I remember our move to Dewey, Oklahoma from Calgary. Well, vaguely, I remember it. It was not a vivid memory. I remember that big black car that we had. It was a Chevrolet of some sort, because I remember the Chevrolet word on the back of the car. We had a lot of room in the back seat when we traveled, as dad had put a board back there that made it like a station wagon. It was probably not a good time for my parents, driving all that ways, and moving, but we got it done, and we got to the little house in Dewey. Not a lot of memories...I just remember we got there.
But I do remember the house in Dewey. It was on Hamilton Drive, and we spent a few years there. I was in first grade when we got there, and in the middle of the fourth when we left.
I walked to school every day, to Bluestem Elementary, and it was only about 5 or 6 blocks. Didn't seem like far, and I always had somebody to walk it with. Walking was not a big deal...we walked everywhere because mom and dad didn't take us anywhere in the car. We didn't think anything about it. That was the way it was. This was probably 1961 or 1962.
Linda Sholl was probably my first friend there. She was the daughter of my piano teacher, Mrs. Scholl, and they lived across the street. I don't exactly remember what kinds of things we did together, but I know we were together a lot. She played the piano, of course, since her mom was a piano teacher. I also had other girlfriends, most of whom I met in school, and around the neighbor hood. We watched Superman on her tv a lot, and the Mickey Mouse Club. That was my first experience being at someone's house other than my own...and it was eye-opening. Their house was more cluttered than ours, and darker, it seemed. Mom always liked to keep things sunny and tidy...not obsessively so, that's just the way she liked it.
I guess it was during this time that I became aware of who I was. My dad and mom were good about making sure we knew who we were, and showed us a lot of love. My days were good, and without fear and stress. I only remember one time that I wanted to run away from home. I must have got the idea from somewhere or someone that my life was not so good... One day I actually got up the nerve to leave a runaway note when my grandparents were staying there. Mom and dad were on a trip, probably a second honeymoon. I seem to remember them talking about that. But, no sooner had I left the note, while Granddad was vacuuming, walked out of the house, did I turn around and come back home. For some reason I remember this particular time in my young life, and it has stuck with me over the years. How could I have been unhappy? I had a good life, the best parents and grandparents in the world!! I know now it was just a childhood 'wild hair' that came to me out of the blue, and, thank goodness, it was short-lived! Never tried it again.I stayed there and loved my grandparents, and continued to be good.
Memories of our time in Dewey.... loving the crackle of bicycle tires on gravel; spending time in our backyard with our dog, Cowboy, and mom hanging up clothes; Dad cutting my hair on the front porch, after taking a 'before' picture, and then taking an 'after' picture; watching 'The Wizard of Oz' and being scared of the flying monkeys; Dad turning 'Dragnet' off when it came on tv; eating popcorn and apples on the 'pikey' blanket on Sunday evenings and watching 'Disneyland' on tv; going with Dad across the railroad tracks to shoot firecrackers on the fourth of July, cause he told us they were illegal in the city; driving to Bartlesville and swimming in the pool at the Phillips building, and dad stopping to get us a Coke and a chocolate bar afterwards!!
I also have good memories of walking to school during this time. I almost always walked with a friend, Francine, or Linda, I guess, and we made the walk seem less long and more fun that way. There were good times at that school. The big, dead log on the playground that we climbed on and played 'King of the Hill' on was very prominent. I played a lot of tetherball there too. And I know that I was always very excited when I could have a friend spend the night with me. We anticipated it all week long, because we couldn't ask that sort of thing at the last minute. Mom said that was an automatic no, if we asked at the last minute, and also if we asked in front of the person we wanted to stay. Our times as girlfriends were carefree and pleasurable...we talked about all kinds of things.
One of my most vivid memories was of second grade, I think, when I really wanted to have a cowgirl outfit, apparently like what I had seen on other girls somewhere. At least, I thought, the boots were what I wanted, and of course, they would have been worn with a skirt. I never did get those.They had to be red!!
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