted to play
house, we didn't have to worry about him. Yeah right, have you ever slept in a berth, well you
might as well try making love on a pantry shelf.
Grandpa gave me a poem that I carried in my wallet until I lost my wallet. I've been thinking about
that poem, and cant remember all of it but it was called
G.I. BLUES
It's G.I. this
and G.I. that
G.I. Haircut
G.I. Hat
G.I stands for Government Issue
and G.I. wish that I could kiss you.
Till next time love you all and thanks for letting me share
issue of it. At that time people were exploring open marriages, and some did and some didn't. We
didn't. Grandpa wasn't worried at all, after all I had held out for marriage (but then he hadn't offered
me a car). This was the beginning of an era where open marriages and wife swapping parties were
becoming a way of life. That happened a lot on Shipman in La Puente. We didn't believe in that style
of life and no one suggested we should. Anyway, back to life in the Army. In those days you either
enlisted (4 yr stint) or were drafted (2 yr stint) There was no choice when you were drafted, the
service would either make or break you. Grandpa always said, I didn't choose this, but I intend to
make the most of it. The strict rules and regulations surely were not his thing. He liked staying up
all night and sleeping all morning, the army changed that. The bugle blew at 5 am and you better
be ready. Living in town meant we had to get up around 3:30 am and drive Dick and grandpa to the
base which was about 10 miles away. Carol and I often went in our nightgowns and prayed we wouldn't
get a flat tire on the way. A funny service related story: these guys were not military minded or
regimented (you know the type) and it was politically wrong to call your rifle a gun. If you did this
you had to run laps on the parade field with no pants on shouting "this is my rifle; this is my gun;
one is for fighting and one is for fun!" Grandpa said he never had to do this, but Bob Linder admitted
he had to.
I told you earlier about the pillars at our apartment. Well, one Saturday, grandpa was CQ (in charge
of quarters) so he had to stay on the base for a 24 hour period. I wasn't sure what I was going to do
as there was a carnival in town, or we (other service wives) thought we might take in a day at the
beach or a movie, anyway plans were up in the air. Grandpa said, call me when you get home. OK
Well, the only phone in the house was downstairs. We were free to use it, so when I got home, I
put a call into the base, but they said that was a secured number and they couldn't put me thru. I
said OK just give Pvt Webb the message so he knows I am home safe and he wont worry. He said OK.
Iwent upstairs and got ready for bed, read a while and went to sleep. Next thing I know there is a
knock on my window. Mind you, I am on the 2nd floor. I got up walked to the window, lifted up the
shade and saw a face looking at me. I said Just a minute, went and got my robe and then went and
opened the window. It was Dick. He said Wayne is worried about you. I told Dick I tried to call
him, but I couldn't get thru and Dick said he had been calling me, but no one answered. As I said
the phone was downstairs and I couldn't hear it upstairs and the landlords were old and deaf. I
said I would go down and sit on the steps and wait for the phone to ring. Carol said to me, Why
did you make Dick go down the way he came up. You could have let him out the front door. I
never thought of it. He had to slide down the pillar to the ground level. Well, anyway, Grandpa
called and all's well that ends well.
As I said our kitchen was very small and whenever we had company for dinner (usually hot dogs,
couldn't afford much else) two people ended up sitting in the hallway. the table was long and
narrow and could fit thru the door, so two chairs in and two chairs out. Worked for us. The ice
box was our nemesis tho. We were not used to emptying the drip pan and the landlord would
yell up, Mr webb you are watering our plants again. Well, one night we decided to wrap up our
hotdogs and take them to the drive-in-movie. I told Wayne he'd better dump the ice box water
before we left. That meant carrying the almost full dishpan all the way down the hall to the bathroom.
It was at least two room lengths long and then a turn at the stairs, well he got to the stairs when our
good friend Dick shot off a firecracker. Our landlord (remember he can't hear too well) comes
running out to the steps and yells, who got shot, who got shot. Of course Wayne got spooked and
dropped the full dishpan and said "it's ok I just dropped the pan" We were laughing so hard, we
cried.
We did go to the movies tho and all 4 of us fell asleep and when we woke up we were the only ones
there.
Yes, we had fun in the army,j but we knew our time was running out and then the guys would be
sent overseas somewhere, facing who knows what for who knows how long.
