"We paid $8,300.00 for the house in Cedar Rapids, but had to pay $800.00 in capital gains tax on the Chicago property. (Oh, the woes of the wealthier folks...)
"In Cedar Rapids, Margaret graduated from McKinley High School. She married Clarence Brookner (better known as 'Snooky' then, but now called 'Al.') He was a star on McKinley's football team.
"Jean married Jack Brown in 1949 (I thought it was in 1947, but I might be mistaken). He was in the food jobbing business.
Wilma must have been getting tired of writing her life's facts down because she really does not cover much of what took place while we lived in Cedar Rapids. So...I'll try to fill in the blanks, and will provide photos to go with it...
Merry with Mitzi on the back porch at our house on 17th Street.
The Cooper girls still at home, with Wilma and Wayne, and a dog named 'Corky' that we were taking care of for a friend of Merry's. My dad looks sleepy here, but he was just caught with his eyes closed. Notice, there is a new couch (or, possibly a new slipcover on the old couch, as I can remember my mother updating a lot of our furniture with slipcovers that she made herself. But I do think this must be a new couch, as it is certainly upholstered, and she did not do a lot of upholstery as difficult as a couch would be...) In any case, it looks nice nestled into the big bay windows of that house in Cedar Rapids! (Notice as well, the long legs of all of us except my mother...we all inherited legs like my dad's....not a bad thing, really. I'm not sure why my mother is wearing a corsage, Maybe it was Mother's Day or her birthday...
This picture is of our neighbor girl, Karen Biba, and me. I made friends with the kids in the neighborhood, and I remember lots of summer nights, playing 'hide-and-seek,' and other fun games. In one game, someone would shout for us to start moving about in many, contorted positions, and then someone would yell 'freeze!' And, we were supposed to maintain the pose that we were caught in when that shout was heard. The last person who didn't lose their balance was the winner. I think we made up a lot of those games, and they were fun for kids our age. Television had not yet become common in most households, in fact, we were the first family on our street to get a television set. Those sets had a really small, rounded screen, and I can remember all the 'snow' and interference we put up with.
Below is my dad shoveling the heavy snow off of our car. I don't remember a garage at that house, so we probably always parked our car on the street. From the looks of it, that must have been a foot or more of snowfall...whew!
I have quite a few stories to tell about living with three older sisters in our big house in Cedar Rapids. I remember one time, either Merry or Jean had a boyfriend visiting in our house, and I was offered a quarter to 'leave them alone.' I think I was probably a bit of a pest, most likely spying on them as they tried to visit together, and probably giggling a lot... Oh, the joys of younger siblings!
I know that it was difficult at our house with at least five women (my mother, Jean, Merry, Margaret and me) and my father sharing a pretty small bathroom with one sink, a tub and a toilet... Since my father worked long hours at his job, that helped, and since we younger girls were in school and the older girls at work, the day times were not so bad, but once evening came, and everyone was at home, things could get congested! And, I know that my Grandma Cooper lived with us for at least a few years, as did my Grandma Barrett. It's no wonder my father often spent time in a bar... (but more on that part of the story a bit later...)
Grandma Cooper loved to listen to soap operas on the radio. I remember especially 'The Romance of Helen Trent,' and a more sinister program called 'The Creaking Door.' When Grandma's programs were on, we were expected to be pretty quiet.
One time, Merry wanted to go on a date, but Jean had already borrowed her good shoes. Of course, Merry was upset, so Grandma Cooper said, "You can borrow my shoes, honey!"
You can imagine what my 'hip' young sister thought of that offer, can't you? (I really doubt she took Grandma's offer!)
The older girls often borrowed each others' clothes, since they were close to the same size. That habit could have its disasters, as Jean found out after Merry borrowed a new wool skirt that she had bought when she worked at Marshall Fields' in Chicago, a skirt which happened to be one of her favorites. At that time, some of my sisters had begun to smoke cigarettes, at least when they were out on dates (my father had always smoked, and the habit was frowned upon by my mother, who never did...plus the smokers were forever leaving a burning cigarette on a counter top or table, and burning a distinctive mark in the finish...a fact that got my mother pretty upset.) Well, this particular time, Merry had lit up a cigarette before she left the house, wearing Jean's pretty wool skirt. And, my mother came into the room, probably smelling the smoke. Merry hastily shoved the burning cigarette into the skirt's pocket, and could not take it out immediately because my mother was still there. When she was finally able to remove the cigarette, it had burned a hole through the pretty wool material of the skirt. Needless to say, there were some cross words...
