Grocery Memz

Our granddaughter Nell's 4th birthday was September 5th. Brings back memz of the day she was born. It was the year Covid changed life around the world. Paul and I planned to camp out in Southern Iowa - so the car was all loaded up with gear and kayaks. We ventured south and discovered the place we booked for an overnight - Shimek State Forest - had no toilets. Not even the "no running water" kind. No can do! 

Then we got word from Jud that Kara was in the hospital - starting induced labor. Feelings of joy and anticipation took over. We got distracted from our original plan. 

Plan B was to continue on to Lake Rathbun and check out kayaking potential. Too crowded and we got lost trying to find another way to get to the water in the more shallow end of the lake. Picture us on a remote gravel road with kayaks on top of our car. Road closed. Queue banjo music! 

We got periodic birth updates from Jud. When we ended up at a Knoxville City Park we got the news that Nell Marie was born. We toasted over a grill campfire with beer, hot dogs, and smores. Happy Birthday to our beloved granddaughter. 💖 As Nell's birthday approached, Paul and I talked about how much life will change during our children and grandchildren's lives. And thought about life today, compared to our youth. Ch ch ch ch changes! 🎶

I walked out of the West Des Moines Costco one day last week with thoughts of change along with my cart full of a variety of items - food and non. I had a flashback of all the grocery stores past - of all the stores I've loved before. 

-The first grocery I remember is the little brick Safeway on the corner of Poplar and 6th streets in Atlantic, Iowa. We shopped there and parked there on Sundays when we attended Mass at SS Peter and Paul up the block. 

-Later, our neighbor Paul Morman (not sure of last name spelling) opened a bigger more modern grocery store on the corner of Highways 6 and 71 - where WalMart is now. I can picture right where the candy was in the store. And recall running through the aisles and bashing headfirst into some lady's metal cart. Paul brought out some ice for my dented head. If you have Facebook check out this link for more Atown memories. 

-Safeway eventually moved to a big new store just east of the Cass County Courthouse. There was also a SuperValu on the west side of town near the Roller Rink - but we didn't shop there much as it was farther from our house. 

-I just got in on the last of the corner store era too. I recall visiting one not far west from North Olive Street. It was the size of a small house and had an overflowing variety of interesting items including candy. And a big old cash register - with the proprieter sitting behind a counter. 

-In the 1970s a shopping center was built in a field, north of Highway 6 and Cass County Hospital. Sally Rodgers, Susie Guttenfelder, and I rode our horses in there before they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. 🎵 The area boasted a HyVee Grocery Store, state liquor store, Alco, Godfathers, McDonalds, and Mitches bar. 😆 

-Do you remember the price sticker guns? They probably didn't change prices as often as today, right? It was important to not select an item with no sticker - or there would be a "Price Check" announcement as you waited, pen in hand to write a check. 

-When I moved to Ames for school, my favorite store was Ames Fruit and Grocery on the west side of town, just off of Lincoln Way. I preferred it over the bigger supermarkets. More cozy. Price can drive where I go, but I do love small gourmet markets. Marczyks (Amy's first job) in Denver and Gateway Market here are a couple. Fewer food brand choices but more interesting. 

- The year I graduated from ISU, the country was heading for a recession. I was lucky to snag a job as the office manager at a grocery wholesaler in Sioux Falls, SD. There I learned much about the grocery business as the company, Gamble Robinson served many commercial customers including institutions, stores, and restaurants. The next year I transferred to another GR office, this one in The Old Market in Omaha. It was a big branch that sold to all of the top restaurants in the area - and stores. In Omaha, my shopping "go-to" was the local grocery chain, Bakers - who still had carryout boys. Today, Fareway continues to provide carryout today. 

- Next, Paul and I moved to Osage, Iowa, for his career. I stuck with my same employer - traveling north to small branch businesses in Wisconsin and Michigan Upper Penninsula. Osage boasted a couple of small grocery stores (Super Valu and ?). To get groceries on a Sunday, we had to travel to Mason City and Austin, MN. Access to fresh foods is becoming less available for people living in small towns across our country. Small town residents visit Super Markets in other towns to get more variety and better prices, and small local stores disappear. 

-When we moved to Creston in 1986, there were 3 grocery stores - and WalMart (not Super) joined later in the 1980s. There was some shuffling after that - Easter's Super Valu on the north side of town closed.  Fareway and HyVee built new larger, more modern stores. I developed a shopping system. Meat and other basics at Fareway, HyVee for more selection, and eventually Super WalMart for cereal and other staples. I've heard friends reminisce about corner groceries in Creston - just like in Atlantic. 

-Now we live in the (not so) Big City, right by Costco - a warehouse store, Trader Joe's, a small grocery chain store with mostly reasonable prices, HyVee, and Fareway. And Gateway Market for really good meat and a variety of gourmet products. The other perk is the DSM Farmers Market that runs on Saturdays from May to October - featuring fresh, baked, and prepared foods. 

We haven't yet taken advantage of grocery delivery and services like Grub Hub. Those are likely on the horizon for us. After that? George Jetson type deliveries and cooking? It will be interesting to find out!

September is rushing by - hope you are having a good one.  

 

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves song - partial lyrics - Google song title for various versions of the song

"The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold"

The song, partially quoted above, always pops into my brain this time of year. I believe I learned it in Miss Delma Wright's Freshman Choir class. We didn't sound anything like Nat King Cole or Doris Day. The lyrics seem a little racier than I remember singing at that tender young age. 😁

Summer is my favorite season. I used to pretend to enjoy Autumn the most. Paul loves Fall! Football and hunting impact those feelings, of course. But summer! I like to be warm. And going outdoors not dressed to the hilt with various layers of gear to ward off the chill. 

This year is different. I love the gorgeous low-wind days we have enjoyed thus far. Most leaves have fallen by now, yet the sun's angle and portrait painting sunrises and sunsets have awed me.

