Seward School

    I started Kindergarten when I was 4 in 1963 because I would turn 5 before Nov.5 that was the deadline then. When we moved to the new house I was in 2nd grade at Seward School. It was a large school and old, but it had lots of character. When they decided to rebuild and tear the old one down, we were still using the old building. That year Barb  and  I were going to be in the school talent show and we sang " Going to the Chapel" Barb even  wore a  dress. We didn't win  but it was really fun.
   I don't know when things started to go bad but there was still a lot  of  good things yet to come.
   I did not like being the new girl, I was so shy and such a nerd, thank God I liked to read. I met Kathy Grant she was a really nice girl, her grandma lived by the school. We became good friends, I would go to her house and pick her up so we could walk to school together. Her Grandmother would give us Honey with 4 oz. of Orange Juice,she reminded us that it would stop us from getting colds when everyone else got them. I remember thinking I wished it would stop strep throat, our family passed that to each other constantly and we got it bad!
    There were a  lots  of  kids in our neighborhood, and kids we already knew, imagine that Cedar Ave friends moved to the same neighborhood we were in.
    Penny, her mom was Rita, my mom went to school with her. The Mitchell's were 2 blocks from the school, Cindy, Linda's friend, I would go to school with her brother Craig. I think they all went to the Children's Gospel Mission like we did, and Kenny Gray.
    Anyway, we would have so much fun, going "Trick or Treating" sometimes we would meet and go together,Linda and Judy would walk with us so nothing would happen to us and then they'd  go off to a party for themselves or have one of their own.
    Going to the store was also fun, Ann and Art were the owners of Ann's Grocery, She was an older lady with red hair and red lipstick and she was bigger, her husband was a smaller man, both very nice people. The store was never the same after they sold it.
   The Offerdahls lived across the street and Jan worked for Ann as a cashier, she had 2 sons that I remember, Carol had a crush on John. Then there was Monroe and all the girls had a crush on him, he was blond haired, they called him Punk, I guess that was a good name back then, he was always really nice to me when he was alone, but when he was with his friends, he lived up to his name.
    And then there were the Johnson's, we also knew them, Pid was the mom, Her son Bruce was Tim's friend, one from Cedar Ave.
    When we lived on Cedar Ave. us kids would play Army, I was an Army wife, my cousin Bobby was my husband who went off to war. Debbie was also an Army wife and Barb was her husband. LOL. If we had only knew. Anyway, we were playing Army and Bobby had to leave so I asked Bruce to take his place, Bruce was older I had a crush on him. He said yes just until he got home from the war. So I cleaned the pretend house and made a snack then I got a letter saying that my
husband would be home soon but they couldn't tell me when.
    I was 7 then it was right before we moved from Cedar Ave. I think Bruce was 11 maybe..well I was making the bed when Bruce came in and grabbed me from behind and tossed me on the bed, it scared me. He started tickling me," Honey I'm back now I can stay home, no more war, no more anything, just here to be your husband and that's all from now on forever," he said as he kept tickling me. I laughed and couldn't catch my breath," So are you now ready to start a family?, How many kids do you want?" I stopped laughing now. " I don't know what you want me to say we never played like that before.' I told him," Well what did you do? I have to leave soon," He said.
    "Well, when Bobby came home from the war he would just hug me and give me a quick kiss, we never talked about having babies" We probably didn't because we were only 7-10 years old.
      "So then he would kiss you and hold you huh?, Like this?," He put his arms around me and pulled me close to his body and kissed me a very long time.It was only the second time I felt a tongue on my mouth, Bruce was slowly trying to lick his lips because they were dry,as he was kissing me.
       Even at 7, I liked it. I had a funny feeling in my stomach. I learned what that was years later.
       I never told anyone but Tim and he said I shouldn't let anybody ever kiss me like that until I was an adult.
        Well, back to 30th Ave, Bruce also had a brother Kevin he was between Carol and I. 
        And the Jewitts lived down farther and then on the corner was a crippled man named Barney.
