Since I'm in a sentimental mood, having just uncovered a collection of old photos, I will reminisce a little about my formative years! Read on.....
This pic was taken in our shared driveway in Lafayette Hill just outside the city limits of Philadelphia, PA. I spent the first 19 years of my life in a subdivision of 30+ homes built during the post war boom about 1950. My folks moved around during the first 5 years of marriage, before starting a family. Mom said to me once, "I wanted to be secure in my relationship as a WIFE first, before becoming a mother." She was and still is very practical. I love that about her! Back to the story... as newlyweds, they lived with relatives for a while (the horror!) and eventually found their first home about a year before my older brother was born.
Since my father was a WWII veteran, he qualified for a Veteran's Administration mortgage ($9,999.00) and borrowed the $200 down payment from his father-in-law! What an exciting time that must've been, sharing much in common with all of the other young familes in the neighborhood. I remember mom sewed slipcovers for their new furniture and explained that they spent alot of money on their wool rug "since it had to last for 15 years!" Practicality was the order of the day. For Christmas dad only wanted film for his camera so the rest could go for the kids. (and, thank goodness for that film!)
The family car is behind us (a ford?) and our colonial-style 3 BR house is to the left, hidden except for a section of fence. On a small hill out back, you can see the beginning of a hedge that separated our yard from the houses behind us. It eventually obscured that view. Adding to our backyard privacy, dad planted many lovely shrubs and trees. I clearly recall the red maple, double flowering Korean cherry tree, 3 flowering crabapples, another maple, a beech tree (used for nighttime escapes as a teenager!) and their beloved Peach tree. My father and his father loved planting flowers and being in the dirt! They both grew roses and many other lovlies! Two MASSIVE willow trees grew behind the house. They supported our tire swing and shaded our home-made playhouse that dad painted to match or pink & brown house.
Playhouse memories: Barbies, Old Maid, Crazy Eights and Rummy, drawing for HOURS on the long built-in table, fun houses (blindfolding the neighborhood kids, making them feel a bowl of peeled grapes & telling them they were eyeballs! I think we charged 5 cents admission), hide & seek, jumping off of the roof! (my poor mother), and smoking my parent's cigarettes!
This pic was taken in our shared driveway in Lafayette Hill just outside the city limits of Philadelphia, PA. I spent the first 19 years of my life in a subdivision of 30+ homes built during the post war boom about 1950. My folks moved around during the first 5 years of marriage, before starting a family. Mom said to me once, "I wanted to be secure in my relationship as a WIFE first, before becoming a mother." She was and still is very practical. I love that about her! Back to the story... as newlyweds, they lived with relatives for a while (the horror!) and eventually found their first home about a year before my older brother was born.
Since my father was a WWII veteran, he qualified for a Veteran's Administration mortgage ($9,999.00) and borrowed the $200 down payment from his father-in-law! What an exciting time that must've been, sharing much in common with all of the other young familes in the neighborhood. I remember mom sewed slipcovers for their new furniture and explained that they spent alot of money on their wool rug "since it had to last for 15 years!" Practicality was the order of the day. For Christmas dad only wanted film for his camera so the rest could go for the kids. (and, thank goodness for that film!)
The family car is behind us (a ford?) and our colonial-style 3 BR house is to the left, hidden except for a section of fence. On a small hill out back, you can see the beginning of a hedge that separated our yard from the houses behind us. It eventually obscured that view. Adding to our backyard privacy, dad planted many lovely shrubs and trees. I clearly recall the red maple, double flowering Korean cherry tree, 3 flowering crabapples, another maple, a beech tree (used for nighttime escapes as a teenager!) and their beloved Peach tree. My father and his father loved planting flowers and being in the dirt! They both grew roses and many other lovlies! Two MASSIVE willow trees grew behind the house. They supported our tire swing and shaded our home-made playhouse that dad painted to match or pink & brown house.
Playhouse memories: Barbies, Old Maid, Crazy Eights and Rummy, drawing for HOURS on the long built-in table, fun houses (blindfolding the neighborhood kids, making them feel a bowl of peeled grapes & telling them they were eyeballs! I think we charged 5 cents admission), hide & seek, jumping off of the roof! (my poor mother), and smoking my parent's cigarettes!
I hope you enjoyed taking this Trip Down Memory Lane with me. I encourage you to comment with a few of your own or include a link to your own blog of precious childhood memories !
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