Mom's Story: Final Note

Well, I said last time that I would post the final note I had written at the end of her story, so here it is. I hope you all have enjoyed reading her story. I know there would have been a lot more to it had she had more time to think about it, and we could have gone over it together. It's one of those things that I mistakenly thought we'd have plenty of time to do.

How ironic, that we put things off till later, knowing full well that there might not be a "later", but somehow we never really think about someone we love not being here anymore. I guess that feeling of loss never really goes away, no matter how many years pass. I remember Mother saying that she still missed her Ma and it was 30+ years since she died.

Donna's and my only joy in this entire situation is knowing that she's in heaven. We know that because she was confident in her standing with Jesus, and said from the get-go that if He was ready for her to come home, then she was ready to go. And we know she was. She was a wonderful example of a Christian - not only in word, but in practice. She lived the Christian life everyday, loving people, showing kindness without partiality. No, she wasn't perfect, none of us are, but she was forgiven and knew where she would live for eternity. Donna and I look forward to seeing both her and Daddy again, and meeting a brother and sister who we've only been told about. What a reunion that will be!!

Here's "The Final Note".

*******

FINAL NOTE: by Joan (Howard) Babcock

Sunday evening, Sept.10, 2006, after supper, Mom started yelling that she was having chest pains. She had thrown up and was hurting pretty bad. I called the paramedics and they came right away and brought the ambulance. We took her to Mena Hospital where they treated her for a heart attack. They wanted to transport her to Ft. Smith Hospital to see a cardiologist there but had to get the pain stopped and her blood pressure regulated before they did. That finally happened at 7:30 the next morning. Our pastor rode in the ambulance with her and me, and stayed with me all night until she was transported to Ft. Smith.

She didn’t want any open heart surgery or surgery of any kind but did agree to having stints put in if there was a need for that. She had the angioplasty Monday evening and when the doctor came out he said that her three main heart arteries were almost completely blocked. He was able to insert some stints but the surgery really weakened her condition.

Donna and Wil started toward Ft. Smith on Tuesday after there didn’t seem to be any improvement. Bill and I came home to sleep on Tuesday night as I’d been up since Sunday morning and had to get some rest. We got a call about 2:30 AM from the nurse in ICU that her heart rate had dropped and I needed to come up. About 30 minutes before we got there, Mom died on Sept. 13^th. 2006 with the ICU nurse holding her hand. I called Donna to head to Wisconsin, and after calling Twohig’s in Campbellsport, Bill and I headed to the airport.

Mom’s funeral was Saturday, the 16^th, at the First Baptist Church and then after we returned to Oklahoma, where we had a Memorial Service at the Octavia Baptist Church on Sept. 23^rd.

She lived with us for 1 year and 9 months, and left a huge empty spot in our lives. Everyone that knew her loved her. She had friends everywhere. I know she is enjoying all the reunions in heaven but we sure do miss her here.

Signed,

Joan Babcock

Mom's Story - Installment #21

Well, today it's been exactly two years since we lost Mom. I still find myself thinking of things I've got to be sure to tell her, or heading to the phone to give her a call. It's been a little easier this year - as long as I don't think about it too long - (this is probably not helping) but we miss her and wish she was still down here with us.

This is the last post of her story. I wanted to post it on the anniversary of her going home to heaven, and it worked out that way.

We're waiting for hurricane Ike to get here - at least what we're going to get of Hurricane Ike. There's a possibility of high winds and lots of rain, so we'll see what happens this afternoon.

We've had some adventures over the past week or so that I'll try to get busy and tell you about in upcoming days. Hope you enjoy the rest of Mom's story.

****

In May Joan and Bill got two horses for them to ride. They ride whenever they can. We got a telephone call from Butch and Judy and they plan to come for a visit on the 29^th. of May on their way to Lynette’s surprise 60^th. birthday party.

On Mother’s Day we took Okla Kirkpatrick from my Sunday School Class along to the Catfish King restaurant in Idabel after church. We had a good dinner and Okla was glad to have a place to go as her family hat just been to visit so weren’t there on Mother’s Day.

Delores called and said that Sharon said that they were coming to visit the 9^th. or 10^th. of June. Joan and I went to Espye’s on the 16^th. to practice All the players were there and it was good to see all of them again.