Wayne got his orders a couple of weeks before Dick did. He was to report the end of June in
San Francisco. The Army paid his transportation (train) to SF via Chicago, where he had a 10
day delay-en-route time to go home before he had to report in Calif. As long as I was willing
to sleep in the same berth as he did my fare was included. We were on a troop train with only 1
other woman on (she was 7months pregnant) and 2 sailors. the 2 sailors got most of the teasing
until I came on board, then it was my turn. Probably 90% of these guys were shipping to Korea
and really not excited, so it was my patriotic duty to keep up their spirits, and if giving me and
grandpa a bad time, so be it. We didn't know at that time that Grandpa would end up on Okinawa,
so keeping their spirits up helped us a lot too.
The guy sleeping in the berth over ours stayed in the chair car all night so in case we wanted to play
house, we didn't have to worry about him. Yeah right, have you ever slept in a berth, well you
might as well try making love on a pantry shelf.
Grandpa gave me a poem that I carried in my wallet until I lost my wallet. I've been thinking about
that poem, and cant remember all of it but it was called
G.I. BLUES
It's G.I. this
and G.I. that
G.I. Haircut
G.I. Hat
G.I stands for Government Issue
and G.I. wish that I could kiss you.
Till next time love you all and thanks for letting me share
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
VIRGINIA AND ARMY LIFE
Virginia is so in the news this week, what with their tornados wiping out so much of it's natural beauty.
They say Sofolk is 30 miles southof Richmond, and I believe Petersburg is probaly 20 to 30 miles
west of Richmond. I know it was close enough that I applied for a job in Richmond at the Raleigh
Tobbaco Company. I didn't get it, they just wouldn't hire people connected with the Army, too transient
Well, anyhow, I think we had just boarded the train in Milwaukee, and I do believe I cried all the way
to Chicago. We changed trains in Chicago and I am not exactly sure how long it took to reach Petersburg
but, am assuming we got there late Friday night.
TOTAL CULTURE SHOCK Growing up in the north, with black people as neighbors, I had no idea what
segregation was really like down south. The first thing I noticed was the drinking fountains at the
train station. I liked to call them "bubblers" There were always at least 2. One was marked White
and the other Colored. They also had "white" doors and "colored" doors. When we walked down a
street the colored people would step off the curb into the gutter to let us pass. I was seriously "chewed"
out by a southerner one day, when I stopped and spoke to a black lady who worked in our converted
apartment building. She was the baby sitter/housekeeper/slave. She arrived at 6 in the morning and
worked until midnight, caring for 4 children and doing all the cleaning and laundry and cooking. For
this she received $10 a week, and thought she had the greatest job in the world. We just met outside
one day and chatted, and after that I was told "we don't chat with the coloreds down here" and I said
maybe We don't, but I do. I also sat in the back of the bus when I went to camp by myself.
Anyway, we arrived in Petersburg, and stayed in a hotel the first night. Then we found out where
Jerri and Roy and Dick and Carol lived and went to see them. They told us to go to the red cross
housing and they would help us find a place to live. We did this, and found a place not too far from
our friends. It was on High Street in Petersburg and was an old fashioned plantation house remodeled
into apartments. You know the kind with the Big white pillars in front. Remember those pillars, they
played a role later on in our stay. We rented the apartment on the second floor for $10 a week, incl.
utilities. Our living room/bedroom was large enough, but we had to enter the hall by the stairs to
get to our kitchen and then go down the long hall to the shared bathroom. There were 2 apartments
on this floor and one single bedroom, rented by a third party and it was a common hall, used by all.
the kitchen had no running water, an ice box, not refrigerator, and an old fashioned stove, gas,
standing on 4 legs with a side oven at eye level. Now the refrigerator was truly a challenge because
you see the drip pan under it had to be emptied and the bathroom was at the other end of the hall.
Wayne had to report for duty on Monday morning, so I decided to walk downtown to the grocery
store to shop for food. Not realizing everything was closed down, after all, it was Thomas Jefferson's
birthday. Everywhere we went, we would see footprints painted on the sidewalk, Thomas Jefferson
walked here, or slept there or whatever. There was one park which was just a huge crater, the site
of a southern victory, where cannons had mowed down hundreds of northern soldiers. I know at
that time they did not believe that the south had lost the war, and I hear that feeling still exists today.
What a place for a damnyankee!
