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I might talk about how old I am, what I look like, and what I do for a living. (I'll try to be truthful!)
I am Wanda June Arnold, born in Prescott, Arkansas July 8, 1956 to a saw-mill worker and his wife. My hospital and doctor's
bill were paid by selling Daddy's milk cow. I joke around some times, saying I am worth the amount of a milk cow. I
was raises in a very small saw-mill town (Beirne, Arkansas) and attend public schools in a town called Gurdon, 6 miles
from my home town.
When I graduated in 1974 I wanted very much to go to college in Missour but finances were the biggest problem.
My parents were not finances able to send me to college in Missour or any where in Arkansas or Texas. I lived about 17 miles
from two colleges in Arkadelphia until I moved to Texarkana where there is a community college in the middle of Texarkana,
Texas. At one time I was living just a few blocks from the college there in Texarkana. I too busy raising my three children
and supporting a husband and my children.
After two bad marriages and two divorces, I remarried to Rick Leon Arnold that was born in Arkansas but was raises in
Ohio. At the age of 18 or so, his parents moved to Grants and Milan New Mexico with Rick and his brother Mark. The Arnold
settle in Milan in 1977 in the home we moved to Nov. 3, 2003 after his mother died and his dad was relocated to Misouri where
Mark lives at. Two years later (about that amount of time) Tim (my son) decided to enrolled into NMSU Grants NM Community
College. I follow him and enrolled all so. I am now a full time student since Fall 2005 and working for my Web
Master Degree. Tim is working on his Film Degree.
Regina, my oldest daughter, graduated 1999 in Emitt, Arkansas High School. Katie graduated 2002 in Gurdon Arkansas High
School. Tim graduated Grants NM High School in 2004 after we moved to New Mexico. Katie got married July 2003 in Arkadelphia
Arkansas and when we moved to New Mexico, she stay in Arkansas with her husband.
Regina enrolled in NMSU at Grants NM about 2004. She is working for her degree in Teaching.
This picture above is a black and white snap shot taken by a cousin Annie Parmer who gave me this picture. I am
the one setting on the ground with a cat shirt on. We are around a car, most likely one of my cousins' car because
we did not have a car back then. Not sure what year this was taken or how old I was. Two of my sisters are setting
on the car (Edna and Shelia). Standing in front are Nancy and Jessie. Behind them are Duckie and
Mackie. Beside my sisters and me (Nancy, Shelia, and Edna), the kids are all Uncle Lige's kids whom live on the
other side of the track there in Beirne. The house was the house that was setting on the land when my parents brought
the property. An old fashion house. We lived in this house until we got the house moved on the property that is picture
next to this picture.
This is another picture of our home their in Beirne. Notice the wooden building beside the house? That building
was what we called the Wash House. Daddy built this building at night after he got off of work at the saw-mill.
We had the washer and dryer out there plus a bath tub. Before he built the wash house, we took a bath in a foot tub
out side after dark so no one could see us. We got between the house and woods so the neighbors' street lights did not shine
any light on us while taking a bath. On the other side of the wash house was where Daddy planted a small garden,
mainly the pototoes. Behind the house was where he planted a big garden of all sorts of vegatables. The woods
in front of the house were where Daddy went squail and deer hunting. These woods is also where us girls set up little play
houses and play with our dolls and other toys in the summer time or when it was not raining or cold. There was a creek
out in the woods that we walk to and get junk people throw out there like boards, cans, and other junk the neighbors haul
down there to get rid of. A cousin and me were out there following that creek and got away from the creek. Needless
to say, we got lost and came out on the other side of the woods with the help of two young people riding their horses out
in these woods. Oh, in front of the wash house was once a chicken house where Daddy raised chicken. It also was later
where Daddy move my house trailor he help me buy after moved in with my parents when Johnny and I separated and I was pregnant
with my second child. Yes, there is a lot of memory setting out on that piece of property. You may can see where
Daddy had a dog pen where he kept his hound dogs in the ledge of the woods on the corner of our property. Before that
is was where he house his pigs he once raise to eat. He never could kill the hogs after he raise them from babies.
The Beirne Saw-Mill. These three pictures are of the saw mill that my dad work for many years since I was two years
old. He was a fork-lift helper. What a danger job that was, especially with the fork-lift driver got his jollies
by driving so fast in the mill yard trying to throw Daddy off the fork-lift. Daddy would come home from work with his
nerves so torn up that he forget to turn off the water faucelt out side after he water the dogs. This is where I said
all my young life that I was going to work at when I grow up. I wanted to work where ever my dad was working. Daddy
and I was close. I did go and talk to the mill foreman Mr. Shaver about working at the mill. He almost laugh in my face.
He was good enough to not laugh in my face but tell me that when they need someone he would call me. Daddy told me that
Mr. Shaver laugh at me after I walk out of the office. Daddy told me not to look for the phone call. Mr. Shaver
hired seveal people that very day after I talk to him. See, I was 17 years old, five feet and seven inches tall weighing
about 85 - 90 pounds. No more then 90 pounds if that much. He thought I was not big enough to handle any position there
at the mill. That ended me wanting to go to work at the mill.
Daddy would work at secruity guard on Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays because either he would be ask to, or his brother
(Uncle Lige) would volunteer Daddy out of spite just for the fun of it. He thaught it was funning to mess up our holiday by
Daddy working. I remember many of holidays us kids would bring Daddy part of our Christmas or Thanksgiving Dinner to
him so he too could have a hot holiday meal. Many of times I would run into a metal beam that they use to block off
a drive-way or an area that trafic was not allow to enter. I did not know it then but I was almost total blind and could
not see the beam until I hit the beam. I was running to see Daddy and by the time I saw the beam, it was to late to
stop. I could not see very far from my noise at that time. When I was 11 years old, the eye doctor told Mother
that I was all most totally blind and that If I had waited any longer to get glasses, I would be totally blind. Maybe
all the beams and metal utilities wires I ran into at that time is why I am not quite right in my head. Ha! Ha!
It is a wonder it didn't cause some kind of brain damage, or did it? I wonder some times. Ha.
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