This photo of my sister and me was taken when I was six and she was four. She's the one with the braids. I think maybe it was taken before our parents were divorced, in January 1947.
Mother made those pleated skirts for us in soft wool. They were identical, except for color. Mine was pink and my sister's was blue. I wore mine to school, where I was in first grade. We were learning to read from a "Dick and Jane" reader. Sometimes I got so confused. One of the stories was about how a group of playmates made a train out of cardboard boxes. They called it "our train." In our family, we pronounced "our" like the letter "R". For all I know, so did everyone in northwestern Pennsylvania. However, Miss Barrelle, our teacher, insisted on pronouncing "our" like "hour." So I would sit there all befuddled. The kids in the book would have called the train "R train", wouldn't they? Whoever heard of an "hour train"?
Unable to make sense of the difference between "our" and "R", I zoned out. I soon made a thrilling discovery. By pushing a pencil through the soft pink wool of my skirt, I could make a satisfying black dot. In fact, I could make 25 or more black-dot stars in a pink sky.
Mother was not pleased.
In only read the first line and while you look a little older than your sister in the photo, I wasn't sure before I read on until I compared your photo then to your current blog photo. It is an amazing likeness.
ReplyDeleteSo no dinner for dress destroying Cynthia that night?
This was the forties. I wasn't a big eater to begin with, so I wouldn't have missed dinner that much. I probably got spanked.
DeleteYes, as Andrew says, you look like your current self but surely because of the haircut. Did you sport many different hair styles during the middle years?
ReplyDeleteMaking those skirts was a labor of love for sure. Credit to your Mum for that.
I tried different hair styles, but this simple one always worked the best for me.
DeleteHow cute. You still wear your hair the same way. That's how I knew which was you.
ReplyDeleteMy hair was (still is) straight and baby-fine, and there's only so much you can do with hair like that. Had the best luck with this style.
DeleteUh oh. I imagine that was the end of the pink skirt. After reading this I had to say the word our and it came out sounding like r...lol
ReplyDeleteMaybe they had it dry-cleaned. I think it was around for awhile.
DeleteThat photo is adorable
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deleteoh my word!!! mother would have had a fit... when we moved from savannah GA to Pineville KY, in 1953, we had trouble understanding what people were saying, and they could not understand us. they said R we said our. they said far, we said Fire, the differecnes cause much merriment all of us saying it R way. make that OUR way.
ReplyDeleteWe had a minister from Mississippi and she always pronounced "many" like "minny" as in Minny Mouse. Regional accents and variations are such fun.
Deleteforgot to say, the teachers said R and I said our... talk about confused, first 3 grades teach siad our, next 5 said R
ReplyDeleteA great memory! I had a red wool dress that was a hand-me down from some cousins. It was so ITCHY that I hated wearing it and refused to do so.
ReplyDeleteMy seventh grade math teacher pronounced "seven" as 'Seben". I liked her and hoping it was an alternative pronunciation, so I tried it out at home. Casually. At supper. My family was unmoved, save dad, who asked if I was OK? Did I have something wrong with my lip?
ReplyDeleteThere is a picture of my brother and me posed like that on a bench. Must have been a popular pose.
I am Dick and Jane reader.
ReplyDeleteStay Safe and Coffee is on
I think they had a dog named "Spot" and a cat named "Puff." I can remember things like that, but not things that happened more recently.
DeleteOh my, I bet your mother was not pleased. The thing I remember about readers (this was from kindergarten, and we didn't do the Dick & Jane, but they were of that ilk) was trying to puzzle out the summary that was helpfully printed in the front.
ReplyDeleteReading in kindergarten! That came later. I'm not even sure that we learned colors or letters in kindergarten back in my day. There was no public kindergarten in our town. I went to kindergarten in a lady's house. She ran a private kindergarten for about a dozen kids. She had an assistant and a very lively imagination. She'd read us a story and then take us to see something from the story---such as the gingerbread man's house. (It was a small brown house, probably some sort of pumping station. You could look in the window and there was machinery inside.)
DeleteI sure remember those types of skirts (though my Mom couldn't really sew much by the time I was that age due to rheumatoid arthritis) and the pixie haircuts. And I don't remember any academics in kindergarten, either. I remember music with simple instruments like tambourines and musical sandblocks, story circles, and lots of finger painting. Actually, hadn't thought about kindergarten in years.
ReplyDeleteI think kindergarten was better then. Just learning to take turns, share the toys, and sit quietly during story time was probably enough.
DeleteI always loved this sweet picture, with Barba's missing teeth and your eyes projecting a little girl wiser than he years. The jumpers are very impressive. I didn't know Mary could sow like that. I can't fathom how she made such perfect pleats. What was the occasion? I am surprised she didn't French braid your hair like Barbara's as that is one style that would have worked with your (our) hair. I think you look just like your dad but wiser. And your memory for details of the past are amazing. I thought I was pretty good at that but nowhere close as good as you. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you. I am glad you enjoyed my little story.
DeleteI'll bet she was not!!!!!
ReplyDeleteVery sad about the issues, concerning different ways of saying "our" though. Sad for a child to have to go through. -sigh-
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