Tuesday, August 7, 2018

DOWN MEMORY LANE, PART ONE...










Today, 
before all else, 
I want to pay my respects to 
Mary (My Dogs, My Garden and Mary).

 She recently passed away 
and our blogging community 
lost a treasured member.

 She was a kind and generous person 
who loved
 her friends, family, dogs, her beautiful 
garden and her lovely home. 

 She was a dear lady with a kind soul
 who became a very dear friend. 
 She will be missed. 
 Rest in Peace,
 Sweet Mary.




The Captain, 1957 




Me, 1957


I hope you won't mind 
me taking you on
 a trip down memory lane.

  A trip that the Captain and I started
 many years ago, individually,
 but we will focus on the time 
when we first met in high school (above).

 We knew each other then 
but were not an "item". 
 We had a lot of the same friends 
but we didn't travel in the same circles.

He always tells me 
that he had his eye on me 
and he did turn around a lot and stare 
in the only class, choir,
 that we had together, 
but I don't believe him
 as he was "indisposed" at that time,
 if you know what I mean!

 We only came together
when we were "fixed up" 
on a blind date 
while my cousin and I were living
 in San Francisco for a short while, 
in the late 1950's. 

 We have made a lot of memories
 since then 
and will have been married for 58 years 
come this October.





Santa Cruz High School
 where the Captain and I
 spent our high school years.
 We were in the same grade 
and graduated at the same time.

  It is a fairly large campus
 with a multitude of out buildings.  
It was in those out buildings 
that our classes were held. 
 The big building, pictured above, 
was not available to our class
 as it was undergoing extensive remodeling
 at the time.
  To this day, 
I have never seen the 
inside of it.





This is the home
 my dad built 
and where I lived with my parents,
 one sister and one brother,
 when the Captain and I 
started making our memories.

 I remember it as a charming place 
with a beautiful green lawn 
and flower gardens surrounding it,
 all overlooking Soquel Creek. 

  It didn't look anything like
 it does in this picture
 to my eyes,
 but a long time has passed.





This is Mountain School, 
where I spent all my elementary school years,
 as did my dad, my grandfather,
 my sister and my brother.

 It was a two room school house; 
the "Little Room" 
grades first through fourth,
 and the "Big Room" 
grades fifth through eighth.

 There was one teacher for each room
 and there were three kids 
in my eighth grade graduating class,
 myself and two other boys.

It is used as something else now 
and a newer, larger Mountain School 
was built, down the road, 
to fill the needs of a larger community.






This was the hang-out spot
 for the community in which we lived,
from the kids who attended Mountain School
 to the hard working men, 
coming from work, 
and stopping for a cold beer
 on their way home.

 I walked past it every day 
to and from school 
and it was where I was introduced to
 Look candy bars
and tall, cold, glass bottles of 
Royal Crown Cola.

 It doesn't look quite the same now
 like it did back then...







... but fortunately, 
an artist has painted its likeness
 on a building in downtown Soquel
 that brought the memories back
 bright and clear...





...and this part of the painting 
brings back the most vivid
 of the memories.

 Frank Casalegno 
was the son of the owners.
  He was a boyhood friend of my dads
 and was wheelchair bound most of his life due to an accident, as a teenager,
 with a freight train. 
It was just a natural thing,
 when passing by the store, 
to stop and have
 a conversation with him.
 You could always find him,
 rain or shine,
 sitting out in front.

 To my recollection,
 I don't think I ever saw 
him pumping gas.
 It was always
 a self-service establishment 
and I think the only time 
Frank wheeled himself inside
 was to put your payments 
into a
 big brass cash register 
setting on the counter.

 That wheelchair 
looks a little more modern
 than I remember. 

 The original
 had a much higher back 
with cane backing 
but it did have 
the hand cranks and pulleys 
that Frank worked to get around.

 One thing 
that the artist got right, however,
 is the wide, rolled cuff 
that was always apparent 
on Frank's jeans.

 Frank was an icon 
in those parts 
and everyone from miles around, 
young and old, 
enjoyed spending time 
in his company.





This was 
the Captain's home base back then.

