SOURCE
Genealogy Questionnaire Dec 1999 and Jun 2000.
MEMORIES
Grandparents- We would go to Grandma's on Christmas and eat spaghetti. She would give each of us a little money. She would always send a get well card when I was sick with 50c for a "malted".
Mom- She used to call me "a doll, a living breathing doll." She was very protective of me and because of that I was resented by some of my older sisters. While the older kids were in school we took trips to the art museum, kinderconcerts, and the library. Mom & I would read every night before bed. When I was old enough to read, I would read one page and she the next. She instilled my love of reading and to this day no matter how busy I am with work and family I always make the time to read.
Dad- A father figure in the true sense of the word. Mom would have supper ready as soon as he walked in the door from work each night. Mom would always threaten "wait until your father gets home" if we misbehaved but he wasn't much of a disciplinarian. Dad would give Mimi and I our bath. He's say "shut your face" when rinsing our hair. He started building homebuilt airplanes when I was in grade school, about the same time he decided to grow his hair until the Viet Nam war was over. All my friends thought he was "cool".
Adair- I was 2 when Adair and Marti got married. I remember when the aisle runner was rolled out I thought it was toilet paper. I thought it was so funny when the fed each other cake at the reception. Chris was born when I was almost 5. How neat to be an aunt at such a young age! He was an infant when they visited with him for the first time. Marti wanted pictures of Mimi & I holding Chris. I kept getting in the picture of Mimi holding him. Marti finally made me sit down to stay out of the picture. I was fascinated when Marti changed his diaper. She'd let me wet a wash cloth for her, and told Pop I was helping her.
Cliff- Cliff used to visit during the holidays. He taught me how to play chess when I was very young (4 or 5). He would make the king nervously pace back and forth which I thought was hilarious. He brought me a plastic lion with wheels to ride. I named it "Loras". It had a hole under it's tail and he and Adair blew cigar smoke in the hole. When I was 7 or 8, we drove to North Carolina for Cliff's wedding. We drove through the Smoky Mountains...
Jeff- ...One day it was so foggy and we were up so high that Jeff started joking that maybe we'd see some angels. When Jeff was in high school he worked at the IGA. I don't remember when he actually left home, but we would never know when he was going to show up. He'd usually be hitchhiking. One time we were in the basement with all the lights out and he was turning all the knobs on the TV causing it to make psychedelic images. I was crying that he would break the TV. When I was older (about 7) he was home and my friend and I were playing in the basement. He pretended he was a monster and really frightened my friend. Another time he poked a hole in an eggshell and drank the raw egg out.
Kathie- Kathie and I shared a room across the hall from Mom and Dad. I remember asking her if I could get into her bed at night when I was afraid, but she would always say "No". When Mom and Dad went to Europe the summer when I was 8 or 9 she was in charge. She was more strict than Mom. She made us do chores and go to bed early.
Julie- Julie was the sister I looked up to the most when I was very young. She was so kind and compassionate and comforted me when Mom yelled at me. She always fixed my hair in braids or an "Alice in Wonderland" style. One time (I was still sleeping in a crib) Mom & Dad went out for the evening. Julie hid under the crib and stuck her arm up the side after I went to bed. I was terrified and remember her laughing. When she was in high school it seemed like her boyfriend, Bruce, was always over for dinner. One time I asked her if she was taller than Bruce and he got mad at me.
Val- A great seamstress, she was always making clothes for me. One time the family took a trip to the St Louis Zoo. Val refused to go because she thought it was cruel to keep the animals in captivity. When she was in high school, she had so many friends it seemed lake the phone was always ringing for her. I remember when she announced she wanted to be an engineer and was going to Rolla. She teased me a lot and fought with Mom a lot.
Mimi- Mimi and I were very close and we played house and school together a lot. We also fought a lot. Mom and Dad called it "Bear Cubbing". She had a lot of nightmares and would call for mom in the night. We would say "Brains, no nightmares" before going to sleep to ward them off. On one trip to the St Louis Zoo , Mom & Dad made Mimi and I get our picture taken with the retiring lion tamer, and we were terrified. We used to fight a lot when we were younger and grew closer when she went away to college. We were each others' maid of honors in our weddings.
Family Traditions- On Christmas all the younger kids would decorate a box for Santa to put presents in. With so many kids it was too much for Mom & Dad to wrap all those presents. We would open presents from each other on Christmas Eve and our presents from Santa would be in our Christmas box on Christmas morning.
Adulthood memories- We travelled a lot the first 10 years of our marriage. We were able to because we waited to have children. We had a very large golden retrievere named Gus.
