Chapter 10: Entertainment

I entered country school, two miles north of Curlew, in the fall of 1921, and graduated from Curlew high school in the spring of 1933. By the time I graduated, television was still twenty years from being in most person's homes, but my high school years marked the beginning of the age of radio.

The radio was very important in our family. It brought entertainment to us every night. Before this we entertained ourselves.    So how did we 'wile away' the hours on a summer evening or on a cold winter night? Almost any summer evening you could find my mother and myself lying out on our grassy yard enjoying the cool evening breezes.    My mother had a lovely singing voice. It may not have been that good but to her little girl, it was lovely.  She spent hours singing to me on these evenings Each song had a message and some were sad -- but I liked them anyway.

If the mosquitoes were thick, we would lie on the cellar door, and if they were really thick, we would go inside. Mother often sang while she worked around the house.   Here are a few of the songs my mother sang. I wish I had a recording of her singing them. I don't suppose you have heard many of them. Several had an Indian flavor to them.

NAPANNEE

Out on an Indian reservation,

Far away from civilization,

Where the feet of paleface seldom trod.

White man went to fish one summer,

Met an Indian maid, a hummer,

Daughter of the big chief 'Spare the Rod'.

White man threw some loving glances,

Took the maiden to war dances,

Smoked his pipe, and took his chances,

Living in a teepee made of fur.

Rode with her on Indian ponies,

Bought her a diamond ring, a phony,

Then he sang these loving words to her.

 

            CHORUS

You are my pretty little Indian Napannee,

Won't you take a chance and marry me?

Your daddy is a chief, `tis my belief,

To a very merry wedding he'll agree.

Sure you're a dark little Indian maid,

But I'll suntan to a darker shade.

I'll wear feathers on my head,

Paint my face an Indian red,

If you'll only be my Napannee.

 

RED WING

There once was an Indian maid,

A shy little prairie maid.

Who sang away, the long summer day,

As o'er the fields she whiled her hours away.

She loved a warrior bold,

This shy little maid of old,

And then one day, he rode away,

To battle in the fray.

CHORUS

Oh the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing,

The breeze is sighing, the night birds crying,

Far, far beneath the stars her love lies sleeping,

And Red Wing's weeping her heart away.

 

I sometimes wonder why so many Indian songs were sung, but when I was a child, it had only been fifty years since the last Indian Wars in the West. At any rate I did like those two songs.

Another song I was forever asking my mother to sing was a very sad one. Even though I usually cried when she sang it, I still wanted to hear it.  Here it is:

BABES IN THE WOODS

Oh don't you remember, a long time ago,

Two little babes, whose names I don't know,

Were stolen away, one bright summer day,

And were lost in the woods, I've heard people say.

And when it was night, so sad was their plight,

The moon had gone down, and the stars gave no light,

They sobbed and they sighed, and they bitterly cried,

And the poor little things, they lay down and died.

And when they were dead, the robin so red,

Brought strawberry leaves, and over them spread,

And all the day long, they sang them this song,

Poor babes in the woods, poor babes in the woods.

The following songs are not quite as sad.

 

TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE

Two little girls in blue, lad, two little girls in blue,

They were sisters, we were brothers, We learned to love them too.

One little girl in blue, lad, won your father's heart,

Became your mother, I married the other,

But we have drifted apart.

 

HOME SWEET HOME

Through pleasures and palaces though far we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

The stars in the sky seem to hallow us there,

Which seek through the world are ne'er met with elsewhere.

Home, home sweet sweet home,

There's no place like home, there's no place like home.

 

Although many songs seemed to be sad, there definitely were some on the lighter side.

LITTLE BROWN JUG

My wife and I lived all alone,

In a little brown shack we called our own,

She liked gin, and I liked rum,

I tell you all this, we had lots of fun.

Ha, ha, ha, you and me little brown jug how I love thee, Ha, ha, ha you and me, little brown jug how I love thee.

If I had a cow that gave such milk,

I'd dress her in the finest silk,

Feed her on the choicest hay,

And milk her forty times a day.

Ha, ha, ha, you and me, little brown jug how I love thee,

Ha, ha, ha, you and me, little brown jug how I love thee.

