Week 30 - Drive Thru restaurants

When I think about drive thru restaurants during my childhood, my first thought is Bob's Big Boy.

I have a vague memory of the Bob's Big Boy in Phoenix on Cental and Thomas when I was still quite young. The reason it was so notable to me was it had curbside service. The server would bring your order to the car and it had a tray which hung off the open window.

Bob's Big Boy Restaurant - Central & Thomas in Phoenix

According to Wikipedia:

"The first Phoenix, Arizona, Bob's Big Boy, established in 1954, was a notable exception to the California-based architecture. It was located at Central Avenue and Thomas Road. It quickly put two other nearby drive-in restaurants out of business. The building was modern, with horizontal overhanging roof lines and native stone at the entrance. Above was a large mural that resembled a Hopi sand painting of kachinas and a covered area to the east of the building for carhop service."

In the late 60's and early 70's, Bob's became "the hangout" for high school and college kids, cruising up and down Central Avenue. I don't remember meeting up with boys at Bobs, but I do remember cruising Central with my sister in her car. My dad had bought her car at an auction, in it's previous life it had been a cop car. It came complete with a fast engine and a working spot light. One weekend my sister and I filled up the car with gas on Friday afternoon down at the ranch. On Sunday we were back to fill up again. My Dad wanted to know just where we had been to have gone thru so much gas.

I didn't see another restaurant with curbside service until I was in high school and after our Rainbow Girls meeting at the Masonic Lodge, we would go around the corner to the A&W on Apache Boulevard and have a Root beer in their iced mugs. Those glass mugs which had been frosted are sooo much better than today's paper cups.

Week 28 - Parents

I am the daughter of Bertha Melaine Reppel and Eli Fount Gates. Both of my parents were born in Arizona.

My mother Bertha Melaine Reppel was the daughter of Bertha McDowell and Robert Leo Reppel. My grandmother, Bertha McDowell Reppel was born in Greenland, Colorado in 1906. My grandfather, Robert Leo Reppel was born in Mussig, France in 1900. They met it in Gunnison, Colorado where they were both students at Western State College.

Mom was named after her Grandmothers. Her maternal grandmother was Bertha Knowles McDowell a native of Colorado. Her paternal grandmother was Melanie Breitel Reppel, an Alsatian born in the village of Saint-Hippolyte.

According to her birth certificate, Mom was the third generation Bertha, but except for official documents she has always been called Melaine. Melaine is a beautiful and unusual name. You may notice that her name is spelled differently than her grandmothers. Perhaps Papa Reppel couldn't spell, or perhaps Melanie spoken in his Alsatian accented English sounded like Melaine.

My maternal grandparents were married in 1926 and soon after left Colorado by train. The money ran out in Arizona. They settled in Phoenix and soon had enough money to buy land. My mother's childhood home was on McDowell road and 34th street in what was then called Creighton. She attended local schools, but being a child of the depression, my grandparents would leave their home and move to where ever work was available. So her education also included schools in Tombstone and Miami. Her family moved to Mexico for a year, although Mom stayed in Arizona that year. She graduated from North Phoenix High School. In 1947 she attended the University of Denver for a year before returning to Phoenix and returning to school at Arizona State College (now ASU). My mother has written extensively about her childhood. When time permits, I will incorporate her life story as an attachment to this post.

My father Eli Fount Gates was the son of Maude Gertrude Powell and Herbert Ellis Gates. My grandmother, Maude was born in Collinsville, Illinois in 1904. Maude moved to Arizona in 1922 to attend Tempe Normal School.

My grandfather, Herb was born in Atascosa County, Texas in a small ranching community. His family moved to Kyrene, Arizona in 1918. The met when Maude took a teaching job for Kyrene Elementary School. They were married in December 1924.

My dad, born in Chandler, Arizona in Feb, 1926 was named after his paternal Grandfather, Eli Fountain Gates, who was known as Fount.

My father was educated in Arizona. He graduated from Kyrene Elementary school in 1940. He graduated from Tempe High School in 1944. He attended Colorado Agriculture and Mechanical College (now CSU) from 1 year before returning home to work on the family dairy farm.

My dad with the help of my sister Shirley has written about his family and early childhood. I will link his story as an attachment to this post.

