BESSIE MAE PUGH ... HER STORY

To begin to tell Grandma Bessie's story, we have to go back to Thomas Hall, born in England in 1672.    He married Sarah Brave, born 1674.  He migrated to Pennsylvania by 1708.   His son, William Hall I, was born ca. 1708, but exact date is unknown as is anything else about this family.  His first wife was Hannah Richardson, born ca 1712.  Hannah was a Quaker, so the Halls, though English, would most likely were Quakers.   It was by his second wife, Mary Crow, born ca 1720, that he fathered William Hall II born 1743.   Nothing appears to be know about Mary Crow.  Could she be our Indian connection?   William II served in the Revolutionary War.  He had two wives and six children.  Our family line continues with William II's daughter Mary Ann Hall by his second wife, Susanna William.  

 Mary Ann Hall, born 1790, married Joseph Peter Paris.  Paris was born in France.  Family legend has it that Paris joined the French navy under Napoleon Bonapart and served a total of seven years with four years to that time frame fighting the British. He is said to have jumped ship in America.   Their daughter, Susanna, married Ephraim Martin, they had ten children.   Which gets us closer to Bessie Mae.  Martha Jane Martin, daughter of Susanna and Ephraim, is Bessie's mother.   The nationality of the Martin family is unknown, but it might be surmised that they, too, were of English decent, though Martin was a common French name also.

Ephraim's father was Urias Martin, born 1774 in Virginia.  Urias Martin's father was James Martin, born in New Jersey ca 1750.

I do not have any memories of grandma Bessie.  I know that we visited them, though not very often.   It was said that she like to go bare foot and that she did not put soap in her dishwater as she threw the water onto her plants.   She was diabetic, but the details of that are also unknown to me.  I do know that she died in 1951, in her early seventies, of complications of that disease.  It was said that she did not take care of herself in that respect.   But, thinking back, I am wondering how much was know about diabetes back then.

She gave birth to eight children, my father being the first.    

Descended from Royalty?

Alexander Preston Pugh, Bessie Mae, Elva, Martha Jane, brother died in infancy.  Bessie is a teenager.

If the information regarding the ancestors of Bessie Mae Pugh Strahl is to be believed, then my grandmother was a descendent of King William I "the Conqueror" born 1027, Falaisse, Normandy, France.  However, her French pedigree thereafter was contaminated by many English ancestors.

Other legends in connection with grandma Bessie have her descended from a French sailor who jumped ship during the French Revolution (circa 1776) and landed in the United States.  She claimed to have American Indian ancestry as well, but never explained who the Indian ancestor was.   It was concluded that since her father's line was completely traced, that the Indian part must come from her mother's side of the family, the Martins.

Looking at the family tree, it seems that she was of both French and English descent.  And since our family records do not include over the years the nationality of the various spouses , it can be concluded that other nationalities may have come into play.   That holds for grandpa Aaron Strahl's ancestry also.  But be that as it may, I have always thought of myself as mainly German (Strahl and Fischer), English (Riddiough), and French (Pugh).   My mother discovered that one of her ancestors was Irish, so I will add a thimble full of Irish to my pedigree.

It is fun to think that there was royalty in our lineage no matter how far back it went.  It is also fun to think that there might be some Native American blood running through my veins.  After all, they were the "first true Americans".

Thomas Guenther is 100% German, so add that to mine, the Guenther children are about 3/4 German, a smidgen of French and Irish and a tea cup of English.  The Donnell children have Prussian and Scots ancestry.  Irma Pust Donnell's father was Prussian.  Samuel Russell Donnell was for the most part Scots.  I am sure there are some other nationalities mixed in, but the first recorded Donnell did migrate from Scotland in the late 1700s.

This in a nutshell is who you are nationally.  But since you all were born in American, you are all Americans first and foremost.   You can be proud of that.

REMEMBERING THROUGH RECIPES

         I like to remember people who are no longer with us through their recipes.  One such person is Grandma Maude Brye, my sister's former mother-in-law.   When Fern married Bernard Brye, she married into a Norwegian heritage.  Maude was a terrific cook and baker and passed many of her recipes on to Fern, who then passed them on to our mother and me.  One of the recipes I enjoy making during the Christmas season is Maude's Christmas Cookies topped with a red candied cherry.

