When Naomi and I were in high school, Cleo gave us each a beautiful expensive skirt and sweater for Christmas. One spring morning, I asked Naomi if I could wear hers to school. She finally agreed. I loved the color. It was pink and gray with pleats all around and the sweater was pink. After milking the cows and getting ready for school, I was running late and had to walk and run the 1/2 mile to catch the bus. It had rained hard during the night and the road had two-foot deep ruts in it from the milk truck. I was trying to get around them and my feet slipped in the mud and I fell flat on my face in the mud and water. I never was so sick in my life. My sister’s beautiful outfit was covered with mud! I just walked back home and I missed school that day. The dry cleaners were able to get it clean, but they ironed out all the pleats. I am reminded of the old saying “Into each life some rain must fall”. It poured on me that day. Ha!
clothes
Aunt Naomi’s Story (Part 32 )
I had a dress that Bea made for me. It was made out of a feed sack. In those days feed came in fabric sacks, which was recycled into clothing, etc. There was a “pig” brand stamped into the material. Bea made this dress to that the pig was inside the pocket. I loved that dress because it had the pig in the pocket. Being the last girl, when my clothes were outgrown, it was passed on to others who needed them. Cleo was going to give my “pig” dress to a neighbor girl and I remember becoming very upset. I don’t know what ever happened to it.
Margie made Lolly and I beautiful ruffled dresses out of dotted Swiss. Mine was pink, Lolly’s mint green. She gave me a pair of black patent Mary James (shoes) to wear with the dress. I had a pink straw had also. I wish I knew what happened to the hat. After being passed down to many nieces and to Tracy and Tiffany to play with, my pink dotted Swiss ruffled dress is still here in my bedroom on the wall.
Aunt Naomi’s Story (part 6)
We had to really take care of our clothes. I can remember darning my socks over and over again so I wouldn’t have to wear a sock with a hole in the back. It was easy to darn but never very comfortable to wear. I was really lucky when I was in junior high & high school. I got a lot of hand-me-downs. One time I had 20 pair of hand-me-down shoes. I thought I was rich! I always had plenty of clothes from my older sisters. What I didn’t have and needed, I made. The popular cologne of the time was “Evening in Paris.” It came in a dark blue bottle. I wish I could find some today like that. It was not expensive and it smelled wonderful. When I first started wearing makeup, I didn’t have an eyebrow pencil, so I blackened my eyebrows with a burnt matchstick. This actually worked pretty good. I overdid it one time, and Lolly and Cleo complained to mom that I had too much matchstick on my brows so I think she made me take some of it off. Maybe I was trying to get that Joan Crawford look. I had hand me down lipsticks, and things like that, but I brought my eyelash makeup. It was in a little plastic box with a tiny brush that looked like a jewelry cleaning brush. I was always fascinated with trying to look pretty. Most girls my age were not interested in makeup that much.