My Columbia friends may like this stroll downtown, back in bygone days…

When you are confined to your home with not a lot to do, you think about all sorts of things that you have been too busy to think about when life is “normal.”

My mind wandered back to what Main Street in Columbia was like many years ago. I suppose one thing that prompted these memories was the announcement that Belk is filing for bankruptcy. A year or so ago, J.C. Penney also filed for bankruptcy.

Stepping back in time, before shopping centers and ordering on line with Amazon and other big volume suppliers, Main Street was the “place to go!”

Belk’s was very popular. I worked there for a while as a teenager and my Mother retired from Belk’s. She sold the more expensive children’s clothes and had many customers who only wanted only her to wait on them. It was a highly respected place to do business with. Also, on Main Street was J.C.Penney, Haltiwanger’s, Berry’s,Efirds, Lerner’s, Mangles,Tapp’s and other chain stores that sold only shoes and purses.

Along with the department stores were F.W.Woolworth, Kress, McCrory’s an Eckerd’s and Walgreen’s Drug Stores. Around the corner on Hampton Street was Western Auto, where so many Christmas toys were sold. Ruff Hardware was a popular place to shop because of the beautiful decorative items, they sold, as well as tools.

There were four or five theaters on Main Street. The Palmetto and Carolina were the most popular, but lots of people liked the Ritz and Strand.

Main Street was so busy all the time. There was a sidewalk photographer who took unposed pictures of busy shoppers. You were given a claim ticket and could look at the black and white photo soon after it was taken. They were cheap and people liked having them.

Good food was available at Woolworth’s, Kress, Eckerd’s, and in other stores, but among the most popular was the restaurant, downstairs at Tapp’s! Their specialty was soup and corn sticks. They had lots of items to choose from, but many working folks loved the corn sticks! I was one of those! Tapps even furnished buttons for their customers to wear that said, “Meet me at a Tapps”

It would take volumes to tell about everything that was available on Main Street. When shopping centers became popular and the large stores moved away, most of the smaller shops closed or just left. A highly respected jewelry store remains at the corner of Main and Hampton Streets. The Kress and Tapps buildings are there, but not used like they were. The Tapps building became an art center and I think it is closed. The Belk store was demolished and now the Columbia Museum of Art is located in its place. The very old Efird’s store is now a Mast General.

Trees have been planted along Main Street, now there are restaurants galore ! On Saturdays the Soda City Market is held. It has grown in popularity and now covers five or six blocks. You can purchase fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants, art work and much more for several hours. Then all the tents, tables and carts are taken away until next Saturday!

Columbia has changed, as have many of the larger cities. The downtown area has been beautified and now there are many large buildings, such as banks and hotels where many professionals work.

Nothing remains the same. You would not want the old ways of doing business to remain in the “horse and buggy” days, but it would be nice to park your car one Sunday afternoon and go window shopping at the old familiar stores for “old times” sake!

The evolution of nightwear….at least for me!

It has been very cold for the past several weeks. Despite the frigid winds we have experienced recently, the South is fortunate that we don’t have …

The evolution of nightwear….at least for me!

Remembering some of my childhood friends on this rainy afternoon!

It is cold and raining, I wouldn’t be going out even if the sun was shining! The pandemic took care of that! For some reason, Winter has never been this hard to endure in all my life.

I keep in touch with many of my current Facebook friends often and some of my newer younger friends, too. I would love to step back in time and have a little reunion with some of my friends of very long ago.

Thinking about my neighbors in Kannapolis, first of all. It goes without saying, Mary Pauline Hughes was my BEST friend ever. Across the street from me, Phyllis Marie Davis, lived with her parents and grandparents. Frances Ann McClamrock didn’t live with her grandmother, but she was there often and I did play with her when she visited the Long family.

Down the street, Harriet Ann Hartess and Jean Flowe Hinson lived close to one another. In the other direction from my house, on South East Avenue, Jane Ann Lentz and Gelene Hutchins lived. I have forgotten Gelene’s middle name, but so many children were called by their full names.

Gelene lived in a two story house with her Mother, Grandmother Emerson and Uncle Bill Emerson. He ran Bill’s Hot Dog Stand on Main Street near Belk’s. Those were the best hot dogs anywhere! They cost 10 cents and were full of good chili and onions on a steamed bun! I remember so clearly Grandmother Emerson cooking on a wood stove that was very fancy with lots of stainless steel trim. My Uncle Rob and Aunt Viola rented the upstairs and lived there with their two little boys, Jimmy and Jerry. I went to visit them often.

My name is Juanna Jean, but the doctor spelled it incorrectly on my birth certificate. I have never been anything but “Jean.” My girl cousins lived in the Jackson Park subdivision, and I still keep in touch with them. They are Jane Long McInnis and Margaret Ann McInnis. Both married and have the same last name, but spelled differently. One is Anderson and the Andersen.

