Memories of the 20th Century: Stories by Eleanor Monroe Page: 30
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30 I MEMORIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY
in Colorado, but Daddy borrowed a car; and they secretly drove to the next
town where they caught the train.
They rode burros to the top of Pikes Peak and to the bottom of the
Grand Canyon. Daddy "blew" all of the nest egg that Grandpa Morris had
given them as a wedding gift for a luxurious week at the fashionable Antlers
Hotel in Colorado Springs. When their money ran out, they returned to
Liberty; and Daddy went to work managing a Farmer's Co-op.
Five years into their marriage, they had a new house, a new 1914
Buick touring car, and a new son. They fit the pattern of most young mar-
ried couples of their day.
But Daddy had an itch to go to California. He sold the house and
quit his job. With enthusiasm Mama packed their bags and devised ways
to care for their infant son on the trip. Soon they were headed west in their
new Buick.
For a year they explored the West Coast, bathed in the Pacific Ocean
(Mama in bloomer-style swim-suit), and attended the Panama Pacific
International Exposition at San Francisco, celebrating the opening of the
Panama Canal. At last they started back to Missouri, and they stopped at
Pawnee Rock on the way.
Mama had cropped her thick, dark hair into a shocking new style
called a "boyish bob." Aunt Mabel (feeling very matronly as the wife of
Mama's former beau, Al Gross) reprimanded her, "Now, Bea you are a mar-
ried woman with a child. You must let your hair grow out."
I don't think she ever did. I was born a few years later, and I never
remember her with long hair.
Before the days of the automatic washing machine and perma-press
clothes, all good housewives washed on Monday, ironed Tuesday, mended
Wednesday, baked Thursday, and cleaned house Friday. Mama was usually
off schedule by Tuesday. Her sprinkled clothes, rolled into tight balls like
giant Easter eggs, nestled in the bottom of the ice box to keep them from
mildewing while we had a picnic or made a freezer of ice cream.
When I was married, Mama gave me one of her rare pieces of
advice, "Don't ever get too busy to go with your husband when he wants
to do something."
So what happened on that crisp, clear December morning when
Daddy came home from work and asked her to make a short business trip
with him to Kansas City? It was only a twenty mile drive; they would be
back in time for lunch. For some forgotten reason, she didn't go with him.
It was the last time she saw him alive. High speed, a thin skim of ice on the
highway-his car crossed the median into the path of a telephone truck
hauling poles.
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Memories of the 20th Century: Stories by Eleanor Monroe (Book)
Collection of stand-alone autobiographical anecdotes written by Eleanor Monroe about her family and life in Sherman, Texas.
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Monroe, Eleanor; Lincecum, Jerry Bryan & Redshaw, Peggy A. Memories of the 20th Century: Stories by Eleanor Monroe, book, 2009; Sherman, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113793/m1/44/?q=%222009%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin College.