Chapter Six

Everyone Needs a Sibling or Two




July 1948 in Idaho, 4 generations of Czech girls.
From left is Bernice Foukal, Rose Kucera Foukal,
Rose's mother Mary Palat Kucera, and Mary's mother Johanna Valcik Palat.

August 5th Bernice wrote a letter to her grandparents and the greeting read, "Hi you all". We do have a true southern girl, don't we? She described her summer activities of swimming at the river, spending time at the beach on the gulf, and going to movies at the drive-in theater. She relayed a funny story about her sister worth telling here. Last night daddy was asking Linda questions. He asked her where grandma lives, expecting her to say 'in Idaho'. Instead she said 'grandma lives with grandpa'.

Well Bernice was off to the 8th grade at Silverhill Elementary School. This would be her last year there and it was her first time to have a man as a teacher. A letter written by Rose on October 13, 1952 contained some facts about soon to be fourteen Bernice. She weighed 120 pounds when weighed in her band uniform. She had her first offer of a date from a boy. He wanted to take her to a dance after the football game. Her parents were not to keen on that idea at the time, thinking that she should wait until high school. The letter said that Linda liked him very much. There was no telephone at that time in the house so boys had to come by the place in order to ask Bernice out on a date. One thing that this house did not have was a closet that locked from the outside where one could lock a younger sibling in when necessary.

With her birthday just a month away Bernice was excited about the possibility of having her own small radio in her room. She had also been hinting without too much hope that she would like to have a wrist watch some day. Her mom told her that girls usually get them when they graduate from high school. Well that was only about four and a half years away at that time. Linda turned three and Bernice turned fourteen in November. Rose had wanted to let Bernice have a slumber party but there was a football game in Mobile she had to go to that night. Instead Rose arranged with her teacher to have a little party at school that afternoon and it turned out as a real surprise for Bernice. Linda got to see what a birthday party was all about so of course she expected something on the same order when hers came along shortly thereafter. Among her gifts Bernice received a subscription to Seventeen Magazine.

1953 got off to a neat start with the family trading their 48 Chevrolet in on a new two tone green 53 Chevrolet Sport Coupe. The letter written January 21, 1953 informing the folks in Idaho of this exciting news didn't stop with the new car. There was also news of another Foukal on the way. Linda was all excited about a sibling; Bernice, she already had one.

The orchestra that Bernice played in provided the music for the PTA Founders Day dinner. At another PTA function Bernice and another girl demonstrated making cookies. A letter written February 3, 1953 told of Bernice's first date with a boy. They went to a square dance with two other couples. This boy sounded very nice in the letter. February 25th Bernice went to a ball game with a boy named Charlie Baker. Charlie could have been the one on the first date earlier. Fortunately for Bernice, Linda had a big day and was asleep when he came to pick her up. Usually when a boy came to see Bernice, Linda just assumed that he was there for the sole purpose of entertaining her.

This years new chicks had arrived and Linda was all but in charge this time. April 11th Bernice was in the process of writing a letter to her grandparents thanking them for sending her some money to go towards the purchase of that watch she wanted so bad. Along comes her boy friend who asked if he could take her to a movie that she was anxious to see. So much for the letter writing that night. April 24th the Silverhill Home Demonstration Club held its Spring Festival. Two Foukal girls appeared in this event this year. Bernice was in the queen's court and the flower girl was none other than Linda Foukal. While the girls were on stage another part of the program featured some girls made up in black face. One of these two, we won't mention a name, left the stage scared to death. Bernice got the watch she had wanted for so long in April. It was a $55.00 Elgin Deluxe that was on sale at Sears.

Bernice's curfew school nights was 10:00PM. Friday and Saturday nights it was 11:00PM. The 7th and 8th Grade Banquet was coming up at school and this would be her last one. She graduated from Silverhill School on May 7, 1953.

