52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Sewing

This is not a regular 52 Weeks of  Personal Genealogy and History - it's one I made up on my own....just to be different!  

My mom made 99% of of the clothes we wore as children.  The only thing she did not make was the uniforms we had to wear to school.  When I was in High School Home Economics was a required class.  I had no real desire to learn to cook and sew but it had to be done.  I remember one of the projects we had to do during our sewing lessons - that was to make a dress.  Mom and I went out shopping for the required items and I picked out what I thought was a lovely pattern and some material.  It was a shirt waist dress and blue/white seersucker material.  When I took it to class the teacher took one look at the material and laughed....she told me it looked like pajama or nightgown material.  I wasn't very happy about it and it kind of turned me off towards wearing that dress and doing any more sewing than I had to.

After marriage I again picked up sewing, I did enjoy it....I made clothes for the kids, dance costumes for my daughter and many in her class, Halloween costumes, etc. One particular dress I made for my daughter (wish I had a picture) was a Holly Hobby long dress with an old fashion bonnet to go with it.  When the kids got to be teens I more or less gave up sewing as I was a such a perfectionist and it made me nervous if there were issues with the sewing and the kids at the same time.  I spent way too much time being upset with the kids and I felt it just wasn't worth it. 

I did keep my sewing machine though - purchased about 1979-1980 it's not at all like the machines of today that do everything.  Last summer, I decided I was going to dig out the machine and start sewing during my 'spare time'...the first thing I did was go to the fabric store (fabric stores of yesterday are not like 'fabric stores' of today - yesterdays fabric stores were just that - fabric and patterns and sewing supplies.  Today's 'fabric stores' are craft stores and the fabric and patterns are hidden way in the back left hand (or right hand) corner of the store).  Hours of pouring over books I finally found a pattern that was suitable for me, easy to make (for a starter).....but boy was I surprised at the prices on patterns!  Some ranging $20+.....I use to pay a $1.00 maybe, and could pick them up at yard sales for 25cents!  It was real sticker shock to see today's prices.  After much search I found one that was less than $5 and that also fit my parameters. NOTE: I've discovered that patterns are available to look at (and order) online at the pattern makers website....this is what I will do in the future.

Now get this, I bought the material/pattern, thread, zipper, and new sewing scissors last summer. GUESS WHAT - after much looking I found some material that was MADE IN THE USA!  Last weekend I FINALLY got the machine up!  It took me until today to lay my pattern on the material and get it cut out.  I wonder how long I'll procrastinate until I thread up the machine?

I'm hoping once I really get going on this that it will be something that I put to use and get moving on. 

Mary Post Warren

copyright 2011, all rights reserved

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Summer

Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

1940ish George Tullis, Margaret Troyer, Hays Post

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies

Then lock the house up, now you're set

And on the beach you'll see the girls in their bikinis

As cute as ever but they never get 'em wet

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

You'll wish that summer could always be here

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

Don't hafta tell a girl and fella about a drive-in

Or some romantic moon it seems

Right from the moment that those lovers start arrivin'

You'll see more kissin' in the cars than on the screen

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summe

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

You'll wish that summer could always be here

You'll wish that summer could always be here

You'll wish that summer could always be here

Written by: Charles Tobias; 

Music by: Hans Carste; 

Sang by: Nat King Cole

#6 1963

Mary Post Warren

copyright 2011, all rights reserved

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Songs

Our challenge for this week:  Songs - What was the #1 song during the week of your birth? Enter your birth date at This Day in Music (http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1) and find out. I'm too old to make this list - it only goes back to 1945.  So I choose another suggestion from the website and decided on the date we were married.

April 25, 1964 - "Can't Buy Me Love" by the Beatles was at the top of the charts both in the U.S and in Australia.  Our favorite song at that time was another popular song of the time (we must have heard it a dozen times as we drove from California to Las Vegas to get married) "Going to the Chapel" - by The Dixie-Cups.

