“Who Had Time to Cook?”

By

Gerry Niskern

Some times a trip to the grocery story can bring back warm memories. Just a hint of a scent can evoke a reminder of a dinner in your childhood.

I  passed by luscious ripe Strawberries yesterday and was instantly  reminded of dinners we used to have when I was a kid on a little farm in West Virginia. I say dinner, because that was exactly what we had. Strawberry short cake…… All we wanted. During the peak of Strawberry season we picked and picked and picked. Mom would take time out to make pie pans of sweet biscuit, slice them thru, pile sweetened berries on one layer and then put  the other half on top and add ladles full of more berries…..all we could eat. What a wonderful dinner!

Of course, another one item dinner that I loved was in sweet corn season. My mother would pick a bushel of corn from her garden and boil them for dinner. She had a strict rule. “You boil for three minutes and not a second longer for the best flavor. Just enough to cook the milk inside the kernels.” Then she would always add, “Most people cook their sweet corn way too long!” We ate those delicious ears with her fresh churned butter dripping down thru our fingers

Monday was laundry day. If she was real tired we got her stewed tomatos and bread. NOT A FAVORITE OF MINE. But I have to admit it wasn’t as bad as an occasional dinner a friend of mine from Tennessee told me about. She still had nightmares of a plate full of Collard greens. That was it. Nothing else and she couldn’t leave the table until she ate every bite. .

Ken used to talk about childhood dinners of fried Okra. I wasn’t familiar with Okra, but when I tasted his mother’s, I liked the crunchy, nutlike flavor. He also remember dinners of a big glass of milk and chunks of cornbread to drop into it. That I didn’t try.

We both remembered when dinner consisted of a big pot of beans. A ladle full of beans over a slice of buttered bread was delicious. My mother’s were the big butter beans and since he grew up  in West Texas, his mother’s were pinto beans.

Probably what we all remember best is the happy feeling of sitting at a dinner table surrounded by people who cared for you!

TAKE A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

by

Gerry Niskern

Are you tired of political conventions, Covid reports and climate news. Take a break and read about life in the l940’.Here’s a Snapshot.

Back in the 40’s Phoenix had a vibrant downtown. You went downtown to buy your cloths, shoes, or for entertainment too. That was it. No Arrowhead, Desert Ridge, Biltmore Fashion, etc. There were several movie theatres, departments stores and best of all for a kid shopper, there were three five and ten cent stores: Kresses, Woolworths, and Newberrys.

The northeast corner of 1^st Avenue and W. Washington in downtown Phoenix is now part of Renaissance Square. Pink granite pillars with brass trim adorn the premises.

When I was growing up in Phoenix in the l940’s, Newberry’s five and ten cent store stood on that corner, always bustling with shoppers.   Regardless of your mode of transportation, streetcar or bus, everyone who went uptown eventually dropped into the variety store that carried everything. Newberrys was an early version of K-Mart or Target for shoppers in the valley, only on a smaller scale.

My cousin worked behind the candy counter after school.  She remembers the Native American women who sold their pottery and jewelry on the sidewalk along Washington coming in to buy the orange marshmallow cookies by the pounds. They were a favorite of mine too.

Walking home from Phoenix Union we stopped in  Newberrys to buy sheet music of the latest popular songs from the lady in the basement who was playing the piano to demonstrate the top hits.

A few years later we went back to  Newberrys to purchase Christmas tree ornaments for our first tree. I also found a small crèche that still graced our living room  years later during the holidays.

My resident historian and I also went to Newberrys for our baby’s first little  pair of shoes. The infant department was in the basement too. If it hadn’t been for a kind-hearted saleslady showing us the right method, we would have never managed to get those white high tops onto those stubborn, little feet. Hint: You have to go at it sideways!

My resident historian always said that  Newberrys  carried the best selection of model airplane kits in town. He loved to tell the story of once, when he was around ten years old, he had saved two dollars for a new airplane model. He didn’t spend a nickel on the streetcar, and walked uptown instead, in case he needed every cent for the long awaited purchase. He clutched his two dollar bills as he browsed the model counter. If he was lucky, he could find one there with Balsa wood. During the war it became scarce and the model companies started substituting harder woods. It was really a banner day when the store had a shipment of straight pins. they were great in constructing the planes. When he was ready to make his purchase he suddenly realized that he didn’t have the two dollar bills in his hand. He frantically searched everywhere. He finally gave up and headed home. Needless to say, he walked. He used to laugh and finish the story by saying,  When he was  driving by years later and they were demolishing Newberrys he said he wanted to yell, “Hey, if you find two dollars, they’re mine!”

“Do You Have Any Green Stamps?”

By

Gerry Niskern

The other day someone asked, “Do you remember S & H green stamps? Of course, I remember.

The first thing that comes to mind is Disneyland, but I’ll get back to that later.

Way back when I was a kid, and the earth was still cooling, my mother saved green stamps. The Sperry and Hutchinson company gave out the green stamps in partnerships with many supermarkets, gas stations and department stores.

