In November, Dad was transferred to Montevideo, Uruguay. As usual, he went first with the rest of us following after. I can appreciate more now what my Mom went through, always traveling alone with a bunch of kids. We went through Barranquilla, Colombia again, staying at the same lovely hotel and again not getting to swim in the beautiful pool.
It was still wartime and things were not normal. We had to fly to Bogota, not in our original plan, and had to stay there for four days before continuing on our journey. The city is very high and cold and we had packed all of our cold-weather clothes and sent them on by boat. We stayed in bed most of the time to keep warm. At every meal we ordered hot consomme to warm us up. Our last day we braved the cold and walked around the town a little. We next flew to Cali where we stayed three days. This was much warmer and the hotel was larger and nicer. Gina and I roamed around the halls taking Freddy and Nancy on walks to keep them entertained. There was a statue of a lion in one of the halls and it had fake jewels embedded in it.
We stayed overnight in La Paz, Bolivia again, but didn't feel quite as sick as we had the first time. There was no room in the hotel so we stayed in a small place across the way. I remember we had to put the toilet paper in a box and not flush it away. I thought that strange. We then flew on to Argentina where our adventures were not yet over. The airplane had to fly through a mountain pass to get to Salta, Argentina, but it was clouded over. I can remember the pilot trying several times to make it but couldn't, so we landed in a cow pasture near a sugarcane factory, where we spent the night. The pilot was exhausted after landing as it had been a very harrowing time. All the passengers clapped for him. We could not take any of our luggage off the plane, it had to remain on board since this was not a port of entry with custorms. I think Mom was permitted to take a few diapers for Nancy.
When we didn’t land in Buenos Aires as planned Dad was a little frantic. The airline couldn’t tell him where we were but, when Dad told them that he was an employee of the United States Government and needed to know where his family was, one of the officials pointed to a place on the map and said that that was a nice place to visit so Dad knew just where we were. The next morning we were able to take off and continue to Buenos Aires. We were finally reunited with our Dad; spent one night in a hotel then took the boat for Montevideo, Uruguay.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Life in Venezuela, 1943
In Venezuela we went to the city of Maracay to live where Dad was working. It was not in the capital city Caracas but to the west of it. We lived in the Hotel Jardin, a big rambling place. It looked Arabic with a long porch with arches the length of the building. It was a fun place for children but I don't think Mom was too happy living there. There were some American soldiers and sailors living there training Venezuelan pilots. They also flew missions looking for German submarines in the Caribbean. Gina and I sort of adopted them, or they us. They were very nice to us, helping to teach me to swim, play pool, and let us ride in their Jeeps to the beach every week.
The hotel dining room had no walls, just the roof on some pillars and was all open to the air. Birds could fly right in and get crumbs from the table. The swimming pool had a family of frogs living in it and the water was drained every week. When you swam, you had to push the frog eggs away. I learned to swim there. There were beautiful flowers growing all around. There was a park right across the street from the hotel and every Sunday morning, early, the army band would play.
The folks rented a house in the city, wanting their family to themselves, and here I had my first room all to myself. I had the walls papered with pictures of movie stars. We had no hot water, just cold, and the kitchen was detached from the house. There wasn't an American school in this town so Mom had to teach us at home, using the Calvert System. What a time she must have had with the four of us! I had a book about Greek Mythology and quite enjoyed it. I don't remember much else about it, except it was fun. Mom taught me and Gina, gave Freddy something to do and had to keep Nancy entertained too. We never could put her down on the floor because of the danger of hookworm. She was just one year old. We gave the maid special shoes to wear while working in the house; the shoes were kept there, not taken home, so she could not bring in hookworm. The walls of the house had little black dots on them that turned out to be ticks. The previous owners had had large dogs. I think the folks used kerosene to get rid of them.
In our second house, polliwogs would come out of the tap when you turned it on. We had to use a strainer to catch them. Wasps had made a nest in the house and I would catch them and put them in boxes. I thought I was very brave for doing this. I never got stung, either, I had my twelfth birthday here. My room, all to myself still, had a private bath with shower; cold naturally. I also had a vicuña rug for a bedspread; soft fur, much softer than llama. I thought this the height of luxury. I loved to lie on the fur and read. I still loved to read and did so whenever I could. I discovered Zane Grey about this time, also Nancy Drew; what fine times I had.
Some little creature made a two-toned sound that we could hear while eating. The notes were the last two from a popular song "St. Louis Blues." We would sing "My Mama done...." then the two last notes "told me" would come from whatever was making the sound.
Mom started Gina and me singing with her in trios and what problems she had! We would end up giggling every time but it was the start of a wonderful experience. Our first trio was "Calm as the Night" not an easy song! She would sing with Gina, then my part with me until learned, then put them together with her singing the third part.
We loved the weekly excursions to the beach. All the Americans in the hotel would go too and we really made it a day. It was so lovely on the beach and the water so warm you could swim all you wanted without getting cold. Palm trees came down to the water's edge and the sand was white and fine. Gina and I rode in the Jeep with the soldiers. The road went over jungle-covered hills where the foliage was thick and green with bright flowers and birds. You could see little waterfalls but Dad said you couldn’t put your hand in the water because of all the microbes that were present. For Easter, we colored eggs and took them to the beach to hide. When it came time to eat them we found they were spoiled so we threw them into the ocean. Next week, when we came back, we found that they had washed ashore and some little boys were collecting them. They thought some exotic birds had laid them. We tried to tell them that we had colored them but they didn't believe us.
Dad's work moved its headquarters to Caracas, the capital, so we moved there too. Our house was called Quinta Bina. In Caracas, the houses didn't have numbers and the streets didn't have names! We found that the houses, street intersections and the neighborhoods or areas had the names. It was very difficult to find an address; you had to take a map with you to find a place.
Our school was a delightful, different experience. The American colony had grown tired of teaching their children at home, so they banded together and started a school using the Calvert System from Maryland which had been used individually in the various homes. It was called "Campo Alegre" Happy Field. The classes were very small; there were only about seven in my fifth grade class. My teacher was an Englishwoman who taught us fractions. That is the only math I have every enjoyed or understood in all my school years! She also read to us. One thing she read was "Canterbury Tales". I thought she said the author was "Choza" and believed this for many years until I realized she was saying "Chaucer". She also read many poems, among them "The One Hoss Shay", "The Eagle" and many others. One day, a vegetable cart came by and she left the class to go outside to buy some brussel sprouts. It was all very casual. We had a Spanish class about once a week but I didn't need it after Argentina. It was very elemental Spanish to help the American children learn. We also studied Greek history that year and I loved it. Gina's teacher was also an English woman, Mrs. DeCoopcrank. Her class sang "God Save the King" every morning! At recess we played jump rope, that was the big thing. This was the most fun school I've ever attended.