With school out, Rose was able to get in a nap most days and Bernice watched over Linda while doing the usual routine work. Walter found a little bunny rabbit when he was plowing the fields and Linda enjoyed having it to play with. It eventually became a nuisance and they had to let it go. Makes you wonder where it picked up on the requirements for becoming a nuisance. Bernice was able to drive now so anywhere Rose needed to be taken she could take her in the car or truck.

The ladies hosted a nice baby shower for Rose. There were 24 ladies in attendance. Linda thought it was a birthday party so she just joined right in helping her mother open the gifts. Bernice did not attend because she needed to stay home and do her chores so she had time to get ready for an affair she had to go to at 5:30 that evening. Grandmother Kucera was planning on coming to help out when the baby was due. Apparently both Mary and Joseph Kucera came down because a letter was written July 30th by Vlasta Novacek, Mary's sister, and you could tell from the letter that they were watching over the Kucera's farm for them. A week later, the last of the Foukal's had arrived.

The last of the Foukal's was a boy named Melvin Larry Foukal, born in August 1953. He like his sister, Linda Mae, was born at the hospital in Foley, Alabama. This occasion of Melvin's birth was the first time that Grandpa Kucera had ever come down to Alabama. Is it possible that he knew that a grandson was on the way? A letter was received from Johanna Palat a week after Melvin's birth. She could only write in Czech but the number of exclamation points in the letter gave no doubt as to what she was excited about. The Kuceras stayed about one month before boarding the train for their trip home. Linda was one sad little girl when they took them to the train station to say goodbye. Everyone pitched in to help with Melvin till mother could get her strength back. Walter had to be a happy father with a healthy son.

Before the month was over Bernice had started the 9th grade at Robertsdale High School. There was still no telephone that would allow her to plan her social life with all her friends. Boys wishing to ask her out came calling in person and on one such occasion her sister stepped in to try and be helpful. Charlie Baker came a calling at a time when Bernice was already gone on a date with another boy. Linda raced to the gate to meet Charlie when she saw him coming and told him that Bernice was out with some other boy. When Bernice got back home Linda was quick to tell her that she had taken care of the matter in her absence. The school had dances after the home football games and Bernice enjoyed going to those.

Melvin got high praises for being a good sleeper, eater, drinker and just about any area where parents would rate their kids and compare them to the earlier ones in the family. He was in his second month at the time. It was county fair time again and Bernice had a date with Charlie to go on October 21st. Over in Louisiana there was a boy having his 15th birthday that was hoping he could find a country girl to marry someday. The band had played at the fair earlier in the day so she had been there pretty much all day. Her grades were good on her first report card from high school. She went on a date with Charlie on her 15th birthday. He gave her a box of chocolates in a little cedar chest. That was not her only date offer that night. Linda was four later in the month. She was getting to be a reliable little helper for her mother at watching Melvin when she had to run in a store and he was left in his basket in the car. What she was not reliable with was any unopened packages that had arrived from relatives that were for birthdays or Christmas. In December Walter bought and planted 37 pecan trees on the place. He said they were for Melvin to make his spending money some day. Bernice made her Christmas money that way. She always got to keep half of what she picked. She bought Charlie a nice wallet for Christmas with money she had made that way. Walter had his 41st birthday Christmas Eve. It was Melvin's first Christmas but it is not known whether or not there were fireworks. Bernice received her semester report card and she had been awarded very good grades. She got to go to her first Senior Bowl game over in Mobile as 1954 was getting underway.

The chicken houses which were the source of a good bit of the regular income on the farm received a major improvement in early 1954. Walter built a setup that made them almost fully automatic for feeding and watering. He was trying to get it done before the new batch of chicks came for the year. Walter was being assisted by none other than "stinker" who was looking out for number "1", the chickens. Melvin made it to the ripe old age of six months a week before Valentines Day. Bernice attended a sweetheart dance at the high school.

