Lisa's History Room

Little Michael Jackson, age 3, ca. 1961 (Lisa's History Room)

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson‘s death. In her only TV interview, mother Katherine Jackson reminisced on “Dateline” about her internationally famous son.

She remembered the day she realized Michael had talent:

We had a Maytag washing machine, and it was rickety when the agitators would go, you know how they go [imitates sound]. This one was so rickety that it had a [imitates sound] kinda like that, and Michael was there on the floor wearing his diaper and his little bottle, and he just was dancing to the rhythm of what the washing machine made.” 

Katherine Jackson went on to say that she had never met Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of Michael’s two oldest children, Prince (b. 1997) and Paris (b. 1998), until Michael’s death. Katherine, who raised nine children, is now mother to Paris, Prince, and Blanket, Michael’s third child, born in 2002.

Katherine didn’t always agree with the way Michael (1958-1009) was raising his children:

I never did like the fact that he put, um, scarfs or veils over their faces….” 

Michael Jackson with daughter Paris (l) and son Prince (r), circa 2001-02 (Lisa's History Room)

Michael Jackson covered son Blanket's face with a mask, ca. 2004-05 (Lisa's History Room)

Katherine says the children are doing fine except that they have no friends. Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8, have previously been tutored at home. Katherine is trying to give her grandchildren a more normal upbringing, free of the bizarre restrictions imposed by their father. In September, the three children will be enrolling in school for the first time in their lives, reports the Daily Mail.   Below are pictures of the children enjoying their first carefree Hawaiian vacation a few days before returning to the continental U.S. for a Gary, Indiana, hometown memorial for their father.

Michael Jackson's eldest son, "Prince," 13, whose full name is Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. Hawaii, June 1010. (Lisa's History Room)

Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, age 12, whose full name is Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. Hawaii, June 2010. (Lisa's History Room)

Michael Jackson's youngest son, "Blanket," 8, whose full name is Prince Michael Jackson II, enjoys a water chute at a Hawaii resort, June 2010 (Lisa's History Room)

Readers: Click here for more posts on Michael Jackson.

sources: Dateline, The Daily Mail