 

I think back to Autumns of my youth. Our home in Atlantic was on an Elm tree-lined street (until Dutch Elm Disease felled them) complete with bushels of leaves each fall. Raking was an annual chore and opportunity! We'd rake them into piles and jump in them. 

With neighbors, the Reinertson girls, we'd rake the leaves into thin lines which became walls for our pretend horse barn. We would take turns being the horses - using those rubbery jump ropes as halters around our waists. I loved picking my horse name and describing my horsy appearance. I was partial to black with white socks and a big white blaze on my nose. 

I think our neighbor Harley Baxter eventually managed the leaves - probably composting or burning in his backyard across the street. Later, at our first home in Creston, Paul and I managed leaves the same way. He found out the hard way that one should not burn on the patio close to the vinyl siding! Now I know how bad leaf burning is for air quality - especially for those with lung disorders. Composting is a great way to return organic material to the soil. 

As I age, I continue to look for ways to get exercise. My goal this year is to walk outdoors early - regardless of weather. It's been warm and very dry for the most part - making for gorgeous views. The sad part of that is we need rain badly to fill up streams, rivers, and ponds. The City of Osceola just south of DSM is in an emergency stage as their water supply lake is drying up. Scary! 

I hope you're enjoying Autumn wherever you are. 

This leaf spoke to me - in a crabby voice!

For All the Swings I've Loved Before

Being a grandparent comes with responsibilities. Supporting our grandkids' parents in their roles as Mommy and Daddy is foremost. Parenting is challenging! 

We don't get to see our grandchildren (and their parents) as often as we'd like. Nell (going on 3) and Reece (4 months) live in St. Louis some 5-plus hours from DSM. Since it's much easier for us to drive to their place than it is for them to haul 2 kids, 2 dogs, and their gear here. As Nell has reached the age where it's fun to take her places to experience new and fun things. Reece won't reach the active stage for a while yet, but it's coming! 

So another grandparental responsibility is for me to BOLO (Be On The Lookout - thanks True Crime Blogs for the acronym) for kiddo activities. These days as I travel around the Des Moines Metro area, I take a mental inventory of which places I would like to take the kids to visit.  

Our yard in Atlantic

The first category is playgrounds. They're usually free and are everywhere! I learned this as a kid myself, and then as a parent. Our yard at my childhood home in Atlantic was my first play area. We had a solid swing set with 2 swings and a glider, a sandbox (no lid so a/k/a catbox), and a cute little playhouse that my grandfather, a contractor, had his crew built and hauled to our large backyard. Later I got a tetherball for my birthday - installed in concrete in our backyard. 

Slide from my era

Our grade school playground was pretty basic - big sling swings and monkey bars. The small blacktop outside of the two playground doors in the K-6th grade school. There were painted 4-Square games on the blacktop. There was a kickball field outside the older kid's wing. I'll never forget how far Joanie Troll kicked that oversized rubber ball every time she was up to "bat". 

Sunnyside Park was the only real non-school playground that I remember. It's a large park with various play areas. In the 1960s someone donated a bunch of cash to install new playground equipment - a big slide - the hot wavy steel kind. And various types of swings and riding toys. There was an update to the equipment near the pool when I was around 12. The city installed a "Barrel of Fun" - a giant barrel on its side that rolled like a hamster wheel. After someone decided it would be fun to roll over the top of the barrel - only to break an arm, the park people built a roof over it - preventing a repeat. All playground equipment today is safer than the stuff we recreated on - swinging gates, and merry-go-rounds. The spinning stuff (like the swinging gate) was popular and nausea-inducing. 

Jud on a "killer" merry go round

Taking children to playgrounds as an adult is fun. We lived in Creston for 26 years. Amy and Jud loved the big park there -McKinley Park, on the west side of town near the pool. The old north playground there was definitely in the "not so safe" category. Heavy glider animals on a swingset frame guaranteed one of the kids would run in front of one in use. Bam! The wooden swinging bridge was fun for Jud to run on, util it wasn't. No broken bones - just bumps and bruises. 

Amy and Jud loved the giant wooden structure built in neighboring Corning. Our dog Moki like going down slides like the one in tiny Ellston, Iowa.  Our children were great at spying playgrounds on road trips - like the one in Kearney, Nebraska - near the Cabela's Store and on the way to Colorado. When visiting Atlantic, a new play area at Washington School was a good place to take the children when they needed to expend some energy. 

Nell swinging

I had few reasons to visit playgrounds for 20 years or so. Welcoming a grandchild into our lives has changed that. Our granddaughter Nell loves to swing! And climb and slide. Infant grandson Reece will no doubt be a fan of play areas shortly. Our "hood", West Des Moines is adding so many recreation opportunities. The city built a huge RecPlex on West Grand - indoor hockey rinks, gyms, a track, and lots of outdoor fields. Dave and Busters is nearly complete. A huge indoor water park is now in the works just south of our place. There are playgrounds galore and splash parks.  

Iowa doesn't have mountains or many lakes. Let us be the state of excellent parks with playgrounds, bike trails, water trails, skate parks, and other outdoor recreation. Swinging is therapeutic! 

Summer!

Sadly, I don't have a pic of Mom in swimsuit, holding a clipboard teaching kids to swim

After a very loooong cold spring, summer heat is finally upon us. I have so many fond memories of this time of year. As a child growing up in a small SW Iowa town, I feel so lucky. I grew up in the 1960s when families were big, and parents didn't pay super close attention to what we were up to - as long as we made it home for meals and bedtime. 

My hometown, Atlantic (population just under 7,000 in 1960 - to a peak of 7,700 in 1980) had everything a kid could want for childhood adventures. My family lived in a house at the top of a hill (I've heard people call it Bullock's Hill) that overlooked a neighborhood called Fairlawns. That area was full of many post-WWII ranch homes, and giant families - ready-made kids to hang out with. 

Next door a big family, the Reinertsons, moved in. We played with the Reinterson girls a lot - especially Katherine (a year younger than Cindy), Laurie (a year older than me), and Annie (a year younger than Betsy). Susi is the oldest in our family - sandwiched in between Reinertson's eldest, Bonnie, and the only boy, Donnie, a year or two younger. 