Merry was known for being able to sleep through nearly anything... In fact, I remember one time when she was supposed to get up for something...maybe she needed to go to work, I don't remember. But, no one could arouse her. So, one of my sisters got a pitcher of cold water, and poured it on the slumbering head of Merry. I don't recall just how that turned out, but I'm sure Merry finally woke up!
Another story about Merry's ability to sleep soundly nearly anywhere happened when she decided to take a bath one evening. It was chilly in the bathroom, and Merry solved that problem by putting on a sweater while she sat in the water (I guess it must have been one that would not shrink easily!) Well, Merry got so cozy that she fell asleep...probably slid down a bit, and dozed off. Of course, the girls would lock the bathroom door when they were using that room, and eventually someone needed to get in. If I remember, they had a hard time getting Merry to wake up and come unlock the door!
Jean met a good-looking blonde guy in Cedar Rapids. It was Jack C. Brown, and his father and he ran a food-jobbing business. The two young people began to date, and eventually were married, in about 1949. I remember that they lived in the big room upstairs for awhile, and it seems like they even had their first child while they lived there.
Here is a photo of Jean in a maternity outfit. We had some baby kittens at our house at that time, and some of us are holding them. This was a time when we had out-of-town visitors - my cousin Marjory Neal Pecaro and her husband George Pecaro (Marjory was the daughter of my mother's older sister, Daisy). Left to right in the photo are my sister Margaret, Wilma, Marjory, George, Jean and Merry. I am seated on the ground. We are all in the side yard of our house on 17th Street. At this time, Margaret was not yet married, nor was Merry. I think Jean and Jack lived with us when this picture was taken, but soon they bought a home of their own in Cedar Rapids.
More stories to come....Come on back, won't you?
The older girls often borrowed each others' clothes, since they were close to the same size. That habit could have its disasters, as Jean found out after Merry borrowed a new wool skirt that she had bought when she worked at Marshall Fields' in Chicago, a skirt which happened to be one of her favorites. At that time, some of my sisters had begun to smoke cigarettes, at least when they were out on dates (my father had always smoked, and the habit was frowned upon by my mother, who never did...plus the smokers were forever leaving a burning cigarette on a counter top or table, and burning a distinctive mark in the finish...a fact that got my mother pretty upset.) Well, this particular time, Merry had lit up a cigarette before she left the house, wearing Jean's pretty wool skirt. And, my mother came into the room, probably smelling the smoke. Merry hastily shoved the burning cigarette into the skirt's pocket, and could not take it out immediately because my mother was still there. When she was finally able to remove the cigarette, it had burned a hole through the pretty wool material of the skirt. Needless to say, there were some cross words...
Merry was known for being able to sleep through nearly anything... In fact, I remember one time when she was supposed to get up for something...maybe she needed to go to work, I don't remember. But, no one could arouse her. So, one of my sisters got a pitcher of cold water, and poured it on the slumbering head of Merry. I don't recall just how that turned out, but I'm sure Merry finally woke up!
Another story about Merry's ability to sleep soundly nearly anywhere happened when she decided to take a bath one evening. It was chilly in the bathroom, and Merry solved that problem by putting on a sweater while she sat in the water (I guess it must have been one that would not shrink easily!) Well, Merry got so cozy that she fell asleep...probably slid down a bit, and dozed off. Of course, the girls would lock the bathroom door when they were using that room, and eventually someone needed to get in. If I remember, they had a hard time getting Merry to wake up and come unlock the door!
Jean met a good-looking blonde guy in Cedar Rapids. It was Jack C. Brown, and his father and he ran a food-jobbing business. The two young people began to date, and eventually were married, in about 1949. I remember that they lived in the big room upstairs for awhile, and it seems like they even had their first child while they lived there.
More stories to come....Come on back, won't you?
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