Every Sunday, Grandma & Grandpa Slater would come, pick us three kids (LuAnn, Frances, and I) up, to take us the Presbyterian Church over near Lakewood. Each of us children had been Baptized there, in the past, at different times.
Mom and Dad didn't usually go--unless it was Easter, or something special--like a Baptism. They would get the chance for a morning, for themselves to do whatever they chose free from the stress of having three kids to attend to. Bosco would await our return by sitting, or lying on, or near the house steps. (In later years, Sammy--my little Beagle, would fill Bosco's void).
On rare occasions, we would be taken to Wapato Park after the church services were over. If we went to the park, Dad and Mom would usually already be there with some sort of a picnic lunch already set up......-but, we could count on almost always being treated to ice cream before returning home. That was the best part!
None of us were too keen about having to get up early or having to dress up but we were intensely keen in knowing that, in the end, there would be ice cream. Those hand-filled cones were always so delicious--and TWO SCOOPS!!
My sisters would get all gussied up in fancy little dresses, their good shoes on, and sometimes a hat---while I would be wearing a suit of some kind. I only had two--a brown one; and, later, a really nice light blue suit that either my Mother or my Grandma made just for me. It was a great suit but you had to be careful, when wearing it, not to get it dirty and messed up--especially with the ice cream (that we usually consumed in the car as Grandpa drove us back home).
We would practice reciting our verses as we headed for the church, sitting in the back seat of Grandpa's big car (we always remembered whose turn it was for one of us to sit up front with Grandpa & Grandma). We were all pretty good at correctly remembering each line verbatim. If, at Sunday School, we got everything perfect, we would earn special bookmarks (one with the 23rd Psalm--or something similar), or little ribbons that we could keep in our Bibles that Grandma Slater had given to us early on. Once, I received a really nice picture of Jesus. It was small but you could hang it on the wall. Another time I got this wall hanging of a white cross surrounded by a deep blue background. Afterwards, I hung it up, at home in my bedroom, and it looked so grand. The cross was designed with some sort of reflective tape. At night, after turning out the ceiling life, it would hold the gathered light and glow in the dark for about thirty seconds, or so. We would always look for it after the light went out. In a way, it helped us remember to say our prayers each night. Having it was wonderful, and I still have it after over 60 years or so.
During the Sunday School session, our teacher would read us stories about Jesus, or some of the prophets--sometimes even stories of Biblical persons like David and Goliath, Lazarus, and such. Often we would be handed pictures that we could color. Also, we would usually be supplied with papers and stories that we could take home with us later. Usually we had a quarter to give to the Sunday School offering that Mama had given us, at home, on the way out the door.
After Sunday School, a young proctor would lead us out, single file, to the main church. Here we would meet up with our grandparents to sit alongside them in one of the long pews that stretched from each side of the church, in rows, meeting at the middle aisle. Grandpa & Grandma usually sat in the same row every Sunday--we knew exactly where to find them.
The sermons were often long, and drawn out, at times--but soon............Ohhh, the ice cream (after we left the church).
I can remember the red hymn books (regularly kept in wooden brackets mounted to the backs of each pew). We would each grab one of these books, scan through our service pamphlet, and hold our finger in place, inside the pages, so that we could readily flip to the hymn that would be coming up next. There were always one or more of the old standbys, such as "The Old Rugged Cross", "Yield Not to Temptation", and others. Grandma's favorite was "In the Garden". (We sang this hymn at her funeral service years later.)
Then, soon enough, the collection plate would be offered to the congregation. Churchmen, dressed in suits, would (starting from the rear of the church) pass the plate heading frontwards, down the aisle, from pew to pew. Grandpa usually had his tithing already prepared in a little brown manila envelope. We kids would all have a dollar ready to present that Grandma or Grandpa had given to us previously, in the car, on the way to the church. Everyone always looked so solemn as the collection plate was passed.

Then there would be one more hymn (maybe-"We Shall Gather at the River") plus a closing prayer, and the church service was over.
The pastor would be proceeding out the door as his second would be guiding everyone through the final prayer, This way, the preacher would be positioned to shake everyone's hands (including the kids), thanking us for attendance, as we departed for the door. Usually church members would hang around, outside, for a short period, to say their howdy 's and adieu's to one another.
And then...............to the car................and next--OH BOY !-----the ice cream parlor...............Here we Come!!