In Venezuela I learned about trick-or-treating from the American kids and the candy one could collect on Halloween night. I had not been familiar with this before.
There was a splendid view of Mount Avila from our home. Caracas was in a valley surrounded by mountains. This mountain was covered by lush jungle growth and had lots of waterfalls that sparkled in the sun, especially after a rainfall. The clouds sometimes covered it or just passed over the top; truly a beautiful sight.
I received my first roller skates here and taught myself how to skate by rolling down our driveway and stopping by running into the gates. All our drinking water had to be boiled so every night Mom put two big kettles of water on to boil, then they would cool overnight. Even with this precaution Nancy caught dysentery, and was very sick. Freddy had it too but not as severely. The treatment consisted of practically starving her; we almost lost her. She would cry bitterly when she could hear us eating, she was in another room. After a few days, she could eat a small amount of very green bananas and very watered-down milk. I can remember washing out her soiled diapers in a stone washbasin the back yard. They think she caught it by sucking on the washcloth in the bathtub. The doctor who treated her had lost his little son to that same dysentery just a few months before Nancy caught it.
The hotel dining room had no walls, just the roof on some pillars and was all open to the air. Birds could fly right in and get crumbs from the table. The swimming pool had a family of frogs living in it and the water was drained every week. When you swam, you had to push the frog eggs away. I learned to swim there. There were beautiful flowers growing all around. There was a park right across the street from the hotel and every Sunday morning, early, the army band would play.
The folks rented a house in the city, wanting their family to themselves, and here I had my first room all to myself. I had the walls papered with pictures of movie stars. We had no hot water, just cold, and the kitchen was detached from the house. There wasn't an American school in this town so Mom had to teach us at home, using the Calvert System. What a time she must have had with the four of us! I had a book about Greek Mythology and quite enjoyed it. I don't remember much else about it, except it was fun. Mom taught me and Gina, gave Freddy something to do and had to keep Nancy entertained too. We never could put her down on the floor because of the danger of hookworm. She was just one year old. We gave the maid special shoes to wear while working in the house; the shoes were kept there, not taken home, so she could not bring in hookworm. The walls of the house had little black dots on them that turned out to be ticks. The previous owners had had large dogs. I think the folks used kerosene to get rid of them.
In our second house, polliwogs would come out of the tap when you turned it on. We had to use a strainer to catch them. Wasps had made a nest in the house and I would catch them and put them in boxes. I thought I was very brave for doing this. I never got stung, either, I had my twelfth birthday here. My room, all to myself still, had a private bath with shower; cold naturally. I also had a vicuña rug for a bedspread; soft fur, much softer than llama. I thought this the height of luxury. I loved to lie on the fur and read. I still loved to read and did so whenever I could. I discovered Zane Grey about this time, also Nancy Drew; what fine times I had.
Some little creature made a two-toned sound that we could hear while eating. The notes were the last two from a popular song "St. Louis Blues." We would sing "My Mama done...." then the two last notes "told me" would come from whatever was making the sound.
Mom started Gina and me singing with her in trios and what problems she had! We would end up giggling every time but it was the start of a wonderful experience. Our first trio was "Calm as the Night" not an easy song! She would sing with Gina, then my part with me until learned, then put them together with her singing the third part.
We loved the weekly excursions to the beach. All the Americans in the hotel would go too and we really made it a day. It was so lovely on the beach and the water so warm you could swim all you wanted without getting cold. Palm trees came down to the water's edge and the sand was white and fine. Gina and I rode in the Jeep with the soldiers. The road went over jungle-covered hills where the foliage was thick and green with bright flowers and birds. You could see little waterfalls but Dad said you couldn’t put your hand in the water because of all the microbes that were present. For Easter, we colored eggs and took them to the beach to hide. When it came time to eat them we found they were spoiled so we threw them into the ocean. Next week, when we came back, we found that they had washed ashore and some little boys were collecting them. They thought some exotic birds had laid them. We tried to tell them that we had colored them but they didn't believe us.
Dad's work moved its headquarters to Caracas, the capital, so we moved there too. Our house was called Quinta Bina. In Caracas, the houses didn't have numbers and the streets didn't have names! We found that the houses, street intersections and the neighborhoods or areas had the names. It was very difficult to find an address; you had to take a map with you to find a place.
Our school was a delightful, different experience. The American colony had grown tired of teaching their children at home, so they banded together and started a school using the Calvert System from Maryland which had been used individually in the various homes. It was called "Campo Alegre" Happy Field. The classes were very small; there were only about seven in my fifth grade class. My teacher was an Englishwoman who taught us fractions. That is the only math I have every enjoyed or understood in all my school years! She also read to us. One thing she read was "Canterbury Tales". I thought she said the author was "Choza" and believed this for many years until I realized she was saying "Chaucer". She also read many poems, among them "The One Hoss Shay", "The Eagle" and many others. One day, a vegetable cart came by and she left the class to go outside to buy some brussel sprouts. It was all very casual. We had a Spanish class about once a week but I didn't need it after Argentina. It was very elemental Spanish to help the American children learn. We also studied Greek history that year and I loved it. Gina's teacher was also an English woman, Mrs. DeCoopcrank. Her class sang "God Save the King" every morning! At recess we played jump rope, that was the big thing. This was the most fun school I've ever attended.
In Venezuela I learned about trick-or-treating from the American kids and the candy one could collect on Halloween night. I had not been familiar with this before.
There was a splendid view of Mount Avila from our home. Caracas was in a valley surrounded by mountains. This mountain was covered by lush jungle growth and had lots of waterfalls that sparkled in the sun, especially after a rainfall. The clouds sometimes covered it or just passed over the top; truly a beautiful sight.
I received my first roller skates here and taught myself how to skate by rolling down our driveway and stopping by running into the gates. All our drinking water had to be boiled so every night Mom put two big kettles of water on to boil, then they would cool overnight. Even with this precaution Nancy caught dysentery, and was very sick. Freddy had it too but not as severely. The treatment consisted of practically starving her; we almost lost her. She would cry bitterly when she could hear us eating, she was in another room. After a few days, she could eat a small amount of very green bananas and very watered-down milk. I can remember washing out her soiled diapers in a stone washbasin the back yard. They think she caught it by sucking on the washcloth in the bathtub. The doctor who treated her had lost his little son to that same dysentery just a few months before Nancy caught it.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Return to the U.S. and life in Nogales, AZ 1942-43
Soon it was time to leave Argentina. There are so many wonderful people I remember and so many happy times. The people I remember best are Greta, of course; Euridice Turano; Bro. and Sis. Gianfelice and their family; Bro. Domingo; Sister Escudero; and Sam and Clara Boren. The missionaries were always so good to Gina and me. The ones I remember best are Ben Allen, in later years our family doctor; Rolf Larson; J. Donald Earl; Marion Vance; and my cousins Clement Williams and Lawrence Janson.
