Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(3)

Friday, Nov 3, 2023

How Much Was Your Allowance?

My parents never gave any of us kids an allowance but when I was about twelve years old we built a Motel in Waterton Park. Every summer every one of us kids worked in the Motel and Mom and Dad paid us very well. My Dad told me that he figured that if they paid us wages it was a tax deduction for him and a way that he could give us the money we needed for school, missions etc.

If I remember correctly, he paid me $12/hour when the minimum wage at the time was $2 to $3/hr. That high wage however meant that I had to buy everything for myself. If I wanted to go to a movie, I paid my own ticket. If I needed new clothes I bought them myself.

I do remember that if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have bought new clothes until my old ones were falling off, but Mom would take Lester and I to “Progress Clothing” in Lethbridge. Amazingly enough, I just googled it and the store is still there. It still looks the same as it did back in the 1970’s.

What Did You Spend Your Allowance On Most Often?

I was a very cheap child, (frugal?) and bought almost nothing. I bought a new bike and went to the occassional movie with my friends but that is about all. I figured I had enough money to pay for my mission but when I went to BYU for a year before my mission my dad told me to buy my own tuition and if I came up short for my mission he would cover the difference. I figure I paid for BYU and about half of my mission. I then came home broke and got a student loan for school.

Did You Have Any Pets?

I remember we had a small yellow dog on the farm and I think his name was Sandy. We pretended it was a family dog but it was unquestionably Gregs dog. Sandy came to Cardston with us but we never did get another dog. On the farm we didn’t have a house cat but we had a whole colony of barn cats. People from town would get rid of unwanted cats by dropping them off on the side of the road near farm houses. Because we were so close to town, and on a major highway, I think we got more than our fair share of cats.

In town we did have a white cat but I can’t remember his name. I think it might have Snow Ball or something similar. I remember one time I was in the back yard and that white cat attempted a jump from the roof of the house to a branch of the nearby willow tree. He never made it and broke his back.

The white cat was replaced by another cat that was gray and white. I don’t remembert his name either but I do remember that he died from blood cancer not long after I accidentally electrocuted him (and myself) with 30,000 volts of electricity.

I think that was the end of our pets.

What Were Your Favorite Dishes Your Family Liked To Prepare?

Pretty much every Sunday for dinner we had roast beef, potatoes and gravy. It was my favorite meal then and remains my favorite meal now. While I’m sure we had many traditional meals there are only a few that stand out to me now.

One of my favorites is fried bread. When ever mom baked bread she always kept back some of the dough and she would fry it in hot oil. We would eat that with lots of butter and honey. I loved it.

Another staple of my family was every Sunday evening they would break bread into small chunks into a bowl and pour milk on it. They would then eat it with sugar and cinamon. I thought that was disgusting. The thought of that soggy bread about makes me gag. I would make myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich and eat it with a glass of milk.

Mom would often have a batch of cookies in the oven when we arrived home from school. Mom loved cookies and cakes (much like Lisa) but I love pie. I kept begging her to make pie and then one day she brought home a cook book for me and told me to make my own pie. I’ve been making apple pie ever since. This is a picture of that cookbook and you can see it has been well used.

---------------------trivia--------------------

The toy Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Woody's full name is Woody Pride.

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