Backyard fun

I remember treating their backyard (in fact everyone's in the neighborhood) like it was an extension of ours. Reinertsons had a basketball hoop on a pole by the patio in the backyard. And a cool jungle gym-style swingset - monkey bars! Our yard featured a basic triangle-type swingset, and a fabulous playhouse built by my Grandfather Pop's contracting business. We also had a hill leading up to our back porch - fun for sledding and sliding down on giant cardboard pieces. 

There was a narrow forested property to the east of our house that was never developed while we lived there. Of course, we made that our own too - climbing the trees, making forts, and carving out a path to the north side of the block. The woods seemed so large like many things remembered, but adult Leslie saw how narrow it really was. 

Juddy dog with Mom and me

Our doggo, Jud, a full-sized dachshund who we got when I was 1 year old, was part of our posse - he followed us wherever we went. Sadly, he was hit by a car and broke his hip. Mom took him to a vet clinic in Red Oak to have a pin put in the break. He had a big cast on his rear end and we had to carry him outside to go potty. The pin stuck through the skin - a stainless steel rod. Later, he always had that scar, and his legs kicked off to the side when he ran. Jud lived to be 15 years old - I was a freshman in high school. I credit Jud - who slept with me each night - for my love of animals. We called him our brother and he was named after our dad David Judson. Our son Judson is named after Dad and our dog. 😀 

I got a new Western Flyer "spider" bike with a banana seat one year. It was aqua in step-through girl style and had a big white basket on the front. As a not so girlie-girl, I took the plastic flowers off of the basket right away! I did need the basket for my piano lessons at Mrs. Sandhorst's house a few blocks southwest of our place. Everyone had bikes (no helmets) and it wasn't uncommon to see a big mess of bikes parked at any house or play area on summer days. I rode it to school sometimes too. I got in trouble once because I turned into our driveway in front of Sheila Savory in her Karmann Ghia. She called Mom, who read me the riot act on bike safety. 

The best thing was when the "big kids" would include us in their outdoor activities - like Ghost Tag, Kick the Can, and Sardines. Look those games up - basically the are tag and hide n seek. Donnie Reinertson hid in the attic above his family's garage. That place was set up like a fort, but it sure was hot up there. Lucky, we had an app for that. Not really - just one of those twirling sprinklers we'd run through. 

Speaking of water, swimming is part of my family identity. Mom was a Red Cross water safety instructor those summers - along with her friend Betty Lou Pellett. Mom dragged us along for lessons held at the former Boy Scout camp near Griswold. Of course, we took all of the lessons - from beginner to Water Safety Instructor. Good memories of listening to "I'm Henry the 8th" in the car, and going to a root beer place after a whole morning of swimming and running around a park near a cave Jesse James hid in. 

As if we didn't get enough swimming those mornings, we'd go to the pool at the Golf and Country Club in the afternoons. There I'd play with friends I still hold dear. In between dips in the baby and big pool, we'd make forts by putting out towels over a tipped pool chair. Swimming games included swim tag, Nibbles (hiding a twig in the pool for others to find), Jump or Dive off of the diving board, handstands, reading each other's lips underwater, Cannonballs, and more. And that snack room was awesome - with frozen treats like Cap'n Crunch Bars and Drumstix. Plus the regular fare - candy bars, soda, and chips. There was a big table, perfect for card games like Spoons and War. 

Celebrating swim team

Atlantic had a great summer Swim Team, managed by who else - the Pellett family. Practice was at Sunnyside - the full-sized public pool with 3 different diving boards - low, medium, and the scary high board. We'd swim laps under the diving boards - 20 yards across. Parents drove us to SWISA (Southwest Iowa Swim Association) Swim Meets across SW Iowa - places like Council Bluffs (Town and Country Pool), Shenendoah, Clarinda, Creston, Missouri Valley, Manning, Villisca. A couple of times we even went to AAU meets - big time! We went to Fremont, NE, Omaha, and Jefferson, Iowa. I was a good breast stroke specialist and had great support in relays with my pals Sally, Robyn, Merricks and Hutchinsons, Sue, Jennifer, and more. 

I got to know people like the Allens - Mike, Pat, Sherri. Bill Thede was fun to hang with. So many more I can't think of. Swim Team members spent a lot of time together - riding to meets, reading Mad Magazine, and playing cards under the tent in between races. Sue Tyler always brought boxes of Jello - basically flavored sugar for energy. Today I think they use products made for that purpose - we were just ahead of the game! Sally and I spent many hours in her family pool practicing flip turns. 

When I was older, no longer participating on Swim Team, I became a Water Safety Instructor, and Life Guard at both Sunnyside and the Country Club. I even helped with swim meets by being a timer. It's no wonder my skin suffered lots of damage - before the age of sunscreen. We did have Zinc Oxide for burned noses and cheeks. And Baby Oil with iodine - huh? 

The outdoor pool at my gym just opened, so it's time for me to get back in the water. The sounds of kids swimming and playing and the smell of chlorine bring on nostalgia. Another reminder can be hearing songs played over and over on the only station we could get at the pool - was it WOW AM? 

Summer is my favorite season. I tried to believe it was Autumn like it is for many. But it isn't. Bring on the sun (with 50 sunscreen). 

I hope you have a good summer filled with past memories and future ones. 

Drive Inn Memories

On May 14th, country singer Keith Urban performed a show for frontline medical workers at the Stardust Drive Inn (haughtily called an "outdoor cinema in the article I read) outside of Nashville. Watching a clip of the show gave me the "feels" about the good and crazy times I spent at the Atlantic Drive-In Theater located on the outskirts of my hometown, Atlantic, Iowa.

The Atlantic Drive Inn was in a swell spot - in between the Atlantic Cemetary and the railroad tracks. I have vague memories of going there as a family. If my sisters read this, they could confirm, or tell me I'm making things up again. There was a snack shack in the middle of the parking area and a small playground I believe. Again - chime in if you remember this!

