1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) Jun 4 Graduated from 8th grade elementary school. I got a wristwatch and binder as gifts. Went to graduation party and danced with Barbara Miles Jun 5 At 2 PM left for 3 week vacation to stay at George and Verda Day‘s home in Redwood City as Mom and Dad … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2017
1.18 We Love Milkshakes!
June 1947 • Charlie and Velma ~ The three weeks Mom and Dad were in Minnesota for the funeral, Betty and Claudia stayed with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Velma, Mom’s oldest brother and his wife. It didn’t go well. Charlie and Velma had no children of their own (which never inhibited them from telling Mom … [Read more...]
1.17 A California Thistle
Jun 1947 • Minnesota ~ Dad’s first trip back to the family farm was in 1937 for his mother’s funeral ten years earlier. He and Mom took the long train trip to the Midwest, bringing Larry who was almost four, and Carleen who was two years younger. Farm kids were seldom catered to, and this woman … [Read more...]
1.16 Missive to Marceline
When our cousin Marceline turned seventeen (the same age Mom was when she married Dad), she became engaged to a young man named Roy. She wrote my mother of her wedding plans; Mom penned back a four-page letter in her cursive handwriting: May 2, 1947 Dear Marceline: Received your letter when I got … [Read more...]
1.15 Larry’s Diary, Apr-May 1947
1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) Apr 1 Received pay of five dollars and paid father on radio Apr 2 Bought hatchet and knife. Chopped down a small bush for my paper route. Bought some stamps and took book from library about stamps Apr 3 There was no Boy Scouts meeting tonight. Got … [Read more...]
1.14 Heathens and Hellions
1947 • Sonora, California ~They tore through the house like heathens and hellions. The kids not only had the run of the house, they had the run of the town. Most summer days the three older ones were off exploring and swimming, roller skating the cracked sidewalks, and riding their bikes up and down … [Read more...]
The Summer of Love
The Haight • 1965-1968 ~ I worked for my father in his store on Haight Street during the summers, saving my money for French fries, milkshakes, school clothes, and college. In the early '60s the Haight was a middle-class white neighborhood with a smaller community of black families. Over the next … [Read more...]
1.13 Larry’s Diary, Feb-Mar 1947
1947 • Larry’s Diary (age 13) Feb 1 Today I took both routes again for Mr. Mouron. I also went and looked at some bikes as I am hoping to buy one. Bought some more stamps for collection. Feb 2 Today I went for a short walk. I also took a bath the day before yesterday and one today. Pat … [Read more...]
1.12 Larry’s New Diary, Jan 1947
My mother, brother, and sisters loved to read. They regularly checked out books from the local library, and in every room at home someone would be sprawled somewhere with their nose buried in one. Larry’s favorites were historical adventures, dog stories, and biographies. He'd buy books when he … [Read more...]
1.11 Nothing But the Best
1946 • Sonora ~ Mom decided life would be easier if Claudia, the youngest at the time and the only one still at home, went to school. Dressed in her netted hat to set off her pinned-up hair, a pastel polka-dotted shoulder-padded two-piece outfit, pearls, silk stockings, and white open-toed wedge … [Read more...]