June 30, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 30, 1963

Sunday, hot and humid,  sunny,  80’s.  We went to church and Sunday school. and to Renz’s in afternoon.  Clifton and I took mother to funeral parlor in Voorheesville later.  Had last of Bible School at church at night, the girls went.  David started work at Timberland again.

Grand Gorge Village Intersection

Comment:  The Renz's are LaVerne's wife Roberta's parents and lived in Grand Gorge.  I used to drive truck with Tommy Renz, Roberta's brother,  and remember following him through the village of Grand Gorge with a load of charcoal about 3am.  He was going so fast that he rocked the trailer up on the right-hand dual tires as he went through the village intersection.  Bob Renz, Roberta's father, was a long time truck driver and I remember him idling his diesel tractor all night long in the winter so it would start easily on cold mornings.  I remember him saying that he sometimes  would not shut the truck off for a week at a time.  Mom's mother Bessie's sister, died a few days earlier and they were taking Bessie to the service in Voorheesville.  The internet is amazing.  Here is a picture of the intersection Tommy Renz and I raced through one early morning.  We were driving in the same direction as the car with lights on.  After that, it was pretty much downhill all the way to the Hudson River valley..... 

June 29, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 29, 1963

Saturday, hot, 80’s.  David, Wayne, girls and I went to Ronne’s wedding at Roxbury in pm and stayed to reception.  Girls went to picnic at camp for Bible School at night.  I was tired.  David and Sandy here a few minutes then went to LaVerne's as he'd called for David to come work at the plant on Sunday.  Clifton came home late.

Comment:  This must be Ronnie Schemerhorn's wedding, a close friend of Wayne, David and Doug.  Dad apparently getting some overtime and David starts at the charcoal plant.  I think sometime in the near future he will get his hand caught in a charcoal press..Bible school rolls on....

Roxbury, NY Church & School

Roxbury, NY was the birthplace of naturalist John Burroughs and railroad magnate Jay Gould and also a vacation destination for the rich around the 1900's served by the Ulster & Delaware Railroad chartered in 1875.  For some reason, Gilboa Central always played our only afternoon basketball game with Roxbury in the fifties and I'm not sure why.  We always seemed to beat them, if I recall. Here is a picture of the Roxbury school and church.  

June 28, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 28, 1963

Friday,  hot,  80's.  Wayne, the girls and I, went to Cobleskill in the afternoon.   I went to Dr. Dougal.  Had very hard thundershowers as we got close to home.  Lighting struck here 7-8.

Comment:  Mom's headache must have been pretty intense for her to go to the doctor.  

June 27, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 27, 1963

Thursday, hot,  80’s.  I didn’t go to Bible School because of sick headache.  I wrote to Marilyn. Aunt Pearl died.  49 at Bible School.

Comment:  "Poor spell" comes again.  Aunt Pearl is Mom's mother's sister....bible school flourishes...

June 26, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 26, 1963

Wednesday, another beautiful day,  82, a little breeze and more humid but still clear and fair.  I washed in pm when we got back from Vacation Bible School.  David signs up for unemployment. Had a letter from Marilyn.  49 at Vacation Bible School.

Comment:  Beautiful day on the hill, panoramic views of the old Catskills, tree leaves rustling in the wind.  Not sure why David out of work but thank FDR for the FUTA act of 1939 that saw millions of people through hard times, including me and most of my family.  ("If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it"...comes to mind in the current political environment of benefit curtailment and union-busting.)  Mom and Marilyn sent letters almost daily to keep in touch.  Our son David was in China and we could see his apartment and him and communicate almost daily if we wish to through online video and email.  Here is a blog entry about the seasons on the hill:

Seasons On Hubbard Hill

And the seasons would come and the seasons would go and our whole world would change with the flow

As the sharp verdant springtime resolved in soft focus as the hills drowned in summer’s warm glow

And the mountains in Autumn were like purple haze that muted fall colors soaked through

Then winter’s keen breath brought the snow and white frost and another new year for us too.

