The year was 1969.
We had moved back to Germany from Canada in 1965. (See previous instalments for details. Click HERE.)
Weekdays, living on the base, I was just another Canadian “Army Brat”. Weekends, with my grandparents and other relatives, transformed me back into a German girl.
During that time, we travelled extensively throughout Europe and in this last year, I attended boarding school in Switzerland.
1969 was pivotal in so many ways!
Popular that winter was a tune written by one brother for another, a Spaghetti Western classic, a European-flavoured ode and a ditty by The Beatles.
I had started the second semester at school and was getting to know my new roommates.
There was Veronika, from Germany, chic in designer duds and master of the disdainful glance. A tall, leggy blonde with an aloof manner, I knew her by reputation only, but we did have a personal connection. Her boyfriend was the son of my mother’s schoolmate.
Veronika’s big sister was a famous model, and her family came from old money. Intriguing! It would be a challenge to break through her icy exterior. Thankfully, that turned out to be easier than expected.
Mandy, the daughter of American missionaries, had been living in Africa for several years. Her older sister, Mary, was also at the school but in the Senior Girls building.
In the beginning, Mandy was a shy little girl and completely unfamiliar with the pop culture of the day. Over time, she broke free of that cocoon and turned into a social butterfly.
(Pseudonyms)
By spring, we had formed a strong friendship and continued to share a room for the rest of the school year. On weekends, there were chaperoned field trips; to the mountains for ski lessons (I was a klutz!) or places like Liechtenstein, a tiny Principality between Switzerland and Austria.
Playing on the radio:
Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, the school year was ending! The girls were all excited and restless, wanting to go home for the summer. I was the only one not returning (we would be moving back to Canada in August), and it made me a little sad.
Despite the obvious negatives of curtailed freedom and assorted torments, it had been a memorable, educational and fascinating time (see postscript).
Sadly, it ended on a bad note, as Veronika and I both got expelled (see postscript), thanks to a couple of vengeful housemates who framed us.
Postscript
About 10 years ago, I wrote a boarding school memoir , with every intention of publishing it. I even went so far as to design a cover!Unfortunately, the content was too sparse for a book and I didn’t want to fictionalize it. As a result, it’s been confined to “pending rewrite purgatory” ever since.
Now might be a good time to revisit it!
Some excerpts were included in my “Musical Memories” theme for the 2017 A To Z April Blogging Challenge. Click on the titles to view. Shown in chronological order of events:
My mother was livid about the expulsion and blamed me for “bringing shame to the family.” Luckily, I was whisked out of her clutches by my father for a week’s vacation in Berlin and London.
Packing for the big move (Germany to Canada) soon overshadowed the “scandal.” We vacated our army apartment in mid-July and lived with my grandparents for the final 4 weeks.
I remember watching the historic moon landing in my grandmother’s kitchen and thinking how incredible it was. On the first day of the Woodstock Music Festival, Aug. 15, 1969, we boarded a Canadian military plane in Düsseldorf, heading for Toronto.
Once again, this “army brat” found herself in a new school, with nary a friend. The teacher’s introduction of me prompted someone to start a conversation. “So, you lived in Germany? That must have been interesting.”
His name was Steve. He looked like an Adonis, with long, flowing blonde hair, piercing brown eyes and a beautiful, dimpled smile. Wasn’t I a lucky girl to be sitting next to him in homeroom? By November, we were inseparable and spent the rest of the year in a blissful fog.
Radio selections from that time:
Where were you in 1969? Join me for some #MusicalMemories! #dogladysden Click To Tweet
This is a continuing series inspired by
“THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE”
at
It Rains…You Get Wet and Your Daily Dose
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The year was 1970:
A return visit to Germany, young love and heartbreak
Where were you in 1969?
Any memories you’d like to share?
