Page 111 - memories-of-golde-dicks-markham-(1996)-golde-dicks-markham

Memories of Golde Dicks Markham (1996) Golde Markham Dicks 96/125

I told Eric I’d like to sew and the next thing I knew, he had bought me a new sewing
machine. Eric was good about giving me anything I wanted. I went to town and bought

material, thread, and a pattern. I’d sew a little, and when I wouldn’t know how to find a
neck, put in a sleeve, or put on a collar. I’d put it aside until Ma visited us and could get me
going again.
When I got pregnant with Sharon, I made a layette for her. I made dresses and slips to

match, and I made a little cap out of lace insertion. All of her clothes were handmade. When
it was time to go to the hospital, I took a suitcase full of handmade baby clothes, all embroi­
dered with white silk thread.

The nurses saw those clothes and had a fit over them. They looked at each piece and
showed the clothing to all the other hospital staff. From then on, I made all of Sharon’s
clothes, even her jackets and coats. She didn’t have a store-bought coat until she got into
junior high school.
I looked at clothes in the costly children’s shops and then made my own (pattern to

copy those expensive clothes. This may sound1 (like a fairy tale, but many times I’d have an
idea for an outfit but wouldn’t know how to make it. I’d then dream how to do it. I’d get up
the next morning, get my sewing materials out, and by that evening, I’d have the outfit made.

I learned to sew fairly good, thanks to Ma.

All of my life I wanted to be a schoolteacher. When I grew up, about the only possibil­
ity for a profession for a girl was to be either a teacher or a nurse. It cost more than a girl
could rake and scrape to become a nurse. Many schools gave teaching certificates to gradu=

ates. The closest one of those schools was located in Fort White. But Pa didn’t have the
money to board me to attend that school, nor could1 he afford transportation for me to go
there—and it was too far to drive a horse.

When I was in the eighth grade, the school board offered a test for getting a teacher’s
certificate. I decided I’d take it just for fun. I passed every subject except one, and I just fell
three or four points below passing on that one.
I got a chance to substitute in elementary school when J.E. Waters was principal.

When Mr. Waters moved on, Claude Fralick took his place and used me as a substitute
teacher. Philip Browning, our next door neighbor, became the principal of the junior high

school and asked me to substitute. I substituted from 1945 to 1970.1 didn’t get much pay,
but it was a dream come true.

96

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: C15F5985-B57F-498C-9C99-F425FA07E049