I was born to Lorena Zoe Etter (2014) & John Phillip Dayton (1995) on July 13, 1955. Born with red hair (yes, I am a true redhead & I tan more than burn), green eyes and teeth that would one day need braces…I was a cutie! You might think I might be Irish but our Dayton ancestors come from England.
My first years were spent in a small house we called the “little house” behind my mother’s parent’s home on Nassau Street. I never knew my father’s parents although I blame my early wrinkling face to my dad’s mom! My mother’s parents, Lucy & Hugh Etter were huge influences in my life; We called them Cranny & Bo. Bo called me Pete and my brother he called Bosco…go figure that one out!
Across the street from my grandparents lived Clariece & DJ Anderson nicknamed by us kids…Anners & DJ. They had a daughter Marie who took great care of me as a young child. I spent lots of time crossing Nassau Street. You may know Marie through her kids Heather, Nicholle & David Tom from TV and movies. Marie taught me to swim at, what we call these days, the “old” Westridge pool where she was the lifeguard. I loved the smell of the cedar as it heated in the sun. I’d watch for hours as she showed kids how to love and respect the water.
I “grew up” on Irene Street in a 2 bedroom, one bath home. I shared a bedroom with my brother, John (2014). John was 7 years older than me and we both lived to aggravate each other…the stories we could tell.
My mom worked in retail from the time she was 14…at the Dixie Shop, Nan’s, and finally at Marse & Son. My dad worked in the appliance department of Sears for years & years & years. Everyone thought he looked like Porter Wagner. I grew up in these stores. I got many new record albums that came in at Sears and I finally grew into the Dixie Shop clothes. What fun times.
In today’s world you would call me a “latchkey kid”. Both my parents worked and so each day I would walk the mile home from College Hill Elementary School to our house. We didn’t lock our doors and never thought about it being dangerous! In the springtime I had to dig a bucket of dandelions each day when I got home. I learned to fluff the bucket! I did not like to dig weeds& I still don’t!
I grew up in Girl Scouts and was a Senior Cadet Scout. My first hike I showed up wearing little gold pixie flats, like the ones that are back in style now…thin soles and comfy! Mrs. Walker & Mrs. Leach, our leaders, just laughed. I made it fine. I like cute shoes to this day!!! Through Girl Scouts, I became good friends with Suzy Leach and her dad, Alton, flew us to Knox City every other weekend to stay at her grandparents. He did all kinds of stunts with that airplane. Upside down, sideways, loops; joy riding in the sky! I remember it like it was yesterday. That is a bad sign, when you remember the past more than the present, right?
I spent every day each summer at the Plainview Country Club Pool…unless I was traveling all over the country with my grandparents in the back of a pickup under a camper! My cousin & I grew up singing songs like Swing Low Sweet Chariot & Jeremiah was a Bullfrog at the top of our lungs as we traveled through all the Western United States and stopped at every historical marker along the way!!! One of the most beautiful places we ever visited was Yellowstone National Park. I just can’t even describe the beauty. Breathtaking and the colors are magnificent! If you have visited there, you know.
I grew up attending First Baptist Church where I accepted Christ at a young age. I remember special teachers who made a difference in my life. My faith was very important to me as a teenager and it was through prayer that God led me to meet Clinton Wall, son of Peggy & TC Wall.
Clinton and I had our first date to a PHS football game. I got to shop at Kristi’s and bought the cutest hip-hugger, lavender, double knit-bell bottoms; a lavender turtleneck and an off-white with lavender flowered crocheted belt and I was set to go! This was our senior year, 1973. After graduation, I went to West Texas State & he went to Tech to play baseball. That distance didn’t work out well, and I did not enjoy college life so, I came back and worked at Gabriel’s with Dickie Perkins in the shoe department. I loved my time working for Frank & Max Gabriel.
We were married in May of 1975. We moved to Lubbock where I worked in the shoe department as an assistant to the buyer for Latham’s while Clinton finished school. We lived in a brand new tiny efficiency apartment. I remember that when I got my commission check we would splurge and eat at McDonald’s Restaurant! Clinton graduated from Tech in May 1977 and we moved back to Plainview and Aaron was born August 1st. I remember standing on the porch with him and asking myself, what do I do now? No manual came with him! Three years later, in the snow storm of November 25, 1980, we had Chrissa. We convinced Dr. Larry (Karrh) to let us go home for Thanksgiving Day. Chrissa loves to tell the story of how we laid her on the living room floor while we all went into the kitchen to eat our Thanksgiving dinner! Poor baby!
I was then the part-time Children’s Minister at First Baptist Church. God made it very clear to me that I needed to be a stay at home mom, what a job! The hardest job I have ever had but the most rewarding!
Clinton and I have continued our journey together for 39 years. I know, you ask how he puts up with me. I get that a lot! I always say, how would you like to live with someone who is perfect? I think Clinton is. We laugh a lot and enjoy just being together. He continues to work with High Plains Concrete, a ready-mix concrete business…oh, and do you know the difference between cement and concrete?
Aaron Dayton works at High Plains Concrete, loves Kelsey, Jonci, and their pets. Chrissa J’rene (my name until my dad said “No” … combined for John & Lorena) married her high school sweetheart Brandon. They have Adelyn & Dylan, the grand-sisters! They also have a dog and a cat.
So many opportunities have been provided to me through the years. In my faith I strive to be sensitive every day to the Holy Spirit and to those he places in my life. God has blessed my family and I owe it all to him. My gift is faith. There is a song I listened to as a youth called, I’ve Got Confidence by a group called Revelation. It starts like this, “I’ve got confidence, God is going to see me through, no matter what the case may be, I know he’s going to fix it for me”…and he does. What I do these days is live each day expecting the unexpected impulses that the Holy Spirit nudges me with.
In 2014 God God took the puzzle pieces of my life and completed my understanding of how he wired me for a special purpose. I am blessed to be involved in his ministry in many ways, now to include Asperger Syndrome.
I love art. I am very thankful that God allows me to see. My eyesight is fading a little with age and I try to see each day all the beauty that God created and allows me to enjoy. I enjoy painting and I enjoy photography. I love to read and play in the dirt and am amazed when seeds grow into plants that bloom into beautiful flowers. I write poetry from time to time, maintain a couple of blogs; one personal and one where I explore the place we are blessed to live…Plainview, Texas.
