Friday, April 30 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 30, 1965
Friday, high cloudiness, windy, 60's.  I washed in am and cleaned all through.  We took the girls to Grand Gorge at night to roller skate and stopped at LaVerne's and Roberta's.  Opel wouldn't run and we left it in Grand Gorge and LaVerne had to come and take us home.
Comment:  Wow, that Opel has kept tickin' for a long time......

Here is the story behind it:  The '54 Opel For $87.50    

The dealer in Middleburg wanted a couple of hundred for it, but the engine had what I thought was a knock, so I was very leery of the car.  While brother David and I were taking it for a test drive, we ran into Donald Tompkins who was very savvy about cars and equipment.  He determined that the “knocking” was a bent push rod that could easily be fixed.
 Donald helped me take the valve cover off the engine, pulled out the 8” push rod, and hit it with a ball peen hammer a couple of times to straighten and reinstall it.  Donald did the repair on the street in Middleburg with tools he carried in his truck. 
 The car ran perfectly. We took the car back to the dealer and  I dickered for a while until we agreed upon $87.50 and I bought the car.
 I ran the car for about 3 years.  It was super in snow, plowing through 8-10 inch snow drifts on Rt 30A  while driving to Gloversville to see Mary Ann.
We ended up dragging it over in the woods and junking it after I broke a rear axle somehow.  I loved that car...

Thursday, April 29 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 29 1965
Thursday, fair and nice but cool wind.  Painted kitchen ceiling and woodwork white.  I wrote to Marilyn.  Clifton home late.
Comment: Mom recovered from the migraine...here is the kitchen of the house after Mom moved out.....ceiling is still white....amazing how much food went through that room with 8 kids and constant guests for dinner and supper....

Wednesday, April 28, 1965 the Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 28, 1965
Wednesday, mostly sunny and warmer, 55.  Head miserable.  I cleaned all through.  Papa and Billie here about an hour in afternoon.  Cutler boy and Carmen boy here after school.  Talked to Louise and wrote to Mrs. Hallenbeck.  Had letter from Marilyn.
Comment: I think Carol was being courted....and I guess you can see why...her high school picture....

Tuesday, April 27, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 27, 1965
Tuesday, cold and cloudy and rainy.  Washed and hung clothes in attic.  Baked cake for Clifton's birthday.  Debbie Carmen and 2 Cutler boys here after school to see Carol.
Comment: Dad's birthday, would have been 53 years old, about the age of my sons now. He was born on April 27, 1908 and died January 4, 1984 at the age of 76, eight years younger than I am now, 10 years younger than my sister Marilyn is

Left To Right:  Clifton, Mother Agnes, Baby Evelyn, Merel,
Madeline, toddler Lorraine, Elmer, Earl.

now....he had 23 more years to live on this date in 1965 and had he known the future, he probably would have drastically changed his lifestyle and behavior to prevent his upcoming stroke in about 10 years and the resulting last years of his life partially disabled and in constant pain....here he is as a small boy standing to the left in this picture about 1916. In this picture, Ina Belle and Winifred are yet to be born.
Here are some of my memories of him: Dad: A Confession

Monday, April 26, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 26, 1965
Monday, cold, cloudy and rainy.  I didn't wash.  Wrote to Doug and finished ironing. Made a cake for lodge.  Clifton didn't go.
Comment: Alrighty then.....

Sunday, April 25, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 25, 1965
Sunday, cloudy but quite warm, no wind, 55.  Girls and I went to church and Sunday school.  Laura here toward night.  I went to church at night with Madelyn.  Martin Traulsen at Prattsville found dead in his car, 21 yrs. old.
Comment:  I remember Martin and his sisters Joan and Claudia Traulsen.....not sure about the cause of death for Martin.  I think Martin was in one of my sisters classes at Gilboa Central.  This post has me recalling other deaths by suicide or accident of other people that I remember:  Carl Smith, shot in the head by Buster Buel with a shotgun as they were horsing around throwing hats in the air and  shooting them.  Richard Buel, Busters's brother, killed himself by sitting in a car with the exhaust routed to the interior.  Tiny Conine who worked for Dad when he was town superintendent, shot himself with 12 gauge shotgun after his wife died.  Russell Freeman, shot himself with a 30.06 deer rifle after his wife died.  And then there were the auto and farm equipment accidents that seemed to happen often:  The Snyder boy from Grand Gorge torn apart when the sleeve on his jacket got caught in a power take-off.  The Thorington boy on leave from the Marines hitting a tree at ninety miles per hour.  The Dewitt and Mattice boys who played a fatal game of chicken with their tricked out vans on a road in Manorkill.  The Tabi boy who, after being punched by Rudy Timm over a girl, hit his head on a curb in West Conesville and died...and the list goes on......

