27 Jan 2006
I bought a curious book at a thrift shop yesterday. It is the 1954 edition of Ladies' Home Journal: Book of Interior Decoration by Elizabeth T. Halsey. It's a large book, similar in size to what Life and Look magazines used to be.
When I opened the book and looked through the pages, I knew I had to buy it and preserve it as a historic document. The photographs give me a sense of déjà vu. Specifically, the book reminded me of a childhood visit to the Arthur and Mary Mallory home, somewhere in Iowa, in the late 1950s.
The Mallory Brothers (I think they were Arthur and Dwight) raised and sold Black Angus breeding stock. We were at their Iowa farm to buy bulls, and we spent the night with Arthur and Mary-- a most uncomfortable night, in my opinion. Mary Mallory's home seemed so elegant to me, a country child, that I was afraid to speak beyond a whisper. It was not a place where I felt I could relax. If Mary had ever had children, her house showed no sign of it.
The photographs in this LHJ decorating book are a visit to Mary Mallory's house, all over again. The slipcovered armchairs are color coordinated to the floor-length pinch-pleated draperies. Ruffled bedskirts match the ruffled pillowcases, and the bedspreads match the ruffled skirts of the vanity tables. The floors are carpeted wall-to-wall. If anything is homemade, it is the lace tablecloth on the dining room table. There's not a quilt or ragrug in sight.
I don't know the name of this decor style, but it wasn't the "mid-century modern," streamlined look that's often associated with the 1950s. This country child would still feel uncomfortable in it.
Monday, August 31, 2020
Senior Moments
January 2006
I sometimes joke about having senior moments, but today, I had a real one.
I walked in town yesterday morning, and before I came home, I went into Arby's to get a soda. The lady at the cash register said it would be 53¢ and I thought, "Wow, that's pretty cheap."
So this morning after I walked, I stopped at Arby's again to get a drink. I took a dollar bill with me and left my purse in the car. I told the girl at the register that I wanted a medium soda. I was surprised when she said that it would be $1.58.
"I didn't bring in that much money," I said. "How much would a small drink be?"
"$1.26," she told me.
I started to go after more money but she stopped me. "No, wait! I'll give you a senior drink, and it will be just 53¢!"
Ugh. Yesterday, I was pleased about my cheap drink, and today, I found out that I'm a senior citizen.
It reminds me of the first time I ever had a clerk refer to me as a lady -- as in, "This lady needs help with ..." That was a shocking experience, too.
I walked in town yesterday morning, and before I came home, I went into Arby's to get a soda. The lady at the cash register said it would be 53¢ and I thought, "Wow, that's pretty cheap."
So this morning after I walked, I stopped at Arby's again to get a drink. I took a dollar bill with me and left my purse in the car. I told the girl at the register that I wanted a medium soda. I was surprised when she said that it would be $1.58.
"I didn't bring in that much money," I said. "How much would a small drink be?"
"$1.26," she told me.
I started to go after more money but she stopped me. "No, wait! I'll give you a senior drink, and it will be just 53¢!"
Ugh. Yesterday, I was pleased about my cheap drink, and today, I found out that I'm a senior citizen.
It reminds me of the first time I ever had a clerk refer to me as a lady -- as in, "This lady needs help with ..." That was a shocking experience, too.
My Mother-In-Law's 89th Birthday
January 2006
Tomorrow, January 25, is my mother-in-law Elizabeth's 89th birthday. I hope she has a great day. I sent her a little package which will arrive by UPS tomorrow afternoon. I will call her, Isaac will call her, Dennis will call her, and I reminded Keely to call her. That's about all we can do from this distance.
The last few years have been hard for Mama Netz. She broke her hip in August of 2004, and recovery has been difficult and slow. It was complicated by gall bladder problems, persistent infections, and more. When she finally got out of the hospital and rehab center, she could no longer live alone, so she had to move to an assisted living facility and sell her house. The loss of her home of 60 years has been a great grief for her.
Elizabeth has lived in or near Independence, Missouri, since she was a child. In 1936, she graduated from William Crisman High School in Independence and married Charles Netz. They bought a few acres on the outskirts of Independence, and Elizabeth moved out there with four little children while Charles was gone to World War II.
Tomorrow, January 25, is my mother-in-law Elizabeth's 89th birthday. I hope she has a great day. I sent her a little package which will arrive by UPS tomorrow afternoon. I will call her, Isaac will call her, Dennis will call her, and I reminded Keely to call her. That's about all we can do from this distance.