We made lots of friends while there. Wayne had more training to do for the Army Corps of Engineers
so that left me and Carol and Jerri to do what we wanted with our days. We explored a lot and even
did a lot of sunbathing, in April, which you couldn't do in Wisconsin. We soon discovered that we
didn't have a whole lot in common with Jerri and Roy. The 4 of them shared an apartment upstairs
over the home of a Colonel. He shacked up with this lady downstairs, and we could hear them a lot
as they had floor heat registers and you could see downstairs as well. Nuff said, anyway, Jerri and
Roy felt she could further his career if she slept with the colonel, so we kind of distanced ourselves
from that situation. We knew our husbands were destined for overseas duty, and they thought they
could avoid that. Wayne finished his training first and was to report to California late in June, Dick
finished his training next and went to Germany. Jerri was very smug telling us she was going to a
formal dance with the Colonel and it did buy them some time, about a month I guess and then we
heard he was being shipped overseas too. Never did hear from them again.
Wehad a lot of company while we were there, but of course money was tight. We only earned $70
a month and my allotment hadn't started yet, nor Wayne's off base living allotment, so whenever
someone came over, everyone brought their own drinks, food, etc. Most of the guys were living
on base and they liked going to someone's home. They would write their names on their drinks,
and would show up whenever they could. We also had a favorite place just outside of town. I
don't remember the name of it but it had a canopy over the driveway, so we always called it the
"can-o-pee" We got busted one night by the MP's and the only one they asked for ID was me.
Thank Goodness, Wayne and I were the only ones who were 21. Virginia was a dry state, no hard
liquor, but you could get a beer in any restaurant.
One night it was raining and we decided to walk to town for an ice cream cone. Holding the umbrella
in front of us, we walked right into another soldier. It was Kenneth Numrich a kid I went all thru
grade school with. talk about a small world. He was stationed at another army camp a short ways
away.
The first time I went grocery shopping,when the stores were opened, I spent $7 and had to take a
cab home. I had too much to carry. It was because of that trip that I met our neighbor who had
the one room apartment. He saw me get out of the cab and offered me the use of his car whenever
I needed it. In return for other favors. His wife was in Georgia nd it was ok with her if he had a
little on the side while they were apart and that way we both would be happy==NOT== I thanked
him and said no. those people from the south sure hate blacks, but loved sex. You figure.
Anyway there is so much more to tell about our southern adventures, I will continue next time.
Love you all.......................
They say Sofolk is 30 miles southof Richmond, and I believe Petersburg is probaly 20 to 30 miles
west of Richmond. I know it was close enough that I applied for a job in Richmond at the Raleigh
Tobbaco Company. I didn't get it, they just wouldn't hire people connected with the Army, too transient
Well, anyhow, I think we had just boarded the train in Milwaukee, and I do believe I cried all the way
to Chicago. We changed trains in Chicago and I am not exactly sure how long it took to reach Petersburg
but, am assuming we got there late Friday night.
TOTAL CULTURE SHOCK Growing up in the north, with black people as neighbors, I had no idea what
segregation was really like down south. The first thing I noticed was the drinking fountains at the
train station. I liked to call them "bubblers" There were always at least 2. One was marked White
and the other Colored. They also had "white" doors and "colored" doors. When we walked down a
street the colored people would step off the curb into the gutter to let us pass. I was seriously "chewed"
out by a southerner one day, when I stopped and spoke to a black lady who worked in our converted
apartment building. She was the baby sitter/housekeeper/slave. She arrived at 6 in the morning and
worked until midnight, caring for 4 children and doing all the cleaning and laundry and cooking. For
this she received $10 a week, and thought she had the greatest job in the world. We just met outside
one day and chatted, and after that I was told "we don't chat with the coloreds down here" and I said
maybe We don't, but I do. I also sat in the back of the bus when I went to camp by myself.
Anyway, we arrived in Petersburg, and stayed in a hotel the first night. Then we found out where
Jerri and Roy and Dick and Carol lived and went to see them. They told us to go to the red cross
housing and they would help us find a place to live. We did this, and found a place not too far from
our friends. It was on High Street in Petersburg and was an old fashioned plantation house remodeled
into apartments. You know the kind with the Big white pillars in front. Remember those pillars, they
played a role later on in our stay. We rented the apartment on the second floor for $10 a week, incl.
utilities. Our living room/bedroom was large enough, but we had to enter the hall by the stairs to
get to our kitchen and then go down the long hall to the shared bathroom. There were 2 apartments
on this floor and one single bedroom, rented by a third party and it was a common hall, used by all.
the kitchen had no running water, an ice box, not refrigerator, and an old fashioned stove, gas,
standing on 4 legs with a side oven at eye level. Now the refrigerator was truly a challenge because
you see the drip pan under it had to be emptied and the bathroom was at the other end of the hall.