Pres. and Sis. Barker came to preside over the Mission. We were to go home by plane because it was not safe to travel by ship; World War II being in progress. Nancy was about six months old and traveled in a basket. Fred was two and one/half and was dressed as a little gaucho and carried a little toy Ferdinand the Bull Aunt Lucy had sent him. Many members came to see us off at the airport but we had to wait all day because of fog, then late afternoon the flight was postponed until the next day. I can’t remember where we spent the night, the mission home or a hotel. When we went to the airport the next morning, only a few saw us off.
There were two rows of seats on the plane, two seats on the left side and only one on the right. Mom and Dad, holding Fred, sat in the very front so that Nancy's basket would fit on the floor in front of them. Gina and I sat on the right side, one in front of the other. When we flew up high we had to take oxygen by mouth from a little tube attached by our seats because the cabin was not pressurized. The weather was very rough and I think everyone was airsick except Mom. She would point out the beautiful clouds to Dad and he would not appreciate it at all. He didn't even feel like pushing his own oxygen button but had Mom do it. We kept the purser busy bringing paper sacks for us to use.
We only flew by day, staying at hotels in different countries by night. When we landed that first night it was at La Paz, Bolivia, we could hardly do anything. It was so high there that, until you got used to the altitude, you would just drag around. All I can remember is lying around on the bed with no desire to get up whatsoever. Dad's former missionary, Elder Larson, was working there and visited with us. We also stayed in Guayaquil, Ecuador; Panama; Guatemala, and landed at Brownsville, Texas. It seemed strange for everyone to speak English after living for four years in a Spanish-speaking country. From Texas we took a train to Arizona, where we stayed with my Aunt Mona in Nogales. Dad went to Washington, D.C. where he found work with the government, The Institute of Inter-American Affairs. He was the business manager at the two offices he worked in South America.
Flying into Panama was interesting. Since it was war time, the steward blocked all the windows before we landed so we couldn’t see anything as we came in. When we were on the ground we could see barrage balloons flying everywhere and we were told that no lights could be shone at night. We stayed at the home of some friends. One of the daughters gave me a paper doll, one of the prettiest I've ever had. She took me to see the canal and pointed out the wreck of a ship in the water. She said it was an old Spanish ship; who knows.
I enjoyed living in Nogales. Mona had two children, Kay and Mona Lue, and with Gina and me, we had quite a gang. Kay was 9, Gina turned 8, I was 11. We went to the movies every Saturday; it only cost 10 cents, and we watched all sorts of movies and the serial "Gangbusters" and then "Spy Smasher". We would come home and act out our own spy smashing drama. We climbed the hills that rose behind the houses across the street and explored the area. I had not known this much freedom in Argentina. I learned to ride a bike there. Byron, Mona's husband, put me on Kay's bike, gave me a shove down the road and off I went. All went well until I stopped down the road a bit and tried to get started on my own to come back. It seemed like forever until I got it going again and made it back home.
Gina and I had our Patriarchal blessings in Mesa from Bro. Nash. Grandmother Williams was present for them and Aunt Lucy took them down in shorthand. Gina turned eight and was baptized in the Mesa Temple. I also sang my first trio in Nogales. I had sung a duet with Mom in Argentina, "Days of Summer Glory" but this was my first experience with trio work. Mom, Mona, and I sang "Silent Night" at church. Church was held in an upstairs room over some business, just a small branch.
I attended fifth grade in Nogales and learned the songs "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton" and "Grandfather's Clock". I liked those songs very much. We had arrived in Nogales in the late summer time and spent much time with the many books Mona had bought for her kids. At the beginning of school, when we reported on the number of books we had read that past summer, the teachers wouldn't believe me and I had to bring a note from my mother. Each week we would bring money to buy war stamps and paste them in a little book. When the book was full you could exchange it for a war bond.
The Christmas spent in Nogales was the first one I didn't get a doll; I had mixed feeling about it. Mona gave Gina and me rings; I thought they were so beautiful. Gina's had a green stone and mine was blue. I also received my first watch from her, her old one. There was just a dusting of snow on the ground, something almost unknown to us.
Mona had a service porch with a tub and she would wash my hair in it for me every Saturday. She always ended on a cold rinse! Nancy would have her bath in the tub. She learned to hum "Happy Birthday", not quite one-year-old. Mona would let me look through her jewelry box which I enjoyed very much. One Saturday, Byron let me earn some money. He was the Penney's manager and hired me to walk around in the basement to keep an eye on customers and make sure they didn't stuff items into their clothing. I never saw anyone shoplifting, just wandered around, folding up sweaters and such. I felt very important.
Pres. and Sis. Barker came to preside over the Mission. We were to go home by plane because it was not safe to travel by ship; World War II being in progress. Nancy was about six months old and traveled in a basket. Fred was two and one/half and was dressed as a little gaucho and carried a little toy Ferdinand the Bull Aunt Lucy had sent him. Many members came to see us off at the airport but we had to wait all day because of fog, then late afternoon the flight was postponed until the next day. I can’t remember where we spent the night, the mission home or a hotel. When we went to the airport the next morning, only a few saw us off.
There were two rows of seats on the plane, two seats on the left side and only one on the right. Mom and Dad, holding Fred, sat in the very front so that Nancy's basket would fit on the floor in front of them. Gina and I sat on the right side, one in front of the other. When we flew up high we had to take oxygen by mouth from a little tube attached by our seats because the cabin was not pressurized. The weather was very rough and I think everyone was airsick except Mom. She would point out the beautiful clouds to Dad and he would not appreciate it at all. He didn't even feel like pushing his own oxygen button but had Mom do it. We kept the purser busy bringing paper sacks for us to use.
We only flew by day, staying at hotels in different countries by night. When we landed that first night it was at La Paz, Bolivia, we could hardly do anything. It was so high there that, until you got used to the altitude, you would just drag around. All I can remember is lying around on the bed with no desire to get up whatsoever. Dad's former missionary, Elder Larson, was working there and visited with us. We also stayed in Guayaquil, Ecuador; Panama; Guatemala, and landed at Brownsville, Texas. It seemed strange for everyone to speak English after living for four years in a Spanish-speaking country. From Texas we took a train to Arizona, where we stayed with my Aunt Mona in Nogales. Dad went to Washington, D.C. where he found work with the government, The Institute of Inter-American Affairs. He was the business manager at the two offices he worked in South America.
Flying into Panama was interesting. Since it was war time, the steward blocked all the windows before we landed so we couldn’t see anything as we came in. When we were on the ground we could see barrage balloons flying everywhere and we were told that no lights could be shone at night. We stayed at the home of some friends. One of the daughters gave me a paper doll, one of the prettiest I've ever had. She took me to see the canal and pointed out the wreck of a ship in the water. She said it was an old Spanish ship; who knows.
