Getting your stories

Please return this form with as much of the information as you know to: Suzanne Cornelius Johnson, 

What is your full name? Linda Ann Saaijenga (Faist for almost 41years) Moseley

Were you named after anyone special? Not as far as I know. In 2000 when I moved to VA, I discovered that an awful lot of mammas here chose the name of Linda for their daughters. At one point, there were 5 Lindas within 20 feet of me at a workplace. I started going by Lin and it has worked out well.

Were there any unusual circumstances surrounding your birth, baptism? Nothing special other than the fact that I was allowed to attend.

Where was your first home? My birthplace and first home was on a farm on Edwardsville Road, northeast of German Valley, Illinois.

Did you like your house? What was so special about it? I think the thing I liked best about my childhood home was the feeling of safety and love that prevailed there. I always thought it was a huge house. During the early '90's, after the property had been sold out of the family, Larry and I stopped there one evening. The door was unlocked so we walked in and were surprised to find bales of hay all over the house. The purpose of the hay suddenly struck me. The local fire department was going to use the house as a practice area. The house was going to be burned to make way for a double-wide that was being moved to the property from a mile south. It made my stomach sick to think about it. Well I remember the story my dad often told of waking up one night out of a dream. In his dream all the neighbors were walking by his, Mom's and my caskets, remarking about how awful it was that carbon monoxide killed all of us. Dad woke up with a start and realized that the chimney to the heat stove had plugged and the house was blue with smoke. All three of us got out OK but it really shook up Dad and Mom. They were super careful after that about smoke and fire. Remembering this, it was terrible to know that the house would be purposely burned. The new owners invited me to come the evening the fire department chose to burn the house but I just could not bring myself to do it. About a week after it was burned, I stopped there and was amazed to see what a small basement was only left. Actually the basement was only under the very original section of the house. Through the years several additions were added but none of these had a basement. My great-grandparents settled on the land in the early 1800’s. The first house burned. My birthplace was built in 1899, the rest added later, There was an attic above the original section (the part that was used as the kitchen during my childhood). I remember when my folks cleaned out that attic. Dad backed the hayrack along the side of the house and they tossed out everything, then burned it. I was a small kid at the time but remember seeing old baby cribs, beds, and baby carriages. I bet that “old junk” would be priceless today.

My first recollection of a bedroom was my crib in my parents' bedroom. Then they put a single bed in its place for a few years. The next plan was to partition off half of the very long dining room to make a room of my own. Oh, it was great stuff to have my very own room! My folks moved the single bed in there. ( Lori slept in the bed for many years as she was growing up until she bought her own waterbed during her high school years. It now is in the studio at Randy and Monica's home in Janesville, WI) Mom bought a chest of drawers and a desk-type vanity from Montgomery Ward. It was unfinished so she varnished it to match the bed. (Lori also used that furniture until she left Florence Road. Those two dressers are now here in Lynchburg. I just can't bear to part with them.) When I was a freshman at Forreston, a Home-Ec project was to redecorate my room. We papered it with lavender paper with tiny yellow roses and white daisies. The curtains were white lace-like plastic. By that time my Gramma Pieper also had a single bed in that room so both beds sported bright yellow chenille bedspreads and there were matching yellow throw rugs beside each bed. During my second year in high school I moved upstairs so Gramma could have the room downstairs by herself. Grammas and teenagers do not mesh well when it comes to clothing choices for school, etc. The move upstairs was much needed for family harmony. This upstairs room was about 4 times larger than I was used to and I LOVED IT! There was a built-in closet and I could hang my clothes as I wanted. One fall day my folks and Fan and Dick Cornelius went to a furniture auction near Rockford and my folks bought me a gray bed and long dresser with mirror. Oh, I thought it was the grandest thing ever!. (Eventually the bed stayed at the farm on Florence Road but the dresser was moved, first to my beautiful duplex on Hardin Ave. in Freeport, then to Virginia. Just this summer it was replaced by a new bedroom suite. The dresser is now near Forest, VA. It still has a lot of wear left. See accompanying story about Treasures and Dreams.) My upstairs bedroom had windows on three sides. From the east window I could spot the school bus coming a mile away and I would barrel thru the kitchen with my coat on. (Gramma never had time to critique my choice of apparel that way). From the north window I could see several miles and used to watch trains pass on a distant track. The west window gave me a good view of our garden. It was a room of peace. It was also a room of cold during the Midwest winters. The only source of heat was the stovepipe which ran through the floor to the chimney. An electric blanket made things cozy overnight but that room was massive nipper in the mornings. I used to carefully fold my underwear and tuck it under a pillow overnight. The next morning I simply dressed in bed. Because there were windows on three sides, there usually was a good breeze during summer.