                                                    Maude's Christmas Cookies
          
                                                3/4 cup brown sugar
                                                1 cup crisco
                                                1 egg yolk
                                                2 cups flour (I sifted first, then measured)
                                                Candied cherries

                         Cream brown sugar and crisco, add egg yolk and continue creaming.  Stir in flour.
          Roll into ball and flatten on the cookie sheet by pressing a whole candied cherry in the center.
         Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
Note: I just made these and they seemed too rich and tended to crumple.  Maybe 1/2 cup crisco would be better.   Again, it could be high altitude.  But I have made these before, and they always turned out great.


 

AARON STRAHL

      Aaron Strahl was a staunch Baptist if not a bit fanatic, something we preferred not to deal with when he came to visit.  Not sure why, maybe to avoid a harsh lecture on our sinful behavior or not to disappoint him in that his son, Everette, and his family had strayed.

       Often he would stay a couple of weeks, so that meant that we all had to curtail some of our usual activities.  Let me explain ... the Baptist believed that movies, dancing, and smoking were all sinful.  I am sure there are other things as well, but these three were the ones that impacted my parents, Fern and me.   Needless to say when my father wanted a cigarette, he managed to have one when out of sight of his father.   Fern, mother, and I refrained from going to movies, but I am not sure how we managed the school mixers (dances) if there were any during his visit.

      While his brother and sisters became firmly enmeshed in the church, my father detached himself completely.  Mother, Fern, and I would attend services at the Wesley Methodist Church on Barlow Street, and dad would hook up his boat and head for the Mississippi River for a day of fishing.   I never discussed religion with him, so I have no idea what his religious convictions were.  We all accepted the fact that dad wanted nothing to do with church and based on what we knew, understood completely.

    Aaron, the sixth generation Strahl, was born July 4, 1876, the third son of Perley and Katherine's seven children.  He married Bessie Mae Pugh January 1, 1899, at Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.  They had eight children of whom, my father, Everette Ray, is the oldest and obviously their first born.

     In the days when motor vehicles were still a luxury, Aaron was an early mail carrier, delivering the mail by horse and buggy.  He spent his life farming and moving from farm to farm.  (Not known whether he owned or rented)  He finally settled on a farm in northern Illinois, Sycamore to be exact, and then retired to Paw Paw, Ill..   Bessie died July 1951, so I am assuming that his retirement came after her death.  (A note of interest: it was said the Bessie died of complications of diabetes, most likely caused from poor eating habits and her stubbornness, the management of diabetes  may not have been common knowledge back then.  Not sure whether it was type 1 or 2, or whether she was on insulin or not.  My cousin is diabetic, I have type 2 managed by sensible eating, and my son, Grant, has type 1.  Thanks, grandma Bessie!)  


     I have fond memories of my grandfather.  He was a kindly and appeared to be an even tempered man.  I remember that when I was little and visiting his farm, I went "fissing for fissies" in his water tank.  
He may have had gold fish in the tank to control the algae ... but this is just a guess.   I have his recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies.  He did know his way around the kitchen.

Shown here with Bessie and Aaron are their three daughters, (top left) Hazel, (bottom left) Amy and next to her on the right, Helen.  Aaron and Bessie had five sons,  Everette, Russell, Emil, Harold, and Carroll.  No date on the picture, but they could have been in their fifties ... guessing.  


     Aaron lived with his daughter, Hazel, son, Carroll, and brother and sister, Wilbur and Ella, in North Clayton before making his final abode with son Russell.  During those years, he expressed his deep religious convictions through poetry.  His book, Pray Do Not Weep For Me, was published by Comet Press, New York.  Aaron passed away March 1967 and is buried in Lakewood Memorial Cemetery, Elgin, Illinois.  (Note: I have a copy of his book)

                                          AARON'S  BROWN SUGAR COOKIES

                                 2 cups brown sugar 

                                 1 cup butter or margarine

                                 3 eggs, well beaten  

                                 5 cups flour

                                 1/2 tsp. salt 

                                 1 tsp soda ... heaped a very little

                                 1 tsp. vanilla                              

                                1/4 cup milk

       Cream butter and slowly add the brown sugar.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla.  Sift flour with salt and soda.  Stir into creamed mixture.  Drop by spoon on greased pan and bake in a moderate oven, 350-375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until lightly brown.   (Note:  raisins and nuts can be added, and I left out the milk and used only 4 cups of flour.  I made a notation that these were very good!)  






