Gram's Blog

Spring is Sprung

2009-05-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Spring was Sprung and now it is summer already. Maybe not by the calendar but by the wind and temperature. We've already had some 90 degree temps. I love it.

I was sad but happy today as I called Ben in Utah to tell him how much I loved him and how much I will miss him. He went into the Mission Training Center today and will train to serve a mission in Puerto Rico for two years. The happy part is his willingness to serve the Lord and forget himself as he teaches others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is a choice son of God. The church has been a blessing to us and our children and grandchildren. I am so glad Verl and I had prepared ourselves "while in our youth" to be able to feel the Spirit and recognize the plan of salvation for us and our families. I'm grateful for the peace that I feel and health that I have.

Long Winter

2009-04-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Why do the winter's seem longer & darker each year? Is it that the calendar has changed, the earth rotation is off, there are more clouds or is it just my own personal perception? Am I growing cataracts on the lenses my eyes, did I forget to take off my sunglasses or do I need to wash my windows? Probably none of the above. I think that I'm just not having fun anymore. maybe I'm just depressed from lack of sunlight or maybe I just need new & exciting experiences. Since I am in the last third of my life-line, I want to have more fun. Maybe I'll go to Fla to visit my cousin, Jacque, next winter, and then on to Ariz to visit my nieces, Stephanie and Julie. Then to California to visit my aunt Bette and cousin Debbie. That should keep me warm most of the winter and provide new and exciting experiences. Ummmm! What about my husband? Well, he doesn't mind cold, dark weather.

2008-11-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

This has been a difficult last two months for me as my friend, Mary Jane Wells, was killed in a car accidenton Oct 2. She had just dropped off her granddaughter at school and was on the way home north of Waverly when a truck with a flat bed and pulling a trailer with lawn equipment, ran a stop sign on Waverly Road. The driver never even applied his brakes. Mary has raised two of her own children and three adopted children. She and her husband, Brad, were in the process of raising 5 granddaughters. They were just 60 this year and Brad had retired. They had dreams of getting a newer, larger home to raise their little girls. Brad is continuing to care for four of the girls and the baby is being cared for by her mother. I miss Mary and hope to be around for the family to help as much as I can.

Tarkio Episodes

2008-08-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking the other day about when I was about 6 years old. We lived in the two story red brick building on 1st and main street across the street northwest of the Tarkio Lumber Company where my dad was the manager. My playground was the lumber yard; lumber, bricks, aluminum tubes, coal, concrete blocks, paint, nails, etc. I played outside most of the time, climbing on things, throwing things, and sticking sticks in holes in the bricks. These were concrete bricks with little space slots in the sides of them. Well, one day, I stuck one too many sticks in a slot. All of a sudden, hundreds, (well maybe 25 or so) wasps came out of the slot and went after me. There wasn't anyone around and I ran, hitting at them, as fast as I could and jumped in our car, slamming the door and hoping that none of them followed me in. I must have been in there for what seemed like hours, (probably 10 min or less) before all the wasps flew away. I had about 4-5 stings on my face that I remember. The next day or so was my 6th birthday. I'll have to attach a picture of me on my birthday. My face was pretty swollen. I hadn't run in my house because our apartment was at the top of a long, two story, outside stairway.

I used to walk up town to the Sat. matinees. It cost 10 cents and was every Sat. We usually watched a continuing western with all the news reels. These news reels were what kept us connected by film to what was going on in the world.

I learned about sex from my friend's older brother. I told him I didn't believe him. My mom and dad would never do that.

One of my little friends was accidentally shot and killed by her brother. I think her name was Stella Fae Smith. That is the first funeral I remember going to although I had been to my Grandfather Stanley's funeral and my Grandma Mertz' funeral.

Our little Boston Terrier dog that we brought from Delphos, KS to Tarkio was run over on main street. Also, our car was crunched by a hit and run driver in front of our apartment.

Opal Gish had a little restaurant across the street south of our apartment building. She and Poste (who got my pony) lived right behind us to the north and lived in a very tiny little house. But we went over there to eat one Thanksgiving. We were able to crowd into her little kitchen. Opal build a new restaurant west of the Lumber yard later called the Squeeze Inn and then owned a couple of them up town on main street. She and Poste had their ups and downs in their marriage, but they stuck it out until Opal died. We ate there a lot on Sunday's after church and dad ate their almost every morning for breakfast.

Dad always wore brown or gray long sleeved shirts and matching pants to work everyday. They had to be washed and starched and ironed and that was probably 7 different sets a week. Mrs. Mitchell used to iron and clean for mom. That helped her out a lot. Mom didn't feel well a lot of the time. Mrs. Mitchell had lived down the street in King City when I was born and she and her son William and daughter Mary lived in Tarkio while I was growing up.