What was your neighborhood like? We lived on a farm so neighbors were always at least a half mile away. The Buttels lived east of us and sometimes, when my folks went to Freeport while I was in the very early years of grade school, I stayed at their house until my folks came home. Also east of us lived the Stratmanns. They were the parents of four daughters; one was Harriet Gerloff. The Holland Church was to our west.

Did you have a big yard? My parents owned an 80 acre farm so I had a lot of land to roam. The actual area that was mowed was not too much but my dogs and I ranged out all over the place. Before the blacktop road was built there was a hedge along the old gravel road to the west of the buildings. Very early in the spring the sun melted the snow first on the south side of that hedge so my dogs and I spent a good bit of time there. I even had some toy dishes there and played house sometimes. In the summer there were wild black raspberries among the trees and I ate my fill of those treats. Wild asparagus also grew there and I got into big trouble with my mom once when I showed a man who stopped to talk to me where he could find the asparagus too. He came every day or so and got the asparagus before Mom did. Mom loved flowers and had flower beds all over. The house yard fence was lined with flowers, as were all the sidewalks, along the house foundation, around any tree, and wherever Mom could plant something. Even the outhouse was surrounded by flowers. After I left home Dad took over the mowing (and bought a RIDER MOWER instead of the walk-behind one I had to use). Each time Dad did the lawns, he had “problems” making it turn short enough to miss some of the flowers in beds spread all over the yard. Eventually, there were not nearly so many flower beds and his job of mowing was much simpler.

What kind or vehicle do you first remember? The first car I remember was the ‘38 Buick. It was dark gray. Once a salesman came and showed Dad how great his product would work at restoring the shine to that car. The man polished just the gas cap. Mom decided that the price was too steep for the product so, from then on, that car had a shiny gas cap and the rest was dull. In 1953 the old Buick shifted its last gear and died right smack in a busy intersection in Freeport. I remember being so angry when people honked at us. Dad and Mom went to the local Lincoln/Mercury dealer and ordered a wonderful new Mercury. Problem was that the Merc would not be delivered for a month. Dad bought an old beater for less than a hundred dollars so we could have transportation until the new beauty arrived. Now that beater was something special! When we wanted to go to Freeport (about 15 miles from home), the last job before leaving was to fill that car with gas, oil, and water. By the time we got to the east edge of Freeport, the gauges were on E and the thing was steaming. Last stop on our way home was at the same gas station to “load ‘er up” for the dash home. Oh, that new Merc was a prize possession. After I got my license, Dad sometimes left me drive it to Forreston to school functions or to see friends. He never knew about the drag race my friend Elaine and I got into with some guys from Adeline with their souped-up hotrod. We took off up Route 72-----Elaine and I in the right lane and the guys in the left lane----over hills too--- until we reached the east edge of Forreston. Dad’s Merc left them in the dust and they never challenged us again. In looking back, that was probably one of the dumbest things I ever did----and I did plenty of dumb things when I was a teenager!

Did anybody outside your parents or siblings live with you? When my Grandpa Pieper died in 1941, Gramma decided to leave the Nebraska farm and buy a home in town. First, though, she wanted to spend a few weeks with each of her five children. In 1968 Gramma finally went to a nursing home, having spent all the years in between shuttling from one household to another. She got into too much trouble at the four Nebraska houses so she spent most of the time at our home. There were lots of problems and hard feelings during those years. Grammas need homes of their own so cousins get along better and tales are not carried from family to family.

Who was your favorite person in the household? Why, my parents, of course!