Can't Buy Me Love lyricsSongwriters: McCartney, Paul; Lennon, John;
Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend
If it makes you feel all right
I'll get you anything my friend
If it makes you feel all right
'Cause I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love

I'll give you all I've got to give
If you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give
But what I've got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money
For money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love
No no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond rings
And I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can't buy
I don't care too much for money
Money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can't buy me love
No no no, no

Say you don't need no diamond rings
And I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can't buy
I don't care too much for money
Money can't buy me love

Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love, oh



Mary Post Warren

copyright 2011, all rights reserved

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Clothes

Our challenge for this week:  Clothes - What types of clothes did you wear as a child? What was “in fashion” and did your style compare?

I went to private schools...so there were no if, ands, or buts about what we wore...it was all picked out for us.  Everyone wore the same thing, bought from the same place.  Boys wore dark blue corduroy pants with a white shirt and leather-type shoes, girls wore the same uniform that all the other girls wore - sometimes it differed year by year.  I can remember wearing all matching uniforms with saddle shoes, and then there's this picture of me in a jumper style uniform.  I use to hate all being clones - but I bet it made it a lot easier on the moms not to have their kids arguing with them every morning about what to wear and not wear.

In high school we wore dark skirts and white blouses....stitch down pleated, pleated, fuller skirts but not straight....and lace up shoes but NO patent leather shoes...anyone want to guess why? (don't any family give it away).  My mom made my skirts and blouses.

When we went to church on Sunday we dressed up.  A covering on our head was required by our church so hats were everywhere...I remember wearing gloves too.  Don't remember what we wore to play in....probably something easy like pedal pushers and a blouse.  I don't remember ever wearing jeans...maybe we did though, but they'd have been hard for mom to make so I doubt it.

Mary Post Warren

copyright 2011, all rights reserved

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2011) that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your memories on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.

Week 23: Books - What was your favorite book, or who was your favorite author from your childhood? What do you like to read now? Books or other formats?

I LOVE reading...anything and everything....well almost, I'm not a lover of the tabloids and trashy stuff but if you put anything else into my hands and it's readable I'll read it.

When I was young I loved to read the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, the Nancy Drew Mystery series. As children a weekly trip to the library was very common.  As I got older the books changed and I've read many from Jane Austen, The Bronte Sitsters, and Mark Twain to Danielle Steele and Mary Higgins Clark and a lot in between.  I'm also currently enjoying reading many of the Amish books that are available....giving me some insight into how my ancestors lived.  I'm trying to make my way through the older, classic books.  I've read many of them before but when it's been 50 years since I've read them it's nice to read them again.  

My children bought me a Kindle for Christmas last year and I have to say it's one of the greatest pieces of technology ever made!  I pack that puppy in my purse and have it for breaks at works, while standing in line in the bank, or just wait time in the car.  There are tons of free books on it as well as many you have to pay for.  I've read 25 books just since Christmas.  I love that they have kids books on the Kindle, what a great way to get children to read.

Mary Post Warren

© copyright 2011, all rights reserved

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy History - 1971 Earthquake

1971 Sylmar, California Earthquake

Week 10:  Disasters.  Did you experience any natural disasters in your lifetime?  Tell us about them.  If not, then discuss these events that happened to parents, grandparents or others in your family.

It was February 9, 1971. We lived in Lakewood California on Clark Street.  Hubs and I had just gotten up to begin our day. He worked in Los Angeles and had to travel 25 miles to work.  We had 3 little ones at home....a 5 year old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a 15 month old.

It was about 6AM - I was sitting on the living room calming down one of the little ones (who maybe suspected something was about to happen?), hubs was getting dressed, when all of a sudden a roar, a boom, a shake that seemed to shake the world.  Having been born and raised in southern California I was more or less not surprised...I knew immediately it was an earthquake.  This one was larger than most, it still shook hard enough to waken the others and get them crying. 

We'd learned over the years that where you live is not necessarily the center of the earthquake.  This felt strong to us but what about others?  What did it feel like where it was centered?  Or were we in the epicenter of the earthquake?  We immediately turned on the TV but most of the TV stations were down and there was not much news on what had just happened.