May 29^th, 2006 Butch and Judy Schickert came here. We had a really fun time but it was just too short. Maybe they’ll come back again when they can stay longer.

On June 3^rd. Lacie came up to go riding with Bill and Joan. They spent most of the morning and a while in the afternoon riding. They left the horses saddled up as they planned to ride again after supper. I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, and the three of them went riding on a new road behind the church. On the way back, Joan’s horse, Blaze, got poked with a sharp stick and jerked back. Joan fell off and landed on a flat rock on her back. It knocked the wind out of her. Lacie rode Big Guy to the house and left him in the yard and got Joan’s car and went to get her. Bill told Lacie to take the horses to the pasture and he took Joan down to see Debbie, the paramedic who lives in the house by the creek where they used to live. She put oxygen on her face and then they took her to Mena Hospital to see if anything was broken. This was about 9:00 PM. The X-rays showed 6 cracked ribs and they sent her to Ft. Smith in case one punctured a lung. On Sunday morning Bill & I went up to see her, and she was full of pain medicine and couldn’t come home until they saw the doctor. Bill went back up on Monday and she came home Tuesday evening. She was really hurting but could walk OK.

The Adlers and Kannebergs came on the 9^th. and helped a lot with the food and stuff. Joan went to church on Sunday but didn’t play that week. The company stayed unitl the following Wednesday and we had a lot of fun. Sharon and Stan and Bill went fishing a lot, and Delores and Ed and I got to do a lot of visiting. Joan was getting around but slowly. She and Stan played music a couple nights and acted crazy. They made a cassette tape of it for us. They left on Wednesday to go to Gassville by Marty and Sylvia.. They called that they were home on the 18^th.

On Father’s Day Elicia and Phillip came up. They got here on Saturday. When we were doing the supper dishes, a big glass bowl that Elicia was washing slipped out of her hand and when she tried to catch it, it broke and cut her little finger bad. We called Debbie to come and look at it. She cleaned it up and bandaged it, and the next day it was really hurting her a lot. We went out to eat at Mena at the New China. Bill really like that place.

Ann and Kenneth from the singings brought over 2 five gallon pails of sweet corn to freeze. Bill and Joan went to his 50 year class reunion in Heavener, so we did corn the next day.

The week of July 15^th. – 22^nd. Bill and Tommy Phillips took a fishing trip to Colorado. They had a really good time and by this time Joan was well enough to do the feeding of the horses.

On July 22^nd. They took Gary Dupont on the helicopter to the hospital. He fell off a ladder and broke his hip really bad.

Shorty Howard called on Sept. 1^st., 2006 that Danny was in the hospital in Falls Church, VA on life support. She called on the 2^nd. that he had died. Nancy was there and she is going back to Illinois with her for a month or so.

Today, Sept. 9^th., Lacie came up from Texas to ride horses with Bill and spend the night. Around noon today 3 guys from the Octavia Fire department, Steve, and Norman, and Donald, came with a Booster Certificate plaque for their appreciation of what I gave the Fire Department in 2005.

I got news that Doris Donaldson had moved from Lehigh Acres, Florida to Milwaukee. She’s at Luthern Manor in Wauwatosa and is doing well health-wise.

******

Well, that's the last that Mom wrote. In the following post, which I will post in the next few days, I wrote a Final Note to tell you what those last few days were like.

Thanks for reading along with me.

Joan

Mom's Story - Installment #20

Well, I guess it's time for a bit more of the story. Things have been about the same around here. We didn't get a lot of rain off Gustav but did get about 3+ inches - nice and slow so it was a good soaker and was great on the grass seed Bill had just planted.

My poor little Tippy is really getting feeble. She's about totally blind now and runs into the walls and the side of the house when she's outside. Sometimes it looks like she can barely walk but then she'll run across the music room floor when I come in from outside and call her, so I think she's not too cripply yet.

Bill went horseback riding this afternoon for a while and he caught a possum in the feed room. Something has been getting into stuff lately down at the barn, and the cat won't even stay down on the floor - she perches up on the beams. Someone told Bill that if he put something good to eat in the bottom of a plastic trash can and then laid a board up against it so whatever could climb up and get in the can, he wouldn't be able to get back out, and sure enough! This morning he had a possum in the trash can. Hopefully, there aren't anymore down there, but he was going to rebait the can again anyway. I think it was a possum who got the kittens this last time. Mama Kitty was pretty stove up for a while after that encounter. We didn't know if she'd make it or not.

