1962 Diary Entries and 1962 School Days

I'm going to catch up on my 1962 Diary posts - after writing yesterday about the Spring Queen Contest - made me think of those days.

The last post was August 27, 1962 - so today I'll start with the 28th. Let me just explain that this is a five year diary. I didn't maintain it for 5 years. It was a Christmas present in the fifth grade, so I began my entries in December of 1961. I was in the fifth grade. Now it is August 28, 1962 and I am about to be in the 6th grade. I've almost been doing these entries for a year and am starting to lose interest. I left days blank as we're about to see. There were only four lines for each day to make an entry, which is why it is all written in such a blunt, matter of fact way. It isn't a journal at all. Just allows for a few facts. By the sixth grade some of friends were starting to mature, I suppose. Or set their sites on the teen years. I wasn't. I didn't really go through puberty until I was 15. I was a very late bloomer. In the sixth grade I was still playing with Barbie Dolls and received a Chatty Baby for Christmas that year. I don't think my hormones were stirring at all. Okay - August 28th...

Tuesday August 28, 1962: Dear Diary, played with Jane.

Wednesday August 29, 1962: Dear Diary, no entry

Thursday August 30, 1962: no entry

Friday August 31, 1962: no entry

Saturday September 1, 1962: no entry

Sunday September 2, 1962: Dear Diary the pool closed today.

Monday September 3, 1962: no entry

Tuesday September 4, 1962: no entry

Wednesday September 5, 1962: no entry

Thursday September 6, 1962: Dear Diary, Today is Mother's Birthday.

Friday September 7, 1962: Dear Diary went to 4-H Round-Up

Saturday September 8, 1962: no entry

Sunday September 9, 1962: Dear Diary, Went to play with Marilyn Mason.

Monday September 10, 1962: Dear Diary, Played with Jane White

Tuesday September 11, 1962: Dear Diary, Jeannie B. Price came to play with me today.

Wednesday September 12, 1962: Dear Diary, I played with Jane White today.

Thursday September 13, 1962: Dear Diary school started today. Tonight I went to a football game.

Friday September 14, 1962: Dear diary I went to school for a half a day today.

Saturday September 15, 1962: no entry

Sunday September 16, 1962: Dear Diary I went to sunday school and church.

Monday September 17, 1962: Dear Diary, today is my first full day at school.

Tuesday September 18, 1962: Dear Diary, Didn't have much homework today.

Wednesday September 19, 1962: Dear Diary, Today was same old school day.

Thursday September 20, 1962: Dear diary, Same old school.

Friday September 21, 1962: Dear Diary, Tonight I went to the ballgame.

Saturday September 22, 1962: Dear Diary, It was a beautiful day today. I played with Jane and Jeannie Knox.

Sunday September 23, 1962: Dear Diary, We ate over at Ella's today. (After church of course).

So - I covered a lot of days this time -

Things to make note of. At the beginning of these entries in today's post - it's obvious that summer is winding down. The pool closes on a Sunday. When I write that I played with Jane White - she lived on my street. She really was my best friend. Jeannie Knox is mentioned in the last entry - whom I've written about in previous posts. She too lived on my street. A very imaginative, creative friend to play with - but extremely "high maintenance". We didn't know that term back then, but it is so very appropriate. Jane was my kindred spirit. I was close to her entire family. She was very kind and dear and loyal. She had a gentle spirit. I really did enjoyed playing with Jeannie Knox. I think she and I had lived on the street longer than any of the other children - except Jimmy and Becky Hart. Jimmy was my age. Becky was his younger sister. He lived next to Jeannie Knox. Jane lived farther up the street from all of us. We all had our bikes and they were our transportation, unless we walked. There had always been friends to come and go on Williams Avenue. What I didn't know was that the next summer nearly all the families who had kids for me to play with - well for various reasons - they would move - the next summer. That was tough. I was going into the 7th grade and it was quite a grieving process for me. It was hard. I still remember that.