Did you have any pets? Aside from the usual farm-variety cats, there were numerous dogs during my childhood. When I was born my folks had a brown boxer named Zippy. Zippy was my buddy and my protector. On the rare occasion that my mom felt a need to spank me for some “imagined” misdeed, she always had to do it with me in the house and Zippy outside or she would encounter trouble with Zippy. She rarely worried about me as long as Zip was along. We often got into trouble because we had a habit of hunting for mice under the chicken house. Zip dug and I tore boards off the building….not a good plan to Mom’s way of thinking. Eventually Zippy left my life. One cold Thanksgiving our family was at a dinner at Gerloff’s and they had PUPPIES! I remember coming home in the dark in the backseat of the ‘38 Buick with Smokey snuggled under my coat. It was too cold for a little puppy to stay outside so Mom set up a box in the kitchen for Smokey. When he chewed it to shreds one day, his household pet days were over and he got moved into the big doghouse just outside the kitchen door. A couple of years later, my boy-dog Smokey did a strange thing. HE had puppies. All except two “disappeared” and I had a great time with those 2 puppies until they had to find new homes. In the mean time, Smokey paid a visit to the vet and never had puppies again. Later family dogs were Pat and Mike, rat terriers. Pat and I played Hide and Seek. I tossed a coat hanger into the dark living room and ran to hide while Pat searched for the hanger. Then he came to search for me. One night it took him longer than usual to find that hanger so I turned on the living room light. Oh, Oh! I found the hanger jammed through the window shade and it made a big hole. That was the end our Hide and Seek games. Oh, and one of the farm cats was named Chesela. She was jet black and used to stand on her hind legs on the cement walkway behind the cows at milking time and catch streams of milk that Dad shot across the gutter in her direction. Only two cats ever got into the house. One was Penny, the mitten kitty. Penny had seven toes on each front paw. She knew that an open refrigerator door meant milk and she came on the run every time she heard the familiar creak of the door. Once she got her tail caught as the door was pushed shut and got her tail broken. From then on, she had a very noticeable kink in her tail. The other kitty had pure white long fur and was named Crisco.

Did you have any nicknames for anybody? Nope

Do you have a nickname? My dad used to call me Shikinpoop. Wasn’t that special? My uncle Harry Suess called me Candy Bar because he said I was half sweet and half nuts. When he passed away I sent a bouquet of flowers with a candy bar attached and no name card. His daughter, Sylvia, immediately remembered and knew the origin of the flowers. Now-a-days I am sometimes called Shugah.

Who was the best cook in the family? The best cook, hands down, was my mom. She always had a huge picturesque garden and oodles of fruit trees. For a number of years she raised and sold strawberries too. Our basement shelves were lined with home-canned goods, half a dozen varieties of pickles, relishes, tomatoes, pears, peaches, green beans, jellies, jams, canned meats, soup mix, you name it. Then she got a large chest type freezer and really branched out. I remember her going to schools sponsored by the local dealer (Louis Miller) in German Valley and learned how to freeze produce. That freezer was jammed with veggies, meat, and baked goods. As soon as unexpected company came on the place, she headed for that freezer and started digging out the fixings for a meal. Nobody ever went home hungry. Wait, only once do I remember her not being the “Hostess with the Mostest“. She used to sell eggs to customers and had a refrigerator stocked with eggs in the barn. One couple caught on that if they came to the house and timed their visit right, they would get a nice meal every Saturday noon. Mom finally got tired of that plan and warned Dad to have some crackers stashed somewhere the next Saturday. When the people came, Mom sat pleasantly visiting and Dad fidgeted. Finally, about 5:00, they went home and Mom hurried to get a meal ready. The next week they came later in the afternoon for their eggs….never again at noon. Three weeks before Mom died she was still cooking, rolling from the cupboards to her stove in her wheelchair.

Did your Mother tell stories of when she was growing up? Your Father? I can remember sitting beside my parents’ bed, listening to them telling about their childhoods and about growing up. I often fell asleep there. How I wish I’d had a tape recorder. They both were young adults during the depression and Mom lived in the “dust bowl” days in Nebraska. She told of sawing down trees along the creek so the cattle could eat the green leaves. They often spoke of ration stamps, which were used during WWII. There is NO WAY people of today would tolerate such a plan. Now Jim and I often talk for hours about our childhoods. It amazes me that, despite growing up nearly a thousand miles apart, so many common threads weave through our memories.

Did your parents have a good sense of humor? Dad had a dry sense of humor, which Randy has inherited. Mom loved a good joke and was always ready for a good laugh.

Did your mother have any hobbies? Your father? Mom had an interest in anything that had to do with handcrafts. I remember winter nights when the TV would be running and Mom would be crocheting and Dad would be reading and smoking his pipe. Dad spent a good bit of time out in his shop building windmills and star frames for Christmas lights. Mom loved to sew, had so many African Violets that you often could not see out the windows, liked to try new recipes, and she inhaled her garden. Dad loved old tractors and had such pride in the Rumley Do-All that he restored and drove in parades at the threshing show. That tractor was sold to my uncle in Nebraska.