Wayne had to report for duty on Monday morning, so I decided to walk downtown to the grocery
store to shop for food. Not realizing everything was closed down, after all, it was Thomas Jefferson's
birthday. Everywhere we went, we would see footprints painted on the sidewalk, Thomas Jefferson
walked here, or slept there or whatever. There was one park which was just a huge crater, the site
of a southern victory, where cannons had mowed down hundreds of northern soldiers. I know at
that time they did not believe that the south had lost the war, and I hear that feeling still exists today.
What a place for a damnyankee!
We made lots of friends while there. Wayne had more training to do for the Army Corps of Engineers
so that left me and Carol and Jerri to do what we wanted with our days. We explored a lot and even
did a lot of sunbathing, in April, which you couldn't do in Wisconsin. We soon discovered that we
didn't have a whole lot in common with Jerri and Roy. The 4 of them shared an apartment upstairs
over the home of a Colonel. He shacked up with this lady downstairs, and we could hear them a lot
as they had floor heat registers and you could see downstairs as well. Nuff said, anyway, Jerri and
Roy felt she could further his career if she slept with the colonel, so we kind of distanced ourselves
from that situation. We knew our husbands were destined for overseas duty, and they thought they
could avoid that. Wayne finished his training first and was to report to California late in June, Dick
finished his training next and went to Germany. Jerri was very smug telling us she was going to a
formal dance with the Colonel and it did buy them some time, about a month I guess and then we
heard he was being shipped overseas too. Never did hear from them again.
Wehad a lot of company while we were there, but of course money was tight. We only earned $70
a month and my allotment hadn't started yet, nor Wayne's off base living allotment, so whenever
someone came over, everyone brought their own drinks, food, etc. Most of the guys were living
on base and they liked going to someone's home. They would write their names on their drinks,
and would show up whenever they could. We also had a favorite place just outside of town. I
don't remember the name of it but it had a canopy over the driveway, so we always called it the
"can-o-pee" We got busted one night by the MP's and the only one they asked for ID was me.
Thank Goodness, Wayne and I were the only ones who were 21. Virginia was a dry state, no hard
liquor, but you could get a beer in any restaurant.
One night it was raining and we decided to walk to town for an ice cream cone. Holding the umbrella
in front of us, we walked right into another soldier. It was Kenneth Numrich a kid I went all thru
grade school with. talk about a small world. He was stationed at another army camp a short ways
away.
The first time I went grocery shopping,when the stores were opened, I spent $7 and had to take a
cab home. I had too much to carry. It was because of that trip that I met our neighbor who had
the one room apartment. He saw me get out of the cab and offered me the use of his car whenever
I needed it. In return for other favors. His wife was in Georgia nd it was ok with her if he had a
little on the side while they were apart and that way we both would be happy==NOT== I thanked
him and said no. those people from the south sure hate blacks, but loved sex. You figure.
Anyway there is so much more to tell about our southern adventures, I will continue next time.
Love you all.......................
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
GOT SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO
first of all, the fart contests were conducted before we got married. This was a game the Webb boys
and Little Bobby Linder used to do at one of the neighborhood movie theaters. Apparently they
would sit in different sections of the theater and then work up to a good one, trying to let it fly when
it was extremely quiet so no one could possibly miss it. Then someone would yell, way to go Clyde,
or whoever the perp was at the time. Roy said he was not a participant, but Bev said he was. They
did not do this in front of their girlfriends, as it definitely was not a way to impress girls.
Another thing, you did not want to go as see a sad movie with Bob Linder. He would actually be
sobbing out loud throughout the movie and it usually ended up with everyone else laughing because
Bob almost became hysterical with his weeping. I witnessed that when we went to see Sentimental
Journey.
