Ray's Birthday

Today is my husband, Ray's birthday.He has been gone for ten years now but I still think about how much he enjoyed birthdays. His own and others. Birthdays had always been a big deal at my house growing up and it was nice to continue enjoying them. On his 60th birthday He planned it himself and invited people. No one was to bring gifts but I think he accepted cards. He had a 3 piece band and had a wonderful time. If at 87 I like birthdays myself and cards will also do and maybe I might need a little help blowing out my many candles.

My desk in the sewing room

When I was very young I had a few problems like being cross eyed and not as smart as my older sisters. I think I was as smart as my brother. My parents were sorry and decided to buy me a little desk. It was put in the sewing room by the window and it had a nice drawer where I could put in my crayons and art work and a neat little chair that I used at Christmas to hold my gifts. I had to wear a patch over one eye so the lazy eye would would work so I was sort of like a pirate. I hope it is still there in the corner at the foot of the stairs and my sister's great grandchildren can use it but it is probably rickety like me and used for fire wood. I had many great hours there while my mother's sewing machine hummed. I felt very safe and happy.

Katz Drugstore

I grew up in Topeka along with two sisters and a brother and we viewed the city to the east as the wonderland of the area. One Christmas we went to Kansas City to see the decorations. They did not have much in the Plaza then but downtown there were wonderful Christmas decorations. Emery Bird Thayer had their great Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and the shops were all decorated. We always went back through Kansas City, Kansas, to take US Highway 40 home through Perry. We made one stop at the huge Katz Store and brought a package of chocolate Hershey kisses which made the day perfect. As the time I remember was when I was three, I might be a bit hazy. I am sorry the Katz Store isn't here anymore. It still existed when we moved here in 1951.

Pulling teeth

During my lifetime I have met many dentists. My first non dentist was my father as he had a way to pull teeth. The stairway on Jewell had two entrances one from the west from my mother's sewing room and one from the living room on the east. We would stand behind the west door and my father would tie a string around the bad tooth and slam the door and the tooth came out. Then I started going to a regular dentist who always gave me a sample tube of tooth paste to take home. After we moved to Kansas City we had a variety. One was under drugs when he worked and they took is license away. One blew the bugle at the American Royal and liked to tell you over and over again, one got rich enough to retire, one told me about his colonoscopy as he worked on my teeth. I have had some really nice ones but the best always retire early but they do a good job as I still have most of my teeth at 87. Now I need a new toothbrush as my motorized one is not very good anymore.

Minister's beer Chapter 2

Since I wrote my blog about the minister's beer I have learned another chapter. It seems that my three older relations decided to taste it and did and put the lid back on as they did not like the taste. I expect I did not know as I always blabbed to my mother when my 2 sisters and brother did something interesting like that and I could get them in trouble.

2nd chapter on 1275 Jewll

One interesting thing I remember and I hope I have it correct but it really does not matter. When I was young my parents were especially fond of our minister who had come to our church from Michigan and Michigan was not a dry state and the minister missed his beer. He did not want to offend those of our congregation who might be non drinkers but he did like to have a little beer once in awhile. We kept beer for him in our refrigerator and he would come out for a drink once in awhile. I guess we were not a complete non alcoholic household. He was a good minister and my parents were sorry to have him leave for a better job, When my husband and I were going to be married my mother did not like the present minister so we were married by the president of Washburn College who was a minister.

More flowers

I was born in Topeka and lived on Polk street and when I was three my father designed a house that was built on Jewell. It was just 4 blocks from the Washburn College where my father had been a football hero back in 1913 and he was sure the team would keep winning and he did not want to pay for parking so we were close so he could walk. There was a little house on the corner which a contractor decided to build one as large as ours so he moved the small one back and it now faced 13th Street. My parents had fenced in the yard on 3 sides and had a sidewalk to the alley. There was a 3 foot space of dirt between the sidewalk and the fence. My 2 sisters and 1 brother could plant something if we wanted to. I think my mother planted a rose. I went for things like marigolds as they are a happy flower. I think one of my sisters did zinnias and then in the dirt place between the driveway to our garage and the house my mother had four-o-clocks which seem to reseed themselves like marigolds do. Our new neighbor had lots of rose bushes and I think we had a peony bush which someone drove over. It was fun being a gardener. I remember we had an apricot tree and I still love apricots, Jam is especially good. Smucker's have the same recipe if you want to know what they tasted like. My mother use to bottle root beer but I do not think she had the correct recipe as it had a tendency to blow up and startle us upstairs so we sounded like a Kansas bootlegger. It was fun growing up in that house and except for all the stairs I envy my sister. The doorways are wide so my wheelchair would not hit them like they do in my house.