Florence Apartments – P-2

1. Shoes

1. 1. We always wore our new tennis shoes home from the store and ran to test the new state of traction we expected
2. 2. Kaye’s Shoe Store had an x-ray machine that was much like a lecturn. You stood there and stuck your feet into two holes and when you looked at a screen you could see the bones in your feet inside the outline of the shoe.

1. 2. Rogers Department Store1. Only department store in town. Said to have inspired the novel “The Store” by T.S. Stribling.
2. 2. Had an elevator operated by a very courtly man.
3. 3. Used pneumatic tubes to send money to a central office which sent back a receipt.

1. 3. Phone

1. 1. 2021 R was our number
2. 2. No longer had to turn crank to ring opeartor. Operator came on line when you picked up and said “Number Please.”
3. 3. Years later we got our first direct dial long distance call from Cousin Edward.

1. 4. Washing Machine

1. 1. Maytag with a wringer (two rubber bars that turned) to squeeze water out of clothes after they were washed.

1. 5. Dawsons

1. 1. Lived across hall
2. 2. Husband, Roy, was a traveling salesman and drove a Packard
3. 3. Son, Dennis Roy – Mother, Betty, used to sing a song “There once was a little boy, his

name was Dennis Roy, He played all day to pass the time away and now he’s big and strong they say.”

1. 4. We got a call from the mother 4 or 5 years after they moved away saying Dennis had died of a stomach problem.

1. 6. Briglias

1. 1. Lived accross the street, Betsy was a daughter

1. 1. Betsy was in Dr. Gaisser’s history class with me at FSU/UNA. Her charm bracelet stopped the class when it made noise every time she began taking notes.

1. 7. Threets

1. 1. Lived across the street, Rebeccah

1. 8. Huffmans

1. 1. Lived in next quad
2. 2. Hugh Lawson Huffman. His mother always called him Hugh Lawson. I thought for years

his last name was Lawson.

1. 9. Northingtons

1. 1. Father an architect
2. 2. Alan, older brother, died in Florida around 1999
3. 3. Jimmy, younger brother, now a plastic surgeon,said to have done work for Michael Jackson and other Holywood types.

1. 10. Wash House

1. 1. Laundromat for the apts
2. 2. Had drinks for 5 cents

1. 11. Croquet, badminton, canasta, casino, and chess were our games. Also would lie on sidewalk in summer and look for constellations.
2. 12. Forts

1. 1. Built forts out of firewood at the Scotts and Middletons mostly,
2. 2. Built some in the woods behind the Scotts

1. 13. Middletons

1. 1. Nancy – Had scarlet fever

1. 1. Had been in charge until my arrival

1. 2. Morgan

1. 14. Getsingers (Jack and Ruth) – From NC

1. 1. Jack was missing an arm from wounds in WWII. Serverd with Patton – Hell on Wheels. Engineer at TVA.
2. 2. Ruth was a very shrill lecturing type person.
3. 3. Bob

1. 1. Would basically tell anyone anything. No tact. No discretion.
2. 2. Very good pool player on occasion.
3. 3. Scored two points for the other team in a junior high basketball game.
4. 4. Drove to NC in high school without telling anyone. Just left a note on his bed saying “Gone to NC.” Eventually married girl named Nancy from NC.

1. 4. Sue

1. 1. Eventually had encephalitis. Survived but with brain damage.
2. 2. Stomped on my big toe to get my attn while I was talking to Bill Scott – still a problem today

1. 15. Scotts (Big Bill and Annumearle)

1. 1. Bill (Little Bill)

1. 1. Tried law school at Cumberland one year and quit
2. 2. Married Ginny Rodgers of Lee-Rodgers Tire in Bham., now in that business

1. 2. Mary – Late in life child, lots of problems. Seldom even mentioned.

1. 16. Methvins (Buck and Pearline) – From Wayne County, TN

1. 1. Rodney – Only child

1. 1. Runs equipment rental in Florence

1. 2. Buck and his brother were both chiropractors, gave each other adjustments after hunting in bad weather to prevent colds

1. 17. Christesons (Wayne and Eleanor)

1. 1. Father taught at FSU, mother was music director for church
2. 2. Both parents taught music lessons at home
3. 3. Father was 96 and mother was 90 in 2008. Norton says both are doing well and were at their timeshare watching spring training baseball in Florida as of March 2008.
4. 4. Annual vacations camping all over the west in a Nash Rambler station wagon
5. 5. Parents called the children in for meals, etc with musical “Ah ee ah ee ah, Wic-ee, Norton, Mary Ann”

1. 1. Mary Ann

1. 1. Ran her car into immobile objects 3 times within a few months, may have been suicidal
2. 2. Went to Indiana U to major in voice
3. 3. Was singing in a band in Boston in 1970s
4. 4. Ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a widow, I was told by Norton
5. 5. Died of cancer on 3/27/2008, I was told by Norton

1. 1. From Tulsa World Newspaper: Donia, Mary Ann, 64, piano teacher, died March 27. Memorial service 10 a.m. Friday, Isaiah 53 Church. Cremation Society. This appears to be her death notice.

1. 2. Wayne – Wie

1. 1. Suffers from suicidal depression, told by psychiatrist to avoid his family.
2. 2. Vandy grad in Philosophy and Law School there, retired from law to raise horses in TN
3. 3. Wife is a Latin teacher
4. 4. Family had no news of him for years until I emailed Norton some web page links regarding him and his wife.

1. 3. Norton

1. 1. Used to stand outside window and mock voice students of his parents.
2. 2. Has PhD in music
3. 3. Drum major for UA I believe
4. 4. Now in Florida teaching at Daytona Beach Community College

1. 18. Bicycles

1. 1. My first and only childhood bicycle. 26″ Murray

1. 1. Bought with savings bonds given to me by my Uncle Joe, killed on June 13 after surviving D Day itself.
2. 2. Was so hard to ride that people would not ask twice to borrow it for a spin
3. 3. Rode for months with only one pedal. Changed shape of one calf

1. 2. Jody learned to ride a bicycle in one afternoon when we visited someone who had a bicycle the right size for him.

People

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