Saturday, April 24, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 24, 1965
Saturday, sunny day, 40's, cold, windy.  Gerald and David home.  Joyce Knapp here.  I made 2 dozen cupcakes for Gil Collier.  Mother called.
Comment: Don't know who Gil Collier is....Mom always made quite plain cupcakes with perhaps a thin chocolate or white frosting on them. They were also memorable just eaten plain with a glass of raw whole milk.....

Friday, April 23, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 23, 1965
Friday, cloudy and cool, 30's.  I washed in am.  Sue and I cleaned all through.  Carol went to West Oneonta with her dad in am and Joyce came back with them.  Wayne went to city with LaVerne.  Gerald came home 9 pm and David 6 pm.
Comment: I'm coming from Buffalo, not sure where David is coming from..."city" is probably New York City but not sure...

Mom As A Young Woman

Thursday, April 22, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 22, 1965
Thursday, cloudy and cool.  I ironed nearly all day.  My head didn't feel too good.  Girls did house work.  Wayne worked for Earl.  Edna Brainards funeral.
Comment: I think all of us boys worked for Uncle Earl at one time or another. He was always building something, a pond, a pond dock, cabins around his ponds, or something else that required manual labor of some sort. He was always generous in his pay and always very easy to work for...at this point, he's got exactly three years and 12 days to live before dying of a heart attack on May 4, 1968....here is my tribute to him.......take a listen: http://hubbardfamilymusic.blogspot.com/2011/03/uncle-earl-born-august-1-1910-died-may.html 

Wednesday, April 21, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 21, 1965
Wednesday, sunny and warmer, 50 and 60's, snow all gone.  Roberta took the girls and me to Gloversville and spent all day at Hallenbeck's.  Planned to have shower for Mary Ann June 26.  Sat afternoon.  Got home 5:45 pm.  Clifton home late.  Laura here for supper.
Comment: Mary Ann with her parents and sister Margie...how they might have looked back then....

Margie, Mary, George, Mary Ann

Tuesday, April 20, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 20, 1965
Tuesday, 50's, beautiful day, warmer, snow nearly gone.  My head miserable again.  Margaret (Mary Ann's sister) called in am and asked girls and I to come up Wednesday to plan a (wedding) shower for Mary Ann.  Sewed nearly all day.  Myrtie called and Anita in pm.
Comment: Preparations for our wedding scheduled for August....

Monday, April 19, 1965 The Francis Hubbard Diaries

April 19, 1965

Monday, sunny and warmer, 40, snow melted a lot.  I washed in am and covered a chair.  Earl here for dinner, he left in pm and went to Ken DeWitt's.  Wrote to Dougie.  Edna Brainard died suddenly at night heart attack.

Comment: I think Edna was the wife of Ralph Brainard who used to work for Dad when he was town superintendent. Donald Brainard was a close friend of LaVerne's during high school and beyond. There were a couple more Brainard kids, Marie and Chuckie, and Margie. I remember those kids going to work with Ralph on the town roads when we went to work with Dad and spending quite a bit of time together......here is a picture of Dad when he was town superintendent of highways standing next to a new Walter Sno Fighter snow plow....

Sunday, April 18, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 18, 1965
Sunday, Easter, cloudy and cold, started snowing about 2:30 pm and we got about 7 inches.  Girls and I went to church and Sunday school.  No one here for Easter dinner but Earl and David, Wayne and Laura.  No church at night because of snow.  Mother called from Billie's, they were there for dinner.
Comment:  As I reflect on the diary entries, it's kinda interesting how much contact Mom has with her mother and how much contact there is with the Hubbard side also.  Someone seems to be always dropping in, calling or letter writing...

Saturday, April 17, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 17, 1965
Saturday, cold and cloudy and windy, 25 in am.  Clifton,  the girls, and I went to Cobleskill shopping; got girls' shoes and pocketbooks.  Stopped at Connor's and saw Gerald and Mary Ann's furniture.  They, LaVerne's and Earl and David were here for supper.  Gerald and Mary Ann went back to Gloversville at night.  Earl stayed all night snowed about 2 inches at night.
Comment:  Another big supper on the hill.   I remember buying that furniture, French Provincial chair, couch, and end tables that we kept for a very long time.  Not long after our purchase, the man who owned the Connor store fell of a boat dock and drowned, not sure where it was.   Here is a picture of the furniture we bought.  This is Voorheesville about 1971 or so....Craig and David....we still have the end tables in our house in Portland 58 years later....

Friday, April 16, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 16, 1965
Friday, 40-30's.  Cloudy and cold, windy.  I washed and hung clothes upstairs; finished hemming in my coat.  Roberta brought girls home in afternoon.  Wayne and Robert went job hunting.  Gerald and Mary Ann came in at night and stayed.  David came for supper.
Comment:  Robert must be Robert Schemerhorn, son of  "Wild Bill" Schemerhorn who lived at the top of Bull Hill.

