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When
Children were Children
I was and am a “ham”
By Sharon Hopper
They, my parents, tell me when I was just a little girl we rode the
train a lot from Baltimore Md. to Mansfield Ohio where my grandparent
and all my family lived. They tell me that I used to sing Mare's Eat
Oats and Doe's Eat Oats and Little Lambs Eat Ivy, up and down the
aisles of the train and people would give me a nickel for singing to
them. I can see my happy face and curly locks bouncing around. My dad
had curly hair; however my mom was not so lucky. Anyway I do not
remember the train trips but I do remember the big old upright piano in
my grandma and grandpa’s homes. They both had a musical talent to a
degree. My grandpa Leo used to play Moonlight and Roses in sixths all
the time and my aunt played Heart and Soul for me. Actually I learned
that song before I was four years old. My grandma Gladys used to play
old sheet music for me and I still have a few copies of her original
songs in my library. Anyway I always loved to go to their homes and
fiddle with the piano.
We later moved to Columbus and lived on Hampton Ave where my folks made
real good friends with the neighbor, who had three boys and a dog named
Skipper. When I was four they had to move and could not take Skipper,
so my dad and mom took him and he was my buddy and friend for the next
10 years or so.
To make a long story short we moved to Mansfield when I was going on
five into an old schoolhouse that only had a few rooms and no kitchen.
Bathroom, or furnace. I was divided down the middle with three rooms on
each side. We had a couple coal stoves for heat. One in the living room
and one in the kitchen. However, that old schoolhouse had and old
player piano in it... The kind you had to pump. We had a stack of piano
rolls in the bench and we would get together on Sundays with family and
pump that old piano and sing the words that were printed on the rolls.
Piano rolls have little perforations in them to pump the air through
and you got music from the air pump. The keys physically played as the
music played. No need to have an exercise machine with that old piano
around. I became fascinated with the piano from that old piano. At the
age of five I was allowed to take piano lessons and learned rather
quickly that you had to practice and have years of patience to read
that stuff. I still have that original book and it is dated September
1946. (I have since learned that learning music is not rocket science).
My birthday is in October.
My mother taught me how to play Chop Stix, Doctor Doctor, Heart and
Soul in a duet and another little ditty that I do not remember the name
of that song. But I spent hours entertaining my family and schoolmates
with my little songs. We also had and old wind up Victrola with some
records and my mom used to sing along and knew all the words to many
many songs. Some of which I play today. That Victrola lived in my
bedroom. Why I do not know. But that old schoolhouse was a special
place for me and for the next few weeks I will tell you all about that
house and the many memories that it holds today. And don’t forget
Skipper was my friend and primary playmate. My music became my hobby
and I had lots of time for both. So everyone if you want to walk down
memory lane of life about fifty years ago stay tuned and I will start a
new mini series called I Remember When. I have lots to talk and laugh
about. It is no wonder that I really enjoyed being a child. Stay tuned.
by Sharon Hopper
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