I was born in 1953 and brought home to 7700 SW Alden. My parents were Malcolm and Adele Newton. I started school in 1959.

I remember walking up to Lamb’s market center. There was an ice cream store where Baskin & Robbins is now. A big scoop cone was 10 cents and licorice was my favorite. There was also a five and dime store and the Boetger twins, Jean and Joan, were in my class….their parents owned the store. I remember shopping there.

In the school cafeteria, Mrs. Waldele and Mrs. Norris were cooks–they made really good macaroni and cheese. The Waldeles lived in a log cabin at the end of the Red Electric line.

I remember the Columbus Day storm in 1962:  Our Newton family had a gas stove so we had heat and could cook. The first night after the storm, we cooked for the neighbors. The power was off for two weeks. There was no homework for two weeks as most homes had no power although the school had power.

Our grandparents, Albert and Gladys Newton lived on 74th off Alden, three blocks from us. We were allowed to walk to the store and we had to pass our grandparents house and walk across the railroad bed.  Granny would come out and ask if we wanted lemonade and cookies and we always wondered how she knew we were there. (Our mother had called to tell her we were walking to the store).

One time we were going to the Rose Parade and needed bread for sandwiches, so my sister, Margaret, and I were each given a purse… one of us had the bread money and one had money to buy candy.  One of us lost our purse so when we got to the store, we said we didn’t have money for the bread (didn’t occur to us that we could use the candy money).  After calling my mom Lamb’s gave us both the bread and candy and mom paid them the next day.

Dr. Later was my dentist until I was 17.  His son, Barney, was in my first grade class. I remember when President Kennedy was shot, I was in the 5th grade…..we were in the cafeteria and the teachers took us to our classrooms and told us the news.

By Elizabeth Newton

Collected by Elaine Shreve, 2013