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Transition to Maine~Part 1

3 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                        

                                                           

In previous musings, I’ve mentioned how we were assigned to Loring AFB, Maine (Do you think if we ask for New Mexico, they’ll send us to Maine??). And they did.

Our Karen was born in Wiesbaden, West Germany, and was not quite three-years-old when we rotated stateside. That was an eight-hour flight back to the States, so I had purchased a few “new” toys that I hadn’t let her play with, just to keep her occupied on the plane trip. As we took off and began the long flight, I glanced at her and saw her eyes closing. And I exclaimed – “Oh no you don’t!” – and brought out some of the toys. Those eyes instantly popped open. We had a set of little books – about 3½” by 4″ – just kid-hand-sized, with about six books in there. Wish I had kept them. We had a blow-up doggie that we deflated before landing. You get the picture. We played/read for a while, then they brought lunch. After we ate, Fred and I put up the arm rests between our seats, and Karen stretched out across our laps for her nap. Fred and I slept for a couple of hours each before Karen woke up. Perfect timing.

Fred’s parents were living in King of Prussia, PA at the time, and picked us up from the airport at McGuire AFB, NJ and took us to their house. We stayed a few days with them, then flew to New Mexico for a visit with my mom, grandmother and Aunt Jessie.

Karen and "Oma" - her grandmother

Karen and “Oma” – her grandmother

 

 

Four Generations

Four Generations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we flew to Detroit, MI to pick up the new car we had ordered, then off to Fred’s sister’s house for a few days. She and her husband had a little boy, just one year younger than our Karen. They had a grand time together.

From there we drove up to Loring AFB, Maine. It was July, and we caught the “two weeks of summer” right away. We learned about the black flies that make their appearance in Maine during that time. They were really pesky! We stayed in a furnished guest house while awaiting assignment of quarters. While there we ordered some furniture from a local store, since we had been living in furnished government quarters for the three years in Germany.We learned that we were living in Aroostock County, which is a Native American word for Beautiful River.

 

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What surprised us the most was that Aroostock County is one of the largest potato producing areas in the country (Idaho and Wyoming being in that mix). It is also the largest county – land area – east of the Mississippi River. We were nearly on the upper tip of the state, only three miles from the Canadian border, and the nearest town was Limestone, with Caribou being the closest “large” town. We were four hours driving time north of Bangor, and that was on the interstate – which was a two-lane road! The County Seat is Houlton. You might remember that from all the weather reports in winter that pronounce it to be the coldest spot in the U.S.

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It Happened One Summer

27 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Way back in 1961, Fred and I married. We moved immediately to Fort Worth, Texas, so Fred could study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. We lived about a 12-hour drive from Albuquerque, so we didn’t get to make a trip home very often.

In 1963, we planned on making the trip, and it coincided with my brother and his family being there, as well. Their daughter, Charlene (Renie) was about 18 months old at the time. It was the first time we had seen her, and she was a delight. We have pictures of that adorable little girl in many adventures while there.

She had fun in a galvanized tub full of water in Grandmother’s back yard.

 

 

Grandmother tried to swim with her, too.

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She found a neighborhood cat that was quite agreeable to Renie’s handling.

 

Aunt Judy and Uncle Fred had a great time with her, as well.

 

Granddad thought she was pretty special, too. She was his first grandchild.

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But my favorite set of pictures of Renie from that visit, were of her and her dad playing with a new toy. Somehow, we managed to get pictures that could have been a video, if we even had that capability all those years ago. The toy was a pop-up type of toy: press the button/knob, and up the cups shot!

 

Renie thought it was terrific! Look at the surprise and joy on her face! Such a fun toy. And it looks like daddy was having a bit of fun with it as well – along with his little girl.

That was a fun summer visit for us.

 

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The Wedding Dress

20 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

On May 30, 1937, my parents married. Daddy was 44½ years old, mother was 24 years old. Daddy was six months younger than his mother-in-law. I remember mother telling me once that, after she and daddy had been dating a while, she showed Granny a picture of daddy, and Granny’s response was, “Why he’s a OLD MAN!” However, that didn’t deter my parents from marrying. Thank goodness!! And Granny came to love daddy as her son-in-law. They got along quite well.

I honestly don’t remember whether or not Granny made mother’s wedding dress. I know that Granny was a great seamstress, as was mother. Perhaps it was a joint effort. I do know that it had big, puffy sleeves and a straight skirt. She looked very elegant in it. What later surprised me, was that the skirt was full enough to allow a hoop or many crinolines under it. It may have looked straight on mother, but it was very full skirt!

J mom

 

Mother’s sister, my Aunt Jessie, took the dress after the wedding, layered it with white tissue paper, and kept it in a cedar chest. It rested there all the years between mother and dad’s wedding and mine.

When my wedding was approaching, I told mother that I would like to wear her wedding dress – with a few alterations. I really didn’t like those big, puffy sleeves. Really made my skinny arms look even skinnier. There was a lady in our church who was a professional seamstress, and we engaged her to “remake” the dress. She removed the sleeves, essentially making it a sleeveless dress. I say essentially, because mother and I shopped around and found some gorgeous Belgian lace. She made a complete dress out of it to fit over mother’s dress. It had the long sleeves, and even a bit of a train in the back. I thought it was beautiful!

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It was while the dress was being “remade” that we discovered how full the skirt was. In my day, the “in thing” was hoop skirts or lots of crinolines. As I look back, I realize how elegant the straight skirt looked, but I wanted that full skirt – and that’s what I got!

