March 20, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 20, 1963

Wednesday.  Light snow in am. Heavy snow in pm. I washed. Billie called in am. Mrs. Mayo called about girls singing Sunday.

Comment:  Billie, (Margaret Laraway),  was my Mother's aunt, my Grandmother Bessie's sister. Here is what Susan has to say about the relationships in my mother's family: 


"Mom’s parents divorced when she was 16 – a scandal it was – her father Clarence marrying her mother Bessie’s younger sister Mildred Laraway, (Billie) and her mother Bessie Claressa Laraway marrying Norman Van Tassel, another farmer and friend of the family, who had once been married to Bessie’s cousin. All four persons accompanied each other to Las Vegas for the divorce and remarriage of the new couples. 

In later years, after Mom had a child or two of her own, along came a half-sister, Judith Barber, whom Mom also loved, but with whom never established a close relationship, as she had her own family to tend to. 

The Laraway sisters kept a close bind with each other despite the scandal, and with the rest of their brothers and sisters, and their friendships and relationships continued the rest of their lives. Their lives had changed, but they still were accepted by each other. 

But, for Mom, although she visited with her family back and forth as though all was well, she was wounded from the shame and embarrassment it had caused her at the tender age of 16, and I don’t believe she ever really recovered from that fully."

Here is a link the full version of Susan's Memories Of Her Mother and also to the news paper coverage of Mom's sixteenth birthday:

http://gerryhubbard.blogspot.com/2005/06/susans-memories-of-her-mother_25.html

http://gerryhubbard.blogspot.com/2005/07/moms-sixteenth-birthday-party.html

Below is a picture of Grandma Bessie, her sister "Billie" and Billie's daughter Judith at the 1978 family reunion...

March 18, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 18, 1963

Monday, Cloudy,  windy, cold 25 hi. David and Sue both came home with flu. Clifton still didn’t feel good. I wrote to Marilyn and Doug. Had a letter from Doug.

Comment: Monday, Monday, can't trust that day.......from the Internet

Monday has often been called a blue day. There is considerable speculation as to why this might be so. One theory runs that Monday (before the advent of the washing machine) was the usual day for washing and a blue dye was frequently used to keep clothes from yellowing. Blue is also frequently associated with depression. Since Monday is typically the first workday of the week and workers must look over a long depressing stretch of time until their next day-long break it has often been refered to as a blue day.

Many cultures see Monday also as an unlucky day, even as a day when people become insane. This may have something to do with the day's association with the moon. The moon has been called inconstant, due to its tendency to wax and wane. The Latin word for moon comes even into our own language to designate lunacy.

Sunday March 17, 1963, The Frances Hubbard Diaries

Sunday March 17, 1963, The Frances Hubbard Diaries

Sunday. Beautiful in pm. Cloudy in am clearing in pm 50 no wind snow melting fast but ground nearly covered yet. Carol and I went to church, but didn't stay for Sunday school. Clifton didn’t feel a bit good. David and Sue some better. Bob and Bill here at night a few minutes.

Comment:  Not sure who Bob and Bill are...weather seems to be clearing, here is a previous post about the seasons on the 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
And the hills drowned in summer's warm glow.

In Autumn, the mountains 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 to us, too.

March 15, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 15, 1963

Friday, Sunny, windy 20’s. Sue and Clifton sick with flu. I washed in am.  Kennedy’s came to look at Geralds car but didn’t want it. Mother called to see how we were she had a cold too. Had a letter from Marilyn. I sent for Seward paper. Boys went to school dance.

Comment:  The car I bought for $10 and fixed up never did sell.  Another entrepreneurial dream gone bad..David and Wayne go to Friday school dance.....not sure why she sent for the Seward paper....here is picture of five generations on my mother's side:  Grandma Bessie in front, then left to right, Kristen Ford, Marna Ford, Marilyn, Frances.....from the 1978 Hubbard Family Reunion

March 11, 1963, The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 11, 1963

Mon. 0 to 35. Clear in the am becoming cloudy in pm rain and sleet at night. Carol was home yet with cold. I had a sore throat and cold. I washed in the am. Clifton cut wood. David drove our car to work,  he had to be there at 6:30am to go to Albany.  Had a long letter from Doug and picture cards of the base. David worked in Albany moving charcoal from rail car to warehouse.