 

GO TELL AUNT ABBIE

Go tell Aunt Abbie, go tell Aunt Abbie,

Go tell Aunt Abbie, her old gray goose is dead.

The one she's been saving, the one she's been saving,

The one she's been saving to make a feather bed.

 

BILLY BOY

Oh where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy ?

Oh where have you been charming Billy ?

 

I have been to seek a wife, she's the joy of my life,

She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

 

Did she bid you to come in, Billy boy, Billy boy ?

Did she bid you to come in charming Billy ?

 

Yes she bade me to come in, there's a dimple in her chin, She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

 

Did she set for you a chair, Billy boy, Billy boy ?

Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy ?

 

Yes she set for me a chair, but the bottom wasn't there,

She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

 

Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy ?

Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy ?

 

She can bake a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink its eye,

She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

 

How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy ?

How old is she charming Billy ?

 

Twice six, twice seven, twice twenty and eleven,

She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

 

As Mother was busy doing her housework she sang songs. Mostly hymns. Some of these were, Bringing in the Sheaves, Jesus Loves Me, Amazing Grace, My Faith Looks up to Thee, and many others. She always had a deep abiding faith in herself and her God. I enjoyed having her recite poetry to me. The Village Blacksmith and The Children's Hour were my favorites. Let me tell you the words to the later.

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR

From my study I see in the lamp light,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

They climb up into my turret,

O'er the arms and the back of my chair,

If I try to escape they surround me,

Coming at me from everywhere.

But now with you fast in my fortress,

I will not let you depart,

I'll put down in the dungeon,

In the secret part of my heart.

And there I will keep you forever,

Yes, forever and a day,

Till the dungeon walls shall all crumble,

And molder in dust away.

 

I think when my mother attended school, they did a great deal of memorizing. She knew so many poems. Some of these same poems are studied in literature courses by student's today.

About the time I entered high school in the late 1920s, the Big Band era came into being. For me there isn't any music that comes close matching those great bands with their great singers.

Some of the band leaders of that time were Tommy Dorsey, Les Brown, Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk, Glen Miller, Kay Kaiser, and many others. All of them played in dance halls around the country, and each had their own singers who sang the popular songs of the era. Some of the singers we enjoyed were: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Al Jolson, Lena Horne, The Andrew Sisters, Jo Stafford, Frances Langford, and of course the incomparable, Kate Smith.

Who could ever forget Kate Smith as she sang with that beautiful voice: When the moon comes over the mountain, I'll be there with my memories of you. We thrilled as we heard Bing Crosby croon: When the B-B-B blue of the night meets the gold of the day, someone waits for you.

Music always reflects the times, and it can be reflective, nostalgic or humorous. When I was born in 1916, during the First World War, the popular songs were, Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag, The Rose of No Man's Land, and It's a Long Way to Tipperary. I was too young to remember those songs, but mother would often sing them.

Later, during the Great Depression, the popular songs were those that kept people's minds off their troubles. Some of these were, Mairzy Doats, Three Little Fishies, Happy Days are Here Again, and Side by Side. I remember those songs well.

When I was a young adult during the Second World War, we sang, Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree with Any One Else but Me, They're Either Too Gray or Too Grassy Green, This is the Army Mr. Jones, I'll Get By, and who can ever forget Kate Smith singing, God bless America? White Christmas and I'll be Home for Christmas were tear jerkers, and to this day favorites at Christmas time.

Chautauqua

Each summer during the early 1920s my dad would come home with a smile on his face when he told us that the Chautauqua shows were coming to Curlew. This was indeed a great day. More entertainment. This was before we had our first radio. Chautauqua shows generally lasted five days. As I recall there were two musical shows, two plays, and a show with a speaker who spoke on issues of the day. I did not like that one. We begged dad to buy tickets, which would enable us to go every night. He teased us and said they were too expensive, so we didn't know if we were going or not. In the end he always did and oh how glad we were. One Chautauqua show I particularly remember was Abbie's Irish Rose. I really loved those musicals with their handsomely dressed men and their beautifully attired ladies. How they could dance and play those shiny instruments. I remember especially the xylophone. I immediately wanted one.