Okay - Summer is winding down - pool closes - and by reading the entries it's easy to see that I am trying to make the most of my last days of freedom. I LOVED summer. I do not like confinement. Freaks me out. Having to stay in one class, confined to one desk, lined up with other kids, no freedom to move at will, - unless it's to the pencil sharpener or to the bathroom - or a water break - and those are limited. I recall that teachers soon learned that Ellen Nix and I were best friends and did much, too much, talking in class. They must have passed that word on to the next teacher. No teacher would EVER let us sit near each other. Ellen and I would pass notes, but that was tricky. Really weird if it was confiscated by the teacher. Or, some boy might grab it to aggravate us. So - we developed a sign language spelling out words. That was tricky too, but it worked for us quite a bit. We would clear our throats to get each other's attention. Let me add that I was not one to get scolded in class - almost never - oh - except in the 3rd and 5th grade - and now that I am an adult - I think those older ladies had issues. I can be objective about that now and I know they were too old and too "old school" to be teaching. Back to mine and Ellen's communication tactics - I don't remember us ever getting caught. Imagine how subtle we had to be. We were good.

Diary Entries and what we're noting. I do get sidetracked.

Last week of school - getting play time in - also notice how school didn't start until September 13. Amazing. We had a good, long summer! Loved it. I lived on a straight street that had been cut into a pecan orchard. In the summer it was green, green, green - all those pecan leaves on those tall, full trees, growing in that green grass. My paradise. Curbs on that asphalt street, gutters for the rain to wash into - Some paved drives, some not paved. Most weren't.

So school starts - Not even a half day that first day. Just going and getting to know our teacher and our new classroom - Next day - Only a half day. I love the gentle return. We didn't jump in full force. No, we eased back in. We had to take our books that we'd bought. State didn't provide ours. We went to the store, downtown which was called Evergreen Grocery or it was Suddith and Bethune Shoes - can't remember - I think it switched around. That's where we bought our books - Got our "school shoes", of course next door at Suddith and Bethune's - which later became Lambert's Shoe Store. I do remember that we could buy "used books", which my mom was "all about"! I hated that. I loved the smell of a new book. We were always having to be frugal. The social studies book in the 6th grade, well, the new one had a new cover - the used one had a very dated cover - I was very envious of those kids whose mom had gotten them the new book with the new picture. Mine was so used that it was falling apart during the year - and I appealed to mom to let me get a new one. YAY. She said yes. It was in the middle of the year - so I loved taking in that new book to school. Loved looking around at the others and then back at my book and feeling a part of what the others had. OH, Our HUMAN FLESH! What trouble it deals us!

Next day, Friday - only half a day - and see that our first game was on Thursday night? I don't remember that sort of thing - all our ballgames were on Friday nights - but I guess that had something to do with schedules in our area. Perhaps athletes would have the answer to that. Football games in Evergreen, AL were like football games all over - HUGE social event - BIG DEAL! SO VERY IMPORTANT to the whole community. I loved it all. I loved the Band marching in, the drumbeat - the drama - the crowd - I hung out down below near the cheerleaders and near the band. Where Daddy was. My buddies and I were together, humidity, excitement, screaming, running, yelling, lights - hopefully new clothes - but I wasn't one who could count on that, either. Again - frugal.

Again - if one reads the entries above - a sad sad commentary - that all I had to say about the first week of school was "Same Old School". What is that about - and then my words were much perkier as I describe the first Saturday - A Beautiful Day - I was let out of a cage. I made good grades - maybe it was just too easy - not very challenging. I loved my teacher - Mrs. Wilkins. She was so sweet. So sweet.

So, that's the first week of the sixth grade for me.

I have some pictures to post to show anyone who is reading - which I think it is just a couple of my daughters at this point - and maybe my sister who is seeing what "fool stuff" I'm writing now - other curious folks might happen by. I know that Stephanie and Hollen are looking for any word on the Barbers here in S'boro - they are in the house and Ann is sorting through all that stuff. It all looks great! Ya'll need to come visit - Luke is 2 next week.

I have to go. Charlie is home and we are going out to eat in H'ville to get "reacquainted" with each other. These days, everything seems to pull us in different directions.

Pictures of my diary I will now post - so you can see how old and tattered it is, like me.