Perils and Pitfalls of Hotel Living
It seems to me that we lived at the Oxnard Hotel for a long time, but it was really only 3 1/2 years. I've called this post "Perils and Pitfalls," because the dangers and annoyances are what I'm most likely to remember from this time in my life. During the early 1960's, my sister was born, Norfolk endured a major flood and many tornado warnings, an arsonist tormented the community, we endured a plague of black beetles, and Dan and I suffered through several childhood diseases that are now quite rare.
Laura was born on February 4th, when I was almost seven. She was the only one of us kids to be born after her due date. A few days before she finally arrived, Dad had gotten tickets for our family to attend the Ice Capades in Norfolk, just a few blocks from the hotel. Mom was having contractions, so Dad took Dan and me to the ice show. Every few minutes, Dad would leave us sitting in the stands and go to the pay phone to call home and make sure Mom was okay. We were able to stay for the entire show, which we enjoyed immensely; Laura finally put in her appearance a few days later. Mom had to stay in the hospital for several days. Dan and I stayed with Grandma Vawser part of the time, but we ate and slept at home every day.
Laura was born at a time when people throughout the country were worried about a nuclear attack. Most communities, and even some individual families, constructed underground bomb shelters. Everyone stock-piled canned goods and other emergency supplies. My Dad had several cases of pork and beans, in small cans. So, for several meals while Mom was in the hospital, Dad fed us cold pork and beans, straight from the can. (We each got our own can!) We survived happily on beans and mince meat (bologna) sandwiches until Mom and Laura got home from the hospital.
A few weeks after Laura was born, the town of Norfolk flooded. The hotel was located just a couple of blocks from the Elkhorn River. As the river began to rise, Dad and several other people worked hard filling sandbags and stacking them all around the outside of the building. Dad's Uncle Charlie and Aunt Viola lived several blocks away from the river, far enough that their home was not in danger of being flooded, so Laura and our black cocker spaniel, Daisy, were sent to stay with them until the danger passed. However, Dan and I stayed at the hotel with Mom and Dad. The sky was completely overcast, threatening more rain. I remember looking out the front doors of the hotel at the gray water swirling down Norfolk Avenue, and watching as the water rose higher and higher up the front steps. The elevated main floor of the hotel stayed dry, and the basement, which was rented to a crotchety old man who repaired bicycles, was kept mostly dry, as well, because of the sandbags. I was not happy to be separated from Laura and Daisy, and was so glad when we were able to bring them home again after the flood waters receded.
The threat of fire was always one of Mom's greatest fears. I remember several hotel room fires that were caused by hotel guests who had been smoking in bed. No one died in any of the fires, and none of the fires ever spread beyond one room, thankfully, but the affected rooms were completely blackened inside from the fires. Mom reminded me recently about the "fire bug" who repeatedly set fires throughout the community the summer before Laura was born. Uncle Gary came to stay for awhile to patrol between the hotel and Grandpa's store every night until the arsonist was finally caught.
One summer, the tornado sirens sounded night after night. Mom and Dad always gathered us all up and took us down to the creepy basement, where we sat with a flashlight in the dark, in our pajamas, surrounded by old bicycles that cast eerie shadows all around us. I don't remember that any of the hotel guests ever came to the basement with us.
At least one summer, we endured a plague of black beetles. They were everywhere, inside and out! Dan and I usually preferred to be barefoot in the summer, but it was impossible to take a step without smashing several beetles, so we wore our thongs (now called flip-flops) all summer.
Laura was still a baby when the polio vaccine was introduced. The community center was set up to provide vaccinations for all of the children in the area. We had to go and stand in a long, winding line, at least twice, to wait our turn. The vaccine was given to us in sugar cubes, which we gladly ate. Before that time, polio was a dreaded disease that left many people crippled, but it wasn't long before polio was nearly eradicated in our country because of the nation-wide vaccination program.
Dan and I both had German measles, red measles, and mumps while we lived in Norfolk. German measles was a dangerous disease for expectant mothers, because it could cause birth defects in unborn babies. However, it wasn't usually very serious for the children who contracted it, lasting only about three days. Red measles and mumps were more serious diseases, each lasting a week or longer. Children routinely missed many days of school due to illness. I remember having the measles, and having to stay in bed in the room I shared with Dan. We each wore our sunglasses all the time, since measles caused light sensitivity. Daisy had a litter of five or six puppies who were just the right size to keep us company in our beds, so we spent hours playing with the puppies while we waited to be done with measles.