Victrolas and Radios

We had a Victrola in our house which played the old 78 rpm vinyl records. One record I all liked was, The Preacher and the Bear. I thought it was so funny. It was a song about a preacher who went hunting on a Sunday and was chased up a tree by a bear. Part of the song was:

Oh Lord you delivered Jonah,

From the belly of a whale,

Two Hebrew children from the fiery furnace,

The Good Book does declare,

Oh Lord, if you can't help me,

For goodness sake don't you help that bear.

 

In 1929 the year I entered high school, my parents bought their first radio. It made a major change in our lives. We not only could listen to good music, but could also hear the latest news broadcasts. In addition to farming, my dad was now in the livestock business and could hear the latest market quotes. This was a great help for him. As far as he was concerned, this was the only thing the radio was good for. He never cared for music.

During the days when mother was working in the kitchen she would listen to the 'soaps', including Ma Perkins, One Man's Family, Kitty Keene, Private Detective, and John's Other Wife. In the evening we listened to Fibber McGee and Molly with their famous overflowing hall closet, Amos and Andy and their escapades, Abbott and Costello were always a delight, Jack Benny who always made us chuckle, and of course there was George Burns and Gracie Allen. Was there ever better entertainment or anything funnier ? Many of these shows were popular during the Great Depression, and we needed some light entertainment to lift our spirits.

Movies and Sundays

When I was in country school and junior high, the only movies were the silent kind, but by the time I entered high school in 1929, 'talkies' came on the scene. They were only black and white, but it was great to hear the voices of the actors. In those days movies always started with a News of the Day newsreel. It was exciting to see pictures of the happenings all around the world. Next came a cartoon. We really enjoyed the antics of Bugs Bunny and all the other characters. And then finally, the main attraction. This was a great evening out. You could go to the movies for 10 cents for a child and 25 cents for an adult.

During the Depression years theater owners had dish nights. On these nights women crowded into the theater in order to get a free dish. The goal was to complete the entire dinnerware set of 112 pieces. Later, this dinnerware was called, Depression Glass, and was a collector's item. When dish night wasn't enough to bring in patrons, theater owners started a bank night. On these nights about halfway through the movie, the film was stopped and a ticket was drawn from the big glass container that was placed on the stage. If you were the lucky person whose number was picked, you won the nightly jackpot. Many people went to the movie for no other reason than hoping to win that jackpot of maybe $25.

When I was in high school my friends and myself would often go to a lake on Sunday afternoons. We always like to go to Silver Lake near Ayrshire. In those days the lake had a nice sandy bottom that sloped off slowly. A little ways from shore a raft was anchored that was always loaded with kids. It wasn't hard to reach the raft, but any kid that couldn't swim didn't dare slip off on the deep side. One day one of the boys pushed me off the deep side. I couldn't swim. I thrashed about for a while until another boy jumped in and pulled me out. The boy who pushed me in thought it was funny.

Flat Tires and Sundays in the Park

When I was in grade school my dad bought our first car, It was a Model-T Ford. It didn't go as fast as Spot, but then again, it didn't buck like Spot. And oh what fun! In case of a flat tire we stopped, took the tire off the rim, took out the inner tube, took out a small repair kit, and proceeded to patch the hole. We then did these steps in reverse order, pumped up the tire, and away we'd go until the next flat. Once my date and I had two flats on our way home from the movies. I don't know if my mother believed us, but it was true. Really.

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Many picnics were held in the State Parks. These included family reunions as well as school and church picnics. All picnic dinners had fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and probably a couple of pies. Ice cream was always a treat in the middle of the afternoon. Two or three families were designated to furnish this delicious dessert.

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Making ice cream was always a major event at our house. Mother would mix eggs, sugar, and milk and cook this mixture until it became a custard. She would then pour this custard into a metal container and fill it to the top with cream. Then, dad would set the metal container in the ice cream maker and pack it with ice. He would then turn the crank while adding more ice and salt. Soon, the crank was hard to turn and you knew the custard was almost frozen. I always stood by waiting for the container to be opened. I surely wanted to lick that paddle.

Continue to Chapter 11:  Togetherness