I would have been 21 in 1933. My first presidential election was in 1936 and Franklin Roosevelt won. I don't remember much about voting but I know I always did. I remember registering to vote. We had to go to city hall. I remember we had to pay a poll tax in order to vote. My parents always voted my mother always voted and was very strong about women, and everyone voting. She must have voted in one of the first elections after women had the right to vote.
Now we are off to play bingo and eat the mint chocolate chip cookies we made earlier.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Weston and UNH
Some of my girlfriends had found Weston for another girl. She was a beautiful musician and had brittle bones. I think she was from up around Freedom, NH. When it didn't work out between them they introduced him to me. He was working in a sorority where he cleaned, and goodness knows what else he did, but they liked him. We would walk around the swimming pool and went to movies. Durham had a nice theatre that was fairly new. We went to the movies a lot, they probably cost 15 cents. We must have gotten something to eat because I can't imagine going anywhere without getting a little bite to eat. He was as poor as a bug in a rug. He had three well educated aunts, two teachers and a nurse, and they saw to it that he got his college education because his parents didn't have any money. Weston brought me home to meet his family one weekend. We took the train. We also walked from Durham to Dover, we walked along the railroad. I remember once hitchhiking all by myself from Dover to Durham. I remember Weston's father picking me up once and letting me drive his car back to Henniker.
Weston was still at UNH when I was over working for the WPA. I had my own room with bathroom and laundry over the telephone company, no kitchen-perfect for me. My mother was very glad to have me out of the house. The first thing my dad gave me for my room was a radio. The WPA didn't overpay but it was money and I was glad to have it. I ate most of my meals in the college commons for 35 cents. A Dover restaurant also had 35 cent meals. We must have had a student ID to show to get the cheap meals.
I had a variety of University jobs. The telephone company rings a bell, clever huh! Dorinda got good jobs. She worked for the head of the department but you had to watch out for him, he liked the gals a little too much.
Weston and I once climbed the water tower together. We had to climb up a ladder on the outside of it. I don't remember it bothering me. Weston and I went to church at the community church in Durham. On Sundays they would have a catholic mass. One of my friends, Elsie, and I would dress the altar for the catholics. There would be a protestant service after. The minister from the church, Fred Bushmeyer came to Nashua to marry me and Weston. My father met Weston in Durham and decided he seemed like a nice fellow.
In the summer Weston would work in the woods. I would go home in the summer. One summer I had a job in a tea room over in Hudson, it didn't work out very well. My mother must have known the owner. I would also work for my father in the summer. I remember working on the Whiting Block in Nashua with him. We had to go up into the attic and measure the whole area. Jobs were scarce so you would take anything you could get. My dad didn't have much work to do either. Restoring store fronts was one of his specialty and he made good money doing that when there was no new contruction going on.
Good old Durham, I liked it there.
Weston was still at UNH when I was over working for the WPA. I had my own room with bathroom and laundry over the telephone company, no kitchen-perfect for me. My mother was very glad to have me out of the house. The first thing my dad gave me for my room was a radio. The WPA didn't overpay but it was money and I was glad to have it. I ate most of my meals in the college commons for 35 cents. A Dover restaurant also had 35 cent meals. We must have had a student ID to show to get the cheap meals.
I had a variety of University jobs. The telephone company rings a bell, clever huh! Dorinda got good jobs. She worked for the head of the department but you had to watch out for him, he liked the gals a little too much.
Weston and I once climbed the water tower together. We had to climb up a ladder on the outside of it. I don't remember it bothering me. Weston and I went to church at the community church in Durham. On Sundays they would have a catholic mass. One of my friends, Elsie, and I would dress the altar for the catholics. There would be a protestant service after. The minister from the church, Fred Bushmeyer came to Nashua to marry me and Weston. My father met Weston in Durham and decided he seemed like a nice fellow.