The center of the quake turned out to be in Sylmar - about 35 miles from us.  The quake registered 6.6 on the Richter Scale.  We were fortunate - none of us were hurt, no real damage - just shattered nerves, a few things knocked off the shelves, and pictures sent askew.   Others were not so blessed - 65 people died, 100's injured, two hospitals sustained major damage, and there was also major damage to two freeway interchanges.  There were a minimum of 5 aftershocks (mini?-earthquakes).  I question my use of the word 'mini' because any earthquake with a magnitude of 5 can and has caused damage.

Mary Post Warren

© copyright 2011, all rights reserved, Mary Post Warren

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy History: Technology

This is week eight of 52 wees of Personal Genealogy History and I'm only writing my 2nd post on the subject!  Some subjects are just harder for me to write on - and my memory of my childhood is very limited.  But being at 'tech geek' I can remember a lot on how it has changed over the years....I remember mostly the old dial up telephones with 'party lines', the first time I watched TV in our home, and mom's old wringer washing machine.

The telephone I remember from my teen years - we used to have a 'party line' which is a phone line shared with another in the neighborhood.  They were much like a 2nd phone in the house but it wasn't.  Each phone had it's own phone number - our first phone number (before I became a teenager) was PL 42100...PL stood for PLymouth.  Our next phone number which came after we moved from Los Angeles to Pomona CA was an LY prefix (LY = LYcoming). I don't remember what the numbers were that went with it.  In later years the prefix letters were changed to numbers and then area codes were added on before the number.

I got into deep trouble once when a girl friend (who shared our party line) and I were speaking on the phone.  I was not at home but was at someone else's house babysitting.  My friend and I were chatting on the phone, talking about what teens talk about, not knowing my mother was listening in via the party line - OOPS.

Another item of technology that changed over the years was the washing machine.  I don't have a long story to tell about this because all I do is remember we had an old wringer one in the laundry room off the kitchen.  My mom's diaries tell how happy she was to finally get the newer, updated, non-wringer type of machine when they came out.

I remember too our first TV or television.  It was black and white and we kids were excited to have it in our home.  It was about 1948-1949 I believe.  I think we were one of the last in the neighborhood to get one. The first program I remember watching on it was a car coming straight to my front room!  It scared the daylights out of me and I remember screaming.  It was probably some kind of police show.  I remember there was nothing on the TV after certain hours because there was no 'signal'...the TV looked much like the one on the left.  There was no cable or satellite in those days and everyone had TV antennas on their roofs or used 'rabbit ears' inside, on top of the TV to get good reception.

Mary Post Warren

© copyright 2011, all rights reserved, Mary Post Warren

Follow-up: 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy History - Home.

A few days ago I wrote a post as part of a series of suggested blog posts for 2011.  It was titled: 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy History - Home.  I wrote on the two homes I had lived in as a child.  The houses were both located in California - the first being on 118th Street in Los Angeles and the second in Pomona.

Well, strange things happen in the world of blogging - Amy Coffin of We Tree Genealogy Blog remembered that her father used to live in Los Angeles on W. 117th Street.  See her posting here: It's a Small Genealogy World After All.  Upon doing some research she found that her father lived at the exact same number - 744 - as we did....right behind us!  The streets didn't run like many do today so we weren't right in front of him.  The people behind us had a very large lot that went all the way across the back of our yard.  There were several houses on the street that crossed 118th Street and I think (if I remember correct that there were about 4-5 houses before another street which would have been 117th.  She also mentioned that her father lived there in the late 1940's which is the exact time we were there.  His family then moved to Pomona (my second home).  They moved long before us...we did not move until 1957.  I don't know if he was in Pomona when we were there.

My sister has a better memory than me so I asked her to check out Amy's pictures she posted on the blog and see if she recognized anyone - she was unable to ID anyone.

What a small world it is!

Mary Post Warren

© copyright 2011, all rights reserved, Mary Post Warren