Cardboard Inserts

Clearfield

538 East 250 South (Cherry Hill)

1957

Cardboard Insoles

We went through shoes way too frequently; and there being a number of us, we incurred a fair cost to keeping us all in shoes. We were growing so fast that we were incurring the cost of shoes too frequently. Therefore, when we began to experience a hole in the bottom of our shoe, we would commonly cut out a cardboard insole that we could insert inside our shoe. Then we could use the same shoe for a month or so before the hole got so big that we couldn't use the cardboard anymore. The cardboard insole would wear out fairly quickly; and we'd have to replace it about once every three days. This was particularly challenging in the winter months when we might be walking on snow. The snow would melt inside our shoe; ruining the cardboard, we'd have to replace it more frequent - perhaps daily. We were not particularly troubled by this because we were glad to have the shoes that we did! I'm sure the children of today would find such endeavor as excessive. In deep snow, our galoshes protected the cardboard insole and we could make it last much longer. But if for any reason we we're called upon to walked in our regular shoes (such as at church) we’d have to change the insole more frequently. Cardboard insoles to cover the holes in our shoes.

Sleep Out on backyard grass

Sleep Outs

It was at this time that we had aged enough and proven ourselves somewhat to be able to sleep in the backyard on the grass. This we called a “sleep out”; and we looked forward to it for quite some time. We started out in the summer months sleeping between several blankets in order to keep us warm in the chilly night air. But overtime, we were blessed to receive sleeping bags that we would layout next to each other; and sleep in the comfortable night air. Though our yard was open to the rest of the world, we were not concerned at being harassed in the backyard a mere 10 or so feet from our back door. Because night time fell rather late in the summer, we might enter our sleeping bags as late as 9:00 o'clock. Looking up at the stars, we would talk amongst ourselves (sometimes till late at night) about various topics. Of particular note, we traveled the backyards of the neighborhood late at night. We would walk along retaining walls and fences in order to invade various people's yards. Clearly, we had to be very quiet to avoid detection. We didn't do this an awful lot; but I remember doing it on several occasions. We would only do it late at night after we were certain that my parents had gone to sleep. We knew this because we made note of when our parents came out to check on us in the evening hours. If they'd not checked on us for some time, we believed them to have gone to sleep. That is when we would slink about the neighborhood along its backyard fences. We were joined in our sleep outs by neighborhood boys and the event became a night time gathering of young boys. Thus, brothers and neighborhood boys slept in sleeping bags in our backyard. 

Rexall Drug Store (next to Ideal theater)

Saturday Matinees

We were often afforded the privilege of going to the afternoon matinee at the local movie theater. the Saturday afternoon matinee was rather inexpensive, and we boys took advantage of this opportunity. My parents would assure that we were all in the theater (often for a double feature) for several hours. It was something that we looked forward to quite often and they could experience a respite from our exuberance. We were often given a little bit of money (maybe a dime or quarter to spend on candy at the next door Rexall drugstore. This was Chandler’s drugstore and my parents new the Chandlers because they were in our ward. I remember most candy bars we're about a nickel. Several of the candy bars that I selected were - a Look or a Big Hunk or a Charleston Chew. Entering the theater, we were accompanied by a great many of children about our own age. Their proprietor of the theater knew this and scheduled movies that would entertain young children during this scheduled time . It was in one of these matinees where I was shown the horror movie dash “The Fly”. Additionally, I saw “Mantis” in one of these Saturday matinees. They frightened me so bad that I began running up the stairs to avoid the darkness of the basement. Images from these movies have remained with me throughout my life! I don't blame anyone because that was the genre that many kids seemed to want. 

