Saturday, May 22, 2010

School Photo, Second Grade

The blogger at a tender age


I was in second grade when this photo was taken. I think this was the only time that a photographer came to Duff Valley District 4 for school pictures. It's understandable that photographers didn't want to make the long drive out in the country to our little school. I don't suppose we ever had more than ten kids in all eight grades. One year, we had just five students for most of the year.

My goodness, my bangs are short in this photo! My dad had an electric hair clipper, and when he cut my brother's hair, he cut my bangs too. I remember him putting one hand on top of my head to hold me steady while he buzzed my forehead with the clipper. Then he brushed away the prickly hair clippings with a little round brush. The clipper, some attachments, the brush, and a big bib for the victim all came with the set.

Later in second grade, I got my first pair of glasses. They were sky blue with tiny rhinestones along the top, and they hurt my ears terribly. But in this photo, little Genevieve is still unspectacled. I can look directly into her eyes, and I think I see that she is a bit dubious about smiling for the camera.

7 comments:

ptg said...

Very nostalgic post, Genevieve. Home barbering (at least for the kids) is life on the prairie in a nutshell.

Keely said...

That looks so creepily like pictures of me at the same age.

Genevieve Netz said...

Keely, it is not nice to use the word "creepily" in a sentence about your mother's 2nd grade photo. ;)

PT, I subjected my kids to homemade haircuts too. I don't think my son will ever really forgive me. :D

Keely said...

It's the home perm that gave me chemical burns that I'm planning to hold against you for the rest of my life.

Genevieve Netz said...

Only on your forehead under your bangs, dear. Don't make it sound any worse than it was. I am sorry.

Anonymous said...

Ha. Homemade haircuts extended to the Sandhills ranch bunkhouses too. It usually started out with good intentions, trying to look at least presentable for Saturday night in town but sometimes spiraled out of control and ended up with some hapless cowboy being held down by the others while the "barber" buzzed everything off the top.

Keely, count yourself lucky to have your Mother as a barber and not one of the "hands".

A Friend in Nevada

Lesa said...

What a cute picture! My mom cut my hair the same way! I had sky blue cat eye glasses with rhinestones too!

I will never forget the home perms either - "Toni" perms in the auqa blue box. My hair always came out looking like bed springs and stinking to high heaven - and itching!

Ah - those were the days!

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