When I started thinking about writing this, I thought about one of Don McKim and my fond shared loves. Cheech and Chong - comedians of our youth. They did a gig on their album "Los Cochinos" called "Pedro and the Man at the Drive-Inn" (along with many other hilarious gigs "Dave's Not Here, Man"). Beware - in my now more aware adulthood, I wince at how insensitive we were, laughing at the expense of others. On the other hand. Some stuff is just funny. 

Putting people in the trunk to avoid paying the Drive Inn entry fee was real! I recall piling into one of the Pellett family's huge Buicks after a swim meet at Sunnyside Pool. Clark Pellett was driving this group of around 10 lifeguards and other pool staff to some third rate movie. Getting into the lot with our hijinx was much more fun than the actual movie itself. 

Photo - courtesy Oskaloosa Herald

Finding a speaker that worked could also prove to be a challenge. Some didn't work at all. Others were so scratchy you couldn't tell what was being said. And like in the Cheech and Chong gig, positioning one's car was important. Especially if you had back seat viewers! Lots of people would bring pickup trucks and back into spots. Lots of people brought lawn chairs and blankets.  

Of course, a draw to the Drive-Inn was that we could take in beer and Annie Green Springs - a cheap wine for those who weren't cool enough (like me) to enjoy a cold one. Diane Heithoff and I piled into Mona Jones' giant green station wagon to do just that one summer. When the train went by during the movie, the ground would shake, noise - blocking out the movie. The train headlight bleached the screen. 

I saw some really bad movies at that place. "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Death Wish" are a couple I recall. They seemed to have a lot of horror movies, not a genre I enjoy. At least in a car, one could hide behind the dashboard during scary parts!   

Throughout my life I've mostly been a rules follower, staying inside the box. (insert big reveal music here) I jumped out of my box one time when leaving the Atlantic Drive Inn. The beer made me do it! 

Mona Jones - middle, with Sandy Larsen and me - cake servers at Sharon Leslein's wedding (our hs bball coach)

Mona drove the getaway car as Diane and I jumped out to steal letters from the movie marquis that was stupidly set on the ground near the entrance/exit to the Drive Inn. All around nice guy, Mike McCauley was my boyfriend during my junior year. When Mona stopped the wagon, I jumped out and grabbed a big 'ol black wooden M from the sign (it was just hanging on a wire) while Diane snatched another letter or two. What daredevils! I proudly put that M up on the large bulletin board in my room. If Mom ever noticed the purloined letter, she didn't say a thing. I felt like a badass! I feel bad about it now. Do you suppose they couldn't order any movies we M/W in them after that? 

The Atlantic Drive Inn closed long ago - and sat decaying for many years. Now it's gone altogether, the land cleared. Too bad, as it may have made a comeback today. They'd need a new sign. 

Where work gets done

I've mentioned how I'm finding calm in re-listening (is that a word?) to books by authors I enjoy. Authors that let the Good Guys win. My tender psyche seems to need a dose or more of that in these scary times when an invisible enemy has invaded.

One author I enjoy is Lee Child who writes the novels with Jack Reacher as the main character. Reacher is a former marine military policeman who travels the country like a hobo, finding wrongs and righting them. All with only the clothes on his back and a toothbrush. Don't get me started on the two movies where they cast Tom Cruise as Reacher - a guy who is supposed to be six foot five inches tall.

This week I listened to the Reacher book "61 Hours" again. It's set in cold snowy South Dakota. In the book, Reacher needs military information, so he contacts one of his former offices where a female officer serving in that capacity ends up assisting him. In repayment, she wants to know the lore behind the big dent in the big metal government desk she sits at. She'd heard rumors that Reacher put the dent there with a colonel's head.

It took nearly the whole book before Reacher reveals the story about the dent. The colonel was corrupt and had been selling MRE (ready to eat meals) to enemy forces while Reacher and his team were starving in Afghanistan. And he used the money to buy stupid things - like a 1980 Corvette, the worst Vette ever made, which added insult to injury. It's those kinds of details that make the Lee Child books excellent. They add texture to Reacher's character that not all books attain.

Listening to the author describe that desk put me into the "Wayback" machine. I started thinking about all of the desks I've sat at through the years.

I have the very first one downstairs. Mom purchased an unpainted desk somewhere and probably had Pearl the Painter match it to the wallpaper in the room lil sis Betsy and I shared. Our room had blue carpet with cream wallpaper with a blue design. So the desk was blue at that time. But the beauty of the desk is that it can be any color! When Mom gave it to daughter Amy, it was purple at one time. Because - of course, it was! Amy loved colors! Now it's blue again to match the guest room (Amy's room) in our DSM home.

My next desk memory is at Washington Elementary School when we had those little desks with the lid that opened. Inside we kept all of our stuff: Elmer's Glue, crayons, pencils, a ruler, scissors, and paper. The hinged lid allowed us to hide from the teacher at times. That created opportunities for hijinx like make faces or talk to neighbors unseen. Or one could slam it on one's hand. After elementary school, I found that desktops were smaller as students were mobile for classes. I didn't get as attached to those desks.

My first job was at age 15 at an Atlantic gas/service station - Hjortshoj Fina, where owner, the wonderful Harry Hjortshoj, taught me to help keep the books. I remember a big old desk in the station office but not if it was wooden or metal. I do remember Harry stashing beer in the soda machine for "after hours" when his pals would stop in.

