Friday, January 31, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

Merel, Rudy Earl, Rudy, Howard Vaughn, Willard Palmer
Glendon Ellis, Aunt Lorraine

January 31, 1964
Friday, beautiful, warm day, 70's.  I washed.  Dean was here.  Marilyn went on train ride with Marna and her class to San Diego to Delmar.  Sue still home.  I wrote to mother, Ella and Lorraine.  Marilyn, Jim, the kids, Anita, her children were here for supper, the girls made lasagna.
Comment: They sure seem to have lots of meals together. Here is a picture from 1954 of some of the family including Aunt Lorraine....

Thursday, January 30, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 30, 1964 Thursday, lovely day, 69.  Sue home sick.  We went to Escondido in pm got Sue black shoes and Carol slacks.  Marilyn, Veda, Ralph and Chloe and I went to National Sunday School convention at First Presbyterian Church at San Diego at night, heard Clyde Naramone(?).  Had a letter from Earl, says Ella was in Cooperstown hospital.

Ella Briggs Hubbard, Frances Barber Hubbard

Comment: Not sure what was wrong with Ella, getting a letter from Uncle Earl is kinda rare also. Ella and Mom were quite close even thought Dad and Uncle Merel were sometimes not on the best of terms. Seems like there would be blow-ups between them and then were resolved somehow. I remember lots of good times down at Uncle Merel's hanging out with Merel Jr. and watching their black and white tv. I also worked there occasionally cutting brush, haying it, helping Merel Jr milk and clean the barns in the winter..

Wednesday, January 29, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 29, 1964
Wednesday, nice day, 60's, finished ironing.  Went to Marilyn's for lunch.  Sue came home at noon sick.  Clifton felt some better.  David still had sore throat.  Carol, Marilyn and I went to prayer meeting at night.  Had letter from mother.

Comment: The sickness spreads. Mom and her mother, Bessie, kept in pretty close touch. Here is a picture of Bessie being a grand mother and reading a book to me and Laverne while her husband, Norm, and Dad lay on the ground to the left. It seems I remember this time and it was at the Fox Creek Park just outside Schoharie but, not completely sure....probably about 1942 or so.....

Tuesday, January 28, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 28, 1964
Tuesday, beautiful day, 70's, had door open most of the day.  Sat outside with no sweater.  Clifton felt better and David had sore throat.  I did most of the ironing and baked cookies.
Comment: Mom still into the domestic thing, Except for sickness spreading, sounds like a pleasant warm day, much better than what they were used to in New York.

Ramona, CA Rental House In January

Gilboa, NY In January With Prince,
The Dog That Fell Off The Tower

Monday, January 27, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 27, 1964
Monday, beautiful day, 60's.  I washed, kept Dean and Patty til 2.  Marilyn worked, Jim here for dinner.  Clifton still sick, throat worse.  Went to Dr's in pm and got a shot, had tonsillitis.  Marilyn and kids here a while.

Comment: Dad still sick but went to doctors instead of toughing it out as usual. I remember him struggling with illnesses while still going to work, sometimes in very severe weather, and of course, the damned cows always had to be milked no matter how sick anyone was...here is a pix of Dad next to a grader he was operating and also a link to my tribute to Dad that many have already seen but still might be of interest:


http://hubbardfamilymusic.blogspot.com/2011/04/dad-confession-original-by-gerry.html

Sunday January 26, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 26, 1964
Sunday, nice day, 60's, girls and I went to Sunday School and Church.  Clifton sick with a cold and sore throat.  Boys went to Mt. Palomar to see snow in the afternoon.  Sue, Marilyn, Kim B. and I went to church at night and to Grace C. to hymn sing after.
Comment:  Busy Sunday.  The hymn sing brings to mind a song that somehow always reminds me of our mother.   The line about the clothes hanging on the line in Iris Dement's "Mamma's Opry" brings back a lot of memories, take a listen....

Saturday, January 25, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 25, 1964
Saturday, lovely day, 60's.  Marilyn and I went to San Diego with Anita, gone all day.  Carol and Sue stayed at Marilyn's, Wayne took part in event at school at night.  Jim, David and Carol went.  Clifton and I went to auction.  Had letter from Lorriane.