Were your parents involved in church, music, community, politics? No public politics for my folks but they certainly had an interest in politics and talked for hours about candidates and the nasty party that they were not members of. They attended church regularly.

Do you remember any weird clothes worn by your parents, grandparents or others? Not really. They just wore the same clothes as everybody else in the community.

Did you have any siblings? Nope, I always wished for a sibling and I know that I hurt my folks by badgering them about it. In my mind, God simply placed a baby in a family...with no other preparations. I remember praying once and was sure there would be a baby by morning, then was terribly angry when there was no baby. It must have hurt my mom. She had several miscarriages after me and I know they did want more children.

What time did you have to go to bed? I never really had a set bedtime. Mostly I just went to bed when I was tired. My folks’ bedtime was right after the 10:00 news.

How did you spend summer vacations? I loved summertime! There was always something nice to do. I remember playing with my dolls outside a lot. When I was in third grade, my cousin, Margaret, stayed during the summer and we had old blankets strung over the wash line for tents. Mom and Dad never let us stay outside overnight though. We had those tents full of dolls and toy dishes. I loved to lay out in the cool grass south of the house and watch the clouds. It was fun to try to pick out animal shapes. There were always baby chicks and ducks and kittens to play with. Childhood was very uncomplicated for me.

Did you have any accidents as a child? Nothing serious, just dumb. I fell out of my hammock once and landed on the dog who promptly bit me. A few weeks later I fell out of that same hammock and landed on one of the dog’s old bones and gouged a hole in my knee. One Sunday afternoon my folks and I had gone to a Mission Fest at church. My folks had to come home to milk the cows and planned to go back for evening services. I begged to keep on my good dress and promised not to get it dirty while they were doing chores. Mom was not a bit happy with the plan but agreed. Don’t you just know, I was playing on a large metal gate, gave it a mighty swing, it hit the silo and bounced back against my head, poking a hole in my forehead and blood gushed all over my good dress. Mom was even more unhappy with the plan at that point.

Were you sick often? I wasn’t sick very often but did have tonsillitis one summer. The doctor told Mom to get lots of liquids down me. Muskmelons (cantaloupes to most people) were just getting ripe so she shoved them down me. I got so sick of them and it took many years before I could stand the sight of them again.

What was the first movie you ever saw? I could not tell you any names but every summer German Valley’s merchants pooled their money and sponsored free movies one night a week. They were beamed up against Borchers’ Store. Everybody brought blankets and popcorn and we all sat on the grassy empty lot to the east of the store. The town was loaded with people. Many of the small towns did the same thing and you could go to movies most nights if you wanted to. During my childhood the newest invention was the drive-in theater. Once or twice a summer my parents and I went to the show and it was big stuff. Parents liked it because they could put their kids in pajamas, bring along a couple of pillows and it did not matter what time the show was over. Their kids were fast asleep by then. Teenagers also liked those outdoor movies. If the windows steamed up, it was OK and nobody could see them necking.

Which are your favorite cartoon characters? My all time favorite would have to be the road runner. I’ve always enjoyed that little rascal.

Did you have chores to do around the house? When I was growing up, my folks kept me pretty busy. I helped with Mom’s garden, dusted the furniture every Saturday, chased the cows home from pastures at chore time, pitched silage down for feeding, mowed the lawns when I was a teenager. I was always involved in canning and freezing. I never did consider it work or chores. It was just part of living.

How important is religion in your life? Religion is very important to me. God has carried me through some awful as well as some totally awesome times. My first memories of church was at the little Lutheran church in Freeport. The Corneliuses also went there. It is now a Greek Orthodox church. Gramma Pieper used to dictate which dress I dared wear and I vividly remember her yanking my dress off before we even got home from church because the dress was too “good” to risk getting dirty. I wore just my coat into the house. Later Mom gave some of my outgrown dresses to a little girl in our school and I remember seeing Marilyn wear my “good” dress to a school picnic. I cried and vowed any kids I ever had would be allowed to wear their pretty clothes. When I was old enough for Sunday School, my folks decided that they could not get chores done early enough to get to Freeport that early so they started attending the Ridott Christian Reformed Church just a half mile west of our farm. I remember walking to Sunday School while my folks finished chores. Later, during my teen years, Uncle George used to take me along to Silver Creek Church. Soon my folks started going there too. I consider that my home church. Later years I belonged to Florence Methodist, Faith Methodist in Freeport, New Covenant (later renamed Crossroads) north of Freeport. Then I moved to VA and attended Timberlake Methodist, now Thomas Road Baptist.

