Chapter 15 - The Golden Years

Years later Daddy and I talked together about the years from the1930’s through the 1940’s. He called these years The Dark Years. In 1933, when the baby died, when the income vanished, they still had to feed, clothe and educate the two remaining children. They stuck together, worked hard at any job they could get, got by on a meager income, provided for their children, and managed to get through the difficult years.

They were in much better shape financially in the 1960’s. Now they could afford to move into a comfortable home at 7905 Grandview in Overland Park, Kansas. This was their last move and Mother enjoyed having a place to display her china, crystal and pictures.

Mother was now working as a stenographer for the Commodity Credit Corporation and stayed on the job until she was 70 years old. She was doing well financially and still strong.

During her vacations she liked to go on tours. Over several years she traveled to Hawaii, Italy, the Caribbean and other parts of the world. Her arthritis made it difficult to climb up and down the tour bus steps but it did not slow her down. Fellow travelers gladly assisted her. She made friends, bought gifts and wrote day by day descriptions of each tour. She waited a long time to be able to have the resources for these wonderful trips.

The work in most areas was completed in several weeks but the work in Alaska lasted six months. The 1964 Alaska earthquake lasted nearly four minutes and was the powerful recorded earthquake in the United States. It had a magnitude of 9.2 making it the second most powerful earthquake in recorded history up to that date.

Images of the 1964 Alaska Earthquake

Daddy spent his time reviewing these cases of people who had lost property or had physical injuries. Here are pictures of him with some of his co-workers.

RETIREMENT TIME BEGINS: Daddy retired from the Small Business Administration it 1968. He was 72 years old and I think that he was ready to come back to Overland Park, Kansas.

He loved to spend hours at the Antioch Library and never tired of browsing newspapers, magazines or reading books. When he was not busy with his library pursuits, he began looking for a new car. Soon the old 1949 Chevy was replaced by a new Chevrolet Malibu Sedan. Things were looking up.

Mother retired from the Commodity Credit Corporation in 1968 also so they both had leisure time. Mother took up crewel embroidery and decorated pillows. When she had made enough of those she made afghans for all of us. Then she started making hooked rugs for all of us. She felt that she had to keep busy because that was the way she was. Leisurely was not the way she did things. As she worked on a project she was completely involved in the task.

Mother loved to go anyplace, anytime, and Daddy was glad to have an excuse to drive his new car. They were always invited to join my own family for dinner on Sunday evenings. Of the two of them, Mother was usually the talker but Daddy occasionally took the floor and told us stories about his boyhood. These stories were delightful. I wish that we had placed a tape recorder under the table. The only one that I remember with some accuracy was the one about Cecil’s father (Dad Gangy) who was employed as a streetcar driver in Kansas City when the family first moved to the city. Very late one night as he was taking the streetcar back to the car barn the brakes went out. There were no passengers on the streetcar and luckily, no pedestrians wandering about on the streets. On the way to the car barn there was a very steep hill. The streetcar gained speed as it went down the hill and stopped abruptly at the bottom. He got out of the car, walked home and called in his resignation the next day. That may have been when he decided that it was safer to run a hardware store.

I received my Ph.D. degree from the University of Missouri in 1972 and my parents, my husband and my children were all there. Three years later Brenda received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Missouri. I was still on the faculty then and joined the procession at the graduation ceremony. Nana, Cece and the rest of my own family were there for that occasion.

ARROW ROCK AND SLATER: One of Daddy’s favorite places as a boy was the town of Arrow Rock. It was very close to the city of Slater, Missouri where he went to High School.

This is his writing on the back of the picture.

One day Brenda and I decided that it would be a great idea to drive both Nana and Cece to Arrow Rock, Missouri. This we did in July of 1977 and above is the picture that we took overlooking the Missouri River Valley. On our way to Slater we stopped at a roadside diner.

This is the Baptist Church in Slater, Missouri. Cecil and his parents attended church here.

We drove past the house in Slater where they lived. Cecil’s high school can be seen from the house. On the back of the photo he talks about the property and its price.

“We lived here about 2 years. The house was about three years old when we moved in from the farm. I think Dad paid $3500 for the property consisting of three lots. The lot on the right side of the house was orchard and garden, on left a horse lot and barn.”

This trip was important to all of us and particularly Cecil. He really wanted to share these memories with us. Had we not gone, I would never have learned about this part of his life. He was 81 years old when we made the trip. He died in March 1979 at the age of 83.

One day as Mother and Daddy were out doing errands they stopped at a photo shop to pick up some prints. This is a shop that they frequented and the shop owner knew them well. Just as they were leaving, she took this picture of them. This may be one of the last photos made of them and the only one I know of where they are walking side by side.

In the Background section I stated that Kansas City was a good place to live. Now Overland Park of Johnson County, Kansas must be included as one of the good places to live. People were buying homes, furniture and new cars. The Johnson County School System was considered one of the best school systems in the nation. Beautiful parks, well equipped libraries, churches that offered a choice to match the beliefs of any congregant and well-designed subdivisions with shopping malls close at hand. New infrastructure was being constructed and new businesses were starting up.

For a couple who married in 1923, the future looked great for a little while but hard times hit. The child they lost was a sadness they never forgot, but they hung on and made the hard choices. It took them from 1933 until the mid-fifties to regain a lifestyle similar to the one they had before. They were wonderful parents.