Well, so much for the Octavia Babcock happenings. Here's some more story.

*******

I went to see the hip doctor in Hot Springs, AR the first week in December. He said the hip was shot and would need to be replaced if I was going to walk again. Surgery was scheduled for Dec. 20^th.

On the 17^th. Joan had 10 ladies over for a birthday party. It was a lot of fun and then on the 19^th. we went to Hot Springs to check into the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for early the morning of the 20^th. Pastor Ed got there just before they were going to wheel me in. He stayed with Joan until I was back in my room. Joan stayed in my room with me at the hospital until I could come home. We came home on the 23^rd. of December, the Friday before Christmas.

I couldn’t get out of bed by myself or back in for a couple weeks so Joan had an intercom so she could hear me call when I needed to get up during the night. She had to help me get my feet back into the bed as I couldn’t lift my legs and keep that hip straight.

On Jan. 3^rd. I had my first followup with the doctor and he said all was going well. Went back on the 31^st. and then started seeing the doctor in Mena for the rest of the follow up appointments. The home health girls came to the house to take my blood pressure and take care of the incision. And then a therapist started coming a few times a week for 6 weeks. She made me get up and walk with her holding a belt and I had to do breathing exercises. I didn’t like them.

On April Fool’s day we went to a cake walk and supper at the Octavia Fire Station. I wasn’t going to go, but Joan thought I should get out, and the food was good.

On April 14^th. Joan was 61. Bill got her a vanity table and chair for her room. We went to Smithville for dinner as we were going out on Easter.

Sharon Hadley wrote a note to me that they were heading to Wisconsin but weren’t stopping here. She’s getting her ankle fixed in May.

The Muskego relatives are coming for Easter so that will be fun. They got here Saturday the 15^th. and left on Monday. We had a really good time We went to the Chinese Restaurant – all 7 of us in the Mercury. Sunday was Sharon Anderson’s 55^th. birthday. It was a lot of fun and I can walk with out the cane but I have to be careful.

Joan and Becky Phillips went to Baton Rouge, LA the end of April to see Andre Rieu, and Phillip and Lacie and her friend came up to ride horses. Bill took me to church and came and picked me up, but didn’t go because of the company. Joan got back home around 9:00 PM Sunday night. It was a long weekend without her.

Well, that's the end for this time.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #19

Here is is, the end of August already. Today Bill is 70 years young. I asked him how it felt to be 70 and his answer was, "Not much different than last night when I was 69." Duh! I guess that was a dumb question to start with.

It's time for another part of Mom's story so here it is. We're nearing the end, so I hope you've enjoyed it.

This is October 8^th, 2005. Fall is here but it still feels like summer. I went to the dentist and had my black stomach tooth pulled Friday morning. The dentist said it needed to be pulled before putting in the new partial upper plate. That night we went to a singing at a little Indian church, and then Saturday we went to Idabel to the Free Will Baptist Church where Eden Gospel Bluegrass was playing. We ate afterwards and got home about 10:00 PM. My face was swelled and had a big red spot on it where the tooth was pulled. I got some pain pills that helped and by the next Friday, it was fine.

I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving as Donna and Wil, and Greg and family and Connie are all coming. Connie flew into Ft. Smith and Donna and Wil timed their arrival to pick her up, so they all arrived on Nov. 19^th. It was a really nice day. Greg and Dawn and the girls didn’t get here until the following Monday.

On Tuesday evening the kids gave me a surprise birthday party. Donna got my birthday ring fixed and gave it to me. Dawn and Greg gave me a housecoat, Connie – 4 CD set called “Tuesdays with Morrie”. Joan gave me three star shaped candles to put in my room, and then Donna gave me a box with all the love letters in from Les. After we got done, Bill hooked up the slide projector and we watched a lot of our old slides. It was really fun to see the grandchildren when they were little. Molly and Maddie really got a kick out of that.