Now................about my crazy Aunt Dorothy. I want to put a disclaimer on this blog. Anything I
write in here is not done with malice. Each story has been a part of my life, and something we have
laughed about over the years. My Aunt Dorothy gave herself the nickname of crazy. She would
call or come over and say This is your crazy Aunt. Of course we all knew immediately. She was
married to my Mother's brother, My uncle Herman. Uncle Ermy as I called him when I was very
little would come to our house, we lived on the second floor, and would whistle up the back stairs,
and this toddler (me) would run to the stairs calling Uncle Ermy, Uncle Ermy and he would run
up the stairs and pick me up and let me ride his shoulders. Of course, every boyfriend that I ever
had would hear that story and then he said and "she peed on my shoulders" My uncle was an
alcoholic, but a genius. I really don't know where or when he met Aunt Dorothy. Story has it she
came from a wealthy family and when she started to get serious about Uncle Herman, her family
disowned her. They married and had 4 boys, Jimmy, Danny, Larry and Freddy. Today those
boys have great jobs, families and are well educated. My uncle invented the Jet engine, long before
it was the "in" thing, but not having money topatent it his ideas were stolen. They lived in a shack
with cardboard boxes straightened out for walls, down by the railroad tracks. There was lots of
love in that home, but not much else. Somehow they always fixed a meal when we were there, and
of course there was always beer in the frig. One day Aunt D was going to hide the beer, so she put
the cans in the oven. Next morning she got up, forgetting about the beer, she turned on the oven
to take the chill out of the house. When she finally remembered, she opened the oven and the beer
was almost boiling and the cans were rockin and rollin, she grabbed them and threw them in the
ice cube section of the frig. Naturally when my uncle got up he immediately went to the frig for
his beer and drank two of them down and then told us my Aunt had tried to poison him. Anyway
he died when we were in Calif. and I didn''t know any of the details, but apparently after he was
gone Aunt D was reunited with her family and in their good graces again. I think when they died
she inherited and maybe that's how the boys were able to go to college. I know Freddy (now
prefers to be phonetically correct and called Phred) is a teacher. I saw all of the boys but Larry
when we had the reunion in Montana.
OHMYGOSH takes so much to get around to my crazy Aunt. She came to California one year just
before Christmas. My folks were living with Darlene and Jack at the time in Hacienda Heights. Aunt
Dorothy stayed with us a few days and then with Darlene & Jack. She was so funny, she never wanted
to impose (as if she could) I remember making a ham dinner one night. She ate with us but would
only eat her balogna sandwich. She wanted to go to the market one day, so Dawn, Beth and Mike
said they would take her to Manuel's market. They took the short cut thru the fields. It had rained
the day before, and when they got to the ditch, it had water in it. Dawn jumped over, Beth jumped
over, and Mike jumped over and Aunt Dorothy jumped in. We heard about that for days. My
folks took her to Knott's Berry Farm and were going for the Chicken dinner. She would not go in
and waited outside while my parents had dinner. She by that time, had money, (even tho my folks
were treating) but somehow with the life she had, she could not spend it. She brought $50 with
her for three weeks spending,including christmas gifts for all the kids. She was fun tho, and when
she and my mom got together no telling what would happen, especially if there were drinks involved.
I understand from one of the boys that she died a few years after my mother, and had laid in her
apartment for days before she was discovered. She loved us, and we loved her, but I will never
forget the way she looked when she came back from Manuel's market.
I get e mails from Sandy, Phred's wife. They live in Duluth. Jimmy is in Milwaukee. They are all
quite a bit younger than I am. Ardis, my cousin in Montana keeps in close touch with them all.
They are more her age.
OK, next time our adventures in the Army at Ft. Lee Va.
and Little Bobby Linder used to do at one of the neighborhood movie theaters. Apparently they
would sit in different sections of the theater and then work up to a good one, trying to let it fly when
it was extremely quiet so no one could possibly miss it. Then someone would yell, way to go Clyde,
or whoever the perp was at the time. Roy said he was not a participant, but Bev said he was. They
did not do this in front of their girlfriends, as it definitely was not a way to impress girls.
Another thing, you did not want to go as see a sad movie with Bob Linder. He would actually be
sobbing out loud throughout the movie and it usually ended up with everyone else laughing because
Bob almost became hysterical with his weeping. I witnessed that when we went to see Sentimental
Journey.