I enjoyed living in Nogales. Mona had two children, Kay and Mona Lue, and with Gina and me, we had quite a gang. Kay was 9, Gina turned 8, I was 11. We went to the movies every Saturday; it only cost 10 cents, and we watched all sorts of movies and the serial "Gangbusters" and then "Spy Smasher". We would come home and act out our own spy smashing drama. We climbed the hills that rose behind the houses across the street and explored the area. I had not known this much freedom in Argentina. I learned to ride a bike there. Byron, Mona's husband, put me on Kay's bike, gave me a shove down the road and off I went. All went well until I stopped down the road a bit and tried to get started on my own to come back. It seemed like forever until I got it going again and made it back home.
Gina and I had our Patriarchal blessings in Mesa from Bro. Nash. Grandmother Williams was present for them and Aunt Lucy took them down in shorthand. Gina turned eight and was baptized in the Mesa Temple. I also sang my first trio in Nogales. I had sung a duet with Mom in Argentina, "Days of Summer Glory" but this was my first experience with trio work. Mom, Mona, and I sang "Silent Night" at church. Church was held in an upstairs room over some business, just a small branch.
I attended fifth grade in Nogales and learned the songs "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton" and "Grandfather's Clock". I liked those songs very much. We had arrived in Nogales in the late summer time and spent much time with the many books Mona had bought for her kids. At the beginning of school, when we reported on the number of books we had read that past summer, the teachers wouldn't believe me and I had to bring a note from my mother. Each week we would bring money to buy war stamps and paste them in a little book. When the book was full you could exchange it for a war bond.
The Christmas spent in Nogales was the first one I didn't get a doll; I had mixed feeling about it. Mona gave Gina and me rings; I thought they were so beautiful. Gina's had a green stone and mine was blue. I also received my first watch from her, her old one. There was just a dusting of snow on the ground, something almost unknown to us.
Mona had a service porch with a tub and she would wash my hair in it for me every Saturday. She always ended on a cold rinse! Nancy would have her bath in the tub. She learned to hum "Happy Birthday", not quite one-year-old. Mona would let me look through her jewelry box which I enjoyed very much. One Saturday, Byron let me earn some money. He was the Penney's manager and hired me to walk around in the basement to keep an eye on customers and make sure they didn't stuff items into their clothing. I never saw anyone shoplifting, just wandered around, folding up sweaters and such. I felt very important.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
work history of my Dad, F S Williams
A granddaughter asked about my Dad having trouble getting a job in the U.S. It was during the depression when it was very hard for people to obtain work. The first time we went to S. A. Dad was called as a mission president. The Church paid a living allowance, not a whole lot. Living in Argentina took all of their savings because Gina and I went to a private school so we could keep our English. The second time, it was during WW II and the US Govt. paid him then; that was a good salary. When we returned in 1945, my Dad worked for his brother-in-law in California in a construction company. Dad worked in the office. When we went to Uruguay in 1947, it was as a mission president again. After I was married, my folks went to Peru where my Dad managed an airline. Several plane crashes ocurred and the company folded so they returned to the States. My Dad's last work, in California, was teaching English as a second language teacher. He really enjoyed that. He was also a carpenter and worked as a realtor.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Early years, 1931-1938
PERSONAL HISTORY
of
BARBARA LYNN WILLIAMS HONEY
On June 15, 1931, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, a birthday present was born. My mother, Corraine Smith, thoughtfully arranged my birth to fall on the 23rd birthday of my father, Frederick Salem Williams. I have enjoyed sharing them ever since.
My earliest recollection is sitting on a bed being fed prunes by my mother. The bed seems to be in the living room; perhaps a couch that opened up into a bed. My second recollection is that of being taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, in Phoenix, by my father. He held me by the hand and pointed out my mother, who waved to us from the hospital window. My sister Argina had just been born, November 5, 1934, and I was three and one/half years old.
I've been told that, when a toddler, my grandfather Smith took me shopping and bought me a nice coat that had two little dogs on it. I named them "Iggesninny" and Iggesnotty."
Another early recollection is of time spent at Yarnell, Arizona, a small community north and west of Phoenix. Yarnell was higher than Phoenix and so much cooler in the summer. My parents had built a cabin close to my Smith grandparent's cabin. I can remember going on walks with my grandfather while he held my hand. We picked some kind of round balls that popped when pinched. He had built a fish pond with shells pressed into the cement of the middle section. There was also a large swing that held about three people and I can remember sitting in it with the grownups in the evenings. I can also remember holding sparklers and that it was very frightening to have the sparks flashing so close to my hand. I can see the water dripping down from the cooler on the back porch. Perishables were put in a box covered with a gunny sack and then soaked in water. As the water evaporated it kept everything cool. There were also picnics at Oak Creek Canyon. I only wore my little panties while wading in the very cold water.
We also lived in Tucson and Binghampton. In the latter place we lived near my Janson cousins. I always had fun with my cousins from both sides of the family. I found out about Santa Claus here. I was looking in a closet one day and saw a darling wooden cradle. I didn't mention it and a short time later it appeared on Christmas morning as a gift from Santa! I have a memory of driving in a car with my Dad and Gina, going to town to pick up my Mom who had been doing some shopping for Christmas. It seems like it was snowing lightly at the time. While in this area, President Grant came to visit our ward and asked all the children to come up and shake his hand. I remember walking up and taking his hand.
My first year of school was quite eventful. We were living in South Gate, California, when I started in first grade. I began with one group, then was moved into another. After a short while our family moved again to Tucson. I found myself quite behind in school work compared to what it had been in California. One time, another girl and I were late coming in from recess. We had seen some boys spanked earlier and, not wanting it to happen to us, we decided to go home. My Mom saw me coming home before the usual time and took me back to school; I wasn't spanked.
We then moved to El Paso, Texas. Work was hard to find so Dad worked in various places. I attended two different schools there and was ahead of my fellow students. While in El Paso, we stayed part of the time at the home of Andres C. Gonzales, an old friend of my parents. We learned a song from one of his sons, "Little Snow Deer" and Gina and I sang it for years. We then went back to South Gate, where I finished my first year of school. I had about six different teachers in the first grade.
The depression was still on and it was hard for my Dad to find work. He, Mom and Gina went back to El Paso and my parents left me with my Grandmother Smith, Grandfather had passed away earlier, to finish up that last part of the school year. I was feeling a little lonely when they left and my aunt Mona made light of my feelings but Grandma gathered me to her and comforted me. Pumpkin pies and sweetpeas always remind me of her.
of
BARBARA LYNN WILLIAMS HONEY
On June 15, 1931, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, a birthday present was born. My mother, Corraine Smith, thoughtfully arranged my birth to fall on the 23rd birthday of my father, Frederick Salem Williams. I have enjoyed sharing them ever since.