  

THE QUAKER CONNECTION

     In a nut shell, the Quaker connection goes back to Casper Strahl (born 1732 in Germany) and ends with Stacy Strahl, Casper's grandson, in 1822 when Stacy married outside the Quaker faith.

     Casper married Rebbeca Barger, also a Quaker.  They had nine children of whom one was Isaac.  Isaac married Ellen Lee who also was Quaker.  They had twelve children.  Their son, Stacy, was the one who broke the chain when he married Caroline Campbell in 1822.  As a result of his union, Stacy was disowned by the Quaker Somerset MM.  They had seven children.   Interestingly, Stacy was afflicted with epilepsy.   To continue with the lineage, Caroline and Stacy's son, Isaac, married Samantha Davis.  Their son, Perley, married Katherine Palmer.  They are the parents of my grandfather, Aaron Strahl.  Aaron married Bessie Mae Pugh on January 1, 1899, to which was born to that union, my father, Everette Ray Strahl.   What religion was followed after the break with the Quaker faith was not recorded, however, my grandfather, Aaron was a staunch Baptist.  The early Strahls settled in Pennsylvania.  Sometime later, the Strahls settled in Ohio and from there to Wisconsin.    

Perley is on left with the white beard.  Aaron is front with arms crossed.  Everette is in the light colored suit.  The picture was taken in 1925 when Everette (my father) was 24 years old.   

Katherine Palmer Strahl ... June 1936.  She died in December 1936.

THE DRESDEN PLATE QUILT

     The Dresden Plate quilt pattern was popular in the 1920-30s.  But I am told that the pattern dates back to the Civil War.  I have had the quilt pieces for years.  Great Aunt Ella  Samantha Strahl had given them to my mother, and after years on her closet shelf, mother gave them to me.  I also had them stored away for a number of years.  Thanks to a church friend who does quilting, I was able to finally have the quilt finished.  Because the final work was completed (by machine) in 2010, it is not considered an antique.  However, I am going to label it an heirloom as the blocks themselves are very old and crafted by an ancestor.  

Great Aunt Ella was born April 11,1893, and lived most of her life on the family farm (North Clayton, Wisconsin)  first with her parents, and then her bachelor brother Wilbur.  She was the younger sister of my grandfather Aaron and the aunt to my father.   She lived in Soldiers Grove in her senior years then moved into the Morrow Nursing Home in Sparta, Wisconsin where she died March 9,1990 the age of 97.  There she took up oil painting, one of which was of the log cabin where my father, Everette Ray Strahl, was born.  I now have that painting.  

I do not know the exact age of the quilt blocks, but can guess that they are from 70-80 years old.  Women of her era spent the evening doing handwork by lamplight as most farms did not have electricity until REA (Rural Electrification Assoc.) came into being.  I can imagine her sitting in a rocking chair, quilt blocks and sewing needle in hand, and stitching the small pattern pieces patiently in place.  There were no computers, televisions, or mobile libraries, maybe a battery operated radio so after the day's labors, sitting, rocking, and sewing/embroidering/mending were the women's diversions of choice.   Cast off dresses, aprons, and feed sacks were the fabrics used.  Looking at the quilt, I can't help but remember my little dresses and aprons, hand sewn by my mother in print fabrics similar to the ones below.     

