MPT Part 2: Toys, Fashion, and More Riding Along

This is the second in a series of 15 blogs I'm writing for Mommy's Piggy Tales .  Janna has provided a forum for members to write and share stories from their youth.  Since I now have five young grandchildren, I want to develop my personal history for them.  These stories are targeted for an 8-year-old granddaughter now.  I have similar photos of her with her toys and tricycle.  In time, I hope to modify and personalize the stories for the younger grandchildren with their coordinating photos.



Preschool/Kindergarten:  Toys, Fashion, and More Riding Along

Our young family moved back to the small Nebraska town in 1944 where we were "city farmers."  

During this time span my dad initiated a major change for the farm by building terraces.  He had to convince my grandfather (and it wasn't easy!) to finance and support the project.  Actually, it took several years of improved yields by conserving water to make the case.  In time, my grandfather agreed to expand the terracing throughout the farm, although, he never learned how to drive his car over them!  My dad and the other workers shook their heads and chuckled to themselves when they had to stop work to rescue Grandpa and his blue Plymouth hung up on yet another field terrace!

I worked hard on my own driving skills, on the farm and in town! The John Deere was quite a challenge, but  I mastered the coolest tricycle ever invented, a stand-up three-wheeler.

Age 2 and 3

We lived in what we affectionately call the "Little House" in town with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bath.  It did have an unfinished basement and a garage under the house.  I played outside whenever possible usually with my cousin who lived just two houses down around the corner, my sister, and other children in the neighborhood.  We played dolls, made mud pies and had tournaments in jacks.  My sister and her friends could easily beat the younger kids.  Maybe that's why they were the organizers!

For indoor fun, I remember playing while my mother sewed on her treadle Singer machine in their bedroom.  I spent hours arranging the buttons that were kept in a cigar box.  They were "people" with distinct personalities based on their size and shapes.  I made families with the larger buttons for adults and the smaller ones (probably cut from my dad's old work shirts) as the children.  Then I built houses from wooden blocks leaving spaces for the "button people."   Hmm, did Fisher-Price get their idea for  "Little People" from observing children like me?  These days children wouldn't be allowed to play with buttons for fear of a choking hazard,  but I don't remember ever trying to put them in my mouth.

My mom and dad told this story about me when I was four.

Karen often played with the cans of food in the kitchen, arranging them under the table and on the step stool.  She would be totally absorbed in her imaginary games.  

One day she was upset and cried, "Where's Herman?" 

"What do you mean, Karen?"  my mom asked.

"Herman is gone. I cannot find him anywhere. He's my favorite person."  

We looked in the trash together and found an empty can of pumpkin, my missing can.  At the same time, we could smell dear "Herman" in a pie for dinner. I did not eat dessert that night.

As I grew older I wondered why they retold this story so often.  Friends and family have heard it many times...like whenever we had pumpkin pie.  Now I realize that it was my mom and dad who laughed the most.  They enjoyed linking a childhood event for their second child to a favorite food.   Now that I am a parent and grandparent, I realize that sometimes ordinary things are handy ways to preserve precious memories.

Me at ages 18 months, 4 years, and 5 years with two "top-knots," high top shoes and pig tails.

It's fun to look at old photos to notice the hair, clothes, and shoes.  I wore a "top knot" which was held tightly by four bobby pins.  If the pins came out, I couldn't see and it was very uncomfortable.  I don't know why, but my mom didn't like bangs on me.... and I never had them! Children wore "high-top" shoes until we were about 4.  In those days, people thought children needed support for their ankles, and all kids wore high tops:  white for girls, brown for boys.  The shoe laces broke easily!

In the third photo above, it had to be summer because my hair was in pig tails (what we called braids then).  I would have been wearing sandals with buckle straps, either white or red.  If mine were white, my sister's were red... or vice-versa.  As you can see below, we wore socks with the sandals, too.


The piano was always an important center in our household.  My mother was a naturally gifted musician, although she really didn't have much formal training.  She played the piano and served as church organist and choir director for 47 years.  We sang for as long as I can remember.   My sister inherited many more of the family "music genes" than I did!  However, I took the required piano lessons for years (stories later) and  I have always enjoyed music.


 
I started school at age 5 in one of the two elementary schools in town.  We always wore dresses to school.  For the first day of school, I chose one with lots of little clocks on it.  I loved that dress! Before school began each fall, my mom gave us the dreaded Toni home permanent.  It was smelly, took all day, and was no fun at all.  Thankfully, she only did it once a year!  Usually we wore saddle shoes to school but we had only one pair at a time.   Something that we had which little girls today still enjoy were the "days of the week" panties.  I always wondered what would happen if I wore the wrong day.  But I never tried that! Perhaps this was an early indication that I had an analytical mind.

    My cousin and I were in the same class from Kindergarten through High School, usually in the same section.  We walked to school together in the morning and played together in the afternoon.  I am 7 months older than she is.  We're still very close and e-mail regularly.  But now we talk about our grandchildren!

These photos were taken on a Sunday in the summer of 1949 at the end of our first visit "alone" to our maternal grandparents house, about 3 hours away from our town.   How do I know that?  My hair is in pig tails, we're wearing sandal shoes and my cousin is in her "Sunday" dress! We had finished kindergarten and were deemed old enough to take a trip without our parents!  We had our suitcase and dolls and we were ready to jump into Grandpa's Studebaker.   Soon we'd be riding along home!