Saturday, October 16

Saturday, October 16 - Bud was in American Royal Parade. Big deal. Plan to go to Cherryvale tomorrow. Spent afternoon running errands. 

Sunday, October 17 - Drove to Cherryvale. Ate breakfast at Garnett and supper at Osawatomie. Had a real pleasant day considering everything. I would like to have stayed but Marv decided against it.

Monday, October 18 - Got hair fixed and helped do washing.

I can't tell if mom's being sarcastic or supportive. yes, I know she's being supportive, it's just her attempt at brevity. The American Royal Parade is definitely a big deal in Kansas City, although in recent years they've shortened it quite a bit.

It used to stage up near Quality Hill, then meander down to the base of Main Street then down to Grand Avenue, all the way to Union Station. Here is actual footage of the parade the year before featuring our very own Northeast High School marching Vikings. They show up around 1:12 Note the sparkly uniforms and white shoes.

This view is on Grand Avenue, at 17th Street, facing west. 

The trip to Cherryvale, Kansas would have taken six hours in those days, counting a food stop, down US 69 by way of Pittsburg and Parsons. "Breakfast at Garnett." We probably left the house at four in the morning. Our trips were always marked by the meals we had. For years one of regular stops on the way to Fort Scott was in Louisburg, Kansas. The small cafe had a neon sign with an illuminated coffee cup with glowing neon steam coming from it. The pancakes were hot and slathered in butter and syrup and the milk was frothy and ice cold. Sorry, I got sidetracked thinking about road food.

Dad is a homebody. He'd rather spend the whole day driving than spend the night in Cherryvale. I get that from my dad. I'm also pretty sure he was a bit envious of his brother Clarence. They were both butchers, but Clarence had a meat locker in Fort Scott and then moved his business to Cherryvale when dad moved back to Kansas City to keep mom happy.

Uncle Clarence then built a nice ranch house in Cherryvale. His son Roger let me drive his four-speed Corvair Monza this trip to town. They were the most affluent of the Simpsons, although you would never accuse them of being well-off. Compared to us, though, they were in high cotton.