My 6th Birthday (By Lori)

At the time that I turned six, Larry was serving a tour of duty in Vietnam so Dee Dee, Lara, and I were living at Dee Dee’s mother’s (Ma’s) house.  Dodson, Ma’s town, and Hollis, the Tucker’s town, were just about 13 miles apart, so it was no big deal to go to Hollis when we felt the desire.  This proved to be quite useful when it was time for my birthday “extravaganza”.

You see, when Blaine and Madelene bought their house, it was directly across the street from the high school.  There was a separate building on the side of the house, facing the school, and the woman who previously owned the house – and that building -- had the spare building set up as a little burger joint.  Many of the kids would come there for lunch; since the school mascot was a tiger, this little place was called, “The Tiger Den”.  The lady left all of the furnishings intact when she left, which meant that there were several booths and tables with lots of space for a birthday party!

This was one of the few birthday parties that I can remember that actually involved more than just our immediate family.  To make it even more special, I had a “Batman” cake!  I was crazy for all things Batman at the time, and this was such a special, special treat.  I think I was more excited about the cake than I was at the prospect of presents.  Here are the few pictures we have from that day:

Here I am at Ma’s house, waiting to go:

 Yes, I even let my little sister come (ha, ha):

Here we are with my cousin, Kandi Ford.  She is the daughter of Dee Dee’s brother, Ronnie:

Some of the “Tucker” side was there, too.  On the left, with just half of her face showing, is Jani Amburn.  She is Larry’s cousin’s (Janie Amburn’s) daughter.  On the right side in the front is Jimmy Ford.  With a name like “Ford”, you might think he’s from Dee Dee’s side of the family.  However, Blaine’s sister, Margie, married a man named Bill Ford, and Jimmy is their son.  In the back is my uncle, Monte.  He was only 4 years older than me – Larry was a senior in high school when his mother was pregnant with his younger brother.

The pictures from this birthday serve to highlight one other phenomenon that was prevalent in my life during this time:  big, poufy hair.  Dee Dee had a major fascination with those pink foam rollers, and she rolled my hair all the time.  Looking through old pictures, it seems that the pink foam curler was not saved for special occasions (like birthday parties).  Here I am with my great-grandmother, Carrie (and some major pouf):

At bed time at Ma’s house – it’s the end of the day, but that curl is still hanging on!

And here we are at the old mobile home, with me actually sporting those dreadful things:

I guess mothers through the ages have done whatever it takes to make little girls look good!

Family Fudge Recipes (by Dee Dee)

When I was a little girl and we lived in the old house, one of the better memories of that time was winter time, when my mother made homemade fudge and popped popcorn.  We always seemed to have a friend of one of us kids over and Mama would always make a big batch of fudge (the recipe she used is in this posting).  She would pop a dishpan full of popped corn and we would eat ourselves silly.  It sure was good.  I did not have her fudge recipe.  I did know what ingredients were in it, but didn’t know the amounts.  But thanks to the internet I found the recipe.

As I mentioned above we lived in the old house.  We were very, very poor when I was little and to this day I don’t know how my Mama and Daddy managed to keep us fed and the old tin roof over our heads, but they did.  The house was four rooms and little storage room.  Mama, Daddy, five kids, and Daddy’s mother (Grandma Ollie) all lived there.

We had no bathroom and no running water in the house; therefore, we had an old wooden out-house for doing our business and a big tin bath tub that Mama would heat the water for our baths.  Needless to say, we didn’t get a bath every day – at least once a week and sometimes twice a week.

The kitchen was so cold in the winter that Mama wouldn’t let us eat in there.  She would cook it and serve it in the living room.  We didn’t have an electric refrigerator, but we had a big wooden ice box.  It had one big door and shelves on one side and two smaller doors on the other side.  We had big blocks of ice that would go in the top of the side with two doors.  It kept the milk and everything cold.  I remember it even was cold enough to make jello.

The only thing good about that house was the tin roof and how good the rain sounded hitting it.  The tin roof reminds me of a funny story.  My Daddy and younger brother, Ronny, were putting a new tin roof on.  My older brother, Buddy, was sleeping and it was about noon time.  Buddy yelled, “Quit making that noise!  I’m trying to sleep!”