Loraine Dunn (my first roomie) and Chris Deardorff (visiting from U of I) lounging in my first dorm room

When I went off to Iowa State University, I discovered that I needed to be flexible when it came to study/workspace. My Maple Hall dorm room had built-in desks like the one pictured above. And I studied in various buildings around campus. Note how the desk is being used to prep to go out for the night. Not study! Wow - those curlers were definitely not mine. #icantcurl

My first job post-college at Gamble Robinson, a grocery wholesaler in Sioux Falls, SD, came with a nice, fairly new office desk. I was proud to learn the office skill of running a 10-key adding machine (without looking) at the desk. I got educated to the fact that I didn't learn all that much in college, even with a Business Minor, that would help me to be an office manager. I've come to the realization that college prepared me for life after college: how to live on my own, dealing with adversity, and how to recover from alcohol poisoning. haha

After a year in Sioux Falls, I had the opportunity to transfer with the company to a branch in Omaha - right near the Old Market on 10th Street. The branch there was an old warehouse complete with old furniture. My desk was wooden with a large file drawer that I'd open in the morning and close at night - because it was heavy and rickety. I have fond and vivid memories of that job. It was during that time I got engaged and married to Paul who was living in Oakland, IA - the best decision in my life!

I continued to work for Gamble Robinson even after we moved to Osage - in Northern Iowa. I traveled to Wisconsin and Michigan (UP) for the company, working at small grocery company branches, helping them implement IBM System 32 computers. They were huge with a tiny screen. I helped assign numerical codes to every type of product they handled to computerize them. I sat at many old desks and tables.

When Paul and I decided it was time for a family, I was lucky to land a job right in Osage at the woolen mill, Fox River. They are a family-owned company that manufactures fabulous socks and gloves. I worked with another young woman and a contractor to "computerize" company ordering. Karla and I would take order sheets and input them (IBM System 34) manually. We only had tables - no desks. For years I could spout off-color numbers - like Heather Gray is 7600, something like that. Crazy!

In 1986, Paul landed a new gig in Creston. When we moved there we considered another stop along the way - following his career. Amy was one year old. Something happened along the way. We met wonderful people (and some weird ones) and settled into the town. We got involved in activities and the great Catholic elementary school there. Creston became our hometown. It's a small community - with limited employment opportunities. Good thing I'm so flexible!

I started at First National Bank in Creston as a bookkeeper - in the basement of the bank. As a bookkeeper, you float around at all the positions - so no desk. One cool thing was the proof machine that we used to key by hand all the checks the bank got for deposit. The machine $ amount had to match the adding machine tape attached to the stack of checks. On other days we all sat around tables set in a square and stuffed bank statements into envelopes. That is how I learned how to pronounce all of the Creston names that don't sound like they are spelled. And I learned all the gossip - working with Cathy Lacina, Sandy Hysell, and Pam Grey. Fun times!

Credit - Creston News Advertiser from Bank website - FNB was purchased right before Paul and I moved to Creston

During my bank years, a position came open for a Loan Clerk - upstairs with a window! That desk was a built-in one, in a hallway. It was a great location out of the public eye. Sharon Higgins and Danny Purdum sat in offices behind me, both great people. The ever-so-nice Pat Barkalow sat down the aisle. That is when I really got to know the staff of Loan Officers gem of a person, Lamona Bilderback and crusty exterior, gooey inside Dan Porter - whose daughter Katie Porter is a California US Representative. Steve Crittenden is one of our best and longtime friends. The big boss back then was Dick Anderson - whom I nicknamed "the Dickster". Nuff said.

A year or so after Jud was born, paying for childcare but a crimp in fulltime outside employment. I quit working at the bank and had an opportunity to be on call and deliver home oxygen around SW Iowa. My Chevy Lumina and later a light blue Grand Caravan woody with a clipboard were my desk. Once I was a few months pregnant with our son Patrick, I was laid off from that job. I guess they didn't think I could haul a heavy O2 machine upstairs in my condition!

After we lost our infant son to a heart defect, I was at a loss for what to do next. I was fortunate that a local couple reached out to me to ask me to help with their financial planning business, to hang in the office when they weren't there, and to help with marketing. The office was on Pine Street in Creston. Mike and Judy always have their offices done upright, with nice furniture. I will always appreciate the Moffits generosity for letting me sit at their desks.

Once both kids were in school all day, the Goldsmith budget told us that I needed to work fulltime. I applied for a job as a planner at Gits Manufacturing, a local plant that manufactured automotive and other metal parts. When I first started, my newish desk was up front, in a big room with sales and accounting. Later, Cynthia Wolf, Jeanne Piel, and a purchasing person Juliann Sinn were moved to a small office in the middle of the plant called "the Blockhouse". We got brand new office systems type pressed board desks there. I think it was a tradeoff for being in a sunless blockhouse. We did enjoy our privacy out there. Being a production planner in the automotive industry was a high-stress low benefit job. I enjoyed my co-workers, but I couldn't wait to find something else after 2 years.

My salvation came in the form of a "Help Wanted" advertisement in the local newspaper. The landfill was looking for a recycling education person. Pick me! And they did - for a two-year grant-funded position, 30 hours per week. My first office was at Creston's City Hall with a modern desk borrowed from the city.

Once the job turned into a fulltime director position at the landfill, I was tasked with outfitting the new scale office and my office. I decided to hit the KSIB radio waves to beg for unused desks and chairs.  Creston peeps came through - I hit the jackpot with a big old metal desk like the one Jack Reacher described. Solid! It came from the Central Iowa Power Cooperative north of Creston. That was my favorite desk - so much character and history.

As a Department of Natural Resources employee, I worked in a cubicle. My desk was a countertop built into the 5 foot sidewall. In the last few years, I had it raised so I could stand up to work, or sit in a tall chair. There were plenty of drawers and flippers for storage. I miss the people there but not the cubicle. #loudtalkers

I can picture Dad's desk in the living room of our Atlantic home with a big huge adding machine on it. Dad mostly worked in his chair too. 

Now I work at home, my "worky" stuff is in my Dad's desk in our office, with the printer on Paul's side of the room. But the magic mostly happens when I'm sitting in my big chair with ottoman and my laptop. Or at our kitchen counter when I need to spread out more or do a video meeting. Have I mentioned I'm starting a business in June? Goldsmith Environmental Consulting (little 'ol me). I hope to work with solid waste agencies, counties, and cities on environmental stewardship. Stay tuned!