I remember getting our first automatic washer and dryer. They were in the basement at our house at 801 Chestnut Street. That basement had a coal burning furnace and steam heat when we moved there. Eventually, it was converted to oil and a big barrel was put outside the west side of the house. That basement also had a room with a work bench in it but Dad didn't use it much. We painted the floor and used that room to roller skate.

My brother, Stan, had a German Shepherd dog, Rick, what had a pen behind the garage of the house on Chestnut. The rats built a nest under the pen and ate dog food. We had a problem at one time with the rats coming up to the house and a few times, we had a rat in the house. One night when my brother was gone, I was sleeping in his room and sometime in the night I woke up to a thump, thump coming up the stairs. The room was right across from the stairs and it kept coming and I heard it run into my room. I was so scared it was going to jump on my bed and so I didn't want to turn on the light and scare it. I just kept my head under the covers until I heard it go back down the stairs. Another time when my dad and I came home one night, there was one acting strangely in the driveway. Dad stopped the car and got out. The rat was sitting on it's back legs and hissing at Dad. He got a board and hit it over it's head and killed it. Actually we lived in a nice neighborhood but we had an alley and that dog pen back there and we just had more things like rats and mice around back then. Dad cleaned out the rats and moved the pen after that.

I had pet white mice in that house that got out one time. My mom just about freaked out, but we never had any gray mice around after that. I think they didn't like the white mice. We had a Parakeet, called Corky. One morning we woke up and his feet and legs were paralyzed. So he had to land on a flat surface if he was flying around. I used to pick him up and put him in his cage every night and shut the door. One night, I forgot to put him away and the next day there were little green feathers all over the room, but now bird. We guessed he got killed and drug off by a rat. Terrible!!

My Horseback Riding

2008-02-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

I always wanted a pony and my dad had arranged to rent some pasture when I was 9. We had a friend, Poste Gish, who was a livestock trucker and had the opportunity to see lots of ponies and horses at stock sales. He brought several different ponies to us to see and try out. I didn't know much about riding and after trying out several of the ponies, I heard him tell my dad, "I don't think she will ever learn to ride." I was really devistated by that thought. I remember thinking that yes, I could learn to ride. Then he brought a spotted mare pony to us one day. She was just my size and I COULD ride her. I named her Ruby Jewell. She was mostly back and brown with some white areas and she had a shered mane. It was cut short and stood up along her neck. She had some problems with her front feet, but Poste said he thought he could find a way to help her. When a horse eats too much grain or green hay, they can become, what we call, foundered. It affects their feet and hoofs. The hoofs, like fingernails, can grow rapidly and in a distored way. The quick, or bottom of their feet become sore and inflammed. Her front legs would also be sore. Poste and our vet fixed her up by trimming the hoofs and covering the bottom of the foot with leather pads and then putting on shoes. Another thing they did, which seemed weired, was to pump air underneath the skin of her front legs. They would make a small slit in the skin and insert a small tube in the slit. They they would put air in the area between her skin and the muscles and tendons of her leg. Anyway, this helped her a lot and I was able to ride her.

We began to ride in the Washington Township Rough Riders that year, 1951 when they moved to Tarkio. I was in the pony group, of course. Verl was 13 and in the older group who rode horses. We did lots of things on our horses and performed at horse shows and Rodoes all over the midwest. Some things we did were, square dancing; formation drills; Roman riding (standing on two horses); Cossack riding (standing on one horse); trick riding; a cowboy and indian show with a covered wagon, indians, and cowboys; chariot races; and trick roping. Our dads and moms were our leaders and footed most of the bills. Our group did get paid by the organization where we performed because it was really expensive to ship horses and equipment for the show to the show destination. We had white shirts and green pants, (it was orginally a 4-H group) and each of us carried a flag on a pole. The flag was white with the 4 leaf clover for the 4-H club. The pole fit into a little leather pouch attached to the right side of our stirrup so we could carry it while we rode. A few years later, I rode a horse owned by Joe Craven. Joe was in the military so his uncle Woodrow (Woody) Collins let me ride that horse for several years in the Rough Riders and rodeos. His name was Rex. I won lots of barrel racing and pole bending contests with him.

We bought a Palamino Quarter Horse mare, named Susie. She had several colts along the way. I showed her a few times in the breeding mare classes. She was a good mare. Her colts were Misty, Dandy and Tammy. Maybe be others I don't remember. Dad bought me Arabian colt whose name was Zartai but had had been nicknamed Hoppy by his breeder owner because he was always hopping aroung and over water puddles. He did that forever after. We had him trained by a professional trainer and I rode him in horse shows all over. Dad got me a new saddle, black with a white seat and a white M on the stirrup leather. He had Judy on the breast collar in white. I also had a black shirt and slacks with white leather trim fringe on them.

