Things I Remember - by Edna Hague Roberts (written in 1959) - #38
posted: Feb. 08, 2024
Part Thirty-Eight
Things I Remember
Edna Hague Roberts
July 27, 1959
When the 3 years were up on the $20 month plan we really had to revise the use of electricity. The children had grown careless about turning lights out upstairs and in fact we were all used to having lights on everywhere. I had to put up signs telling all of us to turn off lights. After paying bills a couple of months on what we actually used - we learned.
I remember the first radio I ever listened to. It was on Shelby Sutton had and used earphones. The first one we had was a battery set - before we had electricity put in. Think we bought it from Dad. He was in on that among the first ones to have one. He was working at Vonnegut's and had the opportunity for a good saving and was where he saw all these new things as they came into use. It seemed such an exciting experience to be able to pick up something from the air and listen to it and almost unbelievable when you first began to hear them. We couldn't miss "Amos and Andy", "Lum and Abner", The Saturday Night Barn Dance from Chicago, and of course Russ loved the "G-men" series', etc. [
Link to the history of the radio series]
The Broad Ripple Vonnegut's store around 1955 (MyEyeDr. is there today)
image courtesy of John and Rosemary Hague collection
That was the beginning of a "G" man setup in the woodshed. Russ, Oren Landis, Jr., Leonard and Dick Smith were some who had a part in that venture messages in invisible ink, badges denoting rank, etc. were forms of procedure with a big "G Man" sign on the outside door. Those boys played together with no outward signs of ever having any trouble getting along.
John D. (your editor's father) and Glen E. (your editor's uncle) loved coming to see Russie and Cac and although Russie was older they played together and had wonderful times. One summer Glen E. was there for a month or 6 weeks. He fell out of the hay mow and nearly scared me to death carrying on. I couldn't tell if he was really hurt or just acting like it for sympathy. When I finally threatened to call his folks he got better pretty fast. His mother said Glen would never eat liver at home but he liked it when I had it but never was told it was liver.
end of part thirty-eight
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