Back in my younger days, most little girls were called by their full names. Mary and I kept in touch for our entire lives, but most of the time we wrote each other more often than we called because stamps were cheaper. We called when long distance rates became reasonable. Phyllis was an only child. Her parents were “Pen” and Rosalie Davis. Her father worked at Belk’s on Main Street, across from First Baptist Church and the Gem Theater. Phyllis was always pretty and had lots of nice clothes. She married Dr. White’s son and I was in touch with her several times when I got a Facebook account. I don’t know if she is still living.

Jean Flowe moved to Texas, I believe. Once, long ago, as I was going to a movie at a Myrtle Beach theater, I heard someone shouting my name. It was Jean Flowe! We we’re both grown, but evidently I had not changed that much because she recognized me.

I don’t know what happened to Harriet, Frances and some other old time friends. Years fly by so fast and when you move away, sometimes you never see one another again. In the time we live in now, it is possible to locate many friends from the past. You do need the correct names because of the vast population of the world now. and so many people have the same name. Almost everyone has moved from small towns.

If any of my acquaintances should read this and know where some of my childhood friends live or what their names are, I would love making contact. Well, it is still cold and rainy. I have had my “walk back in time” and it is too soon to go to bed, but it isn’t too early …or late for a nap! I think I will do just that. It will keep me out of trouble, anyway!

The evolution of nightwear….at least for me!

It has been very cold for the past several weeks. Despite the frigid winds we have experienced recently, the South is fortunate that we don’t have blizzards with deep snow and lots of ice for a prolonged period. I love all the beautiful snow photographs that fill Facebook pages at this time of year and am thankful I can enjoy them without actually being in the midst of them.

I was reminiscing about winters when I was a child, living in a house without central heat and other luxuries we take for granted these days. I cannot remember ever seeing what my Grandmother and Mother wore at bedtime when I was a young child, so I don’t know what they slept in. I do remember what my brother and I wore to bed. We had pajamas that were all in one piece, a woven cotton fabric with “feet” that had a soft rubber sole…and a ” little trap door” During the very cold nights, Mother would heat a blanket for each of us, wrap us in it and take us to the bedroom and cover us with quilts that were so heavy you could not move until time to get up in the morning.

Going forward for many years, when I grew up and got married, I had sheer nightgowns and negligees. That was the style back then. Then more practical gowns took over. Somewhere along the way, “shortie” pajamas became popular. Trends help sell clothes’ but don’t always last for a long time. At one time, nighties that looked like oversized tee shirts were popular.

I remember when granny gowns for warmth were the rage, Some even had night caps that matched. It reminded me of the poem, ” The night before Christmas.” You may remember how Mom and Dad were dressed, complete with stocking caps. Way back when teased hair for the ladies was so popular, in order not to mash the heavily sprayed coiffure, ladies would wrap their hair in toilet tissue, then put an oversized hair net over that. What a sight!

Now, in the modern times we live in, comfort is the way to go! My pathway is from the sheer nighties of the past to the present in some of my husband’s thermal underwear to keep me warm! I have found that Hanes nightwear is the best thing since sliced bread as the old saying goes! You can buy different styles. If you should happen to drop in unexpectedly at my house, you might think I was ready to put my camos on to go hunting on a frosty morning!

I have found some pink thermals, especially for the ladies, and I am one happy camper who can keep warm as I settle in for a long winter’s nap!

Clutter or “necessities” who makes that decision?

Recently I shared a question on my Facebook page which asked you to name three things you keep beside your bed on your nightstand. I was surprised at the interest that question generated.

For me, my telephone, water and some medicine are three of the items, but I keep more than three items. My Bible is too large to keep there, so that is on my bed.

I have a queen size bed, and so over time, I have made a “second office” of one side of it. When I had a back problem and needed to have someone in my home to help me temporarily until I could resume normal life, I moved a small wooden tray I used to keep in my bathroom, so that I could have my medication nearby and also I wanted to make sure I took the right medication at the correct time. I always have several books on my bed because you never know when you might wake up and want to read for a few minutes.

In other words, current conditions determine what you keep beside your bed, or in my case, what I also keep in my “office annex.”

My IPad has become a “necessity” as has a large box of Kleenex. I couldn’t get along without my glasses, so they have taken up residency, as has a book of puzzles and extra pens. Don’t tell anyone, but you will also find a bag of Werther’s Original Caramel hard candies there. When my daughter went shopping for me, she said “Mother, I know you like to have these candies on hand, so I bought a large bag.”

I love to decorate and I take some magazines that give me ideas. I also look at posts by experts on how to beautify your home on my computer. You never see clutter in the pictures! In fact, you see as few items as possible.