    

     When I was a child, girls wore print dresses with an apron and long stockings held up by a cotton garter belt.  I don't remember my shoes, but know they would have been sensible brown ones.  I had a dress for school and a dress for every day/play wear.  We didn't need very big closets back them.  It wasn't until I was 12 years old, that pant suits became popular.  When I was a teen-ager, jeans or Levies as they were called, became my favorite every day attire.  I still wear jeans .... yes, even at my age, jeans and a sweat shirt are my favorite apparel.  We were not allowed to wear jeans or pant suits to school, however.  Skirts, sweaters, bobby socks and saddle shoes were the school approved clothing/foot wear.  For special occasions, we did have a good dress.  I remember a wine colored crepe dress that my mother made for me for a Christmas program  My sister's dress was pale blue.  Both were hand stitched.  

January 1939 ... Fern is nine and I am six.  

THE GUENTHER-GLISSENDORF CONNECTION

    I have been neglecting the Guenther family line in favor of the one most familiar to me, mine.  But bear with me ,and I will get to each of the different family lines in due time.   Meanwhile, if you have a printer connected to your computer, you should be able to print off all the Storytimewithgrandma blogs.  That would give you a hard copy as well.   So here goes .....

I married Thomas Guenther while we were both gradate students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.  I had been divorced from Samuel Donnell for a year, so the prospects of marrying again was far from my mind.  But, when someone comes along who "has always wanted a family" and was willing to take on you and your four kids, well, I wasn't going to let that one get away.  And I didn't.  Randy, at 16, wasn't too happy about it, but he did manage to show up for the wedding festivities in a nice suit and tennis shoes.  He and his brothers were working for a farmer in Holmen at the time.  His brothers were a little more receptive to the idea of a step-dad.  Tom and I were married at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa, where his parents, Mary Francis Glissendorf and Paul Ferdinand Emil Guenther were married.  (Paul was baptized in a German Lutheran Church and therefore was given a second middle name.)  I must add that in the years, the Donnell kids now look to Tom as their dad.

                                                                                               
                                  Frederick Glissendorf   1860


Hannah, Caleb, Noah, Gregory, and Grant are descended from Frederick Glissendorf, born August 2, 1838, in Germany, and Carl Gunther also born in Germany.  Frederick Glissendorf married Anna Mannerman who was born January 24, 1846.  They had seven children, one of whom was George Franklin Glissendorf, born August 28, 1889.  I am going to assume that Anna as well as her children were also born in Germany.  The gist of this is that The Guenthers and Glissendorfs were German as would be their descendants.  (That is until I got into the mix with my added French and English ancestry) 

                                         
                        Anna Mannerman and Frederick Glissensdorf   1867




 Another interesting tidbit is that our name was spelled and pronounced as gun ther.  Why it was changed is unknown, but it would become Guenther with William, Guenther, pronounced gen (rhyme with hen) ther.   George Franklin married Alba Milligan who was born March 29, 1883.   They had four children of whom Mary Francis Glissendorf, mother of Thomas Guenther, was one.  She married Paul Ferdinand Emil Guenther.  Mary Francis was always known as Fran, and was born August 24, 1908.

           Carl Gunther's blacksmith shop ... Carl is in the center  1885

The first Guenther came to this country from G(r)ansedorf, West Prussia, Germany in 1873, and settled in the Hokah-Houston, Minnesota area.
Carl Gunther (with 2 dots above the u) was born Mar 21, 1844 and at the age of 29, migrated to this country in 1873.  Carl was a blacksmith/wheelwright by trade and was affiliated with the Lutheran Church.  He had three wives, the first of whom was Augustine (Justine) Fleischauer.  They were married November 1869, most likely in Germany as he did migrate until 4 years later.  She died in 1881.  They had four children of whom Willliam Guenther was one.  (William is Thomas Guenther's grandfather and Gregory and Grant's great-grandfather.)   William was born in G(r)ansedorf, West Prussia, Germany on February 8, 1870, and was three years old when his parents brought him to America.  William married Ida Panton in1894.  They had six children of whom Paul Ferdninad Emil was one.  Carl's second wife was Fredericka Helm married to 1886.   They had two children.  Augusta Schwadter, his third wife, married to 1904, but had no children.  To end this part of the story ... Carl Gunther died in 1929.

                                  Carl Guenther  1927,       Died 1929

Summary ... the Guenther line can be traced back to Carl Gunther who migrated from Germany in 1873.

