Loose Strings From The Past

Author: Charlcyann

  • SENIOR TRIPS

      the Cisco pool   Senior trips for Breckenridge High School were one -day trips near the end of the school year.  In the thirties and forties, the seniors went to Cisco.  The 25 -mile trip took them to an outstanding recreation area, a swimming pool behind the base of the dam which created Lake…

  • LIVESTOCK AUCTIONS

    Livestock auctions were a part of life in the area where I grew up.  They were just called “sale barns” by the locals.  The bidders sat on elevated seats and looked down at an area called “the ring” to view the animal or animals they were bidding on. Eastland Livestock Exchange Ring   Dairy cows were…

  • SAM

    Most of our pets have been four-footed.  Shortly after we moved to Tucson, the children began asking for a bird.   We decided on a half moon parrot and named it Sam. Sam quickly learned his name and repeated it over and over.  He could say the usual “pretty bird, Sam.”  Much time was spent trying…

  • STORMS

    It is April.  That means tornado season in Texas. I knew about tornadoes from an early age.  Many homes had storm cellars.  Some of the old houses in the country also had lightning rods.  We had neither.  It worried my young mind that my parents seemed unconcerned about the need for either. The grandmother of…

  • KATHARINE HEPBURN, IN PERSON

    One of my favorite actresses of all time was Katharine Hepburn   I admired her on the screen but never imagined seeing her in a live performance. Ken’s job required extensive travel during the seventies.  He was returning from a week in Dallas and listening to the radio when he heard an announcement that Katharine Hepburn…

  • SOMEWHAT WISER

    As I gained experience working with students, I became more adept at anticipating their actions. The other clubs which I sponsored after leaving Fort Worth were Future Homemakers of America * clubs.  In the sixties, I taught at Lincoln Junior High in Abilene, Texas.  At that time, the 9th grade was in junior high.  I…

  • CLUELESS

    Ken and I were both teaching in Fort Worth at Rosemont Junior High (now Middle School) during the 1957-58 school year.  One of my assignments was co-sponsor of Y Teens, a girls club under the guidance of the YWCA.  I was to help a veteran teacher who had sponsored the group for several years.  I…

  • FIRST DOG

      Our first family dog was a female Weimaraner officially named Kevin’s Miss Schultz and referred to as Schultzie.  She was a gift from dear friends to our first son, Kevin.  My first thought was: “Just what I need, a baby and a puppy.” However, she quickly won my affection and it did not take…

  • JALOPIES

    In 1948, Ken paid $75 for a 1929 Ford Model A two- door sedan.  He paid for it on a weekly basis of $15 per week. He drove the car to school and to work.  He worked at the Palace Theatre in Breckenridge.  One of his duties was to change the marquee and lock the…

  • THE BIRD WHISPERER

      John told me not to write this because no one would believe it.  I told him I was going to write it anyway.  I have never known John to lie.  His wife and neighbors verify the story and they have pictures to prove it.  I believe it.  I have read more unusual animal stories…