I was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma the
youngest (and only girl) of 3 to John William Wayne and Della Kahanek. My
grandparents were early settlers. Shawnee was built between a couple of Indian
reservations. My bedroom furniture came in on the Oklahoma run. When I was quite
young we moved to Los Angeles where my father was a camera man, actor and
stuntman in the movies. The movies wanted my mother as a dark haired Jean
Harlow, but she chose to stay at home with us. When I was about 4 we returned to
Oklahoma. There was no kindergarten so I had to wait until first grade. My
teacher also had taught my father. I used to write and produce plays during the
auditorium period until a more affluent group went overboard with costs and the
school closed them down. I never felt poor. We always had plenty of good food
and enough clothes. In the summer my brothers and I had season tickets to the
swimming pool and I could attend any movie in town free. I used to think my
mother had funny toes until I saw all the feet at the swimming pool. I, my
father and brothers all have webbed toes. My father had an appliance repair shop
during the day and was a movie projectionist in the evening. In the summer my
brother and I slept in the yard. One summer a coyote would come at night and
sleep with us. It got so protective of me that it didn't like my father coming
near us when he came home after dark. One of the students ahead of me was
astronaut Gordon Cooper. Another was a younger girl with whom I am still friends
and now lives in port orchard. as a preteen I moved to a farm. Sometimes the
wind blew so much sand that I had to look under my arm to follow the road. In
the summer we made crank ice cream with fresh fruit and had a watermelon feast
every week and invited neighbors. We lived down the road from an Indian that got
drunk frequently. One day after I walked home from the high school bus past his
farm my father came home and said how Walt had beat up his wife, wrapped her
neck with a chain and drug her naked behind his pickup. She survived. At the
time my father was a part-time peace officer so he had to calm things down. My
mother taught me to cook, but for the most part it was a pinch of this and a
handful of that. One time at school we had a box supper. I made a custard pie
only to spill 1/2 of it putting it into the oven. She helped me make whipped
cream to build it up to a respectable height. She also taught me to sew
clothing, etc from flour sacks. My first recollection with a sewing machine was
when my girl friend and I played with her mother's treadle machine and I sent
the needle through my thumb. Jr. hi school I rode a school bus to town. I had a
new teacher in English about every 6 weeks because the teachers followed their
husbands to the next duty station. We moved back into town into the house where
I was born. My parents paid cash, but most people paid the doctor with produce.
I can remember waking up at night as a small child hearing the horse drawn milk
wagon making deliveries. I was active in school, but nothing special happened.
Then I went to Business College. After sending my 2 brothers to university there
wasn't much money left for me, but then I was only expected to get married and
stay home. While in Business College I worked for a water heater manufacturer.
There was always a lot of asbestos dust around. All the dogs around were my
friends. When people couldn't find their dogs they called to see if I had a
visitor. Before I graduated I took a test and passed to work in Washington, D.C.
for the government. So a young thing from a rural area went to the big city.
What a cultural shock. Spent a lot of time walking around monuments and museums
and free concerts. Met my first husband when the bathroom ceiling on his floor
fell on him and I came down stairs about that time. Had the first 3 of our
children there. I was one of about 300 BSP members chosen to attend a tea hosted
by Bass Truman at the white house. Went to southern California and had the next
2. I was busy with community chest, Boy scouts, Girl scouts and Sunday school.
Had my first childhood disease when I was 5 months pregnant with my 4th child.
My husband was never happy with his jobs so we moved again to Washington State.
The children and I were active in 4-h and church youth. I learned to decorate
cakes. Also taught it and exhibited prizewinners in the county fair. Our
farmhouse was badly damaged by a nighttime fire caused by bad wiring. Before it
was completely restored I entertained my land chapter with an oriental dinner.
Seated them on the floor and used a picnic bench for a table. The last of our
children was born in a snowstorm.
The worst earthquake I was ever in was here in Washington when Alaska fell into
the ocean. It was about that time i got the order of the rose. Then my husband
became ill and moved us again. Back to California. But then he walked away. I
became a church secretary for 3 churches at one time. Each job was part time.
One of my bosses told me about a job at Methodist church headquarters and gave
me the time off for an interview. I got the job and learned how to be an off-set
printer in the mailroom. About a year later my supervisor retired and I became
the supervisor and trained my helpers. The united Methodist women of the
California Nevada annual conference honored me with a board of global ministries
award. One interesting event was when the whole building was evacuated for a
bomb threat except for my workroom in the basement. The police found me working
away and escorted me out. I finished my university requirements and graduated
with a B.A. in human development with emphasis in geriatrics. My ex-husband and
his mother had insinuated I was too dumb. Ha! At that point I decided to move
back to Washington State where several of my 6 children were. It took time to
find a job. So I trained to be a certified nurses aide. I became active in
eastern star since I was from a traditionally Masonic family. (was elected
worthy matron. Had 3 terms as royal matron in amaranth, and 4 terms worthy high
priestess of white shrine of Jerusalem.) I also rejoined the group of BSP ladies
I had been with before I left Washington the first time. OES chapter had a
fundraising dinner. Because I spent so much time being a church greeter I made a
point to talk to people I was unfamiliar with. One little gentleman grumbled
something about 'these tall women' so I discretely left. He started talking to a
good friend of mine. Later that month she called to ask if she could give him my
phone number. I told her ok and that nothing would come of it because he didn't
like tall women. Well, he called. We went to dinner and he changed his mind
about tall women. The rest is history. He is now my friend hubby. We enjoy
motorcycling with sidecar and have been to eastern Europe a couple of times, the
orient, a couple of provinces in Canada and have gone to Mexico several times.
His uncle gave me a treadle sewing machine. I make quilt tops and am trying to
learn to long arm machine quilting. I have also had 3 terms as noble grand in
the Rebekahs. I enjoy reading but don't always get to do much. The one
collection that has moved around with me has been bone chine cups/saucers. That
started when a friend would set aside her mug and bring out bone china when I
came to visit. It always made me feel special and I wanted to treat my visitors
special too!
Questionnaire completed on February 23, 2007
1. What time is it? 5:40 pm
2. Name? joella
3. What are you most afraid of? very little
4. What do you drive? mercury zephyr
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? no
6. Where and when were you born? shawnee, oklahoma march 25, 1928
7. Ever been to Alaska ? Yes. a couple of times. once on a cruise and another time flying and driving.
8. Ever been toilet papering rolling in decorating trees? no
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? bacon
10. Favorite day of the week? any day i wake up knowing who i am and can get out of bed
11. Favorite restaurant? a chinese one on the corner because they have such good veggies.
12. Favorite Flower? Roses & carnations
13. Favorite sport to watch? Figure skating, dancing
14. Favorite drink? teas
15. Favorite Ice cream? tillamok
16. Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney
17. Favorite fast food restaurant: never go
18. What color is your bedroom carpet? dark green
19. How many times you failed your driver's test? once...the school at which i took lessons said not to
drive any other car until i got my license. i stalled an unfamilar car and the parking and i wasn't allowed to go further.
20. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? debby g
21. What do you do most often when you are bored? sew or use computer
22. Bedtime? 10:00 pm
23. Who will respond to this email the quickest? one of my online sorority sisters
24. Who is the person you will send this to that is least likely to respond? don't know
25. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses! All of them
26. Favorite TV show? law and order - all
28. What are you listening to right now? news
29. What are your favorite colors? blues and cool reds
30. How many tattoos do you have? None
31. Do you have any pets? No
32. Which came first the chicken or the egg? Doesn't matter to me, but i think they came from cells
33. What would you like to accomplish before you die? do some more traveling.
34. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? Lots