In the summer Weston would work in the woods. I would go home in the summer. One summer I had a job in a tea room over in Hudson, it didn't work out very well. My mother must have known the owner. I would also work for my father in the summer. I remember working on the Whiting Block in Nashua with him. We had to go up into the attic and measure the whole area. Jobs were scarce so you would take anything you could get. My dad didn't have much work to do either. Restoring store fronts was one of his specialty and he made good money doing that when there was no new contruction going on.
Good old Durham, I liked it there.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A visit from Victoria and the kids.
Weston, Barrett and Victoria came to visit today. Bringing ice cream stuffed cupcakes and a new spring outfit for Peter.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
An article written about Edith on the occassion of her 75th college graduation
Edith Holt, First Technology “Girl” at UNH
Why would a young woman decide, in 1930, to become the first girl to attend the Institute of Technology at UNH, and major in Architecture? Perhaps it wasn’t really too surprising.
For starters, Edith came from a line of feisty women. Her grandmother Jennie Olsen emigrated from Oslo, Norway, finding her way to North Dakota, where she married and then moved back to New Hampshire. When Edith was growing up in Nashua, NH, her mother was an active suffragist, very involved in women’s issues and desiring to make it less difficult for women to get along in the world. She would have liked more education for herself. Her father was willing to send her to college, but typically of the time, she got married instead. She probably would have preferred to be a young man, as bringing up children was not her main interest and she was happy when they were “up and out.”
There were three children, Ralph, Ruth, and Edith. Ralph studied engineering at UNH in the late ‘20s. Ruth wanted to be a nurse, but her parents insisted that she at least attend college for two years. She did this, then changed to and completed a nursing program. And Edith followed in her brother’s footsteps.
Her brother Ralph was significant in many ways. He was interested from an early age in science and technology, with a bedroom that resembled a museum. Edith was his devoted follower. Family stories include him teaching her to ride his bicycle by having her balance on the crossbar (because her feet wouldn’t reach the pedals otherwise) and sending her down a hill. He also taught her to drive a car at an early age. His influence continued when she reached UNH when a faculty member determined that she was Ralph’s sister. “I hope you’re not like your brother” was his comment. Apparently, Ralph had felt that the University’s role was to provide him with laboratories and other facilities so he and some friends could pursue their own interests.
Other influences on Edith included her grandfather and father, who were involved in building design and construction. (They designed one of the fraternity houses at UNH, but I don’t know which one.) Edith attended the Institute of Technology largely to please her father, she says today. There were few obstacles. Of course, she was initially on the list for ROTC—all the engineering “boys” were on that list. To make up for those credits, she had to take physical education courses, like archery and horseback riding. At one time, for a reason lost to memory, her doctor advised her to “take it easy.” The University interpreted this by requiring her to rest in a room at the top of T Hall, despite the fact that she had to climb many flights of stairs to get there.
Academically, Edith had a lead on the boys in English courses. To this day, she says “Engineering men can’t do English—and aren’t interested in it.” Math and surveying presented no particular problems, but chemistry was a challenge. And Edith remembers spending “about 12 hours a day” in the drafting room. She was considered responsible and “not wild,” so the housemother let her stay out after hours to continue her drafting work. “I was good at it, but I was slow,” she recalls.
She had a “nice bunch of girl friends” who hung out together. She recalls that they were not “girly-girls” and “they were all smart.” She will not say that she herself was, and is, very smart, but clearly that was and is true. The boys in her classes “didn’t go out of their way to be helpful. They resented me, didn’t want girls on their territory.” Edith says that she pretty much ignored them and went about her business. She did have one date with a classmate, a “fixed-up” date. When signing in at the dorm after the date, she had to ask the boy his name!
As the newspaper article reports, she won a prize at graduation for “most academic improvement.” Edith doesn’t recall exactly what this was for, but does remember that the prize, five dollars, “was a little disappointing.”