THE BEGINNING-- THE RIDDIOUGHS

     It has been a while since I wrote on this blog, so if I have repeated myself ... bear with me.  I am going to start at the very beginning of the Riddiough family tree.  Riddiough was my mother's maiden name, and of course would be a descendant of the Riddiough line.

    The Riddioughs originated in France with the name being spelled Riddioux.  They were Roman Catholics, but migrated to England because of religious pressures.  (I have no further information on that.)
The first Riddiough of note was William 1 who kept a crossroad inn or country roadhouse in Yorkshire County, England.  He also had a couple of cottages, and for some reason, he willed all of his property to his grandchildren (which would have been William 3).  His only child, William 2 married Grace DeMain, born in Liverpool, England.  They migrated to America in 1853.  Three of their sons were born in England, and the fourth son was born in the United States.  The third son, William 3 born in Iron Bridge, England in 1849, was just four years old when his parents migrated.  He married the red headed Electa Richmond.  It was her third and last marriage.  William and Electa Riddiough had six children of whom, my grandfather, Thomas William was the oldest son.  They were my mother's grandparents.

     It appears that at this point in our family history that our family had both French and English blood running through their veins.  It also appears that William 3 and Electa were well off materially.  They farmed for many years, then moved to Fennimore, Wisconsin, where he operated a hardware store and then later retired.  (I remember that when William 3 returned to England to collect his inheritance, that he was denied it.  He was not allowed to take the money out of England.)

     In the picture, my mother, Gladys, is the little girl with the big bow in her hair, second from the left end of the first row.  Her mother, Marie, is seated next to William Riddiough 3, first row, right.  Her father, William Thomas, is standing behind Marie.  Electa is the older lady in the first row.  

                                    

A CIVIL WAR TALE OR TWO ..... PART ONE

GENERAL OTHO STRAHL

        While Otho Strahl is not a direct ancestor, he is still a Strahl to be proud of.   He would be a cousin several times removed to my generation of Strahls and a second cousin to the Isaac Strahl who raised the black Morgan horse later given by the Union Army to General Philip Sheridan.  Ortho and Isaac were both fourth generation Strahls with their common ancestor (and ours, too) being Casper Strahl who migrated to this country from Germany, but more on Casper on a future blog.  

Casper had two sons, Philip and Isaac.  Otho then is the great-grandson of Philip, and Isaac is the great-grandson of Isaac.  A little confusing since there are two Isaacs.   Coincidentally, the two brothers, Philip and Isaac married sisters, Sarah Lee and Ellen Lee.   If the lineage is followed, that would probably make me about a sixth cousin of the famous general.  So on to the saga and tragic ending of Civil War Confederate General Otho Strahl.  Much has been written about him and if you google his name, it will come up with several sources to explore.  

As I said, it all started with Casper Strahl, who as a young man, migrated to this country in1750.  He married Rebecca Barger and they had several children including Philip and Isaac Strahl.  Fast forward a couple of generations and great-grandson, Philip, Jr. Strahl, who married Rhoda Ann French.  They would become the parents of Otho French Strahl .  The Strahsl at this point were all Quakers.  Yes, I said Quakers!   Casper and Rebecca included.  In1830, Philip and Rhoda moved to Malta Township. Morgan County, Ohio where the future general was born on June 3, 1832, the third of six children.   

It would not be surprising that his sentiments would lean toward the south and states rights as both of his grandmothers had been raised in the South and would serve as a strong influence.  Incidentally, for some reason the Strahls left the Quaker congregation, and Ortho was brought up in the Presbyterian Church.   

No doubt, a  youthful urge to get beyond the influence and control of the parental circle may have motivated young Otho to leave the farm and go to Ohio Wesleyan University.  He was admitted to the bar in 1858, migrated to Dyersburg, Dyer County in west Tennessee and was practicing law there when the Civil War broke out.  He never married, thus leaving no ancestors.    