My earliest recollection is sitting on a bed being fed prunes by my mother. The bed seems to be in the living room; perhaps a couch that opened up into a bed. My second recollection is that of being taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, in Phoenix, by my father. He held me by the hand and pointed out my mother, who waved to us from the hospital window. My sister Argina had just been born, November 5, 1934, and I was three and one/half years old.
I've been told that, when a toddler, my grandfather Smith took me shopping and bought me a nice coat that had two little dogs on it. I named them "Iggesninny" and Iggesnotty."
Another early recollection is of time spent at Yarnell, Arizona, a small community north and west of Phoenix. Yarnell was higher than Phoenix and so much cooler in the summer. My parents had built a cabin close to my Smith grandparent's cabin. I can remember going on walks with my grandfather while he held my hand. We picked some kind of round balls that popped when pinched. He had built a fish pond with shells pressed into the cement of the middle section. There was also a large swing that held about three people and I can remember sitting in it with the grownups in the evenings. I can also remember holding sparklers and that it was very frightening to have the sparks flashing so close to my hand. I can see the water dripping down from the cooler on the back porch. Perishables were put in a box covered with a gunny sack and then soaked in water. As the water evaporated it kept everything cool. There were also picnics at Oak Creek Canyon. I only wore my little panties while wading in the very cold water.
We also lived in Tucson and Binghampton. In the latter place we lived near my Janson cousins. I always had fun with my cousins from both sides of the family. I found out about Santa Claus here. I was looking in a closet one day and saw a darling wooden cradle. I didn't mention it and a short time later it appeared on Christmas morning as a gift from Santa! I have a memory of driving in a car with my Dad and Gina, going to town to pick up my Mom who had been doing some shopping for Christmas. It seems like it was snowing lightly at the time. While in this area, President Grant came to visit our ward and asked all the children to come up and shake his hand. I remember walking up and taking his hand.
My first year of school was quite eventful. We were living in South Gate, California, when I started in first grade. I began with one group, then was moved into another. After a short while our family moved again to Tucson. I found myself quite behind in school work compared to what it had been in California. One time, another girl and I were late coming in from recess. We had seen some boys spanked earlier and, not wanting it to happen to us, we decided to go home. My Mom saw me coming home before the usual time and took me back to school; I wasn't spanked.
We then moved to El Paso, Texas. Work was hard to find so Dad worked in various places. I attended two different schools there and was ahead of my fellow students. While in El Paso, we stayed part of the time at the home of Andres C. Gonzales, an old friend of my parents. We learned a song from one of his sons, "Little Snow Deer" and Gina and I sang it for years. We then went back to South Gate, where I finished my first year of school. I had about six different teachers in the first grade.
The depression was still on and it was hard for my Dad to find work. He, Mom and Gina went back to El Paso and my parents left me with my Grandmother Smith, Grandfather had passed away earlier, to finish up that last part of the school year. I was feeling a little lonely when they left and my aunt Mona made light of my feelings but Grandma gathered me to her and comforted me. Pumpkin pies and sweetpeas always remind me of her.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Life in Argentina, 1938-1942
The Mission Home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was a very fun place to live for a child. It had many rooms and the yard was very large with lots of trees and space to play. We also had chickens in a coop. Gina and I divided everything up between us, certain areas belonged to each of us exclusively. I could draw a plan of the house and yard today, so deeply is it engraved in my memory. Whenever anyone asks about my childhood it is the four years spent there that come to mind.
Greta played a very important part in our lives. She was a member girl of German ancestry. She helped at the Mission Home and most of the time Gina and I shared a room with her. She was an avid movie goer and usually took me with her on Saturday afternoons. Movies in South America lasted severalhours, with three or four features playing each time. You really got your money's worth! When Greta caught the mumps from Gina and me she had a very hard time. She was swollen all around from one ear to the other. She would moan, "Better I die" over and over again. Greta gave me my tough head. She would brush my hair and pull so hard that I have never had a tender head; she cured me.
Gina and I loved to go through the wastepaper baskets from the office. We saved all sorts of trash. The missionaries started to tear up their letters when they realized we went through the trash and saved them. We would go in and pay tithing whenever we could get Dad to give us a few cents. He finally made us save up because we were having the missionaries write so many receipts. We loved to answer the phone; the number was Floresta 4514.
There were two little girls living next to our home; Licia and Elsa. They were roughly our ages and we played with them all the time. Their parents wanted them to learn English but they never did; we learned Spanish instead. Their manner of living was different from ours. They had a bath in the late afternoon and then were dressed in clean dresses for the afternoon tea. They put those same dresses on in the morning until the afternoon bath and then new ones were put on. Gina and I wore our dresses all day, had our bath before going to bed, and put on clean dresses in the morning. Elsa was the oldest and whenever we played any game she always got to play the youngest, the good girl, and the two littlest girls, Gina and Licia, were always the mean older sisters. I never got to be the youngest, though I wanted to very badly. After learning Spanish, Gina and I always played in that language, never in English. It took a while for our mother to learn Spanish and she worried when she couldn’t understand us. She would ask Greta "Are they saying nice things, using good language?" She worried until she finally learned Spanish.
In the winter time, Gina and I played in the dining room. The dining room and the kitchen were the only heated rooms in the whole house. You could turn a heater on in the bathroom when you took a bath. In the summer, Mom let us play in the living room and we always had it torn up, making play houses. I don't know how she let us make messes in there. Gina was always my best pal; then and later.
Whenever we went any place it was always by bus. Greta was the one who took us to church, which was usually to the chapel at Liniers. I can remember the old building, or house, that we met in before the chapel was finished. Shortly after our arrival in Argentina, Liniers, the first chapel built in that country, had its dedication. It seemed like a huge building to me. On visiting it in later years, I was so surprised to see it wasn't really very large at all. It was in this chapel that I was baptized, in the font under the stand.
June in Argentina is a very cold month. It was on my 8th birthday, June 15, that I was baptized. I changed in a little room, then had to go across an open, outdoor space to the chapel where the baptismal font was. I then had to go out into the cold to change out of my wet clothes. I remember the cold very well! My father baptized me in English, explaining to the people that I might not understand it all in Spanish; but I could have.
I went to school at the American Grammar and High School. The building was several stories high and the younger children had their playground on the roof. We even had teeter-totters up there.
I had problems in school. I had had one year of school in the U.S. and so was put into second grade and just couldn't do the work. I remember getting a "C" on a spelling test and I was so happy because I usually got "F's". I was put back to first grade and was in my own little world, ahead of every one else. There were four reading groups: low, medium, advanced, and me in my own group, very advanced. I did too well in first, so they would try me in second again and down I would go, to the bottom again. It seemed I did this all year, and I know it happened at least three times. Just look at my report card!
The next year I repeated second grade with no problem whatsoever and the next year I was only in the third grade a short while before being advanced to the fourth grade. This was my school experience in English and it all took place in the afternoons. Mornings were all in Spanish and followed the regular Argentine curriculum. We used pen and ink starting right in first grade. The names of the grades there were different: the first year was called lower or inferior first, the second year was higher or superior first then the third year was called second, etc.