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
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22 thoughts on “THE YEAR WAS 1969 | #MusicalMemories”
Debbie,
At the end of 1969 I turned 8. I remember a number of the songs you loved as a teenager. I don’t have any distinct memories. I was still busy playing with Barbie dolls, Double Dutch, Hopscotch, Dodge Ball, or other school games. Summers were reserved for playing outdoors until it got too dark to see, catching lightening bugs, playing hide n’ seek, and riding bikes. Music wasn’t a big thing with me at that age but I do recall many of these songs with great fondness. The 60s and 70s were great decades for some wonderful tunes. No words are truer when I say oldies but goodies when referring to music from those days. Thanks for sharing your adventures/misadventures from so many years ago. Doesn’t it feel like just yesterday?
Hi Cathy, I love your memories of when you were eight! 🙂 Those were simpler times, for sure. The good old days! They seem a bit distant to me now, but the 1990s feel like yesterday. Thanks for coming by. I’m playing “catch-up” now. Have a good weekend!
Interesting look at this period of your life. 1969 was the year I graduated from high school. My school years in Tennessee sound like a far cry from what you experienced.
Tennessee and Europe are pretty far apart. ? But, at least we shared a lot of the same music.
Debbie, I shared your link to BeBee.com. There are a lot of music lovers and writers from Canada that will enjoy your posts. https://us.bebee.com/post/ebKGE615321d59fc03
That’s so nice of you, Eugenia, thank you! ?? I went over there and opened an account so I could respond to it. Interesting site! Somewhat similar to LinkedIn?
Thank you for joining beBee, Debbie! Yes, somewhat similar to LinkedIn except for more freedom to express how you feel. And since beBee is based in Madrid, Spain, there is more of an international flair.
My pleasure, Eugenia. 🙂 I love to try new sites. How cool that beBee is based in Spain!
Hi Debby – what fun to read … life is interesting isn’t it. I think I was in a flux … separating parents, uncertainty of life ahead … but experiencing life. Also thinking back to things that were there to be learnt as the years went by. Also so grateful to see the songs … all fun to hear again … cheers – Hilary
Separating parents? That must have been difficult for you, HIlary. 🙁 Glad you enjoyed the songs!
In ’69 I was in Mrs Shauff’s class, firmly installed as teachers pet. What is there to see in Liechtenstein? When you look the country up, you get the impression it’s one big bank with mountains for walls…
Love your description of Liechtenstein! ? Actually, it has some beautiful scenery and a couple of castles.
https://www.planetware.com/pictures/liechtenstein-fl.htm
So many interesting memories for you. Thanks for sharing them with us. In 1969 I was in dull Topeka, Kansas, from which I thought I would never escape. I remember hearing most of those songs on the radio. Station KEWI, 1440 (I can still hear the jingle), was a constant in the lives of Topeka teens for many years.
Love,
Janie
Well, to paraphrase Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore. 😉 We had a similar station in Toronto, called 1050 CHUM. It’s a sports channel, now. 😛
69 is a year I’ve tried to forget! Too much unhappiness! But love your romp through time. What fun!
Sorry, you had such a rough time in 1969, Yolanda. 🙁 Hopefully, the music offered a little bit of cheer. Thanks for coming by!
Love the music, Debbie! I got married in 1967 and my mom died in 1968 so 1969 was a growing up and healing year. I loved the music during that time and credit it for getting me through some tough times.
That must have been a bittersweet time for you, Eugenia. Music does have healing powers!
I love the videos, but I want to hear more about Steve and the fog.
Have a fabulous day and week, Debbie. ♥
There will be more about Steve in the next chapter – 1970. Thanks for reading and stay tuned! 😀
First of all, Penny and Heather are assholes and whichever one shoved you with a razor in your hand is an out n’ out bitch. – Do you know what happened to them??? I hope they got super fat and their husbands left them for women named Debbie! Ha! – Also. You know I love all of the tunes but I didn’t love Eloise at all. – I think you should finish that book because I want to read it! – Are you in touch with any of the roomies? What became of Veronika and Mandy???
Heather was the out and out bitch, that is for sure! Love your possible scenario for how her and Penny’s lives turned out. 😀 The material is too sparse for a whole book, but I am thinking of incorporating the boarding school chapters into a complete memoir. Glad to know you’d be interested in reading it. Thanks! ? I only kept in touch with Veronika, which petered out when we moved back to Canada. I should try Google and see if she and some of the others are online.