Charlie and Jennie standing, Charlene in front (Photo by Mary West), taken at Universal Studios, Studio City, California in 1994 |
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Charlie and Jennie standing, Charlene in front (Photo by Mary West), taken at Universal Studios, Studio City, California in 1994 |
"Once a month my mother would take the streetcar and go downtown to Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co., a store on State Street (it's still there). . . We would go up to the seventh floor. That's where the groceries were. They had ice cream tables and chairs for you to sit on. Mom would give them her grocery order for a month's supply. The next day a team of horses and wagon would stop out in front, and they would deliver the groceries."
"Every night at dusk the lamp lighter came by. He had his ladder and would light the gas street lights. We had lots of fun playing games with our friends under the street lights after dinner at night."
"We had a nickel telephone, and once a month the telephone man would come and count the nickels. If there were enough, it would pay the bill for the month. There weren't too many phones nearby, so the neighbors would come in and use ours."
"Jennie's life should be viewed in the framework of her times, from 1908 until 2003. Much happened during those years as the world reshaped itself numerous times. Besides global change, whole generations of family and friends ceased their earthly walk-people who were very much part of her moving and being-while neighborhoods and cities transfigured, and new modes of travel and communication developed. These family members and friends influenced her life, some significantly, as she built her personality and character.
"Meanwhile, new generations of family and friends affected her life almost on a daily basis, as she kept in touch and moving ahead, never stuck inexorably in the past. She also affected their lives, always in a positive way. One of Jennie's strongest points was that, after nine and a half decades of personal and worldly evolution, she lived for today while ever appreciating her yesterdays. Another, even stronger, point was that she placed everything in perspective. I personally believe this last attribute was her secret to successfully moving with her times."
"Connie wanted to make a special 'Memory' book. She had taken a class that taught how to make them, in which she learned some special effects. She tried to get Mom's photographs on the sly. It didn't work. Finally, she asked and Mom gave her two boxes full.
"Connie took them home but became confused when she didn't know who were a lot of the people in the pictures. I received a SOS call and met her at Mom's house, where, with Mom's help, we went back ninety years and proceeded to 'name the photos.'
"Mom had great stories for each, so it took the greater part of a day. We didn't tell her why Connie was writing on the backs of the pictures, nor what she was doing it for, but Mom's no dummy. She knew Connie was doing something with them.
"Connie had duplicates made of the pictures she would be including. Then after many hours-days-weeks of work, the gorgeous book was ready to present to Mom as her very own 'This is Your Life Jennie Paige.'"
The above excerpts are a small part of the
154-page document telling of some high, some low, but mostly regular
points in the life of Jennie Louise Barnes Paige's first 91 years.
The file is in PDF format and requires that you have the free
software Adobe™ Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer.
If you do not already have it installed, click here
to download a copy from Adobe's Web site.
When you're ready, click here
to be introduced into the Life and Times of this special woman. Be advised that
the file is nearly a megabyte in size and thus may take a few
minutes to open.
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