About this blog

It’s not that I don’t like the 21st century – I do. I appreciate computers, digital photography, and air conditioning. I am thankful for the advances in medicine and technology. But I am also unapologetic in my sometimes rose colored memories of my growing up years in the 20th century.

It’s sometimes hard to realize that I was born before the midpoint of the last century. Life was different then and I have some very happy memories of that time. Are those memories distorted by time and distance? Perhaps, but they are my memories none-the-less. I think it is more important to remember the good times than to dwell on the not so good times.

And so it is that I want to preserve some of these memories of a simpler time and a different way of living. I am not attempting to make any political statement here, just trying to tell real stories about real people in a real time in the last century. Perhaps you, the reader, might find something that brings back a memory or two for you as well. I wish I had some first-hand knowledge of how my grandmother lived in her time. Maybe someday my grandchildren will enjoy reading about how it was in my time.

These stories are not linear, but random as they come to mind. I am in the process of scanning old slides and photos, and as something triggers my memory, I will attempt to write it down. Therefore, expect to jump from 1949 to 1963 and back to 1950. Some stories might be ones that have been passed down in family lore, which occurred before I was born. I will have to trust my siblings to correct any flaws in my memories!

So let’s get to it, shall we. Jump aboard my time machine and let’s take a trip back to the 20th century.

Monday, June 30, 2014

My Earliest Memory

Someone asked me recently what my earliest memory was.  I often can’t remember what I had for breakfast, what the date is, or where I was last Tuesday, but it didn’t take long for my first memory to pop into my head.

dad bloomingtonFirst a little background.  My Daddy was not physically a big man but he certainly had a big presence.  Dad had polio as a child and as a result had one leg that was shorter than the other and somewhat withered.  He also was only about 5’ 9’ in height.  His brother Ralph was a big guy – over six feet as I remember, so the polio probably affected my Dad’s overall height as well.
Dad never consider himself disabled though.  He walked with a noticeable limp and his ankle was weak and sometime would give way.  But Dad never let that stop him.

When I was a kid back in the early 50s, we lived near Woolworth_menuSan Bernardino, California.  There were no shopping malls or big  box stores or even strip malls.  When you wanted to shop, you went downtown.  I can clearly remember JC Penney’s, Karl’s Shoes, Harris Co., Sprouse Reitz, and of course, Woolworth’s.  Woolworth’s had a lunch counter and the food was probably terrible, but it was a huge treat to be able to get a Coke or an ice cream soda or a hamburger at Woolworth’s lunch counter.

I remember one day in particular.  It must have been winter as I remember wearing a coat.  We were in Penney’s and my little toddler legs had walked just about as far as they could go.  Rather than tell me to behave and force me to walk, my Daddy, with his bad leg and his bum ankle picked me up and put me on his shoulders.  And there I rode for the rest of our shopping trip.  It wasn’t the last time I rode on Daddy’s shoulders and it probably wasn’t the first time either – it’s just the first childhood memory that I can recall.  

dad and kids

This picture was taken before the trip to JC Penney’s but it shows how my dad loved to pick up the little ones.  I am the baby here along with my brother and sisters.  Yes, I’ve used this photo before but I just love it.  It is so “Daddy!” And I wasn’t the only one to ride on Daddy’s shoulders.  Pictured below is my brother David getting a lift from Daddy way back in about 1940.

dad and david

My Dad may have had a short leg and a weak ankle but his arms were strong and so was his heart. 
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. David & Linda FritscheJune 30, 2014 at 9:49 PM

    Oh Donna, you've captured the essence of Dad again. Hold on while I find a tissue....
    David

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)