February 2006
My dad's parents (Grandma Nora and Gramp Hill, as we called them) divorced in about 1947. During my childhood, Grandma lived mostly in Ainsworth, Nebraska, but Gramp Hill lived in Missouri and then in Kansas.
Grandma Nora and Gramp Hill had a house in town, and it became Grandma Nora's after their divorce. She made it into two apartments. She rented out the ground floor, and she lived in the basement apartment. It was interesting, even exciting, to visit there because we didn't have a basement and besides, it was Grandma's house!
Looking back, I realize that the decor was very 1950's. Grandma had a dining table and chairs, a china cabinet, and a little writing desk that were all made of blonde maple. In her living room, she had cowboy lamps. The lamp base was shaped like a wagon wheel, and the lampshades had photographs on them of cowboys on horseback tending their cattle under a bright blue sky. Grandma had a matched set of smaller lamps, as I recall, and a larger lamp with a two tiered shade. All three of them had the western lampshades.
Grandma also had a gumdrop tree made of clear plastic. It had a gumdrop on the tip of every branch and extra gumdrops in the tray under the tree.
Grandma's renters had some things in the basement storeroom, including a big stack of MAD magazines. I read them every time we visited, taking great pains not to bend the pages. That was my introduction to Alfred E. Neuman.
One time, my little sister Charlotte and I spent the night at Grandma's basement apartment. Grandma tucked us into the twin beds in her guest bedroom -- one little girl in each bed. During the night, Charlotte woke up and became frightened. She cried, " I want my daddy, I want my daddy!" and soon Grandma came and took her to sleep in the big bed. In her later years, Grandma liked to tell that story. It pleased her that Charlotte had cried for her daddy -- he was Grandma's son, of course.
Grandma Nora and Gramp Hill had a house in town, and it became Grandma Nora's after their divorce. She made it into two apartments. She rented out the ground floor, and she lived in the basement apartment. It was interesting, even exciting, to visit there because we didn't have a basement and besides, it was Grandma's house!
Looking back, I realize that the decor was very 1950's. Grandma had a dining table and chairs, a china cabinet, and a little writing desk that were all made of blonde maple. In her living room, she had cowboy lamps. The lamp base was shaped like a wagon wheel, and the lampshades had photographs on them of cowboys on horseback tending their cattle under a bright blue sky. Grandma had a matched set of smaller lamps, as I recall, and a larger lamp with a two tiered shade. All three of them had the western lampshades.
Grandma also had a gumdrop tree made of clear plastic. It had a gumdrop on the tip of every branch and extra gumdrops in the tray under the tree.
Grandma's renters had some things in the basement storeroom, including a big stack of MAD magazines. I read them every time we visited, taking great pains not to bend the pages. That was my introduction to Alfred E. Neuman.
One time, my little sister Charlotte and I spent the night at Grandma's basement apartment. Grandma tucked us into the twin beds in her guest bedroom -- one little girl in each bed. During the night, Charlotte woke up and became frightened. She cried, " I want my daddy, I want my daddy!" and soon Grandma came and took her to sleep in the big bed. In her later years, Grandma liked to tell that story. It pleased her that Charlotte had cried for her daddy -- he was Grandma's son, of course.
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