Daddy came off the roof in a flash.  He let out a string of curse words that would put any sailor to shame and told Buddy to get out of that bed and help them.  I have to admit I took the cursing like a sailor after my Daddy.  I can let loose with some pretty choice words.  I’ve done better through the years, but I still sometimes let loose.

Ma’s Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

1/8 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cup milk

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with foil; butter the foil.

In a large heavy sauce pan, stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Mix well.  Gently stir in milk with large wooden spoon.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full rolling boil.

Boil without stirring to 234° F on candy thermometer.  The bulb of the candy thermometer should not rest on the bottom of the pan. (Should take about 20-30 minutes.)

Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla.  Do not stir.

Cool at room temperature to 110° or lukewarm. Do not stir.  (Takes approximately 2 hours or more.)

Beat fudge with a wooden spoon or until it thickens and loosens some of its gloss (15-20 minutes – it will look more like frosting instead of syrup when it is ready).  Quickly spread onto prepared pan; cool.

Cut into squares using a warm knife that has been dipped in hot water and dried off.

Wrap loosely in foil and place in refrigerator.

Dee Dee’s Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

¾ cup margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 7-oz jar Kraft Marshmallow crème

1 cup chopped nuts

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Combine sugar, margarine, and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring.  Remove from heat, stir in chocolate until melted.  Add marshmallow crème, nuts, and vanilla; beat until blended.  Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

Addition by Lori:  My whole family loves Dee Dee’s fudge, especially Mandy.  Christmas is made even more special by the fact that we know that Dee Dee will be making big batches of fudge for everyone.  I had to laugh when Mandy informed me several years ago that if I wanted to make sure that she came for Christmas every year I would have to learn to make Dee Dee’s fudge!

Dee Dee Adds:  I have made fudge for the whole family at Christmas for over 30 years now.  Last Christmas (2011) was the first time ever that I was not able to make fudge (I was suffering from pneumonia).  Next year I plan to make doubles -- I guess that's the optimist in me!

The Intruder (By Lori)

When we were younger, Dee Dee loved to dress us up and take our picture.  It has long been a little family joke that another figure would mysteriously appear in those pictures (usually one of her fingers).  I'm not sure how old I was when these two pictures were taken, but we were at Ma's (Opal's) house at the time.  Ma did not have central heat and air and used those little gas stoves to heat the house.  Of all the spots in the house that I could have been placed to take these pictures, I ended up "straddling" the gas jet in both of them:

I have teased Mom about this for ages...Well, actually, I did tease her until I began looking at some of the pictures that I have taken through the years and I began to notice how many "intruders" are in them (that's if I even managed to get it all in the frame).  I didn't know that this was a trait that could actually be passed down, but apparently it is!

Top Notch Military Team (Posted by Lori)

Although military couples are quite common these days, at the time that Larry and Dee Dee were serving having a married couple serving in the military was a little more unusual.  Hence the following newspaper article about them:

Old Cradle

Our family was never big on regular vacations or travels, but there was one trip where we all went to Utah to visit some of Dad's family. I don't remember much of it, as I was a young tyke, but I do remember the stream we (Dad, Grandma Lynda, and I) visited that everyone referred to as the "Old Cradle." When we went, it felt like a chunk of remote nature was carved out just for us that day. I felt so carefree and filled with awe. I think it was my first time to swim in a non-pool setting.

Dad was super crafty and made me a wooden boat to float on the stream. At one point, it drifted beyond my grasp and was quickly caught up in the current (and the riffles seemed like rapids to my short self). I remember the relief I felt when Dad when downstream and retrieved it and the impression from that incident has always resonated with me. I didn't let that boat out of my sight the entire rest of the day!

My Grandma Lynda and I made a little village out of mud, rocks, and whatever else we could find. I thought it was really cool to have an adult play in the mud with me and it was a complete blast. I haven't been to Utah since, but hope to return with my family. My memories of Old Cradle inspire me to create similar magical experiences for my daughter.