Comment:  Wayne was probably singing something.  He had a nice voice with lots of range...here he is looking cool.....

Friday, January 24, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 24, 1964
Friday, bright, clear and sunny, 50's and windy, snow on mountains.  I washed and made some banana nut bread and cake in am.  Marilyn called Eilene Jones.  Had a letter from Ella Mae.  Wrote to Gerald, sent pictures.
Comment: Sure wish I had those pictures she sent me.."Photographs remind us of what we now think we once were". Great line, wish I'd written it....but I did use it: Bet you can't name the people in the pictures...all are from the yearbooks of Gilboa Central School...
Photographs remind us of what we now think we once were
As the days and weeks and months all speed by in a blur.

Gilboa Central yearbook pictures, 1956
“Central” means that we all came from way out in the sticks.

Duck and cover, polio, “The Diary of Anne Frank”
Hungarian rebellion suppressed by Russian tanks.

With Elvis on the radio, James Dean at the drive-in
Young People’s Meetings, roller skating, necking was a sin.

Then Camelot and brothers John and Bobby met their fate
Then “The Pill” and Vietnam, and then there’s Watergate.
We lived and loved and failed and won and somehow made it through
Now here’s some pictures black and white that look a lot like you.

All these lucky folks that lived through life’s strange mist and fog
And are on my distribution list:  my “looking backwards” blog.

And as the weeks and months and years all speed by in a blur
Photographs remind us of what we now think we once were...

Thursday, January 23, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 23, 1964
Thursday, partly cloudy, 60's.  I wrote to Mother, Doug and Roberta and sent pictures.  Had a letter from mother and Roberta.  Jim and Dean here for dinner.  Clifton and I went to Escondido in pm.  I did some shopping, bought the girls some things.  Clifton, the girls and I did some grocery shopping in Ramona.
Comment: Lots of letters and shopping........Roberta Renz was my brother LaVerne's first wife, born in 1941 and died in 1979 of lymphoma. She was a wonderful wife, mother, and sister to many siblings and sister-in-law. She was and still is sorely missed.

Wednesday, January 22, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 22, 1964
Wednesday, rainy and cool.  I did some mending, over to Marilyns in afternoon a few minutes.  Marilyn and I went to prayer meeting.  Girls stayed with kids.  I wrote to Mrs. Mayo.
Comment: Does anyone "mend" or "darn" anymore? When I think about it, I remember Mom spending quite a lot of time at these chores and with all those kids, there was certainly lots of wear and tear on our clothes. Here is a picture from the internet that captures my memory of Mom mending in the better light by a window....it almost looks like our Mother.....

Tuesday, January 21, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 21, 1964
Tuesday, 50's, rainy day, partly clearing toward evening but heavy rain at night again.  Had a letter from Dougie.  Marilyn went to Escondido with David in pm.  Patty and Dean stayed here and they were all here for supper.
Comment: nuff said.....

Monday, January 20, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaires

January 20, 1964
Monday, lovely, 60's, becoming cloudy in pm.  I washed, took Sue to dentist in pm.  Wayne was out of school with a cold.  Marilyn went to work at 6 to 10.  I was going to mm (missionary meeting) with Marilyn at parsonage, but she had to work.
Comment: Mom pretty much always washed clothes on Monday, probably as much as all the folks of her generation did. Monday wash day was a tradition going back hundreds of years and my wife, Mary Ann still adheres to it...here is the traditional schedule for household chores and an explanation why.....

With a few variations (some folks had a gardening day instead of a separate ironing day, or the days were not quite in this order), this is the way everyone kept house for more than hundreds of years. There was the logic behind this. Laundry was far and away from the heaviest task a housewife faced, requiring a great deal of strength and fortitude to hand-wring clothes and carry big baskets of wet laundry to the clothesline from the basement washtubs. Monday was the day to do it when you were still fresh and rested from Sunday. Tuesday's ironing followed Monday's wash. Mending and sewing on Wednesday made sense when you'd just been through the clothes and noticed what needed a button or a patch. And so on.