My parents met at the Tempe Wesley Foundation - a program at the Tempe Methodist Church for Christian collage age adults. After a short courtship, my parent fell in love.

On May 28th, 1948 they were married at the Creighton Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

My parents had a lot in common. They were the eldest of three children in their respective families. They were both members of the Methodist church. They had both spent a year attending college in Colorado before returning to Arizona. Both of their mothers were well educated working women.

My father was very supportive of my mother's desire to become a school teacher. After giving birth to 4 children, she returned to school and obtained her B.S. in elementary education from ASU. She later obtained her M.S. After many years teaching in the Roosevelt School District she became a school administrator and worked as the vice principal for many years before taking early retirement. In her spare time she also was a 4-H leader and sang in her church choir.

My father worked on the family dairy farm. My uncle Bill was in charge of the animals and my dad was in charge of the mechanical equipment. Somewhere along the line Daddy became interested in "Junk". Much of the unused desert land surrounding the dairy slowly and surely became covered by junk car and trucks. He bought himself a baler and the cars would be crushed into square bales and then sold. After the family dairy business was sold, the junk yard business evolved into Gila Recycling.

Dad also had a few other small business ventures. He started a Napa auto parts store and a generator and alternator rebuilding business. Besides his business ventures, he served on the Kyrene School board for 16 years, was a 4-H leader and the Democratic precinct committee chairman for many years.

After 26 years of marriage my parents divorced. They were able to be civil and respectful of each other after the divorce and that says alot. Like most parents, mine weren't perfect. We had some ups and downs and the years just prior to their divorce were particularly hard for me as I was approaching adulthood. One thing was also certain, my parents loved me and would support me no matter what.

My folks both remarried. Mom married Andrew "Andy" Corrao. Dad married Alma Cowen Morgan and became a step father to her daughter Carla Morgan. They welcomed the arrival of a son Patrick Thomas in 1977 although they were a bit surprised when they first learned of his conception.

My dad is now gone from this world. In 2005 he left his earthly body behind and went to join his maker. Alma and Carla have both joined him. I still miss them all.

My mom is going strong - She may outlive me. She recenty had this five generation picture taken.

Week 27 - Cars and Transport

My family lived out in the country. A car was essential a link to society. My parents were Ford people. So most of the cars that spent time in our driveway were Fords.

The first car I remember was a green 56 Ford sedan. I hunted the Internet looking for a picture that came close to the family car. This was the closest I could find. Sometime in the early 1960s, my family bought a new car, a Ford station wagon that mom used to drive back and forth to work and to haul all us kids around. I have no clue what the color of it was, perhaps a light blue. In any case, the green sedan became my Dad's car.

Living in Phoenix, summer time temperatures get mighty hot. My parents took the station wagon into Phoenix and had an after market air conditioning unit installed. It sat under the dash in the middle of the front. It wasn't near as efficient as today's factory installed air conditioning. I believe most of the cars my parents bought after that came with factory installed air conditioning.

The farm was just under a mile from our house. The Gates' boys were expected to work on the farm from a fairly young age; my brother "Gatesy" and my cousin Herbie drove tractors in the fields and ran the farm equipment necessary to harvest the alfalfa and make hay. I can still picture them picking up the bales of hay and loading them onto a wagon.  When his legs were just long enough to reach the pedals, my brother was given an old pick-up to drive back and forth to the "ranch". Technically we wasn't old enough to drive on the public roads; but the road between our house and the farm was dirt with little traffic. My mom was very happy about it, but Daddy had the final saw on Gatesy's truck.

When my oldest sister Elaine got her driver's license, she was given the old 56 Ford Sedan to drive. When she was a senior in high school, she and my sister Shirley drove the car back and forth to school. One day they were turning a corner and the passengers door flew open. This was in the days before seat belts. We were lucky that Shirley didn't fall out. Later on Dad bought a used car for Elaine, it was a blue Ford Fairlane. One day Elaine had a small fender bender with the car. Dad replaced the front panel with one from a wrecked red Fairlane. The car stayed two toned for many years.

When I got my drivers license many years later, the two toned Fairlane became my car. The first day I drove it to school, I was pulled over by a police officer. As I pulled out my temporary driver's license, the office made a comment about my driving skills - or perhaps the lack there of.

