At about 5 a.m. Friday, when I couldn’t get back to sleep, I realized that I remember a whole day from 70 years ago! I remember where I lived, what I wore to school that day, where I had lunch, and so forth for the entire day. Wow, it’s shocking to me that I can remember that far back!
First comes where I lived. I was living on Mason Court in Delaware at the home of a family I was babysitting for during my senior year at Willis High School. I had been babysitting with the two elementary school children the year before, and rather than move to a farm in another county with my parents and siblings, I was asked to live with the family and still cook supper and take care of the children. So, during my senior year, I did just that.
As for what I would have worn to school that Friday, in the second week of November of 1953, I would have worn my cheerleading outfit. If we were having a home football game, we would have worn our white cheerleading outfits, and if the football game was an away game, we would have worn our black. I need to add that I did not own these two cheerleading outfits. They were given to us to wear during the year we had been elected and had to be given back to the school when the year was over. I remember the disappointment I felt when I had to give mine back.
As for lunch that day, I ate in the school cafeteria. Being it was the last day of the week, I would have had just enough money to pay the 35 cents that lunches cost back then. Best part was getting to have chocolate milk on Fridays, and not having to drink the white milk.
In the extra time after students ate, we had time to do one of several things. One thing to do was to pay 5 cents each day of the week and get to watch 1/5 of a good movie in the auditorium. Or attend some necessary meeting.
As a cheerleader, we had to plan for the pep assembly which is held each game day. We tried to follow a certain schedule so as to introduce the coaches, sing some of the songs with the pep band, and introduce any new cheers. The whole idea is to get all of the students to want to attend each of the school’s games.
As for after school that second week of November, I would have gone back to take care of the children I babysat with and fix their supper so as to be on the table when the parents got home. Then find a ride out to the football field, which was a long way down one of the side streets off of West William St. I saved all my homework to be done when I got back to my parents’ home for the rest of the weekend.
I chose to write this article about another day in my life because a lot of readers commented on the fact that I could remember everything that happened on my graduation day. Mostly, they remember about my having to make my own white dress to wear for graduation and when I thought it was done, I tried to iron it and I put a big hole, the size of the iron, right on the front of it, thus having to make it over. I don’t remember any such thing as happening on that second week in November of 1953, but it’s the fact that it was a whole 70 years ago that is a shock to me!
Kay E. Conklin is a retired Delaware County recorder who served four terms. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in sociology and anthropology.