On Valentines Day Rose wrote to her folks describing the arrival of a package that had been received for her own birthday January 30th. When she opened it there was a shirt for herself, after all it was her birthday, a puzzle for Linda, and some handkerchiefs for Walter. Did anyone's name go unmentioned there? Rose put the things aside and a few days later she was going to put her shirt away and ended up finding a bathing suit and rompers for Melvin and a T-Shirt for Bernice in the package. If Linda had been in charge of the package opening nothing would have gone unnoticed but then she would have immediately assumed all of the contents were for her. Melvin had not complained about being overlooked but Bernice had been noticeably disappointed at the omission. When she got the T-shirt she was tickled about it and wore it to school the next day. The shirt had "don't fence me in" on the front and Bernice had the whole student body at Robertsdale High School singing that song that was popular then. Rose added a note telling her mom to start buying Bernice a large size from now on. Whether they were ready for it or not she was a big girl now. Linda was apparently trying to tell somebody she was a big girl too because the announcement was made that she had given up the bottle. Well at four years and two and a half months it was probably time. Actually she didn't give it up cold turkey, it was a trade off. She didn't take a bottle to bed but mom crawled in the bed with her to get her mind off of the fact that something had gone out of her life.

The farm house was getting a much needed new roof in March. Rose said it would be hard to get out of the habit of running upstairs and putting out dripping pans whenever it rained. The roof work was completed just in the nick of time because the day after it was finished it snowed. This was no ordinary snow for Baldwin County either. It was the most snow they had since the 1890's.

Mardi Gras time in Mobile had ended and it had been a big time for Bernice. The band had performed in some parades and Charlie had taken her the last day. Television coverage was now available in the area and plans were underway to get a set when the new chickens started laying eggs in the fall. There was a total of four TV stations between Mobile and Pensacola then with local programs but the network shows were only available from the stations in New Orleans. With no TV there was plenty of time to sit in the new porch swing.

Even as a freshman Bernice got to go to the Junior - Senior Prom at the high school in May due to her date being a senior. A week later she had finished her freshman year and was ready for the 10th grade. After school was out she helped her dad with some of the planting. She had to fill the hoppers with fertilizer and seeds at the end of each row and would ride on the planter and operate it while Walter drove the tractor pulling it. She was getting paid for her services so that suited her just fine. Bernice's trumpet was silver but all of the other trumpets in the band were gold. The valves were pretty much worn out on it so it needed to be repaired before school started in August. Her grandparents were trying to arrange for her to get a new one in gold and she was very excited about the possibility of that happening. If you think that the possibility of a new trumpet that was the same color as the rest of the trumpets in the band excited her you ain't going to believe the excitement that awaited her in July.

Shortly after noon on July 7th, 15 year old Bernice, traveling alone, hopped a train called the Hummingbird in Mobile headed for Chicago. She arrived in Chicago the next morning around 9:00AM. Due to her excitement, she never got any sleep during the night. Her connection in Chicago was not leaving until 5:00PM so she decided to walk around and see what the world outside of Lower Alabama was all about. She spent some time looking around in the station and then stopped for some lunch. After lunch the lack of sleep overnight kicked in and she was ready for a nap. She located the spot where she was to catch her train, The City of Portland, and then laid down on a bench to rest her eyes. She ended up in a deep sleep and fortunately woke up when the train was already in it's final boarding stage. Her mom had given her a plan of what to do in the event she missed the connection in Chicago. Falling asleep on a bench right by the platform where she was to board the train was not one of the things that should have set that plan in motion so she felt a sigh of relief when she took her assigned seat just in the nick of time before the train left the station heading west. She spent the night on the train and arrived in Gooding, Idaho the next evening which was July 9th. Her grandparents were there to meet her and they drove back to Buhl, about 30 miles south, to eat. Bernice wrote home July 10th and told of her experiences on the trip. She did leave out the part about almost missing the connection. Wouldn't you? She was excited about getting to go to California for a week or so while she was out there.