Kenny Rogers Concert (By Lori)

Kenny Rogers was a singer who had been popular back when I was a little girl.  He disappeared for a while and you really didn’t hear anything from him or about him for several years.  Then, during my late teens/early twenties his career came roaring back with a string of hits like, “Lady” and “She Believes in Me”.  He was huge!  And he was coming to a town near us (Louisville, KY)!  We were living in military housing on Fort Knox (5364-G Kelly, to be exact) and Larry was serving a tour of duty in Korea.  It’s terrible (but true) to say that with Larry gone, we were free to enjoy going places and doing things – things like going to a Kenny Rogers concert!

I even had a couple of friends who went along.  Here we are, dolled up and ready to go (left-to-right:  Kim Wofford, me, Lara, and Cindy Caldera).

If this isn’t enough to amaze you, believe it or not, Dee Dee went to the concert with us (yes, there she is, standing next to Kim):

We had a great time!  We shouted, we clapped, we stood up, and generally acted unruly (but in a good way).  We stopped at White Castle, an area favorite, to have hamburgers on the way home.

I have to mention my good friend Kim, especially:

She was really my best friend and always had a kind word to encourage me, even when I had messed things up quite a bit in my life.  She had an infectious laugh and I still love talking to her today -- and laughing...a lot.  We had lost contact for a few years, but Alan was able to use Facebook to help me find her.  I really had not had any interest in Facebook before that, but after finding Kim living in an area where I would have never thought to look for her, I had to admit there might be something to it.

I was not only friends with Kim, but also with Kim’s mother, Bertha:

Not only did I see Bertha every Sunday at church, she was always available to chat whenever I needed  someone to talk to.  She also was there on a very special day in my life.  Mandy’s father chose not to be there when I was in the hospital giving birth, so our Relief Society President, Carol Seipert, went in with me for a while and was my “coach”.  Bertha knew that Dee Dee would be worried to death out in the waiting room, so she went and sat with Mom for a good part of the day and was Mom’s “coach”.  Since Mandy was born on Thanksgiving Day, I can never do justice in telling what it meant to us that these ladies would give up part of their holiday with their families to be there for us.  Unfortunately, I learned that Bertha passed away a year or two before Kim and I reconnected, but she still lives in my heart and memory.

Opal Ella Nora Higdon Ford (By Dee Dee)

This picture is of my mother, Opal Ella Nora Higdon, at age 18.  She married my dad, Paul Millard Ford, at the age of 19.

She was born on January 15^th, 1912, to Joseph and Lucy Higdon in Eastland, Texas.  She was the 5^th child of eight children born to them.

They moved by covered wagon to Wellington, Texas, at some point in her childhood.  My mother did not have much formal education (through either 6^th or 7^th grade), but she was one of the smartest women I’ve ever known.  She could write the best poems and essays.  She helped my sister with several college papers and they got A’s on them.  She helped me write a poem in high school (and Odell Lemons stood up after I read mine and said, “Chevy, you know you didn’t write that.”  It was so much better than my other writings.  I’m sure my teacher came to the same conclusion and graded me accordingly.

My mother could sew anything by just seeing a picture.  When we were teenagers, my sister and I would buy “Photoplay” and “Seventeen” magazines and she would copy the clothes from them.  She kept us very well dressed when we were teenagers.

She met my Dad at the skating rink in Wellington, Texas.  This would carry on for two more generations as I met Larry at the skating rink and Lara met Donnie at the skating rink.

My Dad was from Dodson, Texas, so when they married they moved there and spent the rest of their lives there.  There is so much more to write, and as the family story continues I will write more of her, but for now, when I’ve been asked what is my fondest memory of her, it would be that I remember her as the most gentle, kindest, sweetest, and smartest of all women.  In fact, I think of her as a saint (which she was called that by someone), and as the story unfolds it will show that she really was.

She never spanked us, and the only bad scolding I remember getting was when my sister, the neighbor kids, and I were making fun of another neighbor kid.  She sat us down and chewed us out royally.  She never made fun of anyone and always tried to find the best in everyone.  I remember a new girl moved into town.  Truthfully, she was very ugly.  She couldn’t help it, and I did feel sorry for her.  I told Mama that a real ugly girl had moved in.  Later, when my Mama saw her, she said, “She is not so ugly.  She has beautiful eyes and real pretty hair.”  That was my Mama – always finding the good and pretty in the bad and the ugly.

She died on July 15^th, 1971, at the age of 59.  Oh, how I loved her and still miss her!