Wednesday Bert and Kim came up from Conroe, TX to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had a good Thanksgiving dinner, and then Friday morning after breakfast Greg and family and Donna & Wil left for home. Bert and Kim stayed for lunch and then they left for Texas.

That's it for this time.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #18

Well, it's time once again for some more of Mom's story. We've had some good rain, and now are enjoying some wonderfully cool temperatures. For August in Oklahoma, this is really a BIG deal. We were burning up a couple weeks ago with 100+ temperatures, so this is a welcome relief.

So, enjoy some more of Mom's story. I'm afraid we're getting close to the end.

JB

Now it’s Memorial Day weekend. There’s lots of traffic and we had a nice rain. On Saturday we went to the Italian Fest in McAlester Oklahoma. I called Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hathcoat and they met us there. We had spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. Bill walked around the grounds and Joan and Carolyn looked at the crafts. Tom and I were slow going so we sat under the tent and listened to the bluegrass music and visited. We were glad to see each other. He was glad to meet Bill and Joan also.

I hurt the next day so didn’t do much all day.

On June 5^th. we went to the Octavia Church, and then came home and picked strawberries. We froze a lot and made 3 batches of jam. Then on Tuesday night we went to the monthly singing in Mena. We got home about 10:00 o’clock. Joan is teaching the Books of the Bible at Day Camp. My leg still hurts. Dr, Maxwell gave me some medicine for it and I have to go back in July.

Got a note from Donna that the people didn’t take the farm, and also that Greg and Dawn were in their new house. However, I found out that Tom Wiedmeyer wanted the farm. I was so happy because I wanted him to have it all along. He’d been renting the land from us for a long time already.

The end of August there was a big hurricane in New Orleans. Katrina. I watched the news on TV and it looked so terrible. So many people are out of their homes. One lady came to this area and stayed with us a couple nights while she decided where to go and what to do. Her home was gone and she couldn’t even get back in the area to check on her pets that had to be left behind.

On the 3^rd. of Sept., Sunday afternoon, the helicopter stopped across the road. They loaded a lady from church who had had a massive stroke. They took her to Ft. Smith where she died. I was very sad as I liked Ramona a lot. The funeral was on Wednesday. Joan had to play for it and sing a song.

Well, that's it for this time.

Mom's Story - Installment #17

Well, I haven't posted anything for a couple weeks now. Sorry about that! Last week I was sick and didn't do ANYTHING for a few days. Thankfully, I'm back among the living and about over the cold, snotty nose, croupy cough, etc., etc.

And then last Friday afternoon our pastor's dad died suddenly. He and Bill were pretty good friends and it really hit him hard. We went over to see the family Sunday after church, and then the funeral was this past Wednesday. They lived over in Arkansas just across the Oklahoma line, so it was a good hour's drive from here. They had 12 children, so there was a lot of family at the funeral. It was a very different kind of service, but Ed's dad was a very unique person, and the service suited him perfectly. The sons and grandsons had gotten busy and built his casket out of red cedar planks he had in his workshop. It was all a real labor of love.

So, things have been a little crazy the past couple weeks. School started here yesterday, so now things will get back on schedule somewhat. Hope you enjoy this next part of Mom's story.

Joan

On the first of May, 2005, Joan took me to Wisconsin to get more clothes. I had to sell the farm and move to Oklahoma for good. My back and legs hurt so much and I didn’t pick up my feet far enough so I stumbled over rocks and bumps. So from then on I was living with Joan. That Sunday, May 1^st., after lunch, we drove to Lebanon, MO. and had supper and slept in a Super 8. Had Chinese food at the restaurant across the street. We left in the morning after we had breakfast in the motel, and got to Rockford the middle of the afternoon, and then slept in Illinois. We got to Campbellsport Tuesday afternoon, went to the cemetery, got groceries, and started packing.

The phone didn’t work too good so Joan called Bill on cell phone. We went to the Baptist church on Sunday, Mother’s Day. I treated my family to dinner at the Campbellsport Inn. Greg and Dawn and girls came to dinner also. We had to wait so long to get served. Then we went to the farm to look things over and had Manwich for supper. Donna made a chocolate torte which was very good.

On Monday, May 9^th., 2005 we went to Maddie and Molly’s dance recital. They look like little movie stars. They did well and after the recital we went to see Greg & Dawn’s new place. They just bought it and weren’t moved in yet. It’s big and very nice. The kids have cats to play with.