Look! candy bar

1st Spanking

I remember the first-time Dad ever gave any of us boys a spanking. We had recently moved to Clearfield, Utah; and it was early in the morning. Dad and mom were still asleep; us boys had woken early and come up the stairs into the living room. Apparently, we had gotten a new living room sofa because it drew attention to us four older boys. We were all jumping up and down on the sofa (as high as we could) when dad came out from the hallway and discovered our antics. He immediately had all four boys sit down on the sofa and had a short talk with all of us explaining how jumping up and down on the sofa was inappropriate. He then slid out his belt from his pants; and said he was going to have to spank us all. He had us line up against the couch by age; kneeling across the couch. He then doubled up his belt and started with Hugh. His bark was certainly more than his bite because the belt slapped against itself as it hit our bottoms. I heard the belt against Hughes bottom and thought it must have been really bad until I felt it across my bottom. My initial thought was, “That's not so bad”! He only struck us a couple times (rather lightly) and by the time he reached Rick (who was at the end of the row) he couldn't spank us at all. In the eyes of an adult (as I am now) it was just too emotionally difficult for him; and he couldn't complete the task. His love for his boys overrode his requirement as a disciplinarian; and he couldn’t continue his spanking (even though we deserved it; and even though it was extremely light). The lesson had been taught; and we never jumped on the sofa again! From then on, all dad had to do was gesture toward his belt and we boys immediately ‘got in line’ with what we should’ve been doing! 

Insinuating 'The Belt'

The Sandlot

The Sandlot was a sandy area that we crossed on our way to and from school. It bordered the swamp which was 50 or so feet from the edge of Pullum’s pond. (The swamp was at the bottom of our street and across Cherry Hill street.) We used the sandlot for a great many things; and it became one of our common playgrounds. The center of the sandlot was nothing but loose sand; but the outside borders were covered with what seemed to be a grain about a foot tall. It was rather level. It bordered the swamp with a tall rather steep hill, covered with milkweed and ‘snake grass’. In the winter, we would stand at the top of the hill in the snow that gathered there; and sled down the hill toward the swamp. The swamp was a swampy area covered with trees surrounding a swamp about a foot and a half deep. We became rather good at sledding on the hill and often utilized inner tubes to sleigh down what became icy pathways. We could last about 1/2 an hour before we got too cold and had to come home to warm up. Once we'd warmed up, we’d go back to sleighing on the hill. In the spring we would search through the milkweed to find monarch butterfly larva. we then put some milkweed in a bottle along with some caterpillars that would eventually turn into a chrysalis. By watching these, we could observe them hatching into monarch butterflies. In the summers we (only occasionally and against our parents will) held BB gun wars. One team would occupy the weeds and grasses beneath the hill. The other team would occupy the grain type grasses at the top of the hill. Being one of those at the top of the hill, I heard BB’s flying through the grasses that were above my head. The Sandlot was big enough that we could play baseball in its expanse. it's sand center made for a pretty decent baseball diamond and we'd gather there to play a game of baseball. Clearly, this Sandlot was used for a great many activities and we enjoyed the time we spent together there. The hill at its border was equally beneficial to us neighborhood boys and we often add something going on there.

Though the sandlot has been filled in with houses, the block wall and house that resided at the corner of the sandlot is still there and included here as a picture. 

Sandlot (corner house on route to school)

Route to School

Firecrackers

Every summer we boys would enjoy obtaining and lighting firecrackers. They were not legally available in the state and numerous people went to other states to obtain the firecrackers. We would obtain them from our neighborhood friends. The least of these firecrackers was the “the lady fingers”. These were extremely light explosives; and we avoided obtaining them whenever possible. (They weren’t worth the cost.) Next was the “one inchers”. These were more explosives; and one had to be careful to assure that they were not holding these firecrackers when they went off. The next level of explosive was the “two inchers”. These were much more serious firecrackers; and one had to be particularly mindful when they were lighting one. The last and most explosive of the rolled firecrackers was the “two and a half inchers”. They were very strong in their explosive capacity; and we were much less able to obtain them. Nevertheless, from time to time we could obtain a few. The next most explosive of the firecrackers was the “cherry bomb”. It was a firecracker contained in a spherical red object about an inch in diameter. These were extremely explosive firecrackers; and one had to be extremely careful when lighting one. Of particular interest was the fact that the cherry bomb could be thrown into water and still explode as it sank beneath the surface. We might use one or two of these to shock pond fish to the surface. Finally, the most explosive firecracker we ever got our hands on was the “M 80”. These firecrackers were touted to have the explosive capacity of 1/4 of a stick of dynamite. We only ever had a few of these; and we're extremely careful to light them with extreme caution. Firecrackers were an exciting pastime surrounding the 4th of July. We would often white a firecracker and place it down the end pipe of our chain link fence. Then we'd replace the cap of the end pipe and watch as the firecracker exploded, sending the cap far into the air. Most of our firecrackers were used to blow up various thing - like ant beds and lizards. 