The last few years have been hard for Mama Netz. She broke her hip in August of 2004, and recovery has been difficult and slow. It was complicated by gall bladder problems, persistent infections, and more. When she finally got out of the hospital and rehab center, she could no longer live alone, so she had to move to an assisted living facility and sell her house. The loss of her home of 60 years has been a great grief for her.
 |
| Elizabeth, in about 1945 or 1946, with Donna, Charles Jr., Bonnie, and Willadene. |
Elizabeth has lived in or near Independence, Missouri, since she was a child. In 1936, she graduated from William Crisman High School in Independence and married Charles Netz. They bought a few acres on the outskirts of Independence, and Elizabeth moved out there with four little children while Charles was gone to World War II.
She lived in the same house for the next six decades. She and Charles raised six children there. They had milkcows and big gardens, and she did a lot of canning and freezing every summer. The kids grew up and got married, and Elizabeth became a grandmother. Charles passed away in 1984, and Elizabeth lived in her home alone for another 20 years after that, until the day she broke her hip.
Elizabeth was a member of the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, headquartered in Independence) from her childhood until about 1990. Then the RLDS church began to change what it believed, so now she belongs to a "Restoration Branch" that holds to the traditional RLDS teachings.
Everyone talks about what a good cook Elizabeth was. Besides cooking every day for her own family and frequently for her extended family, she was a volunteer cook for years with the RLDS Laurel Club. She also served as Laurel Club president. The Laurel Club runs the kitchen at the RLDS Auditorium and serves thousands of people in church and civic events every year. I'd guess that Mama worked there at least 25 years, before she left the RLDS church. After that, she volunteered regularly in a soup kitchen that her current church runs in downtown Independence. There isn't much about a kitchen and cooking for a crowd that Mama Netz doesn't know.
Mama's always been a seamstress, and not having a sewing machine anymore hasn't stopped her. She quilts by hand, nowadays. She also volunteers as a "caller" on her church's prayer chain. Dennis's oldest sister, Willadene, takes Mama out for the day, on Wednesday or Thursday of most weeks. They go to Mama's doctor appointments and over to Willadene's house, where they have an ongoing project of sorting pictures. Donna, another of Dennis's sisters, takes her to church a couple of times a month. That is about as much going as Mama can withstand. She takes her walker with her when she goes out.
It is hard to believe that she is 89 years old. She was only a few years older than I am now when I first met her. Time goes too quickly.
The photo below was taken about 1996. We were visiting Elizabeth in Independence, and I made everyone stop playing and pose for me. Grandma's miniature schnauzer was Molly, her beloved little friend. You can see a bit of attitude in all of them. They were trying to be patient, but they wished I would hurry up.
Elizabeth was a member of the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, headquartered in Independence) from her childhood until about 1990. Then the RLDS church began to change what it believed, so now she belongs to a "Restoration Branch" that holds to the traditional RLDS teachings.
Everyone talks about what a good cook Elizabeth was. Besides cooking every day for her own family and frequently for her extended family, she was a volunteer cook for years with the RLDS Laurel Club. She also served as Laurel Club president. The Laurel Club runs the kitchen at the RLDS Auditorium and serves thousands of people in church and civic events every year. I'd guess that Mama worked there at least 25 years, before she left the RLDS church. After that, she volunteered regularly in a soup kitchen that her current church runs in downtown Independence. There isn't much about a kitchen and cooking for a crowd that Mama Netz doesn't know.
Mama's always been a seamstress, and not having a sewing machine anymore hasn't stopped her. She quilts by hand, nowadays. She also volunteers as a "caller" on her church's prayer chain. Dennis's oldest sister, Willadene, takes Mama out for the day, on Wednesday or Thursday of most weeks. They go to Mama's doctor appointments and over to Willadene's house, where they have an ongoing project of sorting pictures. Donna, another of Dennis's sisters, takes her to church a couple of times a month. That is about as much going as Mama can withstand. She takes her walker with her when she goes out.
It is hard to believe that she is 89 years old. She was only a few years older than I am now when I first met her. Time goes too quickly.
The photo below was taken about 1996. We were visiting Elizabeth in Independence, and I made everyone stop playing and pose for me. Grandma's miniature schnauzer was Molly, her beloved little friend. You can see a bit of attitude in all of them. They were trying to be patient, but they wished I would hurry up.
Elizabeth Alice Lloyd Netz was born on 25 Jan 1917 in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa. She married Charles Ernest Netz on 26 Nov 1936. She passed away on 5 Dec 2011 in Raytown, Jackson County, Missouri.