 

But I guess the important thing is that I was able to wear my mother’s wedding dress. It always held a special place in my heart. And I think I was able to honor both my parents by wearing that special dress.

 

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The Classic

13 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I’ve mentioned before how my brother was always fascinated with model airplanes. How he would build them, fly them, fix them up and fly them again. He was really good with his hands.

Another thing he liked to do – as I remember – was to work on car engines. I remember a time, after we began to become friends instead of just picking-at-each-other siblings, that he bought an OLD car and brought it home to work on. I believe he totally removed the engine and other parts and re-worked them. I’m proud to say that I helped him with that a bit – I actually HELPED him! When it was back together, he painted that car a gorgeous turquoise.

When Fred and I met, he was a sophomore at the University of New Mexico (UNM). He lived on campus and so didn’t need a vehicle. He also didn’t have his driver’s license. So if we went anywhere, I was the driver.

It didn’t take him long to remedy that situation – at least in that he obtained his driver’s license. However, he still didn’t have a car. He either walked or took the bus. Albuquerque had a good public transportation system.

Long about Springtime of 1960, he purchased his first car – a 1957 Chevrolet Belaire V8. He paid a grand total of $1,100 for it. It was a soft green, four-door, bench seats, automatic transmission.  It was a beauty! It didn’t have air conditioning, but in Albuquerque’s climate, we didn’t need it. He was so proud of that car.

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In 1960, we, and my parents, drove in that car to Englewood, California for Christmas with my brother Bill, and his wife, DiVoran. We discovered that Bill was working on another car. Fred helped him put the engine back together and everything back in place. We had a grand time with them there. We took in Disneyland

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and Knotts Berry Farm.

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Great memories. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Bill and DiVoran’s little house, along withher parents.

 
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On New Year’s Eve, we drove to Pasadena, to spend some time with Fred’s Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Bob. One of Fred’s cousins and his friends, took two picnic benches and some bedrolls, and set them up on the sidewalk at the starting point for the 1961 Rose Parade, scheduled for the following day. They slept on the benches to keep our spots. After the parade, we went back to their house and had a lovely lunch, then we headed out, back to Albuquerque.

That next summer – June 20, 1961 – 53 years ago – we loaded up that car and, following our wedding – headed to Fort Worth, Texas, where Fred was to study at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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While it was a smooth ride, we really wished for an air conditioned car! Texas climate is NOT the same as New Mexico!!

We drove that un-air-conditioned car for several years before trading it in on another, newer vehicle. As we look back on those times, Fred continues to say that he wishes he had kept that car. It is now considered a CLASSIC. Of course, we were dirt poor at the time, and couldn’t possibly keep that car and have another one. And we couldn’t possibly know that, that particular car would turn into a CLASSIC.

But it’s fun to look back and remember those times.

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Something to Live By

6 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Recently, we met a friend at a famous barbeque eatery. It has become one of our favorite places to eat. Unfortunately, it takes us about 45 minutes to get there from our house, so we don’t go there very often. It is a favorite of the locals, and you must get there just as they open the doors, or you wait in a long line outside!

It’s a fairly rustic place, with just a few booths, but mostly picnic-type tables with benches. Some of the seating is outside, but under cover. But the food is really worth the wait, and definitely the place to go if you like BBQ.

While we were eating and visiting with each other, I noticed a plaque on the wall. There are a LOT of plaques on the wall, and other rustic decorations, but this one really caught my eye. It goes like this:

smilr copy

Isn’t that neat? There really isn’t anything “Christian” about it, but I think it says a lot about life perspective. I think it would help keep us in the right frame of mind to be upbeat and positive about how we live each day. Nothing droopy about anything on that list.

So………S M I L E and give thanks – for everything!

God is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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An Amazing Surprise~Part 2

29 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

A few years after we arrived in Virginia, as Christmas was approaching, the wives of the officers were invited to help make up cookie bags for the enlisted personnel who were stationed at that Air Force Base, but would be alone and working over the holiday – unable to go to their respective homes.  We were asked to bake about six dozen cookies (or more), and then bring them to a certain place on a certain day, and a bunch of women would make an assortment and bag them up.  That was something I enjoyed doing, so I set to work.

When the appointed day and time arrived, I went to the assigned place.  As we were working (I didn’t know anyone else there – we were just a bunch of wives working together), one of the women looked at me and said, “Judy, are you by chance from Albuquerque?”  A bit startled, I told her yes.  And then she proceeded to ask if I had gone to Highland High School in Albuquerque.  Again I said yes.

 

 

Then I asked her what her name was.  When she told me her maiden name, I literally had a jaw-dropping moment!  This woman had not only grown up in Albuquerque, but she had lived just across the street from our elementary school.  And, as I recall, I had been in her house.  I had actually known her at some point in my life.  She was two years ahead of me in school.

SURPRISE!!  Amazing!!

After we finished up, I ran home and dug out my old high school year books, and then my brothers year books (he had entrusted me with his books – he had graduated three years before me).  And there she was.

My questions were:   after all these years and worlds apart, HOW did she recognize me?  And how, after all these years, did we wind up stationed at the same AF base?  Fred was in the Weather Wing there, and her husband was commander of one of the flying units, so we had no other connection together.  But it was fun while it lasted.

 

I do SO enjoy these kinds of happenings!!

 

 

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