They left on that trip July 14th. There were five in the car counting herself. The other four were her 65-year-old grandfather and 52-year-old grandmother, her great-grandmother, 80-year-old Johanna Palat, and a lady that Bernice described as about 76 years old but did not know her name. Now try to imagine yourself as a 15-year-old girl going on a road trip with four adults, the youngest of which is your grandmother. There would be so many things you could learn from drawing on the experiences of these four individuals you are sharing this luxurious Chrysler automobile with on the way to your aunt Lydia's in California. Grandmother took the first shift driving when they left Buhl at 3:00AM in the morning. She drove until it was a little past daylight and a beautiful morning had appeared. By then they were into the State of Nevada and a little ways east of the town of Elko. Since there were practically no laws on the books in the state of Nevada, why not turn the driving over to the youngest passenger in the car. Bernice drove all the way to Reno, which was a little over 300 miles. They changed drivers there because of what lay ahead, Donner Pass. This party of five had better luck than the Donner party of fifty did years before along the same route. Grandpa took the driver's seat for the segment through Donner Pass and Bernice was happy to not be the driver then. She was a little scared crossing over the pass but described it as so pretty. Grandma took the final leg of that day's journey and they stopped in Sacramento for the night. The lady that was traveling with them had relatives in Sacramento and she was going there for a visit. They spent the night with the ladies relatives and the next day, which was July 15th, they arrived at Lydia's place at 11:30AM. Wouldn't most of us still be packing the car with all our "stuff" at that time of day. By the way, during the overnight stop in Sacramento Bernice did take note of the fact that the families name where they stayed overnight was Buckendorf and that they had two sons. The oldest son was 15 ½ and was 6 feet tall. There was no mention in her letter home July 15th revealing the height of Donner Pass. While she was in California she met a boy named Richard Hanson at a function at the church where Lydia's husband Matt was pastor. He took her on a date to the Ice Capades and they corresponded some after she had to leave. She got to go up to Sun Valley for a couple of days when they got back to Idaho.

Bernice missed Melvin's first birthday party. Time just flew by for her due to having such a good time. Her return trip was already being planned though because school would be starting. She was on her way back August 11th and wrote to her grandparents while enroute. She arrived in Chicago late but still had time to make her connection on the south bound train. She had been able to meet and talk with several kids her age during the trip from Idaho to Chicago. She thanked them for the good time she had and the only regret was that it didn't last longer. The next day she was home again. The train did not have a lot of passengers so she had plenty of room to stretch out and rest. Her boy friend Charlie went to the train station with the Foukals to meet her. Charlie was leaving to enter the Air Force in about a week then. Melvin had decided he could get around faster by walking so that was his surprise for his big sister on her arrival. Evie and Johnny had a baby boy August 10th while she was away. They named him William.

They had a going away party for Charlie before he left and then it was off to Lackland AFB in Texas for him. Bernice was now a sophomore in high school. Her future in the band was a little in doubt because she was just so busy. She got a job working in a department store on Saturdays. Charlie's mother was the one she worked with and she had a ride to the store with her every Saturday. She was really looking for ways to make money and save it for her education when she finished high school. She had her savings in her own bank account drawing 3% interest every six months.

When the first football game was played it was a game played about 90 miles away. That's when it was nice to be in the band so you had a way to get there and back. Well she got there with a date with a nice looking boy according to Rose. She did not miss being in the band at all. She wrote to Charlie pretty often but was dating other guys at home and writing to Rich, the guy she met out in California, too. She was doing so much writing she bought her a new fountain pen. October 11th Bernice wrote to her grandparents and filled them in on her love life. "She had two guys really after her, Charlie and Rich."

The family was trying to decide on whether to buy a TV or a deep freeze. That would have been a no brainer if all of the kids got a vote don't you think. Speaking of no brains, in a letter dated October 20, 1954, Rose was relaying an episode involving Linda and Melvin which started out with a sentence that said, "Melvin's mind is starting to develop".There was a radio program in the mornings those days called "Don McNeil's Breakfast Club". During the show each weekday morning they would play a song and it was march around the breakfast table time. Each morning Linda and Melvin would march around their breakfast table when the music played on the radio. One morning Linda was outside when the music started to play and Melvin on his own got up and started to march around the table. Rose had thought he only did that following Linda's lead but discovered he knew what to do on his own. Some say that till this day he still does things of his own initiative. Even this young Melvin was quite a helper out in the garden.

