Prom server dress

My daughter, Cindy, had several friends but two were special--Stacy and Kristen. I liked them also and they had nice mothers. The three of them opened up schools like Trailridge Junior High or is it middle school and Northwest High School. For that matter when it was time to go to high school the building for the high school was not done. They went to Trailridge half a day and the Junior High went half a day. It meant that Cindy and our son Scott did not get to argue as much as they liked. The principal of Northwest had many bright ideas like three semesters instead of two. The PTA had three presidents--a parent, a teacher and a student. Ray was the parent. I do not remember the teacher but the student was killed during spring break that year. He fell off a log while hiking and drowned. Come the Junior-Senior Prom it was going to be like Romeo and Juliet. The three friends as sophomores were servers and were to wear dresses with the theme. I picked up the material for Cindy's dress and picked the wrong side of the material so her dress was wrong side out. One of the mother's of her two friends said if you could not tell it riding by on a galloping horse it did not matter. Cindy was brave and wore it.

Motheritis

I hope I spelled my title correctly but it means I did not like to be separated at night from my mother unless I was in my own bed. Many sleepovers I was brought home in the middle of the night by disgusted parents of friends. I gave up on them and never accepted. Finally in high school my church group was going to camp near Manhattan. My mother said she would write me everyday but would not visit on Parent's Day. I made it through but I still stayed home after I came back.

I shall give you a few of the adventures I had at camp. The food was not great. For instance they had oatmeal one day and Cream of Wheat the next day. On the third day they dumped what was left together. We were hungry a lot and we made peanut butter sandwiches. One night we were very thirsty. I was the only one still dressed so I went after the water. When I got to the dining room they were getting ready to blow taps. I ran across to the water jug and turned on the faucet. Pretty soon there were two feet--women's (the headmaster's wife). She asked what the water was for. As I crossed the mess hall floor I spilled the water. One pajama leg came unrolled.(That is what saved my life.) The bugler was laughing so hard he could not play taps.

Dust Storms

When I was probaly in the 5th grade Kansas had dust storms. They were not nice but Kansas did not have them as bad as Oklahoma. I know walking to school and recess you had to put a wet hankerchief over your face to breath. If we went out to recess you lined up at the drinking fountain to get your hankerchief wet, It must have really been awful for my future husband with asthma but he went to Quinton Heights not Randolph so I don't know. The sky was brown all the time even when thwe sun shone through the clouds. No one could keep their house clean as the dust was everywhere. I don't remmeber how the wheat farmers did that year but while it was not as bad as Oklahoma Kansas had trouble.

Rules for a hostess

1. Carry your yellow hostess card at all functions here and at the Fort.
2. Please serve when asked. Please do not come if you are not called.
3. Every Junior Hostess must stay throughout the party or function and assume responsibility connected with it. She will not be allowed to leave the building until the entire function is closed. Each hostess is responsible for her own conduct. Any hostess violating the rules must have permission of the U.S.O. Officials will have her name removed from the card list.
4. Clothing for the hostesses at informal dances will be one-piece dress and long hose(committee suggests no sweaters or skirts). For formal dances, dresses with jackets or sleeves.
5. Remember you arean official hostess (volunteer) and it is your duty to dance and associate with several soldiers during the evening. Be a good mixer.
6. If you smoke, please do it in the ladies lounge only

I hope to become better acquainted with you girls. We will have a happy time, serving together. Yours truly Mrs. W. D. Culbertson, USO Director
During this time I was also dating Ray (my future husband) and Mrs. Culbertson did not like him and said so and told my mother she should not allow it. My mother ignored the advice.

USO Hostess

World War 2 started when I was a freshman in college and everything changed. Most of the men left the campus and we had the air force and navy at Washburn. My sister, Helen, along with my friend Mary Jane decided to become USO hostesses. We were interviewed at the YMCA. We were told the rules, like you dance with anyone who asks you, you wear proper clothing. If you don't they would send you home and you didn't come back. Dances were held at the YMCA in the gym. If you minded all the rules, once a month you were eligible to wear a formal and attend the dance in the Municipal Auditorium. The soldiers were mostly from Fort Riley at first. They were Calvary men and wore big boots. I guess they rode horses but I can't think they had horses during World War 2 in Europe or Asia. As time went by the Topeka Air Base had soldiers and Winter Hospital. When they had a dance at the Topeka Air Base you rode out to the Air Base in a canvas covered truck which was a little cool in the winter time. You did not dance there as most of the soldiers were just back from the front and you were to talk to them. They mostly just stared at you. They were just glad to be back in the USA. The hospital mostly stared also. At school you could tell when the seasons changed as they changed outfits. I had to learn to keep my seat and not stand up when they did to salute the teacher. I played a lot of pool and could beat them most of the time which surprised them but they looked sad so I quit that and let them win. At the monthly dance the buses in Topeka stopped before the dance did. You were not allowed to leave the dance until it was done. One time my mother would pick us up and the next time Mary Jane's dad would pick us up. The next day the buses were running so you could get home. I loved Mary Jane's house as she lived beside the Santa Fe tracks and had engines going by all the time. I generally sat up straight in bed as they woke me as our neighborhood was kind of quiet. I don't know if we helped the soldiers much but we tried. Some of the hostesses made dates for later but I only tried it once to go bowling and it was a disaster. I think we went bowling. Going to movies and bowling were Topeka's big activities for social life.

Nurses Aides and World War II

During World War Two, one of my friends married a soldier and she wanted my sister, Helen, and I to sign up to be Nurses Aids. She, herself took the classes and quit before she ever served but Helen and I stuck it out. We really looked cute in our outfits. Topeka had many hospitals--Stormont, Santa Fe, Christ, St Francis. We took our training and were assigned to Christ (It is now Stormont-Vail). Helen took the maternity floor because she said you do the same thing and don't have to think. I was moved all over the hospital. At that time if we went anywhere our mother would tell us to wear our good underwear and drive carefully in case we had a wreck. When I was assigned what later became the emergency room and had a victim who was in a motorcycle wreck I cut off her underwear and did not judge her. Helen and I worked every Monday night and Sunday mornings. If you worked Sunday they gave you ice cream. That was the only place you get got it. On Monday nights you put the patients to bed for the night. You gave them the bed pan and took all their flowers and put them out in the hall. The flowers would use up the oxygen they needed to breathe. I thought plants gave out oxygen but I minded the rules. Sometimes I was assigned the maternity floor also and I generally had the job of sitting with the patient until she was ready to deliver as few had husbands to sit with them. The worst occasion I had was a male member of my church who was a patient and getting him ready for the night I spilled the bedpan and had to go get a mop and clean it up. There was a shortage of janitors to do the job. It was only as bad as when I was on the operating floor a couple of people who had come to give blood threw up in the elevator and I had to clean it up. I gave blood many times but did not throw up. I was in the gallon club and they finally told me I needed my blood more than they did so not to come any more. Helen and I finished our hours and gave it up and relaxed to just be USO hostesses.

One too many cubs

When I was a Den mother I took my den on many things and was always afraid I would lose one. One year we were at Scoutarama with my eight little cubs and I kept counting and I suddenly realized I had nine instead of eight. That is not good. I called a halt and looked under each little hat and found one that was not mine. I said "You are not mine." The little cub said yes but he got lost from his den. We marched down to the lost and found department and found a frantic den mother who was glad to see us. I wished him goodbye and took my group off.