I grew up in the small town of Friendswood, Texas. When my family moved there in 1954, the population sign read 911. This was a Quaker community. Quakers are also called Friends–thus Friends-wood. We were not Quakers. My parents just found 25 acres that was for sale and that’s where we ended up. They sold off pieces of land to build a house, send us to school, and then to college. Therefore, my parents had the first subdivision in Friendswood.
My family attends the Church of Christ so we were real outcasts in Friendswood in 1954. When it was time for me to go to kindergarten, the only option was the Friends Church kindergarten. That was long before kindergarten was offered in the public school. So at the ripe old age of 5, I was sent to the Friends Church for kindergarten.
I give this long introduction so that I can tell you about my chair. Somehow my parents got the chair that I used. My brothers say that no one wanted the chair after I sat in it. I guess it was in the time out corner most of the time. This chair has my name written on the bottom. It has been through a lot. My 2 children used it. It was used as a stool to reach things. It eventually ended up in the attic in Bridge City. When we moved back to Friendswood in 2008, the chair came with us. When I got ready to do something with it, there was a piece broken off. Here is what it looked like after I repaired it:
Now we have a grandson and he needed a chair. I sanded and primed it and painted. With the help of my daughter-in-law, Emily, on paint color, this is the finished product.
Now he has 2 chairs to go with the table I found in the trash earlier.
Oct 02, 2010 @ 16:38:23
You are so gifted and talented. August is just blessed to have you as a grandma.
Oct 07, 2010 @ 02:58:42
What a great story! I wish I had my kindergarten chair as a memento. I love what you did with it!
Dec 22, 2010 @ 06:50:31
Hi, I’m here from Remodelaholic, and I have to say that this chair is adorable! But, I also wanted to say that I, too, grew up in a small Church of Christ–in a primarily LDS town, so it was interesting to read part of your familiar history in Friendswood. 🙂
Dec 22, 2010 @ 16:41:21
This is so adorable! My nephew would LOVE something like this. You are a fab grandma! I’m also visiting from Remodelaholic 🙂
Jan 09, 2011 @ 04:33:21
Such a sweet story! Thank you for sharing. You “AMAZE ME”! Thank you for linking up to the “Amaze Me Monday” blog party!!
Jan 20, 2011 @ 20:27:52
Yes, that is exactly the look I’m going for on my chair. I knew when I saw the duct tape that the line had to be incorporated someohow on the finished product. Thanks for the visual aide!!