Did you go to nursery school (now called preK)? Are you kidding? They did not even have the term “nursery school” when I was that age.

Where did you go to grade school? High school? College or tech school? My first 4 years were spent at Iler School about 2 miles south east of my home. This building is now the home of Mrs. Hudson. Then the community consolidated and we kids were shifted between one-room schools until the new school was finished. Fifth grade was in the “big” school (now Boomgardens live in that building between the two sections of German Valley. Sixth grade was spent at Wessel’s School 2 miles north of German Valley. In April of that year the new school was ready and all the kids were moved in. High school was spent at Forreston. College was not an option. I got married 3 days after high school graduation.

What did your grade school look like? Iler was a big square white wooden building. It had a basement with a large furnace. During winter months we kids used to bring potatoes and lay them on the furnace. By noon we had a nice baked potato. For more info on this school, see my accompanying story about Iler School days. The school in German Valley was smaller than Iler and had no basement. Actually there were two schools on the property. The first 4 grades were in the smaller one and our fifth and sixth grades were in the larger. There was a shed between the two buildings and we kids played some rousing games of Andy-I-Over. At the time Pleasant Prairie Academy was still in operation about a half mile west. During good weather we kids walked there for hot lunches. Wessel’s School was a great little brick building. The teacher did not have very good control over the kids and we often wandered up the dead road along side during recess. “Nimbo” rang her little brass bell when it was time to come back in for lessons but we often feigned not hearing her bell and came back when we were good and ready. (See also the accompanying story about Wessel’s School.) Then we moved to the new school on the north edge of German Valley. Oh, it was a gorgeous building and I thought it was the greatest ever…and so big! (Years later, when my own kids attended there, I was disappointed to find that it really was not as huge as it seemed when I was in seventh and eighth grade.)

What was your favorite teacher’s name? My favorite teacher was Mrs. Wilson, the teacher at Iler. I was in awe of her. Later, when I was in high school, she had built a house in Forreston and I sometimes stayed at her house between school hours and games. Other good teachers were Miss Lois Bruning, Mr. Frey, Verna Ziegler, Mildred Capps, and Jim Hendee.

What kind of student were you? (attentive, lazy, industrious, mischievous) I suppose you would say I was studious. I suspect I would have lots more fun if I went to school now. I thought I had to get all A’s or my folks would be disappointed in me. I know now that was not true but I was a weird little bird….still am.

Did you ever have to stand up and recite anything? Nothing more than the normal stuff.

Did you ever get in trouble for anything at school? Naah, I was a perfect little kid. During my high school career, we were not supposed to bring squirt guns to school. Do you realize that, if you fill an empty Mennen Baby Magic squeeze bottle with water, you can nail somebody clear across study hall ---- and, if they check your purse, all they find is an innocent bottle of lotion? One of the last days of the year, everybody piled into buses and we went to The Pines (a beautiful park about 30 miles away) for a picnic. Again, we were NOT allowed to carry water pistols along! However, when we arrived at the park, the bus driver pulled out a box of plastic water guns and sold every one of them for a quarter each. He had a corner on the market! I do remember being accused of cheating once. We had a test in Biology and, when I had finished the test, I glanced over to see how my buddy, Reuben, was doing. We had studied together for the test. Imagine my surprise when I heard, “Eyes on your own paper, Linda!” I told the teacher I was done and was only checking on my friend’s progress. I was told to hand in my paper immediately. I aced that doggone test but Reuben didn’t. Guess I wasn’t cheating after all, huh?

Did you ever play hooky from school? Technically, I did. About once a month my folks went to Freeport for supplies. Sometimes I just skipped school and went along. Rules were much more relaxed those days.

Do you remember any special homework projects? There were the usual stories to write but nothing stands out in my memory.

How did your school celebrate holidays like Christmas or Valentines Day? During the Iler days, there were “programs” to prepare for at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We learned plays and songs and the parents all came one evening to watch us perform. See accompanying Iler School story for more on this.