After graduation, Edith worked for her father for a time. This was during the Depression, of course. Architecture drafting Professor Huddleston (no relation to the current UNH President) got WPA work for some of his recent graduates, measuring several Colonial-era houses in the Portsmouth area. One that was to be disassembled and moved to Massachusetts was measured in very great detail. You will find this project at http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/wpa-buildings/drawings and http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/wpa-buildings/descriptions. Searching these documents, you will find references to Edith V. Holt and to Dorinda Hinckley, who was one of the gang of girls and followed Edith in the School of Technology.
[A recent reference to one of these houses is at http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please121501.html. Recent history of the house is found at http://www.paulwentworthhouse.org/index.html. Edith was interviewed during this project, in 2003 or 2004; I have a videotape of that interview, but it is not available on-line, so far as I can tell. It includes some of her memories of the measurement project.]
Otherwise, Edith never used her education in engineering and architecture. She raised three daughters, and when they were well launched in school she took a job at the Nashua Public Library
Now, in her late 90s, Edith doesn’t feel that gender should be a factor in one’s career choice, and simply says “Maybe I was thinking ahead of my time” and “Now you’re good because you’re good, not because you are a girl or a boy.” Asked how education will be different for her five great-grandchildren, she says that it “depends on what kind of mind they have.” She believes they can and should explore whatever they want. Instead of having to take a specific number of credits, they should be able to stray away and do other things, take a trip abroad. “Use the world to meet their needs, instead of conforming to the supposed needs of the world.”
Why would a young woman decide, in 1930, to become the first girl to attend the Institute of Technology at UNH, and major in Architecture? Perhaps it wasn’t really too surprising.
For starters, Edith came from a line of feisty women. Her grandmother Jennie Olsen emigrated from Oslo, Norway, finding her way to North Dakota, where she married and then moved back to New Hampshire. When Edith was growing up in Nashua, NH, her mother was an active suffragist, very involved in women’s issues and desiring to make it less difficult for women to get along in the world. She would have liked more education for herself. Her father was willing to send her to college, but typically of the time, she got married instead. She probably would have preferred to be a young man, as bringing up children was not her main interest and she was happy when they were “up and out.”
There were three children, Ralph, Ruth, and Edith. Ralph studied engineering at UNH in the late ‘20s. Ruth wanted to be a nurse, but her parents insisted that she at least attend college for two years. She did this, then changed to and completed a nursing program. And Edith followed in her brother’s footsteps.
Her brother Ralph was significant in many ways. He was interested from an early age in science and technology, with a bedroom that resembled a museum. Edith was his devoted follower. Family stories include him teaching her to ride his bicycle by having her balance on the crossbar (because her feet wouldn’t reach the pedals otherwise) and sending her down a hill. He also taught her to drive a car at an early age. His influence continued when she reached UNH when a faculty member determined that she was Ralph’s sister. “I hope you’re not like your brother” was his comment. Apparently, Ralph had felt that the University’s role was to provide him with laboratories and other facilities so he and some friends could pursue their own interests.
Other influences on Edith included her grandfather and father, who were involved in building design and construction. (They designed one of the fraternity houses at UNH, but I don’t know which one.) Edith attended the Institute of Technology largely to please her father, she says today. There were few obstacles. Of course, she was initially on the list for ROTC—all the engineering “boys” were on that list. To make up for those credits, she had to take physical education courses, like archery and horseback riding. At one time, for a reason lost to memory, her doctor advised her to “take it easy.” The University interpreted this by requiring her to rest in a room at the top of T Hall, despite the fact that she had to climb many flights of stairs to get there.
Academically, Edith had a lead on the boys in English courses. To this day, she says “Engineering men can’t do English—and aren’t interested in it.” Math and surveying presented no particular problems, but chemistry was a challenge. And Edith remembers spending “about 12 hours a day” in the drafting room. She was considered responsible and “not wild,” so the housemother let her stay out after hours to continue her drafting work. “I was good at it, but I was slow,” she recalls.
