February 1, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 1, 1963

Fri -5 to 28 Bright Clear Day and Warmer.  I washed in am.  Washed 2 blankets and a bedspread for Gerald.  Did some ironing in pm. Wayne went to a ball game at night and David went out. Clifton's cold still bad.  

Comment:  Slow day on the hill, high school basketball game on Friday night.  These games were the social event of the week while we were in high school giving us isolated farm kids the opportunity to interact socially with kids from other schools and especially, girls from other schools.  The buses were sexually separated for away games, girls on one side, the boys on the other, and each bus drove with the interior lights on and included at least one teacher chaperon.  At the high school dances, we were also closely monitored to ensure minimal body contact between the sexes.  Dance bands stuck to the Hit Parade type of arrangements with very few up-tempo songs.  Certainly, no bumping and grinding that apparently is now accepted. 


 I was a starter for the Gilboa High School mostly because it was a Class E school with less than fifty boys eligible for sports in the entire high school and I could kinda run, dribble and chew gum at the same time.  My career came to an ignominious end when, while walking to the bus after a game, I lit up a cigarette practically in front of the coach and was thrown off the team the last game of my senior year.  I chronicle this sad event in a previous blog: Click To Listen:  Hubbard Music Mountain: Last Game At Gilboa Central Talking Blues:

Talking blues is a form of country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict.  See below for Wikipedia link.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_blues