With the outbreak of the war, twenty-nine year old Otho Strahl raised a local infantry company among his friends and neighbors in Dyersburg.  Within a short time, he became the captain of his company of the newly raised 4th Tennessee Infantry (May 1861).  He and the regiment were transferred to Confederate service in August of that year.  He progressed through the ranks to lieutenant colonel.  In April 1862, the regiment was reorganized and consolidated with the 5th Tennessee Infantry after the Battle of Shiloh with Strahl promoted to colonel of the combined force. He led the 5th regiment in several actions before being promoted to brigade command.  Along with five other Confederate generals, he was killed in the Battle of Franklin also known as the "Gettysburg of the West".  His body lay on the back porch of a local plantation house, Carnton, until he was buried near the battlefield.  He was later reinterred in Old City Cemetery in Dyersburg, Tennessee.  He was just 32 years old.

The following is an account taken from the internet:

CARNTON PLANTATION BACK PORCH

Beginning at 4 p.m. on November 30, 1864, Carnton was witness to one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. Everything the McGavock family (owners of the plantation) ever knew was forever changed. The Confederate Army of Tennessee furiously assaulted the Federal army entrenched along the southern edge of Franklin. The resulting battle, believed to be the bloodiest five hours of the Civil War, involved a massive frontal assault larger than Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. The majority of the combat occurred in the dark and at close quarters. The Battle of Franklin lasted barely five hours and led to some 9,500 soldiers being killed, wounded, captured, or counted as missing. Nearly 7,000 of that number were Confederate troops.  Carnton served as the largest field hospital in the area for hundreds of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers

A staff officer later wrote that  "the wounded, in hundreds, were brought to [the house] during the battle, and all the night after.  And when the noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until the wounded and dead filled that...."

On the morning of December 1, 1864, the bodies of four Confederate generals killed during the fighting, Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams, and Otho F. Strahl, lay on Carnton’s back porch. The floors of the restored home are still stained with the blood of the men who were treated here.

              

A CIVIL WAR TALE OR TWO ..... Part Two

     

                                  WINCHESTER

         He was a magnificent steed, a fiery black Morgan stallion that led a famous general into battle.  His name was Lion, named so because he had a fierce temperament and was high-spirited, practically unmanageable.  Lion was raised on my great-great grandfather Isaac Strahl's farm in Morgan County, Ohio, and broke to ride by my great-grandfather, Perley Strahl.  
 

        During the Civil war, horse buyers for the Union Army circulated throughout the North buying horses for the war that was fought on horseback as well as on foot. The sleek black Morgan for some reason, piqued the interest of the buyers and a sale was made.  No doubt great-great grandfather Isaac was happy to be rid of him.  What the army wranglers did to calm the three year old stallion down is unknown, but the horse apparently became controllable.

Lion caught the eye of General Philip Sheridan who was in need of a personal steed.  The year was 1862 when Sheridan took possession of the horse and renamed it "Rienzi" after a recent skirmish in the state of Mississippi.  He rode Rienzi for the remainder of the war in all of his campaigns.  In 1864, he renamed the magnificent animal "Winchester".

As the story goes, on the morning of October 19,1964, while Sheridan was quartered in Winchester, Virginia, he received news that his troops were being attacked by the Confederates at a place named Cedar Creek, some twelve miles distant.  He mounted Rienzi and rode at breakneck speed, rallied his retreating troops and thus turned the tide of the battle.  Inspired by the battlefield heroism of both man and beast, Thomas Buchanan wrote a poem about the incident entitled "Sheridan's Ride".  Sheridan then renamed the horse Winchester.

  

  A statue of Sheridan riding Winchester was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909.  Winchester is now preserved in a glass case and on exhibit in the Hall of Military History of the Smithsonian institute of American History in Washington,D.C.  The saddle, bridle, and other trappings shown on Winchester were those of General Sheridan.  (First photo) 

Of Winchester, Sheridan said that he was an animal of great intelligence and immense strength and endurance.  With his head held high and his quickness of movements, one would think him exceedingly impetuous.  However, according to Sheridan, a firm hand and a few words were all that were needed.  The horse was cool and quiet under fire, a quality sorely needed in the time of battle.   

