Memories, Stories, Songs, Pictures And Poems About People, Places, And Events Around Hubbard Hill, In The Catskill Mountains, In The Town Of Gilboa, In The County Of Schoharie and The State Of New York.
Friday, December 31, 1965 Cloudy, 52, warm like spring. Clifton and I took sausage meat to Middleburgh to be ground. Gilbert came in pm. Gerald and Mary Ann came at 530 pm for supper. They went out for the evening. Last entry for the year in the diary: "Tenderly He Watches Over You". Comment: This was a quite popular hymn of the sixties......I've forgotten where we went for New Year's Eve.....it might have been the Waterfall House with LaVerne, David, Wayne, Doug and the rest of the crew...if it was, Mary Ann got a rather abrupt introduction into the Hill party culture.....
Thursday, December 30, 1965 Cloudy, 40 degrees, no snow. I cleaned upstairs. Clifton and Wayne went to Albany and got Wayne a suit, Carol a coat, Sue a dress, and me a coat. Mine didn't fit so Clifton and I went back at 330 pm and exchanged it. I went to prayer meeting at night. Comment: Lot's of traveling for clothes....Gilboa Dam The First Time
Water Flow Over Control Works Of The Gilboa Dam, Gilboa NY
Wednesday, December 29, 1965 Sunny, 38 high, nice. I washed in am and hung white clothes outside. They dried good. Clifton cut wood. Gilbert here in pm. I took Sue to Sue Stryker's in pm. Had letter and pictures from Marilyn and letter from Doug. Comment: Year end approaches....The Gilboa Dam. Gilbert was a boyfriend of sister Carol and was killed in an auto accident, I think, within a few months of this entry.
Tuesday, December 28, 1965 Partly cloudy, 20's. Snow flurries, light. Clifton, the girls and I went to Cobleskill and Mother's for dinner. Stopped at Papa and Billie's a minute. Bought girls dresses for wedding. Clifton, girls and I went to LaVerne's at night.
Gilboa Falls, Gilboa, NY
Comment: Hmmm, not sure who's wedding...Gilboa Dam The First Time: Gilboa Falls Before The Dam...
Monday, December 27, 1965 Cloudy and cold, teens. Cleaned and put hings away from Christmas. Gilbert here in evening. Comment: Marilyn says: "Gilbert, I think, was a guy Carol dated but I think something happened to him. Susan would know...Gilboa Dam The First Time: Model Of The Dam....I wonder if they modeled it to test the engineering behind it....
Sunday, December 26, 1965 Bright, sunny and cold, 5-10. About one inch of snow. Girls and I went to church and Sunday School. I went at night. Gilbert here in evening. Comment: Typical Sunday on the hill but lots happened on this day in history. On this day after Christmas, Mao Tse-Tung and Steve Allen were born and Gerald Ford, Harry Truman and Jack Benny died...and life goes on....Picture of the Gilboa Dam under construction the first time.....
Saturday, December 25 Warn and hard rain in am, 50, becoming colder at night and some snow. We were all at Mother's for Christmas. LaVerne's, Wayne and Laura came in pm. Gerald and Mary Ann left at about 530 pm for Gloversville. We got home 9:15 pm. Comment: Bessie, or "Mother", was 73 at the time, younger than I am now by 13 years...amazing somehow...Mom was 52 and Dad 57...that seems young now... Christmas, 1914, WWI, Trenches In Europe, the troops held their own Christmas celebration for a day and then went back to killing each other. The Christmas Truce, which I'm sure pissed off most of the top brass, occurred spontaneously:
On and aroundChristmasDay 1914, the sounds of rifles firing and shells exploding fade in a number of places along the Western Front in favor of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies.
Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.
Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task: the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man's land between the lines.
The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was never repeated—future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers' threats of disciplinary action—but it served as heartening proof, however brief, that beneath the brutal clash of weapons, the soldiers' essential humanity endured. Wikipedia...
Friday, December 24, 1965 Cloudy and warm 50. We cleaned up from Christmas the night before. Gerald and Mary Ann and us went to LaVerne's and Roberta's about noon. Gerald and Mary Ann left about 330 pm for Gloversville. We were alone all evening. Comment: No white Christmas that year.....sometime over that holiday period we probably watched the debut of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" which aired first in 1965..... "Initially sponsored by Coca-Cola, the special debuted on CBS in 1965, and has been aired in the USA during the Christmas season every year since: on CBS through 2000, and on ABC since 2001. Long an annual telecast, the special is now shown at least twice during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The special has been honored with both an Emmy and Peabody Award."...Wikipedia...I wonder if that's how Mom and Dad spent the evening??