The Peterbang Kids
January 2006
Isaac and I were talking about the Peterbang Kids on the way home from town tonight. I don't know where my mother got their name. I don't know if the Peterbang story was a product of her imagination, or if it was something she remembered from her own childhood.
When I first learned about the Peterbang Kids, my family lived south of Johnstown, Nebraska. We had a blowout that we used as a landfill (as folks did in those days), and Mama said that the Peterbang Kids lived there.
The Peterbang Kids matched us exactly. They even had our names (except that their last name was Peterbang), and they looked exactly like us. The one big difference was that they were ornery and naughty, whereas we were sweet and nice. The Peterbangs loved to sneak into our house and do forbidden things and let us suffer the consequences!
When I was six, we moved to a ranch in southern Rock County, Nebraska. The Peterbang Kids slipped onto the very last truckload of stuff that was moved (according to Mama). And of course, they moved right into the junkpile in the blowout at the new place.
Even though I knew that the Peterbangs were imaginary, it was easy to imagine them living in the blowout. Many interesting pieces of junk had been thrown into the blowout over the years -- old cookstoves and broken chairs, rusted out pans and leaky chamber pots, bottles of all sorts, broken dishes, old magazines, snarls of wire, odd bits of broken machinery and every other thing you could imagine. There was plenty of everything that a Peterbang might need.
It was handy that they did make the move with us. When we did something naughty but not too serious, sometimes Mama laughed and said that she guessed the Peterbangs had been visiting again.
The years went by, and I became a teenager and then a grown-up, and finally, I almost forgot the Peterbangs. But when I had children, one of the Peterbangs found me again. It was the Peterbang girl who looks just like me. She was grown-up too, and she had a little girl and boy who looked exactly like my little girl and boy. Her children even had the very same names as my children (except that their last name was Peterbang, of course.)
The Peterbangs first found us in Berlin, and then they slipped onto the plane when we came to Kentucky. They settled in the gully in Clarence's pasture not far from the house. People had thrown a lot of old junk in the gully over the years, so they felt right at home. And they certainly have caused a lot of mischief around here. Just ask my kids!
Isaac and I were talking about the Peterbang Kids on the way home from town tonight. I don't know where my mother got their name. I don't know if the Peterbang story was a product of her imagination, or if it was something she remembered from her own childhood.
When I first learned about the Peterbang Kids, my family lived south of Johnstown, Nebraska. We had a blowout that we used as a landfill (as folks did in those days), and Mama said that the Peterbang Kids lived there.
The Peterbang Kids matched us exactly. They even had our names (except that their last name was Peterbang), and they looked exactly like us. The one big difference was that they were ornery and naughty, whereas we were sweet and nice. The Peterbangs loved to sneak into our house and do forbidden things and let us suffer the consequences!
When I was six, we moved to a ranch in southern Rock County, Nebraska. The Peterbang Kids slipped onto the very last truckload of stuff that was moved (according to Mama). And of course, they moved right into the junkpile in the blowout at the new place.
Even though I knew that the Peterbangs were imaginary, it was easy to imagine them living in the blowout. Many interesting pieces of junk had been thrown into the blowout over the years -- old cookstoves and broken chairs, rusted out pans and leaky chamber pots, bottles of all sorts, broken dishes, old magazines, snarls of wire, odd bits of broken machinery and every other thing you could imagine. There was plenty of everything that a Peterbang might need.
It was handy that they did make the move with us. When we did something naughty but not too serious, sometimes Mama laughed and said that she guessed the Peterbangs had been visiting again.
The years went by, and I became a teenager and then a grown-up, and finally, I almost forgot the Peterbangs. But when I had children, one of the Peterbangs found me again. It was the Peterbang girl who looks just like me. She was grown-up too, and she had a little girl and boy who looked exactly like my little girl and boy. Her children even had the very same names as my children (except that their last name was Peterbang, of course.)
The Peterbangs first found us in Berlin, and then they slipped onto the plane when we came to Kentucky. They settled in the gully in Clarence's pasture not far from the house. People had thrown a lot of old junk in the gully over the years, so they felt right at home. And they certainly have caused a lot of mischief around here. Just ask my kids!
Catalpa, Kutawba, and Kutawa
January 2006
When Keely was doing a leaf collection in high school, we spent a warm September afternoon driving the backroads and gathering leaves. As it happened, we wandered into the little village of Allegre, and there in someone's lawn, we saw a tree whose leaf we didn't have yet.