My boyfriend Van was embarrassed to be seen in the car. One Christmas he took it Fairlaine to Earl Scheib's and had it repainted in a metallic blue for $ 99.95.

When I graduated from high school my parents bought me a brand new 1972 Chevy Malibu. It was the prettiest copper exterior and cream colored interior. I loved that car. Unfortunately I totaled the car while I was in Monterrey, California. The car and I took a slight tumble down an embankment.

I was young and stupid. My parents had paid for the insurance. The didn't pay for collision, only liability. This taught me 2 very valuable lessions - the value of good insurance and the value of a good vehicle. I was without a vehicle of my own for several years.

In 1975 I was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. My husband and I were living in an apartment in Glen Burnie, MD. Bruce was working on the base, I was working offsite at an annex located near the Baltimore-Washington airport. Since we only had 1 car, Bruce took the car to the base and I caught a ride to work with two office mates who lived near by. It worked out well until they were discharges and I had to find another ride.

So I started riding with another office mate. One snowy winter morning, I must have been a few minutes late. I waited outside in the cold for the longest time and my ride didn't show. When I called to find out what was the story, he said he came by and I wasn't there so he left.  I was so pissed and I realized that I coudn't count on other people to get me to work. So from then on Bruce would drive me to work and then head south to the base. When I finished work, I would catch the bus from the annex to the base where I would meet up with Bruce for the drive home.

Week 26 - Technology 

What technology changes did your ancestors see?
What technology changes have you seen?

One of the offshoots of my genealogy hobby was an interest in history. When you truly try to understand the lives of your ancestors you have to understand what life was like back then.

The first aha moment came for me back in 1978. While in Denver I went to visit my great Aunt. During the visit Aunt Edith got out some old family pictures. I still remember her talking about riding the bus to school. When I question her, she explained it was a horse drawn bus. I had no idea there was such a thing.

I have done extensive research of the lives of John Roberts and his wife Miriam Irish. They were born in Maine in the late 1700's. Around 1815 the family moved "west", first to West Virginia, then to Ohio and finally to Iowa. 3 moves, each into the wilderness. With only manual tools they cleared land, built shelters, and grew/hunted/gathered sufficient food to feed a large family. Their granddaughter Miriam Donegan Fonder wrote extensively about settling in Iowa. She spoke of the tools her father made. She spoke of her mother spinning wool into yarn, weaving yarn into cloth and hand sewing the cloth into clothing.

When my great-great grandparents Vincent and Rhoda McDowell moved from Kansas to Colorado, they traveled in a covered wagon. Their son, Frank McDowell was a teamster. A newspaper article that I found described injuries he sustained while on the job. As the picture shows below, he actually worked with a team of horses before he evolved into a truck driver.

I personally don't remember not having a TV. That being said, my family's early black and white TV is a far cry from today's 52" flat screen high definition models. I also don't remember the wringer washing machines, but my mother hung all the wash on the line because until the middle 1970's she didn't have a dryer. My sisters and I washed many dinner dishes and there was no dishwasher in our house. We also didn't have central heat and air.

I take for granted many items that were luxuries for my parents and grandparents. washers, dryers, microwave ovens, dishwashers. Technology improvements in my grandparents and parents generations were generally things that made their physical lives better, automobiles, planes, clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers, sewing machines, etc.

Technology improvements for the younger generations, seem to make their life styles better. Music, TV, VCRs, cell phones, computers, etc.

Look how music has evolved. When I was a kid, we had a record player. My parents had some 78 rpm vinyl records, but mine were 33⅓ and a few 45 rpm singles. By the time I was graduating from high school, audiophiles were flocking to reel to reel tape decks. The less well heeled kids moved to 8 track tapes and then to cassette tapes. I never had an 8 track player but when Bruce and I were first dating in 1974, he had an 8 track player.

The Walkman debuted in 1979 the first portable wearable audio device. It revolutionized work out routines. But when Sony introduced the first compact disc (CD) player in October 1982, it spelled the end to the cassette tapes and the Walkman. Around 1980 I received a promotion at work. I rewarded myself by buying a CD player for my car.