Tuesday we packed and I went to the doctor and got my pills at the drug store. We kept packing, taking pictures down off the walls, and had lots of company to see our packed boxes. We sent several boxes with UPS.

On Thursday Wil came over and we washed our bedding and then left for Oklahoma at 11:00 AM. I gave Wil the garage door opener that was in my car. We got as far as Bloomington, IL, when the brake cylinder got hot. We had to be towed into a Ford garage for repairs. We stayed at a Super 8 and Friday noon the car was ready to go. It worked fine the rest of the way home.

We got to Oklahoma about 3:00 PM the next day. We were very tired. It took me a week to recuperate. Bill helped unload the car. He had sore knees but worked anyway. Joan made me return address stickers with my new address on them. I had to write lots of notes. By the 20^th. of May we were picking lots of strawberries to eat and freeze.

Donna and Helen Medinger held a big rummage sale up in the hay barn for all the stuff that wasn’t sold to the auction place in Waubeka. Some of the furniture was sold before we left for Oklahoma and the kids all came over and picked out what they wanted to have. The auction and the rummage sale both did real good.

Well, "that's all folks".

Mom's Story - Installment #16

Hello again,

Well, once again this week has flown by. It's a sure sign that you are getting old when yesterday was the 4th. of July and today it's the 22nd. already. I just don't think that we're having THAT much fun.

It's hot, hot, hot down here the past few days. It's always amazing as to how fast everything dries out and the ground starts cracking after just a couple weeks without any significant rain. Even my little zinnia beds were looking pretty dry so got some needed watering last night. And it goes without saying that the tomatoes are demanding water daily. But, they are producing, so we're eating fresh vine-ripened tomatoes every day for lunch and supper.


We closed on the sale of the 32 acres where we had the horses last year and got the hay a few cuttings. We are glad to be out from under that whole thing. Didn't need it in the first place, so were glad we found some young folks who did and do. They have 6 horses down there and are planning to build as soon as they get their house sold, so I think they will be fine neighbors. If we ever decide to quit riding horses, the 17 acres with the barn and pond will be up for sale as well, but we're still enjoying our equines.

Well, here's another piece of Mom's story. I hate to say it, but it's getting toward the end. I know there were so many more things that could have been included in this story, and perhaps with more time, she would have thought of some more stuff from her childhood and earlier years. But, I have what I have and that's all that there is, so that's what you're getting as well.

Hope you are still enjoying it.

****

Donna and Wil always drove us to Oklahoma & to Texas to see Joan and Bill Babcock till Les passed away in Jan. 2000. Joan was already home before he died and Bill drove up from Oklahoma as soon as he heard about Les’s passing. Joan stayed for a month to get paperwork done, and I came back with her and stayed till Palm Sunday in April 2000. Then she drove me home in the 1992 Mercury. Donna took her to the airport in Milwaukee and she flew back to Dallas.

I got two great grandchildren within 5 years, Maddie Helen Peterson and Molly Elizabeth Peterson, and they live in Sheboygan. Lots of parties those years. (Note: she had a great-grandson this past June, but unfortunately never got to know it. I know she would have been as thrilled as we all are.)

In February 2004, I had my left hip out in Mercy Bone Hospital in Oshkosh. Dr. O’Laughlin did this one. Was in the hospital four days and then went to rehab at Lomira Nursing Home for months. Donna and Wil had to take me to the doctor two times and I had lots of company while in Lomira.

After I went home in June, I had lots of hurts and tried lots of stuff but nothing helped. Ruth Weis did my cleaning.

In 2004, after Christmas Joan came up to Milwaukee on Dec. 29^th. and drove me back to Oklahoma, Jan. 2005, for the winter. It was a good trip. In April my legs were lame so it was decided I should not be by myself on the farm.

We went home in May and I came back to live here in Oklahoma with Joan and Bill. I like it here in winter. It’s spring all the time and I can’t expect Joan to come and get me again every fall. She gives piano lessons every day.

Bill gave Joan a surprise 60^th. birthday party at the Fellowship Hall at the church. A lot of people came. Bill bought cake and ice cream for 100 people. It was fun. Two days after the party, on Friday, Martin and Sylvia and Gary Adler came. We had a great visit and they left on Saturday at 11:00 AM. It was nice weather – 76 degrees.

