1957 was a wonderful year!

This post is suppose to be about the year we were born. I know my parents lived in Oklahoma the year I was born. I can not imagine what my grandmother went through sending her 20 year old daughter back to Oklahoma from Iowa with her newborn baby, let alone how my mother felt so very alone. I know we lived in a small trailer in a trailer park in Altus, Oklahoma. I remember “American Bandstand” from later years and my dad’s favorite movie was “Bridge over River Kwai” So I remember that, otherwise I don’t remember any of it obviously. Thank heavens for the internet and Google!

How Much things cost in 1957

 Yearly Inflation Rate USA 3.34%  Yearly Inflation Rate UK  3.3%  Average Cost of new house $12,220.00  Average Monthly Rent $90.00  Average Yearly Wages $4.550.00  Cost of a gallon of Gas 24 cents Bacon per pound 60 cents  Eggs per dozen28 cents  HI FI Portable Record Player $79.95  Children's Shoes $5.95

What Events Happened in 1957

U.S.  •Toyota starts selling cars in the US, the first is the Toyopet Crown

Egypt --- Suez Canal Crisis 1956 - 1957

•Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal

Malaya  • Malaya Gains Independence From Britain

World --- Asian Flu Pandemic

• Asian Flu pandemic claims over 150,000 lives world wide

UK  •Windscale nuclear power plant accident on 10th October  in UK

Russia --- First artificial satellite Sputnik 1 Launched Successfully

•USSR launches Sputnik 1 on October 4th  inaugurating the Space Age and the Space Race 

U.S.  • Portable Radar Devices Used To Enforce Speed Limits

Vietnam --- Viet Cong Guerrillas attack South Vietnam

•South Vietnam attacked by Viet Cong Guerrillas

Italy  •Treaty of Rome ( The EEC European Economic Community is formed )

World --- Baby Boomers

•1957 was the peak of the Baby Boomer years

U.S.  •Martin Luther King Jr heads nationwide resistance to racial segregation and discrimination in the US

U.S.  •Federal Troops sent to Arkansas to enforce anti segregation laws               

Singapore  • Singapore gains Self Rule

U.S.  •Tidal Wave follows Hurricane Audrey into coasts of Texas and Louisiana

U.S.  •The National Guard on the order of Governor Orval Faubus is used to prevent nine African American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock on September 4th and shortly after Federal troops charge defiant protesters with fixed bayonets to ensure nine African American Students can attend Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas

U.S.  • The Mackinac suspension bridge opens connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan.

UK  • Foot and Mouth in England Reaches epidemic proportions with 30,000 animals slaughtered

U.S.  • The House for Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) convicts a number of writers and playwright's for Un-American Activities / Communist party membership

Haiti  •Physician Francois Duvalier PAPA DOC becomes president of Haiti

Ghana  •Ghana Gains Independence From Great Britain

Popular Culture

•Elvis Presley purchases a mansion in Memphis, Tennessee and calls it Graceland

•The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool ( Where the Beetle's started )

•The Film Jailhouse Rock premiers with Elvis Presley

• "American Bandstand" the teenagers chart music show makes its network debut on ABC

Popular Films

•The Ten Commandments

•Around the World in Eighty Days

•12 Angry men

•Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley

•The Bridge on the River Kwai

•The Three Faces of Eve

 

Popular Books

•The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss

•From Russia with Love - Ian Fleming

•The Guns of Navarone - Alistair MacLean

My Time Capsule

Somehow I missed this prompt so it is out of order. I would of course create the time capsule for my descendants. I would like to put in little pieces of me I think to remember what my life was like. I would put in my wedding ring I think. I would include some sort of a computer because they have been a huge part of my life as well as an explanation of how they worked and what I did with them. I would put in my softball and softball glove because I love my sports. I am the furthest from athletic as you can get, however, I love watching and participating by helping children with their sports. I have already told my children who get what of my jewelry to carry forward. My oldest daughter gets my wedding ring. My next child, a daughter, gets the ring I got for my thirtieth anniversary. My son got his dad's "engagement" ring and my dad's wedding ring.

I have many family heirlooms I have explained to my children that carry on the stories of my ancestors. I have furniture, silver pieces, dishes, china, quilts, clothing, and may other pieces that my children have been told the story of to carry on the memories.

 This picture of our family room shows several heirlooms I hope to pass down. The carousel horse on the wall came from Arnold's Park in Iowa through my husband's family. The trunk my husband made as a wedding present for me. The end table is an antique that Brian's parents had. The rocking chair is also an antique from the family. The old bottle on the mantle was from a great aunt. The braided rug came from Brian's mom.

The tractor in this picture belonged to Brian's dad. His dad actually purchased the tractor the year my husband was born. These items mean much more than the monetary value. The tell the story of our families.

Those who served for us.

