Week 2 - 52 Questions

When and where were you born? Describe your home, your neighborhood, and the town you grew up in.

I was born on May 14, 1957, in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. I was born at the "Old" Nebraska Methodist Hospital, which was on 36th and Cuming Street. It's now a Salvation Army Shelter.

I lived with my grandparents most of the first four years of my life. They lived at 409 Sweetwood Ave, close to Downtown Omaha. Sweetwood Avenue was a short street, just one block long. The only evidence the street ever existed is The Sweetwood Bar,which is located on Harney Street, just north of where the street was. I know when I was born, mom and dad lived in the Porter Apartments, a couple doors down from where I remember my grandparents living. I don't remember all the places my grandparents lived, seems like they still had some wanderlust going on, and all the places from my growing up years in that neighborhood are gone. Torn down to build the now defunct Lutheran Medical Center and Richard Young Psychiatric Hospital. Coincidentally, the parking lot for Richard Young, where I worked for 3 years or so, is built where Sweetwood Avenue used to be. I could almost imagine where grandma and grandpa Erikson's duplex used to stand as I walked into work each morning.

The first place I remember living with mom and dad was on 36th and Dewey, there was a 3-plex on the corner and we lived in the middle one when Missy was born. Then,we moved to the end unit, and that's where I lived when I started school at Columbian (the"old" Columbian School - where my mom also attended. It has since been renovated into apartments.) The school was on about 38th and Jones Street.

The population of Omaha in 1960 was 301,958, and in 2014 it was 446,599. The Omaha I remember as a child was rather small. We went downtown to "go shopping", usually with grandma Erikson. We would walk or take a bus down, but usually we took a cab home. I think grandma's feet were giving out by that point. When I lived with grandma and grandpa, my world felt pretty small. We walked to the grocery store, but grandpa drove to work. We took weekly road trips when grandma's sister, Myrtle, was in the Douglas County Annex on 156th and Maple. Maple Street at that time was a 2-lane brick road, and to me it felt like going to visit Aunt Myrtle was an all day excursion. Now, the Wal-Mart I go is further west than that, on 168th and Maple! My ward at church used to meet on 171st and Maple. Funny how time changes things.

When living with Grandma and Grandpa, the neighborhood was all apartments and their duplex. The population was generally about their age, early 50s and older. Hardly any kids. I loved to draw and to read, so I kept myself entertained. Sometimes their friends would come visit, mostly grandma's friends during the day when grandpa was at work. Most of them were widows or had never married. There's nothing like old lady gossip to bore a child!! I loved to comb and "style" their hair while they chatted. I remember Clarkie, one of grandma's older friends. She had the softest, curliest, white hair! I loved it. They all treated me as if I was a little adult. I never felt like they didn't have time for me. It was a pretty idyllic childhood - until I moved home when my sister was born. Man! That was a shock to my system! That's when I discovered the world didn't revolve around me!