1941-42 Fourth and fifth grades. One summer I spent a week or so with Grandma and Grandpa Schwander and Bob and Helen. Bob was three years older than me (I was born on his birthday) and he was my "big brother". Helen was born in November after I was born so we were very close. This summer I was about 8 or 9 and Bob taught me to ride his bicycle. I fell riding on the street and I thought sure a car was going to run over me and kill me, but I learned to ride it before I left there. Bob, Helen, Sue and I also loved to play in the loft of their barn. We had us a neat play house up there.

These years Sue, Dixie and I all slept in the same bed with me in the middle. Sue and Dixie couldn't go sleep without rubbing their feet up and down my leg, one on each leg. Carole was in the baby bed in the same room with us. I can remember vividly the night Gary was born, October 3, l941. Daddy had put us to bed and told us to stay there and not to get up, I couldn't go to sleep as I knew something was up. I heard strange noises all night but didn't dare to get up. The next morning he came in and said we could go in their bedroom and see our new baby brother. I went in so scared, Mom was in bed and seemed to be so happy, she at last had a boy. She pointed to a basket of some sort and said I could hand her the baby. I fell in love with him at that instant.

Junior’s at House on South Division Ave.
Barbara, Gary, Carole, Sue, Dixie, Fred, Waive
and Aunts (probably Hazel and Marie)

This year daddy was doing good in his own business and he bought a lot and built us a new house on South Division Ave. in Grand Rapids. I was in the 4th grade. We lived right across the highway from a brand new 2 room school house. I started wearing glasses this year. Most kids took their lunches to school but as we lived right across the highway we went home every very day to eat. I never did eat much and I remember one day Mom had peas and I hated them. She said I had to eat them or sit there all day. Mom went out of the room and I got Sue to eat my peas. She helped me out many, many times in the following years. My good friend was Lavonne and we wrote to each other for many years after we moved. In the 5th grade I was a patrol leader.