tell me about your family's car/truck when you were growing up...

I had to ask my Dad about this memory...he said that the first car was a 1962 Nash Rambler that first belonged to my Great Grandma Leishman, then to my Grandma May, and then to us. It was the car we drove back and forth from Silverdale to Rexburg. But I don't remember this car at all...it probably looked a lot like this car:

The first car I remember was a white station wagon. It was a 1969 Chevy Wagon. It looked like this car:

When we were done with the Chevy wagon, I think we gave it to the Utah State Prison to be used in their inmate rehabilitation program...it probably needed a lot of TLC.

The next car we owned was a (very) baby blue Ford Torino station wagon. It had "wood" paneling, dark blue, vinyl bench seats, and a rear-facing seat-for-two in the way-back. The windows were automatic. The front seats buzzed if you didn't do up the seatbelts...sometimes we would lean forward and do the seatbelts up behind us. That was back before there were any sealtbelt laws (or common sense, I guess).

When we went on vacation we would lay the back 2 seats flat, throw down a mattress and a bunch of blankets and pillows, and sleep and play while my dad drove by braille through the night. It looked like this car, except I don't ever remember it being so shiny...and it was VERY baby blue ~ it almost looked white.

This station wagon is the car that I usually drove as a teenager. It barely ran, and for a long time it sat "dead" in our driveway. A fine, green mold had covered the interior, so before I could drive it on a regular basis (to and from Seminary and sometimes to school during Volleyball and Softball seasons) during my Jr. and Sr. year of high school, my sisters and I had to take bleach water and wash down the interior...we couldn't see the mold after that, but the car always had a funky smell, so I'm sure it was still there. It had also developed a leak in the gas tank, so we'd put an ice-cream bucket under the drip and then pour the gas back in before driving anywhere.

When I was 12 we moved from Orem, UT up to Spokane, WA. My dad had moved about 3 months before the rest of us, and he bought a 1957 Chevy to surprise my mom; it was the car of their dreams. I think this particular car was more of a nightmare...it always seemed to have a problem, and my dad didn't really have time to fix any of them. When I started driving (in 1985), my dad told me I had to learn to drive that car before he'd "let me" drive the family station wagon. He figured if I could master driving the Chevy's "3 on the tree" gearshifting (which means the gear shifter is up near the steering wheel), then I could drive anything. He was right. The Chevy had a HUGE steering wheel, with NO power steering. I loved that car. It was nowhere near "vintage condition" ~ the struts had rusted through the trunk, there were rust holes in the floor of the backseat (you could actually see the road through the holes while we were driving), and the alternator had some huge issues...at least once it stranded me on a dark, rainy, scary country road in Silverdale.

Before I could drive the Chevy to my Jr. Prom, my friend (and date) Andy and I had to use a wire hanger to jerr-rig the exhaust pipe up so that it didn't drag on the ground.

do you remember your school classrooms? describe them...

Kindergarten: I went to 2 schools that year. The first room was in an old school and had a wall of windows at the front of the school. The room was very big and had a bathroom in it (with an automatic flusher). I remember sitting on the rug a lot. The second school (Russell Elementary ~ Missoula, MT) was somewhat newer. I don't remember a lot about it, but I do remember that they raised all of our low tables for the Open House ~ we almost couldn't see the top of them. The room also had a "reading nook" formed by 2 walls and 2 bookcases. I liked sitting in there and reading. One time, my little sister, Karen, followed me to school. My teacher had her "read" some books in the nook until my mom came to get her...I was so embarassed because Karen was reading the books upside down, and I was sure my friends thought she was not very smart ~ she was only 2.

1st Grade: I started school at Silverdale Elementary in Silverdale, WA, but we moved to Missoula, Montana after just a month. Cold Springs Elementary was across an empty field from our house. Cold Springs was an old, small school. My classroom was in the front of the school. I loved my teacher (but I can't seem to remember her name). I needed extra help in reading and spelling at the beginning of the year. I worked really hard and I loved when our teacher read to us from the big Pug Reader (teacher's version). I remember that for one spelling test I had studied really hard. Our teacher said the word, and used it in a sentence; this is what I heard: "Boat. You must be 18 to boat." It didn't make any sense to me because I'd been in a boat, but I spelled it anyway: b-o-a-t. When the test came back, I got it wrong. The word was v-0-t-e.

2nd Grade: I went to Adams Elementary ~ Spokane, WA. We were the "Adams All-Stars." This was another old school. My classroom was (looking "through" the school from the front yard) in the back, right hand corner. It had 2 walls of windows. Standing at the door, there was a wall with a chalkboard (where the tattle-tale hung), and then Mrs. Bailey's desk in the front corner; our desks were lined up in the center of the classroom. Again from the front door ~ to the right was a wall that lead to the back of the room where we had a coat room ~ a BIG coat room ~ and I would go in for reading help with a few other kids in my class.

3rd Grade: Sandy Elementary ~ Sandy, UT was another big "old" school. Over the years it had gone through some renovations. My classroom was in a newer portion of the school. That section was very open...there were four 3rd grade classes in one big room...two classes sat back to back, and then there was a hall ran down the middle, and two other classes. Is that hard to picture? I don't think I'm explaining it very well. During story time, we would all sit together in the middle of the classes and listen to one of the teachers read to us. This was the class where I sat on a pencil ~ the lead broke off into my leg and I ended up needing to go to the hospital to have it removed. When I watch the tv show "Recess" this is the school that I think of.

4th through 6th Grade: Bonneville Elementary ~ Orem, UT: Bonneville Broncos. This was another "open" school. 3 classrooms made up a "unit." There was an open hallway space of sorts at the front of the rooms (where our coats hung up) and at the back of the room there was an open doorway that lead between the classrooms. Mr. Aikau was my 4th grade teacher (in a combined 3rd/4th grade class) and he had his desk in the back of the class. Our desks faced away from his ~ toward the blackboard. On the wall that had the open doorways, Mr. Aikau had cabinets, a sink, drinking fountain and pencil sharpener. We had our desks arranged in a huge "U" shape...I remember playing Around the World (multiplication) at those desks. I am surprised that I don't remember hearing noise from the other classrooms. I went to another teacher for spelling, and another teacher for math. But Mr. Aikau was considered my homeroom teacher. He would throw chalkboard erasers at kids who were talking while he talked.

My 5th grade teacher (in a combined 5th/6th grade class) also put his desk at the back of the room. Our desks were arranged into tables of 4 or 6 desks. Mr. Knight loved Current Events and we spent a lot of time reading newspapers so we knew what was happening in the world. I was in Mr. Knight's class when we found out that President Reagan had been shot...I remember Mr. Milne (the principal) wheeling in a TV and hooking it up so we could watch the news.

My 6th grade teacher (another combined 5th/6th grade class), Mrs. Harding, sat to the side of our room. We had different stations we completed during the day. There was a big bulletin board area where we displayed our reports and artifacts of our country reports. I did Japan so I could take in the kimono that my Dad brought home from Japan. One time Mrs. Harding needed to leave the room while she was reading outloud to us...she asked me to take over for her. But there was a silly part in the book (I wish I could remember which book it was) and I started to giggle (which I did a lot that year) and I just couldn't start...I was very embarassed, but it was also funny.

(I've searched and searched and I can't find a picture of Bonneville Elementary in Orem...next time we go to Utah, I guess I'll have to take my own picture.)