Thursday, December 23, 1965 Cloudy 30's. Clifton and I went after smoke salt to South Kortright and stopped in Stamford. Gerald and Mary Ann came in pm and we had our Christmas at night. LaVerne, Roberta, John, Wayne Laura all here. We bought wood off Russell. Comment: Russell Van Aken was an institution around Hubbard Hill. He lived about a 1.5 miles from us and made his living on junk auto and equipment parts and fire wood. He lived in a one-room house he built himself and ate mostly Wheaties for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He very rarely wore a shirt even in the winter and we would often see him tan and lean working around his extensive junkyard or his homemade buzz saw powered by a pulley and belt off the rear, tireless rim of a jacked up derelict car. He died this year in his ninties.
Russel With City People Visitors
Russell's Junk Yard. South Mountain In The Background
Wednesday, December 22, 1965 Partly cloudy, upper 20's. David home with bad cold. I worked at meat all day. Sue went caroling at night. Clifton home late, finished at Oneonta. Comment: It took a long time to cut up a couple of pigs...I don't think she used this diagram..."Lord, What fools these mortals be"...Puck, Shakespeare, "Midsummer'Night Dream"....
Tuesday, December 21, 1965 Sunny but cold 20. Roberta and I went Christmas shopping in Albany. Left 9:30 am and got back 930 pm. David home with a bad cold. Comment: A long day shopping...Catskills In Black and White.....
Monday, December 20, 1965 Sunny until about 4 pm, cold, zero to 20. I wrote to Marilyn and Doug, cleaned and did a lot of odd jobs. Comment: Sounds like a frosty day in the Catskills...
Sunday, December 19, 1965 Cloudy, cold at night, zero. Girls and I went to church and Sunday School. Laura here for dinner and we all went down to LaVerne's in the afternoon for about an hour. Clifton and I went to Chapel (Church) at night. Clifton and Wayne brought pigs up from garage and put them in the wood shed. Comment: Had to get the pig carcasses inside before they froze in the zero weather. The carcasses need to get stiff before they can be cut up easily. I remember some seasons we would put them in the dining room on the floor with newspaper under them. I also remember Dad cutting them up on the dining room table.....Here is the dining room and it's probably the same table.....
Saturday, December 18, 1965 Cloudy 20's, light snow flurries in pm. Clifton worked at Oneonta, David at National Guard. Girls did house work and I winterized kitchen and living room windows and fixed Christmas tree for outside. Sue made a wreath for front door. Gilbert here in pm. Mother called from Middleburgh in pm. Comment: Lots of holiday preparation...the winterization involved using plastic sheeting to cover the window to prevent drafts...I, as a "tween ager," sleeping on a mattress in the attic before it was finished off, the snow would blow in through the cracks around the windows and in the siding and cover the bed and floor....this is a picture of the attic room after it was finished.....
Friday, December 17, 1965 I washed. Clifton worked at Oneonta as an oiler. David here in pm and Wayne went Christmas shopping. Clifton, the girls and I went to Christmas program at church at night. I wrote Christmas cards and got Ell Mae's package ready. Made fruit cake for Mayo's. Comment: I guess Dad went to work at a lower rate than an Operator just to have the work...rather than operate the machine, an oiler starts it, lubricates it, shuts it down and generally watches over it while it is operating...still a union job and also pays pretty well.
Thursday, December 16, 1965 Cloudy and little snow, about 30. Raymond Kinglsey and David helped Clifton butcher 2 pigs. I went to prayer meeting at night and made candy for church Friday night. Comment: The pigs bite the dust....Mom and Dad, probably early thirties on her father Clarence's farm..note the chains on the car........not sure what kind of car that is...anybody know??
Wednesday, December 15, 1965 Cloudy and cool, 30's. Girls and I went Christmas shopping at Oneonta. Comment: Terse entry...on the porch on the hill...from left: Doug, Carol, Sue, Mary Ann, Mom...looks like a nice spring day....probably 1965
Tuesday, December 14, 1965 Still cloudy and rainy 30's. Had blind spell as soon as I got up. Cleaned some, wrote to Doug. Comment: Another blind spell did not seem to faze her too much....Mom beside one of Dad's cars.....probably on her father's farm...
Monday, December 13, 1965 Cloudy and rainy, lower thirties. Washed in am. Kept John while Roberta went shopping, they were up after supper. Chet Gale died. I had two blind spells but didn't feel too bad. Clifton called to work at Oneonta at noon. Christmas card and check from Ell Mae. Comment: Wow, I knew she had migraines but did not realize she had "blind" spells also. With Dad back to work and a check from Ella Mae, Christmas is shaping up...Mom as a young girl...far left is Grandma Barber, Clarence's mother, Norman VanTassel, Mom, Bessie, Clarence...probably mid twenties......
Sunday, December 12, 1965 Cloudy, rainy, freezing on roads. David went with Wayne 3:30 am with mail, LaVerne took it back in. Girls and I went to church and Sunday School and practice. No church at night because of icy roads. We went to LaVerne's in pm, there for supper. Gerald and Mary Ann called when we got home. Comment: Busy Sunday....Mom with Aunt Winny..not sure what year.....