Sunday, January 19, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 19, 1964
Sunday, 50's, rainy.  Girls and I went to Sunday School and Church.  Marilyn, Clifton, the girls and I rode down through the Indian Reservation to Lakeside to El Capitan and back.  Home in pm.  We went to church at night and ate supper with Marilyn.
Comment:  Touring, triple church Sunday.  El Capitan is in Yosemite National Park and is a spectacular sight:  Here is a picture of it and a link to the website...Mom and Dad liked to drive around and see the sights.  Even back in New York, I remember them loading us all in the car and driving the Catskills in southern Schoharie County, over South Mountain and Mount Pisgah then maybe into Cairo...some pleasant drives....

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/formations.htm

I have never been to Yosemite btw....Below is a picture of the Mount Pisgah State Forest area in the Northern Catskills a few miles south east of Hubbard Hill through which we used to take many Sunday Drives.  Quite a contrast with Yosemite.....

Saturday, January 18, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 18, 1964
Saturday, cloudy and rainy, 54.  Marilyn worked from 6-2, the children were here.  Clifton and I called on the Rikards in pm.  Clifton and Jim went to auction at night and girls and I were at Marilyn's.  Had a letter from Roberta and LaVerne saying they had 30 inches of snow and it was cold.
Comment:  Another weekend comes around, lots of snow and cold in the east.  Wonder if Dad is buying more livestock?

Friday, January 17, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 17, 1964
Friday, partly cloudy at times, 60's.  I washed.  Marilyn here in am.  Susan didn't go to school, cold and upset stomach.  We were at Marilyn's for dinner.  She set my hair.  Marna came home with us and stayed over night.  Had long letter from Evelyn Bailey.  Sheep had twin lambs.
Comment: The farming continues, nothing cuter than baby lambs, unless it's baby pigs.....

Thursday January 16, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 16, 1964
Thursday, beautiful, sunny, clear day, 70's.  Marilyn and Dean and Kathy ( a little girl she kept) were here in am a few minutes.  I fixed Sue's green dress and did mending.  Cracked butternuts outside.  Had a letter from mother.  Clifton and I went to Escondido in pm.  Sue stayed at Marilyn's all night.

Butternut Ripe And Ready

Comment: Again, lot's of family interactions. Butternuts are a pain to crack. We had a large butternut tree just below the steep part of the hill that ran up to the house. It was beside a small crick that ran off the mountain. It produced more nuts than we could crack and eat so there were always a lot of cracked nuts and husks on the road in that area. The only good way to crack a ripe butternut is to stand it on it's end on a hard surface, (bricks, stone, flat iron) and hit sharply on the other end. If done right, it would split lengthwise and the meats could be lifted out with fingers. The meats had a smoother, buttery taste and were delicious. Split wrong and a nut pick had to be used......as kids, I remember quite a few hours spent under that gnarled old tree cracking butternuts. There is no good way to crack a green butternut by the way.....the husks are very tough, bitter tasting, and ooze a green, greasy, oily fluid....

Green Butternut With Husk

Wednesday, January 15, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 15, 1964
Wednesday -11 in Albany NY.  Beautiful, sunny, clear day, 70's high, low 28 at 7 am.  I finished ironing.  Marilyn, Patty and Dean here for dinner and took ride down past dump in a valley and around to Ramona in pm.  David went to Poway again, told him to come back in 2 months and they would hire him.  Schools still closed in NYC.  Went to prayer meeting at night.  Carol and Sue stayed with the kids.  Car license came. 


Comment: Seems like a lot going on, everyone busy and interacting, Twenty-eight degrees is cold for California..wonder if they had frost that morning? Here is an Internet picture of frost in Ramona.....

Tuesday, January 14, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 14, 1964
Tuesday, rainy, thunder showers around noon.  Clearing in pm, cool 50's.  I ironed in the pm.  Marilyn was here a while.  Wrote to Doug, Mother, Gerald and LaVerne and Roberta.  Clifton and David went to Poway to see about that job, but no one around.  Schools closed in N.Y.C. because of blizzard.
Comment: It was a pretty severe blizzard and made the movie and tv newsreels at the time: Take a look....

Monday, January 13, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 13, 1964
Monday, sunny, windy, cool, 62.  I washed and cleaned house in am.  David and Clifton each received an unemployment check.  Bad storm back east, blizzard conditions.

