Memories and Stories from Carol…
A Mind in a Vacuum
Why would anyone write anything about a vacuum cleaner - a piece of necessary household equipment? They’re ugly, make loud irritating noises and have a foot-tripping cord, dangerous for old people. So again, why? Perhaps I simply have a strange fascination with them. Or is it because we haven’t always [...]
A Relationship to Treasure
Hilda Hammer stopped by to welcome me to the neighborhood in spring 1958, soon after we’d moved into the farmhouse on Cottage Grove Road. The Hammers lived a quarter mile east in the once grand Hernsmeier family homestead that included a large barn plus the three-story house (okay the third [...]
Paul Douglas, the Doll
Kari, almost five, and Lori, almost three, were excited about Christmas. Paul and I had planned to purchase each of them a nice doll, and the C & P Hardware store had a lovely display from which certainly anyone might select their favorite. Kari knew exactly what she wanted…a “Toodles” [...]
My So-So Sewing History
My mother did not sew…at all. If we needed an alteration, Mrs. Norlin, our crusty but industrious Norwegian neighbor, would come to the rescue. But we had a sewing machine - Grandma Olander’s treadle. The machine stood next to our Philco radio in the dining room. It intrigued me, and [...]
Diaper Daze
When my girlfriends begin lamenting the loss of the “good old days” when our kids were toddlers, and we had total control, they are actually being a bit delusional. My recollections in those pre-Pamper” days still make my head swirl. My world revolved around a stinky diaper pail and three [...]
Almost Perfect Wife
We rented the Hernsmeier farmhouse on Cottage Grove Road in the early 1960’s. Paul, the handsome young teacher and coach at Monona Grove, left his stay-at-home wife and little daughters for work Monday through Friday. But when the weekend arrived, the itinerary changed a bit. I had a few hours [...]
Anna, Esther & Dorothy
As they aged, my mom and her older sister Anna began to show a close physical resemblance. Growing up, the three sisters - Anna, Esther and Dorothy (my mom) had distinctive individual appearances. Anna, the eldest, lived in a lovely home in Wahoo, Nebraska, married a Swede and was very [...]
A Prized Possession
Mary Lou Lewis, Shirley Perau and I were all seniors looking forward to graduation from Osage High School, May 1954. Chatting, we discovered we each had sixth period open our last semester, and investigating options, discovered there weren’t any - we’d be in study hall. But then we discovered a [...]