View Of Catskills From Gilboa Cemetery Where Dad & Mom Are Buried

June 25, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 25, 1963

Tuesday,  Beautiful day clear and warm.  Went to bible school.  Carol went home with Elizabeth and Diana came home with Sue.  David went to Margaretville.  43 at Vacation Bible School


Comment:  My sons, David and Craig, went to the bible school one year and they still talk about someone there who scared hell out of them with tales of endless fire and torture in hell.  We sent them out or respect for my Mother who sincerely desired to save them..........Margaretville, the place where, when I was sixteen years old,  I had my appendix out.  For years after,  I could not do a knee raise with my right leg with out getting a severe cramp because of the adhesion's and scar tissue of the incision.  The scar looked like I was struck with an ax and it was weeks before I could even stand up straight.  Probably lucky I lived through it.  Coming out of the ether and the after effects was also one of the worst hangovers I've ever had and that's saying something...

June 24, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 24, 1963
Monday, beautiful day, clear, warm, high 82.  Daily Vacation Bible School started,  girls and I went.  Gerald and David cultivated the garden.  Wayne worked for Raymond Brown and went to Dr’s for his cold.  LaVerne and Roberta here at night a few minutes,  brought Clifton a shirt for fathers day.  Wayne, the girls and I went to graduation at night,  very hot.  Clifton home late.  34 attended Daily Vacation Bible School.

Comment:  Dad must have worked late, he sometimes worked 12 or 14 hours a day depending on what was happening on the job.  The school did not have ac and the gym temp could soar with all the body heat.  I do not remember cultivating the garden.  Must have been drawing clinker at night so was home during the day.   David and I probably cultivated the garden with the Allis Chalmers C that we owned for years.  Here it is sitting on the lawn of the house...and 34 kids are captured and sentenced to 10 days of additional school....

June 23, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 23, 1963

Sunday, sunny day,  70’s,  very nice.  Girls and I went to church and Sunday school.  Doug met bus in Grand Gorge 3 pm.  Gerald went back to Gloversville.  I called Billie after dinner.  Clifton, Wayne, the girls and I went to school at night to sermon.

Comment:  Sounds like  typical Sunday, lots of church stuff, Doug returns to base, me probably back to work after seeing Mary Ann...We could almost see Grand Gorge from our front porch.  It's in the valley just at the tip of the arrow and about 14 miles away by road.  I miss the great views of the mountains.....

June 22, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 22, 1963

Saturday, sunny and very windy,  60’s. I washed for Doug and fixed Navy pants.  Did ironing in pm.  Doug took Carol over to Sandy’s to have her hair done and broke the rotary on David's car.  Wayne worked for Raymond Brown.  David and Sandy got back home at

June 21, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 21, 1963

Friday, cloudy,  cold,  40,  windy.  I did a big wash.  David went to Conn. with Sandy and her folks to her brother's graduation.  Doug called at 9 pm and wanted us to meet him in Catskill at 3:30 am.  Gerald went after him.  The girls and I went to Cobleskill shopping in the afternoon.

Comment:  Boy, sure don't remember that early am trip.  Not sure if I met a bus or a train.  I used to take a train from Fort Dix to Grand Central then catch a bus to Catskill..on one of the trips, I heard the Everly Brothers sing "Bye Bye Love" on a transistor radio that another passenger had and I never forgot it.

The first day of summer and it's 40 and windy, sounds like Portland in 2011..

For some historical perspective on the initial era of rock 'n roll here is a link to "Bye Bye Love" and their Wikipedia entry:  I never knew they were that close to Chet Atkins and Buddy Holly....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers

June 20, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 20, 1963

Thursday,  70’s.  Partly cloudy.  Carol and I went to school in am to Sue's exercises.  I still didn’t feel good.  Roberta, Diana, and Colleen here in the afternoon for a few minutes.  Wayne worked for Raymond Brown.  Carol went to Oneonta with David and Sandy and got a white pleated skirt and white heels.  Girls and I went to a prayer meeting at night.