Well, those rooms are so beautiful and inspire me to make changes in my home, but they are not realistic! The only room that I could have so few items in is a guest bedroom.

So back to the question, “who determines whether it is clutter or a necessity?” Every person makes that determination depending on his or her situation at the time.” Isn’t it nice to be able to adjust to ever changing needs?

I am thankful that I have a large bed, so I can have my “office annex” but I am also thankful that I won’t always need to have it!

Do you remember when life was simple? …

Some people might think you have to be very old, if you do. I can remember during the time I had a terrible case of shingles and was in so much pain I could not lie down and it was difficult to even sit up. It is impossible to describe how you feel, you have to experience it. Some people are fortunate to have a “light” case and get over them quickly, but others still have pain for many years. For me, it will be ten years of debilitating pain in February.

This journal entry is not about shingles, but about what I did to divert my mind from the indescribable pain. I found replays of “The Waltons” and watched five episodes back to back on two TV channels, each weekday. For those who do not know, the Waltons was a family who lived during the depression. John Walton, his wife, Olivia, their children and John’s parents lived together in a two story house.

Earl Hamner, Jr. wrote the continuing series, which was very popular. It was the true story of his family and the things they experienced during hard times. My grandson lived in Virginia for several years and I had planned to visit him so I could tour the house that was used as the model home the Waltons lived in during difficult times. He lived not far from the tourist attraction.

I learned to “know” John, his beautiful wife, he called Livvy, John Boy, the oldest son, the other children, plus the grandparents and all the townsfolk. The Waltons was one of the most popular shows on television for years. It made Richard Thomas a super star!

Just watching how people lived in those difficult years, helping neighbors in need, family members sincerely caring for one another and working hard for everything they had, plus several generations gathering around the big kitchen table for meals had a calming effect. The pain of shingles was still there, but my mind was on what was happening to the Waltons and not about how I was hurting.

Life now is so different, I am not saying it is all bad, but when families get together now, there seems to be very little oral communication because everyone is looking at their smartphone and their fingers are busy texting someone, even when the person is sometimes in the same room.

I sometimes wish we had not advanced so much, so quickly, that we missed simple pleasures. Just watching what is taking place in our country this week is very frightening. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has affected everyone in many ways. We have gone through an election just recently that has divided the country, but even before that, violence was rampant. Because the mindset has become, “we want a large home, a luxury automobile, the latest fashions and to travel,” the debt for many people is staggering. Now that many businesses have closed, the American Dream for many is disappearing. It is a sad time in the history of the United States.

I do remember when life was simple and right now, I wish that simple life had not gone away!

True confession time….

I love pillows! Maybe not as much as I do dishes, but another of my simple pleasures has surfaced! Years ago I had a few decorative pillows for the living room sofa and maybe one for my bed, but I had not “gone overboard” because I had too many other things to spend money on. Things like groceries, a house payment, utilities, clothes for two children and other essentials.

I liked my house back in those days. It was comfortable, without a lot frills to clutter things. Circumstances are constantly changing and after a while, many of the bills no longer existed. No car payments, no new furniture to save for, not as much food to buy, in other words, a totally new way of life!

While living in Atlanta and shopping at Lenox Square, at that time it was the largest shopping mall in the South, I believe. Something happened!

I wandered in to a new shop that sold “nothing” but pillows! There was every color under the sun and in many sizes and shapes! I quickly succumbed to a great weakness and bought four or five! They weren’t cheap! But my reasoning must have left, and I went home a happy shopper, as well as a broke one!

I tried to avoid going to Lenox for a while and when I did go back, that shop had closed! I had been saved from temptation to buy more pillows!

Some years passed and after my husband died, I came back to South Carolina to take care of my Mother. I become a volunteer at the Governor’s Mansion and at that time, they had a wonderful supply of pillows in their gift shop. I found a number of small pillows I could not live without, even though they were a little pricey! So I now have some of them to remind me of those volunteer days!

Can you guess what happened next? Well, you are right!! I have added a few more pillows as I bought new bedroom furnishings. I enjoy all my pillows. They have a story to tell, for sure!

One of my best girlfriends gave me a pillow for my birthday a few years ago. She said she could not resist it, because it described me to a “tee.” It says,”I see NO GOOD REASON to act My Age!” So, as Paul Harvey used to say, “And now you know the rest of the story! “

Necessity is the mother of invention!

I must say I really like to make something from “nothing!” Now, you will better understand why I keep so much “stuff.” My youngest daughter visited me recently. She came especially to help me clear some clutter and to run some errands for me.

Both my daughters are from the generation that likes to have as little as possible in their homes. My house used to be clutter free, believe it or not!

Retirement, growing older and more sentimental, plus acquiring more things from my Mother fueled my need to keep more things ” for old times sake!”