Cherry Bomb & M-80

Primary

Our ward meetinghouse was directly across a small street from the East doors of our Wasatch school. On primary days, we would not go immediately home. Rather, we would go across the street; entering into the church and there attend Primary. Only after attending primary for about an hour or so, we’d walk on home. One of the songs I most remember from my Primary days was “Teach Me to Walk in the Light”.

Schoolyard Fight

One day as I was leaving school during the winter, I observed a fight taking place in the playground. As I neared the fight, I realized that my brother Jay was involved in the fight; and wrestling on the ground with a big 5th grader. I remember thinking that my brother must be a little bit crazy to take on such a big person. As I briefly watched the fight continue, I got a very strong feeling that I couldn't stand by and watch my brother perhaps get beaten. Therefore, (though I didn't really want to) I jumped into the fight with the big 5th grader. I thought Jay and I, as second graders, we're no match for the much larger 5th grader. Nevertheless, this didn't seem to stifle Jays anger at all; and we continued to tussle with the fellow until a teacher came; and broke up the fight. Jay and I both were taken inside to a 6th grade teacher (Mr Adams) to answer for our behavior. Our opponent was taken into another room to account for his behavior. I don't remember much of what Mr. Adams said to us. I only remember stating that I jumped in because I was not going to allow the 5th grader to beat up my brother. Mr. Adams seemed to understand and didn't impose any punishment on either Jay or I. We simply left the school and walked on home. It turned out to be and early lesson for me. A lesson that I would not be able to avoid conflict if any of my brothers were involved! 

Lath

Mom’s Spankings

Whenever one of us boys would ‘get out of line’, Mom would feel the need to spank us in order to ‘rectify our behavior’. By this time, my dad had a store of laths in the garage. These laths were about 4 feet long, about 2 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick. They were extremely flexible and comprised of very light (easily broken!) wood. In order to emphasize the spanking experience for us boys, my mother would have whoever the violator was - to retrieve a lath from the garage to be spanked with. This way, the boy would have to be thinking about his behavior to and from the garage with a lath in hand! (Kind of like when she had been sent to gather a switch from the willow tree when her mother would 'switch her legs’.) When the boy arrived with the lath, my mother would grab him by the left arm holding him in position so she could spank his bottom with the lath. We boys knew this position rather well! What my mother didn't seem to grasp was how we boys learned to navigate within the context of her spanking. The first blow would be with the full length of the lath (I.e., 4 feet). Because of the length and flexibility, this blow hardly ever hurt at all; and resulted in the lath breaking in half. Knowing the lath had broken, we knew that she was left with a 2-foot lath in hand. Recognizing the circumstance, she would then attempt to spank our bottoms with the 2-foot lath. This also was too long and flexible; and would also break in half; leaving her with a single foot of lath in hand (and broken pieces on the floor)! By this time her blows began to sting a little bit; and with each repeated blow we would step forward about 1/2 a step to lighten the next blow. We knew that we must not allow her to catch on to this or the ‘jig would be up’ for us. So, we endeavored very hard to not break into laughter as she attempted to spank us. Rather, we would feign a little bit of crying to empathize with her efforts and encourage her misguided endeavor to spank us! Continuing with the breaking laths; the ½ step forward; and held left arm, she was finally down to about a 2-inch lath; and we had covered about ½ circle around her! About this time, we knew that the spanking was pretty much over. Occasionally as the lath shortened my mother couldn't help herself; and burst into laughter at the thought of it all. Only when she smirked did we laugh along with her and the spanking had resulted in a shared humorous experience! Nevertheless, the lesson had been taught; and we emotionally knew that we should ‘straighten up and fly right’. 

