WESTSIDE — Editor,
Loved the article ("How did we ever Survive?")!
I grew up in northeast Iowa, on a farm, in the '50s/'60s, and can totally relate to what you wrote. I recall never having a lock on our home or gas barrel and my mom leaving cash on the table for the Schwan's man if we were going to be gone. He would come in, put the ice cream away in the freezer and leave the appropriate change!
We also went into town to grocery shop (no stoplights in Sumner, Iowa, at that time) and you always left the car windows down during the summer with the keys in the ignition. No one bothered a thing, despite an assortment of packages laying on the car seat!
We bought our milk from another farmer friend. Each gallon had about 3 inches of cream on it. Sometimes for fun, we would churn it into butter, or better yet, in the winter, would have homemade ice cream! We had to first chip the ice from the cow tank and also used freshly gathered eggs for the ice cream custard/ mix. Eggs ... I think I've officially progressed into another aging Bella Vistan! YIKES. How things have changed. Keep up the fun writing. It was pure joy to read.
Sue Fellenzer Bella Vista
Editor,
The “Off the Cuff” columnon the Opinion Page of the Sept. 7, 2011, issue of the Westside Eagle Observer brought a smile to my face as I read about the battle between the lady of the house and her husband over what kind of light bulbs they should use in their home. I (the lady of a different house) can empathize - I don’t especially like the way the new bulbs look or the color or amount of light they give off, but we do have a lot of them in our house and I am trying to get used to them.
One issue about the bulbs the writer forgot to mention is one I heard about while listening to National Public Radio the day after I read the column - the Easy-Bake Oven (used by many a young girl in the ‘60s) has had to be redesigned as a result of the new lightbulbs. The new one is described as looking “sort of like an Art Deco toaster with wings - a purple one.” Maybe the new oven would be OK with my granddaughters (or yours) but this grandma is not so sure!
It is some of the offerings on the Opinion page, news of Gravette people and businesses and the occasional picture of one of my grandchildren that keep me subscribing to your paper. Keep up the good work!
I hope the "lady of the house doesn’t read this letter - it might create more problems for the husband!
Linda Honderich Martin Baldwin City, Kan.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 09/21/2011