More people in my life
Up the road was a dear lady who was very kind. She was a good friend of my Mom's. Her name was Orphie McKluggie. I have probably misspelled her name. Anyway, we would be out playing & she would call to us & we would go see her; she always gave us a candy bar-a whole one to each of us. You could tell she really enjoyed doing this. As I recall, she did not have any children. She lived on the five fork road.
When I was 16, I went over to Mr. & Mrs. Johns house. They lived off Route 40 back in the woods. They had a lovely home & the woods were very pretty. She taught me to cook a few things. I don't remember how long I worked for her. I so wish I could remember some of the recipes. I do remember cooking chicken pot pie, and making homemade noddles. She was very kind. I think my sister Kay worked there, but not sure. She had a son, Bill who I believe lived in Chicago & didn't get home much. Mrs. Johns was in a wheelchair. I don't know what the reason was. They had a nice fire in the fireplace in the winter that made their beautiful home cozy. The story I heard was that my mother liked Bill alot. I guess he was not interested. We didn't see him too often.
Another person who influenced me alot was my Sunday School teacher, Pearl Show. I went Sansom Chapel Methodist Church which was down the road a little way from home. Pearl told us lots of Bible stories & used Flannel Craft which we liked alot. She was a good teacher & was concerned for our salvation. By some nice person, I was able to go to camp when I was 10 years old. There I gave my life to Jesus Christ. The thing I remember most that has stayed with me for so long was that I was awed that Jesus died for my sins. It was hard for me to understand why He would do that. I remember thinking about it alot. I sang in the choir when I was older & when I was sixteen, I directed it for awhile. Now that seems absurb, but then it seemed okay. We always had Christmas programs, so we would practice & that night we would dress up, put on our best shoes & go say our parts & sing. After it was over, we each got a box of candy. Mom would not let us put the tree up until Christmas Eve. but she let us use some kind of liquid stuff to make pictures on the windows and we loved doing that. I remember making paper chains of different colors & a few decorations were brought out. Uncles Herb & Bob always bought an assortment of nuts & lots of fruit. The only gifts we got were from the Salvation Army. Years later my sisters & I would grieve because we realized that our mother never got a gift. We had no money to buy one for her. She got some money from Relief to help feed & clothe us. But we were always happy with our gift & she always cooked a wonderful meal. She was a very good cook & baker. Her maiden name was Baker. Our Dad never sent money & a couple of times he was found & put in jail. Other times he wasn't to be found. We didn't have alot but we were happy. Uncles Herb & Bob took good care of all of us. I remember sitting on Uncle Herbs lap & listening to hillbilly music before bedtime. I smile now as I remember, because I do not especially like hillbilly music. Uncle Herb always put different color lights on the big pine tree outside where we could see & enjoy them. Uncle Bob drove truck for Frazees in Hopwood & was gone for several days, depending where he was sent to deliver wood. Oh, and I can't forget to tell you that when I was about 5 I snuck on the bus before Uncle Herbie who drove the kids to school. I hid behind the last back seat & went the whole route with him. At home they were searching for me so when he got home they were still looking & then he came on the bus & found me still hiding. I don't remember if I got spanked or not.
When I was 16, I went over to Mr. & Mrs. Johns house. They lived off Route 40 back in the woods. They had a lovely home & the woods were very pretty. She taught me to cook a few things. I don't remember how long I worked for her. I so wish I could remember some of the recipes. I do remember cooking chicken pot pie, and making homemade noddles. She was very kind. I think my sister Kay worked there, but not sure. She had a son, Bill who I believe lived in Chicago & didn't get home much. Mrs. Johns was in a wheelchair. I don't know what the reason was. They had a nice fire in the fireplace in the winter that made their beautiful home cozy. The story I heard was that my mother liked Bill alot. I guess he was not interested. We didn't see him too often.
Another person who influenced me alot was my Sunday School teacher, Pearl Show. I went Sansom Chapel Methodist Church which was down the road a little way from home. Pearl told us lots of Bible stories & used Flannel Craft which we liked alot. She was a good teacher & was concerned for our salvation. By some nice person, I was able to go to camp when I was 10 years old. There I gave my life to Jesus Christ. The thing I remember most that has stayed with me for so long was that I was awed that Jesus died for my sins. It was hard for me to understand why He would do that. I remember thinking about it alot. I sang in the choir when I was older & when I was sixteen, I directed it for awhile. Now that seems absurb, but then it seemed okay. We always had Christmas programs, so we would practice & that night we would dress up, put on our best shoes & go say our parts & sing. After it was over, we each got a box of candy. Mom would not let us put the tree up until Christmas Eve. but she let us use some kind of liquid stuff to make pictures on the windows and we loved doing that. I remember making paper chains of different colors & a few decorations were brought out. Uncles Herb & Bob always bought an assortment of nuts & lots of fruit. The only gifts we got were from the Salvation Army. Years later my sisters & I would grieve because we realized that our mother never got a gift. We had no money to buy one for her. She got some money from Relief to help feed & clothe us. But we were always happy with our gift & she always cooked a wonderful meal. She was a very good cook & baker. Her maiden name was Baker. Our Dad never sent money & a couple of times he was found & put in jail. Other times he wasn't to be found. We didn't have alot but we were happy. Uncles Herb & Bob took good care of all of us. I remember sitting on Uncle Herbs lap & listening to hillbilly music before bedtime. I smile now as I remember, because I do not especially like hillbilly music. Uncle Herb always put different color lights on the big pine tree outside where we could see & enjoy them. Uncle Bob drove truck for Frazees in Hopwood & was gone for several days, depending where he was sent to deliver wood. Oh, and I can't forget to tell you that when I was about 5 I snuck on the bus before Uncle Herbie who drove the kids to school. I hid behind the last back seat & went the whole route with him. At home they were searching for me so when he got home they were still looking & then he came on the bus & found me still hiding. I don't remember if I got spanked or not.