When I was a little girl, one of my favorite activities was going to Schlegel’s Grocery & Hardware Store. In rural Central Pennsylvania during the 1960s, there were few options for entertainment besides going to church, visiting Grandma, grocery shopping, and attending church. A Family Business Schlegel’s Grocery &
Category: Stories from long ago
I have a sweet collection of memories of my mom, Nancy Varner. I didn’t always remember that I had one of the best mothers Heaven could provide. But I was a teenager once. The song “Your Momma Don’t Dance and Your Daddy Don’t Rock and Roll” was probably written
Looking For Stories As a newly retired person, I quickly fell into activities I rarely had time for in my previous years: jigsaw puzzles, an older adults’ workout class, and visiting people. I’ve become a memory collector, gathering stories from folks who have been around far longer than me. Three
Sometimes, I read a story that touches me deeply and want to share it with my readers. I loved this story when I read it on Facebook. It reminds me of the Christmas gift exchange when I was a child. My story didn’t have the same ending, but I’ll save
Strange Dreams I’ve done some terrible things, but my greatest transgressions have occurred in my strange dreams. I don’t want to psychoanalyze too much here, trying to figure out what it all means or if I should be handed over to mental health specialists. I only know that remembered
When I was a little girl, electronic devices were nowhere to be found. My family didn’t get a television set until 1969 when my dad wanted to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing. For indoor fun, I turned to coloring pages, storybooks, empty cardboard boxes, and paper dolls. Thinking back
As I leave the public school system, having spent 45 years in and out of school, I’ve seen many changes, some for the better. Today’s classroom does not resemble the schoolroom I entered in 1967, where we spent the mornings playing “Button, Button, Who Has the Button?” According to the
I must be a slow learner. Despite getting decent grades in public school and earning some Latin-sounding award on my college diploma, I’ve spent almost 45 years in the educational system. I did manage to escape without peeing my pants even once, so there’s one thing to be proud of.
House on the Highway was published in the 2017 summer issue of Common Ground Magazine. When I was four years old, I lived with my mom, dad, and brother in an old rented farmhouse. A Big Dream I have small fragments of memory from my first home,
In the fall of 1969, eight-year-old Dawn Howard stared at the display of dolls in a Montoursville department store. She and her siblings were not encouraged to ask for things as children. But the black button eyes, red triangle nose, and thin black smile wouldn’t let go. Dawn asked