Judy

Judy is my sister and we’ve done a lot of “antiquing” together. So when I asked her to tell me what she remembered I expected that I already knew her story, but I didn’t. Judy was the first of ten children and 16 years older than me. I found she had a completely different childhood experience.

She remembers lots of fun overnight trips to our grandparents (Mimi and Papa) with the older kids and cousins. The entire house was a fun place to be and the basement was a child’s paradise – huge, open space, complete with toys and a built-in slide!

One of those toys was her uncle’s old Hercules Ferris Wheel wind-up tin toy – Judy has it now and it is one of her great treasures and a reminder of all the fun times she had there.

When I asked her if she remembered the first thing she collected she thought for a moment and told me the story of a special vacation to the Black Hills – just her and brother Jerry alone with mom and dad.

She recalled the trip in detail and even had a travel diary typed up by mom to summarize their daily activities. It details picnic lunches, theme parks, buffalo sightings, cave and mine tours, a helicopter ride, a train ride, a zoo, museums, theatre productions, a chair lift, cloudburst storms and beautiful scenery. Judy and Jerry were each treated to a couple of souvenirs along the way and Judy chose 2 Native American dolls.

She still has those dolls and they are featured in this painting, along with her uncle’s Hercules Ferris Wheel wind-up tin toy.

Oil on cradled wood panel