![]() ![]() Whenever one of us came down with a disease, my mother would stick us together so we’d both get it. One year, my sister and I put our money together and for $50 bought a horse named Ranger at New Holland. There’s actually a picture of us with him somewhere, he was very languid and one of us would get on him and one of us would push him! He was very gentle. When my sister and I were very small, we had a pony named Coaltown. My father always kept his roller skates, his ice skates and a saddle in the car at all times. With what the kids these days have to deal with … the drugs and the violence … God, I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with any of that. If I’d had kids, it would be the only way I’d want to raise them. Even though my mother has passed, I’ll still occasionally jump because I still hear her calling me to “get!” The best part was that it was a great community to grow up in. We’d have to milk the cows at 5 a.m., then take a shower so you wouldn’t smell like a barn at school. PGN: You sounded like an independent little spirit! What was the best and worst part of growing up on a farm? I finally found a book I wanted to read and said, “You know what? I can do this,” and so I did. As it was, I taught myself to read in fourth grade. NB: I know, and I had ADHD too - I’m almost 70, so they didn’t call it that back then - but I would have been better off at a private school where you got individualized attention. PGN: Yeah, I hate it when those toddler decisions come back to haunt you. I stupidly missed out on getting a wonderful education. I could have had all my schooling there but in kindergarten all they did was cut out dolls all day and I didn’t want a damn thing to do with dolls! One day, my father was taking me to school and I begged him not to make me go and after that I never had to go back there. I could have kicked myself: My-great grandparents were actually the janitors at a very nice private school and I was allowed to attend for free. Our classmates were a mix of city kids and farm kids and they’d tease us. Unfortunately, because of that, we got bullied a lot at school. We won a lot of prizes and got our pictures in the paper often. My sister and I were into 4H, showing cows and stuff. NB: We had a dairy farm in Kimberton, Pa., which is in Chester County. My sister was married so it was decided that they’d go to college and I’d put my schoolwork aside to run the farm until they got back. I took a break between school because my father passed away and I went home to run the farm and keep my mother company she’d never been alone in her life and didn’t want to start then. NB: I did two main jobs: I delivered mail for 27 years and prior to that I was a social worker. He went to Temple and I’m a Temple grad, though I was there quite a while before him I’m sure! Charles and his sister were born 14 months apart, and my sister and I are close in age too. He went to Earlham in Indiana and I delivered mail there for quite some time. NB: I read the profile you did last week on a guy - I think his name was Charles - and I was really surprised to find we had a lot in common. We took a moment to speak with board president Norma Beard, who, at almost 70, is still do-si-do-ing with this high-energy style of dance. Founded in 1988, the group has been holding dances and classes for people of all types and skill sets for more than two decades. ![]() No, these aren’t new songs by RuPaul or some unique S&M positions - these are square-dance moves that you might hear when kicking up your heels with the Independence Squares, Philadelphia’s modern Western square-dance club. Roll Away with a Half-Sashay, Split the Outside Two, California Twirl, Dive Thru, Shoot the Star, Slip the Clutch, Weave the Ring and Ladies Chain. ![]()
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