She had a “nice bunch of girl friends” who hung out together. She recalls that they were not “girly-girls” and “they were all smart.” She will not say that she herself was, and is, very smart, but clearly that was and is true. The boys in her classes “didn’t go out of their way to be helpful. They resented me, didn’t want girls on their territory.” Edith says that she pretty much ignored them and went about her business. She did have one date with a classmate, a “fixed-up” date. When signing in at the dorm after the date, she had to ask the boy his name!
As the newspaper article reports, she won a prize at graduation for “most academic improvement.” Edith doesn’t recall exactly what this was for, but does remember that the prize, five dollars, “was a little disappointing.”
After graduation, Edith worked for her father for a time. This was during the Depression, of course. Architecture drafting Professor Huddleston (no relation to the current UNH President) got WPA work for some of his recent graduates, measuring several Colonial-era houses in the Portsmouth area. One that was to be disassembled and moved to Massachusetts was measured in very great detail. You will find this project at http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/wpa-buildings/drawings and http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/wpa-buildings/descriptions. Searching these documents, you will find references to Edith V. Holt and to Dorinda Hinckley, who was one of the gang of girls and followed Edith in the School of Technology.
[A recent reference to one of these houses is at http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please121501.html. Recent history of the house is found at http://www.paulwentworthhouse.org/index.html. Edith was interviewed during this project, in 2003 or 2004; I have a videotape of that interview, but it is not available on-line, so far as I can tell. It includes some of her memories of the measurement project.]
Otherwise, Edith never used her education in engineering and architecture. She raised three daughters, and when they were well launched in school she took a job at the Nashua Public Library
Now, in her late 90s, Edith doesn’t feel that gender should be a factor in one’s career choice, and simply says “Maybe I was thinking ahead of my time” and “Now you’re good because you’re good, not because you are a girl or a boy.” Asked how education will be different for her five great-grandchildren, she says that it “depends on what kind of mind they have.” She believes they can and should explore whatever they want. Instead of having to take a specific number of credits, they should be able to stray away and do other things, take a trip abroad. “Use the world to meet their needs, instead of conforming to the supposed needs of the world.”
A visit from Sylvia and Edie
Today Sylvia and Edie came to visit. I enjoyed it very much and want them to come back soon. When we have some warm weather we will go get something somewhere which is to their liking. I remember Edie as a baby, I think they were living on Taylor Road but I may be wrong. She must have been a pretty baby, I don't know how she could help it. She a beautiful woman now. I think Sylvia was the baby who cried a lot. I remember her being very blond. She is a very attractive woman. The girls don't look too much alike. Edith was named after me and her Great Grammy Edith.Friday, February 19, 2010
Grandpa Davis
I remember Grandpa Davis. He smoked a pipe or a cigar and always had a spitoon beside him. Grandpa Davis was born in Massachusetts and moved up Maine to live with his grandparents after his parents died. He travelled out to the Dakotas (he was a travelling man) where he met my Grandmother. She had come from Norway to live her brothers. They got married in the Dakotas and they had my Autie Vic there and then moved to Nashua where my mother was born. He worked for Avery's Furniture Store first as a tin whacker and eventually as part owner. My cousin Doris and I were allowed to play in the store window where we would make believe we were manequins.
Grandpa Davis was just plain nice - not cutesey nice. He had a bad stutter when he spoke so you had to be a very careful listener. No body every made fun of him and he was a good business man. When he was sitting down in his chair he smoked his cigar or his pipe. It is amazing that my grandma allowed that in her house. He and my grandmother loved to go for rides on Sunday. My father would drive and I would go along. He loved to go the the beach and have a shore dinner - everything fishy. Chowder and a lot of fried food. I would eat a slice of sword fish. I didn't like the bones in haddock and other fish. He would have us drive him to the beach, we would go up to York, there was a special place he liked to go and he treated everyone with a good dinner. He liked to go to the ocean, I always think of him as an old man so I don't know if he liked to sit on the beach or swim.