TOYS

What were your favorite toys? It would be a toss-up between my dolls and my jig saw puzzles. I had oodles of dolls. There were Mary, Lois, Elsie, Carol, Nancy, Flossie, and a few more. When Santa still was the man of the hour, each Christmas I arranged my dolls around the Christmas tree and he placed a new doll among the older ones. Of all those dolls, only Mary and Flossie still survive…and maybe not even them. I gave them to Monica but I strongly suspect they met their Waterloo in a storage building in Pearl City when it was inundated with flood water a couple of years ago. My jig saw puzzles were my pride and joy. Mom used to set me up on the kitchen table with them while she and Dad were in the barn doing chores and challenge me how many I could get put together before she came back to the house. Those puzzles were handed down to my kids but they were not as interested in them and managed to lose quite a few of the pieces. The puzzles were stored in a large wooden tote when I lived on Florence Road. They did not make the trip to Hardin Ave. when I moved so I have no idea what happened to them. They probably were burned when Bob cleared out the house for the new owners.

What kind of games did you play in grade school? At Iler, I did not play very many active games due to a rupture. Most of my recess time was spent swinging. At the little school in GV, we played baseball, Andy-I-Over, and all sorts of fun games. At Wessel’s we spent hours along that dirt road having snow ball fights. One game we also played was “Hog Pile”. Out of the blue somebody would yell “HOG PILE” and everybody piled on top of each other. You better hope you were not at the bottom of the heap. At the new grade school, we played baseball and basketball. There was a skating rink just west of the school and when the ice was hard enough we learned to skate. I LOVED it! Don Cornelius loaned me a pair of skates. They were miles too big but worked OK for the skills I possessed. When most of the other kids got tired of skating, Jerry Guth and I used to go out anyway and try to learn to at least stand up better. We were both lousy.

Did you have imaginary friends? What was their name? What did you do together? Not a one.

Did you collect anything? I had a large napkin collection. Each napkin had noted on it the occasion, date and other info. Included in that collection were also some very old ones that had belonged to my mom when she lived in Nebraska. One was from Sweden from a pen pal. When I left Florence Road, I decided to trash that collection because the huge box had not been opened for years and was very musty.

Did you play sports? The only sports I played in grade school was basketball. I was about 8 inches taller than anybody my age so all I had to do was stand under the basket and catch the ball.

What was your favorite candy? How much did they cost? My favorite was a giant size Hershey bar. They cost all of 25 cents those days and I made one bar last a week. I did enjoy chocolate drops until the day I ate too many and got violently ill….haven’t eaten one since.

Which is your favorite season of the year? I’ve always loved fall the best. As an adult, fall was the season when you finally got to harvest the crops. All spring and summer was spent working on those crops and a great deal of money was invested in them. In the fall you could finally get some return from your investment. In the fall even the air takes on a sense of urgency as people unconsciously gather for the coming winter. And I absolutely LOVE the fall colors. The first date Jim and I had was to look at the fall colors in the mountains.

Who are/were your favorite idols? (movies stars, musicians, sports figures, ect) I’ve never understood people who go gah-gah over some dumb actor or singer. I just keep thinking that they need to wipe their noses too when they have colds and that takes away all of their mystique.

Do/did you like to read? I LOVE to read. When I was a kid, there were only a couple of books in our home….a Bible, a dictionary, and Alice in Wonderland (which I never read because I thought it was stupid after the first couple of pages). I did, however, read just about every book in the school libraries and the church libraries. As an adult I have quite a collection, even after giving away scads of books when I left Freeport. In fact, Jim and I have enough books between us that we had a twelve foot floor to ceiling bookcase/cabinet built and dedicated one bedroom to being a library. And all my cookbooks did not fit on those shelves so there are a good many books still on shelves downstairs.

What high school did you go to? Was it scary the first day there? High school was at Forreston, IL. What was there to fear about a school?

Do you remember any of the counselors or principals? John I. Masterson was the head-honcho. He was strict but fair and I respected him.

Were you in any plays? Just one --- the senior play. It was a blast. It was about a hillbilly family and was entitled “Headin’ For a Weddin”. I was Bertha Blairhouse.

What was your favorite class? There were many favorites. Even though they were difficult, I learned so much from them. The one that I use most today is Latin. So many English words are derived from Latin and, if you remember your Latin vocabulary, you can generally figure out the meaning to any word you find. Speech class was agony, but I learned to stand up in front of people and not be quite so self-conscious. Mrs. Capps’ Senior English was OK for the most part but the highlight was when she read Shakespeare out loud to the class. When I tried to read it, it was just a bunch of gobbledeegook, but, when she read it, the whole mess made sense and was actually pretty interesting. I took chemistry one day. That was enough. I hated the smell of the room and disliked the person assigned as my partner so I opted out of it and signed up for Senior English instead.

