My 1970 Journal - Introduction

 

In 1970, I was given an assignment to write a journal / diary for 30 days.  I don't recall if the assignment was given to me in my fourth grade class or in cub scouts.

The photo to the right was taken within a month or two of my writing the journal.  The photo appears to be from a photo booth that were commonly found in downtown areas at the time.  They are kind of extinct now with the advent of cell phones.

In early 1970 when I wrote my journal, my family was living on Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) in North Dakota.  We lived there from mid-1966 to mid-1970.  I lived with my father, mother and sister who was two years younger than me.  I was 9 years old in early 1970 and attending fourth grade.

The following posts show each page of the journal and give a glimpse as to what each entry meant.   Some days were rather boring, but hang with it as there is some good info in some of the posts!

Enjoy.

January 24, 1970 - Puppets, Bear Book, and Belts

 

"To town" meant traveling from GFAFB where we lived to the city of Grand Forks about 15 miles away.  Among the stores we shopped at in Grand Forks were Sears and K-Mart.

I have no recollection of a "Bear Book" or a Charlie Brown puppet.

The blue text was written by my mother.  My handwriting starts with the word "Work", also in blue text.

January 25, 1970 - Scout Book

 

Mom worked at the Family Store (Building 211) on GFAFB.  This is where I bought most of the plastic car model kits I assembled as a kid and where I was introduced to CARtoons magazine which I regularly purchased.

"Dad's shop" referred to the repair shop (Building 622) for the AGM-28 Hound Dog missile that my father managed.  The shop had extensive test consoles and a huge bay that could hold several missiles at the same time.  He managed a staff of between 5 and 10 people as I recall.

(my handwriting)

January 26, 1970 - Hockey and Library

 

In PE during fourth grade, we played hockey indoors in the school gymnasium which I enjoyed greatly.  One of the first real-event stories I would tell and a young boy was about the day two players hit the puck from opposite directions, sending the puck sailing skyward and hitting the ceiling of the gym.   My 9 year old brain saw that as an exciting story.  It was only after telling the story a few times did I realize that no one else found it exciting.  It gave me a data point as to what makes a great story.

I'm not sure if "went to the library" referred to the GFAFB library (Building 201) or the Twining school library.  It was likely the Twining library as we only went to Building 201 a few times in four years.  At the Twining library, I checked out books on Henry Ford, Walter Chrysler, and Thomas Edison.

(my handwriting)

January 27, 1970 - Hockey and Math

 

My handwriting.

January 28, 1970 - Social Studies and Art

 

My handwriting.

January 29, 1970 - Patrick and Freddie

 

I wrote the first part of this journal entry, my mother wrote everything else starting with "Patrick".

Patrick and Freddie Rios lived almost directly across the street from us on GFAFB.  Patrick was my age and Freddie was a couple of years younger.  We played together regularly and had sleepovers sometimes.  

The first time I saw a Spirograph toy was at their house.  One evening when I ate dinner with them, their mother made me a heaping plate of food - about ten times the amount I normally ate.  I could only eat a small fraction of it - she was disappointed.

The family had a gray 1967 Ford Falcon with an electric cord sticking out the grill.  It was common in North Dakota to have engine warmers to keep the motor from freezing overnight.

January 30, 1970 - 30 Degrees

 

My mother's handwriting on this entry.

January 31, 1970 - New Lamp

 

This was a lamp with a dark wood base and tan lamp shade that had a rather large American Eagle in metal on the riser.  We bought it at K-Mart on South Washington Street and it resided on my nightstand from 1970 until at least the early 1980s.  I kept it in storage for an additional 20 or 30 years before discarding it not too long ago.

(my handwriting)

February 1, 1970 - Sunday Eggs

 

My handwriting.

February 2, 1970 - A Mad Day

 

Maybe it was the hockey that set me off, but apparently I was not having a good day.

(my handwriting)

February 3, 1970 - Mrs. Pappas

 

My fourth grade classroom was a double classroom with a foldable wall that could be closed to create two separate classrooms.  The classroom(s) were on the second floor of the two-story section of Twining Elementary towards the back of the building at the edge of GFAFB.  The teachers were Mrs. Willis and Mrs. Leake.  Most of the time the foldable wall was open and it was one large classroom with two teachers.  One of the teachers took us on a field trip to her farm which was located south of GFAFB. 

Mrs. Pappas was a substitute teacher who lived two down to the right of us.  My parents and I had been to their house several times - it was the same floor plan as ours.  The Pappas had no children and their living room was lined with saltwater fish tanks - I had never been to a home with fish tanks before.