Saturday, December 11, 1965 Cloudy, light snow in am. Rain and icy at night., We were going to butcher but pump in spring didn't work and called it off. Only points needed to be filed. Sue and I went to woods in pm after evergreens and I fixed window boxes. Gilbert here in afternoon., Girls went to ball game at night. Comment: And the pigs get to live another day at least....OK, city people, what and where are the "points" that need to be filed?? Getting close to Christmas and the house is getting decorated...Sue in grade school.....
Wednesday, December 10, 1965 Cloud in am early, becoming sunny and lovely before noon, 40. Marilyn called in pm. I washed, cleaned some. Had letter from Marilyn and pictures of flood and traffic. Jim called Wayne at nite, 10 pm, about a job with Petrolane. Clifton laid off with Rouse in Oneonta. Girls went to game at school at nite. Comment: Jim worked for Petrolane I think, driving a truck. Don't think Wayne ever pursued the job. Dad out of work again and around Christmas. Thank you FDR for the unemployment insurance. The flood Marilyn sent pictures about was not a minor one, if fact it was the most flooding in the area since 1938...scene of the Ramona Expressway....
Tuesday, December 9 1965 Cloudy 20's. Did more ironing and went to Missionary Meeting at Evelyn Bailey's with Madelyn. Lovely Christmas party, 14 and three children. Francis Burgitl (?) died at age 54. Carol and I went to prayer meeting at night. David drove mail for Wayne which he has been doing every other night for a couple of weeks. Comment: Not sure what's going on with Wayne, maybe just needs a break..just ran across a painting of
Safford Hill by a lady from Florida that kind of captures the ambiance of a fall day around the Hill. Safford Hill is off the Guinea Road and I believe is on Stewart Mace's property...
Wednesday, December 8, 1965 Sunny in am, 20's. Cloudy pm. I ironed and cleaned kitchen stove pipe. Wrote to Marilyn. We went down to LaVerne's at night. Renz's there. Comment: Renz's were Roberta's family....LaVerne, Roberta and John, probably a couple of years later than 1965....
Tuesday, December 7, 1965 Cold, Cloudy 10-25 degrees. I washed in am, baked fruit cake and apple sauce cake, did some work with paints. Comment: Not sure what the "work with paints" means...sounds like getting ready for Christmas...Pearl Harbor Day 24 years prior to this diary entry and 82 years ago today..gives rise to one of the first songs I ever remember hearing..it was number one on both the country and pop charts in 1944 and 1945. A patriotic song written by Red Foley and had to do with how we were going to kick some ass in WWII....take a listen...
Monday, December 6, 1965 Cloudy, light snow flurries, 29. I cleaned attic, some mess. Wrote to Gerald and Mary Ann and had a letter from them. Comment: Mary Ann and I around that time.....
Sunday, December 5, 1965 Cloudy, 25 with light snow in am and late pm. Girls and I went to church and Sunday School. Laura here for dinner. Mother and Norm at Middleburgh, we talked in pm. David took Doug to Kingston. I went to church at night. Comment: Normal Sunday... here is Norm and Bessie and Mom and Dad. Not sure the occasion... I think this is in Richmondville next to Norm's and Bessie's house..probably in 1963
Saturday, December 4, 1965 Cloudy, 30's, rain in am, snow flurries in pm, about two inches. Clifton went to Grand Gorge after pig feed in am. I baked and made another tree. Carol cleaned all through. Gilbert Gale here in afternoon. Sue went to ball game at night to Jefferson. Had letters and packages from Marilyn. Comment: Not sure who Gilbert Gale is.....even on a bleak day, there were still some stirring views....
Friday, December 3, 1965 Cloudy, 30's. I washed, did some ironing. Sent the Christmas package to Marilyn, Jim and family. Comment: Pretty sure she sent it via the the mail man, Wally Stryker or Vernon Lloyd. I don't remember ever seeing a UPS or other type of delivery vehicle when I was a kid...I also don't remember any of the Postal service trucks that are now so ubiquitous...
Thursday, December 2, 1965 Partly cloudy, about 40. Finished (cheer leading) suit for Sandy, finished getting Marilyn's package ready. Cleaned wood house. Comment: Got a lot done it seems.....the old wood house was used for a lot of other things besides wood storage. At on time or another, there were all sort of tools, canned goods, a large fuel oil tank, and other farm tools and machine parts lying around. Cleaning it was not a small task. I got the bright idea once to put my initials in an outside wall. Most people think it is bullet holes but I really used an electric drill to do it...wonder what I was thinking?? Thanks to Jeffrey Hubbard for the pix.....
Wednesday, December 1, 1965 Partly cloudy 30. Sue still home with sore throat. We did packages for California. Sandy came home with Carol for fitting and for supper. Girls and I went to John's birthday party at nite. Clifton started work for Rossi's at Oneonta. Wrote to Marilyn. Comment: This is a picture of a later birthday party for John......
You're always young in your mind it is said, No matter the face in the mirror, That you see with surprise then say to yourself, "What is that old man doing here?"
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