Highlights of New Year’s Day, January 1, 1945

By Nome Knobel

1. Mother and Nora wake up at five, call for taxi to pick them up at 6 o’clock to catch a 9 o’clock train for Latah.

2. Settled on train. Conductor calls “All Aboard!”. Suddenly Nora’a attention is drawn toward a tall man running toward the train with two tickets in his hand. Two boys following him running at top speed, one has a paper sack in hand, the other a bag with a Micky Mouse doll dangling its head out of the bag. Man thrusts tickets in conductor’s hand, pushes boys in coach, hollers “Scram!”; train pulls out. Two breathless boys halt in front of Nora’s seat, low and behold none other than Tommy and Rodney [Hansen] with broad smiles. Nora investigates contents of their luggage. Tommy has some cookies to eat on train hastily given to him by his mother for breakfast on train. (Both boys quite bewildered to find themselves so suddenly on train.) Rodney’s bag contained a Micky Mouse doll, “Happy Hour” story book, and a bath towel. Train speeds on.

3. Arrival: Erwin meets train with car; all in car but Shirley and I. I was busy with the dinner; Shirley had three more curls to get in place before Nora saw her hair, so she was left behind.

4. All out of car. Mother’s baggage: a suit case full of lovely delicious apples.

5. Shopping tour. Nora pays asst. [assortment] of bills, from “outlawed” sugar to Saturday Evening Post. Rodney shops. Betty shows him every toy in store, nothing suits, winds up buying a tablet (ink) box of stationery and a loud whistle. (Can you imagine that?) He opens box finds the envelopes have no stamps on them. Betty almost loses a sale. Erwin says “Ha! Ha! Just like his mother, always looking for bargains!” After much explanation by Betty why the stamps are minus, the sale goes through.

6. The shoppers arrive at home. Tommy enquires about his share of a dollar. Rodney hauls out the change, finds he has spent all of his and part of Tommy’s. Simply says, “I’ll pay you back.” Tommy & Wanda go shopping at once. Come home empty handed, nothing to suit Tommy in entire store.

7. Dinner time. Everybody at table. I ask, “Rodney, do you want some gravy?” Answer: “Dig a hole and pour it in.” I said, “What? What? You mean outside?” He said, “In my mashed spuds.”

8. Dinner is over; coasting [sledding] in order. Rodney gets into one of Wanda’s overalls without an argument. But Tommy!!?? We have an old pair of Erwin’s trousers that were washed and had shrunk some. I brot them out on display; Nora insists! Tommy resists! The battle is on. Nora says “That or no coast.” Tommy grabs trousers, goes to bathroom; proceeds to strip them on. Thinks I now have to keep a “straight” face when he comes out. The joke was on us; they fit! (I hear Thor [Hansen] roaring in laughter).

Betty pulls Rodney around on sled till I guess she reduced 5 lbs.

9. Coasters come in. Strip. Rehearsal of Christmas program by children. Shirley plays violin solo (sounds like the Union Pacific brake going on). Betty tries; Wow, worse yet. (Sounds like a fog horn.) After the programs of 1944, 1943, and 1942 were all gone over, it ended.

10. Games are played, candy eaten, nuts crackle. Rodney plays right along: Finance, Sorry, checkers or what have you. Grandma [Tillie Michel] says “Well, shall we go to Lottie’s? Rodney, do you want to go?” Rodney (deeply interested in “Sorry”): “No, what do I want to go up there for, don’t I know what they look like?” (I thot I’d collapse.)

11. We go to Lottie’s, no one home. We return. Nora makes coffee in my new Silex. Something wrong with it. Two people hold on to the top while coffee boils in lower part. It keeps jumping up.

12. It’s 5 o’clock. Mother begins looking at the clock. Erwin threatens to turn it back. Mother says, “I have a watch.” At 6:30 Erwin has to meet bus to see about some Canadian Indians who want to rent rooms above the store. He is delayed. Mother becomes nervous. Nora begins to get excited. Mother gest more nervous. Time rolls on. Both get hysterical. Five to 7!

13. Nora dashes into our car. We all pile in bound for the train, nine of us. Nora drives frantically! We meet Erwin on a racehorse trot. He jumps in the car, orders me out to see about the Indians. (It was like digging out under a haystack.) After many oh’s! ouches! “you’re squeezing me’s! I escape. The whistle blew, the car raced for the depot, Erwin won, shoved them in, Micky Mouse head still dangling out of bag. Goody Bye. We’re off for the city, after “What a Day!”.

With Love,

Nome

P.S. Forgot to say Mother & Erwin teased Nora about her short dress (3 inches above the knees) until she got mad at both of them. I had to stop the fight. They quit teasing as soon as they had her mad. What a Day!

P.S. Now don’t any one get mad at me for I did exaggerate in some cases but I had fun writing this.