The garden Bill fixed for me was coming up but it didn’t grow very fast. By the end of May the strawberries were ripe and Bill put netting over the patch to keep the crows from eating them and there are lots. We ate strawberries every day as much as we wanted and still had some for freezer jam. Delicious!!!

Well, that's it for this time.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #15

My, my, my, my!!!! Where does the time go? It seems like just a day or two ago that I last posted another bit of Mom's story, and here it has been a week already. I really don't think that I've been that busy, but the days seem to fly by. It's gotten hot, but we've got a little rain along, so that helps.

We went riding this morning on an all-new spot. About a two hour ride I guess, and that was plenty. The sun was under clouds for most of the morning so that made it very pleasant. I wish I could tell you something hilarious that happened but nothing really did. The most excitement I had was when Blaze decided to jump a little ditch thing rather than wade through it like the lead horse did. I thought he'd just walk on through it as well, but, no, he decided that JUMPING over it was the way to go. Needless to say, I wasn't really expecting that so got a really good adjustment. Why pay a chiropractor when a horseback ride or two can do the same thing. I heard things crack in my neck that haven't cracked for a long time, but it feels really good, so I guess all is well.

One of the funniest things that happened was last week when Lacie was here. We went riding with a couple of our friends who gave us quite a trip. On the way back down the far side of the mountain, we came upon a black snake by the edge of the road. Tommy showed it to everyone and then proceeded to walk his horse right on top of it. It took off and then doubled back and wound right around Lacie's horse's left front leg. I don't even think she saw it, and I'm sure her horse didn't see it. He just walked right out of it. Good thing it wasn't a rattle snake or copper head. That's the first snake I've ever seen on the trail since we've been riding. This morning we came across two deer and two fawns so that was nice.

Well, here's some more of Mom's Story.

Enjoy.

***************

On Dec. 20^th., 1997, Joan and Donna gave me a surprise 80^th. birthday party at Bublitz restaurant in Lomira. Donna and Wil and Greg and Dawn and Connie and Les and I were all planning to go out for dinner for my birthday. When we got to the restaurant, they took us to the back room and there were a lot of the relatives and friends and neighbors all yelling “Surprise!!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. My sister Jane and brother Herb and his wife were there, and Stan and Sharon, and lots of nieces and nephews and their families. And so many neighbors were there as well. It was really a shock.

I started walking through the guests hugging them and laughing, and all at once I came up one aisle and there was Joan with her video camera. I was SO surprised!!! I had no idea that she was going to be home. We had a really good meal, and the girls got me a cake, and give me a necklace with the number 80 in gold letters all embedded with diamonds. Bill and Joan’s son-in-law, Phillip Stone, made the necklace for me. It was really beautiful.

After we finished eating, Joan read a poem titled “Now That You’re 80”. and Donna and Connie sang “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love”. Then Joan sang a song she’d written for me called “Out on Howard’s Farm”. She played it on her autoharp and Donna played her guitar. It was to the tune of “Out Behind the Barn”. It was funny. Jane even started dancing around the tables. That’s always been her song. And she sang another song with her autoharp called “Mother Is Special”. She had everyone crying.

I got some really nice gifts, and when Donna mailed out the invitations, she put a little note paper in each one asking them to write down something special they remembered about knowing me. There were lots of those little notes in the box. They made me cry. It was a really nice surprise party, and then Joan stayed up in Wisconsin through Christmas. Bill didn’t come along, so she drove up herself.

******************

Well, that's it for this time.
JB

Mom's Story - Installment #14

Well, it's time for another installment of Mom's Story. These weeks sure seem to fly by. We've had a busy one, but will save that for another post. Enjoy Mom's story.

In September of 1987, Joan and Donna along with Leslie and Randy Miller, the preacher at the 1^st. Baptist Church, surprised us with a 50^th anniversary party at the Gazebo in Fond du Lac, WI. The kids came to church with us that morning and the girls even sang, and then we came back home till it was time to go out to eat. Wil and Bill both put on wigs and acted silly. We’ve got good pictures of the son-in-laws with hair.

