Below is my first of hopefully many Tell Me a Story posts. Last year I started to document Dorothy from Kansas' life history, but didn't finish it. In an effort to make sure I don't lose sight of capturing her experiences along with my own I'm going to write a post once a week to share our stories. I hope you will too!

The following is the beginning of Dorothy from Kansas' story. Note: I have omitted specific dates and names in this public version of the story.

Dorothy from Kansas' Baby Book circa 1919

I was born in a small town in Southeast Kansas in late 1919. And by small town I mean there were no more than three or four homes and a general store. I can't tell you much about my birth as my mother never told me about it - back then the topic was taboo.

My parents met three or four years earlier when my father visited the town general store. You see my mother's family owned the store and she worked the counter. She was quite the beauty. Father was a telegrapher for the Frisco line (St. Louis - San Francisco Railway) at the time and was stationed at the town's depot. He frequented the store to buy goods and chat up mother. They married in 1917.

Soon after my birth my father applied and transferred to a second trick (4PM - Midnight shift) telegrapher position about an hour north. We moved in the middle of winter and settled into to my childhood hometown. It was the county seat, population 4,000, and had a beautiful town square in the center of town.

The square was a wonderful greenspace with a bandstand and koi pond. I remember spending hours at a time there just watching the fish. During the winter the fish would be housed in a bucket of water at the fire station. There were stores lined all around the square. Among the buildings were three banks, two movie theatres, two drug stores, a post office and a Carnegie library. I remember when the circus would come to town in spring they would parade around the town center with their elephants before setting up the big top. It was quite the show!

Circus Parade Via

As you ventured out from the town center the population divided itself based on religion. The Catholics lived on the East end of town, Methodists to the North, and the Lutherans and Baptists in the South and West. We lived on the North side. It was considered a disgrace to date and marry out of your own religion back then. Not being a stickler for rules I ended up marrying a Catholic 20 years later, but that's another story.


Now it's your turn to share a glimpse into your family history!

The linky will open every Wednesday and close Tuesday night.

A few rules:

1. Write a post based on a memory from one of your relatives or from your own childhood. It can be about anything from the past - ranging from major life events to a treasured family heirloom. If you aren't quite sure where to start or what to ask check out 20 Questions for Interviewing Relatives or Life History Interview.
2. Linkup to your Tell Me a Story post, not your main blog URL.
3. Grab my Tell Me a Story button to include in your post (or use a text link if you prefer).
4. Visit a few other blogs and leave comments.

Link up on my blog: http://www.adventuresasasmalltownmom.com/2012/04/tell-me-story-begi...

I look forward to reading your stories!