An account of the Strahl connection was provided by my great-aunt Ella Strahl who visited the Smithsonian in 1963.  Ella knew of her grandfather's horse farm in Ohio and of Lion.  According to Ella, a neighbor of Isaac Strahl actually saw Sheridan riding Winchester while he, a farm boy, was in service. The young boy had a knack for recognizing horses as well as he did people and confirmed that indeed, Winchester was the same horse that had been raised by Isaac Strahl in Ohio. My great-great grandfather's role in this tale was unfortunately lost to history.  

History Through Houses

                                                                 HISTORY THROUGH HOUSES

In July of 1982, my mother and I made a nostalgic trip back to her hometown and birthplace, Fennimore, Wisconsin.  Fennimore held special memories for me also, as I spent a couple years of my very early childhood there and later spent enjoyable summers on my grandparent's farm.   

                                                              My Mother's Birthplace

On January 8, 1906, a brown eyed dark haired baby was born to Will and Mary Riddiough on a farm just south of Fennimore.  She was to be the oldest of their four daughters.  In the picture above, the buildings can barely be seen from the road. 

 Mother's Home in 1925

Mother and Father were married in 1926 at her parents home (above).  This is where she lived in 1925 and was most likely the site of her wedding, February 16 ,1926.

                                                      

                                                             The Tuckwood House

The Tuckwood house sits on a corner in Fennimore.  This is the house that my mother and father moved to when Fern and I were small (from 1933-1935).   Fern was 3-5 years old and I was 1-3 years old).   I remember Fern and I having chicken pox when living in this house.  Fern loves to tell the story about when mom and dad were having a prayer session in the small living room with my father's sister and her husband, Hazel and Roy Wauchope.  The Wauchopes were very religious and our mother felt sure they did not approve of bad or off-color language.  The door to the upstairs where Fern and I were playing on the steps (as children sometimes do) opened into the living room.  Somehow, Fern slipped and came tumbling down the steps and hit the door at the bottom of the steps.  The door flew open with the impact and she landed into the room.  My sister immediately picked herself and uttered a resounding "OH SHIT!  Everyone stared in surprise then laughed.  Fern expected to receive a spanking for her faux pas, but it never came much to her relief.  

                                                           

Retirement Home of Carl and Marie Fischer

Mother's grandparents, Carl and Marie Fischer, lived in a house not too far from the Tuckwood house after their retirement from farming.   I remember it being painted brown.  It was a sad occasion when mother's aunt Edith suffered a stroke and died.  I do remember a visit to the house during that time, but nothing else ... have no recollections of Carl and Marie.  Fern and I were each a given juice size glass to remember her by.  I still have mine.  

                                                                            

Happy Summers on the Farm

My grandfather, Will Riddiough, moved from farm to farm during his lifetime.  Pictured above is the last one on which they lived for many years.  It hold so many memories of my summers on the farm.   My job was to go to the mailbox and get the mail each day.   Playing with all the kittens and the Collie cow dog, Scotty, kept me more than occupied.  My job, along with Scotty, was to go and bring the cows in for evening milking.  Actually, the well trained cow dog did all the rounding up and driving to the barnyard.  I just followed along.  I was eight years old when my grandfather saddled up Tops, hoisted me aboard and sent me happily plodding along in the pasture warbling my favorite cowboy songs.  I was in cowgirl heaven.  Tops was a plow horse, though grandfather referred to her as his "western horse".  Looking back she was most likely a large quarter horse.  I never saw him ride, but he did have all the gear necessary.  I spent hours currying Tops when she was stabled in the barn.

                                                            

My love affair with horses started at an early age.

The Orchard Farm  1926

This is the first farm that my mother and father moved onto after their marriage on February 16, 1926.  It was called The Orchard Farm.  Times were hard, and I don't think my father enjoyed farming that much.  They, too, moved from farm to farm.  After the 1929 crash, they left farming and moved to Illinois where they both worked at and orphanage call "The Youman City of Childhood".   Mother worked in the kitchen and dad worked in the diary milking cows as I recall. 

Homeless for a while .....  Fern with friend.  Fern and I slept in the trailer.
Mom and Dad slept in the tent.  

 

 Cabin at Krause Kabin Kourt

My parents moved to La Crosse in 1937 where they lived in a tent and trailer for a few months then moved into a one room cabin with cement floors then in a two room house in Green Acres where Fern and I spent our early childhood.  In 1940, they bought the four room house on Barlow Street where they would live until my father's death in 1981.    Notice the Model A Ford ... that was my Father's.