Did you ever go on a hayride? There were the usual grade school and youth group hayrides, but the best hayride ever was in 1998 when neighbors across the road from the farm on Florence Road had a Fourth of July party and hayride. We piled on that wagon and did a tour of the area. It just seemed so nice. Then we came back to their home and all sat out north of their buildings to watch the fireworks. Twenty seven days later I was no longer a resident of Florence Road, but I will always remember the hayride with good neighbors.

Who was your best friend? In sixth grade my best friend was Bonita Greve (Viet’s aunt). We used to sit on an abandoned road grader in the school yard and talk all recess. During my high school years I was part of “The Gang”, a group of 7 or 8 girls. We had the BEST slumber parties and went to games together. To this day we are still in touch. Diane Buss Van Raden was my buddy during my freshman year but she moved to Shannon. She did not get involved in many of our parties after that but the rest of us kept things humming. The group consisted of Carol Meyer Midthum, Sandy Gravenstein Rogers, Elaine Heeren Hayunga, Judy Walker DeVries, Lyla Schoenhardt Thomas, and Betty Kitzmiller Remmers. My best friend from church was Shirley Dieken Jordan. In later years I started corresponding with Denise DeGraff Lane, Luann Moring Walton, and Faye Smith Bailey. I wish we had been closer in high school.

Did you have a high school sweetheart? You ask too many questions. There were a few nice guys there.

Did you feel you were shy, outgoing, indecisive, ect? I was WAY too serious and concerned about what other people would think of me. I finally relaxed during my senior year and enjoyed that year. My class rank dropped from one to three and that was just fine with me.

What was your first car? That would be Dad’s green ‘53 Merc. It was affectionately known as “The Bomb” and Dad would have slept even less if he had known the scrapes I came near with that vehicle.

Did you take drivers training in high school? Everybody took Drivers' Ed during their Soph. Year. Rusty Egan was the instructor. Ron Finch and Wayne Hayunga were in my driving group. Wayne drove while he and Rusty talked sports most sessions while Ron and I had to sit quietly in the back seat. My best learning experiences came under my mom’s watchful eye. But I passed the test anyway and have been a menace on the road ever since. Mom’s driving is a whole ‘nuther story. When I was in Iler School, my parents and Buttels took turns taking us kids to school. Mom decided she could take over the duties when it was our turn so she went to Freeport to get her license. At the time the license facility was in the courthouse downtown. She did fine on the written test but looked out the window at all the traffic on Stephenson Street and convinced the examiner that she would never drive anywhere but between home and the school and should not need to take a driving test in all that traffic. He agreed. She never took a driving test after that and, in her later years, drove all over Illinois and even drove to Nebraska twice.

Did you graduate from high school? I sure did…and I have the pictures to prove it.

What did you do after high school? Got married three days later and eventually had 5 kids. I think that qualifies as higher education.

How did you meet your spouse? Which one? I met Bob at a basketball game. Jim and I met at our workplace.

Almost nobody gets married with the idea that it will not work out. I knew things were not right at my first wedding but, due to some circumstances that I will not make public here, I felt that my options were severely limited. (and, NO, it was not a have-to situation.) I hoped that, with time, everything would be OK. Thru the years it did not get better and I prayed that God would perform a miracle, something would change, and we could grow old in harmony. Very, very early one July day in 1998 it became quite evident that there would be no change and I made the painful decision to agree to leave the house where I had lived since 1967. Going thru with that decision is the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. I believe marriage is for keeps. I had to admit to the world and the people around me that I had failed. I was also pretty ticked at God for not performing a miracle when I needed it most. In time I realized that God had, indeed, performed the miracle of peace and safety for me. I had no clue that He had other plans for me and that eventually He would put Jim in my life. Someone once said to be careful what you pray for. I guess this whole thing would fall into that category. I am SO blessed.

Were your children’s births planned or by accident? No child is an accident.

How did you feel about becoming a parent: I don’t think I had any feelings one way or the other about it. It seemed the natural progression of life.

Did you take childbirth or parenting classes? Nope. I just “winged it”.

What was it like to care for a newborn, your first baby? I had never even held an infant until I held Larry. Frankly, I was afraid I would break him. I had no idea how to change a diaper. I remember calling a nurse in the middle of the night to ask her if I dared give him another ounce of formula when he had finished his bottle and was still hungry. I was afraid I would break his stomach or something.

How did it change your life? It gave my life purpose.

