I started wearing a bra when I was thirteen. Back then wearing a bra was a deep, dark personal secret. Much to my humiliation one of the girls in school found out about my bra and teased me unmercifully.

Thinking I’d “fix her,” I snuck into the bathroom, removed my bra, and crammed it into my coat pocket. Not two minutes later, my tormentor charged into the coatroom, grabbed my bra, and waved it like a flag for everyone to see. I was shy to start with, so this made me want to crawl into a hold and pull it in after me.

Clothes weren’t important to me, but Mom wanted her daughter to be well-dressed. She saved her pennies for months until she had twenty-five and could buy me a pair of silk stockings from the Sears catalog. Women in Charlevoix started wearing blue jeans around 1935–until then we weren’t even allowed to wear trousers.

Dad didn’t allow me to talk to a boy, let alone date, until I was sixteen. When I was a junior a boy invited me to the J-hop–a school dance held in the school gym. I don’t remember my date’s name, but I do remember my powder-blue dress, white gardenia corsage, hundreds of balloon decorations, and swooning to Oh, Johnnie.

When I was a senior, our basketball team qualified to play in the state championships. School closed for two days so students, teachers, and even our principal could attend. The games were played in Grand Rapids–a town 100 miles from Charlevoix.

When I boarded the bus I felt like we were about to circumnavigate the globe. Staying in a hotel was a luxury reserved for movie stars. During the last minute of the last game our opponent scored two points and won the championship. But in our hearts the Charlevoix Red Raiders were always number one.

I graduated high school in 1938. It was a very proud moment, as I was the only one of my seven siblings who made it through.

And BTW: I was no longer humiliated by wearing a bra, but that’s another story!!