We were not allowed to speak English in the morning or to speak Spanish in the afternoon.
One year the English curriculum was completed about a week or two before the Spanish one so we would have class in the morning in Spanish and just read or play games in the afternoon. Reading was my favorite pastime and I would to the school library and check out books. I would finish them and return them and check out more. Finally they told me I could not return books the same day; I had to wait at least one day before returning them. It was here that I discovered the books written about twins from all different countries and ages. They were my favorites for a while, especially the one about the Cave Twins. Another favorite type of reading was the bound volumes of The Children's Friend. The Mission Home had them and I certainly enjoyed them, especially the continued stories. They were no problem to read as I had the whole year bound into one book. My favorite was about an Indian youth in the story "The Bear Dance Trail."
I took piano lessons from the wife of the principal, Mrs. Maddock. I really didn't learn very much from her; she played quite well but wasn't much of a teacher. For a while, I ate at her table in the school dining room at lunch time. I was the only child at that table. There were other teachers and whatever visitors happened to be present. My mother tells me this was quite a trying experience for me. It gave me health problems. My Mom took me to the doctor and when he learned I was eating at the grownup table he told her to not allow that, that he even had trouble eating there. So I took my lunch and ate at a table with other children. That was much better!
I wasn’t very good at practicing the piano. I spent much of my 30 minutes running may nails along the carvings on the front of the piano, even adding a little carving. I always told my Mom I wouldn’t regret my not practicing but have had to eat my words many times since.
During recess, we played crack-the-whip and I was always the caboose. One year I had bandages on my knees constantly; at least that is how I remember it. I had to go to the office frequently to get bandaged.
Every year the American colony had a big picnic. It was held at Colegio Ward, part of the school organization, in the outlying town of Ramos Mejia. They didn't teach classes in English at that school, only Spanish. There were huge open lawns or fields where races and games were held. Hot dogs were served and I think I got sick after every celebration. A group of missionaries organized a little band, "Hill Billy Band" and they played for every outing.
Buenos Aires is very flat and when it rained the water just piled up in the streets. The sidewalks would be covered with water. In warm weather, Mom would let Gina and me wade in the water. None of the other children in the neighborhood did, maybe it wasn't "ladylike".
Christmas came during the hot part of the year. My folks always held a party for all the missionaries in the district on Christmas Eve. Gina and I would get to stay up for part of it; it was a lot of fun. The neighbors had a type of jasmine bush that grew close to our living room windows, and as it was summer and hot, our windows were open. I can remember smelling the fragrance of those flowers. Years later I saw those same flowers growing in Phoenix, Star Jasmin I think they are called, and they smelled like Christmas in Argentina! Christmas trees were made of chicken feathers dyed green; we never had real trees with that lovely pine fragrance.
I was always the first one up on Christmas morning. Gina wanted to be but I always awoke first, would look at everything, then I would wake her up. She never woke before me, though she tried to every year. Our first Christmas there I received a doll with a blonde wig. Gina carried her around by the hair that first day and all the hair came off. She was only four years old. I can remember being very unhappy about it. I was still seven. Another year we received very lovely dolls. I named mine Electa, after the girlfriend of one of the missionaries; she didn't wait for him. In later life I met the real Electa in Albuquerque, N.M.
My brother Fred was born March 31, 1940. We were so excited to have a baby brother. When he got to be a toddler Gina and I would dress him up in Gina's clothes and put a bonnet on him and he would be our baby. He was a cute, blond little boy. I had to sing lullabys to him each night when he went to bed until he fell asleep.
Carnival was the fun time of year; it usually came in March. It officially lasted three days but the dances and fun began long before the official days. The rama, or branch, held a big costume dance and Gina and I got to go; all dressed up, of course. We had a lot of fun running around the dance floor and generally getting in everyone's way. One year I was dressed in my mother's kimono and another year my mother made me an Arabian dancing girl's costume. I still think it is the nicest costume I've ever had.
One year, Mom let me wear her brooch and cautioned me not to lose it. Well of course I did. I remember praying that I would find it, then shuffling my feet through the thick confetti on the floor trying to locate it. I did, but when I stepped on it I broke the fastener. I was sorry I hadn't prayed that I would find it whole!
Our parents were very busy but we had one camping trip while in Argentina. We went to Potrerillos and stayed about a week. My Dad couldn't be with us the whole time so he had one of the Elders come with us, Elder Brown. The mission had finally received a car from the States.
We camped by a lovely stream. This stream emptied into a swiftly flowing river a short distance from our camp. We were not allowed near this river, but could play beside the stream all we wanted. There were lots of rushes growing alongside it and a family of little ducks swam in and out of them. Every day it seemed there was one less little duck; we wondered if they were getting caught in the swift river water.
Fred was almost two years old and wearing training pants. They had been wet, and the sand was sticking to them so Mom asked me to rinse them out in the stream. I waded out to the middle of the stream and started dunking them when the water tore them out of my grasp. I ran over the pebbles and sharp rocks in the water until I caught them I felt very proud of myself so I waved them above my head to show Mom that I had retrieved them then dropped them again! I knew what I would get if I didn't bring those pants back so I bounded after them again. I was afraid they would go on down into the river before I could reach them but was lucky and caught them. This time I indulged in no heroics, just brought them back safely to shore.
Our last night there it rained. We had just one little tent and one cot. Dad had taken the car for his visit to one of the branches. Mom, expecting Nancy very shortly, slept in the cot with Freddy and Gina. I don't know how they fit. Elder Brown and I shared a bed on the ground. I can remember feeling very embarrassed that night; I was all of ten, and very unhappy at the circumstance but there just was no room on that cot or any where else. Poor fellow; he was probably unhappy about it all too, but I didn't think of it at the time.
Nancy was born March 23, 1942; another baby for us to play with. She was a little brunette. Her name was Nancy Lou but Fred called her "Lulu" and she was known by this name until she was about five or six.
Greta played a very important part in our lives. She was a member girl of German ancestry. She helped at the Mission Home and most of the time Gina and I shared a room with her. She was an avid movie goer and usually took me with her on Saturday afternoons. Movies in South America lasted severalhours, with three or four features playing each time. You really got your money's worth! When Greta caught the mumps from Gina and me she had a very hard time. She was swollen all around from one ear to the other. She would moan, "Better I die" over and over again. Greta gave me my tough head. She would brush my hair and pull so hard that I have never had a tender head; she cured me.
Gina and I loved to go through the wastepaper baskets from the office. We saved all sorts of trash. The missionaries started to tear up their letters when they realized we went through the trash and saved them. We would go in and pay tithing whenever we could get Dad to give us a few cents. He finally made us save up because we were having the missionaries write so many receipts. We loved to answer the phone; the number was Floresta 4514.