Enter the MP player in 1997. It wasn't until Apple released the iPod in October of 2001 that MP players really took off. I have never owned an iPod, but around 2005 Burt bought us matching Phillips MP3 players. In June of 2013 Burt bought a new Buick Encore, he plugged the MP3 player into the USB and listed to his tunes on the car's audio system.

So what is the greatest technology impact of my lifetime. It is probably the Internet - it has revolutionized how people communicate and obtain information. Just one example is genealogy. As more and more records are digitized and put on-line, I can search, access and keep copies of records I would never have found otherwise. 

Week 25 - LOVE 

Love comes in many shapes and sizes. We love people, places and things. So what are the things that I think of when I think of love.

First is my family - these are the people who taught me how to love.  My parents although not perfect did have an inordinate amount of love to share with me and my siblings.

Things I love - I love to garden; pulling weeds is so mindless, I can think about the things that are bothering me, I can bitch and moan and carry on and get it out of my system. It is also the time that I feel closest to God.

I love the computer. I remember my first computer class. It was 1982. It has been a big part of my life every since. It was so logical, it made so much sense. I felt right at home. In 1983 my husband Bill and I bought our first PC. It made writing my college papers so much better, I could concentrate on the content, move paragraphs around instead of retyping endless pages to remove the typos.

I love Mexican food. After living in central Florida for many years, it is always the first thing I want when I arrive at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. There have been times, I went straight to Rositas after landing and met my family there.

I love my dogs. As a child, our family always had a dog - an outside dog. Our yard wasn't fenced, we lost several dogs that got hit by a car on 56th street. At that time, (before I-10) it was the main road between Phoenix and Tucson. In winter of 1976-77 Bruce and I got our first dog, Tater. Bruce was working as a dispatcher for the Coral Springs Police department. He asked the animal control office to look for a small female dog. Tater was found in a box with several other puppies behind the local Vet. We took her everywhere including Phoenix and Montrose, Colorado. During our divorce, Bruce took Tater and I kept her puppy Radar. I had Radar until around 1994. Sport joined my household in 1987 and he was around for many years as well. Foxy is my current dog and constant companion. I would be lost right now without her.

But I guess these things were not what you were expecting on the topic of Love. According to Linda Sapadin, in her ‘… But I Love Him!’ So What is Love?' Blog discusses three types of Love. I have experienced all three.

1) Romantic love - Excitement rules the day. You are walking on air. He can do no wrong. You are the luckiest woman on earth. 

When I was 14, I experienced "First Love". Mike was a quiet and shy senior at McClintock HS. I was a freshman - although I was not outgoing, I was not quiet and shy. We met at the bus stop. I spent most of my freshman year trying to make him see me. As a freshman, my dating options were limited. I could double date with a sibling, go to a church function, or go to a school function; solo car dating was not allowed. 

Our first date was to the prom; my parents made an exception and allowed him to pick me up in his father's car. We drove into Tempe and had dinner at a local inexpensive restaurant. When we returned to the car, it wouldn't start. Mike had to call his father who then acted as a chauffeur for the rest of the evening. 

We dated for several months; I never wanted a date to end. I was so sad when the evening ended and he left me at the door. But our love didn't last very long. Within months of graduating from high school, Mike joined the US Marine Corp. Our love could not withstand the difference in our ages and distance between us.

2) Addictive love is marinated in desperation. You feel you cannot live without this person. You need him to feel complete. Though you no longer feel good about yourself like you did when you were “infatuated with him,” you, nevertheless, feel you can’t leave him. Despite being constantly criticized, you love him. Despite crying about insults you’ve received, you love him. Despite being afraid of his anger, you love him.

When I was 15, I experienced "Addictive Love". Van was 4 years older than me. He dated my sister Shirley for a short time before we became an item. There were times when Van was very good to me, but more often than not he was slightly mean spirited.  My folks were going through a rough patch, and I was holding on to Van like a drowning person holding onto a life raft. No matter how badly he treated me, I wouldn't/couldn't leave him.

When I turned 18, I realized I had to make a change. I asked my parents to send me a college out of state. I spent 5 months in Dallas at a Fashion Merchandising College. I realized it wasn't the right vocation for me, I had no interest or talent in that area. But I did start to feel better about myself. When I returned to Phoenix, I was able to set boundaries with Van. After a few months I enlisted in the army and soon after we ended our relationship.


