Carol Weaverling Chambers
MY MEMORIES OF JUDY DALKE
The Dalke Family: Catherine, Jake, son David and daughter Judy moved from Indianapolis, Indiana, to a house on the southwest corner of Broadview and Elm. My family lived catty-corner across the street. They arrived with a television set which wouldn’t work because Wichita didn’t have television yet. Mrs. Dalke liked to tell us about fascinating shows like ”I Love Lucy” and “Bishop Sheen”. She also told us stories about waiting with her friends for the return of their husbands from World War II.
We walked or rode bikes to Alcott Elementary School where we had an annual Fun Night and End-of School picnic at Sleepy Hollow Creek. We rode a bus to hear the Wichita Symphony perform at East High’s auditorium. Back at school we played tether ball, kick ball and jacks during recess. We dressed in costumes for Halloween and exchanged valentines in our decorated Valentine boxes. We listened to the World Series on the radio and always rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. We put on the play, “A Christmas Carol”, in 5th grade and wrote letters requesting brochures from the fifty states. On Saturday mornings we walked to the Tower Theater and paid a dime to see Bre’r Fox movies.
Once the Dalkes invited me to go with them to St. John and Goessel, Kansas, to visit their family. That was an interesting experience because Judy’s grandmother spoke only German.
Judy and I delivered David’s newspapers for him in the bitter cold one morning and warmed up by the kitchen stove when we got home. When it snowed we went sledding on Elm Street which was probably a dangerous thing to do. McDonald Park, a block away, had great hills and was safer for sledding. In the summer we played Kick the Can, hide and seek, Canasta with six decks of cards and put on plays in the basement hanging the curtain from the heating pipes.
Our Girl Scout Troop went to the Hutchinson salt mines and to the Girl Scout Little House in the park. The summer we were eleven we rode the doodle bug train to Turkey Creek Girl Scout Camp for the first time.
I found this poem that Judy wrote in the 5th grade:
I have a little black cocker.
Snoopy is his name.
His ears are very droopy but I love him just the same.
After sixth grade our school split between Roosevelt Junior High and Robinson Junior High, with Robinson being our school. There we could watch the World Series on television in the auditorium and root for the Dodgers. On Friday nights we went to the Sock Hop at the Congregational Church.
At thirteen we joined Hope Assembly 14 Order of the Rainbow Girl. Judy, and the rest of us, eventually were elected to positions called the Chairs and in turn became a Worthy Advisor. We had bake sales, slumber parties and progressive dinners. When we were out of high school we participated in some of the Kansas State meetings.
Judy went to Oklahoma University where she met Danny Harrison, her future husband. I had met Corwin Chambers, my future husband, and we double dated during our college breaks. Later we spent time together again with our little daughters who looked just like we did at that age.
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Barb Hammond for the graphics and artwork.
Hi Carol,
Your article is such fun to read. Marilyn Ash Barbeck and I lived at the top of Elm Street on Crestway and Dellrose. We went sledding in McDonald Golf Course too, and ice skated on the pond there. I don’t know where the dividing line was, but when you went to Alcott, we went to Adams. Cheers for good memories!
Barbara
Carol, the story is a charming look back and the photos are fantastic. You were so smart to write the names. I love looking back at friends’ pasts. Thank you so much for keeping photos and notes and then sharing with the rest of us!