As we have lost another member of my extended family, memories come flooding back. When I was around 9 years old, Joanne married my cousin, the older son of my mother’s third brother. She was lively and fun, and I liked her immediately.
One of my earliest memories of Joanne was that we had been shopping at one of the five and dime stores, and I had spotted doll clothes that I just knew would fit one of my dolls. Alas, the outfit was 16 cents, a hefty sum for a girl my age. I wheedled with Joanne to buy it for me; however, Joanne was not of the same ilk as my mother (i.e. a wimp who gave in to an only-child-spoiled-brat who threw tantrums). With Joanne (and probably just about everyone except my mom), “no” meant “no”. Go figure! But…Joanne helped me come up with a plan to earn money to buy the precious outfit for my doll. So the following day, she packed me up and took me with her to pick potatoes. (Did I mention we were on my uncle’s farm at the time?) In a huge field, a tractor was turning over rows and rows of dirt bearing potatoes, and we joined in with the many kids and adults who were going down the rows and putting potatoes into bushel baskets. The job paid pennies per bushel, and the sun was gruelling. But we spent the day there working. It was actually a lot of fun, even for a city kid. And thanks to Joanne, who shared the income with me, I was able to return to the store and proudly make my purchase.
Some of the later memories have to do with ironing and house plans. Joanne taught me how to iron clothes, and I found that I actually enjoyed it! Imagine! And Joanne loved to design houses and would sit with paper, pencil, and ruler drawing house plans. She taught me how to measure, and to display windows, doors, and the like. Over the years, when I had to move offices at work or when we were redesigning things at home, I have used those skills and always think of Joanne.
Of the many memories of Joanne, perhaps my favorite is the ferris wheel adventure. As a child, I loved to ride ferris wheels. When I was about 15, however, I had been somewhat traumatized by an incident at an amusement park when I was on the ride by myself, and the smart-aleck ride operator decided it would be fun (for him) to throw it into reverse so the cars rocked violently back and forth. As the rumors proclaim, my life flashed before my eyes and I held a death grip on the bar, convinced the car was going to flip full circle and dump me out. Obviously I survived, but I was terrified of heights, especially ferris wheels.
Several weeks later, Joanne was kind enough to help me work on getting over my fear. We were at the county fair, a safe place with many witnesses to ensure secure family fun. Her oldest boy, about 4 years old at the time, was with us. When I wanted company on the ride with me, Joanne reluctantly agreed to go. (Might I add that she was 8 months pregnant at the time?) So the three of us boarded the car, and the ride began. Okay, I thought. Not so bad. The ferris wheel in and of itself (without a smart-aleck operator) is a gentle ride. We can do this. Although I got a bit nervous when the car would tip forward as we would come up over the top, I tried to relax, and relatively soon the ride was over. Whew! We had survived! I was still a bit antsy when we had to hitch along, position by position, as the operator let off passengers and boarded new ones. We spent a lot of time on top, but we were almost ready to get off. Down below we could see my cousin (Joanne’s husband) and their 2-year old boarding the ferris wheel. Hitch. Hitch. Uh oh! What the heck?! Just before our turn to disembark, the machine began moving again! And around we went. Still a gentle ride, but by this time I was really ready to be safely on the ground. Ah, finally! Slowing down….hitch…hitch…passengers getting off, new passengers boarding. My cousin and Randy got off. We were still on. Up at the top, of course. Did I mention that a ferris wheel car will tilt forward when holding an 8-months pregnant passenger whose body weight is concentrated in the front?! And Joanne was inviting me to feel the baby kick. Oh, no! She was going to give birth on the top of the ferris wheel! Hitch…hitch…And Dougie, not at all concerned about the possibility of plummeting, was squirming and trying to lean over to peer down at his dad and brother on the ground below. But we were just about to get off. Then…nooooooooo!!! Here we went AGAIN!! The next time we slowed down we could see my cousin frantically talking to the operator, pointing up to us and making pregnant-wife-get-her-off-this-thing gestures. Finally, finally we were on the ground.
And I will never forget the ferris wheel adventure with Joanne….