A Banner Day

Today is a banner day. My parents - Bob & Janis Moore - celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary. (This collage is from one of the books my mom put together for the grandkids). 

2021 Photo by Kent Moore

They were just 17 and 19 when they were married. And even though that seems young by today's standards, it seems to have worked out pretty well for them and their descendants - four children, seven grandchildren and 10 great-grands. 

A couple of those great-grands also are having a banner day today.

It's Kinley's and Brooke's first day of the new school year. Kinley is a 4th grader, and Brooke is in 1st grade. I was anxiously awaiting the first day of school photos.

At this point in her life, Brooke wants to be a kindergarten teacher. (I wonder if that will change to first grade teacher after this year?)

Kinley's career choice of "veterinarian" has remained constant for several years. (I think that it was "dolphin trainer" one year, but that's still animal related.)

For old times' sake, I foraged in my childhood scrapbook to see what I looked like when I was the girls' age. (Thanks to my mom for her organizational efforts! I wish I'd inherited that quality.)

Jeff Berry, Kim Moore, Carol Beberstine, Lorraine Frisbie, Eugene Stotts

 

For me, first grade was the first stop in my academic life. Byers didn't have kindergarten.  I had a whopping five people in my class - counting me!

At Byers, two grade levels were combined, so both the 1st and 2nd grade had Mrs. Bond as their teacher. 

Front row: Curtis Matulka, Eugene Stotts, Ronnie Young, Mike Kelly, Kim Moore, Carol Beberstine, Jeff Berry. Back row: Monte Pritchett, Kevin Warren, Mrs. Bond, Danna Stinemetze, Lorraine Frisbie, Bob Parker.

 My fourth grade year was the final one at Byers. In fifth grade, Byers consolidated with other small Pratt County schools to form Skyline. I don't remember exactly what I wanted to be at those milestones in my life. I remember "composer" was one of the things I dreamed of becoming. (I was not granted that God-given ability, though I certainly appreciate musical composition.) But I also thought of being a writer. So I guess maybe I had an inkling of what I might become.

 The shot of the girls boarding the bus this morning also brought back a little nostalgia. I rode the school bus the 3 1/2 miles to Byers. My kids had a longer trip for their dozen miles or so to school. I didn't find any photos of my "antique" bus.

Even though my efforts in scrapbooking did not compare to my mom's, I did find a few photos of Jill at similar ages to her girls.

Jill was 8 1/2 and Brent was 6 in this first-day-of-school photo.

Here was their school bus photo that year.

Jill would have been 6 - just like Brooke - in these photos. Brooke wanted her hair crimped for her first day of school. And I noticed that Jill had her hair crimped for her first day of school, too.

You can see the bus lights coming in the dark!

What goes around comes around, I guess!

Happy anniversary and happy first day of school to some special people!