Road Trips: California Adventures 1971

 I'm almost to a good stopping point on the sorting and scanning of photos- at least "for now".   But I feel I have one more story left before putting the AZ era to rest.  

Back in 2012-2013, when I first started this project.  I would scan a few photos and send them to Richard in hopes of getting a good story from the photo.   This  first photo was one such photo.    Richard did indeed share very entertaining story-noting it was taken in Las Vegas..but in hindsight- I don't think the story matched the photo.   For on the back of this classic it reads "this is the car that will or could be yours to use when you fly to see us this winter". Another duplicate notes that "this is our new car.  The stuffed animals Laura and Martha are holding are their souvenirs from the zoo".   So- one photo I think was sent to Grandma Irene in hopes of getting her to come see us in AZ and the other was probably sent to Grandma Hazel- 

Anyways- it is highly unlikely that this was from a trip to Vegas as Richard suggested...instead I think it was related to California road trip we took in the early part of 1971. 

Hello- this is indeed a California road-trip...

  January 1971- when the park was 16 years young (having first opened in 1955).   The captions are sparse but note that this is the entrance to Fantasy Land.  Well, d'uh...  Notice how uncrowded it is?  Ah..if only that were the case today!  

Another iconic sight at Disneyland.   

And when in California- you simply must go see the ocean...

a tradition I would carry forth with my own Things when we visited CA in 2002.

Another iconic image from Knott's Berry Farm...

and of course- the family mischief maker is getting tips from an expert...

And then there is this one-clearly we are at the four corners with that same stylish car. and Laura's vibrant golden sweater.  But in what universe would Four Corners have been part of a CA road trip starting in Tucson?   Instead- I suspect it was snapped on the way to WI around that same time...because hello, that would have been one heck of a detour to include this landmark on the same trip.  I wanted to include it- as this is a rather classic for kids whose parents have said- look, you can be in four states at once!  

Anyways- as I sift through these handful of photos- I find myself reflecting that it really only takes one or two good photos to remind you- that your childhood was indeed pretty magical!

Again- Thanks Mom and Dad!  

 

The Granum Girls- The AZ era.

As I sift through photos, one constant is a plethora of photos of my sister and I smiling for the camera.  Oh who am I kidding- I am either hamming it up or scowling...but standing proud next to my sister- sporting some curious fashion choices and consistently no-fuss hairstyles.

I thought I would start a series where I feature photos of the Granum Girls

This post will feature photos of us from our time in AZ.    And in many of these photos, Audrey has taken a pen to the back of the photo and captioned them....helping decode when and why the photo may have been taken.  

Let's start with this classic- on the back Richard has written Laura and Martha in front of Apache Hall ?1969..but the date printed on the margin is 1970.  Oh well...close enough, right?   We sure were happy dorm rats!

This one has some handwriting by Audrey...smudged but reads "Off to school we must go, this was the 2nd day of school".   I'm guessing it was in the Fall of 1969- as Martha doesn't have a lunch box or other school paraphernalia suggesting she was going to school all day.

This one reads "the sad face is put on.  Really she is happy.  Just doesn't like to have her picture taken lately".   Editor's note- which one is sad?  Probably Laura.   But to that I say "Hey, Kettle, meet Pot" because Audrey would go on to become very camera shy through the years...

On the back of this one- Audrey has written "How would you like to meet these two in a dark alley?  Those pumpkins were almost full when they finished".  Hello- we were two cute kids living in a college dorm where our parents were the dorm parents.  Of course, we would score big time when it was time to trick-or-treat!

A Holiday Classic- in front of the tree- where Audrey has written "Merry Christmas 1969- taken before their church program".   Sing it loud, sisters!  Sing it loud!

Christmas Morning- 1969- where Audrey has written "Martha is holding her little Kachina doll.  The large one hadn't been opened yet.  The doll in the purple dress is a Navajo doll.   Also- see the gold fish?.  The tree in the background is a Manzanita branch.  It has a reddish bark and is very pretty".

