COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, THE YOUNG YEARS

1961-1965:

We moved to Columbia Heights the summer before I entered 2nd grade. The house had just been built, and to this day it is still in the family (my sister owns it now). Our first day in the new house I went out exploring the neighborhood to see if there were any other kids my age around. When I went home I walked in the back door and went looking for my mom. I thought I found her on her hands and knees washing the bathroom floor. I was stunned when this woman turned around to look at me and it wasn't my mother! I didn't say a word, but ran out of their as fast as I could.

What happened was that the house right next to ours was an exact replica of our house and I had gone into the wrong one. I never made that mistake again. My sisters' and I spent the rest of that summer making new friends and exploring this new city we had moved to.

When we first moved into the house my mother did not want her old refrigerator in her new kitchen so it was placed in the basement until we could buy a new one. That damn fridge stayed in the basement for years. We always had big meals and everyone of us dreaded setting the table, for that meant numerous trips up and down the stairs to get everything ready for dinner.

Saturdays at our house was set aside for 'big cleaning'. Before we could run off and do anything with our friends the whole house had to be cleaned from top to bottom; we scrubbed walls, baseboards, cupboards, washed floors, the whole shebang. Looking back, with 6 kids it really didn't take us long but at that age it seemed like an eternity. Normally we were done by noon and off we would go to the local theatre to see the latest movie. Saturday nights was game night and we usually all played monopoly at the kitchen table.

I went to Highland Elementary School for grades 2-6. I joined the local brownies and was so proud to be able to wear that drab brown dress each Wednesday. Most of my leisure time outside of school was spent playing baseball with the neighborhood boys. As I grew older they wouldn't let me play anymore as they soon realized I was just another 'dumb girl'. I stayed a tom boy through much of my younger years and even when I got older I had more 'male' friends than female.

During the summer our family would go to the lake a lot. We always rented a cabin at a resort and would try out the different lakes Minnesota has to offer. I became quite a fisherman during those years. I loved to catch em, but I never did get used to cleaning them.

My first bicycle was a 24" Schwinn, aqua colored, and it was probably the first item I owned that wasn't a hand-me-down from one of my older sisters. I loved that bike and took very good care of it; washing it all the time, always using the kick-stand vs. laying it down, and put it away each night. One day I went down to the garage to get my cherished bike and it was gone! A few hours later, my sister came home to tell me that she lent my bike to her girlfriend so they could go to the swimming pool. While they were swimming someone stole my bike! Little did I know at that time that that incident would become the theme for my life: I just can't have anything nice without someone else ruining it for me.