 He lived there with his parents, 
two sisters and two brothers.

  The house was within 
a row of charming Victorian houses 
and close to downtown Santa Cruz,
 the beach and the boardwalk.





This post has become
 much longer than I intended
 so will be continued next week
 when the remainder of past memories
 will be tied up in a tidy bow.

 You will also find out
 what we were up to
 on our vacation 
at the beach. 

 I hope you will return then.


...Judy...





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16 comments:

  1. Sweet memories...Thanks for sharing!Beautiful photos of both of you too!Hugs!

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  2. Judy, I loved reading about you and the Captain . You both look so cute too. You told the story so well about the hang out spot. I enjoyed it so much. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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  3. The pictures of you are so sweet. Love them Judy. How fun to have such fond memories of where your lives began together. I cannot wait to see more. I was born in 1958 and grew up in the 60's which was such a mild time in our country. It was a great time to be growing up and I am sure a great time for you and the Captain to begin your lives together.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  4. Wow! 58 yrs. in October?! That is a wonderful reason to celebrate and to take a trip down memory lane. Congrats!!

    I love the pictures and reading all the memories that you've shared with us.
    Sounds very 'Normal Rockwell", and I think it's lovely.
    Interesting story about Frank, as well.

    Looking forward to seeing all about your trip.

    Smiles :)
    ~K.

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  5. First congrats on your wedding anniversary. That sure is a milestone!. Loved reading your memoires and although you and the captain were not high school sweethearts, you made up for it afterwards. Janice

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  6. Your memories of meeting your husband are very similiar to mine, we first met in 7th grade and then again in college. We always used to laugh that it was love at first sight, but it just took a while to come to fruition.

    Thank you for letting us know about Mary, she was a lovely, gracious lady and I always enjoyed her comments on my blog. I had no idea that she had passed away.

    Take care.

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  7. Very nice stroll down memory lane. I am especially interested the later 50's when I was born.

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  8. What a 'sweet' story. Congrats on your upcoming 58th anniversary. That is wonderful!!!

    FlowerLady

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  9. Handsome was the Captain... and pretty is the girl! Love the photos and the stories of your growing up years. How funny to go on a blind date years later! Congrats on 58 years together! Wow... that is a real accomplishment and I truly admire couples who stick together through thick and thin. I'm looking forward to more memories! xoxoo Marilyn

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  10. Thanks for sharing wonderful memories. The mural sort of made me stop and pause as we never think when we are young that anything can ever happen to us.
    Congratulations on your wedding anniversary. Sweet post you shared.
    I don't know Mary or maybe I have read her blog, not sure. Sad to hear a fellow blogger passing.
    betsy

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  11. I enjoyed reading part one of Down Memory lane and you both were the cutest. But you smile is so infectious! I'm loving the story and about the hang out place. Congratulations on 58 years! I also look forward to the next part!

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  12. What a wonderful journey to share with you. I loved the stories -- that's practically a lifetime together and wow! I so love that. Three cheers, congratulations and hip hip hoory! You are both jolly good fellows!

    Yes, I will miss Mary, too. She fought the very hard fight. I know lots of love and good thoughts have swirled around here and she will be remembered.

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  13. Hi Judy, congrats on 58 years of marriage. How sweet those photos are. Your life's adventure is so precious! How fun to travel down memory lane. Mary will be missed, such a lovely lady.

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  14. 58 years is a long time...and it sounds as if it's been a wonderful journey. I love reading about history and personal history is my favorite. I often tell my husband I was born in the wrong era. I think I would've preferred life and its slower pace, its dress and its civility. Of course, there were problems then too, I know, and I'm probably getting caught up in the nostalgia, but I don't think so. You'll have to be the judge and tell me though...xo

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  15. I love this. It looks like a simpler time. Your teachers had their hands full teaching all those levels. Thanks for linking to Keep in Touch.

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  16. Judy, my heart is aching! I had not heard about Mary. She was a dear blog friend. I will surely miss her!! Do you know how she passed? I love the memories of you and captain, and I'm head over heels in love with his childhood home. I'm so glad you got set up on a blind date!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy