1959 - 1962
I Come From Nothing: But From Where Come The Undying Thoughts I Bear?
Alice Meynell
In January, I was colonel of our area for the March of Dimes, and with my reports and the money that had been collected, I attended a wrap-up at the Coeur d' Alene Hotel, Holiday Room. The television cameras were there. I was excited that evening when the family and I turned on the TV to catch the coverage. I was panned only briefly among the others seated at the head table -- so much for my 15 minutes of fame!
 Foxy
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We were given a little Pomeranian dog by a neighbor of Opal's and we named her Foxy. Each night when Gary went to bed, he called out "Dog Please", and we would bring foxy into his room for him. Foxy was never very happy about this arrangement, and would cower when she heard these words. |
I worked on a bedroom for Barry in the basement and built a desk that fit between two closets. I put up all the drywall including the ceiling. Bob was always busy with his own pursuits and my projects didn't always rate a priority. So, being a little angry with Bob, and having no other way, I did it myself.
Barry graduated from the 8th grade at Trent School. He borrowed a suit from his cousin, Eddie. The girls all wore white dresses. Mom and George went with us to the graduation.
In the summer I was suddenly having deja-vu because on July 29 (remember this date), Barry's friends came bringing him home with injuries. They told me, "He fell from a rock at Riverlake." We put him to bed and Dr. Pierce came to the house. The doctor assured us that Barry would be all right; he had received a concussion and would be okay.
Barry kept asking me, "Mom, am I going to be all right?" And, "Mom, what did the doctor say?" "Mom, what happened?"
I kept telling him, "The doctor said you should be kept quiet." And, "Yes, he said you were going to be fine."
Years after this "fall" Barry told us that he had actually fallen from the back of a pickup truck, and his friends were reluctant to tell us.
On Labor Day before school started, we drove up North to try to find the Gardner Caves by Metaline Falls (I was fascinated by caves!). Opal and Bill went too, driving their car. I was a little disappointed at the cave. It was so small, and just had a light hanging near the entrance. Flashlights were needed in order to proceed into the innermost parts of the cave, and we didn't have them.
I had explained to Nikki about menstruation. Her only comment, "Do you have to?"
In the fall, Nikki was in the 6th grade and Barry was in his first year at West Valley High School. Gary in Kindergarten. With all three of them in school, I had mixed emotions. Before, when just Barry and Nikki were enrolled in school, I wondered, "Should I get a job or have another baby?" This time I didn't have to wonder, I was just glad to finally have time to myself. I started painting bedrooms without interruption. It was a really free feeling.
Gary started Kindergarten (he was glad he didn't have to wait another year to begin -- so was I).
Gary's Kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Jesse (Clift) McLachlan. Mary Berglund wrote this about Jesse's husband:
James McLachlan, an accomplished musician, entertained in the community with his banjo, both solo and duets with his friend, Louis Smith. They fingered each other's banjo, and flipped the banjos in the air, catching the instruments and continuing the music without missing a beat. James studied with "Dutch" Groshoff, a well-known Spokane musician. His wife, Jesse, is a teacher and gifted pianist.
At the first Preschool meeting of the year, Mrs. McLachlan had the mothers of the Kindergarteners answer a series of get-acquainted questions. One of which was to name the mother of the child with the chocolate brown eyes. Finally, Mrs. McLachlan disclosed, "I should know who it is, because I look at those brown eyes every day" -- meaning Gary.
The children had a parakeet in their classroom. The bird got loose, and they made up a song about "Tweety Bird." Something about . . ."the little rascal skipped his cage on the very first day !"
From his customers, Bob was often given television sets that should have been "junkers," and most often he was able to fix them up to be in quite good shape. So, if the occasion should arise, he would sell them and make someone a good deal. At times we had five or six TV sets all in working order. This once, though, Bob had a tiny TV which he fixed, and Gary fell in love with it. He had it in his room until the day Bob sold it. Gary was devastated! That evening when he was in the bath, I heard him sobbing his heart out. . .Oh, the injustices in this cruel world!
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When I took Gary to the dentist, he would go to sleep in the dentist's chair. I was amused at this. Dr. Fowler proceeded to do the dental work while Gary slept and that made the work quite easy. Really different from Opal's and my terror of that nemesis dentist in days past! Our vacation was one week on the Oregon Coast. We spent $48. On the way we stopped to see Bob's half-brother, John, and his wife, Virginia. |
 John and
Virginia Nance |
The children came into possession of a little gadget Bob had salvaged from the cement plant. A little counter from a belt-driven mechanism from cement production. On trips, they would push the counter to count every car, or telephone pole, or cow, etc. Slightly annoying to us after awhile. They called it a "tick-see" because that was the sound they heard it make.
In September, Bob put in an oil furnace which we bought used. We had a plenum fabricated. It was a great improvement over the floor furnace which we had installed shortly after we bought the house.
Christmas Bob told me, "That was the best dinner I have ever had." And Gary said, "This is the Christmas I'11 never hardly ever forget!" Gary had both upper front teeth missing this Christmas, and sang, "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."
At bedtime I always helped the children with their prayers when they were learning them. One night I was saying prayers with Gary and he stopped me in the middle and asked " . . if I should die?" "Yes," I said,"if I should die before I wake." ("Now, he's going to want to talk about dying!") But . . . "Oh, I thought it was 'fly-sha-die'!"
Bob's net pay was $475 per month at Ideal Cement Company. He worked Saturdays now, and took Mondays off. We picked up parts for his service business and went for rides on Mondays. We were almost comfortable with his rate of pay -- I was the one who managed our finances.
Nikki was a child who always preferred to be alone and spent much of her free time in her room. I was constantly striving to bring her out of her shell -- from ballet lessons at age three to piano lessons continuing into high school. Ballroom dancing. She didn't respond the way I had wanted. She still kept very much to herself.
 Mike
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August 27, Mom Nance moved in with us temporarily. She was ill, and could not stay alone. She was on a strict diabetic diet. She lived with us until the last of November when she felt well enough to return to her own home. Loving her dearly, still I was nervous while she was with us because I was not used to having someone else around the house. I did not quite know what roles each of us should be playing. She was always willing to help, and she made such wonderful pies!
While she was staying with us, Nikki played the piano Que Sera Sera and we gathered around the piano and sang. I noticed Mom Nance sitting in her chair and looking so sad. The words. . . whatever will be, will be. She commented that she liked that song very much.
Something I learned about her was that she chewed tobacco! I did not tell the children. It was well-known by Bob's older brothers, although I don't know if Bob realized it. Being from the Missouri Ozarks, she had just naturally fallen into this habit. Zona Nance to me was just about perfect. But, this habit of hers? Was it a part of the lore, the people, the place and time in which she lived back in Missouri?
For Mom and George's 20th Anniversary, we celebrated with a party at our house. We asked everyone who was coming that if they cared to bring a gift, to present them with a china cup-and-saucer set. Collecting these sets was a big thing then.
Halloween, Gary was a tin woodsman, a costume that I made. He really looked cute. He became separated from the other trick-or-treaters, and went to a few houses a second time. He was told by them, "You ' ve already been here!" He was embarrassed.
 Nikki Nance
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In March Nikki got the singing role of "Buttercup" in the operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore. It was presented at East Valley Junior High School. I was so proud of her! She always came through and was very poised in piano or ballet recitals. |
Now, it was March and the work at Moses Lake missile base was open; Bob began work there. As he was required only to do periodic rounds and take meter readings, he was not sure that he cared to be an "instrument man." While he was gone, I went to work on my never-ending remodeling of the homestead. I put mahogany moldings in the bedroom and hall.
April 3-5, Thelma Willging and I visited Bob and Rudy at Moses Lake. I left the the three children alone for the first time to fend for themselves while we were away for the weekend. I called them each day to check on them, and they were fine.
The men were staying in a rented house for the time they were in Moses Lake. On April 6, the work was finished, and Bob was back to work at the cement plant on April 9.
We were told Barry's IQ was 132.
Barry was so good at art in high school. He did some excellent Abe Lincoln watercolors, easily selling all of them. Our neighbor, Sheila, was in his art class. She said that often when the art instructor would suggest something to Barry, he would say, "Sure, sure," and then he would proceed to go ahead and do it his own way!
Nikki graduated from the eighth grade. The girls wore their white dresses and carried a dark red rose. A striking effect -- the boys wore dark suits. I made Nikki's dress and also the one Lorna Willging wore.
June 17 through 30 was the Eastern Washington University's Art Camp each summer for music, art and drama. Barry went, and was voted the best in art. He did some fantastic paintings.
When we went to pick him up, we had a different car. It was the time to finally get out of station wagons and into a more jaunty-looking car. We got a tan colored Ford Galaxie.
July 7 we went camping for six days. We stayed at Fort Stevens in Oregon. On the way we saw the museum at Vantage and visited the petrified forest. The museum had a mummified relic of an Indian, but the tribe's superstition would not allow the remains to be displayed.
We camped at Ocean City, Washington. Leo and Phyl were camping there. We dug clams and cooked them in butter right on the beach. We also got four crabs and fixed them for lunch. Gary and Lynn found a live baby seal on the beach. We saw the Salt Cairn in Oregon where Lewis and Clark ended their trail and made salt. Nikki became sick -- too much excitement, or too much salt water taffy.
Back home, together, Nikki and I were doing a little housework one day, and decided we should let Bob get a color TV. We thought it should be built into the living room wall so as to not take up the space the console Westinghouse TV took. This was agreeable to Bob. So it was done. Occasionally afterwards, he was asked, "Did your wife allow you to cut the hole in that wall?" And he answered, "She engineered it!."
Gary always got the best parts in the school programs. He had a loud voice, and besides the Troll for Three Billygoats Gruff he was also Scrooge.
In third grade, Mrs. Mix told me the scores Gary made in the Iowa Tests; such as reading at 8th grade level, math at 11th grade, etc. His scores were all very high, but so were some of the other third graders. She said, "I would be very surprised if he weren't Valedictorian of his high school class when he graduates. I asked, "Why is that? His IQ, maybe?" And she said, "Yes, it is 137!"
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