Granpa Davis was just average height and Grandma Davis was short. He was a thin man with long thin fingers. They lived down in the South end and I remember one Christmas we celebrated Christmas Eve at their house and it was close to the church. They lived in a very nice apartment house and had a very nice Victrola. Grammy Davis loved music. She was very active in the church. My sister was a real buddy to my Grammy Davis. I didn't get in on a lot of stuff because I was too young. Grammy Davis use to take the kids to Canobie Lake and to Hampton Beach but I couldn't go because if I rode on trolly cars I would throw up and nobody wanted me with them. I was no addition to the playful gang. I could hardly ride in a regular car as we would have to stop a half dozen times to throw up. Once I could drive I never got sick in a car again.
I think of Grandpa Davis travelling a lot by himself. He always liked to go places. Once in awhile he would take Grandma Davis to church somewhere around Boston, Cambridge I believe, because there was not Lutheran church in New Hampshire. Grandma Davis would often pick up a Norwegian newspaper - she had the cutest accent. I don't know if she ever had any contact with her brothers or other family after she moved to Nashua. Weston and I went out to Wolcott, North Dakota once and hunted up some people who knew of the family.
Grandpa Davis was just plain nice - not cutesey nice. He had a bad stutter when he spoke so you had to be a very careful listener. No body every made fun of him and he was a good business man. When he was sitting down in his chair he smoked his cigar or his pipe. It is amazing that my grandma allowed that in her house. He and my grandmother loved to go for rides on Sunday. My father would drive and I would go along. He loved to go the the beach and have a shore dinner - everything fishy. Chowder and a lot of fried food. I would eat a slice of sword fish. I didn't like the bones in haddock and other fish. He would have us drive him to the beach, we would go up to York, there was a special place he liked to go and he treated everyone with a good dinner. He liked to go to the ocean, I always think of him as an old man so I don't know if he liked to sit on the beach or swim.
Granpa Davis was just average height and Grandma Davis was short. He was a thin man with long thin fingers. They lived down in the South end and I remember one Christmas we celebrated Christmas Eve at their house and it was close to the church. They lived in a very nice apartment house and had a very nice Victrola. Grammy Davis loved music. She was very active in the church. My sister was a real buddy to my Grammy Davis. I didn't get in on a lot of stuff because I was too young. Grammy Davis use to take the kids to Canobie Lake and to Hampton Beach but I couldn't go because if I rode on trolly cars I would throw up and nobody wanted me with them. I was no addition to the playful gang. I could hardly ride in a regular car as we would have to stop a half dozen times to throw up. Once I could drive I never got sick in a car again.
I think of Grandpa Davis travelling a lot by himself. He always liked to go places. Once in awhile he would take Grandma Davis to church somewhere around Boston, Cambridge I believe, because there was not Lutheran church in New Hampshire. Grandma Davis would often pick up a Norwegian newspaper - she had the cutest accent. I don't know if she ever had any contact with her brothers or other family after she moved to Nashua. Weston and I went out to Wolcott, North Dakota once and hunted up some people who knew of the family.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Today we went to a birthday party for Zoe who is 4 years old today. They came to visit me and we had cake and ice cream. And they were so good .
Apparently we did not celebrate birthdays to the point that I would remember. We had very few birthday parties. I remember maybe one or two when I was older and my sister could take over. We did get birthday presents, you know the kinds of things you would ask for. I remember getting clothes, something special, dressy kind of clothes. I think we were overly reserved about birthdays. When I was little I would buy my grandma a dust cap, the kind of pretty caps that she would wear when she did her housecleaning. And she would always give us homemade pajamas or nighties. She would also make nice food. She always had a room full of cloth which was open to us to use to make doll clothes and stuff. I remeber giving my mother a framed picture when I was a little bit older which she loved and hung on the wall. I would usually give my father neckties and later on a new shirt.
