In Jeanne's own words, Part 2

I remember we used to walk to grade school every school day. We would go down the block east to the bottom of the block and turn up north and then turn down 7th St and go east for about half a block & go through a vacant lot to sixth St and then up a block to 5th where the school was located. I remember in the first grade, Mother made me a new dress to wear with panties to match. There was a pocket in the pants for a hanky. I remember it was print, with fruit on it I believe. But I loved that dress. I must have looked nice as a little boy 1st grader gave me a kiss, And I was never the same after that. I liked little boys! My first grade teacher was a Miss Stevenson I don’t think she ever married. But I loved her, she was very nice. Then when I got into the 3rd grade, there was a Mrs Johnson. She had us line up in a line and March into the school house to a Phillip Sousa, March and I’ve always loved to hear a March ever since. My toes start to tap and I long to march. We had a Rhythm Band too in that school. I learned to love music at an early age. I can remember her singing the Hymns in Church & How much I loved them.

I loved to roller skate and when we girls would get together to skate, We would go down Boulevard lickety split to the little park & fall on the soft grass to stop ourselves, & then go do it again.

I remember when I learned how to ride a bike one of my sisters or brothers put me on a bike at the top of Ninth street(and it went sloping down quite steep for a beginner) & gave me a push & told me to hang on & I had to stay on & ride the thing to the bottom of the hill or have a terrible fall. I don’t remember falling. But I do remember how scared I was. But when I discovered I could do it I jumped off pushed my bike back up to the top of the street & did it again.

I remember many pleasant hours in the alleyway, where the church lawn ended and fell away into a steep wall. We would sit there and dig. Make roads & castles & houses & farms & gardens & everything we could think of. I remember going there alone mostly & sitting in the sun shining warm on my back & thinking things over by the hours. I remember how pleasant the feeling was & how warm it was there.

We were close enough to the church that we walked to & from church. The evenings were so nice as we would come out of church & start for home. One night after church, thinking I saw my Father starting to go home. I ran and taking hold of his hand began to walk with him. When I looked up at him, It wasn’t my Father, but one of his friends who looked a lot like him. I still remember how embarrassed I felt.

We often walked downtown from our home as it was just a nice walk, about 4 or 5 blocks. We passed this house that had a set of wind chimes hanging on the porch & if there were the slightest breeze, the wind chimes would play & it was quite beautiful. But if one were walking along being a trifle spooky, It would frighten us and we would run past the house and on home. There was a Chinese cook & houseboy that worked there and that lent an air of mystery about the place together with the wind chimes that late at night when it was very dark would hurry us past the place on the run.

In Jeanne's own words, Part 1

As I take up my pen to write my life story, I think, what are the more important things about my life that I should put down for my children to remember. And I guess I should start at the beginning and write as much as I can remember & if I leave any thing important out insert it in afterwards as it comes back to me. As I look backwards, trying to call to mind these things that I would remember, I think of a large red brick house, with a fence around the back yard. A (white picket) with a gate, going down some steps and out onto the alleyway, which we would go west along for just a few hundred ft, to our church. Just back of us across the alley was a large house in which the Catholic sisters(nuns) lived. Down the street to the east of us just a house away the Catholic father lived and the Catholic school(and church) was down the alley east of us. So we were much aware of the Catholics. We were taught always to be tolerant and never make fun of other Religions.

In the back yard we had flowers, Hollyhocks, pansies and peonies, and an apricot tree, which bore fruit. We would watch with fascination as the fruit appeared and grew on this tree. I remember we never picked the fruit while it was green as this made my Father very sad. I remember one night as we were getting ready for a family evening, And we had these all my life. We had made some home made ice cream & put it outside on the porch to keep cold until we were ready to eat it. When we went to get it, it was gone. I remember we were disappointed. I remember we lived on a hill and our house was on a hill too. So we would bundle up and get the sleigh out and we would go down the driveway and clear to the bottom of eighth street before we stopped. And what a thrill it was. And then we would race back & do it again, and again. I remember this house as a house of much love. It had a large mirror in the front room. We could see ourselves from our head to our feet. We also had a full length mirror in the bedroom. It kept us working on our weight, As it really showed every bulge, and every flaw.

It was in this house as a baby that I was very badly burned, On the radiator. The doctor gave no hope for my eyes when he saw how badly I was burned on the forehead & eyes, and hands. But Mother told me that tannic Acid had just been discovered for use in treating burns and it was applied, weeks later, when they peeled it off I had mended & made miraculous strides in healing of those burns. My brother who was somewhat to blame for me getting burned, Spent most of those weeks praying to his Heavenly Father in my behalf and I know that that is why my vision has always been so good. 20-20 until just lately, And as I write this I’m 52 years old and only lately have not been seeing so good as I used to.