A SPECIAL PLACE TO WATCH MICKEY MOUSE CLUB & DICK CLARK!

     The one room or area of our home, when growing up, that has carried very special memories for me was what we called the back room. In the original house plan the purpose was for a bedroom as it was the only downstairs room with a closet. The other five bedrooms were upstairs and they all included walk-in closets.

      The master bedroom that my parents used was a room on the northeast side of the first floor adjacent to the living room. This room was much larger than the "back room" but, at the same time had no closet. However, they could cut through the enclosed hall area that led upstairs to get to the back bedroom.

     I do remember seeing some of  my dad's clothing in that closet before he passed away in 1953. He only owned a couple pair of suits and will never forget at least two pairs of the old wing tip  style dress shoes.

     For a time, this back room was used as a T.V. room and I recall on many an afternoon after school watching American Bandstand with Dick Clark followed by The Mickey Mouse Club along with munching on some Highland potato chips and a Pepsi.

      Also, for a time it was used as a  bedroom because it was too cold upstairs as we didn't heat the upstairs during the winter. At night at 10 o'clock,  I would tune my radio in to KFJB in Marshalltown and listened to a show that played all kinds of music. Their lead in theme song was the instrumental by Big Band Buddy Rich called "Night Train." It was from 1952 and that instrumental with Rich's trombone solo still gives me chills every time I still play it, full blast in the car off my homemade CD called none other than "Night Train."

       Oh the things we remember and are influenced by!