3) Seasoned love is marinated in caring, respect, trust and empathy. Differences are respected and conflicts are worked out.  I have been married 3 times - each marriage was longer and stronger than the previous one.

Bruce and I were married in 1974 after dating 6 months. It didn't take long after our marriage to realize it was probably a mistake - the biggest problem was alcohol. I didn't drink much and Bruce drank a lot. We tried to make it work, but finally in 1980 we called it quits. I still hear from him occasionally. He has been more successful in his second marriage and seems happy. I wish him the best.

In the summer of 1981, I joined the East Valley Singles club. One night I was at a local night club with the single club. I saw a good looking man in a walking cast out on the dance floor. It was Bill and I was taken by him. We dated for two years before our marriage in May of 1983. I learned a lot about life and loss from Bill. In 1988 Bill suffered a brain aneurysm which left him with damage to both frontal lobes. It was end end of our Romantic Love, but not the end of love for each other. Bill spent many years in Arizona and during this separation we were divorced in 1990. We remained friends. After his mother died, Bill returned to Florida and I became his guardian until shortly before his death.

In 1990 while working for Martin Marietta, I started a friendship with one of my coworkers who was also going through a painful divorce. Burt and I had worked together in 1987-88 but not closely. Burt and my relationship evolved from friendship to partnership. Our friendship survived a 6 month separation when Burt was sent TDY to Chicago. It also survived my transfer to the Ocala plant. For a year I spent the 4 nights in Ocala before driving home to Burt and my dogs on Friday afternoon. These separations help propel our friendship into a partnership which continued to strength over time. We were married in May 1995. Our love and partnership endured until his death in January.

Week 24 - Favorite Color 

Do I have a favorite color?  I like lots of colors. In my wardrobe, I seem to go through stages. Back around 1985 I went through a pink stage.  I bought and wore lots of pink. I haven't had another pink stage since then.

I also went through a green stage about 1986. Not just any green, emerald green. I bought a green suit and I had a green had to match. The suit is gone, I still have the green hat but I haven't worn it in ages. I still like emerald green and will wear a few other shades of green, but it's not my favorite color.

I went through a fuchsia stage. I especially like it paired with turquoise. I like fuchsia, but you can't always find it.

So what is my favorite color?  If I had to name just one, my first choice through out my life time would probably be red, second is Purple, and third is blue.

The being said, I like my colors vibrant and true. I'm not into mauve, mustard yellow, olive green, or steel blue. I'm into cherry red, kelly green, turquoise blue, and Navy.

When I think of my family, I think of the color red. My self, my two sisters, my mother, my maternal grandmother and many of the women on my mom's side wear a lot a red.  With our dark hair and olive skin, we look very good in red.

When I think about my paternal grandmother, I think about pink and purple.

When I think about the color orange, I think about my sister Shirley. I don't wear alot of orange, but Shirley does and she looks good in orange. In the 1970s after she got her first job, she bought a set of Samsonite luggage in the prettiest shade of orange. She had no problems spotting her luggage at the airport.

Week 23 - Memory Board

What would I include on a Memory board of my life?

What an interesting topic. Last month I put together 4 memory boards to honor Burt's life. One board contained photos and mementos from his childhood, a second contained photos and mementos from high school, college, and the military, a third board contained photos and mementos of his life during our time together, and a fourth contained mementos of his life long passion, bowling.

I put together the memory boards with the help of Burt's sister Patricia. I had gathered up a bunch of goodies, and Patricia brought some photos as well. This is an activity that I enjoy doing, and it gave Patricia and I time to bond and share our love for Burt.

I have redone them in order to save them for posterity on this blog.

The first board is his early childhood.

The second board is his education from junior high, high school and college.

The third board is his military service.

The fourth board is our life together.

The last is Burt's life long passion - Bowling.

So I have completed this exercise for my husband Burt, but this exercise was suppose to be about my life.

When I first got interested in digital photography, I scanned all my photos and created a digital photo/scrap book of my important events. The following link will load these photo slide show of my digital memories.  Slide show