Comment: Bet they're glad to be out of the storms. Dad and David both must have worked at least 26 weeks before the trip to be eligible for unemployment. Dad was in the Operating Engineers and I would think David was in the laborer's union but not sure. My first paying job was as a flagman on Rt 145 between Middleburgh and Livingstonville. I drew $2.27 per hour as a member of the Common Laborer And Hod Carriers Union and worked the second shift from four- midnight most of the time. That was excellent money back them. There was a $300 initiation fee to join the union and a portion was withdrawn from my weekly paycheck. After the fee was paid off, I was laid off. I worked about 12 weeks or so......here is a union "book" similar to the one I was given......

Sunday, January 12, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 12, 1964 
Sunday, bright, sunny day, cool, 60.  Went to church and Sunday school.  I had to play.  Marilyn and family were here in pm.  She and I called on Aliene Jones who had burned her back.  Went to church at night.  The girls sang and started laughing.

Comment:  I can just see Carol and Sue giggling and laughing while trying to do a song...wonder what set them off...Mom must have pulled it off without any problem, she could play piano pretty well....here is a picture of them with their brother David, he just sent me this picture btw...

Saturday January 11, 1964

January 11, 1964
Saturday, bright, sunny day, very strong east wind.  Pictures came that were sent on Tuesday.  Carol went to ball game at school in the am.  Marna and Patty were here in the am.  Baked 3 pumpkin pies.  Marilyn, Patty, Marna and all of us but David went to point Loma and saw California Grey Whales.  Then to Shelter Island and took ferry.  Home at 6:30.

Comment:  Mom's pies were unbelievable and she could bake them with a wood stove as good as she could with the latest electric or gas stove...this is what they might have saw while whale watching....

Friday, January 10, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 10, 1964
Friday partly cloudy but warmer.  I washed in am.  We went to Marilyn's for dinner.  Had a letter from Myrtie and a traffic violation letter for Gerald.  Boys went to Marilyn's at night.
Comment:  Myrtie was Myrtle Hall who with her brother Otis, lived about a quarter mile east of us on Hubbard Road.  Not sure what the traffic violation letter was about.  They must have all the mail forwarded their address must have been on my license.  I was living in Albany at the time, probably a parking ticket.  Parking was tough around the buildings that used to make up Albany State before the new campus was built.....Here is a picture of Otis and Myrtie and SongPoemStory about them.  They were probably better neighbors and people than it sounds like in the tune....

http://hubbardfamilymusic.blogspot.com/search?q=ote  Take a listen....

Thursday, January 9, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 9, 1964
Thursday, lovely day, little warmer, no wind.  Marilyn and Dean came over in the am and she worked on her brown dress and finished.  Jim and Patty all were here for dinner.  Clifton and I went to Escondido in am and came back a different way.
Comment: Not much to comment on. Mom probably helping Marilyn sew a dress, a little sight seeing, visitors...sounds kinda pleasant.....Here is Jim when he was in the Marines

Wednesday, January 8, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 8, 1964
Wednesday, nice day but cool, 62 and east wind blew.  Marilyn, Clifton, Dean and I went to San Diego, got home about 1:30.  Stopped at Anita's to pick up Patty, saw her house.  Went to prayer meeting at night.  Had a letter from mother.
Comment: More sight seeing, nice that they had the opportunity..Mom was very close to her mother btw, here is a picture of Bessie Laraway VanTassel?.......I think that's how it's spelled...
When I went to Cobleskill Ag & Tech in 1961 and 1963, Bessie would often invite me and Mary Ann over for dinner and I can still remember those chicken or turkey dinners with mashed potatoes and gravy.... makes me hungry to think of them....

Tuesday, January 7, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 7, 1964
Tuesday, nice day again, but cooler, 68.  I ironed nearly all day.  Wrote to Doug and Roberta.  Clifton and the boys finished burning the tumbleweed.  We went over to Marilyn's at night and went to  Sandellas (?) to look at their house.  Sent 3 films in to get developed.
Comment: Ah, the days before digital photography....I remember  Mom had for many years a folding, green Kodak camera similar to the one on the left, and Marilyn's first camera was a Kodak Brownie like the one on the right...Mom's must have been practically indestructible because I remember playing with it for hours on end when very young.  I also remember the front part of the viewfinder on Marilyn's Brownie was partially melted from being placed too close to the stove or something.  So Mom must have mailed in the film for development and probably got it back in about a week and a half or so.....Today I can take dozens of pictures and have them distributed to all my friends and family through the internet in minutes........

