THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

On August 15, 1924, my grandfather wrote the following in his diary:

“This week I had a few trials. I bought a Ford Truck last week. I quit the shop and went to hauling gravel and sand. At first the engine would not pull. Mr. Al Bryant had it fixed. Next, the gravel plant broke down and I did not get but one load in a day. The next day I had to put in new transmission bands. The third day I broke a front spring and the fourth day I had a blow out in the rear casing, 33 x 5, - a 40 dollar casing blowed up and it made me quite sick to think of it. I resolved to quit the hauling business. I went and inquired at the print shop for work but there was no opening. But in the evening I got a job hauling cinders for the Stadium. Some nasty job, it lasted only a half a day. The first load I had a blow out on account of a shoe slipping. I went back to the print shop and hired Henry Fasel, a cousin of mine to haul for me. He and Ed hauled cotton seed from Cedar Creek, a distance of about 26 miles. But too many trucks were hauling so only made about a 3 day run in about a week. Added to this I had to buy a pair of mud chains which cost me 10 dollars, also had to overhaul the rear end which cost over 16 dollars in parts alone. We tried gravel hauling but with no better luck so I told Henry he could get him a job elsewhere if opportunity presented itself; as for me, I’m thru with hauling.”

SONG AND DANCE

Formed in 1925 in St. Louis, the Missouri Rockettes were the predecessor to the Radio City Music Hall group by a similar name. However, being a newly-formed organization with neither funds nor fame, the promoters of this group often had difficulty finding or securing places to hold auditions, as well as people wanting to be a part of a little-known dance troupe.

And that’s just how and where the Sizemore sisters entered the story. From a very early age, they had wanted to be performers of some sort, preferably singers or dancers or some combination thereof. But to their great disappointment, there just wasn’t much opportunity or desire for that in the rural area that they had called home since birth. 

But when the sisters heard from neighbors that, in several places around town, they had seen posters announcing that the Missouri Rockettes organization was coming to their neck of the woods in July, 1926 seeking dancers, they just knew this was going to be their big chance. For two weeks straight, they spent part of each day in the field behind their house, practicing their dance moves and steps. Finally, when they felt they had reached the peak of perfection, they filled out the application forms, and submitted them, along with photos of them performing their best routine. 

Although they mailed them in a timely manner, it was apparently all to no avail and their big debut was not to be; for due to a shortage of personnel, the auditions were never held in their area. As far as can be determined, this photo, still showing the creases where it was folded to get it into the envelope, is the last remaining evidence that there ever existed such a group as the “Singing Sizemores” (who hoped to someday also be known as the “Dancing Darlings”).

PROTECTING POTATOES

Even though his brother Roland was the younger of the two boys, Oscar was the oldest, and as such, he always tried to set the example, especially in times of danger and hardship. And so it was Oscar who decided that even though they both were rejected for military service during World War 1, they still could, and should, do their part in protecting family and homeland. Thus it was that they formed and headed up the group that would become known as “The Garden Guards” – protectors of beans and potatoes, squash and tomatoes, and so much more. Though he was the shorter of the two boys, Oscar declared that, as the older one, he should be the one to carry the family’s long rifle – thereby leaving only the Red Ryder BB Gun for Roland. And since they never had to fire either weapon in protecting their land, it really never mattered who carried what. Nevertheless, there they stood at attention, guns at the ready, day after day, making sure that the fruits and vegetables were able to grow to maturity and provide sustenance for all the members of their family. When the war finally ended in November of 1918, Oscar and Roland figured that they had done their duty to their country, and just before laying down their weapons for the last time, they had a photo taken to commemorate their years of faithful service. To this day, that photo of both boys standing proud and tall among the okra and radishes, hangs in the east wing of The Garden Guards Hall of Fame in their hometown.