Thursday, April 15, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 15, 1965
Thursday, windy, 30's.  I had a dreadful head ache all day.  Didn't do much.  Roberta came up in am with John to fix his cap and her coat sleeves.  Girls went back with her.  I went to prayer meeting at Madelyn's.
Comment: Frances with Tara.....for Mom to say "dreadful" it must have been pretty bad...

Wednesday, April 14, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 14, 1965 
Wednesday, fair and warmer, 50, snow left in am.  I cleaned some.  Made brownies for Carol.  Worked on my coat.  Paul Ellis stopped in am to see where Earl was.  Luella and I cleaned church at night.  Carol went to Freshman dance with Wayne and Laura.
Comment: Paul was always pretty close to Uncle Earl. For a year or so, he rented Uncle Earl's farm and ran a dairy herd.....here is a memory I have of working with Uncle Clarence cutting and splitting wood in the beech woods next to Doug's property on Hubbard Hill...

Uncle Clarence

Uncle Clarence could wield a splitting axe like Rembrandt used a brush
Split wood outside in the winter cold and never seemed to rush
He’d pick a block and set it straight then peer through squinted eyes
Then one quick flick with a single blade and a stove-sized chunk would fly

He’d size things up, another swing, and as the axe head hit
He would twist the blade to the outside edge and another chunk was split
Another flick on the other side and another piece would fall
He always used a single blade, abhorred a wedge or maul

He’d smoothly work around that block, axe flashing in the light
And never had to hit it twice, he always hit just right
Precise and quickly fluid, split lots of wood and yet
All afternoon, he never stopped and hardly broke a sweat.

“Chop wood and carry water” are words that come from Zen
I understand that meaning now by thinking back to when
Uncle Clarence with axe and “Dickies” in that beech-wood forest stand
Worked mind and soul and body at that simple task at hand

Madeline, Doris, Glendon, Clarence, Paul In Front

Tuesday, April 13, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 13, 1965
Tuesday, snowy.  Roberta took me to Dr. Dougall.  We were at Mother's for dinner.  Sue went with us and John, Papa and Billie were there too.  John cut 2 teeth on lower jaw.  Ground covered with snow at night.
Comment: Mom still plagued by headaches....here they are on their 50th wedding anniversary...Dad has suffered a stroke by then and his left arm was partially paralyzed...the stroke hit him while trying to wrestle a large hog into a pickup to take to the slaughter house

Monday, April 12, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 12, 1965
Monday, 58, cloudy, becoming fair for a while and very windy and becoming cloudy about noon.  I washed and dried them outside before it became so windy.  Had a letter from Marilyn.  Clifton started work for Thaell Construction in Oneonta.  Over 200 killed in tornadoes in Midwest Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, etc.  1000's injured.
Comment: The "Palm Sunday" tornado outbreak really was a big deal and certainly made the news at the time. From Wikipedia:  
The second Palm Sunday tornado outbreak occurred on April 11–12, 1965, in the Midwest U.S. states of Indiana, Ohio,Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa, with 47 tornadoes (15 significant, 17 violent, 21 killers). It was the second-biggest outbreak on record at the time. In the Midwest, 271 people were killed and 1,500 injured (1,200 in Indiana). It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history, with 137 people killed.^[1] The outbreak also made that week in April 1965 the second-most-active week in history, with 51 significant and 21 violent tornadoes.

Sunday, April 11, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 11, 1965 Sunday, 40's.  Sunny in am cloudy pm.  Girls and I went to church and Doug and David went after mother.  15 of us here for dinner.  Mary Ann and Margaret, Bob Reed, Laura and Laverne's.  Sue and I went to church at night.  Thunder showers during night and heavy rain.  Gerald found his car in parking lot on Madison Ave., clothes, luggage etc, stolen about $150 worth.  He brought our car back and stayed all night.  David and Mary here during night.
Comment:  Margaret is Mary Ann's sister and Bob Reed was her date at the time and an usher in our wedding. After that we completely lost track of him......Margie and Bob accompanied me and Mary Ann once on a trip from Gloversville to Hubbard Hill and I scared him half to death driving from the Guinea road up to the hill.  He was especially interested in the trip from Five Points on up to the hill....

Saturday, April 10 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 10 1965
Saturday, lovely day, 50's.  Girls cleaned the house.  Mrs. Mattice was here selling cover girl cosmetics.  LaVerne, Roberta, John and Earl here a few minutes in pm and Laura came with Wayne and he went down there for supper.  Called mother at night to come over Sunday; we'd go after them.  Called Marilyn 1 pm, they were all fine.  Gerald had his car stolen on State St. in Albany at night.
Comment:  My '63 Ford Falcon was stolen off State Street.  I left it unlocked and I think the thief found the extra key...we were a little lax with car keys during that time...most of the time on the hill, we left them in the cars so we didn't lose them.  I reported the theft to the Albany cops and figured I'd hear from them soon but after a while, I started to look for the car myself and found it a couple of blocks away from State street with my small suitcase taken and the keys in the ignition.  When I called the cops to tell them I found it, the dispatcher said to be pretty careful driving home because I might be taken for the thief by uninformed police......