Meanwhile back in Texas, Charlie was possibly going to be transferred to Cheyenne, Wyoming without getting to come home first. He was trying to work out something where Bernice and his mother could come for a weekend visit with him. His mother could not get off work to do that and Rose was happy that she could not as she was not anxious for Bernice to go. Bernice was dating boys right there every weekend so she couldn't have been all that serious about Charlie. Rose was never the less sympathetic for Charlie because he was obviously crazy about Bernice and so far away from home. The situation reminded Rose of her own situation back in 1935 and 1936.

It was fair time again in Baldwin County and report card time at school. With all the things she had going on in her life, Bernice comes home with excellent grades. Another birthday got her up to sweet sixteen. Linda was right behind her with her 5th birthday. Bernice went and had her picture made in December. She got three prints made, one for Charlie up in Wyoming, one for Rich out in California, and one for her grandparents up in Idaho.

Bernice had received a birthday card from her grandparents up in Idaho that had a handwritten note in it. The note read:

         Dear Bernice,

Your sixteenth birthday is about the most important one in your life. Spend it well and wisely. The choice you make in the next 3 or 4 years will be the most important, and will affect you the rest of your life. We hope you go to college for at least one year. By then you will be old enough to know what you want to do. And think how much fun it is to travel and meet new people. It isn't always easy to do after you are married.

         Love Grandma & Grandpa

The family broke with tradition this Christmas as far as a tree was concerned. They always cut down a cedar tree on the farm to decorate. This Christmas Walter had to take Linda and drive to Mobile to buy a fir tree. Why you ask? Because it had to be a small tree that could be put on a table so Melvin would not be stripping the bottom of the tree, and, because Linda wanted a "bought" tree. Rose and Bernice liked the smell of a fresh cut cedar in the house but then you have to understand, what are siblings for? Rose got a big surprise for Christmas. Walter got her an electric mixer, something she had wanted for a long time. Can you imagine all the cooking she did and didn't have one up until then? Charlie got to come home for Christmas and that pleased Bernice. He arrived on Christmas Eve and gave her a nice camera as a present. She also received a nice compact from Rich. Charlie was at the Foukal house almost constantly while he was in town. The boy she was dating there didn't get to see much of her during Christmas but the day after Charlie left he was over to see her. She had semester tests to study for so she had to put him off till the weekend. Would you believe that until Christmas of 1954 Bernice did not have a door to her room upstairs? She got one then because she received three boxes of stationary for Christmas and someone went in her room and spread it all over the place. After a thorough investigation the suspects were narrowed down to two.

As 1955 got underway Rose wrote this in a letter to her folks.

Well folks don't know how much sense my letters will make for awhile as I'll probably be writing them while looking at television.

Yes a 21-inch TV found its way into the Foukal home January 31, 1955. Linda was a little disappointed at first because not all of the programs were for kids. Walter really enjoyed it. The favorite programs were Groucho Marx, People Are Funny, Dragnet, and Walter really liked boxing.

Bernice would get a letter almost every day from one of her boyfriends. Linda was very jealous of that so her mom had to talk her folks into writing to her often so she too could get a letter in the mailbox. Charlie was back in Texas now.

Rose made a trip to Buhl in July and just so she didn't get lonesome she took Linda and Melvin with her. Melvin called his grandpa "guy". They had a big picnic up there to let all in the family see Melvin for the first time. He entered his "terrible twos" while he was away. While they were away Bernice was helping Walter with the egg route in Mobile and of course doing all the cooking. They were all back in Silverhill in August safe and sound. Bernice had done a good job of keeping house and still had time to enjoy her social life while they were gone.