Childhood Playhouse

I was full of good intentions yesterday (Monday). I was going to do stuff! Over the weekend I even listed actions on my Google Calendar - lest I forget what good stuff I'd planned to do. I was afraid I'd slip into my usual non-action packed routine of Amazon Prime/Jigsaw Puzzle/Laundry, walk and other routine chores. Of course yesterday was frigid and windy so the walk was OUT.

8 a.m. I had set up a work-related chore. I'm helping a friend with an environmental audit. When the time came, I decided it was only Monday - that could wait - and pushed that to today. Ah, retirement, it's grand!
9 a.m. Time to organize the closet in our room. It's a smaller walk-in one. We rotate hanging clothes between seasons in there. It's also good for luggage and (thanks Covid) backup toilet paper and paper towels from Costco stacked - taking up floor space. So shelves needed clearing for books and my Wii. Some of the books went to our Townhome Little Library box and some will go to my STL kids when we get to visit.

Then there are the photos. I've tackled our photos before, taking digital pics of the photos, storing them on thumb drives. It's nice to get rid of multiple copies of yellowing photos. There are still a few small bins though.

Married 9/7/1950

Then I came across a large leather photo portfolio box with a lid that flips open like a book. Where did it come from? I must have gotten it when Dad passed away - and shuffled it here when we moved. Closet organizing was pretty much game over at that point! I was hooked on looking at these photos - a treasure trove of old photos that my mother saved in this special place.

Some of my favorite pics in the stack were from when her father, Herbert Leslie Morehead (Pops to us), delivered our playhouse he designed and built for our backyard. Pops was a general contractor in his hometown of Cedar Rapids. He had designed and built our home at 202 Crombie. My family lived there for around thirty years. The house has a flat roof. A bit of Frank Lloyd Wright influence? It also has built in cupboards and drawers. When I can't sleep I walk around the house in my head, remembering each room. Mom was a fabulous interior decorator - very creative.

202 Crombie - designed and built by HL Morehead Construction, watercolor by Marilyn Van Antwerp

The playhouse also had a flat roof, real opening windows, and a front porch.

Neighbor kids on porch

House/playhouse 202 Crombie

The photos depict a neighborhood of kids (and my parents/grandparents) gathering for the tiny house warming! Note the Hoola hoopsyu9. Back then our neighbors were the Germains, who lived next door prior to the Reinertsons. Right next to our yard was a narrow strip of trees known by all the kids as "the woods". I don't know who owned that property but we all treated it as ours, building forts and climbing trees. My folks put a sandbox at the edge of the woods (no lids so cats loved it!) The Woods put lots of kids near and in our yard daily. And we spilled into other neighborhoods easily too. It was the way of that era.

The Bullock girls and friends spent many enjoyable hours in the playhouse. As far as I know, there were no Fisher Price (maker of awesome kids' toys) kitchens back then. But there were cardboard kitchen sets and we had them! The neighborhood scallywags, the Mallon boys, burned our kitchen one year - likely when we were at the end of our pretend kitchen using era. At least they took the stuff into the Woods to do the deed and didn't fry the Playhouse! I'm sure our dog Jud barked at them, and they (and rabbits/squirrels) were his nemeses.

In my memory, we would forget about the playhouse for a while and then decide we needed it for some big thing we were doing. Then it would require a cleanup and set up - sweeping and knocking down spiderwebs. Betsy reminded me what a wasp magnet the little house was - perfect for nests! We likely spent way more time setting it up then we did playing whatever we had in mind. One year Laurie Reinertson and I decided we would open up a library in the Playhouse. Yes - the earliest Tiny Library - such an innovator! We even used envelopes cut in half to glue into book covers with a sheet inside for Checkout. Doug Younger, a neighbor down the hill actually checked a book out. Cindy remembers playing doctor there. Jeff Grayson was involved. It sounds like that was a bit more risque than Library!

As with anything, I don't remember the last time I played in the Playhouse. One day I left my childish things behind. Haha - fooled you! I never really did become that homemaker, so playing house didn't take. I do like taking photos though!

Dad/Mom - graduates! 

Mom in Cedar Rapids with Grandma Morehead

I was so happy to find some other great photos in the box too. Mom and Dad in their graduation gowns - they were married the fall of their Senior year when they graduated from the University of Iowa. I love seeing the styles - Mom always had us dressed up for all occasions. So stylish back then with hats.

Grandma Morehead Susan Cindy

Other family pics - one of me with my sisters when my parents when they brought Betsy home. I look delighted even though I wanted a baby brother! See captions for more.

Needless to say, I got sidetracked taking digital photos of these photographs. The closet can wait. Thanks for the memories Mom!

Baby Betso home from hospital. I gave her chickenpox 6 months later - she got really sick! Nice bangs Mom.  

Susan, Mom, Cindy - see darling dresses. I watch The Amazing Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime set in this time period. Love seeing the clothing. Wouldn't want to wear it now. 

Grandma Morehead (Nellie) when we remodeled our family room. I loved putting my feet on that fireplace. Later it caused a fire for the next owners. 

David Bullock Korean Vet - gone when Susan was a baby, Mom was on her own

   

HL Morehead (Pops) with Susan and Cindy

Carryout Food Memories

What did people (by people I mean wives) do before carryout/delivery was an option for families? I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't born until the idea of restaurant "takeaway" meals were invented. Sure, people probably did it long before it became a real thing with special (wasteful) containers. Today carryout and delivery are what we are counting on to help restaurants survive during this pandemic.

I am THRILLED to be in a dress. One that matches my sisters...NOT

Love my socks in this one! My mom's parents' 50th anniversary in Cedar Rapids 

I grew up in a smallish Iowa town during the 1960s and '70s. Some of you might say a community of 7,000 people is tiny, but in Iowa, Atlantic (now population 6,921) is one of the larger communities. Most Iowa towns are under 2,500 people.