Friday, April 9, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diares

April 9, 1965
Friday, partly cloudy.  I didn't feel good in am.  Doug called before 10 and said to meet him 12 noon at Kingston.  Roberta, Shawn (Renz), John and I went after him.  I did my shopping at store in Cairo.  Got home 2 pm. They stayed for lunch.  Dad and boys home late.  Gerald got here 8:30 and David 6:30.  Mary went to NYC with David's car to a wedding.  Clifton finished work with Howell.
Comment:  Whole family home for the weekend.....here's what they looked like in 1978....

Thursday, April 8, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaires

April 8, 1965

Thursday, high 30's, cloudy, light rain in am.  I cleaned all through, baked a cake and wrote to Marilyn.  Prayer meeting here.  Dad got home at 7:30.

Wednesday, April 7, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 7, 1965
Wednesday, rainy, I sewed on girls dresses, finished Carols at night.
Comment: terse.....here is Mom as a toddler.....

Tuesday, April 6, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 6, 1965
Tuesday, beautiful, sunny day, 58 high, becoming cloudy in afternoon.  Clifton started work for Howell Const Co. at Oneonta State Teachers College.  I cleaned and sewed on Carol and Sue’s dresses.  Wrote to Marilyn.  Rudi Reidl’s funeral.
Comment: Life goes on after Buffalo trip.....the picture represents the type of firetower on Hubbard Hill.....

Sunday, April 4,1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 4,1965

Sunday, beautiful day.  We ate breakfast about 9:30 in Hamburg then Gerald Mary Ann, Clifton and I attended Baptist church while LaVerne and Roberta went to Catholic church.  We left for home 1:25 pm got to LaVerne's around 7:30.  Earl was there, just got back from Florida.

Comment: And 37 months later, Earl would be dead of a heart attack.

.....Here is my song tribute to Uncle Earl...take a listen...click on the Hubbard Music Mountain link below....

Hubbard Music Mountain: Uncle Earl Born August 1, 1910, Died May 4, 1968: 

Monday, April 5, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaires

April 5, 1965
Monday, beautiful, sunny day, 50.  I washed in am.  Earl stopped a while.  I worked on Carol's dress.  Union called Clifton 3 pm to go to work Tuesday.
Comment: Back from Buffalo trip......I remember those gorgeous, sunny spring days driving down the narrow back roads in lush greenery....this painting captures the essence of those great days.......

Saturday, April 3, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 3, 1965

Saturday, beautiful sunny day, not too cold.  We left for Niagara Falls 9 am, ate breakfast just before we got there, bought cards, sent Marilyn and Jim one.  Saw wax museum, Ripley's Believe it or not.  Came back to Buffalo and Gerald and Mary Ann looked for furniture, had lunch and Clifton and I came to hotel while the rest went shopping.

Comment: Family visit continues, we lived in the Buffalo area about 2 years and became unofficial guides to Niagara Falls and the surrounding attractions. The 4 hour trip from our home area allowed for lots of visitors....our first apartment was in Niagara Falls just across the Peace Bridge and about a mile from the falls....The Peter Pan Apartments...how precious for newlyweds living in the most popular honeymoon destination in the world....

Friday, April 2, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 2, 1965

Friday, very light snow in early am.  I had dreadful sick headache.  We left for Buffalo in am, picked up LaVerne and Roberta and took John to Celia's.  Met Mary Ann 1 pm and reached Hamburg, NY at 5:45.  Got rooms at Gerald's hotel "West End"; went and all had supper.  Men went through Ford plant at night.  Roberta, Mary Ann and I stayed at hotel.  Roberta called home.  Rudy Reidl killed in head on collision near Jefferson.  Mrs. Reidl took to hospital in critical condition.

Comment: The family visits me in Buffalo..Mary Ann probably there for an interview with either a high school or the Niagara County Community College.......Rudy Reidl was the cattle artificial inseminator for the area and was constantly on the road. He was a very aggressive driver and we were not surprised that he was killed. I remember being almost run off the road by him on the Bull Hill Road where he lived...on the dusty, rough dirt roads you could hear and see him coming.....

Thursday, April 1, 1965 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

April 1, 1965
Thursday, fair in am, becoming cloudy in pm, 14-36.  Cleaned, baked.  Had migraine headache. Otis and Myrtie stopped in afternoon.
Comment: Migraine hanging on.....