63 years ago

March 26 1961 my baby brother was seven years old, my other baby brother was five months old and I was 9 1/2. 

It must have been close to Easter that year as my baby brother has a bunny amongst his seven candles. 

Not sure who the hair dresser was most likely my Mom...those bangs of mine will take a long time to grow out..those curls were made with those spongy pink hair rollers.

Happy Birthday to my baby brother! Welcome to your 70's.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : 1961

I found this old photo from 1961

I was ten years old. 

That is most likely my birthday cake.  My baby brother would have been seven and my other baby brother almost one.

This photo was taken in the first remodeled kitchen at the farm.

My mother made my baby brothers shirt and that bib overhauls my other baby brother is wearing.
She sewed the curtains too they were a pale yellow with a brown design. 

Note the days of the week flour sack embroidered towels hanging next to the old rotary dial wall phone...with a short cord...it was beige.

The plaster of paris fruit hung in the old kitchen too...and must have been a favorite of my Moms since it appears in the new kitchen.  The new kitchen had birch cupboards with stainless steel hardware...and a double sink.  The linoleum on the floor was a medium green color...it was a tiny hex pattern...I scrubbed it many times.
Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : First Day of School 1961

I was almost ten and going into the 5th grade.  I went to an old two room school house which later became the Community Center/Senior Citizens Center in Osage.  Mrs. Zeller taught the 5th grade, she was a kind lady.  I would get A’s in Spelling, Arithmetic and Social Studies and struggle to get a B in Science.  I got a pair of glasses before school started, it was probably the first time in five years that I could actually see the blackboard.  I would remain blind as a bat without glasses.

My baby brother would have been going into second grade with one of my favorite teachers ever, Mrs. Zauche.

Didn’t everyone wear a scarf to school and white anklets back in 1961?   Those white anklets drove me nuts after they lost their elastic they would fall down and eventually get all bunched up under my heel. That dress was beige with dark brown and teal squares. I have no idea what color the scarf was and my taste in bracelets was minimal.

Sharpening pencils. Remember that sound on the first day of school ?  Everyone had to sharpen their pencils, that must have driven the teacher nuts. We didn’t have one of those crank pencil sharpeners at home, when Dad was home he would sharpen our pencils with his knife.  We had one of those little hand held worthless sharpeners.  Far Guy was lucky, his Mom used to be a teacher and they had a crank pencil sharpener on their back porch ( because she was a teacher is probably why it was on the back porch.)

I love to stroll down the aisles that have all the school supplies. I wandered around one day recently and came home with some new pencils, pens and a notebook. What a great variety of school supplies there are nowadays! I purchased some ink pens that are all different colors of ink..pink, green ( as I scribbled the green on a piece of paper I realized that my husband used to use a green pen in high school), purple, orange and boring old blue. I like the .09 mechanical pencils…there is a difference…the .07’s lead breaks too easy for me. I am picky with my pencils.

School started yesterday here in Minnesota.  The neighborhood “gang” all reported a good day!  Miss Aubrey started kindergarten, her brothers Gavin and Jordan and cousins Anna and Mason all escorted her from the bus to her classroom.  Kate reported that the teacher said “There was a whole group of kids with Aubrey this morning!” :)

Wistful Wednesday : 1961

This is Far Guy in 1961, he was eleven. This is his second go cart. His first go cart had a hood and was quickly sold for this one that went faster. He was pretty dressed up for a go cart adventure..but then his Mother was always pretty fussy about what he wore. In fact she was fussy about what everyone wore. She used to hang Far Guy's Dads clothes out for him every evening. That way he couldn't mess up and wear something that didn't match.

The cars in this photo are pretty interesting. The Chrysler Newport was brand new in 1961, it was bird egg blue. Far Guy's older sister, Jan, drove it to Detroit Lakes one time and didn't pay any attention to the temperature gauge, she drove it until it stopped. Far Guy says that was the last time he saw that car. The 1955 Pontiac Chieftain in the background was a cream color, it had a hood ornament that would light up. Far Guy said " That car had heavy duty clear plastic seat covers, I melted perfect circles into them with the cigarette lighter." I did the same thing in one of my Dad's cars..and not in the seat covers either..I did my circles right in the actual seat.

When I first saw this photo, I asked who's cars these all were. Far Guy said they were both my Dads. Now lets see, Far Guy is eleven, his Mother didn't drive, and his sister was sixteen.. now I understand..Far Guys Dad always was looking for any excuse to buy a new car. Far Guys sister got to drive the new car, when Far Guy began to drive he drove a 1959 Desoto..hardly seems fair:)