The residents were sitting on their porch so we pulled over and asked permission to pluck a specimen. They were pleased and excited, and they offered us a leaf from every tree in their yard which we politely accepted. One of the trees, they told us, was a "kutawa" tree. I knew the tree as soon as I saw it -- it was clearly a catalpa tree, no way to mistake it.
After we left, I commented to Keely that "kutawa" must be a local corruption of the word "catalpa." But when she started looking up her leaves in the tree book, she read that "kutawba" is a common name for catalpa, and that's pretty close to "kutawa."
Catalpa was an Indian name for the tree. The botanists made it official: catalpa speciosa (the northern or "hardy catalpa") and catalpa bignonioides (the southern catalpa).
The residents were sitting on their porch so we pulled over and asked permission to pluck a specimen. They were pleased and excited, and they offered us a leaf from every tree in their yard which we politely accepted. One of the trees, they told us, was a "kutawa" tree. I knew the tree as soon as I saw it -- it was clearly a catalpa tree, no way to mistake it.
After we left, I commented to Keely that "kutawa" must be a local corruption of the word "catalpa." But when she started looking up her leaves in the tree book, she read that "kutawba" is a common name for catalpa, and that's pretty close to "kutawa."
Catalpa was an Indian name for the tree. The botanists made it official: catalpa speciosa (the northern or "hardy catalpa") and catalpa bignonioides (the southern catalpa).
My brother and sister-in-law have catalpa trees in front of their house in southwest Kansas, which is a testament to the catalpa's ability to endure drought, grasshoppers, hot summers, and cold winters.
Catalpas are easy to recognize, summer or winter. They have white blossoms in early summer and large coarse heart-shaped leaves. In the fall, they produce a long thin bean (often over a foot in length) that hangs on through the winter. Their shape is interesting when their leaves have dropped. Their rugged-looking branches suggest that they'd be strong in a storm, but actually the branches are brittle and quite susceptible to wind and ice damage.
Catalpas are easy to recognize, summer or winter. They have white blossoms in early summer and large coarse heart-shaped leaves. In the fall, they produce a long thin bean (often over a foot in length) that hangs on through the winter. Their shape is interesting when their leaves have dropped. Their rugged-looking branches suggest that they'd be strong in a storm, but actually the branches are brittle and quite susceptible to wind and ice damage.
The largest catalpa tree that I've ever seen grows on the west lawn of St. John's United Methodist Church in Hopkinsville. Quite a few catalpa trees grow in that part of town -- near the Virginia Street and Country Club Lane intersection. I've also noticed catalpas along Little River in Hopkinsville.
Second Cousins Reunited
January 2006
You know, the way I remember Doris goes way back to when we were little girls picking wild flowers on the Sees farm.
Nellie means that they were at the Harry Sees farm, which was Mama's home, of course. Mama and Nellie were second cousins, if I am counting correctly. Their maternal grandmothers, Emma (Hart) Eaton and Henrietta (Hart) Barto, were sisters. They had the same maternal great grandparents, Daniel Kennard Hart and Hester (Scotten) Hart. The mothers of the two little girls were first cousins, and that makes the girls second cousins.
Mama and Nellie were good friends when they were little girls, but life separated them. Nellie's family moved to California during the Depression, and after Mama's mother, Violet (Eaton) Sees, died, I don't think Mama had much contact with the extended Hart family.
About 1990, Mama found Nellie's address on one of the Hart family newsletters that Bob Buchan of Rushville, Nebraska, published, and for the last years of Mama's life, these two cousins wrote many, many letters to each other.
Natural Night Owls
January 2006
I have speculated that this might be an inherited trait, from my mother's maternal line. Her Aunt Letha (Eaton) Blair was a professional night owl. For many years, she was the night operator at the telephone office in Bassett, Nebraska. I remember that my mom used to call Aunt Letha at night and chat with her if she wasn't busy.
After Letha retired from the telephone company, she found a job being the overnight desk clerk at the Range Hotel in Bassett. She worked there for several years before retiring completely.
I learned recently that my nephew Ben likes staying up late, also. This new bit of evidence supports my theory that there's a bit of the night owl in the family line. Keely and Isaac definitely have the trait, too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
January 2006 I have a small patch of itchy welts between two fingers of my left hand. It looks and feels a lot like poison ivy , so I wash...
-
March 2006 In the spring of 2003, Isaac and I went to a little house north of Hopkinsville. A lady was giving away kittens from a litter of ...
-
March 2006 As I took Isaac to school this morning, he was hoping for enough snow that school would be cancelled. It brought to mind a silly...