When I was a child, my town was just the right size to grow up in. It seemed to have everything I could possibly want! Back then, the town was filled with lots of big middle-class families. They didn't go out to eat a lot, but when they did, there were several options, all local - until I was a bit older.

I've told my readers before that my dad was a "pantie man" - a clothing representative, selling lingerie for a company that manufactured Lorraine Lingerie. He visited nearly every town in Iowa, traveling Monday through Friday. Back then all towns had stores that sold ladies underthings and nighties. He also worked with larger accounts like Younkers. So Mom held down the fort all week - in charge of four daughters. By Friday, she was usually ready for a break after being in charge of 3 meals a day (no hot lunch at school back then) for five days. Friday night was often his night to be in charge of supper.

Dad was a grillmaster! Fabulous steak, burgers and rotisserie chicken. He was such a kidder too. We laugh about some of the things he came up with when we sisters get together. He'd call steak "snake" to freak us out. One time Betsy asked what we were having for supper and he told her "dead chicken". What? Of course then Mom had to yell, "Dave!" drawing his name out into two syllables.

If you look past the wonderful wedding gifts you'll see the brick fireplace Dad used for grilling - kids in the pic are now all growed up! 

Our house had a downstairs brick fireplace with a grate for grilling. I remember sitting down there like a picnic. We had a little seat with a tray for Baby Betsy who still had a bottle - so it's one of my earlier memories. I would have been five. We also had an outdoor grill.

Sometimes everyone was tired though - and they decided to order out. When I was very young I remember riding with Dad to a place just off the City Park square called The Spot. It was a hamburger joint that served fabulous greasy burgers and fries. The kind where the sack was practically dripping by the time you got home. I don't know why it closed - maybe because they didn't have a good location for a drive-through compared to other places like Dairy Queen and A&W.

Our family's favorite place to order supper from was The Pines, right on Highway 6. They had the best broasted chicken ever! Spell-check doesn't like the work broast. Yes, it's a thing! It's like a combo of roasted and fried. We each got to order our fave parts, so I'd get the 2-piece dark meat - a leg/thigh, probably with fries when I was young - baked potato later. A salad with their fabulous Pines dressing. They would send an assortment relish tray that included cheese cubes and braunschweiger - that meat that was never my fave, but others love it.

I loved riding with Dad to pick up our order. We would go a little early and sit at the bar just inside the door at the restaurant. Dad would order a drink and I'd get a Shirley Temple (Seven Up with cherry juice) The bartender would put a cherry in it using one of those little plastic cocktail animals for drinks. The restaurant's kitchen was in the basement and the food came up in a dumbwaiter - a little elevator box. When our food came up the server would yell "the Bowlocks food is up", saying our name like that. Each person's meal would come in a little pressed board box. I wish I could order one now.  

The Pines is still listed as a business in Atlantic, but the restaurant that we have been to most recently at that location is called Oinkers, It operates on the lower level, below where the Pines is, with a more casual atmosphere. They sell Pines barbecue sauce. I often take a bottle of the sauce to Atlantic pals as a gift when we travel. My Aunt Jean buys it by the case - so it didn't make too good of a gift to her and Bruce when we stayed at their house. Oops!

The good news? The Tavern restaurant, in Valley Junction in West Des Moines, sells broasted chicken! We'll order some of that one of these nights. I'll miss sitting by my dad at the bar though...

Rights of Passage - Are They Calling Me Elderly?

All through our lives, there are numerical ages we look forward to - and other ages, not so much.

Me with Robyn - at a chatty young age. Now we are old and chatty

I couldn't wait to turn five so I could go to school like my sisters! I didn't even care if the teacher, Mrs. Christensen (sp?) was kind of a battle-ax who was OLD. She had even taught my father. I have vague memories of her locking kids in the little bathroom located in our classroom. (Is that true or did is that a made-up memory?) Tommy Sandhorst peed all around the tile clock on the floor. Dan Mason, Robyn and I chatted during naptime and got in trouble.

Amy with Mom and Dad - a little younger than 10? 

Age ten was cool! Double digits. Our daughter Amy didn't want to turn ten...even then aware that aging has a downside. I remember my parents teasing her that she'd be 9 forever and the rest of us would go on aging. Years later, Mom said, she would introduce her - "this is Amy, she is still 9 years old". That got her attention and she got on board with turning 10. Presents and cake helped too.

Most kids in Iowa love turning 14 - the age one can get a driver's learner permit. My dad was in charge of my driver training at our house. Remember manual transmissions? If you are from Atlantic you know the hill by the old YMCA with a stop sign. Me, Dave Bullock, a Chevy Vega, and that hill ended up with tears. Me, not Dad. He likely ended up with a few Gdammits. The friction point on that clutch was about a millimeter. Later when our kids learned how to drive, I knew it was the daddy's job to teach them. #noclutch

202 Crombie - the house I grew up in - I'd sit on the step and wait for friends to pick me up

At sixteen, most of us are excited about getting a real driver's license. Back in our day, there was no graduated license. Cigarette smoke (not mine), no seatbelts, radio cranked with girls packed in singing at the top of our lungs "scooping the loop" over and over. My friends had some cool cars - Joanie Troll - was it a Chevelle? Green. Robyn in her push-button transmission Plymouth Valiant. Sal had a sweet Merc. Candice, Kristi Davis, and others had memorable wheels. I was lucky to get to drive my Grandpa's 1971 baby blue VW while Momo and Bubba (our names for them) wintered in Florida. Otherwise, it was a 1972 bronze Buick station wagon courtesy of Dandy Don Deter's dealership. 

Yep, sixteen was sweet! It was nice when our children turned 16 and could drive themselves to athletic practices and other places around town. Jud was not as excited about it as Amy, who was fearless - ready to drive to Des Moines and everything. They didn't get cool classic cars. Amy first got a used small truck with tobacco spit stains on the door as the previous owner couldn't be bothered to spit all the way out of the door. Jud got the Higgins family's beloved "Novacaine", an old Chevy Nova. No, not the cool classic Nova - the tiny wimpy version that we couldn't ever get started - even when we plugged it in during the winter months. Today it's hard to tell most cars and SUVs apart. They all look alike.

