Moving Right Along!

Since this is about family, I will skip right to the time when Ginger came to K.U.  She visited when I was a sophomore and we were having pizza at the Campus Hideaway.  She had planned to attend college at Emporia and I convinced her that she should come to Lawrence!  We were making notes on a napkin about costs, etc. If I had not been persuasive, Roy and  Krista might not be here!

I spent quite a bit of time at the campus bowling alley, and therefore, so did Ginger.  That is where we met Paul. We all three had a class together. I believe it was geography. After the fall semester, Ginger and I decided to take our chances in the big city! Using Paul's white ford to move, we found an apartment, completely furnished, (even with dishes) on the Plaza. The address was 303 Brush Creek Blvd.

We were so clueless that it is a wonder we survived!  Since our classmates in Lawrence were enjoying the semester break, we decided that we would treat ourselves to semester break, too, and then we would look for work! We did find work, she at the One Hour Martinizing business office and me at Brace Oldsmobile, in the parts department! The bus line ran a block from our apartment, so our transportation was taken care of. I made $38.50 weekly and she made $50.00 a week! While we were still on the Plaza, I took a second job car-hopping at Winsteads.  It was only a block from the apartment, so it was easy to get to.

We had envelopes in the desk drawer for rent, bus fare and whatever other expenses there were.  I truly don't remember.  Each payday, we would put the appropriate cash in the envelope, and when the rent was due, we took all that money to the manager.  It was in small bills and change as the monthly rent was $100 and each pay period (weekly) we each put $12.50 in the envelope. I did not have a bank account until I started working at Commerce Trust Co in their bookkeeping dept. They had an agreement with the Plaza Bank that the employees of each bank would keep their account in the other bank.  (Fraud prevention don't you know!) I think Ginger's second job was at INA, Insurance of North America.

As we did not have a lease, we decided that we would find a less expensive place, and we did!  It was the attic of the house of Mrs. Ottley, near the Broadway-Valentine shopping center.  We did not have a phone, so when we got a call, she would push a button to make a buzzer sound in our little place.  Because of the eaves, you could only walk upright down the middle and across the middle of the space!  The bed was under one of the eaves, so whoever was sleeping on the inside had to roll to the edge to sit up! There was no A/C but we did have an exhaust fan.  That required an open window, and the humidity required that we iron  what ever we were going to wear each time we wore it! I am trying to remember the address, but I can only say that it was on Jefferson. Mrs. Ottley's granddaughter, Brenda, lived with her and we became friends.  I think she was about our age, maybe a little older.

Time to rest my brain.  Surprising what memories will come through when you least expect it!