There were two little girls living next to our home; Licia and Elsa. They were roughly our ages and we played with them all the time. Their parents wanted them to learn English but they never did; we learned Spanish instead. Their manner of living was different from ours. They had a bath in the late afternoon and then were dressed in clean dresses for the afternoon tea. They put those same dresses on in the morning until the afternoon bath and then new ones were put on. Gina and I wore our dresses all day, had our bath before going to bed, and put on clean dresses in the morning. Elsa was the oldest and whenever we played any game she always got to play the youngest, the good girl, and the two littlest girls, Gina and Licia, were always the mean older sisters. I never got to be the youngest, though I wanted to very badly. After learning Spanish, Gina and I always played in that language, never in English. It took a while for our mother to learn Spanish and she worried when she couldn’t understand us. She would ask Greta "Are they saying nice things, using good language?" She worried until she finally learned Spanish.
In the winter time, Gina and I played in the dining room. The dining room and the kitchen were the only heated rooms in the whole house. You could turn a heater on in the bathroom when you took a bath. In the summer, Mom let us play in the living room and we always had it torn up, making play houses. I don't know how she let us make messes in there. Gina was always my best pal; then and later.
Whenever we went any place it was always by bus. Greta was the one who took us to church, which was usually to the chapel at Liniers. I can remember the old building, or house, that we met in before the chapel was finished. Shortly after our arrival in Argentina, Liniers, the first chapel built in that country, had its dedication. It seemed like a huge building to me. On visiting it in later years, I was so surprised to see it wasn't really very large at all. It was in this chapel that I was baptized, in the font under the stand.
June in Argentina is a very cold month. It was on my 8th birthday, June 15, that I was baptized. I changed in a little room, then had to go across an open, outdoor space to the chapel where the baptismal font was. I then had to go out into the cold to change out of my wet clothes. I remember the cold very well! My father baptized me in English, explaining to the people that I might not understand it all in Spanish; but I could have.
I went to school at the American Grammar and High School. The building was several stories high and the younger children had their playground on the roof. We even had teeter-totters up there.
I had problems in school. I had had one year of school in the U.S. and so was put into second grade and just couldn't do the work. I remember getting a "C" on a spelling test and I was so happy because I usually got "F's". I was put back to first grade and was in my own little world, ahead of every one else. There were four reading groups: low, medium, advanced, and me in my own group, very advanced. I did too well in first, so they would try me in second again and down I would go, to the bottom again. It seemed I did this all year, and I know it happened at least three times. Just look at my report card!
The next year I repeated second grade with no problem whatsoever and the next year I was only in the third grade a short while before being advanced to the fourth grade. This was my school experience in English and it all took place in the afternoons. Mornings were all in Spanish and followed the regular Argentine curriculum. We used pen and ink starting right in first grade. The names of the grades there were different: the first year was called lower or inferior first, the second year was higher or superior first then the third year was called second, etc.
We were not allowed to speak English in the morning or to speak Spanish in the afternoon.
One year the English curriculum was completed about a week or two before the Spanish one so we would have class in the morning in Spanish and just read or play games in the afternoon. Reading was my favorite pastime and I would to the school library and check out books. I would finish them and return them and check out more. Finally they told me I could not return books the same day; I had to wait at least one day before returning them. It was here that I discovered the books written about twins from all different countries and ages. They were my favorites for a while, especially the one about the Cave Twins. Another favorite type of reading was the bound volumes of The Children's Friend. The Mission Home had them and I certainly enjoyed them, especially the continued stories. They were no problem to read as I had the whole year bound into one book. My favorite was about an Indian youth in the story "The Bear Dance Trail."
I took piano lessons from the wife of the principal, Mrs. Maddock. I really didn't learn very much from her; she played quite well but wasn't much of a teacher. For a while, I ate at her table in the school dining room at lunch time. I was the only child at that table. There were other teachers and whatever visitors happened to be present. My mother tells me this was quite a trying experience for me. It gave me health problems. My Mom took me to the doctor and when he learned I was eating at the grownup table he told her to not allow that, that he even had trouble eating there. So I took my lunch and ate at a table with other children. That was much better!
I wasn’t very good at practicing the piano. I spent much of my 30 minutes running may nails along the carvings on the front of the piano, even adding a little carving. I always told my Mom I wouldn’t regret my not practicing but have had to eat my words many times since.
During recess, we played crack-the-whip and I was always the caboose. One year I had bandages on my knees constantly; at least that is how I remember it. I had to go to the office frequently to get bandaged.
Every year the American colony had a big picnic. It was held at Colegio Ward, part of the school organization, in the outlying town of Ramos Mejia. They didn't teach classes in English at that school, only Spanish. There were huge open lawns or fields where races and games were held. Hot dogs were served and I think I got sick after every celebration. A group of missionaries organized a little band, "Hill Billy Band" and they played for every outing.
Buenos Aires is very flat and when it rained the water just piled up in the streets. The sidewalks would be covered with water. In warm weather, Mom would let Gina and me wade in the water. None of the other children in the neighborhood did, maybe it wasn't "ladylike".
Christmas came during the hot part of the year. My folks always held a party for all the missionaries in the district on Christmas Eve. Gina and I would get to stay up for part of it; it was a lot of fun. The neighbors had a type of jasmine bush that grew close to our living room windows, and as it was summer and hot, our windows were open. I can remember smelling the fragrance of those flowers. Years later I saw those same flowers growing in Phoenix, Star Jasmin I think they are called, and they smelled like Christmas in Argentina! Christmas trees were made of chicken feathers dyed green; we never had real trees with that lovely pine fragrance.
I was always the first one up on Christmas morning. Gina wanted to be but I always awoke first, would look at everything, then I would wake her up. She never woke before me, though she tried to every year. Our first Christmas there I received a doll with a blonde wig. Gina carried her around by the hair that first day and all the hair came off. She was only four years old. I can remember being very unhappy about it. I was still seven. Another year we received very lovely dolls. I named mine Electa, after the girlfriend of one of the missionaries; she didn't wait for him. In later life I met the real Electa in Albuquerque, N.M.
My brother Fred was born March 31, 1940. We were so excited to have a baby brother. When he got to be a toddler Gina and I would dress him up in Gina's clothes and put a bonnet on him and he would be our baby. He was a cute, blond little boy. I had to sing lullabys to him each night when he went to bed until he fell asleep.
Carnival was the fun time of year; it usually came in March. It officially lasted three days but the dances and fun began long before the official days. The rama, or branch, held a big costume dance and Gina and I got to go; all dressed up, of course. We had a lot of fun running around the dance floor and generally getting in everyone's way. One year I was dressed in my mother's kimono and another year my mother made me an Arabian dancing girl's costume. I still think it is the nicest costume I've ever had.