Now................about my crazy Aunt Dorothy. I want to put a disclaimer on this blog. Anything I
write in here is not done with malice. Each story has been a part of my life, and something we have
laughed about over the years. My Aunt Dorothy gave herself the nickname of crazy. She would
call or come over and say This is your crazy Aunt. Of course we all knew immediately. She was
married to my Mother's brother, My uncle Herman. Uncle Ermy as I called him when I was very
little would come to our house, we lived on the second floor, and would whistle up the back stairs,
and this toddler (me) would run to the stairs calling Uncle Ermy, Uncle Ermy and he would run
up the stairs and pick me up and let me ride his shoulders. Of course, every boyfriend that I ever
had would hear that story and then he said and "she peed on my shoulders" My uncle was an
alcoholic, but a genius. I really don't know where or when he met Aunt Dorothy. Story has it she
came from a wealthy family and when she started to get serious about Uncle Herman, her family
disowned her. They married and had 4 boys, Jimmy, Danny, Larry and Freddy. Today those
boys have great jobs, families and are well educated. My uncle invented the Jet engine, long before
it was the "in" thing, but not having money topatent it his ideas were stolen. They lived in a shack
with cardboard boxes straightened out for walls, down by the railroad tracks. There was lots of
love in that home, but not much else. Somehow they always fixed a meal when we were there, and
of course there was always beer in the frig. One day Aunt D was going to hide the beer, so she put
the cans in the oven. Next morning she got up, forgetting about the beer, she turned on the oven
to take the chill out of the house. When she finally remembered, she opened the oven and the beer
was almost boiling and the cans were rockin and rollin, she grabbed them and threw them in the
ice cube section of the frig. Naturally when my uncle got up he immediately went to the frig for
his beer and drank two of them down and then told us my Aunt had tried to poison him. Anyway
he died when we were in Calif. and I didn''t know any of the details, but apparently after he was
gone Aunt D was reunited with her family and in their good graces again. I think when they died
she inherited and maybe that's how the boys were able to go to college. I know Freddy (now
prefers to be phonetically correct and called Phred) is a teacher. I saw all of the boys but Larry
when we had the reunion in Montana.
OHMYGOSH takes so much to get around to my crazy Aunt. She came to California one year just
before Christmas. My folks were living with Darlene and Jack at the time in Hacienda Heights. Aunt
Dorothy stayed with us a few days and then with Darlene & Jack. She was so funny, she never wanted
to impose (as if she could) I remember making a ham dinner one night. She ate with us but would
only eat her balogna sandwich. She wanted to go to the market one day, so Dawn, Beth and Mike
said they would take her to Manuel's market. They took the short cut thru the fields. It had rained
the day before, and when they got to the ditch, it had water in it. Dawn jumped over, Beth jumped
over, and Mike jumped over and Aunt Dorothy jumped in. We heard about that for days. My
folks took her to Knott's Berry Farm and were going for the Chicken dinner. She would not go in
and waited outside while my parents had dinner. She by that time, had money, (even tho my folks
were treating) but somehow with the life she had, she could not spend it. She brought $50 with
her for three weeks spending,including christmas gifts for all the kids. She was fun tho, and when
she and my mom got together no telling what would happen, especially if there were drinks involved.
I understand from one of the boys that she died a few years after my mother, and had laid in her
apartment for days before she was discovered. She loved us, and we loved her, but I will never
forget the way she looked when she came back from Manuel's market.
I get e mails from Sandy, Phred's wife. They live in Duluth. Jimmy is in Milwaukee. They are all
quite a bit younger than I am. Ardis, my cousin in Montana keeps in close touch with them all.
They are more her age.
OK, next time our adventures in the Army at Ft. Lee Va.
Friday, April 18, 2008
BRIGHT AND EARLY THE NEXT MORNING..........
the telephone rang. It was MY mom, calling to say she and my dad would be by in about half an hour so
we could go to church. (yes, we had arranged that beforehand, and it really seemed like a great idea, but
that was before the wedding.) I believe I mentioned that we were married the day befor Palm Sunday and
we were going to my crazy Aunt Dorothy''s church because one of my cousins was being confirmed. This
was just a small country church, and when we got there it was so crowded we couldn't get in, so we all
went to my parent's house, where we had friends and family invited for an open house, see the wedding
gifts and to eat up the food left over from the buffet, the night before. This was just kind of something everyone
did. We opened up all our gifts (got 5 cofee pots) and spent the rest of the day with our families.
We did not plan to leave Milwaukee until Thursday night, when we would board a train for Petersburg, Va.
where Wayne had to report in for duty on Monday.
I don't remember too much about that week, but one incident stands out in my mind. If I had known on
Saturday what I knew on Tuesday, I might have said "I don't" instead of "I do". As I said we wanted to spend
this week with friends and family as we did not know how long we might be in Virginia, or where after that.
Army pay was not very much. Private Webb's pay was around $70 a month and it would take a while
before my allotment would be in effect.
