Mom's Story from back in the day

 I Was A Welcome Addition

Myrna Booher

Ever since my mother could remember she had wanted a girl.After the third boy she was about ready to give up. Then on March 3, 1939 in St. Joseph's Hospital, Chewelah, Washington she finally got her girl. She could scarcely believe it! The doctor has said it might be another boy.

I didn't open my eyes until three days after my birth. Mom was afraid they weren't ever going to open.

Of course I was a little young to know but they tell me I weighed six pounds seven ounces.

I started walking around chairs or holding on to someones hand when I was six or seven months old and alone at nine months.

As soon I was old enough to know where the food came I showed my appreciation by picking up a milk canard rubbing my stomach. (my uncle was always trying to get a picture of me doing that but I wasn't very co-operative.)

This I Remember

When I was three or was it four, this little girl would come to visit me. We climbed trees together. One day I climbed almost to the top. Everyone was afraid I would fall but I couldn't see why, I wasn't. Then we moved into town. Jackie Forney, an ornery little kid with a tricycle that I was always fighting with was about the only kid around to play with. one time, about the only time, too, he won one of our fights, my brothers and I kept him out of the yard for a week. Another time my youngest (older) brother and I were throwing rocks at skippers and Jackie came up behind me and scared me. I fell in the irrigation ditch and cut my head open. That's about enough remembering for now.

My First Punishment

One night some of us kids decided to go up to a friends house. Mom had told me that couldn't gout she wasn't home so I decided to go anyway, thinking I'd get home before she did and she'd never find out. As it usually happens, Mom got home first. When I was walking in an hour or so later, she was waiting. Out came a ping-pong paddle and across mom's knees went Myrna. from that night on we couldn't play ping-pong because mom broke that paddle.

I suppose this wasn't my first punishment , but it's the one I remember best.

The first Pet

The first pet I ever had belonged to my brother. It was a little brown dog named Pete. Even though he was just a little dog he would let us ride him.

Whenever there was a dog fight Pete would be right in the midst of it, although most of the time the dogs were twice his size. He'd come home beaten up but still willing to play with us when we got home from school. He was able to stand up to such rugged treatment for about nine years. But during the tenth and eleventh years either the fight caught up with him or he developed cancer. He died when he was eleven.

One of My Best Friends

I met Lois for the first time when she started school with me in the second grade. We were just together for two years though. She moved to a little town about twelve miles from where I lived.

One time I was eating a piece of cake and her dad shoved it in my face. Boy, that made me mad. 

We stayed together almost every summer. We always have a lot of fun together. When I stay at her place we ride horseback (I can't ride though) and when we stay at my place we go swimming.

She's a real good kid, besides being nice looking she has a pleasing personality. I guess what I like about her best is the fact that she is nice to a person even if she doesn't like him.

To Bellingham and Back

In the summer of my fifth year mom decided to work on a lookout so my aunt took me to Bellingham with her. I was all excited about going because it was my first trip on a train.

When we got there I was promptly enrolled in a nursery school. While my aunt trudged off to summer school, I trudged off to nursery school.

We had jolly old fights during the two months I was there. There was a girl, going to school with me, whose thumbnail was coming off. the other kids made fun of it so "Root for the Underdog Booher" stuck up for her.

I played mostly with some kids who lived in the apartment house next to mine. They were older than me but we had fun.

All in all it was a rather interesting summer.

Trip to California

Summer before last we went to California to visit my brother. He is stationed at Mather Field near Sacramento.

We followed the costal route down stopping at several points of interest such as the Sea Lion Caves and Confusion Hill.

Margert and I wanted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge but dad put his foot down. He said he wanted to miss San Francisco traffic. I didn't see why that should bother him because he doesn't drive.

When we finally got to the base it took about an hour to find Jim. We picked him up and went to hunt a motel. (He didn't know when we would arrive so he didn't reserve a room in the guest house.)

The next daywear took a short trip about the countryside. We stopped at the place where gold was first discovered in California. The day after that we went into Sacramento to see Suther's Fort Then on down to Calvary's Big Trees. We arrived just as the park was closing as we had no choice but to stay in a cabin that looked like a woodcutter's shack. The next morning we went through the park and then on around to Lake Tahoe. We crossed over into Nevada but dad said we couldn't go to Reno. He was afraid of losing all his money the gambling halls.

Now comes the sad part. It was time to go home. We stopped at Klamath Falls for a couple of days. Margret wasn't too happy leaving. I have a good-looking cousin she was interested in.

We stopped at my grandmother's for a day, got my cat and started home. The cat got sick and away. I didn't mind much it was just an alley cat.

In Reminiscence 

{edit:This is where she is looking toward the future and planning how it will look if she thought back on it.}

I was thinking back on my freshman year at Cheney and decided to list some of the things I've been doing since then.

After high school I spent four more years at the grind up at Eastern. When I finished there I applied at almost every airline there is before I finally landed a job. Now that I've got the job I'll try explain what I did and do.

First I was trained to be an airline hostess, as the last part of my training I was given a run between Las Angeles and New York. On this job I was surprised by a hostess who had already finished her training. Now I'm on my own with a run between France and all point east. (I guess I'd better add I work for United Airlines.)

Every once in a while I run into someone I knew from old Cheney High and we talk over old times. As a matter of fact I saw Donna Walter just last week. She was in Paris painting sidewalk scenes. She is quite successful as an artist. Enough about her, I read in the paper that Sharon Green is running for Senator on the Washington State democratic ballot.

I guess I haven't done much reminiscing but my hand is getting tired so I'll have to try another day.