I do remember celebrating Christmas. My parents behind the bedroom doors would be wrapping packages and we would be trying to peak around the door. We celebrated Christmas quite well. My big brother hung his stocking up but my sister and I would have to bring it up to him in bed because he was too lazy to get up. He had the big back room and he would sit there like a king while I would bring his eggnog up to him. Santa Clause would bring us socks - he was very pactical. In my brother's case he would bring magazines, Scientific America. We would also get toys, my favorite was the thing that ran like a truck on a track, you could fill it with sand because it's mechanism would tow it up the hill and dump it. It was wonderful. Christmas was fine. We got up early, early, early in the morning. Once my brother built and shot off a bomb in the back yard on Christmas. Very often my father and I would go to midnight service. My mother was probably too damned tired from cooking or closeted in her bedroom wrapping packages. My dad was always right there preparing the holiday meals and he was damned good at it. That's where he really helped out my mom. I think by the time I arrived my mother wanted to do her thing and get out of the house. She belonged to a lot of clubs and liked to take courses which is probably why I spent so much time with my father. I remember how on Saturdays my mother would be home doing the heavy housework and I would be in Boston with my father.
Apparently we did not celebrate birthdays to the point that I would remember. We had very few birthday parties. I remember maybe one or two when I was older and my sister could take over. We did get birthday presents, you know the kinds of things you would ask for. I remember getting clothes, something special, dressy kind of clothes. I think we were overly reserved about birthdays. When I was little I would buy my grandma a dust cap, the kind of pretty caps that she would wear when she did her housecleaning. And she would always give us homemade pajamas or nighties. She would also make nice food. She always had a room full of cloth which was open to us to use to make doll clothes and stuff. I remeber giving my mother a framed picture when I was a little bit older which she loved and hung on the wall. I would usually give my father neckties and later on a new shirt.
I do remember celebrating Christmas. My parents behind the bedroom doors would be wrapping packages and we would be trying to peak around the door. We celebrated Christmas quite well. My big brother hung his stocking up but my sister and I would have to bring it up to him in bed because he was too lazy to get up. He had the big back room and he would sit there like a king while I would bring his eggnog up to him. Santa Clause would bring us socks - he was very pactical. In my brother's case he would bring magazines, Scientific America. We would also get toys, my favorite was the thing that ran like a truck on a track, you could fill it with sand because it's mechanism would tow it up the hill and dump it. It was wonderful. Christmas was fine. We got up early, early, early in the morning. Once my brother built and shot off a bomb in the back yard on Christmas. Very often my father and I would go to midnight service. My mother was probably too damned tired from cooking or closeted in her bedroom wrapping packages. My dad was always right there preparing the holiday meals and he was damned good at it. That's where he really helped out my mom. I think by the time I arrived my mother wanted to do her thing and get out of the house. She belonged to a lot of clubs and liked to take courses which is probably why I spent so much time with my father. I remember how on Saturdays my mother would be home doing the heavy housework and I would be in Boston with my father.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Driving
My brother Ralph taught me to drive a car when I was 14. I was a nice tall girl. When I went to get my driver's license I drove myself to the examiner's house. He asked me where my father was, he was building the Montgomery Ward building on Main Street so we drove to Main Street and that was my driving test. I drove around our neighborhood alone. My dad was a builder and was building houses on Chester Street and his workmen told him that they saw me drving around. I decided to teach my next door neighbor Ethel to drive. I thought if I could drive she could drive. Of course she was nearly blind from birth but was very capable of taking care of herself. As far as I remember she did ok and she drove all around the north end. Remember the streets were not all there, of course neither was I! I liked to watch my brother fix the car. The first car I drove was an Erskine. When I was a teenager my father would send me up to Manchester to pick up lumber. I would drive his pickup truck. I had more fun than my sister. She had all the boyfriends but I had all the fun! My sister and my mother never drove until later in their lives. Sometimes I would drive down to Boston with my father. I would have to go through Lexington and Arlington as there was no real highway. In fact I drove it alone to pick up my sister at Massachusetts General Hospital when she had a day off. When I was a senior I sometimes got to drive the car to high school. When I was graduating from college my father told me he was going to give me something round and shiney and I was sure it was going to be a new car. He actually gave me a diamond ring. I would rather have had a car.