School started late August and Bernice became a junior. She didn't really want to take Algebra but since there was a possibility that she would go to college somewhere, she went ahead and took it. One thing Bernice liked about starting back to school was not being at home during cotton picking time. Of all the chores she ever had, that was probably the worst. They used hired help for that mostly but sometimes everyone had to help out.

It was birthday month again for Bernice and Linda. Bernice got an electric blanket from her grandparents. There was a letter that came with the package and when she read it she figured it was a hot water bottle. She started a new job working in the Fairhope 5 & 10 cents store on Saturdays until Christmas. A few days before Bernice's birthday, November 11th to be exact, the Silverhill Elementary School caught fire and burned to the ground. Fortunately the students were out for Armistice Day at the time so no one was hurt. Bernice received a nice birthday card from Charlie and Rich but she was not writing to either of them regularly anymore. Her boyfriend there at home was named Frank and he gave her a box of chocolates.

Linda had a party with nine of her friends attending for her 6th birthday. Because her birthday coming in late November she did not start school in 1955. She got a nice package from Idaho and of course Melvin thought her gifts were great. Melvin was big into the TV programs. He could tell what was on without even looking at the screen. The theme songs and commercials told him all he needed to know.

In the first letter written by Rose to her folks in 1956 she mentions that she and the kids go to Sunday School every Sunday. She and another lady were taking turns teaching in the nursery. Melvin was one of their students. Bernice had gotten a Bible with her name engraved on it from her grandparents for Christmas back in December. She was reading it every night and underlining the things that had special meaning to her. That turned into a long time habit. She had just gotten her semester report card and the grades were all A's and B's except for English which was a C+. She wrote to Charlie about twice a week and he never complained about her English. She would not make any promises to him about their future however.

She still wrote to Rich in California as well but not as often. Her boyfriend there in Silverhill went to a different church and they went together on Sunday nights. He was a leader in the young people's group. He had the lead part in the class play at school. He and Bernice and two of the teachers were doing a skit in a variety show too. Bernice was a busy girl to have an enjoyable social life and do all she did around the house and farm. She was a key player in their egg business which they really depended on for income.

To have eggs you need chickens so a new batch of chicks were coming aboard the last week of February. Many a dozen eggs were finding their way to Mobile every week and Walter and whoever went with him returned with some hard earned cash. Cash came in handy when it was time to go shopping for Bernice's formal and accessories for the Junior-Senior Prom. She and Rose went shopping in Mobile April 14th for the occasion and she got a beautiful light blue dress and white shoes and purse. Of all things, she came down with the mumps and almost missed the event but she always says she doesn't have time to be sick and she got up from her sick bed in time to make all the Junior-Senior social goings on. Charlie got to come home at the right time for one and then Frank, her local boyfriend took her to another at his church.

Rose wrote a letter to her folks dated April 22, 1956 in which she talked about something called "Jiternice". Now whenever you get tired of eating the same old thing week after week, you must try Jiternice. This dish is called other things in other countries but that is what it was called in Czechoslovakia. It is sausage made out of pigs head. There was a sentence in her letter that said "our whole family likes them including the little ones". You might want to memorize that word in case you see it on a menu somewhere.

As if there weren't enough animals in residence at the Foukal farm already, the kids all found out that there were some Cocker Spaniels for sale nearby and went and bought one. The other dogs were hunting dogs and they wanted a "play" dog. He proved to be every bit a play dog to them.

Bernice finished school in May and was dating Frank on weekends and going with her girlfriends in the evenings during the week to different places around the area. One place was called the Windmill in Foley. It had a large area in the back with a jukebox where you could dance. A lot of sailors from the Naval Station at Pensacola went to several places in the area and the girls went to those spots to meet guys and dance. Frank was only available on weekends because of his job. He worked as a carpenter and made anywhere from $60 - $80 a week, depending on his overtime. In addition to working for hire he was helping his dad, who was also a carpenter, remodel their own house.