Mom was always conscious of God's loving care for our family during the unsettled times at the Oxnard Hotel. Whether we were faced with natural disasters, arson, or illness, He kept us safe. I remember many of these events very clearly, but I don't remember being scared of anything except normal childhood nightmares and those disgusting black beetles.
Laura was born on February 4th, when I was almost seven. She was the only one of us kids to be born after her due date. A few days before she finally arrived, Dad had gotten tickets for our family to attend the Ice Capades in Norfolk, just a few blocks from the hotel. Mom was having contractions, so Dad took Dan and me to the ice show. Every few minutes, Dad would leave us sitting in the stands and go to the pay phone to call home and make sure Mom was okay. We were able to stay for the entire show, which we enjoyed immensely; Laura finally put in her appearance a few days later. Mom had to stay in the hospital for several days. Dan and I stayed with Grandma Vawser part of the time, but we ate and slept at home every day.
Laura was born at a time when people throughout the country were worried about a nuclear attack. Most communities, and even some individual families, constructed underground bomb shelters. Everyone stock-piled canned goods and other emergency supplies. My Dad had several cases of pork and beans, in small cans. So, for several meals while Mom was in the hospital, Dad fed us cold pork and beans, straight from the can. (We each got our own can!) We survived happily on beans and mince meat (bologna) sandwiches until Mom and Laura got home from the hospital.
A few weeks after Laura was born, the town of Norfolk flooded. The hotel was located just a couple of blocks from the Elkhorn River. As the river began to rise, Dad and several other people worked hard filling sandbags and stacking them all around the outside of the building. Dad's Uncle Charlie and Aunt Viola lived several blocks away from the river, far enough that their home was not in danger of being flooded, so Laura and our black cocker spaniel, Daisy, were sent to stay with them until the danger passed. However, Dan and I stayed at the hotel with Mom and Dad. The sky was completely overcast, threatening more rain. I remember looking out the front doors of the hotel at the gray water swirling down Norfolk Avenue, and watching as the water rose higher and higher up the front steps. The elevated main floor of the hotel stayed dry, and the basement, which was rented to a crotchety old man who repaired bicycles, was kept mostly dry, as well, because of the sandbags. I was not happy to be separated from Laura and Daisy, and was so glad when we were able to bring them home again after the flood waters receded.
The threat of fire was always one of Mom's greatest fears. I remember several hotel room fires that were caused by hotel guests who had been smoking in bed. No one died in any of the fires, and none of the fires ever spread beyond one room, thankfully, but the affected rooms were completely blackened inside from the fires. Mom reminded me recently about the "fire bug" who repeatedly set fires throughout the community the summer before Laura was born. Uncle Gary came to stay for awhile to patrol between the hotel and Grandpa's store every night until the arsonist was finally caught.
One summer, the tornado sirens sounded night after night. Mom and Dad always gathered us all up and took us down to the creepy basement, where we sat with a flashlight in the dark, in our pajamas, surrounded by old bicycles that cast eerie shadows all around us. I don't remember that any of the hotel guests ever came to the basement with us.
At least one summer, we endured a plague of black beetles. They were everywhere, inside and out! Dan and I usually preferred to be barefoot in the summer, but it was impossible to take a step without smashing several beetles, so we wore our thongs (now called flip-flops) all summer.
Laura was still a baby when the polio vaccine was introduced. The community center was set up to provide vaccinations for all of the children in the area. We had to go and stand in a long, winding line, at least twice, to wait our turn. The vaccine was given to us in sugar cubes, which we gladly ate. Before that time, polio was a dreaded disease that left many people crippled, but it wasn't long before polio was nearly eradicated in our country because of the nation-wide vaccination program.
Dan and I both had German measles, red measles, and mumps while we lived in Norfolk. German measles was a dangerous disease for expectant mothers, because it could cause birth defects in unborn babies. However, it wasn't usually very serious for the children who contracted it, lasting only about three days. Red measles and mumps were more serious diseases, each lasting a week or longer. Children routinely missed many days of school due to illness. I remember having the measles, and having to stay in bed in the room I shared with Dan. We each wore our sunglasses all the time, since measles caused light sensitivity. Daisy had a litter of five or six puppies who were just the right size to keep us company in our beds, so we spent hours playing with the puppies while we waited to be done with measles.
Mom was always conscious of God's loving care for our family during the unsettled times at the Oxnard Hotel. Whether we were faced with natural disasters, arson, or illness, He kept us safe. I remember many of these events very clearly, but I don't remember being scared of anything except normal childhood nightmares and those disgusting black beetles.
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