I'm wondering who Audrey was writing this for- herself or was it one of the photos she would go on to send to her mom, Grandma Irene.   I inherited those photos many years ago- so it's possible this photo was originally in the stash from Grandma Irene.

This one reads "My 2 little helpers- they get them done- not always the cleanest but we don't worry".

And back to school it is-nothing written on the back of this one

And last but not least- is this family classic where Audrey so perfectly notes

"I must say Martha is the biggest "ham" around...November 1971..

No worries, Mom...some things never change! 

 Hamming it up since 1965!

 

Road Trips: The South 1969

 When Richard passed away last September, Laura and I discovered a box of old scrapbooks.    I knew that my mom would make scrapbooks after some of our trips, but hadn't seen this collection of scrapbooks in many years- if not decades.

My heart did a little flip flop of joy- imagining the stories contained within these weathered pages.  

That is until I started to look through them.   

Confession time- Audrey was not an accomplished scrapbooker.   For in these pages were postcards, glued to the pages, an occasional ticket stub but next to nothing was written next to the photos.   Next to no photos of people and no reflections on the trip itself.  

But rather than dwell on what wasn't included, I shall look at what was included.

In the Spring of 1969 our family would take a vacation- as noted on this very detailed title page

The South, eh?   That's pretty broad description.

Upon further reading...it seemed to have been a pretty epic road trip..

for there are postcards from 

And from a Stone Mountain in Georgia...

where the inscription on the back of this post card reads

 "Confederate Flags waving gloriously above the beautiful reflecting pool".

Curiosity led me to see if they still fly given all the changes within our culture of celebrating the confederacy- and they were relocated to less controversial location within the park earlier this year (2023)

Charleston was also part of the adventure..

as was a trip to 

Notice the cost of admission- these days they range from $85-105 for a one day ticket...even adjusting for inflation ($3 then is about $25 today)...that's a significant jump.  

The album had few if any photos of us-

Except for these gems...

Sister and I at Rock City...

And this one of Audrey and her girls...where yep...I packed my scowl!

Maybe there were more photos in the boxes of slides we jointly agreed to discard without first sifting through.   But, some 54 years later...would it really be worth the trouble to sift through even more memorabilia than we already decided to keep?  

Yep- no regrets on passing on saving the slide boxes.

And instead- after just a few minutes with the scanner, some time on this keyboard- I am reminded of the gift held within the pages of these weary scrapbooks.

Our parents took us on trips- from a very early age (I wasn't even 4 years old on this trip).   Clearly they were epic in scope- for a quick google map itinerary tells me this trip would have involved over 2k miles, all done over probably just a week.  

And from this early exposure to travel- my sister and I were gifted with a curiosity and desire to travel.  We were shown through example- don't wait until some-day,  start with where you are and go from there.

And for that I say THANK YOU Mom and Dad...

Putting the grand in grandparents

I'm about a week late- but apparently, the 2nd Sunday after Labor Day is known as Grandparents Day.  Signed into Presidential Proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s, the origins of this holiday are a little unclear outside of a day set aside to honor one's grandparents.     While our grandparents have long since passed, I figure this occasion would be a good opportunity  to dust off the keyboard and chip away at the stack of inherited photos with some grandparent reflections.   

My sister and I were fortunate enough to have grown up with 3 living grandparents.   Our grandmothers would live long vibrant lives- and I know Laura and I both have a treasure chest of memories- some of which I have reflected upon in past blog entries.

But, what about the pairing of Grandma and Grandpa?     Grandpa Norman would pass away in 1978 after a brief battle with stomach cancer.  

In looking through the photos I've inherited, I can see that our grandparents were frequent visitors in our home, whether it was Arizona in the late 1960s/early 1970s or Georgia in the 1970s.   Now, was this based on a desire to be physically present in our lives, or was it a desire to escape the Wisconsin winters...who knows..but without a doubt, there is a plethora of photos of Laura and I enjoying these visits with our grandparents. 

