All posts by Dona

Dad’s 9th Grade Report Card

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Among some of the more interesting items I found at Mom’s house last month was a Joseph Spiess box of photos, letters and documents that belonged to my Uncle Don and Aunt Leila. One of the items was my dad’s 9th grade report card from Plato Township High School.

For some reason I’d always thought dad quit school before 9th grade, but I was mistaken. Maybe it was just after 9th grade. It was not something he was proud of. I think he actually might have liked school — or at least respected the teachers because he always wanted me to be a teacher and was proud that I became one.

Despite dropping out of high school, this report card doesn’t look too bad — It looks like science was his best subject (after PE). His English scores were good the first semester, but not so good the second. I don’t understand the “incompletes” in Agriculture though. His dad was a farmer.

His English teacher, Miss Muirhead, must be a relative of our alpaca farm friends.

Mess

Things

If you could look through your screen and see what is behind me, and over to my left (your right) you’d be shocked that I am such an untidy person. You’d be right. We cleaned out our kneewall over a month ago and I still have boxes that I need to go through before deciding what to do with the items within. I also recently returned from my mom’s house and brought boxes, suitcases, bags and briefcases full of stuff. I don’t think I have time to even go through everything, much less blog about the more interesting items.

Okay, I will let you see part of the mess. Just don’t judge me too harshly…

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The big suitcase is filled with correspondence from Jeremy and other memories of my teenage years. The two bags hold childhood books, photographs, letters and other bits of nostalgia (oh, yeah and one or two toothbrushes — mom had about 50 extra toothbrushes).

Grandma’s Kitchen Band

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Vintage aluminium tea ball
Vintage aluminium tea ball courtesy Ebay.

On one of my visits to Chetek to spend time with my grandparents, Grandma told me about the Kitchen Band she and other Women of the Moose were in. She opened a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out a matching pair of tea balls and told me they were part of her costume — her earrings. She then told me about the different instruments — washboards, tubs, jugs and even butter churns. I thought she told me she played a washboard, but in the photo below she’s playing what looks like a butter churn.

Googling Women of the Moose + Kitchen Band brings up an article about a Washington State Women of the Moose Kitchen Band written by none other than Sherwood Anderson. (Okay, not THE Sherwood Anderson.). So maybe that was something that Women of the Moose did back then.

As always, I wish I’d paid better attention when Grandma told me about this. I also wish I had one of the tea balls she wore for earrings. I’m lucky that I have this photograph.

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