Frontier Village

Frontier Village, a 39 acre park amusement park in San Jose.

It was on Monterey Rd and Branham Lane, and opened in 1961.

Plenty of rides and amusements for all ages!

Yep, gotta have a picture with the Indian!

I can't remember if there's a maiden across the street from this one?

But it reminds me of Charlie Pride's song Kaw-Liga:

"Kaw-Liga was a wooden Indian standin' by the door

He fell in love with an Indian maiden over in the antique store

Kaw-Liga well he just stood there and never let it show

So she could never answer yes or no"

A little more Summer

I'm betting Lori made a diorama for school....

I wonder if she remembers the story behind this one??

As a side note, David is wearing glasses.  He didn't enjoy wearing them

and would often hide them outdoors, in the hedges!

So many times we had to go out and hunt down glasses!!

This was the summer we got a puppy... Charlie-O!

He sure was a cute lil thing!

It was a short life for Charlie-O. 

We didn't have him long, but we sure enjoyed his antics!

Old Newspapers

In small midwestern towns, the local paper would often put in tidbits of local news.  I happened across this little bit from the Turtle Mountain Star from October 15, 1931:

"Mrs. Emma Ward, Lillian Ward, Mrs. Emma Beckman, Mrs. J.B. Smith and Mrs. J. H. Poyzer motored to Cando Tuesday where Mrs. Beckman took a train for her home at Tolna, after spending a week visiting her daughter, Mrs. Emma Ward."

It always amuses me to read these little tidbits about ordinary life!
And I looked it up, according to Google, the distance from Cando to Tolna is 76.7 miles

And from December 24, 1931:

"Mrs. Emma Beckman left for her home in Tolna Saturday after a three month stay with her daughter, Mrs. Emma Ward.  Charles Ward accompanied her to Rolla where she left by rail."

Just for a little background, Emma Ward is Emma Pape Beckman's youngest daughter.  In 1931, Emma Beckman was 66 years old.  Emma Ward was 45.  Charles Ward is Emma Beckman's grandson.  Emma Ward's husband had just died in September 1931.

With a little deductive reasoning, when Emma Ward's husband was failing, Emma Beckman went to help out.  Because that's what families do.

Haute Couture!

Just a few random pictures of "Haute Couture"

This outfit was for a Mother Daughter Tea at church.

I don't recall what theme this was! 

Mom and her sewing machine sure were handy

when it came to matching dresses! 

Not sure who the little girl was, probably a neighbor

of Grandma Myrtle's, as this was in Oregon for Gary's Graduation.

And again with matching dresses, hair all poufed out ....

a Sunday outing perhaps?  

With the snow white kittens at Alice and Melvin's farm in TRF.

"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress;

dress impeccably and they remember the woman"

-CoCo Chanel

The Backyard

There have been so many changes to the backyard

since we bought the house.  Look how small the mulberry tree is!

A row of hedges separated the sidewalk from the patio,

and we had a tether ball!  It was all the rage at school,

so Dad filled a tire with cement, put up a pole and hung the ball!

We played for hours!

Entertaining Pat and Larry McAvoy.

Summertime meant putting up a pool 

to keep the little ones cool and entertained.

Such a happy face!  It might have been small, but it was refreshing!

Random Summer Fun

A random shot, we must have taken visitors sight seeing

in San Francisco, one of the famous cable cars.

David and his trike.  All the bushes in the backyard are so small!

Not sure who's getting a wagon ride, but loved the shot

of the backyard and how different it looks. 

Another summertime shot - Lori on the bike.

Mom's flowers in the background.

Lori and I used to ride our bikes to Warburton swim center.

All the streets were easy to navigate, but we had to cross

San Tomas Expressway.  (It wasn't as busy back then.)

On our way home one day, we stopped at the light, pressed the

button to walk across, and as Lori started out, the bike welds

came apart and the bike literally split in half!

I had no idea what to do, I couldn't carry both halves of the bike,

Lori couldn't push or ride my larger bike.

Luckily, a lady in a Volkswagen stopped to help.  She put the

bike in the trunk, gave Lori a ride home while I rode my

own bike.  Thank goodness for better days when you could

trust a stranger for a helping hand!

More in the Neighborhood

Lori walking on stilts that Dad built.

He was amazing when it came to the little things

that made life fun for us kids! 

David, in front of the new lawn.  We had to go out and sprinkle

water on the lawn twice a day and were amazed at how quick

the grass sprouted up!

Double Dutch jump rope was all the rage when we were kids

Go, Lori, Go! 

It was harder for the younger girls to twirl the ropes

tall enough for me to double dutch!

We spent many hours jumping rope.

Around the Neighborhood

Just look at the neighborhood!  

From the driveway, looking toward Monroe.

Across the street, the Jones' got their new Mulberry Tree, so small!

Here's David standing on the dirt from the yard to be hauled away.

There wasn't a time when Dad wasn't working on some

project or another at our house.

Hi Dad!   The hedges were so small!

The magnolia tree is just like a stick!  

And the "fancy wood trimming" around the window.

1970-something!

What a strange mix of "cookies" we all have

they appear to be Christmas Cookies, but this looks

like it could have been spring or Easter!

 I wonder ... Did Mom have these put away in the freezer

and just found them??

And we're here at Halloween again ..... 

Mom (errr Pocahontas!) has the garage all decorated!

Howdy, Daniel Boone! 

Iconic Photos

Lombard Street in San Francisco ... love the old cars! 

A fishing trip out on the bay, this is Marilyn and Mom

(Mom's the short one. haha)

Looks like a foggy day on the bay

and more than one boat out and about!

The treasures they brought home - David doesn't seem to mind,

I know I wasn't thrilled about the slimy scales!

Flowers, pre-Concrete

The "side yard" wasn't always part of the driveway

Mom spent lots of time working on her flowers

to look this good! (Love the hat, Mom!)

and speaking of looking good..... 

check out the new outfits!

I remember those red Keds as if it were yesterday.

I must have really liked them to remember them all these years!

I think we were on our way to Marine World in Redwood City.

Of course, there were the dolphins and a whale

but what I remember most is the water ski show

pretty girls in a row, a silly clown doing tricks .....

simple family fun!

(stole the photo from Pinterest... just for interest)

Oregon Trip

A different direction in this vacation- 

we headed to Oregon for Gary's Graduation

Grandma Myrtle lived in a trailer park

with very small bedrooms!

I remember she had a lot of little knick knacks around

and how walking on her floors felt noisy

Grandma Myrtle and Gary

Just look at his smile!  Such a happy kid!!

Brothers

Oliver's brother Roger 1964

My dad, Oliver, his mother Myrtle, and brothers Roger and Gary

You can see the family resemblance!

and look how the backyard is so ... bare!

Don't you just love the cool 70s styles?

Just loved Gary's little yellow car!