Green Acres ... Fern and I standing in the doorway.
Our job was to help de-bud all the peony bushes and pick
strawberries and raspberries ... a condition put forth
by the landlord, Frank Moore.

Thanks to Scott, I have a picture of the house on Barlow Street.   Railings had been added to the front stoop, but the house looks pretty much the same as when Fern and I lived there.  

 

Olden Days!

"What was it like in the olden days, mother?  You know, like when your were a little girl," asked our eleven year old Miss Curiosity Shop.  "Did they drive cars?  Did they have super markets?"

"Now must a minute, young lady," I replied, "I am not THAT old!  Yes, there were cars in those days, not as sleek and shiny as today's, but there were still cars.  And as for super markets, yes, there were a few, but they weren't as super as the ones of today."

So I proceed to give my young daughter, Nancy Lisa, a history lesson ... and after thinking about it for a bit, decided that my childhood experiences were indeed different from hers, just as my mother's childhood experiences were foreign to me.  Time to slip back into the "olden days".  

Running to the little neighborhood store to get a loaf of bread or quart of milk (in glass bottles) was my job in the "olden days". 

  

"Neighborhood grocery stores," I explained, "were often combined with a gasoline station and were the favorite shopping spot for families in those days, because that meant that fuel for the body and car could be taken care of all at one time.  Little mom and pop neighborhood grocery stores were common.  Since families could afford only one car, including ours, that meant your grandmother Strahl and I would have to walk to the nearest store during the day and purchase only what we could carry in our arms or tote in a wagon.  Did I mention that when your grandmother and grandfather moved to La Crosse in 1937, they both worked at the Knudson Texaco station, grandpa pumping gas and doing repairs and grandma doling out groceries and manning the cash register.  Grandpa sometimes filled in on those jobs also, though grandma never pumped gas ... that was the men's job" 

"There weren't any food laden aisles to wander down in those grocery stores," I continued, "nor shopping carts to nudge along.  Everything was neatly stocked on shelves behind a counter.  The grocery man waited on each and every customer, picking out the various cans of food as they were read from the list.  There wasn't any label reading in those days nor very many brands from which to choose.  You didn't quibble over price, either."

"Bakery items like doughnuts and long johns, my passion as a child, were stored in tall, glass cases with pull out trays.  Meat was kept in meat cases much like the ones that you see in butcher shops today, but the back room where the meat was cut up was often small and unsanitary.  One often wondered whether the man who pumped the gas washed his hands before weighing up the meat."

"If the store could afford one, a hand operated adding machine totaled up the purchases before they were rung up on a cash register, a stately, brass bell ringing object which would fall into the antique relic classification today.   If there were no adding machines, purchases were itemized on a sales slip and added up in the head and rechecked by the customer before payment made.  It was common to just charge it"

Above Photo is of my mother and father taken by the main door to the grocery area.  To the right were the gasoline pumps.  Notice the grocery part was IGA.  The gasoline was Texaco.  My father was 37 years old and mother was 32.  

Cooking was simple, out of a can, fresh, or home canned.  No frozen or packaged foods or convenience foods like cake and cookie mixes.  Pork and beans were the closest to a meal-in-a-can that could come to a homemaker's rescue in an emergency.  Potatoes were a mainstay of each meal with pasta dishes coming second.  No instant mashed potatoes, just wash, peel, and boil. 

If a homemaker was inclined, home baked cakes, cookies and pies along with sliced banana drowned in Jello were the desserts of choice.   No store bought cakes or pies in those days though there were packaged cookies.  My mother cooked over a kerosine stove, and I held a slice of bread skewered on a fork over the burner for toast.  It wasn't until I was about twelve years old, that mother got an electric stove and refrigerator.  Until then, foods needing to be kept cool were stored in an ice box.  Did we mind?  No, that is just the way it was. 

Nancy Lisa is about 8 years old in this photo.  She took ballet lessons.  Now her girls can ask her what it was like in her "olden days!"