9- 1965 May : Mother’s Day, 4-H, Puppy Eyes, Revivals, & Math Challenges!
As a 12 year old, I attended school in small town Georgia during that spring of 1965. I wrote from my heart in my diary about everyday life.
My grandmother spent her last Mother’s Day in this little country hospital. The memories of that place run deep in my soul even to this day.
Here are some of the people mentioned in this story. Laurie, Diane, Kay and Wanda were same-age friends. My family members: Adie & Joe (brothers), my mom and dad and grandmother; Ms. Ruth (piano teacher), Dr. Mayo (local doctor in Richland),
“1 May 1965, Saturday, We rode over to Richland to see Grandmama in the Richland hospital. I went to the Junior Garden Club meeting earlier in the day. I’ve been playing basketball with Adie. 2 May 1965, I went to Sunday School and Church. We went to Columbus to eat and then came back through Richland to see Grandmama. 3 May 1965, After school I went to the courthouse to work on my 4-H project book. I had a good music lesson. Laurie came over to study with me, but she talked on the phone with her boyfriend David for over an hour! 4 May 1965, Tuesday, Diane borrowed my music piece, “Moon River.” I have been practicing basketball all afternoon. I am very sore tonight. I can hardly move. 5 May 1965, Had a fun music lesson. Miss Ruth was in a great mood. We all rode to Cuthbert to eat. I think we are going to call the puppy, Missy. (We named her Peppy)”
That hospital opened the year I was born and closed the year I turned 60. The loss of that community facility was devastating for that corner of rural Southwest Georgia.
As I walked into the the foyer of that little country hospital to visit my grandmother, I remember asking my mom in which room I was born. She pointed out a room about half way down the single hallway and reminded me that Dr. Mayo had delivered me into this world. Now we watched as my grandmother spent her last days of her life’s journey in the same place where my journey had begun.
Eating out was quite the norm in my family. Since both my parents worked, we found the convenience of dining out a welcomed adventure. We made our rounds: Lumpkin, Eufaula, Columbus, Omaha, Cuthbert, and Richland had our favorite restaurants.
Basketball practice and music lessons occupied a lot of after-school time. I loved having that basketball goal in my backyard and the piano which graced our living room provided an amazing place for me to play and grow and learn.
Working on 4-H projects at the county courthouse was a blast. The beautiful interior of that courthouse which sits in the middle of the town square is still etched in my mind. The medium dark wood along the staircases, the courtroom and even the wood-adorned hallways added a touch of class, perhaps, unexpected in rural small town Georgia.
“6 May 1965, I took a Science test and made an 87. Adie and Dad went to Columbus and bought rugs. Joe called from Tennessee. Kay came down to study math with me. 7 May 1965, I turned in my 4-H record book for this year. After school, changed clothes and went to Columbus with Mom and Dad. 8 May 1965, Saturday, Sometimes I feel like no one loves me anymore. It seems like everyone hates me except Daddy. He and I rode up town and got Mama a Mother’s Day present.”
Our home had beautiful hard wood floors. For most of my early childhood, the floors remained bare except in the living room. My aunt and uncle gave us some matching scatter rugs for that area of the house. I remember having mixed feelings about the floors being covered, but I do remember that new den rug with warm brown and red colors — a large oval — which almost covered the entire room. Several years later, my dad installed wall-to-wall carpet.
My writing captured a rare moment of feeling unappreciated in that May 8th entry. When I think back on growing up, I never have any moments of doubting unconditional love from my parents. However, I believe it’s not so unusual during these years of transition from girlhood to young adulthood that isolated moments like these affect many.
“9 May 1965, The little puppy’s eyes are almost opened. We went to Sunday School and Church. Today is Mother’s Day. We went to Richland to see Grandmama. The family attended first night of the revival at our Baptist church. I sang in the choir. 10 May 1965, Monday The puppy opened its eyes. We got a new rug for our den. I had a good music lesson. Daddy has been feeling bad. None of us went to revival tonight.”
A Mother’s Day always reminds us of the treasure of our mothers. Although the annotation of the day before reflected slight feelings of rejection, I know the dawning of this new day repaired all broken feelings. Visiting my grandmother in the hospital showed her our focused love, respect, and support for her in her time of need. It must have been hard for my father to realize that as the Mother’s Day came and went that this was the last one he’d have with his mom.
That Sunday night kicked off a revival, a reminder of new beginnings. So, too, a new puppy opened its eyes for the very first time!
“11 May 1965, Adie was making fun of me in basketball in our backyard around all our friends. We all went to revival tonight. I had a ton of lessons to prepare tonight. 12 May 1965, Wednesday, Music lesson went well. I tried to help Wanda with math homework. We had a very difficult Science test today. 13 May 1965, I had both an English and History test today. The visiting preacher, Brother E. ate supper with us. Afterward we all went to the revival. 14 May 1965, Friday, I’m spending the night with Wanda. We went to the revival. Daddy’s been sick in bed today. 15 May 1965, I got home at 1:00 PM. I went up to the high school with Adie to bring his Science Fair project home. I practiced my recital piece up at the schoolhouse.”
Brother and sister teasing was a normal part of our shared childhood. The three years between us allowed for a lot of closeness, but also fostered some competitiveness and simple sibling rivalry. What could be more normal than a brother poking fun at little sister?
I was regularly helping classmates with math concepts and homework. During my seventh grade year, we were introduced to “new math.” Well, I’ve heard that expression dozens of times over the course of my life. This particular phase of “new math” seemed actually to open some pathways and present helpful ways of looking at math from a practical view. How could the concepts help us in everyday life? The concepts seemed to click with me and because of that, I envisioned teaching math at some point in my life.
As I had the experience of teaching math in a community college in the first decade of the 21st century, I found myself dealing with students who were struggling. Their high schools had introduced “new math” once again in the early 2000’s and most of them could not recite simple multiplication tables and when they attempted complex multiplication (253 X 45), I was appalled at the scratch work on sides of papers as they tried to execute what I call simple multiplication.
The “No Child Left Behind” philosophy of the more recent era seemed to have left many behind. Granted I taught remedial math courses in a community college, so in fairness to the students, they were in my class because of math deficiencies and challenges.
The second week of May 1965 saw my family attending the family church’s revival every night from Sunday through Friday, except the one night when my dad was sick. Having the visiting preacher as a guest for dinner in our home was a special treat. It was warm enough that we set up the picnic table on our patio out back and enjoyed our evening meal outdoors.
Church revivals happened regularly in the springtime each year. Our two main protestant denominations in town, Methodist and Baptist, held these events usually within a few weeks of each other.
Keep reading, as the next installment closes out the school year of 1965! The stage is set for seventh grade to give way to eighth grade. As summer approached a 12 year old says hello her teenage years.