In 1955, the Mo High School Rodeo came to town and stayed for many years. My Dad and Verl's Dad were very active in the organization. In 1958 I won the All-Around Cowgirl award. I won second in the barrels, second in the pole bending and third in the cutting horse contest. That was enough points to beat everyone else. I think I won, because my friend, Betty Johnson, had knocked down a barrel and didn't place in that contest. She had won that award the year previously. She won the Queen Contest and went on to be the National H S Rodeo Queen. I won a padded seat, cutting horse type saddle with engraving of the MO. State High School Rodeo on the back and 1958 on the stirrups. Recently I clean that saddle and said to myself, "Wow, that was 50 years ago."

When Verl and I moved to DeWitt Ne in 1966, we took Tammy with us. We had a colt while we had her there. Then when we lived in Tabor, IA in 1970, we had Tammy and a pony at our place. That was the last time we had a horse. My dad was ill with Parkinson's and we sold all the horses left in Tarkio. Dad was president of the National HS Rodeo in 1962 or 63. The National was held in Tarkio that year.

Memories

2007-10-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

It seems as if people have better memories of their childhood than I do. That is kind of sad. So I'm going to write about a few that I do remember.

Toothless

When I was a wee one, I remember a neighbor of ours, an elderly woman I suppose, would come over for coffee and cookies and visit with my mom. I found her utterly fascinating because she had no teeth. Her mouth went up and down in a squishing-like movement and her lips stuck out as she chewed. When she talked, I could see her gums and her tongue would slip in and out of her mouth.

May Day

When May Day came in Kansas in the forties during WWII, it was a wonderful day. I made little baskets out of anything available and put little wild violets in it for flowers. Mom would make or buy little candies to put in the basket. I would sneak up to the door and put the basket down and knock. Then I would run like crazey for the nearest bush or tree to hide. It was fun to see the people look all around for the May Day basket deliverer.

Wet Pants

At the age that I was just being potty trained, I played a lot with my little neighbor friend, who also happened to be named Judy. I would get so far from home that I didn't always make it to the bathroom. I would take off my wet underware and hide them in a bush. Mom would start missing my underwear and go out and find them in the yard.

The Dog

We had a fairly big dog, big to me anyway. One day he got out the front door when I opened it and he ran out into the street. The son of our friends ran over him and he died.

Donuts

When my dad got home from the war, it was wonderful. I was about 3 years-old then. He would take my brother and me on a ride in the car. We always wanted to do the "donut." That was a fast trip around the end of a dirt road that ended in a circle. We would go round and round.

The Cow in Delphos

We lived on the edge of town in Delphos, KS when I was about 4. We had a milk cow. My mom was afraid of most big animals and that included our cow. One day the cow got out of its pen by the shed. I marched right out there and got her back in the pen, climbed up on the fence and fastened the gate.

Other Delphos Memories

Our neighbor had a horse and sleigh. He used to take all the neighbors for a ride in the snow.

Since Dad was working at the lumber yard, he had access to a round watering tank and would get one for the summer so that we had our own little swimming pool. The neighbor boy was always dunking my head under. One time I was sure I was going to die because he held me under for so long, I came up gasping for air.

We had a Boston Terrier female dog called Toby. Toby had puppies. One day we came home and couldn't find them. They had wandered into the closet and a couple of them crawled into a pair of boots and couldn't get out. They suffocated.

Stan fell down the long stairs that we had and got a concussion. That is why he is the way he is today!

King City

Grandma Stanley had a little pond in her back yard with gold fish in it. A few years ago we visited her house and the people who lived there wondered about the concrete edging in the back yard. We were able to tell them that it was the outside edge of a fish pond.

Grandma had a dog named Skipper. He was tall and white with curly hair. (not a poodle)

After she moved to the big old house, she had a little playhouse with dolls and doll dishes in it. I used to play there with Mary McCammon.

Grandma belonged to a group of older women called the "hoolie ladies." I'm sure that's probably not the way you spell it. They did all kinds of community projects and they had lunch at someone's house each month. Grandma would take me with her when I was there. I locked myself in the second floor rest room one time and someone had to get a ladder to recue me out of the window. Every one called grandma, "Stan."

When she was almost 65, she found she didn't have enough Soc. Sec. credits to get any retirement money. So she got a job in St. Joseph, MO at the YWCA as a cook to pick up the work credits. Not sure how long she worked, but she has a small apartment there and I used to go stay with her.

She and grandpa Stanley went to Minnesota fishing all the time. After he died, Grandma took my family fishing up there to Little Pelican Lake. Grandma put the worms on the hooks and I pulled in sunfish almost faster than she could bait the hooks. I saw a snake one time and I scared its baby snakes so much that they ran into their mother's mouth. I guess they are supposed to do that.