Mr. and Mrs. Pappas went on a day trip with my family to the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, somewhere around Lake Itaska or just north of there - I cannot pinpoint the exact location now.  This was the first time I saw cattails (Typha) growing naturally.  Dried cattails were quite popular at the time as decoration in living rooms.

During that trip we also saw huge statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe.  My recollection is that these statues were at the Mississippi River headwaters but researching it right now it appears the only huge statues are in nearby towns such as Bemidji so perhaps that is where we saw them.

George Pappas drove their purple 1969 Pontiac Catalina two-door on the trip.  It had two black rubber strips that hung from the back bumper and touched the ground.  While not common, these black strips were seen from time to time on cars from that era.  The theory is they would discharge static electricity - it is still debated as to whether this actually worked or was a placebo.

(journal entry handwriting is mine)

February 4, 1970 - Mrs. Willis

 

My handwriting.

February 5, 1970 - A Good Day

 

My handwriting.

February 6, 1970: Roller Hockey

 

Didn't remember that we played hockey on skates, but here it is.  And I can't skate!  Perhaps I just wore street shoes?

(my handwriting)

February 7, 1970 - The Bronze Boot and Zap, North Dakota

 

The Bronze Boot was a restaurant located at 1804 North Washington Street in Grand Forks.  It was one of the nicest steakhouses in Grand Forks.  While it is closed now, I found this  real story about it online:

On May 8, 1959 when Grand Forks Air Force Base family housing was being constructed, Hal B. Hayes came to town to inspect the progress.  He owned Progressive Contractors which was doing the construction and brought his girlfriend, Zsa Zsa Gabor, along with him to Grand Forks.  That night they ate at the Bronze Boot.  During the evening, Ms Gabor used the ladies room.  The next night, behind the bar hung a toilet seat with the sign 'Zsa Zsa sat here'.   

I cannot vouch for the Bronze Boot part of the visit, but Zsa Zsa and Hal were indeed in Grand Forks on that date according to old newspapers.

Bob and Fay refers to Bob and Fay White.  Bob worked with my father in the missile shop.  He was from Louisiana and spent holidays with us since he was a single airman far from home.  After one trip to Louisiana, he brought my sister and me pieces of raw sugar cane which we treasured and eagerly ate as best we could.

In 1968 or 1969, Bob married Fay during one of his trips back to Louisiana and brought her back to live on GFAFB. Bob's mom had picked out a blue and white 1968 Dodge Coronet for him to purchase - he was very proud of that car and it was a beauty.   Bob and Fay had a baby girl and moved into family housing there on base.

One evening my family was visiting the Whites at their new home when the news came on television.  It talked about hippies taking over the town of Zap, North Dakota which upset the citizens in that part of the state.   That memory has been buried deep in my brain all of these years so I've decided to research it right now.

Reading about this in 2026, the news must have been covering the "Zip to Zap" riot on May 9-11, 1969.  Originally intended as a Spring Break destination, North Dakota State University student Chuck Stroup organized a gathering of college students and it was covered by the campus newspaper The Spectrum.  The Spectrum wrote about the "Zip to Zap: a Grand Festival of Light and Love" and discussed the bars and cafes in Zap as well as the scenic beauty of the surrounding Knife River Valley.  The article further stated "in addition to these events, a full program of orgies, brawls, freakouts, and arrests are being planned.  Do you dare miss it?"

This article was picked up by the Associated Press and printed in student newspapers across the country.  The only two bars in Zap got wind of the impended invasion and heavily stocked up on beer and other supplies.  Wham-O even launched a toy called the "Zip-Zap" to leverage the event popularity.

About 3000 people began arriving in Zap for Spring Break on May 9th, overwhelming the town whose normal population was about 200.  Bar owners quickly realized they would run out of beer so they doubled the price.  This angered the crowds but the bars ran out of beer towards the evening anyway.  When temperatures dropped significantly that evening, the crowds scavenged scrap wood from a nearby building that had been demolished and built a huge bonfire in the street in the middle of town.

Zap Mayor Fuchs asked the crowd to disperse and some did, but not all.  Issues that normally arise with overly intoxicated people caused panic in the city and the town appealed to North Dakota Governor William Guy who sent 500 North Dakota Army National Guard troops to the city.  The troops arrived at 6:30 AM the following morning.  They awoke the sleeping students and gunpoint and ordered them to leave town - which they did.

This marked the only time in North Dakota history that the National Guard was used to quell a "riot".  This holds true to this day.

After my family left North Dakota in 1970, we did not see Bob and Fay again until 1978 when they visited our home in Oklahoma.  They drove up in their 1968 Coronet.

