As I enjoyed her creative space and pictures, she shared a pic from her childhood, visiting Santa Claus. I, at once knew the setting had to be from my home town and my own visits to Santa with my dear dad. It was something we did every year, just he and I. The place was Muriheads Dept. Store. I emailed Claudia to inquire about the pic and she in deed confirmed the setting too. How fun. We emailed back and forth to find out we went to the same schools and lived only a couple blocks from each other. We played in the same parks and swam at the same neighborhood pool. She even had the same 5th grade teacher a couple years before me. What a small world we live in.
This is the picture taken visiting Santa. My dad carried this pic in his wallet till the day he passed away.
If you have a moment, please visit talented Claudia and her wonderful blog, say hello and tell her I sent you. You are sure to enjoy your visit. Click here on her button!
The 5th grade teacher we both had was Mrs. Hurlbert. She was my all time favorite teacher in elementary school. It was because of her I pursued my artistry. She always encouraged me to go in this direction. In 1966 she entered me in the Greenfield Village Country Fair of Yesteryear. I designed a floral mosaic with organic materials. It took several months to finish. When our class went to the fair to see our entries, to my surprise, I had won first place and a blue ribbon hung by my artwork. I was in childhood shock as my classmates cheered and hugged me wildly.
Mrs. Hurlbert was crying as I stood in disbelief. What a wonderful memory made by a special teacher who gave me the confidence and direction to challenge a dream and just try.
I know longer have the mosaic or even a picture of it. But when I emptied my parents home, my mother had kept it all these years later. With it's decaying organic materials it still hung on the wall. I should have grabbed the camera then and snapped a pic before it seen it's fate. I am so bad at remembering moments like this with my camera. I vow to do better.
Meeting Claudia was such a nice surprise and brought back so many memories of a special place growing up. I hope it did for her as well.
Have you thought of your childhood town lately? Maybe you live there still and raising a family or enjoying retirement. How wonderful! It's nice to go back in time and remember.
Wishing you fond remembrances of days gone by.
Smiles, Celestina Marie
