Do certain songs bring back memories?

“A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation” takes me back to before I was in school and my two older sisters would spend time listening to their records on the porch while I was busy playing with my dolls or trying to walk on my brother’s stilts.

“Splish, Splash I Was Taking a Bath” reminds me of our Saturday night baths taken in a round tub with water heated on the stove to take off the chill. (This was before we got running water inside). I knew the words to many songs by the time I was in grade school because I heard them played so often by my sisters. By the time I was in fourth or fifth grade I would buy the magazine “Hit Parade” and my girlfriend and I would sing on the bus to and from school.

When I hear a song The Beatles sang I think of my cousin Becky because she was crazy about The Beatles. During my senior year of high school my fiancé was in the Air Force and I would listen to the song by the Shirelles titled, “Soldier Boy,” almost every night before I went to sleep. The song that played over and over at the time when I lost my first baby was “A Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. Moving ahead in my life, when I lived in Arkansas in 1973-1974 I drove about a half hour to work everyday and the only music I could get on the radio was country and that’s when I learned to love country music. I became a Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty fan. Every day on my way to work, I would hear, “Hey Loretta” (I love you more than my Irish setter). Another tune that brings back memories from Arkansas is “Paper Roses.” When Arnie and I were first married, we used to go dancing about six nights a week. One of our favorite memories was a trip we took to Arizona. We stopped at this little club and they had a band that played one of our favorites, “Bop With Me Baby” by Dan Seals. I’m sure if you took the time to think about it there are certain songs that bring back memories for you also.

We had a surprise visit from my son, Jeramy, and his family the last weekend in January and they only stayed one night with us, but the grandkids and I made the most of our time together. We ate a late supper and then Jeramy had homework to do on the computer and their mom went to bed early so the kids and I headed down to the playroom where their toys were still in the same place as when they had lived near by. Dylan made a convoy with all his trucks and Morgan and I played with some of her favorites and then after a while we headed back up stairs and the kids got their baths and we got everyone’s beds ready. When they were both dressed for bed I asked them what game they wanted to play before they went to sleep. They wanted to put a blanket over the card table to make a tent so that it would be dark and we could play the game that we used to play when I would pick them up in Northwood and we would go to Pioneer Club, (a mid-week program that they had at our church when they were very young). It was about a 40- to 45-minute drive, because we go to church in Austin, so we would play this game where we would take turns and you either had to make up a story or sing a song. So with a flashlight as a microphone Dylan started the game. We laughed and giggled until nearly midnight as they remembered the silly songs and stories we had made up during our trips and even added a few new ones to our repertoire. They also asked me about what games Great-Grandma played with me when I was young. We had a short, but good visit.

Morgan came with me to the museum in the morning and she was introduced to the group taking the AARP defensive driving class at break time. She helped me with some projects and she helped Grandpa clean up after the class. She called us on their way home and said, “Grandma, I love you and tell Grandpa I love him and miss him!”

With Clear Lake, Iowa, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson (the “Big Bopper”) and Ritchie Valens, we have had many out-of-town visitors to the museum during the past couple of weeks.

They have enjoyed our Eddie Cochran and Marion Ross exhibits as well as the Minnesota Rock & Country Hall of Fame Display. We had many comments about how nice and clean the museum is and what a wonderful collection we have. Our number of visitors for 2008 was up 26.8 percent over 2007 and this year is starting out great with January visitors being up 43 percent over last January. Have you visited our museum lately? Don’t overlook what we have in our town, we invite you to stop in and see what your hometown museum has to offer. We are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The museum will be hosting an AARP four-hour refresher class on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You must pre-register for the class. The cost is $19 and you will receive your certificate that day.

The annual meeting for the Freeborn County Historical Society (doing business as the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village) will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. in the lower level of the museum. All members are welcome.

Pat Mulso is the executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum in Albert Lea.