One year, Mom let me wear her brooch and cautioned me not to lose it. Well of course I did. I remember praying that I would find it, then shuffling my feet through the thick confetti on the floor trying to locate it. I did, but when I stepped on it I broke the fastener. I was sorry I hadn't prayed that I would find it whole!
Our parents were very busy but we had one camping trip while in Argentina. We went to Potrerillos and stayed about a week. My Dad couldn't be with us the whole time so he had one of the Elders come with us, Elder Brown. The mission had finally received a car from the States.
We camped by a lovely stream. This stream emptied into a swiftly flowing river a short distance from our camp. We were not allowed near this river, but could play beside the stream all we wanted. There were lots of rushes growing alongside it and a family of little ducks swam in and out of them. Every day it seemed there was one less little duck; we wondered if they were getting caught in the swift river water.
Fred was almost two years old and wearing training pants. They had been wet, and the sand was sticking to them so Mom asked me to rinse them out in the stream. I waded out to the middle of the stream and started dunking them when the water tore them out of my grasp. I ran over the pebbles and sharp rocks in the water until I caught them I felt very proud of myself so I waved them above my head to show Mom that I had retrieved them then dropped them again! I knew what I would get if I didn't bring those pants back so I bounded after them again. I was afraid they would go on down into the river before I could reach them but was lucky and caught them. This time I indulged in no heroics, just brought them back safely to shore.
Our last night there it rained. We had just one little tent and one cot. Dad had taken the car for his visit to one of the branches. Mom, expecting Nancy very shortly, slept in the cot with Freddy and Gina. I don't know how they fit. Elder Brown and I shared a bed on the ground. I can remember feeling very embarrassed that night; I was all of ten, and very unhappy at the circumstance but there just was no room on that cot or any where else. Poor fellow; he was probably unhappy about it all too, but I didn't think of it at the time.
Nancy was born March 23, 1942; another baby for us to play with. She was a little brunette. Her name was Nancy Lou but Fred called her "Lulu" and she was known by this name until she was about five or six.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Trip to Argentina, 1938
My parents were called to preside over the Argentine Mission and we left for South America the summer of 1938; I was seven and Gina three and one/half. My father was 30 and my mother 29 years old. My Dad had filled his mission in Argentina 1927 to 1929 and now would be returning to the land and people he had learned to love. Then it was called the South American Mission.
I remember saying goodby to my grandmother Smith at my Uncle Don's home in Phoenix. I have a picture of her standing and smiling at us taken at that time; she had a lovely smile. She knew she had cancer and would never see us again but was very brave. She told me that when I looked at the picture I would know she was smiling at me.
I don't remember too much of our trip to New York City, but we took the train. In New York, we went to the Radio City Theater and saw the Rockettes dance and roll around on large balls. One couldn't control her's and she kept rolling over to the curtains and grabbing them. We never could figure out if it was part of the show or whether she really was having problems. Dad went to a baseball game while there and saw the Yankees play. He loved baseball and the Yankees.
We didn't know anyone in New York, but when the ship sailed we all waved to the people on the dock. The ship was a lovely place and everyone was nice to Gina and me. The beauty operator told us stories and there was a group of nuns traveling on the ship; they told us stories too. We enjoyed the movies that were shown every other night on deck. Dances were held the alternate nights but Gina and I couldn't stay up for them. There was a swimming pool and treats were served in the afternoon; we had a lot of fun.
Gina and I had a room to ourselves next to our parents. My mother didn’t get much sleep worrying about us. There was no connecting door between her room and ours and she would lock our door then get up and open it in case we needed to get out and she worried then that someone could get in. She and my Dad finally worked it out that he would watch us during the day so she could get some sleep.
A stowaway was found on board and he was locked up in a little cell at the end of the deck. He fashioned a little purse out of string and gave it to Gina. We could peek in and see him in his cell.
I remember our visit to Rio de Janeiro and the trip by cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain; also the beaches and the wavy black and white tiles in the sidewalks. While walking along a trail on Sugar Loaf, Dad stuck a twig into the side of the hill and told us it would be a tree when next we visited there. I've never been back along the trail to check.
It was very cold when we landed in Buenos Aires, in August, the dead of winter. Dad had taught me the sentence " Como se llama esto?" It means "What is this called, or what is the name of this?" I asked it about an iron and received the reply "plancha". My first Spanish word.
President and Sister Young greeted us warmly and their son Carlitos, about twelve or so, gave me a big pile of "Paturuzu" comics to read. Paturuzu was an Indian. Greta, the German live-in girl, gave Gina and me warm milk sweetened with honey to warm us up. The Youngs returned to the States after a few days.
I remember saying goodby to my grandmother Smith at my Uncle Don's home in Phoenix. I have a picture of her standing and smiling at us taken at that time; she had a lovely smile. She knew she had cancer and would never see us again but was very brave. She told me that when I looked at the picture I would know she was smiling at me.
I don't remember too much of our trip to New York City, but we took the train. In New York, we went to the Radio City Theater and saw the Rockettes dance and roll around on large balls. One couldn't control her's and she kept rolling over to the curtains and grabbing them. We never could figure out if it was part of the show or whether she really was having problems. Dad went to a baseball game while there and saw the Yankees play. He loved baseball and the Yankees.
We didn't know anyone in New York, but when the ship sailed we all waved to the people on the dock. The ship was a lovely place and everyone was nice to Gina and me. The beauty operator told us stories and there was a group of nuns traveling on the ship; they told us stories too. We enjoyed the movies that were shown every other night on deck. Dances were held the alternate nights but Gina and I couldn't stay up for them. There was a swimming pool and treats were served in the afternoon; we had a lot of fun.
Gina and I had a room to ourselves next to our parents. My mother didn’t get much sleep worrying about us. There was no connecting door between her room and ours and she would lock our door then get up and open it in case we needed to get out and she worried then that someone could get in. She and my Dad finally worked it out that he would watch us during the day so she could get some sleep.
A stowaway was found on board and he was locked up in a little cell at the end of the deck. He fashioned a little purse out of string and gave it to Gina. We could peek in and see him in his cell.
I remember our visit to Rio de Janeiro and the trip by cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain; also the beaches and the wavy black and white tiles in the sidewalks. While walking along a trail on Sugar Loaf, Dad stuck a twig into the side of the hill and told us it would be a tree when next we visited there. I've never been back along the trail to check.
It was very cold when we landed in Buenos Aires, in August, the dead of winter. Dad had taught me the sentence " Como se llama esto?" It means "What is this called, or what is the name of this?" I asked it about an iron and received the reply "plancha". My first Spanish word.
President and Sister Young greeted us warmly and their son Carlitos, about twelve or so, gave me a big pile of "Paturuzu" comics to read. Paturuzu was an Indian. Greta, the German live-in girl, gave Gina and me warm milk sweetened with honey to warm us up. The Youngs returned to the States after a few days.
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