Remembering Sixth and Seventh Grades--1948-1950

As the oldest sister I was sometimes the mother hen watching out for my chicks. We enjoyed each others company most of the time but we had our moments. We each had our own ideas of how things should be. I may have been the oldest but Donna could also rule the roost. She was ambitious and could lead the three of us in getting things done. Mom and Dad knew it too as she is the one chosen to spend a year on the farm to help our grandparents. She was not yet ten years old the summer of '48 when she flew all by herself from San Diego, CA to Bellingham, WA. I'm sure she was a great help to Grandma and Granddad. This was also a time of her being nurtured by our dear Grandma. I'm sure she got lessons in the kitchen as well as Bible lessons. And there were eggs to collect and other farm chores.

That was the summer I went to Girl Scout camp in Cuyamaca. I had a lot of fun the week I was there, but I also remember being homesick part of that time. That is the only time I ever remember being homesick. I remember one other summer when I was older going to G.S. camp which I enjoyed. We had some weekends there with our Girl Scout troop, too.

My younger sister Betty and I got to take violin lessons at school the year Donna was on the farm. I received an antique violin from an old family friend. Mom and Dad bought Betty a used violin that she treasured. We didn't get to even complete a whole year of lessons as we left Coronado and headed to Washington that spring. We finished that school year in Washington. I was in sixth grade. Then I started seventh grade in Washington. After Christmas we headed back to California.

A lot happened in that time as two of our California cousins came to live with us on the farm. They were from my Dad's side of the family and were city kids. They had never lived on a farm before. They didn't know what to expect when they arrived. They expected something more modern than what they saw when they arrived. We were in a time warp with an older house and the little house out back. My sisters and I didn't question these things until our cousins came on the scene. But it was fun to get to know Malcolm and Geraldine. We enjoyed our time with them.

When we moved back to California our cousins came with us. Their Dad came to help us move. My Dad had already gone back to California to make living arrangements. We ended up at my Aunt Clara's big old house in Spring Valley. It was still country then. My aunt wasn't living there at the time but one of her sons, my cousin David, was there. So my parents had a lot of responsibility with my two sisters and me, plus three other kids. My parents were going back to their house painting in Coronado too. I had just turned thirteen that December. Two of the cousins were teenagers. I'm sure this was a real challenge for my parents. Up to that point they had not been challenged by teenagers.

When we were in Spring Valley I went to junior high school in La Mesa and had to take the school bus as we did in Washington. At least one of my cousins went to high school in La Mesa and also took the school bus. My sisters and one cousin went to the nearby elementary school. This was my first experience with going to different rooms for each class. I was able to make friends as I do in each situation. I even had a boy friend who took me on a tennis date. His mother drove us to State College to the tennis courts so we could play tennis. Unfortunately I learned one lesson the hard way when I let some other friends talk me into sharing a secret that he had told me. I don't remember his first name but I do remember his middle name that I was not meant to divulge to anyone. Because I did not do the right thing by falling to peer pressure I lost my special friend.

In just a couple of months Malcolm and Geraldine headed back to live with their Dad in Alameda. I only got to see them a couple more times over the years. We are out of touch and I have no idea where they live.

After we were in Spring Valley for a few months my Aunt Clara sold her house so we needed to move again. My aunt had owned the house for many years and her family had grown up in this house. She was widowed when her children were young so I'm sure times were difficult for her.

My parents needed to find another place to live. We had good friends with a little house in Imperial Beach and it was available to rent. This was to be our next abode until we could move back to Coronado in the summer. Since we knew we were going to be in Coronado the next school year we went ahead and enrolled in Coronado schools. We weren't exactly above board as we gave our grandparents' address in Coronado to pull this off. Telling untruths did not come easy for me. I suffered with boils and hives during this time and for some time afterward. Of course this is a difficult age anyway.

During the summer we moved into the old house next door to my grandparents in Coronado. This is the house that my parents had wanted to rent for quite sometime. My sisters and I lived in this house until we each got married. Mom and Dad were finally able to buy their own house in the early sixties. It was the first new house they had ever lived in.

I started this story with a different thought in mind and will come back to that idea at another time. As for me watching out for my sisters when we were little, I have continued to be the mother hen of the family. I have been close as possible to my sisters children. One niece came to live with us for five years after she graduated from high school. Another niece is also close to me even though she lives in Washington state. I try to stay in touch with each nephew and niece. Over the years some have made special effort to visit us in California. I am still very close to Donna. We lost Betty November of 2007. We had a most enjoyable time with the three of us and some of the children when we were together in San Diego the summer of 2006.