Patty Longshore:  

How and where it all began... with, hopefully a surprise ending. As, Life does come full circle. Born in 1949 and raised in Everett Washington, to a mother born and raised there herself, (Betty Anderson) & a Father (James Longshore) Born in Newberry, S. Carolina... A Sailor she met, after her graduation from Everett High School. She was singing "LIve on the Radio"...Those were the days! The man to be my Father, was ported in and stationed in Fort Lewis, Wa. They met at a USO dance and soon thereafter married and then came kids... Oh boy, kids! Five of us. My Brother Michael D. Longshore, then myself 14 months later, Susan Lee Longshore, sister # 2, four years after me, then Christmas Eve, my second (Our third) sister...Dec. 24th, Carol Lynn Longshore and lastly, Daughter numer 4, the baby... Lynn Marie Longshore. Count em'... 5 kids. Phew! Schooling began at Jefferson Elementary,(Kindergarden, teacher?)... 1st grade,Teacher, Mrs Jackson, best Girlfriend, from 1st thru all of 9 yrs in Everett School System, was Sally Norway. (Now, Sally Norway Anderson). 2nd & 3rd grade, Jefferson Elem School, (Teacher> Beloved Mrs. Earl)... In 2nd grade at our Christmas Pagent, in the main lobby, Mrs Earl loved my vocal talents (as such for a 2nd grader) had me sing solo, for whole assemblage, "I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS" ... talk about nervous. Parents, Hrandparents, siblings in tow, all standing , spread out in the foyer (Grand Hall, as it were), to listen to all the lilltle children ... grades 1-6 singing Christmas Caroles, tunes for the Season and my little Solo... Still in all, I was proud. Makes you wonder if anyone else remembers that evening? Broke my heart when I came home to visit Everett in 1967, seeing my Memory filled Elementary School, torn to the ground and replaced w/ a Spanking New, shining steel and glass, Post Office... with nary a trace of the Idealic "Little Red School House"... that, for many generations held such fond and irreplacible memories of innocent days, Dick and Jane watching Spot run, Pledging the Allegence to Our Flag (Under God), practicing how to duck for cover under out antique wooden desks, in case of a nuclear attack from Communist Soviet Russia, trying to be be picked to "Clap" the erasers, after school each day.."Who's turn, today"?... with no lunch room (We ran home for lunch), no auditorium, no Gymnasium, no lockers, a black top play ground which we scraped our tender knees on daily, Gone were the Monkey Bars, that the boys took great delight sneaking a peak under us girls skirts, who were brave enough to scramble up the metal contraption, just to prove we were tough enough, only to discover we'd been invaded by the little peeping Tommy"s and Bobby's. The boys with their cloth bags of marbles... who had the best and biggest "Eggies"... who would be willing to swap whom, for their prize marble, with a neat collection of baseball cards to divy up and barter over for said prize marbles. Just a snap shot view of the everyday miracle of magic found at each new day of the precious early school days... no one will ever be able to pigeon hole, in an entirety, the wonderment of those days... Now we have a Post Office that the Government cannot afford to operate, anymore. Should have left our School House from the yesteryears, with the sounds of Elvis Pressley's "You Aint Nuthin' But A Houd Dog" blaring from a transistor radio that some 6th grader had snuck in and turned it on-wide open, as the halls filled with wildly escaping little ones racing out the doors to the fresh air outdoors... We had no air conditioning... what in the world was that and why, for goodness sake. We had huge wooden windows with paper shades to roll down, should the Sun, manage to reach our part of the room, in later afternoon. That did the trick, along with the cool breezes of those opened wide, wooden windows. How devine. Besides Sally Norway and Danny Culver, I was best Guy Friend-Friend, with Danny Burner. These were the kids who've stuck in my memory like white paste and colored poster paper made ringlets for Christmas chains to drape our room, come Christmas or Easter and Halloween. How festive we made each holiday, thanks to our inspired Ms Jackson, thin, prim and yet so interested in each of us... with an even temperment and a feeling of gladness for her job. I believe it must have been her first assignment in teaching. She always made us feel important. And as youngsters, I'm sure, other than an occational apple from my Grandpas backyard, she probably not often heard words of praise and hearty "Thank You's"... till school was due to be over for that year. If she is still with us or gone back to God, I, for one, wish to send out my meaningful thanks, that hopefully she felt at days end, when she was home and pulled off those little peep toe pumps she always wore, as she slid into her living room chair, that brought great solice at days end, from the energetic, sometimes wild and woolly and always never ending quizacle, group we were. I do so wish my mother had not lost all our school pictues, as I have my 2 sons from Kindergaten , onward. Thankfully, today I found a class photo of Washinton Elem. wher 4th grade was spent. Oh, how cute are 4th graders! 1st CRUSH... Danny Culver... From 1st grade at Jefferson Elem, on thru all the years I remained in Everett, Washington Elem. I lost touch with Sally, but found Jan Wiggins... whose Daddy was THE PRINCIPAL of our school, which I found amazing... My young mind did not realise that principals were people,...Expand for more