Monday, January 6, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 6, 1964 

Monday, nice day. I washed and waxed floors.  Marilyn worked from 2-10 and the children were here.  Patty had a blister on her foot and Marilyn took her to the Dr's.  Ronnie B.  was here in the evening a while.  Joyce rode the horse and was thrown off.

Comment: House work never ends..neither do the kid mishaps.....From Sister Sue regarding the dresses and the people in yesterday's blog: "Yes, the dresses were home made...  The Rickards are Anita Berghouse’s (Marilyn very close friend) parents or Grandparents, from the mid west somewhere.  Love = Susan"..Sure hope the horse accident did not look like this.




.From Sister Marilyn:  "Anita's Grandparents were the Rykards. They were very successful  ranchers from Nebraska. Owning land in sections. I think a section is one square mile. Great job Gerald. Marna and I were so excited to see you will be getting the 1964 diaries. Marilyn"

Sunday, January 5, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 5, 1964
Sunday, fair, clear day, cool wind.  We all went to church.  Girls and I to Sunday School.  I had to play (piano) for Sunday School and church had communion.  Patty was sick with a fever.  Mr and Mrs.  Rickard called in afternoon.  Marna was here.

Wayne 18, Carol 13, Mom 51, Sue 11, David 20

Comment:  Not sure who the Rickards are...This might be a picture of them all going to church..the ages may be off a year or so........Dad may be taking the picture...wonder if  Mom made the dresses the girls are wearing......

Saturday, January 4, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 4, 1964
Saturday, lovely, warm day, 70, light wind.  Our Christmas gift came from Dougie, a beautiful family bible.  Marilyn and kids stopped by in am.  Carol was at Shell station with young people from church at car wash.  Had letters from Louvilla and Roberta.  Marilyn, girls and I went to church at night to practice for Sunday. 

Comment:  Everybody is busy and seem to be enjoying themselves..this is Clifton and Frances at their rental house in Ramona at that time....Dad was 56, Mom was 51......  

Friday, January 3, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 3, 1964

Friday, nice day but windy, cooler.  I washed in am Marilyn and kids were over.  Marna and Dean stayed over here.  Clifton and Wayne went to cattle sale 7:45 am, home about 3:30, bought horse and saddle, 3 calves, 1 beef, 1 sheep and lamb.  I went over to Marilyn's in pm and she gave me a perm.  We were over there for supper.

Comment: Dad's back into livestock again. Kinda setting up a hobby farm, and this must be the calves he bought...Marna, Dean and Patty are in the pictures along with their friends. The littlest girl is named Karla, I believe, and Marna named her second daughter after her.....

Thursday, January 2, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 2, 1964

Thursday, nice day not so warm 70.  Marilyn over in am and hung clothes.  I painted a book shelf.  David, Clifton, the girls, Marilyn and I went to Escondido in pm.  Boys over to Marilyn's at night.  Became windy around 8:30 pm.  Wrote to Doug, LaVerne, Mother and Gerald.  Had a letter from Roberta.

Comment: Lots of snail mail from family.

Wednesday, January 1, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

January 1, 1964

Wednesday in Ramona, California, beautiful clear day.  We called LaVerne's in am, he was working.  We talked to Gerald, MaryAnn and Roberta.  It was 0 there and snowing.  Jim's and us went to Mt. Palomar, took our lunch, went by Lake Henshaw, beautiful.  Went to Camp Pendleton and drove around to Oceanside to longest wooden pier on the pacific coast 1900 feet, it was beautiful.  Had a really enjoyable trip.  Home 6:30.

Comment: They are getting the tour, Mary Ann and I must have been at LaVerne's for New Years Day. Marilyn was stationed at Pendleton when a Marine.....Lake Henshaw is close to Mt. Palomar and this is what they probably saw..it really is beautiful....