Comment:  "Poor spell" hanging on, Carol gets ready for something, probably a school function. Raymond Brown had a gas station and farm in Broom Center right at the top of the hill.  Not sure if Wayne was working on the farm or the in the gas station...Bonnie Brown, who married Vic Mace, was in my class at school.  Shirley Brown was in my sister Marilyn's class.  Jimmy Cushman, a foster child the Browns were raising was a class behind me.  He was a street kid from New York City and was very tough and established his "cred" on his first day in school by almost strangling  Jimmy Rogers on the driveway in front of the school that we used for a playground in the winter, that was a degree of take-no-quarter-violence that us country boys did not see during our scuffles. I did not see the fight but did see Prof Peckham hauling Jimmy off to his office and the Rogers boy white as a sheet, following behind.  Jimmy Cushman was very bright and funny, extremely loyal,  and we became pretty good friends during 7th and 8th grade.  But then he left school to go into the Navy and I never heard anything about him again.  If anyone knows anything about him, I'd appreciate it if you would let me know.....Here is a picture of the school as it was in 1956...the year I graduated.

June 19, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 19, 1963

Wednesday, sunny 60’s.  Had a sick head ache.   Girls and I went over to camp at 3:30,  finished cleaning and took down decorations.  David home early laid off.  Girls and I went after Dad.

Comment:  Sick headache did not stop her.  Must have been a tough day but maybe the work distracted her from the nausea and pain.  Bad news for David John....Happy Father's Day 2011.  Here is my tribute to my dad on the Music Mountain: 

Hubbard Music Mountain: Dad A Confession, Original By Gerry Hubbard:

June 18, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 18, 1963

Tuesday, warm. Gerald started drawing clinkers for H.B. Moore.   I did some ironing and  wrote to Marilyn and Doug.

This Is The Type Of Truck I Drove Hauling Clinker

Comment:  I got a semi driving job hauling clinker from a Cobleskill limestone quarry to a cement plant on the Hudson River somewhere south of Catskill.  It was a straight shot for about 55 miles mostly downhill through Middleburgh, East Durham and Cairo.  I was driving the second shift starting about 5 pm until after midnight.  We tried to make 3 trips or but usually did two because of loading or unloading holdups or breakdowns. 
 Usually over loaded with up to 65,000 lbs or around 32 ton,  we drove like maniacs down through the tourist towns of Durham and East Durham and I'm still amazed that we did not kill some one or ourselves driving through the crowded streets.  We drove just as fast back up to Cobleskill because we were empty so it was a fast trip both ways.  I drove all through that summer drinking Pepsi without food to stay awake.  Other truck driving experiences are chronicled in my SongPoemStory, Truck Driving. 


Here is a link to that on the Music Mountain:  http://hubbardfamilymusic.blogspot.com/2011/04/0-plays-truck-driving-ive-hauled-bark.html 

June 17, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 17, 1963

Monday, very nice day,  60’s some clouds in pm.  I did a big wash and went to Orpha Browns funeral at church in afternoon.  Carol didn’t have school she stayed with Marlene.  Susan went home with Patty Young from school but didn’t stay all night.

Comment:  Wash day and a funeral, can't be too much fun.  I think Patty Young was a daughter of the Youngs who lived about 4 miles away  just before the Lees and Cleveland's places on the road to West Conesville.  The Youngs men were large, raw-boned, tall and tough.  I remember William Young dying of cancer very shortly after it was diagnosed because he never sought treatment.  After he died, we learned he was taking a couple of bottles of aspirin a day to handle the pain.  It seemed that many folks did not seek medical help with their afflictions and I'm not sure why.  Probably a lot to do with lack of money or that they were inured to the pain and sickness because they always had to work through it anyway running the farms.  Uncle Earl thought he had a heart attack and never did anything about it and died shortly after.  My Dad very seldom went to the doctor.  Of course, we've got to remember that that generation lived through the greatest pandemic in history, the Spanish Flu, around 1917, so they must have been doing something right.  That pandemic killed from 18 to 22mm worldwide. So far, Covid 19 has killed 3.83mm worldwide.....Here is a picture of Susan a little younger than in 1963 when she was about 11 years old...

