The 60s in Kinsley, Kansas, Part 1

A lot happened in the 1960s when I was growing up. A lot in the world and a lot in my life. When my family first moved to Kinsley in 1961 we lived on the west edge of town, just down the street from where the Edwards County Road Department shop and yard was at. My Dad also had an office at the county courthouse a few blocks away.

Edwards County Courthouse 

That first house we lived in was pretty nice as I recall. The cool part was back behind the house was this fallen tree, just laying there. It was there when we moved in - don't know how long it had been there. Now, I was 3 yrs old and my little brother was 1 yr old and could walk. I can only imagine the near heart attack my Mom had when she would go outdoors and find us climbing around on this tree. It was white-bleached from the sun with no bark. Smooth as a baseball bat. I don't recall but I'm sure Mom told us time and again to not climb that tree. 

Well, Dad had to listen to Mom, of course. One day, here came some of the county road crew, cut that tree up, loaded it up and hauled it away. I remember crying and being upset about it but too bad. As a parent myself, I understand it but man that was a tough day. ☺

Another thing I remember about that house was the neighbor next door had a brand new Ford Thunderbird. It was beautiful - red exterior, white interior convertible. I had never seen anything like it. I remember just standing there and staring at it, imagining how fast it would go. It looked fast, just sitting in the driveway!

1961 Ford Thunderbird

We didn't have a Thunderbird but we did have a Ford - a 1955 2-door sedan. Nothing fancy but it got us where we needed to go.