Then we left to go to Fond du Lac to eat. The girls were taking us someplace special since it was for our 50^th anniversary. I had wanted to have a party and invite the relatives but Les didn’t want one. When we got there, they led us back to a back room and there were all the people from church, and Bucky and his family, and Sharon and Tom and other old friends and relatives. What a surprise.

Les wasn’t too sure he liked the idea but after we ate and the girls sang some special songs for us, and he had a chance to visit with lots of the old neighbors who were there, he was pretty happy we had a party.

It was a really good time and we got some nice Golden Anniversary gifts. When we got home, Randy and Leslie came to the house afterwards and we had supper and a good visit.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #13

Boy! Time sure flies when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday that I was posting part #12 of Mom's story and here another week is already gone.

Our granddaughter, Lacie, is up from Dallas for the week so I imagine she and Bill will be doing a lot of horseback riding. I'm sure I'll do some, but it usually takes me a few days to recover between rides, so if I do 2 I'll be doing good. They've already made one while I was a church tonight. (little heathens!) They did have supper on the table when I got home though, so that was good!


So, here's the next part of Mom's story. Hope you enjoy the read.

After Joan and Donna could drive, we went to my parents 50^th anniversary and Stanley’s wedding in Humbird in 1965.

Joan’s wedding was in 1967 and Donna’s in 1969. Both took place while I was working at the school. We got the flowers at the Kewaskum florist, and had the receptions at Nonn’s at Forest Lake. Dinners were $1.25 a plate. The Julida Boys played for Donna’s wedding.

Les’s cousin’s son, Danny Howard, who lived in Arlington, VA, started coming to the farm every summer to help with the yard work and garden and picking cherries, and other chores. He started coming when he was 11 and came every year until he was 16 when he could get work in Virginia.

Donna drove me to Dick and Kathy Adler’s wedding in Illinois. When Donna worked in West Bend factory, she and I flew to Seattle Washington to visit Joan and Bill Mertz for a week in 1969. The three of us went to Victoria, British Columbia on a big ship for a day trip. Joan and Bill took us all over. Joan took us over a mountain and I was afraid, but Joan drove all over the most. Bill was in the service. On Sunday he drove to Mt. Rainier Park. It was great and we went to Snoquomish Falls to see that. We also went west to the Pacific Ocean and walked on the beach. This was the first time we had Kentucky fried chicken in a box. It was so good. We ate outside.

On Nov. 29, 1969 Donna married Willard Peterson in the Fillmore church. They went to Florida on their honeymoon and bought nice sea shell gifts and cuckoo clock for Christmas gifts. They settled in Plymouth and had Greg in October 1970. Then the moved to Waubeka in 1971 and bought a house on Tagay-Tay Terrace. In August of 1972 they had Connie. Lots of good visits there with all of them.

They celebrated their 25^th. wedding anniversary in Nov. 1994. All the relatives and friends came.

Well, we'll leave the story at this point since she's got both of us married off, and wait till next week for more of the story.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #12

Boy! This week really flew by. I "VBS'd" all week and seems like any extra time was non-existent. But it was great fun. I may put a px of this "old aged actress" on the previous blog but I was much better in "real life". Ha!
Thought it was time for the next installment so here it is. I visited with Aunt Dee this weekend and she's been able to access the blog as well so welcome, Auntie. Always nice to know you all are enjoying the site.

Les taught me to drive the 1929 Durant before we were married. He stopped on 67 over the railroad track and got out and said, “You can drive home” and he told me what to do. And that was the beginning. From then on I could drive tractor and all the cars we had.

There was a ’36 Chevrolet, ’49 Ford, ’55 Olds, ’73 Chevrolet, and a 1985 Olds. We went to Texas and Oklahoma with that one, and in 2000, Joan drove me down to Oklahoma and left the Olds there, and we came home with a 1992 Mercury Grand Marquis.

I worked at West Bend Aluminum Factory dropping screws in handles and welding electrical wiring on the bottom of large coffee pots. When I had to join the union, I quit and got a job sewing at Gilbert Shoe Factory in Campbellsport. I worked there and rode with Delores Zern. Earl Streen was the boss, Mrs. Rayjack was floor lady and knew I was making many mistakes, so I quit, and Les went to work at Grafton. The girls and I did the night chores.