On growing up tall
I was 5' 10" when I was in junior high school. The boys, the poor little runts, didn't like me towering over them. My father was always bugging me to stand up straight. My sister was such a cute little runt. My father built me a jungle gym in the back yard with rings and bars and it made my sister angry because I liked to hand upside down when she was entertaining her boyfriends. Girl's pants hadn't been invented yet so I would be wearing a dress. I had a nice tall brother who was 6' 3". They were always putting their hands on my back and telling me to stand up straight. Buying clothes was a pain in the rump and we usually had to go to Lowell to buy clothes. I had an aunt who did some pretty good sewing for me. Shoes were hard to buy. They didn't make women's shoes my size. We had to go to different towns and stores to buy shoes, probably to some circus store. But I survived. I didn't get many dates you understand because none of they guys were as tall as I was. Once in a while my sister would lend me one of hers but I didn't really much care about it. For my prom my brother scheduled a bunch of his friends to dance with me so I wouldn't stand around alone. My mother was tall for the time, probably around 5' 8". It never seemed to bother her. When I got to college it seemed that heights leveled out. In fact all the classes I took did not have a girl in them as there was not a girl in the science department. They came a short while later. It never really bothered me. I didn't mind being tall. No particular benefits but it didn't really bother me. My sister Ruthie was very short, very cute and very smart. Once when Ruthie lent me a boyfriend he told me I wasn't really as romantic as my sister.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
cooking and sewing
I did like to sew and I did like to do a certain amount of baking - not too long or too complicated. I made clothes for the children. The hardest thing I ever made was a snowsuit for Jean, it was a hell of a job. It was made of heavy wool, it was all lined and it was so hard to stitch through. I did not have an electric sewing machine at that time.
I had to make a dress for my Jr. High graduation and my auntie Vic had to come up to help me finish it. It ws made of a satiny fabric and had great big ruffles around it and it was hard work. It was a class project and I got a little behind (not that I had a little behind) but I finished it in time for graduation.
I liked to make cakes because you could be pretty sure of a good result. We made cakes from scratch of course and I made real confectioners sugar frosting. I could also make good pies. I found pie crust generally very easy to make to come out right. I must say I think I cooked quite well. I also made molasses cookies that were quite wonderful. I did fairly good with the cooking business.
I had to make a dress for my Jr. High graduation and my auntie Vic had to come up to help me finish it. It ws made of a satiny fabric and had great big ruffles around it and it was hard work. It was a class project and I got a little behind (not that I had a little behind) but I finished it in time for graduation.
I liked to make cakes because you could be pretty sure of a good result. We made cakes from scratch of course and I made real confectioners sugar frosting. I could also make good pies. I found pie crust generally very easy to make to come out right. I must say I think I cooked quite well. I also made molasses cookies that were quite wonderful. I did fairly good with the cooking business.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
STORM MEMORIES
I was living with my mother in an apartment in the early thirties. I was working at Memorial Hospital doing clerical work at the front registration desk. There was a hard storm, a hurricane, and I couldn't go home from the hospital which left my mother alone and I had her car. I had to sleep in a nurses room which was not to my great delight. There were several of us who had to sleep over. I didn't much care for sleeping in the hospital. I had to continue working on the front desk during the night. The secretary they had on the desk was a good one but a hell of one. She made us girls work too late. She had to send home as many people as she could but had to keep some of us around to keep the hospital open.
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