Bernice enjoyed having fun as much as anybody. She just learned very early in life that the fun comes after you do the things that must be done daily when you live in the environment that she was raised in. When the TV was introduced into the house, it made a difference in time management. Rose, who did most of the letter writing, found that she did a lot less writing. The time when she would sit down and write was now competing with the time she would be sitting and watching the TV. The TV acted as a helper for her in occupying some of the younger kids time so she could sew or cook but still every minute in front of the TV was a minute away from other things she was used to doing. Bernice was probably the least effected by the introduction of the TV into the house. By the time it came on the scene her life was more in tune with things that happened away from home. Very few who will ever read this will have known a part of life where there was no TV. The deep freeze that ended up taking a back seat to the TV was finally purchased in June of 1956. It was located in the dining room. Rose went right to work baking things to fill it up and it never in her lifetime went empty.

July 1, 1956 Melvin was with his mom shopping for bean seed. The only kind of seed the store had was for pole beans. That is not what Rose wanted and she told Melvin that. Melvin, one month before his 3rd birthday said, "I want the pole beans so I can plant them by the fence and let them climb the fence". Rose had no idea how he got that idea. The letter this information came from did not say whether or not the pole bean seeds were purchased that day. Let's ask Melvin.

Things happened in other parts of the country in 1956, not just Baldwin County, Alabama. One of the things that happened that has never gone away and will never be forgotten is the birth of rock'n roll. Before 1956 the world had never heard of Elvis Presley. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame may be in Cleveland, Ohio today, but in 1956 rock'n roll was still in it's birthplace, the southland.

Things happened in other parts of the world as well in 1956, and some not good. In the USSR Nikita Khrushchev was establishing himself as the man who would dominate Soviet politics for the next decade. He denounced Stalin and revealed to the world the full extent of the misery he had created during his nearly thirty years of dictatorship. Khrushchev was to become a thorn in the flesh of Western politicians.

The problems that go on today in the middle east are not new by a long shot. In 1952 an army revolt in Egypt forced the corrupt King Farouk to abdicate the throne. Gamal Abdel Nasser became president of the United Arab Republic in 1954. Nasser secured an arms deal for weapons with Czechoslovakia in 1955, and an offer from the United States for financial assistance for building the Aswan Dam. The Suez Canal had been controlled by a Control Zone just like the Panama Canal was at that time. In July 1956, right where we are in our story, Great Britain and the United States became worried that Egypt was getting a little to cozy with the Communist Countries so the financial support for the Aswan Dam project was withdrawn. Nasser said the heck with that and nationalized the Suez Canal. That is a pretty important piece of real estate in this world. In October Israeli troops invaded the Sinai. Britain and France, who had been the principal owners of the canal before Nasser took it away, attacked Egypt. The United Nations ordered Britain, France and Israel to withdraw and they were replaced by UN forces on the Egypt-Israeli border. Nasser then turned to the USSR to finance the Aswan Dam.

After World War Two the countries of eastern Europe were taken over by the USSR and put under Communist governments that were controlled by Moscow. By 1956 several of these countries had come to resent the extent of USSR control and decided to take action. There were riots in Poland and a revolution led by students broke out in Hungary in October. The outcome in Poland was an increase in independence but the outcome in Hungary was not so good. In November 1956, the USSR sent in troops and tanks into Budapest and put down the revolution.

Between August and November all three of the Foukal children became a year older. Bernice was now a 18 year old senior in high school, Linda was a 7 year old first grader, and 3 year old Melvin had the whole place to himself during school hours for the next nine months.

The Kuceras were planning to come to Silverhill for Christmas December 16th. We will just have to assume they came, had a great time, and then returned to Idaho because there are no letters on file until March of 1957. That letter tells about Bernice going to be on television the next week and the only "rub" is that she must make a dress by then. The show was for Future Homemakers of America (FHA) and was showing what the girls do, and the girls would be modeling dresses they had made. Melvin was described as being really busy planting things. Things were coming up all over the place. You wonder if there were strange vines growing all over the fences.