I had lunch duty a couple of days ago. I usually eat something out of the machines on days like that. There’s no time to microwave something, and I’m not very good at getting a nice lunch together.
While I was waiting for my turn at the sandwich machine, the girl in front of me kept putting her quarter in and it kept coming back out. She eventually turned to me with the quarter in her outstreched palm and said she couldn’t get it to work. I saw that she had an old quarter. I could tell it was all silver because of its coloring, so I told her. She didn’t care. She just wanted her food. I offered to trade with her and she accepted.
The coin is heavier than newer quarters. It really feels nice in your palm. This quarter is from 1957. For the sake of this post, I went looking for stuff that happened on January 19, 1957. I found a bunch of stuff, but I like THIS page the most. It is Annabelle Johnson’s journal. It looks like blog entries to me. I wonder what the January 19th entry means: “Boys were coasting.”
Man, if my grandma kept a journal, that is EXACTLY what it would look like. Just the facts, ma’am.
My grandmother kept a five-year journal when she and my grandfather were missionaries in Brazil, and it read like that. It was a five-year journal, and each day’s space was about an inch by 3 inches. (It was a little book.) I thought it was hilarious that she never mentioned how excited she was that she was pregnant, she just started to write, “Began sewing baby clothes. Made dinner.”
You’re getting a lot of mileage out of that quarter.
Brad–did you ever think of just giving the young innocent a quarter & letting her keep this treasured one? May the ghost of Annabelle Graham Johnson haunt you 4-EV-ER! (she was quite the baker btw, woo hoo)
Did you read April 20? How prophetic!
That journal is way too cool. I love reading stuff like that – callers coming, lots of pies baking, quilting, doctor coming TO THE HOUSE! Takes me back to the stories my grandmother would tell. Love that. Good times.
Thanks for finding that journal Brad. Now I have something else to keep me from getting my work done!
Being old myself and all (ahem), and having read all the entries leading up to 1/19/57, I’m going to offer that “coasting” had to do with sliding down snow-covered hills on flat round dishes, trash bin lids, or similar smooth-enough-to-sit-down-on items. ‘Course, I could be wrong…haven’t “coasted” myself in decades…
Speaking of snow-covered…have you read those temps?! This gal didn’t live in Bawlmer, Hon – and this was obviously before global warming kicked in. My biscuits are frozen just reading this!! (Indeed, where is the museum from which this fine slice of American nostalgia was plucked?)
Click on David Blaikie at the top of her journal for more info. Apparently she was just a folk from town … ???
David Blaikie has written the website about his hometown of Upper Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. So it’s not US American nostalgia, but it is North American.
Heh… “US American” reminds me of Miss Teen South Carolina.
My favorite part of that video is the expression on Slater’s (I don’t know his real name, just his Saved By the Bell name) face right when he thanks her…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! It’s killin’ me.
And where is the “new” quarter for size comparison?