It's a perfect photo- right down to the look of annoyance on my face...

And again- here I am not looking at the camera- 

maybe the sun was in my eyes?  Sure, let's just go with that.

Hazel and Norman would fly in...

Help out with a few chores around the yard...

Take a siesta or two..

join us for a picnic in the desert

and sometimes joined by their Californian siblings (Uncle Vernon and his wife Lillian)

We'd put on our fancy cowgirl duds...and check out the rodeo

And we'd attempt our own "Norman Rockwell" style family portrait...

featuring of course Norman Granum 

and me sporting what appears to be a signature pout yet again..

We'd pause and smell the flowers at the botanical garden...

or bask  in the desert sunshine..

The tradition of grandparent visits would continue on into the next generation...

With grandpa showing up in his flashy red convertible.

helping ensure the flower boxes were planted just right..

and take a siesta or two..

Sometimes visiting for a holiday..

and other visits were just a quick visit with a story or two shared

supporting lego creations from Colorado

to Michigan...

It sure was nice that he took the time to come and see the grands on their home turf!  

Thanks Grandpa- we miss you!  

A Place to call home: The first edition

August 2023 Editors Note

As I was looking over the blog contents- I see this one was still in draft mode.  Hmm...no idea how or why that is...blame it on Covid perhaps? 

This is part of a series I hope to complete in the coming months- taking each of the various homes our parents owned and reflecting on the experiences we enjoyed while living there. 

Unfortunately- Richard is no longer around to spin the tale- you're stuck with me I suppose..

This post features our house in Menomonee Falls.  It would be the first home owned by my parents and the first house my sister and I would call home.   

   Join me as we take a closer look at A Place to Call home!

April 2020

During a recent trip back to Menomonee Falls, Richard and Martha took a little drive down memory lane.  We drove by our home on Queensway and snapped a few pictures.   Martha spotted the current owners peeking through the curtains- so, on a whim, we rang the doorbell and Richard identified himself as the original owner of the home-

After that drive by, Martha asked that Richard write down some of his memories of that first home-and here is what he had to say.   

Well yes, I have lots of memories and mostly fond ones of the house in Menomonee Falls.

We moved from Cudahy to Menomonee Falls during the 1962-3 school year.  I was a member of the first faculty at Hamilton High School in Sussex.  We had lived in Cudahy but did not want to commute from Cudahy to Sussex as at that time there was no I 94 or I 694.  The route was Layton ave to Highway 100 to Silver Spring Rd.  So we rented an apartment on Silver Spring and Appleton Ave.  

 I do not recall why we left that apartment, we had been burglarized that summer while away on vacation, a case knife job.

Spring 1963

Well anyways we had been house hunting and found this one on Queensway.  It was new construction but the builder had gone bankrupt, 1200 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bath (well really a toilet and sink only just inside the kitchen door and the stairway going into the basement).  Bedrooms were 9’ x12’, hardwood floors, patio door but no patio, full basement, but no lawn, no garage, curtains, no landscape planting, and a gravel driveway.  My recollection is that the trim on the front was a pale blue (Audrey’s favorite color). 

We paid $12,000 for the house.  We had been saving up for a down payment.  Mortgage companies required at least 10% down (or was it 20%).  I think my salary at the time was maybe $7,000 a year, and I know we lived pay check to paycheck.  I have never been as nervous as at the closing when I signed for more money than I had scene.  Anyway we were short and so we borrowed $500 from my father.  We were careful and made it a point to pay him back as soon as possible.  When we did it was with a cigar box full of banded $1 bills, yes 500 of them.  He had lots of fun showing them off to his friends at Gilbert’s service station in Holmen.  

