Lets go back 50 yrs...yes, 50 years...to the little 6 year old girl standing on the far right, front row, standing with her the children in the little community as far West as the United States will go. Petrolia,California in Humbolt County, near the ocean. Today, 2009, it is more of a hippie community, a bit scarey to visit.
Standing with them is the Principal, Mr. Shepherd, probably 32 years old he was the little 6 year olds daddy, and Mrs. Johnson her 1st grade teacher.
There were two wooden school houses on the school property and a home next to the school in which we lived, mother watched my little brother Roger, cooked nice meals as I went to school. We played alot of dodgeball, hopscotch,jacks, marbles and jumprope and had wonderful art classes my dad would teach.
Each row of desks represented a grade. I believe it was grades 1 thru 7, I could this day name at least 1/2 of the children, there was a family of boys Timmy, Terry and Tommy, Mary Ellen stands next to me, and the dress I remember very well, nicely pressed. My mother always styled my hair in ringlets using bobby pins and I would have to sleep with them every night.
This area was a farming community, which was a good 45 minute drive down beautiful hills with winding roads making me car sick and passing logging trucks that scared us to death and mother screaming that we better not fall off the road. We then could view the big blue Pacific Ocean and smell the salty water. My dad took us to the ocean many days hunting for sea shells, big glass balls that had floated in from Japanese boats and I always found the quick sand or some gross dead stingray
.
In town there was one tiny tiny gas station, that was it. There were rows of eucaplyptus trees around the school yard they were big & very old and to this day I can smell them.
The reason I tell this story is to set you up for the first Halloween that I can remember...which was here with these students in this chippy white painted school house. Maybe it will encourage you to go down memory lane and write your Halloween stories.
However, because I have taken a class this past month in personal history and we are learning that we must add more detail as 100 years from our lives our posterity may just find it interesting to read how we lived, about our first schools our first holidays, what was going on in the world at the time etc. etc. I want to ask who took this picture, what time of year it was, what were our ages and tell how he became the principal here, all the way from Utah.
Just a hint about Halloween and then I must get off the computer, I believe the storm outside is knocking out power. Tomorrow I will call my dad and have him write the detail that he remembers to fill in the blanks that I would have no way of knowing.
My dad was the HOLIDAY LOVER at my home, being an elementary principal and 5th grade school teacher I guess it makes sense.
This is really Julie at Idyllhours blog fault, talking about how she got her love of Halloween from her Mother. It got me thinking...how did I get MY first Halloween memories? It made me do a search for this picture to share with you.
I can see the party in my mind, as we did have a primitive style home movies camera that we played over and over...for many years after. So many details I want to know, and hoping he can remember...not sure.
Tomorrow...I will share, if not, lets go for Tuesday.