2nd Grade Desks

2^nd Grade

My second-grade teacher was Mrs. Gunderson and our class was in the basement of Wasatch elementary. It was at the East end of the building; and we had basement windows three feet tall and at ground level (our classroom being about 4’ below ground level). Thus, we got plenty of light in our classroom. Mrs. Gunderson was an older woman and quite pleasant to her classroom. Jay and I would finally be separated in our second-grade classes. The classroom had old style desks for the children. About 3 desks time we're connected to each other by a wooden runner attached to the desk legs at the floor. The desktops raised up on a hinge at the forefront of the desk; and space was provided beneath the top for pencils, paper, and unfinished work. The child sitting in front of you rested against a back that was connected to the front of your desk! There were even holes in the desktops for inkwells. I don't remember any of my classmates from that time (except Davey Chavez); and the time seemed to pass rather quickly. One particular event that I remember was our annual Mayday. This was a day when the entire school would engage in festivities surrounding the 1st of May. It was intended to be a celebration of Spring’s arrival. Paramount among these activities was the “decorating of the MayPole”. This was accomplished by about 15 students holding cloth streamers that were connected to the top of a tether ball post (a metal pipe about 8 feet tall and anchored in the center of a tire filled with concrete). About half of the day was devoted to outside activities; and the entire school joined in. As a finality to the events, the MayPole was decorated by having every other child circle the MayPole in opposite directions going up and down underneath one another’s streamer. This resulted in a crossed pattern of the streamers as they were woven onto the MayPole. The streamers were of different colors and the resulting cross hatch on the MayPole was somehow made to be very significant. I remember that being a pretty significant day in the life of this 2nd grader. 

Maypole

Stitches

In the second grade I developed a very good friendship was a young Mexican boy named - Davey Chavez. We talked quite a bit about various things second graders might. I was exposed via his conversation to his native Mexican culture. It was rather interesting! On one particular day though, Davey and I were playing in the sanded area near the monkey bars. For some reason or another, Davey began running toward the school doors. I chased after him several steps behind; and as we both went through the open door, I (for some reason) lowered my head. Not watching where I was going, I ran head first into the edge of the open door. This resulted in a significant gash in the center of the top of my head. It started at the hairline and went backward about 2 inches. My mother took me to a local doctor's office and they applied some stitches to close the wound. (~5 stitches) Because he had to shave my head (in order to apply the stitches), I had an open area where there was no hair. To protect the wound from infection, he sprayed a solution over the area that solidified and kept the wound from the open air. My mother commented, “You’d better not go bald!” She had quite a sense of humor; but I remembered it my entire life (hoping I wouldn't go bald like so many of my uncles) For the next couple of weeks, I was the brunt of many of my classmates. Trying to cover up the wound, I tried to wear a hat. Mrs. Gunderson would not allow it and I was left with an obvious wound until the hair began to grow back in. This was somewhat embarrassing! 

2nd Grade Class Picture

Differentiation

Up until that time Jay and I had both been dressed in matching shirts and pants (being twins). This did not seem to bother us much. Certainly, we had bigger ‘fish to fry’ during our kindergarten and 1st grade years. I remember that mom had sewn several shirts that were attached at the top with a couple buttons (she was an excellent seamstress). Each was made of the same material; and Jay and I wore them (somewhat proudly) through the 1st grade. However, as we grew older (2nd grade) we began to notice some of our fellow classmates chiding us at being identical. Thus, when Jay and I were separated into separate 2nd grade classes, we began to differentiate ourselves from one another. The only thing we could do this with was our clothing. Hence Jay and I began (at that young age) to wear different shirts. In our later years (I remember particularly as a teenager) that if one person walked out of the bedroom with a certain colored shirt, the other twin could wear any kind of shirt they wanted except for one of the same color worn by the other twin. This differentiation was something unique to us being identical twins. It was the most obvious; but not the most significant. Jay was left-handed and I was right-handed!