I think that she taught me to love to garden. She had beautiful roses and other flowers at every home that she had. She also had a vegetable garden and canned many of the vegetables.

Enough memories for today.

Friends

2007-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have had a lot of really good friends. I don't make friends easily but when I do, they stick forever. I recently lost a friend, Roberta or "Bert.". She and I went to UNL together and were P.E. majors. She wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world for sure, but she was my friend. We have kept in contact for many years and have seen each other only a couple of times when she came back to Lincoln for a visit with family. We had a late night date at the Villiage Inn with another school friend about 10 years ago. It was about 9 p.m. when we met that night and talked until midnight. Both she and our other friend lost their husbands a few years ago. I'm fortunate to still have mine. But that is another story.

Bert and I have written to each other a lot and emailed since that was invented. Her kids are daughter, Jean and son, JJ. I went to Roberta's wedding back in 1963. She had met a boy, Frank Nickerson, who was stationed at the Lincoln Airbase. He was being transferred back east and they got married before he left. She stayed in Lincoln until May, 64, to finish her last semester of school before joining him. They have moved around and settled in San Bernadino Valley California.

Bert found out she had lung cancer and had treatment for it. She was a smoker. She called me in Oct, 2006 and we talked for two hours. She said she was doing ok. Her sister had spent a couple of weeks with her and JJ was taking her for treatments. She had cats to keep her company. I always thought I would go spend some time with her. It never happened. It should have happened. It wasn't long before her emails were bouncing back to me. I tried to call her, no answer. Stupid me, I didn't know Jean nor JJ's phone numbers or addresses. Recently I called her nephew in Lincoln. Roberta had passed away on Jan 12, 2007. She had gotten bad quickly and was eventually in a nursing home at the last.

I miss her, my friend.

My Friend Evelyn

2007-09-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

When we moved to Waverly in 1974 and Verl was teaching at the high school, we met Evelyn Harris who was the art teacher. We found we had several things in common, the first being that her husband's name was Verl. That is an unusual name and so to find someone with the same name was kinda fun. We also found out that they were members of our church. They actually had children our age. Through the years we stayed friends and we took them to Utah to the temple one time. Evelyn painted a lot of pictures and made a lot of pottery. I have a couple of her paintings in my house. Her husband died two years ago and they had lived in a retirement center. She has macular degeneration and so is 95% blind now. If she tries real hard and has a good light, she can make out words written with a big black marker. She has about 10 pictures hung in her little assisted living apartment. This week, she is showing two of her pictures at a art gallery for people who are over 55. She is going with me to take the pictures to the gallery today. She is on oxygen most of the time so will be taking her tank of O2 with her. She is 88 and her mind is really sharp. I get a little put out with the people who take care of her as they treat her as if she were senile. Just because you are old and a little forgetful, goodness I'm 65 and forget a lot of things, it doesn't mean you are senile. She has numerous health problems and her medical staff doesn't listen to her. She has become like a mother to me and I spend sometime with her each week.

Anyway, what I want to tell you is that her family almost ignores her unless she goes to the hospital. Her two sons, especially one of them, never call her or come to see her unless there is some other reason to be in town. She has two granddaughters in town and she very seldom hears from them, unless she calls them. She has several great grand children and was invited to one of their weddings this summer. Her son and daughter-in-law were here for the wedding and didn't even come to visit her at her apartment. She is so sad about this, but tries not to think about it and let it bother her too much. But I know it does, especially when no one is around. I'm hoping that that doesn't happen to me although sometimes I think if I didn't call or email my family, I wouldn't hear from them that much.

August 27, 2008

2007-08-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first post. I don't have much to tell but will try to think of something. I'm not sure why I am doing a blog. I can't seem to even write in my journal. Is it because I have such a boring, not eventful life? I guess I should be happy about that, the fact that I don't have any pressing problems. Or is life about more than problems. It should be I guess. I just don't think I do much of anything that would be of any interest to anyone else.

I did hear a funny story last night. A male friend of mine said that he and his wife slept in the same bed but each had their own top sheet because they always were pulling the single sheet away from each other. So anyway, they each now have their own top sheet. But the other morning they woke up and had the other person's sheet on them. They have no idea how that happened. Funny.

There will be an eclipse of the moon this week. But it is at 3:00 am and so I'll probably miss it. Also this week, the planet Mars is to be the closest to the earth that it has been in a few thousand years. I saw it last night. It looked like a big star in the South. Sometime this week it will be right next to the full moon. Maybe I'll stay up to see it. The next time that this happens we will all be dead and gone.