So, on Tuesday night Bev and Andy came over and took us to the Towne Theater to see "singing in the rain"
The Towne theater is a classy downtown theater. You didn't go there unless you dressed up. We were
really enjoying the movie and when Gene Kelly did his "singin in the rain" song, my newly acquired husband
stood up in this classy joint and did a duet with Gene, just as loud as he could. Kind of reminded me of
a long ago Christmas Eve, when our group decided to go to St. Boniface Catholic church for Midnight Mass.
I was with Chuck at that time. We got there kind of late and had to stand up along the wall as the church
was packed. Chuck stood on one side of me and Wayne on the other. Wayne was slightly ? inebriated,
wo sometime during the service the priest said "you all know what venetian blinds look like, don't you?"
and Wayne very loudly proclaimed "UH"HUH". Everyone in the church looked at us and weeks later, his
mother, who worked at Post Stores, a little neighborhood dress shop, had people stop her and say, "saw
your son in church Christmas Eve" I guess I should have been warned, even back then.
Well, the week passed and on Thursday night we all gathered at the Milwaukee Road Depot and said our
goodbyes and boarded the train for whatever might lie ahead of us in Virginia. Wayne had finished his
Basic Training and would then find out what specialty training was before us. Our life as a couple was
starting out.
One good thing, we would know some people when we got there. Roy and Jerri Rogentin were also
stationed there. They were in my bowling league and Roy had been drafted shortly after Wayne. They
were renting an upper flat in Petersburg, along with Jerri's friends, Dick and Carol Berg.
I am going to stop here and when I continue it will be about our life in Virginia. Love you all ...hope you
are enjoying this journey down Memory Lane
we could go to church. (yes, we had arranged that beforehand, and it really seemed like a great idea, but
that was before the wedding.) I believe I mentioned that we were married the day befor Palm Sunday and
we were going to my crazy Aunt Dorothy''s church because one of my cousins was being confirmed. This
was just a small country church, and when we got there it was so crowded we couldn't get in, so we all
went to my parent's house, where we had friends and family invited for an open house, see the wedding
gifts and to eat up the food left over from the buffet, the night before. This was just kind of something everyone
did. We opened up all our gifts (got 5 cofee pots) and spent the rest of the day with our families.
We did not plan to leave Milwaukee until Thursday night, when we would board a train for Petersburg, Va.
where Wayne had to report in for duty on Monday.
I don't remember too much about that week, but one incident stands out in my mind. If I had known on
Saturday what I knew on Tuesday, I might have said "I don't" instead of "I do". As I said we wanted to spend
this week with friends and family as we did not know how long we might be in Virginia, or where after that.
Army pay was not very much. Private Webb's pay was around $70 a month and it would take a while
before my allotment would be in effect.
So, on Tuesday night Bev and Andy came over and took us to the Towne Theater to see "singing in the rain"
The Towne theater is a classy downtown theater. You didn't go there unless you dressed up. We were
really enjoying the movie and when Gene Kelly did his "singin in the rain" song, my newly acquired husband
stood up in this classy joint and did a duet with Gene, just as loud as he could. Kind of reminded me of
a long ago Christmas Eve, when our group decided to go to St. Boniface Catholic church for Midnight Mass.
I was with Chuck at that time. We got there kind of late and had to stand up along the wall as the church
was packed. Chuck stood on one side of me and Wayne on the other. Wayne was slightly ? inebriated,
wo sometime during the service the priest said "you all know what venetian blinds look like, don't you?"
and Wayne very loudly proclaimed "UH"HUH". Everyone in the church looked at us and weeks later, his
mother, who worked at Post Stores, a little neighborhood dress shop, had people stop her and say, "saw
your son in church Christmas Eve" I guess I should have been warned, even back then.
Well, the week passed and on Thursday night we all gathered at the Milwaukee Road Depot and said our
goodbyes and boarded the train for whatever might lie ahead of us in Virginia. Wayne had finished his
Basic Training and would then find out what specialty training was before us. Our life as a couple was
starting out.
One good thing, we would know some people when we got there. Roy and Jerri Rogentin were also
stationed there. They were in my bowling league and Roy had been drafted shortly after Wayne. They
were renting an upper flat in Petersburg, along with Jerri's friends, Dick and Carol Berg.
I am going to stop here and when I continue it will be about our life in Virginia. Love you all ...hope you
are enjoying this journey down Memory Lane
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)