I was in the kitchen when my daughter said, ” This needs to go.” I said, ” Oh, no! I use that!” After a few more of my excuses for “saving ” things, she gave up. I told her that when she gets a little older she might better understand.

Over time I have received some beautiful fresh flower arrangements in large, clear glass vases. She probably would have put the vases in for recycling, but I, with my background of “thriftiness ” kept them.

I needed some clear canisters to keep crackers, tea bags, cookies, hot chocolate mix, instant oatmeal and things like that in. I, also wanted to know what was in each canister without opening it.

The wheels in my mind began to turn and I changed the vases into a set of canisters, I have a few other glass pieces I added for smaller items. I had “saved” enough red plastic tops from peanut butter jars, so I used one on each “new” canister. The predominant color in my kitchen for January is red, so I am set to go now and I did not spend one cent. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy!

Remembering some happy times in Atlanta…

You only have to mention Atlanta to stir up my memories of happy times when I lived there. Quite often at the end of a year your mind will recall events of the past or at least that is true for me. Last night as I was looking for something in one of my china cabinets, a small sage green dish caught my eye.

That was all it took to transport me back in time to early days in Georgia. Now, I do not work for the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce or the Georgia Bureau of Tourism, although I have been accused of that when it comes to Atlanta.

A friend of mine mentioned that an exchange program had been started and I might be interested in it. It was called the Friendship Force of Atlanta. The program was started by President Jimmy Carter and Rev. Wayne Smith in 1980. The purpose was to promote good relations between countries of the world. The initial exchange for Atlanta was to Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

A certain number of people from Atlanta would go to Newcastle and an equal number would come to Atlanta for two weeks. We would live with a family, go to work with a family member, learn all we could about life there, as well as to tell them about our life in our home town. You had to apply to go, be interviewed to make sure you would make a favorable impression on the family you would be staying with and of course, pay the fee for travel.

That sounded like something I would enjoy, so I went through the process and was selected to go as an “ambassador”. After a long flight, I was met at the airport by my host family and a great adventure began. The family consisted of Bob, Anne, Robert and Susan. Bob worked in a Department that restored old buildings, Anne was a homemaker and the children were teenagers. Bob said, “I work for the Queen, doesn’t everyone?”

Every morning, Bob got up early to make coffee for Anne and to serve it to her before she got up and he did that for me, also! He would tap on my door and bring a tray with my hot coffee and pastry or toast to go with it. That impressed me. Later we had breakfast and each day they had some outing planned for me. Since I worked for the “telephone company” Bob arraigned for me to go to work with a neighbor who worked for the Telephone Company one day. The Telephone Company, as well as the Post Office, and almost everything was run by “the Queen.”

Bob and Anne arranged for me to go to a different site each day with friends who wanted to be involved in “educating” me. I learned a great deal about castles and landmarks. I visited Cathedrals, museums and went grocery shopping where we stood in queue to be served. All of a sudden, I was a new member of the family. That was the first week.

The second week, six of my friends and I decided we wanted to go to London to see more of the country, so Bob helped us get train tickets and this small group of females set out on adventures we could never have imagined! We saw the changing of the guards ate Buckingham Palace, took some tours, visited the Tower of London, saw the crown jewels and even found a bed and breakfast that would sleep seven people in one room. We traveled on red double decker busses, shopped at Harrods, had tea at a castle and ate delicious food!

Our adventures in London had to end and we went back to or host families to spend several more days before we boarded the plane to return to Georgia. It was an adventure of a lifetime! Anne and Bob wanted to come to Atlanta to visit me, but it never happened. They had events take place that prevented that. Robert got married to Katie, Susan later became engaged and Bob had surgery that he paid for because the long wait for him to be treated was so far in the future , he may have died. So much for socialized medicine. Bob did correspond with me for many years, however.

I took part in two other exchanges, one to Costa Rica, where I stayed with a school teacher because much of my career was spent teaching and the Friendship Force tried to match occupations as nearly as they could. I hope to write about that one day. The third trip was to the Ruhr Valley of Germany. My husband went on that one, I will save the details for the other two stories that will come later.

The Atlanta Friendship Force is still in existence, I understand, but the rules may have greatly changed. I have been in South Carolina for many years and nothing remains the same. I am thankful that I was able to participate in three exciting adventures which are embedded in my memory. All the excitement about the first trip to New Castle Upon Tyne came to the forefront when I looked at a small dish that Anne and Bob sent as a gift years ago!

January 1, 2021…looking back for many years at New Year’s Day…

I suppose one of my earliest memories of New Year’s Day is because of my Mother. She was the disciplinarian in my family. She would say.”Jean, today …

January 1: 2021…looking back for many years at New Year’s Day…