The stamps were rewarded with the purchase from a business and based on the dollar amount of the purchase. Some stores enticed people in with double stamp days. The stamps were pasted into collector books that could be redeemed for valuable items from their catalogue or an S & H store.

One summer our family of five and my sisters family of five went to the Magic Kingdom entirely free. It took 39 books of stamps for each of our families to exchange for certificates that entitled each one a deluxe 15 ride package.  We had saved for months and our mother chipped in to help out. We were still there at midnight for the fireworks when Tinkerbell flew across the sky and tripped the display. Our kids, all grade school age, had the time of their lives.

Of course, I have to admit, my first trip to Disneyland was sans kids. We hired a sitter and headed to San Diego one summer. “Let’s drive up to Orange County and look around,” my scheming husband suggested one morning. When we reached Anaheim he said, “Oh, look over there, at that little mountain. Do you think that is the Matterhorn at Disneyland?” When I responded, well, maybe it is!

Then as he intended all along, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom. It was great.

The next summer, we took our two, five and seven year old. They loved it, but they made sure that every place we ate they told the waitress that they were going to Disneyland and with  sad faces added, “They went last year without us!”

Of course, now you have to take out a small loan to make the trip to Walt’s World. There was a lot of satisfaction back when a whole family could have the adventure of a lifetime free; all on S & H Green Stamps.

“Do You Have Any Green Stamps?”

By

Gerry Niskern

The other day someone asked, “Do you remember S & H green stamps? Of course, I remember.

The first thing that comes to mind is Disneyland, but I’ll get back to that later.

Way back when I was a kid, and the earth was still cooling, my mother saved green stamps. The Sperry and Hutchinson company gave out the green stamps in partnerships with many supermarkets, gas stations and department stores.

The stamps were rewarded with the purchase from a business and based on the dollar amount of the purchase. Some stores enticed people in with double stamp days. The stamps were pasted into collector books that could be redeemed for valuable items from their catalogue or an S & H store.

One summer our family of five and my sisters family of five went to the Magic Kingdom entirely free. It took 39 books of stamps for each of our families to exchange for certificates that entitled each one a deluxe 15 ride package.  We had saved for months and our mother chipped in to help out. We were still there at midnight for the fireworks when Tinkerbell flew across the sky and tripped the display. Our kids, all grade school age, had the time of their lives.

Of course, I have to admit, my first trip to Disneyland was sans kids. We hired a sitter and headed to San Diego one summer. “Let’s drive up to Orange County and look around,” my scheming husband suggested one morning. When we reached Anaheim he said, “Oh, look over there, at that little mountain. Do you think that is the Matterhorn at Disneyland?” When I responded, well, maybe it is!

Then as he intended all along, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom. It was great.

The next summer, we took our two, five and seven year old. They loved it, but they made sure that every place we ate they told the waitress that they were going to Disneyland and with  sad faces added, “They went last year without us!”

Of course, now you have to take out a small loan to make the trip to Walt’s World. There was a lot of satisfaction back when a whole family could have the adventure of a lifetime free; all on S & H Green Stamps.

“School’s Starting Already?”

By

Gerry Niskern

During  these Covid days, nobody knows when or if their kid’s school is starting this year. Nor do they know if they even want to send them. Some time back, I wrote a column about the first day of school.

Starting first grade, I remembered crying at lunch for the first two weeks; but my husband remembered getting a whipping first day of first grade for being what the teacher decided was a “smart aleck”!

Here’s the original column:

The first thing I always think of when I hear that school is starting is “It’s time to get a Big Chief tablet and a new pencil.”  Okay, now you know I started school in the Dark Ages!

I once asked a few people of various ages “What is the first thing that pops into your mind about school starting?” Here are some of their answers.

One five year old in my family who was  eagerly waiting to start Kindergarten said,” I think I will learn to read,” and after a long pause, “And I think I will be thinking a lot.”  I posed the question to his little sister who was starting Pre-School, but she “took the fifth!”

A granddaughter  in middle school looked surprised at my question and answered, “Why, that’s easy. The first thing I always think about school starting is now we can go shopping for clothes.”

One fifty-something in our family answered. “I remember my first thought when I started first grade was, “I’ll get to ride the school bus with the little red-haired girl. Maybe I’ll get to hold her hand.” He continued, “I did; but after school started she got her long hair cut and I didn’t want to hold her hand anymore.”

An 89 year old friend said when school started each year, “ I worried about getting all my books. I prayed they hadn’t changed the texts so I could use the ones my older sisters had. Then off I went happily in my sister’s hand me down dresses too.”

A friend who has taught Kindergarten for many years answered. “That’s easy. Crying children; I call September the crying month. Only a third of my kids have had pre-school experience. The parents are actually the biggest problem. If they would  say goodbye and just leave!”

My friend, a retired teacher who taught mathematics to seventh and eighth graders for years said, “Now when I realize it’s time for school to start again I think, great. I don’t have to go.” And then he added, “Tennis anyone?”