Mother talks about making paper dolls

I called Mother on the way to pick up Maia, today. I no longer had a clear idea of the paper dolls she had once described to me.

"Well, we cut out people from the Sears catalogue that we liked," she explained. "That was the new thing. But we didn't cut out the arms. We just cut out the heads and the bodies and the legs, and we glued them to cardboard so they'd stand up. The cardboard was just a bar at the shoulders. Then we'd cut out dresses from the catalogue with the arms, but not the heads or legs, and we'd hook 'em over the cardboard. That we had dolls that we could change and that would stand up."

"Did the three of you play?"

"Well, it was mainly me and June. Opal was 8 years years older than I was. June was only 5 years older, and she liked playing with dolls. We used Mama's sewing machine for houses. It had four drawers on each side. We'd empty'em out and they would be our condos. We'd each live in a condo."

"She used to get so aggravated," Mother said of them. "Children! Get those cuttings out of my sewing machine!" she'd say.

I asked again about the relative ages of the children.

"Bernard was 11 years older, Opal, 8, and June 5. And Harold was 7 years younger. Bernard was born in 1915."

"What happened after you left Newhall?"

"Well, June got married almost right away, and Opal went to nursing school after June got married."

"Did Bernard live with you?"

"Yes, he lived with us and paid part of the rent. He graduated from Big Creek High School and got a job in War at a restaurant when we moved there. We were only there for about two years--1936 and 1937, I think--and then we moved to Welch. He got a job managing a restaurant in Welch. And then when the war started in '41, he joined."

"Did you see much of him after Newhall?"

"Well, it was different. In Newhall, I was just a little kid--6 or 7. By the time we got to Welch, I was grown, and he treated me more like an adult. I got a job in the 5 and 10 when I was 15. He taught he chords on the guitar so he could tune his violin and play. I still remember those chords. And he used to look at my boyfriends, too, to see if he approved. But he worked at night, and I was gone to school during the day, so we didn't see that much of each other. But we were close."

Our conversation ended because I had arrived at school to pick up Maia.

John, Friday, April 29, 2011.