This is my dad, Theodor Jefferson White, Jr, or as most people knew him Ted. Dad was in the Air Force for eight years. He served in the Military Police for part of that time and below is his German Shepard, Sam.  Sam would do absolutely anything Dad told him to. Dad was a sharp shooter in the military. Of course, his military service is not something Dad talked about much.

We traveled around the country some as military brats. We lived in Altus, Oklahoma, Dover, Delaware, and Dad lived in Canada.

 

My Grandpa Albert Grashoff's brother, John Henry Grashoff  served in World War I and died on July 29, 1918, Chauteau Thierry, France. Above are the reports from the local paper.

 

Unexplained Memories.

Prompt 10  Unexplained Memories

The one unexplained memory that sticks out in my mind is a memory of being in my Grandma Grashoff's basement (my grandparents basically lived in the completely finished basement) with a bunch of relatives. My youngest uncle, Rusty, came to the top of the steps with an announcement, I believe, that he had been drafted. To the best of my recollection, that is what happened. He never did go to the service which I believe had something to do with possibly a heart murmur but I don't really know and no one else seems to remember this with the intensity that I remember.

This picture is of my aunt Reeny and my Uncle Rusty in my grandparents basement in rural Iowa. Rusty was born in 1944 so this would have been during the Vietnam War.

Halloween!

Prompt:
Have you ever participated in a Halloween event?
When was it?
Where was it?...
What did you dress as?
Trick or treat?


I have many fond memories of trick or treating as a child growing up in Aurelia, Iowa. I have no pictures that I am aware of from our costumes. I know they were homemade. I remember dressing as ghosts, witches, the usual.  We took large bags around town and got them full of full-sized candy bars! It was great. Then came the scare of people putting things in the candy, i.e. razor blades, drugs, needles, so on. Yuck.

I have pictures of my children dressing up -- theirs were mainly homemade also -- by me! I made the Raggedy Ann and the little Tiger costumes in this picture.
  I also made the "princess" costume and the little clown costume. As you can see another version of a tiger costume I made.

For many years my aunt had a Halloween party for all of us who lived in the country. These were always fun family events!  

I was an office in our local PTA for about a decade. We put on a haunted house for the area students and parents for years. It was really a pretty elaborate even and lots of fun. These were our costumes one year.

 

My parents that were Grand!

PROMPT:
What were their names?
Where were they from?
Were they related? – Cousins perhaps...
Where were they born, another Country or state/area
Photos
What did they do?
Did you know them?
What was your relationship with them?
If you didn't know them have you researched about them?

These are my grandparents at my wedding. Brian and I were married in 1978. My maternal grandparents are on the far outside. My Paternal grandparents are in the middle.

My mother's parents were Albert Phillip Edward Grashoff and Alma Ida Minnie Matzdorff. Grandpa Grashoff, or as he was known "Abby" was born in  Onarga, Iroquois County, Illinois. When he was fairly young his family moved to Aurelia, Iowa, where he lived the rest of his life. Grandpa was a farmer, but also had many other jobs in his lifetime. He was also a carpenter and construction foreman. Grandpa worked for the ASCS for a while which had something to do with an agricultural service. Grandpa was a stanch family man and really wasn't interested in other people.
Grandma Grashoff was born in this area, Buena Vista County, Iowa, not far from the farm that she lived in her entire life. Grandpa was a farm wife and the mother of seven. She also had a huge garden and canned a lot of the food they lived on throughout the year. She had a root cellar where she kept the "fresh" produce. Grandma was an excellent cook and baker. Grandma also did a lot of work on the farm.

My father's parents were Theodor Jefferson White and Joyce Maxine Fogleman. Grandpa, Ted, was born in Cherokee County and lived there his entire life. Grandpa also held many jobs. He was a farmer for the first part of his life and then after he had to sell the farm when his dad died, he held other jobs including furniture delivery person. Grandma also helped on the farm and was the mother of four. She also had other jobs in the later years after they moved off of the farm.

We also spent holidays of course with the grandparents. We lived very close to my Grandpa and Grandma Grashoff and frequently went out there to play cards and have "coffee" after school. Also, most Sundays were spent at their house for Sunday Dinner (noon). We lived closer to the Grashoff Grandparents and spent more time there, however, I had a close relationship with all of my grandparents and even remember my great grandma and grandpa White.

 

 

Week 6

Do you keep a journal or diary?
How far back do they go? What do you record?
Where do you keep them?...

Do you always buy the same one or vary them?
Have you inherited any?
Do you intend to pass along your journals or destroy them?
Pictures
Do you have a favourite?
What do you use to write with – biro, pencil, ink or fountain pen?
I have intermittently keep a journal. I kept a few back as a youngster, I have no idea where they are now. I keep a very complete journal when I was pregnant with my first child. At this point, I really have no idea where that is either. They only form of journal I have is my research blog. "Teri's Queries" http://whiteandchaffinfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/   I will probably give my journal to my daughter she it is about her pregnancy.  This is short and sweet because I don't really do a journal or diary. I have had several family members who kept a journal of sorts by writing things on a calendar. I have not received any of these.