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I never had life that tough. Few people to play with, sure, but Adrianne was just 3 blocks away and we played together every day. Sometimes her cousins came over for the day to play also. I only picked cotton because we were out of school so the farmers' kids could help with cotton picking. I wanted to try it to make money, so Mother took me over to Mr. Irving’s and he paid me a dollar for the cotton I picked. It was dirty, hot, and there were big ugly spiders and other bugs out there! I didn't like it at all!

We lived on the edge of town, so I could lay on my bed and watch Mr. Forman plant and harvest his farm. That was fun. It was exciting when he got the air conditioned combine.

I began working at the movie house (picture show) in Plano when I was 12. Graves dress shop gave me credit when I was 14. At 15 I was cashier after school at Mrs. Donnely's Café until 5 p.m., then I would eat my dinner there and walk up to the picture show and begin getting my popcorn popped for the night. I loved that. I saw every movie. I never had to study. I wasn't all that smart, but the curriculum had to be slow and easy enough for the football players to keep up. School for athletes is disgusting. They should be made to learn! I didn't leave the show until I got off at nine, then on to the house to sleep and go to school the next day. I loved it all.

I did my homework in study hall, didn't take books home or homework, and still I made very good grades. I was really more interested in making money, seeing the movies, and learning. I used to buy every book I could find to read and educate myself with my own money after I started work. Mother and Daddy said I used to order a fortune in books before I went to work and they paid for them then. I always wanted to learn.

In the house, I had to dust, and after a while, cook dinner for Daddy and Mother in my late teens. I loved to do that. I even went to summer school where I taught the adults home economics and crafts for extra credit. When I graduated in '59 I had lots of extra credit thanks to my home economics teacher, Mrs. Hickey. I wanted to get a degree in Home Ec, but chose History instead.

But until I was old enough to work, I just played and read. I learned to drive the car at 12 and drove to the fire station and parked my car. I would walk across the highway [then 75 but now Hwy 5] and go to the drug store for a Coke, or malt, then to pick up what Mother had sent me after at the Co-Op grocery store in the jockey yard. I walked back to the car and drove home. The sheriff, Wallace Williams, told me that if he ever caught me crossing the highway in the car without my license he would put me in jail. You know I believed him?

I got my driver's license at 14. We could get it that young if you remember. At 16, I was driving Mother and Aunt Betty to downtown Dallas to shop. We always parked in the garage behind the Melba [was that the name of it? Weren’t the Melba and the Rialto together?] We always shopped at Titche’s or Sanger’s. Sometimes we parked in the garage behind the Palace when we were only going to Sanger’s. All my school clothes came from Titche’s or Sanger’s. Usually, before we went home we went to H. L. Greens where I always bought their Turkey and Dressing lunch special, and a Coke. I just loved that and looked forward to it. It was our tradition. I still love turkey and dressing, but I prefer my own cooking.

Recommended citation:
"Growing Up in Plano" Plano Memories, by Brenda Kellow. Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc.,  <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl> [Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].