June 16, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 16, 1963

Sunday, mostly sunny, upper 60’s.  Girls and I went to church and Sunday School and to the anniversary for Cliffords.  About 80 there.  We went to church at night.

Comment: Hmmm, no mention of Dad going to the anniversary party...also did not go to church....not sure what's up with that.  I hate to say it, but my experiences would have me think he went on a bender the night before, a Saturday, and did not go for that reason, but he might also have been sick....Picture of Clifford Taylor and Evelyn Hubbard Taylor on their wedding day in 1938, the year I was born.

June 15, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 15, 1963

Saturday, hard rain in am and cloudy all day.  Lillian, girls and I went to camp in pm to decorate for Anne.  Orpha Brown died 5 am.

Comment:  Not sure who Orpha Brown is..Lillian is Uncle Earl's wife.  I beginning to think that the event at the "camp" is Clifford and Evelyn's 25th wedding anniversary.  Here is picture of Evelyn as a younger girl:  (Later learned that Orpha Brown was Bertha Brown, mother of Raymong and Stanley Brown)

June 14, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 14, 1963

Stamford Mirror Recorder,  Oct 15 1931

Friday, cloudy, 50s mostly. Wayne and I went to Cobleskill in pm.  I washed cups and silverware for Anne and took them over to camp.   Girls and I were there at night.   Rained almost all of the night.  LaVerne and Roberta were here in the evening a few minutes.

Comment:  The "camp" is Ferris Camp that Louise Ferris Hubbard, wife of my grandfather, Elmer Hubbard, converted from a beer garden and hunting camp into a church camp affiliated with the Flat Creek Baptist Church and they would hold vacation "Bible School" there.   Not sure who Anne is, but probably someone running the school that summer.  

My memories of Ferris camp include my folks telling me how the infant son of Claude Ferris and Louise drowned in the large concrete swimming pool that was never again re-filled after the incident, the black and white televised Joe Louis and Billy Conn heavyweight fight my father took us to on June 19, 1946, my father going to see Claude Ferris in his dairy barn to borrow some money while I eyed his gorgeous 13-year-old blond daughter, Delores, (I was 14), and the nights that Dad would come home drunk after drinking there.  I also heard that the notorious bootlegger, Legs Diamond, visited Claude one time to encourage him to buy his booze from Legs and that Claude quickly complied.  

June 13, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 13, 1963

Thursday,  42 - 66, cloudy in am,  clearing late and warmer.  I had missionary meeting in afternoon, nine members and three children were here.  Sue and I went to prayer meeting.  Carol had a lot of home work.

Comment:  More church related activities and who'da thunk it, 4 years later to the day, Mary Ann and I would have been married about two years and would have our first child: 

Happy Birthday David Gerald Hubbard

David Gerald Hubbard Born June 13, 1967

David’s Song
How did you do it when only a boy
Composed all those songs of your life and your friends
Played with life’s music, with songs full of joy
With tempo and rhythm and rhyme without end

Learned every word of each song that you heard
And stored them away in a place in your heart
To birth them anew with music and word
And give them to others as doing your part

Brought kindness and beauty and light to the fore
With songs about loving and fun
But some about poverty, hunger, and war
To focus on change where it had to be done

Going through life with your dreams always hoping
The world would do right by you and your friends
Trying to stop all the sadness and groping
And hoping the fun and the songs never end

Not caring for wealth of material kind
Your kindness and music has set you apart
And the people who know you are rich in their minds
And you soon find a place way down deep in their hearts

So keep up the music and keep up the joy
Life’s journey is all in the fun
And never forget that the luckiest folks
Are the ones who can call you friend, brother, or son.

