I first heard of The Betty Club last month when CBS Sunday Morning did a piece on the Nebraska Betty Club's 16th Annual Betty Convention. The only requirement for joining the club is the shared first name - Betty. And no matter how big the crowd is, remembering someone's name is not a problem.
My little sister was named Betty. Mom told me Dad was the one who named her Betty Ruth. Maybe he was thinking of the candy bar, Baby Ruth? Or maybe he wanted to honor Mom by using her name, Ruth, as the baby's middle name and thought Betty sounded good with it?
Why he named her Betty Ruth I never knew. To me it was just one more plank in the sibling rivalry deck - if Dad named her then that meant she was his favourite. I was almost two years old when she was born, so having her displace me guaranteed my jealousy. Ronald was about six years old here.
Mom must have had a thing for hats. I do remember this one, though not the one I was wearing in the previous picture.
While the Betty Club was new to me, I did know about the same type of club for women named Linda. It was started in Iowa by two Cedar Rapids friends in 1987. Their second annual Linda Club meeting was held in Des Moines. I worked with a woman named Linda at the time, so maybe that is why it stood out for me. Or maybe it just seemed like such a fun idea. When I thought about it, I realized there really were a lot of women named Linda.
Betty was a very popular name during the 1920's and 1930's. When an 88-year old Betty at the Nebraska convention was asked if it was a compliment if someone said you were a "real Betty", she replied, "You bet. It meant you're hot!" Must have been the Betty Boop image.
Betty's hair was almost as white as Grandma Ridnour's cat, Toby. Mom used to say she was a tow head. (I probably wondered what her toes had to do with her head.) I understood she called her a tow head because of her white/blond hair, but what did it mean?
Now, thanks to the internet, I realize towing is part of the process of turning flax into cloth - similar to carding in wool-to-cloth prep. Another adjective for fair haired is flaxen haired.
Mom also said Betty was bald the first couple years of her life - before she became a tow-head. The string of wooden thread spools on the high chair gave her something to play with and teeth on.
This was the basket, or bassinet, all of us slept in as babies - even Leslie when he came along eight years after Betty - it was still in good condition, surprisingly so since we used it to play in.
We had a neighbor boy that Ron usually played with and because they were older, my sister and I were playmates. Most of the time we got along - usually because she let me be the boss - but once in awhile she would rebel. I remember one time when I wanted to go outside to play and she didn't want to. I went on outdoors, climbed about two-thirds of the way up the elevator which was set up at the corn crib and began calling for her. "Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty." No response. I chanted her name over and over, "Betty, Betty, Betty, bettybettybettybettybetty" until her name became a mash of sound and lost its meaning.
I lost interest in her joining me and began pondering how her name, anyone's name, could lose its meaning (identity) and simply become a sound, a noise, a meaningless litany. It is a memory as clear today as it was when it happened when I was probably ten or eleven years old.
Are there any Ramona clubs? I doubt it. I don't think the name Ramona was ever as popular as Betty and Linda. I think whatever popularity it achieved had a lot to do with Helen Hunt Jackson's novel, Ramona. Mom said she chose my name - but I was named for one of Dad's old girlfriends. H-m-m-m-m.
I don't remember what Betty and I were dressed up for in this mid-1960's picture. I do remember thinking I was pretty hot with my hat and matching gloves and suede pumps. Maybe not as hot as that 88-year-old, but if Dad had named me instead of Mom, I would only have to move to Nebraska to join her club.
You look SO HOT in that last pic, lady! What a sweet dress, and the gloves really make the outfit.
ReplyDeleteIs this topic inspired by a certain bicycle, by any chance? Normally, I'd be jealous if my man came home after a week away with a flirty girl called Betty in tow, but I'm prepared to be forgiving this time. :-)