Growing up with Leave it to Beaver
Multnomah was interesting , there was small " downtown " area that has
pretty much remained unchanged ... it was from this area that I believe I
developed a sense of " community " . Most of what we needed was very accessible
, there were two Grocery stores within walking distance , a drug store , camera
store , hardware , a library , the School I went too ( K -8th grade ) was one
block way ... As I grew up I knew most of the people living on the bock
..especially those with kids .
One of my first Memories of Multnomah was going out with my parents to see
a movie at the Multnomah Theatre . The movie was called " Bend of the river "
staring Jimmy Stewart , the movie was a popular western and was filmed in the
area around Mt. Hood only a few miles away .
Shortly after we saw the movie the Theatre burned down in a suspected arson
fire and never reopened . After that the closest indoor Movie house was in
Sellwood and often we would go there on Saturdays , and be left off for hours .
We did have a few Drive ins Nearby ..and as a family we would often pile in the
car , and go to the Drive in on Friday or Saturday night .
Mom would pop a Huge bag of popcorn , filled the car with blankets
and pillows and make a Jug of Kool-aid for these trips . We would usually
arrive at the Drive in early enough for Bob and I to enjoy the playground as
the light dwindled ..then a few moments of Spotlight tag ...and the Movies would
begin to roll . We rarely made it through the last feature , giving my Mother
and father some well deserved rest . we would come home and my Brother and I
would stumble into our beds ..I can even remember watching my father carry my
brother into the Bedroom too far gone to walk .
My " take away " from these early years was all pleasant memories , even my
misadventures and subsequent disciplinary action are good and pleasant Memories
. My Childhood was not the stuff of great epic novels ...torn between the forces
of good and evil , contending with adverse situations and prevailing . Instead
it was quite the opposite , living in a place that had so much to offer , and
squandering the offerings ...with reckless abandon. As I grew older I would
realize just how precious how wonderful this childhood time of mine was ...but
as I was living it ...I Never realized how special it was . I did not form these
years , I had little ( read none ) impact on the current events , the backdrop
of the 50's I Grew up in ...I did not make them , but they were " making me " In
even later years i have begun to see where even then God was walking along side
of me ...building me from circumstances that surrounded me ... From Air raid
sirens , to Leave it to Beaver , the community , the culture , the parenting I
received all formed me ....Kinda fun seeing where all those pieces came from
..and how they fit .
If I could have a wish come true I would love to revisit a day back then (
Our town fashion ) . I would choose an ordinary day . Perhaps a Friday .....My
Brother and I sitting down at the Breakfast table ..staring into a bowl of
oatmeal ..my Mother ironing behind us ...keeping a watchful eye on the clock
above the refrigerator . My father would be long gone , in the sink I would see
his breakfast plate with a splotch of egg yolk and few crumbs of potatoes . The
smell of bacon would be still lingering as would be the acrid smell of his
morning cigarette . I would try to find something to provoke my Brother into
getting into trouble ...A few bites of the gruel , round up my books . We didn't
have backpacks then ..we carried our books to school stacked largest to smallest
. so that they would fit neatly tucked under our arms . I read a lot in those
days ...It didn't take either Bob or I long to run through all the books in the
Multnomah Library ..we had to wait until 1957 for the much larger Hillsdale
Public Library to open . With books and notebook safely secured I would dash
out the door , usually leaving my Brother behind ..He had his own group of
friends to walk with ...I might wait for a few minutes to see who might be
heading down the hill , but usually just caught up with someone I knew who was
out ahead of me . The morning walk was not as socially important as the return
trip , you trudged with whom you trudged with at that Early hour . Our home
was about a block from Multnomah Grade School ..I could either go out the front
door and turn right ...or Out the back door and turn left then another left .
Both routes had opportunities for me .... I do not know very much at all about my Mother and fathers Courtship . I
do know that as were growing up , there were very few signs of Public
affection between them , A hug and a kiss when dad came home from work ,
an occasional hug was as much as would see . I Knew some how
instinctively that they loved each other , and loved each other deeply .