June 11, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 11, 1963

Tuesday, rainy day,  50’s.  I cleaned the dining room and did some ironing.  David came home early. Wayne, the girls, and I went after Clifton at night.  LaVerne and Roberta came up with a new Ford truck but didn’t stay long.  Gerald went to Albany for the last exam.
Comment:  I must be completing my first semester at SUNY@ Albany after completing SUNY@Cobleskill in January 1963.  LaVerne must have bought the new truck for the mail routes he was running.

June 12, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 12, 1963

Wednesday, 43 high, rainy in am.  I washed, hung some outside and rest upstairs.  Made cupcakes for Miss Muthig (?).  Clifton and I went with Gerald to Tony Harrington's at night to get a paper notarized.  She gave me some plants.

Comment:  Marilyn Ann's Birthday,  not sure what I got notarized.  

Happy Birthday Marilyn Ann Hubbard

Marilyn Ann Hubbard, Born June 12, 1936

June 10, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 10, 1963

Monday, rainy day, 50’s.  Clifton and David came home 10:30.  Clifton and I went to Stamford and Delhi in afternoon, then down to LaVerne's at night.  The girls stayed down and they came up about 9:30pm after girl's clothes for school.

Comment:  I think David and Dad may be working on the same job.  One of the great things of working union jobs was "show-up" time.  You would get paid 4 hours if you showed up, then got sent home because of weather or broken equipment.  I think it's hard to understand what a union does for a laborer or truck driver unless you've worked under both circumstances.  In my experience, non-union jobs were more dangerous, the supervisors more manipulative, the working conditions usually much poorer in terms of water, sanitary facilities and the general respect and dignity afforded the worker.  I've worked non-union and union and if possible, would work union every time...solidarity forever....

June 9, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 9, 1963

Sunday, mostly sunny. We all went to Gerald and Mary Ann’s graduation and had dinner at Riverview Inn.  Later, Clifton, the girls and I went to church.  David didn’t go to graduation, he and Sandy were here when we got home.  We stopped at Clifford's on the way home.  Glenn was better, he was fishing.  

Comment:  Wow, did not see this entry coming..so 58 years ago today Mary Ann and I graduated from Cobleskill Ag and Tech.  That was why Mom and the girls went shopping yesterday. 
On a sad note, Glenn Taylor was better but only had about 10 more months to live. I wish I had known that then.....  He died on April 11,1964.  Here is my memory of my last ride with him:  

http://hubbardfamilymusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/last-ride-with-glenn-taylor-gerry.html

June 8, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 8, 1963

Saturday, mostly sunny.  Girls and I went to Middleburgh and Cobleskill and shopped.  I got a dress for Sunday.  We ate at mothers.  Sandy K did girls' hair in pm.

Comment:  I guess the ladies must be getting ready for the Taylor Anniversary party.  We went to Middleburgh a lot for movies, groceries, and other shopping.  I remember my father buying me clothes at a clothing store there.  Here is the website for the village.  It was settled in 1712.  Before he died, my brother,  Clifton LaVerne, lived just about from where this picture was taken.....

http://www.middleburghnyvillage.org/aboutmiddleburgh.htm

June 7, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 7, 1963

Friday, rainy, light.  I washed and hung most clothes upstairs.  Gerald and Mary Ann were here for dinner and afternoon.

Comment:  Mary Ann and I scrounging another meal....these are the stairs Mom would have to climb to hang the clothes upstairs.....

June 6, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 6, 1963

Thursday, nice day.  I painted the stair and hall floor and varnished around rugs.  Didn’t go to prayer meeting.  Louise was here a minute at night.

Comment:  Louise was Grandpa Elmer's wife.  Mom's still in rehab mode with no mention of the migraines but not going to prayer meeting might be an indication of how she felt.  No mention of D Day.  Upon reflection, even thought the place was very isolated, it seems they had some sort of visitors just about every day.....Here is how the view from a living room window might have looked on a "nice" June day....

