I can't believe I'm 65. Oh, yes, I can.

September 19, 1941. Our country was about to enter World War II. My mother and daddy were living in Lacoochee, Florida, a little town which owed its livelihood to the Cummer Cypress Lumber Mill. My mother had come to Lacoochee to live with her sister, and my daddy lived in Trilby, a small community a couple of miles away. Mother and Daddy were married eight years when I was born. They had lost a son, who was stillborn before me. My father worked in the lumber mill. When the United States entered the war, and all the men went to volunteer to serve, he went along too, but he was classified 4-F and couldn't go. Part of his service consisted of guarding German prisoners of war who were brought to the States to be imprisoned. If you google prisoner of war camps, you will find interesting reading about the activities of the prisoners. I know that being a prisoner was punishment, but their lives were not horrible.
Lacoochee was a company town. The lumber company built housing for the employees, and there was a commissary where employees could shop for things that they needed. There was a hotel, and my mother became the manager of that while my daddy worked at the mill.
After the war was over, my parents left Lacoochee and moved to Bradenton, and that is where I grew up. You'll notice in the above picture that my curls are gone. I gave my mother such fits about brushing my hair, that she took me to the barber shop and had him cut my hair short. I didn't have ringlets any longer, but my hair still had curl and was nice and wavy.

I lived in the same house from the time I was four until I went away to college at 17. I graduated from high school with friends that I had been in school with since kindergarten. Today we still see each other and get together for lunch from time to time. In a couple of years there will be that 50 year reunion. I remember remarking on Judy's blog that I used to think only old people graduated from high school that long ago.
One of the special times in Bradenton growing up was being in Brownies and Girl Scouts. Our Brownie troop flew up to Girl Scouts, and we stayed together through high school. During high school some of the girls went on to become Mariner Scouts. I dropped out at that point.

I'll continue this exciting story tomorrow...I know you can hardly wait. :-)