Comment: Doug's writing a lot of letters from Navy boot camp, persistent sickness.  If you ever want a sinking feeling in your stomach, open up the doors of a freight car packed with bags of charcoal and know that you have to move every damned one of them into a semi-trailer, drive to the warehouse and unload them all, then drive back to the freight car and do it again, maybe for the next 2 days.  At days end, your clothes and skin are completely black with the dust.

It's Wayne's birthday, March 11, 1946 on this date in 1963 he is 17 years old with about 42 years left to live.....he was born 80 years ago today and I remember clearly when Mom brought him home from the hospital...

In Memoriam: Wayne Maurice Hubbard

Wayne Maurice Hubbard
Born March 11, 1946, Died December 3. 2005 


November 22, 2005
Warrington, VA

Dear Wayne:

I want you to know that it has been an honor and privilege to grow up with and know you for all these years.

You should know that the kindness, warmth and wit that is Wayne Maurice Hubbard will long live in the memories of those fortunate enough to know you and also in the lives of your fine children.

We love you bro'.

Gerry Hubbard.


November 22, 2005
Warrington, VA

March 10 , 1963, The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 10, 1963

Sunday, Mostly cloudy windy few snow flurries 30’s. Clifton took Susan, Donna and Janette to church. I didn’t feel like going had a cold in my chest and slight headache. Carol still didn’t feel good, had a bad cold in her head. David took his car to Raymonds to have it fixed.

Comment:  Mom getting sick, David still struggling with his car.  Raymond Brown's garage probably was the only place he could take it on a Sunday because of the prevailing Blue Laws in effect at the time.  Most businesses were closed on Sunday which is a far cry from today with most large businesses open 24/7.  Not sure if the repeal of the laws was good or bad but it certainly significanlty changed our life-style.  

A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have been repealed, have been declared unconstitutional, or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas. Blue laws often prohibit an activity only during certain hours and there are usually exceptions to the prohibition of commerce, like grocery and drug stores. In some places blue laws may be enforced due to religious principles, but others are retained as a matter of tradition or out of convenience.^[1]

Laws of this type are also found in religious cultures such as Israel, where the day concerned is Saturday rather than Sunday, and most countries with Muslim majority, where the month of Ramadan is involved.^[2]

March 9, 1963, The Frances Hubbard Diaries

March 9, 1963

Sat. 30’s. Started to snow 4 pm. I baked in the am and took a pie and other things down to Merles. Ella went to hospital, no one was there when we went there. Cleaned up the house in the pm. Clifton,Wayne and Susan went to city to look at cars in pm. Carol was home sick, worse than Friday. Wayne went to Linda's at night and had to come home by Gilboa because of snow. Dougie called at 7 pm. Merle and Ella both in hospital at Margaretville. David's car boiled antifreeze out.

Comment:  Lots of folks sick or getting sick, heavy snow. Merle and Ella must have been very sick for them to go to the hospital.   Mom was known for her pies and Aunt Ella was known for her chocolate cake.  Not sure how Mom did it so well on the wood stove that Mom used.  Ella was  little better off, I remember a gas stove in her kitchen but the skill was probably learned with a wood stove.  They also seemed to do it so effortlessly.  Mom would be working outside and the next moment whipping up an apple, current or sour cream pie.  Anytime we went to Aunt Ella's she would offer us a piece of cake with a glass of milk. Ella and Mom were very good friends and talked to each other most every day.  Not sure when this picture was taken of them both:  

February 19, 1963 The Frances Hubbard Diaries

February 19, 1963

Tuesday. Cloudy hi 40 snow started about 2:30pm and colder 30. David went to Windham in am to see if that job had started yet. Clifton, the girls, and boys, and I went to Cobleskill. In afternoon. David and Wayne went to Timberland after we got home. I wrote to Dougie and sent him the Middleburg News.

Comment:  Timberland was the charcoal plant in Stamford where LaVerne was the general manager.  David worked there for a while and got his hand caught in a briquet press and injured it pretty bad.  His hand was caught until LaVerne went into the control panel and re-wired it to reverse the press.  I used to draw bark for the factory out of the paper mills in Mechanicville, NY getting paid 8 cents a mile.  I got fired when the trailer brakes blew out on a steep hill just outside of Schoharie and complained about the poorly maintained equipment.  That was an exciting ride.

They probably went to Cobleskill for Dad to sign up for unemployment which was always scheduled for a Tuesday....