Life on the Prairie

 

 

 

Tayler

 Dark clouds of war hang over Tayler’s head.

   A misfired missile fills our hearts with dread.

Any part of the world could be the place

Where all lives are destroyed without a trace.
 

 Non-violence is the vow of Civil Rights.

  Marchers and protesters join in the fight.

  Bloodshed and assassinations abound.
The key to winning in Viet Nam can’t be found.

 

Kind and friendly Tayler fights her way

Facing her uncertain future every day.

Defending friends and ideas is key.

Forging a path to life’s victory is she.

 

This blog changes on the first and third weeks of each month.


 



Prairie Girls

Tayler

                                       by Collette

I am Tayler Parkhurst, and I am 10-years-old. My friends and I walk home from school every day and stop at the grocery to get a grape soda or a candy bar to split. I saved enough money to treat my friends to a cherry phosphate at the drug store. The druggist would not let my friends sit at the counter with me. I didn’t understand it, but he wouldn’t let them sit there because they were Negros.

 

Time with Grandpa

                                                            by Judy

When I was a child I spent a few days visiting my grandparents each summer. Grandpa always took me to town to the drug store for an ice cream cone. The bottom dip was strawberry, the middle dip chocolate, and the top dip vanilla. I knew Grandpa really loved me because he spent a whole dime on ice cream for me. On the hot, summer afternoons, melted ice cream streamed down my chin before I finished the soggy cone. I didn’t hurry to finish the cone, though, for sitting in the 1950’s drugstore with my Grandpa was as special to me as the ice cream.

 I still envision my mother as a little girl with a Dutch boy haircut when I remember Grandpa’s stories of her childhood. I picture him as a young boy in the 1890’s when I remember his stories about horses his father used on the farm. How sad that even one young girl was ever denied the pleasure of sharing an ice cream cone with her grandpa at a counter because of their race.    

Integration of Schools

 

Integration of Schools
                  by Collette

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was the landmark case which opened up the schools in the United Sates to all ethnic groups. Although not a law passed by Congress, the Supreme Court decision acted as a law. All schools were ordered to integrate immediately. Most institutions of learning complied in the North, but southern states were slow to follow the court’s direction. Schools in some areas of the South were closed for the entire year following the ruling.

The national media including television covered nine students as they attempted to attend high school in 1957, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus of the state called out the national guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High School. A confrontation ensued over states’ and federal rights between the governor, the states’ citizens and the then sitting President Dwight David Eisenhower. Using the National Guard, the President used the military to force people to let the students enter over the governor’s orders.

Both the decision by the court and use of force to get states to integrate were early incidents in the coming Civil Rights crisis. The following might provide more information.

www.enwikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education

www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html
www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration
www.arkansas.com/central-high/galleries/default.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appetizers

Appetizers

                                                by Collette

 Cocktail parties were a new idea in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The following might have been served.

 Spam Sandwiches

1 can Spam luncheon meat                         2 teaspoons sugar
½ pound American cheese                          1 tablespoon vinegar
6 hard- boiled eggs                                      1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 small onion                                               salad dressing to moisten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Grind the meat, cheese, eggs and onions with coarse blade of grinder. Mix with all remaining ingredients and spread on open butter hamburger buns. Place under

broiler until light brown.

Bar-B-Que Meatballs

3 pounds hamburger                                  ½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups quick oats                                        2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup milk                                                  ½ teaspoon pepper
2 eggs                                                         2 teaspoons salt
1 medium onion, chopped

Sauce:
2 cups catsup                                              1 cup brown sugar
½ chopped onions                                       2 tablespoons liquid smoke

Mix together, make balls ¾ inch in diameter, and place in shallow pan. Cover with sauce and bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

For the sauce, place all ingredients in a pan and bring to boil, remove from stove. After cooling slightly, add 2 tablespoons liquid smoke. Place meatballs in a crockpot or chafing dish over low heat and serve hot. Serves 10-12

 

Civil Rights in Small Town USA

Civil Rights in Small Town USA

                                                   by Collette

Growing up, I believed Civil Rights was a southern problem. Schools were integrated in my hometown as far back as I can remember. I do not actually know if there were separate schools, but I assume there were before my parents were enrolled. I am aware there were separate entrances to the high school and a place in the gymnasium where Blacks sat during games. The balcony at the movie theater was another place, but before my time. When I was going to the movies as a teenager, the balcony was where one sat with a boyfriend so no one could see you.

There was a race riot in the 1920’s that resulted in the deaths of two people and the incarceration of a Black man for 25 years for murder. It was also probably true he did not commit the murder, but never disproven. There was an active Ku Klux Klan complete with a band and children’s organization. Separate swimming pools were also in place. Although I know where they were located, this was all gone by the time I entered school.

I am ashamed to admit I knew little about Civil Rights’ problems except what I watched on the television. I do remember specific events, but no discussion at schools or among my friends. I know we were typical teenagers focused only on our own little world of friends and family. Not a good excuse, but that was our reality.

I came full-face with Civil Rights when I was in college in the 1960’s. My sociology class of 300 was taken over by a group of Black students who asked us to join their “grass roots” movement for equality. A debate ensued between the Blacks and former soldiers returning from Viet Nam in the class. Eventually the debate faltered in whether or not we should be in Viet Nam. I stayed as long as I could, but had another class to make. We did make the 5:00 news and were called the “Little Berkley” of Kansas.

It was after college and during my teaching tenure that I learned the facts behind the Civil Rights Movement. My growing up in a little town insulated me from world events and the war. I was ten years late in learning what I had missed. It was very much a part of my teaching because it was the story of a whole generation of American people.

Freedom

          

 Freedom

                                                   By Judy

The town I live in celebrates the 4^th of July with a fireworks display at the park. I grew up about forty minutes from this town, and a couple of times during my childhood, my family made the trip to watch the fireworks display. My dad sat on the hood of our car with my brothers and me. A loud boom signaled the beginning of the show, and I covered my ears. The sky glowed red, white and blue as fireworks burst into the sky. I did not understand the reason for the fireworks nor appreciate the fact the people around me and myself were celebrating freedom.

My husband and I took our children to that same park and watched the fireworks when our children were young.  A picnic with close friends and their children preceded the fireworks. We sat in lawn chairs or on blankets and protected little ears from the loud booms. Each new big bang of bright, rainbow colors trailing silver and gold streams was declared our favorite. After the park display, our children shot off their own stash of fireworks. I took these nights of fun and fellowship for granted. My days were filled with work, cooking, laundry, ball games, swim meets, and multitudes of other activities. It was difficult to imagine our children grown. I could not imagine an America that was not free.

The day arrived, though, when our children were grown and had their own celebrations with their friends. Some years a child or grandchild joined us, but other times it was just we four adults. We still ooed and awed as the sky changed colors and proclaimed each grand finale the best one ever. I no longer took for granted my children and friends. Each child, grandchild, and friend was a blessing to me. I no longer took for granted America’s freedom either. I knew that many brave men and women fought for and earned its freedom.    

Another 4^th of July is upon us, and we will again celebrate with our friends, and if we’re lucky, perhaps a grandchild or two will join us. I like to hear the blend of their young voices with our older voices as we proclaim “that’s my favorite.” Our nation’s freedom is threatened this year, and I now can imagine an America that is not free. As I celebrate America’s freedom and honor those who founded our country, I pray America will always be “the land of the free and of the brave.”