What is the greatest part of being a parent? The greatest part is to live long enough to see your children grown with families of their own and know that you have a legacy that will continue long after you are gone.

What is the greatest challenge? The greatest challenge is to quit being Mommy and just be Mom who lives her own life.

How did each child change the family? More noise, more fun!

How do they relate to each other? They have a network among them. I best tell each one any news or, within a short time, I will get a call from someone complaining why they were not left in on the news.

How are they similar? They all have a drive for success and know the value of hard work to achieve that success.

How are they different? They just are so different from each other. It amazes me that 5 kids who are from the same gene pool and grew up in the same home can be so different.

Were you a strict or permissive parent? I was strict about the things that were important but I chose my battles. If it was not world shaking or character breaking, I left them learn from their actions. In the grand scheme of things, so what if their room was not perfect every day? Each had their own room so it was up to them to clean it up or trip over things. I only asked that they close the door so nothing slimy slithered out into the hall. They all do a better job of keeping house than I do now.

What was/is going on in the world that affects your parenting? Every generation of parents complains about outside influence. It is a factor but I am so glad I don’t have to raise kids in today’s society.

Did your parents or in-laws play a part in your children’s lives? My kids were fortunate to have both sets of grandparents as a huge part of their lives. Their 4 grandparents lived within 10 miles of them and my kids saw them often.

What were your favorite things to do together as a family? I think there were many things. At least, I hope my kids enjoyed them. Sunday dinner (at noon on the farm) was when everybody came to the meal table in one shift. The table was set with pretty dishes and a fancy dessert. Not so many years ago I was honored when Lori shared that she had bought some pretty glass dessert dishes for her boys because she remembered that sort of thing as a child and wanted her boys to have the same thing. Another good time was sweet corn season. I generally prepared a minimum of 10 ears of corn for each kid and I piled the bounty on a big gray tray in the center of the table. I buttered each ear as each kid was ready for another one to forestall arguments over which ear was the juiciest and biggest. I told them, “This is a nice one,” and they were happy until they realized that I said the same thing about each ear on the tray.

Did you have fears when they started driving? Oh, my, yes! When they were toddlers I once complained to my Aunt Rose about the amount of work I had and the uproar in the house with 5 little kids ripping up the place every day. Aunt Rose (who had 7 kids) wisely advised me to enjoy the time when my kids were little and I could check each one in their beds and know they were safe instead of lying awake, waiting for each one to return home. Each one took Drivers’ Ed in high school and, during their learning permit days, I always had a volunteer to “take” me grocery shopping. As soon as that volunteer had the license in their hot little hand, Mom was on her own again until the next kid had a permit.

How did you feel when they started dating? Concerned that they would not make wise choices.

What activities did your kids participate in? They went to the usual games, etc. after school but, mostly, they were mighty busy with jobs. Each one got a job away from home as soon as they were 16 and never quit.

Did you try to help get them a first job? No need to. They were resourceful and smart enough to shake out the bushes for work.

Did you help choose a college or technical school? They knew far more about school than I did and they made their own decisions. I was immensely proud of each one of them!

Did you go visit them often while in college? Life was not easy those days but I did get to visit each one, though not often enough to suit me.

Anything else? No, this is a book the way it is already without adding more of my musings.

How do you feel about growing older? This body is getting older and it rebels against my ideas, but, in my mind, I still feel like I am about 30 years old. I like to think of my hair as growing blonder but I know better when I see the silver. Hey, silver is just a badge of survivorship and only means that you have come this far and have a lot of ground to cover yet.

Was it hard when your kids left the nest? For about a week after the last one left home I was like a lost puppy. Then Judy Meyer told me that she and Rich were so happy that they did not have to plan meals or anything else around Sue and Dave’s schedule anymore. I mulled it over and decided that they were right. But it felt awfully good whenever my kids did come to visit.

Do/did you enjoy your new freedom? Freedom from what? I never felt my kids caused me a lack of freedom. They were my window to the world and kept me afloat more times than I care to think about.

Was it a hard decision to retire? What? Retire? Maybe when we are 80.

How did you feel about becoming a grandparent for the first time? Immensely proud!

What activities do you do with your grandchildren now? Spoil them and send them home to their parents…can you think of any better way to repay my kids for my gray hair? Nahhhh, that isn’t really so. My kids were not at all bad kids and their own kids are just reflections of their personalities.

Do still have any dreams unfulfilled? Yes, I still want to dip my toes in both the Pacific and the Atlantic.