Darlene Armstrong

Well

3 of them

Iola, moran, and osawatomie

When I was born my older brother, Brad was not quite 14 months older than I.  Mom, Dad and Brad had been to the movies the night before and left early to go home since was was worn out from Brad crawling all over her during the movie.  They barely got to the farm north of Iola until they turned around to go back to Iola to the hospital to have me.

Before my brother Tom was born our family had moved to Moran, KS where Dad was part owner of the Chevrolet dealership.  He had already gotten a house in Osawatomie, KS and bought the Ford dealership to move his family after Tom was born.  The folks lived in the same house in Osawatomie for 17 years and all 3 of us kids graduated from Osawatomie High School.  Dad sold the dealership in the mid 60’s, but had different used car dealerships, farms, sold life insurance. aerial sprayed, ran cattle, and had his realtors license or combinations of work, for 15 years or so.

Crazy bunch

met March 1985

My long time friend, Terry, still loves to tell everybody this story!  We were in 4th grade in Mrs Carter’s class (actually where we met) and I had my desk top up to   comb my long hair before recess.  It was a rat tail comb and I twirled my bangs around and around it and couldn’t get it out!  I was panicky and as kids went out for recess I didn’t want anyone to see I did.  Dear Mrs Carter tried to help, but she said I would just have to wait and have my Mom help.  Well I was having none of that!  Terry watched me cut off my bangs and is still laughing 60 years later!    The next weekend when Mom washed my hair she pulled on those little ends and said “You have new hair growth” and I burst out crying leaving my Mom wondering why I was so upset.  I told her and cried more.  I didn’t get in trouble like I believed I would.  Guess what Terry did professioally as an adult.  Yep she had her own beauty salon.

I worked at Singer IGA in Iola, KS when I went to Jr College.  The owner lived in Arizona and Bob Huske was the manager.  I had been working a short time when Mr Singer came to visit the store.  I was a nervous 18 year old not wanting to do anything he might disapprove of.  I had rung up the customer’s groceries and was bagging them in the paper sacks we used at that time.  I picked up a package of bacon and was looking at the customer as I turned to put it in the bag.  I hit something solid at the top of the bag and turned to see what it was.  The owner was looking down into the bag to see how my sacking was and I had slapped him in the face!  We neither one said anything and he just walked away.

My friend Jenny and I were expecting our first babies 6 weeks apart.  It was a snowy day in November and I left work early to go to my prenatal Doctor’s appointment.  It ran late and I had been waiting to get a gift for Jenny’s baby when we knew if it was boy or girl.  I found out before I left work she had had a girl.  I had to go to the bank for money then accross the street for gas before I went to Macy’s then the hosptial to see the baby.  I pulled up to the gas station and it was still the days they pumped the gas for you, cleaned the windows, checked the tires, etc.  The attendent was on the phone in the office and no one else was getting gas or working there.  He waved like he was coming, but kept talking.  It was getting dark and snowing pretty good and I didn’t want our husband’s worrying if they got to the hospital before me.  I waddled towards the office and the attendent stuck his head out the door and motioned to the phone saying “My boss!”  I said , “Well tell your boss you have a pregnant lady on her way to the hospital!”  That attendent beat me to the car and was frantically filling the car up and asking if I could drive myself!  If I was okay!  Be careful!  He said his wife had had a baby recently.  When I got to the hospital, Jenny laughed and told me “Use it while you can!”  Our husbands did not think it was fair to scare the attendent.  I told them, “Well, I didn’t lie!”

My brother Brad was a real jokester (as was Dad) and played a trick on my mother, me and a guy who wanted a date with me.  Steve was from Paola which was our rival town for Osawatomie.  He had been introduced to me once and wanted to ask me out on a date.  He asked Brad what his sister’s name is and Brad told him Mary.  So Steve called and asked my Mom out!  She realized what had happened and got me to the phone.  Steve and I went to the PlaMart in Paola for a dance.  A guy from Paola came over to talk to us and Steve introduced me as Brad’s sister.  At first the guy didn’t believe Steve, but he looked closely and scanned my face and said, “Yeah!  I see she has the bushy eyebrows like Brad!”  Just what a teenage girl wants to hear!

Another night at the dance in PlaMart a dance had finished and everyone was visiting and whoever I had just danced with didn’t know I was Brad’s sister.  He introduced me by my first name (probably didn’t know my last name) and another guy in the group asked Bill about his taped up nose.  The conversation turned to how Bill’s nose got broken and it was my brother Brad who had broke it.  It got quiet as ones in the group realized I was Brad’s sister!

I have always loved books! I love to see them in a case, touch them, look at the pictures and read them. I can spend all day in a book store and forget to go to eat. I can look at the magazines, puzzles, games and people watch. This has not changed, but over the last 12 years, I have gone more to reading on my tablet or listening to books. Buying them, storing them and carrying sacks full home has become too cumbersome.

I learned to knit when I was in grade school and still like doing that occasionally. I love to look at the patterns and dream. My favorite things to knit if I were to choose now are baby clothes, socks and dish clothes. I have made sweaters, scarfs, hats, Christmas stockings, vests pillows and many other things.

I like to walk, but that is harder for me than it used to be now. I played softball one summer as a preteen and I was HORRIBLE. I played volleyball in gym, but we didn’t have a team at my school. I had an average in bowling the mid 160’s on my college league, but the only trophy I ever got was Most Improved Average my first year in grade school–it improved a whooping 13 pins!