The life and times of Melba Arthena Larson ans Oliver Lealand Laub or Wee Wobb's Kids and Mel's Brats by Cleo Laub Jackson 6/21/95

retyped and posted with added titles: by Kimberly Thurston a work still in progress

Twins

Of course I don't remember anything of LaVerna and Elvin's early years. The world did not begin until my birth, I always thought. From reading Mom's and Dad's letters I could tell these first two were loved and adored. They, being the oldest, were expected to be helpers. mom could not have gotten by with out LaVerna's natural helpful instincts. It is good thing for Mom God didn't send me first. I was always too rebellious and set for fun time to be a GOOD good helper.

I had my twin brother to play with. I was 1 year and 3 months old when Willard and Wayne came. Mom and I was forever in their faces making them laugh. They would reach up and tangle their hands in my long hair and pull with all 4 hands and have me screaming while she tried to get me out of their clutches. The twins were too irresistible. I'd soon be right back crying again.

Those twins are a whole story by themselves! Talk about double trouble. What one didn't think of the other would, They looked so much alike sometimes Mom would spank them both to make sure sh got the right one.

I remember once when one twin ran around the house away from an angry mother. She caught the innocent twin and gave him a smack. He cried and said, "What did you do that for?" Realizing her mistake Mom said, "Well that makes up for the time you deserved it and didn't get it"!

When the twins and I were in Woodward Junior High, Willard and I were sitting on the school bus waiting to go home. Bessie Snow, the school librarian and English teacher marched to the bus with steam coming from her ears from righteous indignation.

Miss Snow stepped inside and looked the passengers over. "There he is!" she said. Willard was oredere doff the bus and back to her room. He was to have detention for his disruptive behavior in class just before the bell rang,

Willard protested that she had the wrong person. He was not in her class that hour.

Luckily i was there to verify that this was indeed Willard and not Wayne.

Wayne was already home when we got off the bus 2 miles later. He had run all the way.

It seems Wayne had earned Miss Snow's wrath for his loud laugh and rude remark. She had an unconscious habit of scratching inside the bosom of her dress with a pencil while she read to herself.

She also kept her handkerchief tucked down inside and would have to search for it sometimes. Young teen-aged boys found it hard not to giggle about these actions.

Dad loved to tell about the time he had the small twins in town with him with his friends. The two were not old enough to speak real plain yet. Some one asked who their father was. "Wee Wobb!" was the answer. This became great sport asking the boys again and again who their father was. Always teh answer was a proud "Wee Wobb".

Coming from a family background of photography, It was natural Mom was always taking snapshots with her red kodak box camera. Among the many family snapshots, we have some of the little twins and they would plant a kiss on each others as the picture was snapped.

The twins and I were so close in age I just assumed we three were one. I did everything they did, or at least tried. It didn't matter if I was a girl. I tried everything from standing to go bathroom outside when  Mother Nature tried to call me away from outdoors play, to smoking cigarettes rolled from newspaper and bark form cedar posts.

Poor LaVerna would tire being the good big helper and say, "Mama, make Cleo help." Mama would say, "Oh she is just a little girl. Let her have some fun." So away I'd escape to the twins and our stick horses in the bushes. We were cowboys and Indians, with a large Ramada horse cut from the nearby trees and whittled smooth.

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