GROWING UP… Way back when … Part 2
Penny for your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
I lived in the country until I was around 15. One thing I recall doing was going upstairs after school and turning on the radio to WONW, there was a D-Jay on by the name of Paul Hershey and we could call in and request songs.
Songs by Elvis, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and so many more. My granny did not believe in dancing or any rock and roll. Well, I shut that upstairs bedroom door, cranked up the radio, and put on my dancing shoes.
Well, one day the doctor who made house calls was downstairs seeing grandma, and I was busy kicking up my heels to Jerry Lee and “A Whole Lotta Shaking Going On.” In the middle of the bedroom floor was a square register which let heat come to the upstairs. I was bopping along pretty good when all of a sudden I danced on that register. Oh no! I went through the register and my legs were hanging down and grandma said, “ Nancy! Were you dancing to that old Devil music?”
I heard the doctor snicker. Ha ha… “Aw, granny you know I would never do that!” I replied. Doc stood there grinning.
We made a move to Van Wert when I was 15. It was different going to a small country school and a bigger school like Van Wert. Not telling my age, but that was about 1958.
Back then we wore skirts and dresses to school. One skirt that was popular was the poodle skirt. Of course, you had to put stiffly starched can-cans under the skirt and completed the outfit with a pair of saddle shoes and bobby sox.
My main goal in Van Wert was to find a job and make some money. I lied about my age and got hired at the old Van Wert Hospital washing pots and pans by hand. I walked back and forth to work and was never afraid to walk alone.
One thing my friends and I liked to do was to go uptown on the weekends and walk around. We always looked for guys in cool cars hoping they might honk or wave at us.
Usually on Friday nights there was a football or basketball game. Following the game we would make our way to the YW or the Legion for a sock hop. We did the twist, jitterbugged, slow danced, and the stroll. Those were the days.
Following graduation, I got married at age 18. We lived in an apartment and then bought an old house which we fixed up. I had 2 little girls about a year apart. I worked in a restaurant 6 days a week and decided I wanted to be someone.
On Saturday’s I went to ECPI in Fort Wayne to learn computers for a year. I still had my babies to care for but it didn’t seem hard at the time.
I got a job at General Telephone in Fort Wayne and worked there about four years. Probably no one wants to hear my life story, but it’s just so nice to go back and think of those early days.
My first hubby had a massive heart attack at age 45 and died at age 47. It was a difficult time as we had added a boy and another girl to our family. I was devastated, and it’s hard to think about those years he suffered.
Well, God took me and the kids through that hard time and in a couple years I remarried another Whitaker. In 1998, I started swelling up and got so short-winded I could not breathe. The doctor called me and said that my heart was only working at a very low percent. My mom came over and took care of me, and God was again looking out for me and I owe my life to Him.
Life went on; my kids got married and I started playing piano with Harmonica John. We played music all over and I was with him for 13 years.
The doctors said I would never work again after my heart failure, but I got bored at home and wanted to get out. I had been writing for Paulding Progress, but I called the publisher, Anna Brewster, and asked for a job. I got a job selling advertising in Defiance one or two days a week, and after a year moved into the newsroom with Editor, Melinda Krick.
I played music and worked for the paper for almost 25 years. Then my second hubby became ill with a long illness and died. At that time I decided to move to my hometown of Van Wert. Every blessing and whatever I do is a blessing from God.
I am sorry if I bored you with my life’s ups and downs, but I guess I have been a pretty blessed girl – four children; 10 grands and seven greats. Thank God for miracles.
I know all of us have faced illness, poverty, and death as it’s life. What have you experienced in your life? Let me know and I will give you a Penny For Your Thoughts.
