Life on Oso Street

Here is my family Easter Sunday, 1951--I'm one of the twins. I grew up with a twin brother who was my childhood playmate and my lifetime friend. My older sister was my mentor and idol, and my older brother was my tormenter and became my strongest ally. My parents were beautiful, worked hard, and did their best to raise their family up with their values.


If you had peeked into the windows of our house, you would see the epitome of a typical 50s family with just enough for food on the table and a once a year trip to downtown Canoga Park department stores for saddle oxfords and school dresses, PE clothes for big sister, and plaid shirts for the brothers. Saturday nights consisted of popcorn, fresh apples, and an evening of Ed Sullivan and Gunsmoke. Mom worked hard in the kitchen and it was common to smell the aroma of fresh baked bread, brownies, banana bread, or cinnamon rolls waiting for us when we got home from school. Dad worked for the City and every Saturday and Sunday on tree jobs. Church was not an option in our home. Even when Dad worked on tree jobs, he hurried home in time for church, changed real quick, and off the family of six would go to church.

My older brother taunted me unmercifully and in my memory got away with it! Since my sister was seven years older than I, her teenage years unfolded before me and I watched her every move with fascination and admiration. She wore poodle skirts and neckscarves and had a group of girlfriends that spoke Double-Dutch and giggled constantly.

She instilled a good appreciation of horror by reading Edgar Allen Poe to my twin brother and I at night by flashlight after “lights out.” Later she took us to the scariest of films because she was too frightened herself to go alone. It didn’t seem to matter that we were MUCH younger than she and the impression might have been pretty intense!

I spent my little girl years reading everything from Little Women, Alice in Wonderland, The Bobbsey Twins, Heidi, A Child’s Garden of Verses, “Little Orphant Annie,” Golden Books, and every fairy tale imaginable.

Our family life included strong discipline but I felt loved and adored by my parents. They taught by example and truly expected us to behave. So much so, that it took them by complete surprise when we disappointed them.

Holidays were filled with lots and lots of aunts and uncles and cousins of all ages. Even though most of our extended family relations lived in Iowa, many came to visit or stay with us and family visits were always a time for celebration.

Our backyard was filled with numerous play opportunities, hideouts, Madame X, my playhouse, the mound, trees to climb in and swing from, and usually a litter of kittens for me to love.

Our parents loved each other and were affectionate to one another and to us. There was lots of laughter and we waited by the front window for Daddy to get home from work where dinner would be waiting, and all would go to bed early to be ready to begin the next day.