June 5, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 5, 1963

Wednesday, mostly sunny and warmer, 75.  I finished cleaning front room.  Had a headache and upset stomach again, didn’t feel good all day.  Sue went home with Becky and Carol went to band picnic at Nickerson's Grove at night.  Gerald went to party at Cobleskill at night.  Wrote and sent rest of Taylor anniversary cards.

Comment:  Nickerson's Grove was a camping-picnic area developed on the Schoharie Creek along Stryker Road in Gilboa.  The big challenge at Nickerson's Grove was to jump off the rocks into the Schoharie Creek.  Not sure how high the jump was but must have been 30 feet or so.  I don't remember ever doing it.  Ford Nickerson worked for years on an automated barn cleaner using hydraulically powered paddles instead of continuous  chains.  Not sure he patented it.  DeLaval and Jamesway are apparently still making them according to Google search. 

Schoharie Creek Rock Ledges

Arvilla Nickerson was my 2nd grade teacher and was very strict and also was a big fan of corporal punishment.  She had a medium-sized wooden panel that she would not hesitate to use on the kids.   I saw her once completely lose it and beat hell of of Eddy Brainerd until she broke the paddle on his shoulder and then she stopped.  She would be arrested now if she did  it and it would be well deserved....this is how the rocks along the creek kinda looked at Nickerson's grove.....

June 4, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 4, 1963

Tuesday, sunny and warm,  70’s.  I started girls room and front room.  Wrote to Dougie.  Sent cards for Taylor’s 25 anniversary.  Gerald had exams in Albany.

Comment:  Must be finishing my first semester at SUNY@Albany with exams, Mom still spring cleaning and rehab.  Clifford and Evelyn Taylor's 25th wedding anniversary.  Here are some pictures of the family: 

June 3, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 3, 1963

Monday, nice day, 70’s becoming cloudy afternoon late,  wind.  Gerald was home and went to Cobleskill in afternoon.  I did a big wash.  Had a head ache and upset stomach in am.  David came home early and girls and I went with him when he went back after Clifton.

Comment:  I just realized that the reason I was going to Cobleskill was to see Mary Ann.  I graduated from Cobleskill Ag and Tech in January and immediately started at SUNY@ Albany.  Mary Ann did not graduate from Cobleskill until June of 1963 and we both had the graduation ceremonies in June.  Mom might be going into one of her "poor spells"...here is a picture of Mary Ann and I during our Cobleskill days....I think there may be beer and cigarettes on the wharf behind Mary Ann...how things have changed....

June 2, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 2, 1963

Sunday, another lovely day,  70’s.  Girls and I went to Church and Sunday School.  LaVerne, Roberta and Renzs here toward night.  Wayne ran into the back of a truck in Grand Gorge. Broke head lights.

Comment:  Wayne was driving LaVerne's mail truck when he back ended a truck.  When Wayne was a small child, he was hitting two hammers together and a steel chip broke off and hit him in his left eye.  He was essentially blinded in one eye because of the scar tissue that developed and lost his binocular vision and hence, his depth perception.  I've often thought this was why he ran into the back of the truck.  I also remember that we was completely devastated that he had done it.  Here is a picture of Wayne probably at about the time he hurt his left eye....

June 1, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

June 1, 1963

Saturday, beautiful sunny day, 75.  We made garden and finished little bedroom.  Gerald and Mary Ann were here for supper.  Bunny was here in the evening.   Clifton, the girls and I went to South Jefferson at night to film “Centerville Awakening”.

Comment:  There is no information on "Centerville Awakening" other than it was a Christian film. Mary Ann and I get a free meal, probably stayed in Gloversville that night.  Here  is picture of the place in late spring. 
 The view of the house from the bottom picture is from the garden area. What I remember most about the garden is picking and eating the peas and beans fresh off the vine.  I would also pull radishes, and after wiping the dirt off on my pants, eating those, remaing dirt and all....