As for my parents seeing "Midnight Cowboy" and me writing about it in my journal, I bet my mom was just thrilled to read that: Midnight Cowboy was rated X.

Movies I saw in Grand Forks during our four years there included "Dr. Doolittle", "Willard", "Herbie the Love Bug", "Planet of the Apes", and a movie about a boy living in the wilderness - the name escapes me.  For the Herbie movie, the theater had a VW Beetle in the lobby filled with balloons or balls.  They held a contest to see who could guess closest as to the number of balls in the car.  A few weeks later, I was notified that I had won the contest.  My prize: free tickets to a future movie at the theater.

February 8, 1970 - Amway

 

This journal entry was made in my mother's handwriting.

"Daddy's shop" refers to the missile shop my father led on base.

Sometime in 1969, my parents becme Amway distributors and "rode to Amway dealer" appears to refer to a trip to our supplier in Mekinoch, a tiny town of 2000 people just north of GFAFB.  Our supplier was a farmer who lived near Mekinoch.  I sat at the kitchen table and stared at the model tractor they kept on the top of their refrigerator.

When we moved to California in the summer of 1970, my parents ended their association with Amway.  I think their involvement had not gone well.

February 9, 1970 - Made Valentines

 

This first line "Made Valentines" was written by my mother.  I later added the words "was sleepy".

February 10, 1970 - Family Store

 

The Family Store (Building 211) on GFAFB was where my mother worked.  I liked visiting the store due to its great toy section.  The store had a huge mirror on one wall and once my mom started working there I found out it was a 1-way mirror window that employees used to watch customers from the break room.

I saw a Ford Mustang in the parking lot one day with a houndstooth vinyl top and interior.  I don't think I ever saw another one like it.

This journal entry is in my mother's handwriting.  Note she calls it "supper" and not "dinner".   From what I've gathered, "dinner" is most commonly used in the west and northeast parts of the US, while "supper" is very common in North Dakota and the surround states.

February 11, 1970 - Mrs. Hogan

 

Patrick refers to Patrick Rios discuss previously.  I do not recall who Clint was.

This entry is interesting because it explains something else that happened:  in fourth grade, we were assigned to make a clay object that could be fired in a kiln.

In my infinite wisdom, I designed an ashtray with a tooth brush holder in the middle of it.   It sounds so absurd now but back in the 1960s everyone smoked so there were ashtrays everywhere!

So the "lava dish with a volcano in the middle which was an ashtray"  may have been my inspiration for a combination toothbrush holder / ashtray.

I bet my teachers and parents got a great laugh out of my submission.

(my handwriting)

February 12, 1970 - A Dull Day

 

Reading back through these entries 50+ years later, I wonder what my mother thought when she read these?  And I can assure you she read my entries.

Did she concur with my thoughts?  Find me more activities because she thought I was bored?  What was the impact of my comments on her thoughts and actions? 

(my handwriting)

February 13, 1970 - Valentines Party

 

This party was almost certainly held during class time.  I don't remember anything about it.

(my handwriting)

February 14, 1970 - Find Out

 

This is a reference to Sheldon Rohde who lived nearby on New Jersey Street and was in my fourth grade class I believe.  

Why did I want to know what Sheldon's valentine looked like?  Did he give one to a female I liked and I had found out she was thrilled with it?  I do not know!

I don't recall Sheldon and I hanging out after school at any point so this note was likely spawned by something said in class.

(my handwriting)

February 15, 1970 - Matchbox

 

"Funnys" refers to the cartoon page in the local newspaper.  My favorite cartoon was always "Peanuts" though there were about a half-dozen comic strips I would read each day.

"Matchbox" refers to Matchbox toy cars which I had been collecting for 2-3 years by 1970.  Matchbox and Hot Wheels were my two favorite brands and I still have my collection to this day in 2026.

(my handwriting)

February 16, 1970 - Wrestling

 

We were taught wrestling in PE class.  I thought that was in third grade, but from this note it appears to have been fourth grade too.

(my handwriting)

February 17, 1970 - Yawn

 

Nuff said.

February 18, 1970 - Cubs and Peepbox

 

I joined Cub Scouts in 1968 or 1969 when Glenn Bleakley's mom (I could be wrong, it could have been another mom) was the den mother.  One project was to create an animal costume for ourselves.  I was assigned something easy like a monkey but trade with another kid who was assigned a blue whale - I loved blue whales at that time.   Excited, I went home and told my mother.  She did not share in my excitement and she was upset that making a blue whale costume would be significantly more difficult than a monkey costume.  Another of life's lessons!

I would love to know what I meant by "peepbox"!!!

