Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Where I have lived

Bob and I were talking about how grandson Christopher has only known us while living in this 1905 Boise Home. I decided to list all the places we each have lived since birth. Niether of us were military brats, so we may not have the diverse numbers some of our friends have accumulated, but we have a lot more than most people. I counted 32 and Bob counted 12.
I was born in Rahway, NJ while my parents rented a duplex apartment there. Dad was attending Columbia in NYC getting his Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering and working on the DDT project for his war effort. 1943. He was transferred to Carney's Point NJ in 1944 and we lived in a house in Penn's Grove. That was where I lost my first baby tooth in eating an apple, my mother got rid of our first set of kittens by re-locating them in the woods behind our house. I locked her out of the house - she had the mailman help her get back in. I remember Dad taking me to a bakery for the best cream puffs I've ever eaten. I had a Tea Set table, chairs, couch and lots of dolls to attend the many tea parties I arranged. 45-47.
In 1946, Mother and I went to live with her family in Wenatchee, WA as she was expecting my sister, Rhea. She wanted her mother near-by for her second delivery - When I was born - it was during WWII blackouts and other scary experiences. In Wenatchee, the Robinson house was next door to a castle with a reflecting pool. Both houses had circular staircases - the castle's had a blue bathtub at the bottom with goldfish in it. The Robinson home had two 'landings' one each over the living and dining rooms.The backyard had a great apple tree with a rope swing and grandpa had Irish and Gordon setters he took bird hunting. Christmas, I remember that my Uncle Bob - mother's 16 year younger brother got coal and a railroad spike in his stocking, because he was 'BAD'. After Rhea Frances was born April 4. 1947, I don't remember Dad being around, but we took the train or drove from the East Coast to Portland, Wenatchee and Idaho a couple of times. In Ketchum, Idaho 1948, I was 5 and we lived in a cottage down the hill from the RR tracks and the sheep drover's path. I attended the one room school house. Sometimes 5 of us neighbor kids would ride the draft horse to school - legs astride, holding on to the child in front. The winter snows were above roof tops and mother worked as cashier in the SunValley Lodge and sang in a trio in the Ram. We had a housekeeper nanny named Mrs. Wright. I learned to ski on Dollar Mountain and how to swim in the Lodge Pool with a chef 'Gus' who pulled me as I kicked and held on to his toes. I also got rides around Sun Valley on the Postman's bicycle. 1949 1'st grade started in September in Ketchum. Then, after ski season, we moved to #5 Sacramento - 2120 Murietta Way - with mother's Lynfield college roomate Frances Cottingham Longworth Robbins and her 3 children: Joy, John and Craig. Mother delivered Leslie Carlynne on Mother's Day, 1950.  I remember the sidewalk gutters flooding such that we could wade knee deep in the streets. Lynn Sherman was my friend and she wore braces on her legs due to Polio. One of the neighbors had the first Television I had ever seen and we got to watch Roy Rogers, Hop-a-long Cassidy, Gene Autrey, The Lone Ranger and Tonto. More to come ...

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