        On the other side was Brad Brandt and later the Larsen's, and going towards the store was the Johnson's, Bob was another one that was really cute, but he wasn't so nice either. His family was large like ours. The Grundun's lived across the alley from us, A really Large woman Named Barb lived next to them and then the Clausen's and the Jarvis' lived on the corner behind us. Steve Stegura lived on the alley line. Steve's sister Patsy had a crush on Tim, he liked her for a little while. Across the street from them was Butch Straka, He wanted to be Elvis. And then the Benedicts were next to him. The Loges were across the street from the Jarvis' Family.
         When winter came we all met on the corner and had snowball fights. It was boys against the girls. Dang they threw those balls hard,  Barb started making ones with ice in them so we could do some damage back, because we didn't touch them otherwise.
         I learned to ice skate at Seward Park that year, I took Carol, I was 9   and mom let me take her. I would get so mad at her because she didn't want to go halfway there, she was too cold. I made her go anyway. One time I let her wear my little girdle to hold up her socks, mom had bought me one so I could wear thigh highs, you had to wear them with nylons and thigh high socks.
       Carol went to school and pulled up her dress and said" Look I'm wearing Jeannie's Girdle" I was so embarrassed, but it was cute it had pink flowers all over it. It resembled  today's Boy Shorts underwear. That was my job, to walk Carol to school.
       Summer came and the weather was nothing like the year before. We picked up our books and stuff and moved in to the new Seward School and watched them tear down the old one. I really liked the old building , the new one didn't have windows in  the classrooms. I did in the hallways. And on the doors.
     We were waiting by the doors to go in one afternoon, we also used to go home for lunch if we were walkers, kids who took the bus had to have lunch at school. So we had 45 minutes  to get home, eat and go back to school. On my way in  Punk stopped me and cornered me up against the fence and asked me" Are you wearing that flowered girdle, your sister was wearing last week?"
     He grabbed the hem of my dress and was going to pull it up," NO!" I said as I grabbed his hand.
     He walked away laughing. I just went in, sighing. This was the beginning.
     In 3rd grade I was already developing, Then I was not allowed to go too many places unless supervised.
      The old man Barney, had crutches and he couldn't mow his own lawn , but he tired a few times. He didn't go to the store either, he hired neighbor kids to do it and shovel snow for him.
      As we got to know him  he took us to work with him. He was a  key maker and had a small shop on Lake Street and Chicago. Going to work with him was fun and he paid us a little bit.
     Across the street was an elderly black man named Mr. Harris, he was just old and didn't like walking to the corner store. He would pay us a nickle or dime to go for him. That was when you could get a little bag full of candy for a nickle. Mr. Harris told us stories about the "old days" when the business across from his house was a man made lake and that it had dried up, and the house that was on the corner across the street from him was an old lighthouse for barges on the river, the building had been turned into rented rooms. Linda rented a room from it for a little while, then it was caught on fire and they tore it down.
    Christmas was here and dad took me and Barb to find the perfect Christmas Tree. I would get so frustrated with him because he was so picky. It had to be 8 feet tall or larger he could cut it down, no bare spots at all.The branches had to be perfectly proportioned. It was annoying, and took FOREVER! When he finally found the right tree, he would sit it in water for 2 days and then he and only him would put the lights on. He would go through every light to make sure they would work as mom would hold them, she was enjoying herself, NOT. It was always so quiet until Linda got there.
    Tim would pop the popcorn and Barb got the cranberries in a bowl,I got the needles and thread and then we all sat and Linda and Mom would start singing," Away in the Manger" and "Silent Night" we could join  in, they sang beautifully and they harmonized, I always ended up in tears because they said I sang off key, and maybe I did, I'm sure did but I was a kid. I don't want to sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself but it seemed like because I was such a sensitive soul I was an easy target to pick on. They called me Jeannie with the 10 pound weenie. I dunno, maybe I was just too touchy.
   Barb was Hertz and I was Avis always #2 and trying harder. That's what dad would say, and the commercial. Oh well. Number too wasn't last, or was it?