Roaring Twenties

My mother, Viola, in the Roaring Twenties

No, I didn't live during the Roaring Twenties, but my parents did.  They first met at the Pomona Skating Rink which later became the showroom for the Cadillac Dealership. The year was 1923, father was a mere 18 having graduated from the 8th grade in Idaho then headed West to California and became an apprentice to a stone-cutter at Grey Granite Company on Gary Avenue in Pomona.
         
Mother moved from Denver, Colorado, to Glendora, California, with her family 1903 as a three year old.  After having Polio at 16 and her mother dying of "a broken heart" the following year, her father sold his Lemon Grove home and they moved to Pomona.  You see, mother was an only child. I was told years later that Grandma Lily had been only 34 and was buried in her wedding gown.  Mother said "the funeral was both sad and surreal" as Lily looked as she had on the day of her wedding years before according to those who knew her well.  "In her casket, she looked to be my same age," noted Mother.
         
After a six day work week,  My future father, Clarence, would grab his roller-skates and ride his bicycle to the Rink for a much looked forward to break.  Mother, living only a few blocks from the Rink began having her friend, Caroline, push her wheelchair there so she could watch the skating.  At 23 Caroline and Viola were very attractive Roaring Twenties girls. Boys at the Rink always crowded around them so there was a lot of flirting going on you can be sure. Caroline always brought along her roller skates and joined in the fun. I might add that a rainy night couldn't keep the skaters away, and my Grandfather would gladly take the girls to the Rink and pick them up at closing.
         
Viola  told this story.  "A really young, good looking guy named Clarence had become very friendly and I looked forward to seeing him each week at the Rink. While Caroline and the other boys were skating, Clarence would often sit with me and we would laugh and talk.  This night, however, he began skating  backward and pulling my wheelchair onto the Rink floor and before I could resist he was whirling me to the music and I truly felt like we were dancing. This became a weekly event that I really waited for.  Needless to say it was the beginning of our love affair."
         
After that, Clarence spent many Sunday afternoons serenading Viola with his Mandolin-playing as she sat on her front porch swing.  Grandfather would join them bringing along a picnic lunch and ice-cold lemonade.  Apparently he was unaware that while he was in the house preparing the picnic Viola and Clarence were talking of marriage.  Viola had been told, by her doctors, she could never marry and have children. Clarence had just turned 19.  Of course, she lied and he lied so their chosen ages were no more than one year apart according to their calculations.  Did they resort to running away to get married one weekend, to the dismay of her father and Clarence's entire family?  That is another story.
   
Note:  You can click on the photo to make it larger (a page from my baby book): mother sitting on the runningboard of Grandfather's 1923 Dodge.