From Corn Cribs to College

On the farm, we had no inside toilet or bath until the late 40s. So many cold winter nights, we trampled through the crunchy snow to the outhouse or go in the pot under the bed. Emptying the pot in the morning wasn't really fun. Getting in trouble on the farm wasn't easy, but I did manage a few times. Once, I left the saddle on the horse in the barn, and she rolled over and broke the saddle straps. So that night at dinner, PA announced I would be punished. After dinner, I was to bend over the kitchen sink with my drawers down, and PA grabbed his leather shaving strap. Four very swift slaps across my butt left a few welts and an indelible memory, never to misbehave again. PA was a little gruff, but I knew he loved me. When I moved to Milwaukee with my mother and Jerry, I went to school at Holly Rd., Elementary at 55th and Holly Road. We lived six blocks from school, so I walked. Not being exposed to a lot of other kids, I was pretty shy.

I don't have a lot of memories of grade school. I remember being sick a lot. Measles, whooping cough, Rubella, Rheumatic Fever, and Mumps. I was about 11 when we were quarantined because of the polio pandemic. I stayed with my cousin Gloria because our moms were working. For a couple of weeks, we could not leave my aunt's yard. Polio was wicked. Many children got paralyzed and never regained the use of their limbs. It took four or five years before a man named Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine for polio. About fourth grade, I started taking tumbling lessons. I loved gymnastics and practiced for hours. During winter, I wore out our living room carpet, practicing flips in splits. In junior high, I had a Private coach that came up from Chicago to give me lessons. Throughout my school years, I performed in many programs. I went from grade school to junior high school. It was grades 8- through 12 when my brother was a junior at Juneau High. It was fun because all his buddies would tease him about me. I had grown into a fairly attractive teenager and got a lot of attention from the boys. I enjoyed my classes and was an average student. My favorite classes were science, geography, social studies, and gymnastics. I loved school football games, basketball games, and hanging around the custard stand. In my junior year, I met Dick Kahn at the custard stand. He went to West Allis Central. We did it on and off through high school and into college. We both went to UWM, Milwaukee. All through grade school and high school, I had chores at home. From the time I could reach the sink, I did dishes every night after dinner. Sometimes there would be dishes from the whole day. If I was going out with my friends, the dishes had to be done first. When I started junior high, I had to do my own laundry and clean my room every Saturday. I never got an allowance, so as soon as I turned 16, I got a job as a checker at an upscale grocery store, so there wasn't a lot of time to play. It was there that I met a regular customer, Dr. Stan Donahue. After high school, he convinced me to come to work for him as a dental assistant. My mom wasn't happy because she wanted me to get a College education. I went to college because my mom wanted me to, and she paid for my education, but it was not expensive, probably about $200–$300 a semester.