Jud HS graduation with Kim McFee - best buddies when little, then he figured out she was a girl

Eighteen is a big deal - high school graduation, voting and other mostly cool stuff. In 1976, we could even legally drink at age 18. I did wait until I was done with sports. It made life easier - so much less sneaking around to get liquor. It wasn't a healthy relationship - too much drinking and driving back then. Many of today's generation are better informed about driving impaired - and they have more alternatives. Observing college-age kids with a drinking-age of 21, my opinion is that 21 is too old. I'd rather have young people drinking in bars instead of sneaking around drinking at parties. Eighteen is too young - but I'd like to consider 19.

College roomies - around age 20 

After 18? The big ones are the centuries. I was still at ISU at age 20 - that was a fun one! I was a busy mom at age thirty - it flew by. When I turned forty, a pretend casket appeared on my porch. I lost my mom that year to lung cancer - nobody is ever ready to be motherless. During my forties, I forged a closer relationship with Dad, which I cherish. 

Turning fifty was fun! My 11/4 birthday was on an ISU football gameday. Jeff McFee (11/3 birthday) and our usual tailgating clan had a ball that day. During my fifties Paul and I became "empty nesters). We love it and having adult children. I will only admit to a few nostalgic tears during Amy and Jud's milestones. Never mind that blubberfest during Amy/Paul's dance at her wedding to End of the Innocence, when Jud called to tell me he was asking Kara to marry him, and when Corey asked us about marrying Amy. I held up pretty well when dropping kids off for kindergarten, college, and graduations.

Family Shot - hey doesn't everyone do this? 

Our kids came to WDM to surprise me when I turned sixty. That was fun. Being in my sixties is rather a shock! How did this happen? Sixty has not been a milestone I looked forward to - like "hey, we qualify for senior stuff now - woohoo!". Who knew there would be a pandemic and we would get special treatment (no thanks to the virus for especially picking on oldsters).

This morning I went to Costco's special "Twice Weekly Senior Hour" to help meet shopping needs. Typical of oldsters, there was a line - even before the appointed hour of 8 a.m. Did I mention Iowa has a lot of 60+ people? I lined and tried to maintain social distancing - giving the "stink eye" to the lady behind me who was encroaching. Many people in line were not following those rules despite Costco signs explaining Social Distancing. Ugh! It's not that hard people. When I got to the entrance point, I waited for the door guard to say, "Hey, no way you are in your 60's, Imposter!" Alas, nobody has called me out yet.

Line at Costco

I was brave and purchased Corona beer for Paul. The checkout guys said the price has gone up, wondering if the increase is due to the number of idiotic people that believe the beer caused the virus. #hitbythedumbstick Yes, they had TP, but I'm on a search for antiseptic wipes and gel. Nobody has those. So I got wine too. I don't know why. I have barely imbibed alcohol since my February illness. Maybe I'll figure out a way to make our own gel. I got one of their excellent roasted chickens and a few other food items.

Meanwhile, life goes on for all of us. My heart goes out to those who have lost family and friends to this scary virus. Life today causes anxiety for all - especially those who struggle with mental health issues in the best of times. Send them some extra love.

A few of my friends are considered essential workers and others are in jobs that have no alternative besides going. Thinking of you all! It's stressful trying to keep hands washed, try not to touch your face and distance. Keep sharing good stories, important information and communicating. We are in this together y'all!

Grandma's Kitchen

I re-posted this on Facebook and got a few good replies, so I thought I'd share them on my blog.

• My HS classmate Becky Nelson Case said she'd have Pepsi and Pinwheel cookies. She even included a photo of the cookie package. I am shocked to announce that I do not remember Pinwheels. I thought we'd had them all! 
• Another HS friend says she'd have a homemade donut - doesn't that sound delish? 
• A pal who is the top boss at the Iowa City Landfill says sugar on tomatoes - sounding good this time of year!
• Classmate Toni Robinson Mason says homemade noodles and chicken along with divinity. I should not be reading this whilst hungry. Our "pretend" grandma, babysitter Lulubelle Herbert used to make homemade noodles - to used after she served used fried chicken the night before. We were eating good when the folks went out of town!
• The very best hairstylist says half & half on bran flakes with a touch of sugar. That sounds so very grandma-like, doesn't it? 
• Cathy Hjortshoj Hansen, another Atown friend, says sugar cookies were it. Nothing like fresh sugar cookies! Lulubelle made those too. 
• Longtime friend and HS classmate Ted Simpson stumped me with Pfeffernusse, Spaghetti-O's, and Sugar Pops. Talk about opposites! He says they are peppernuts. The other two were staples in the Bullock household. 
• When I saw this Meme, I thought of the times I stopped at my grandparents' home after walking downtown for library books and candy. Momo (my grandmother) would whip me up some ice milk (lower calorie ice cream?) and Hersey's Syrup out of a can. My sis Betsy says she'd have honey on her ice milk. Momo did also whip up some other good food - our Thanksgiving meals. I like reading her journals when she describes the meals she whipped up. 

Me with my grandparents and dog Charlie - I was a little weepie as my parents just gave me a horse for my bday! 

I'm sorry I didn't know my mom's parents well enough to even remember my grandma cooking. When we went to their house in Cedar Rapids it was always special and went to restaurants. Maybe my older sisters have some memories. 

Isn't it wonderful that we have these memories of our grandparents and food? If you read the list, most of it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but somehow our grandparents made it magical! If you have memories from your grandma's kitchen share them on this Facebook post. 

After a morning of buttery buttery toast

When we stayed at my parents' in Atlantic, I'd hear her enticing them with the breakfast menu - "buttery buttery toast". Mom did turn into a very good cook after we all left home. Too bad she died so young - only 68. 

So far Paul and I are grandparents to dogs - who are easy to please! They all like squeaky toys and Franklin is the quickest at ripping them to shreds.