Dad had no interests in other women , and Mother had only one man in
her life ..when my father passed in 1974 , my mother never remarried ,
she missed him deeply for the next 26 years ..she never indicated to me
she wanted to remarry , John , or Johnny as she called him was her one
true love .
Dad was the visible one in our family , out front ,
the joker , the kidder , the one most inclined to be the life of the
party . Mom was more than content to be by his side , a smirk followed
by a smile an occasional right Jab when needed.
Once married Mom
never worked outside the home , inside the home she was tireless.
laundry , cleaning , cooking , gardening , shopping , help with homework
and tutoring . Laundry was the real chore , we had an Agitator style
washer in those early years , Mom hung the clothes out to dry either
outside on the sunny days or in the basement during the rain.
Outside
we had a impressive vegetable garden .Mom loved cucumbers and tomatoes ,
Compost from shredded trees my father cut down for Portland general
electric , and fresh manure from Alpennrose dairy, provided necessary
nutrition to the soil . We also had onions, radish , and green peppers .
Salads were a big hit in our home. Most of our meals had meat
involved , we had very little fish with the exception of smelt and the
occasional Salmon, Meat was usually venison or Elk , my dad was a very
good hunter in season and out . My mother would slice and fry potatoes
to go with the meal , occasionally they would be boiled and mashed.
Desert was either some baked goods or Jello, we ate a lot of Jello in
those days . Plain , with fruit and with carrots . After dinner it was
time for homework .
MY mother barely made it out of grade
school , yet she had a great deal of respect for education . Some of my
earliest memories are of her holding " flash " cards in front of us
encouraging us with Math and sentence structure. She enjoyed Soap
operas on TV her favourite was as the World turns ...she loved that show
, but would gladly give it up for me when I stayed home sick from
school so I could watch our miss brooks , or the Gail Storm show , often
we would sit ont he couch and watch Perry mason together . and at night
after Dad had gone to bed we would sit under a blanket on the couch
eating stove top popcorn and watching Armchair Theater.
'Food shopping was family affair all four of us would pile int he care
and we would go to the Fred Meyer store in Burlingame . a suburb of
Portland . There Bob and i would be left in front of the Comic Book
stand , where we would ravenously read the latest DC and Marvel
comics ,then Dad and mom would appear with these plastic numbers in
their hands , we would go out to the car fix them unto the windshield
then drive the car to the Store where , young men would place our
Groceries in the car .
Clothes shopping was Mom , Bob and me .
Mom did not drive a car , she never leaned that art and show very
little interest in doing so . There were no clothing stores in the
suburbs , we had to go downtown , which meant taking a bus . Public
Transportation was very good in Portland those days . so Good I took it
for granted . We would head off ot down town where we would end up at
the trail ways bus station just a few blocks from our prime destination
Meirer and Frank Department store . Staring on the fist floor then up
to the fourth floor in an Elevator with a uniformed Elevator man
handling the buttons . then a decent into the lower regions of the
Department store and the " bargain " basement where we spent most of our
time and money . Sometimes we would get separated , but we always knew
to meet on the first floor by the Clock. the rallying point for scores
of separated children from their parents which also happened to be
adjacent to the candy Department
The First Floor of the
Department store had a hardwood floor , the wood seemed to soak up the
smells from the Candy department in the corner ,Popcorn ,Carmel Corn ,
fresh roast nuts , sweets and chocolates all available by the pound
...As tempting as these were , we would usually leave the store ..and
cross to the Kress store across the street , where the candy and
confections were cheaper.
Tired and foot sore we would all walk back
up the bus station and take one of three buses headed back into our
neighborhood hoping for the Capital Highway bus which would deposit us a
mere two blocks from our home ...the Garden Home Metzger bus would
leave us in downtown Multnomah a another Portland Suburb about 5 blocks
from our home.
Kindergarten When we arrived home we had either
fresh baked cookies or cupcakes waiting for us . For a few hours we
would play in the yard or in our room during the occasional wet
Northwest weather. In a very short period of time after we arrived home
the scent of fresh backed goods would be overcome by the stronger smells
of meat frying in the cast Iron pots and Potatoes frying next to them .
Time for Dad to come home
