A 1970s Childhood featured on Throwback Thursday

The lead-off image is from a fashion show where I was wearing the latest in 70s kid's fashion, right down to the chain medallion and cat-eye glasses. Mom and I loved modeling. We both went through the Carolyn Hansen Modeling School in Seattle, Washington. 

What started this trip down memory lane was the picture of a hanging swag wicker lamp for sale brought me to tears. Still grieving the loss of my mother, 2 years gone to heaven. 

In my childhood home, my room was painted candy apple green. I had a lamp similar to the image above, with a grow light bulb and an indoor plant.  

I was free to roam the neighborhood on my bike and there was a cut-through path between neighbor's houses to other parts of the neighborhood. Many hours were spent lazily riding around on that Schwinn bike. 

Behind our house lived a drag racer Jerry Ruth. He would fire up his car from time to time and the noise would be deafening. Seems things haven't ended well for Mr. Ruth. Eight-indicted-in-Oregon-cocaine-operation

Sonic booms could be heard on a regular basis because we lived close to the Seattle International Airport formerly known as SeaTac Airport. 1970s SeaTac Airport

Mom was a fan of a couple of Pentecostal religious leaders of the time. We attended camp meetings of Morris Cerrullo, and Jimmy Swaggart. Proud-to-be-pentecostal We participated in our local church activities. It is no wonder lifelong friendships were formed because we went to church on the following schedule:

Wednesday night    Bible study
Sunday morning    Church
Sunday evening    Church

Sunday afternoon was spent at one of the other churchgoer's houses or another family at our house. If we met at a restaurant, there was Rose's Hiway Inn, a fried chicken place on Highway 99. rose-s-hiway-inn-goes-up-in-smoke

If I feigned an illness on Sunday night, I could watch the Wonderful World of Disney. But those instances were rare. 

As a teen the best part of that community were the youth group trips from Washington state into California, and into the interior of Tijuana, Mexico. It was the first time I had seen such poverty. Our group would help build orphanages over the border.  

I sang with more than one youth choir singing group. As an alto I never was a stand-out and blended in with the group. I am still trying to locate some images from that time period. 

I graduated high school in 1977, and traveled through Europe that summer as a French hornist with America's Youth in Concert. sense of accomplishment

Those are some of the highlights of my 1970s life from the age of 11 to 21.