The Backyard- circa 1963  

The first task was to put in a lawn as soon as the soil was workable.  I used Royal's rototiller and tried to break up the clay clods.  There was a lot of raking, rock picking, and rolling and finally we were ready to seed.  The second spring we planted shrubs and trees.  I recall Japanese yew under the living room window, and a magnolia bush on the bedroom corner.  Later we planted a flowering crab and the birch tree in the picture.

 We had a garden in the back yard and planted three Colorado spruce behind the garden.  The spruce were bushel basket size and unfortunately under the power line.  Years later I drove by and they were 20 feet tall and i assume had to be removed as they are gone now.  

From one of the "year's later" visit

So I and friend, fellow teachers from Hamilton, particularly Harold Delfose, a shop teacher,  made improvements over time.  We built the garage, the whole thing.  We hired a slab poured for the floor, but framed the building, put on roofing, siding, painted, put in the overhead door, layed the brick veneer to match the house.  The gravel drive kept being tracked into the house so the drive was paved. 

Hi Mom!  1963

Audrey was pregnant with Laura  who was due to be born in March.  And I recall Laura's birthday which was Palm Sunday, 1963.  We went to church as usual at Holy Crosse Lutheran.  While in church Audrey had an accident (water broke) but we were so ignorant we didn’t know what had happened and went home and prepared a meal for Fraederich’s, Irene was there I believe, anyway we ate a big meal.  Royal and I went for a walk, and someone came running after us shouting, “It’s time”. 

New house, new baby...Laura snuggling with her aunt Phyllis

Oldest cousin meets her first and only  cousin...Lynn and Laura 1963

One of the other things about the house which I did not pay attention to was the sump pump in the basement.  It ran every 5 minutes or so.  The site had been a farm or orchard and it had been tiled and apparently an old tile line lead directly into our basement.  We soon got used to it.  I think we had to replace the pump once and of course had to try and lead the water away from the lot.  At one time there was marsh with standing water and cat tails between us a the neighbors to the west.  

 Somewhat later (1967), I was attending summer school at the University of Arizona.  Wayne Shade, aHamilton teacher was renting a room for the summer, and he and Audrey were there, I suppose with Martha and Laura too.

Anyway the was a severe storm and the power went out.  Well a sump pump does not work without electricity so Audrey and Wayne spent the night in the dark in the basement, bailing water out of the sump hole and pouring it down the floor drain.  No, I do not believe we ever finished the basement.  And Audrey knew that I had planned the disaster for a time I was not available.  

  Not a sump pump crisis-but shoveling after a snowstorm.. 

Our neighbors were Matt and Ginny Kesnarish to the south, Mr and Mrs (Grandma and Grandpa) Petroff (Petroff’s bar on the corner of Main St and Appleton Av) to the North, The Kane’s across the back lot, Dave and Judy Lindser who taught science at Hamilton, and Fraedrich’s across the tracks on St Steven’s drive (Lynn, Craig, Sarah, and Ann.  Not to sure but I think Paul was born later.  )

 August 2023-  Martha here- it's back to just my recollections.

 A lot would happen over the 7 years or so that our parents owned this house.

There would be a new addition added in 1965 with the arrival of Martha...

Christmas' would be celebrated

Sometimes with just the sisters...

and other years joined by cousins..

Family traditions would be established..

Sporting the highest of fashion for the era 

(most likely made by Audrey or Grandma Irene)

.

The tradition of cake would begin..

Be it a seasonal cake...(that lamb?  It's cake..)

or a  birthday cakes...Audrey would perfect her talents as a baker...

We'd dress up in costume..

and carve some pumpkins..

And sometimes we'd just linger at the kitchen table 

a little longer..

Company would come over...

and they too would join us as we sit for a spell..

As the years passed- new friends would arrive...

while we always knew we could count on each other...

This past year has proven that to be more true than we ever could have imagined.

This home was indeed where our story began...but it would by no means be our forever home. 

In the late 1960s- we would pack it all up and head west in search of new experiences and adventures.  

Until next time...

May your home be your mast and not your anchor...