(my handwriting)

February 19, 1970 - Doctor

 

The doctor's office was right there on GFAFB.  

This visit may have been to check the condition of my knee.  I had injured it pretty badly in a bicycle accident.  I was riding my new bike on J Street when I was surrounded by a group of kids on their bikes.  One of them took his foot and pushed the frame of my bike near the rear axle sending me careening to the ground.  The bike was new to me and slightly too big for me which is probably why I could not recover from the kick.  I still have the scar on my knee.

February 20, 1970 - Mrs. Pappas

Mrs. Pappas was my substitute teacher on this day.  She was our neighbor as discussed in a prior post.

(handwriting is mine)
 

February 21, 1970 - Penneys and McDonalds

 

Penneys and McDonalds were located in the city of Grand Forks so this was obviously a trip into town.

I don't recall where McDonald's was located but Burger King was on the south side of Highway 2 as we entered town.  Just opposite the Burger King on the other side of the road was an A&W Root Beer drive-in restaurant we also frequented.  Behind the A&W was a dirt race car track at the North Dakota Fair Grounds where we would watch stock car races and demolition derbies.  The track could also be used figure-8 style which lead to interesting collisions.  I loved the track and ate cotton candy there.

On South Washington Street in Grand Forks was the K-Mart we frequented and a small Ben Franklin store.  That street also had a Kentucky Fried Chicken and car dealers including Chevrolet and Buick.

(handwriting is mine)

February 22, 1970 - Baseview

 

I do not recall where "Baseview" was but it may have been near Highway 2 and 25th Street NE as that location would have a view of GFAFB.  The city of Emerado was near there so Baseview may have been there also.

This sounds logical to me as there was a "Champ" gas station in that general area which would explain the drawing of the Champ sign covered in spider webs.  My recollection is the Champ station was dilapidated.

February 23, 1970 - Wrestling Again

 

This was probably the day I decided I liked wrestling enough that I attended an after-school session of kids who were serious about wrestling and wanted to take on wrestling as a regular sport activity.

Those boys were very rough and after one body slam to the mat that knocked the wind out of me, I decided I had enough and went home, never to return to the after-school sessions again.  That was a life lesson!

February 24, 1970

 

The last day of my one-month diary assignment and apparently I wasn't in the mood to say much.  I guess I didn't want to repeat myself.

February 1970 GFAFB Map and End Notes

 

And with that, my one-month assignment to keep a diary ended.  I think I was probably happy about that.

For reference, here is what GFAFB looked like in the late 1960s.  Our house on North Cypress is shown in the lower right corner, with a small line drawn next to it.

Twining Elementary School is shown nearby.

A separate school - Eielson School - was created for the officer's kids.

One of my relatives gave me a signature book as a gift and on this page we recorded the signatures of my friends at the time - likely 1968 or 1969.

My mom probably suggested my friends sign it or perhaps this was done at one of my birthday parties, I really don't recall.

Tommy and Wesley Moore signed it.  If my recollection is correct, they were the sons of my dad's boss Ed Moore.  I think I only met Tommy and Wesley a few times.  The only memory I have with them is one of them - can't recall if it was Tommy or Wesley - suggested we play in their basement.  He pretended he was Elvis Presley and made me "The Colonel".   I had no idea at the time what that meant and went along with it.  Hey, it was something to do.

I don't recall a Jeffery McC but from the address listed I think we did play together a few times.  Only recollection I have of being at that house was seeing a Sea Horse for the first time - those were commonly advertised as something kids could send away for at that time.

Steven Harris was a friend and I think we had sleepovers a time or two.  I believe the first time I read a Dr. Suess book was at his house.

Next door to Steven lived Glenn Bleakley.  Don't remember a whole lot except when the adults had a party one evening, us kids played with a toy bowling set in the hallway, then had bowls of ice cream with chocolate syrup.  They taught me to mix the syrup in real good to create chocolate ice cream.  I thought that was the coolest thing!

"Mitchell" was Mitchell Worden who I played with a lot - he was just a few doors down on the opposite side of the street from our house.  Mitchell had one of those "time bomb" games we played with a few times and I watched at least one Peanuts cartoon special in his living room.   He and his dad also built a wooden go-cart (they planned to add an engine later but don't think they ever did) which us kids nick-names the Hogan's Hero Wagon as apparently we watched a lot of that show back then.  And his parents bought a new 1969  Chevrolet Malibu that I thought was just gorgeous.

Steven Gray and his brother lived on the other end of the Cypress Street horseshoe so we didn't play together all that often.  They had a Play-Doh set we used in their bedroom a time or two.

I have no clue who Michal or Kenny were.