After he was done at Grafton, I worked in the kitchen at Campbellsport School for 17 years. Sadie Mathers was the office girl and planned the meals. It was nice. I liked it. I made yeast rolls, pie crusts, pizza crusts, cakes, cookies, and frostings. Met Ruth Weis there. We are still friends.

Well, we leave the story here for this time. I'll try to get a couple of Mom's good recipes added before too long.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #11

Hi all -
Guess it's about time for another "Mom's Story" installment. Hope everyone had a happy Father's Day with their dads or kids or whatever. After church we went out for Chinese (doesn't that sound cosmopolitan - "out for Chinese"?) and then came home and Bill indulged one of his fantasies - playing with fire and not getting burned. We had 7 or 8 big brush piles down in the pasture by the barn, and have been trying to get them burned for a few weeks now. So, yesterday was the day. We have piles of ash now, but no brush - so things are looking better.

Enjoy this new installment.

We finally got a TV in 1951. On Nov. 23, 1963, President Kennedy was riding in a motorcade down thru Dallas, TX and was shot. We saw all that on TV and watched the horse-drawn carriage take him to the cemetery in Arlington, VA. Mrs. Lake and Mom Howard were visiting us that day on the farm, and they were very sad.

On Labor Day weekend in 1962, all my brothers and sisters and Dad and Ma Adler surprised us for our 25^th. Anniversary. They came with campers, and parked in the yard, slept on the floors and couches in the house, and it was a lot of fun. Les wasn’t too happy about it because he still had to get up in the morning and do chores, and everyone stayed up late at night playing Sheephead and making music and dancing. We moved the dining room table out of the way, and danced in the dining room on the hardwood floor. It was a really good time. (This picture is the family sitting out under the trees in the yard next to the house).

When I was 40 years old, I had my veins stripped at St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend. Dr. Edwards from Kewaskum did the surgery.

In 1989, I had gall bladder surgery at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac on Election Day, Nov. 6^th. Dr. VanBeek and Dr..Ebbon did the surgery.

In 1990, I had my right hip replaced. It was on March 27^th. at Theda Clark. Dr. Kennedy, a bone specialist in Appleton, WI did the surgery. Joan came home from Arkansas for two weeks to be with Dad. Then Delores came and stayed a couple weeks until I could walk and Les was the therapist.

We watched Prince Charles and Princess Diana get married on July 29, 1981. It was a gorgeous wedding. We also watched the men go to the moon, which was very exciting to see. A few years later, the space shuttle Challenger went up and we saw it blow up in the air. Eight crew members lost their lives. One was a teacher, and all her students were watching as well. It was a very sad day for the country.

Ed Geen from Pittsville, WI got caught for murdering several people and was put in jail for life. Jeffrey Dalmer did the same thing and died in jail.

****

Well, we'll close for this week.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #10

Here's the next part of Mom's story. I tried put her story in some semblance of chronological order, but some of her memories just kind of popped in as she was writing, so I left them as they were. You'll get the idea.
Hope you are still enjoying her memories as much as I am.
Joan

Mom Howard kept foster kids, and 2 of the boys and one girl stayed with her until they graduated and got married. One of the boys, Ronald Dean, went in the service for 2 years. Then when he got out, he came back and stayed with us while he worked at Gehl’s in West Bend. He got killed about a half of a mile from the farm in a car accident on Hwy. 67. It was April 1957. It was so sad as those kids were very close to Les and me.

I got the girls raised and they went to Campbellsport School until graduation. They rode the

school bus and when they came home, I’d have supper ready ‘cause they would be hungry. What a joy to have them home again.

Watching for the school bus was a job. When it left the neighbor’s house about ¼ mile down the road, we could see it. Then it was time to hurry to get down to the end of the driveway. I always enjoyed going to school programs and mother/daughter banquets. How proud I was.

Joan’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Twohig and when she broke her leg tobogganing on Jaeger’s hill, her teacher sent her assignments home with Johnny Dieringer for 6 weeks. She had to go to the hospital and they put a cast on her leg up to her hip. After 6 weeks, she got a walking cast. While she was in bed, Mrs. Twohig brought a nice plate of homemade cookies called Double Treats.

The two girls played in the school band, and I was so proud of them learning their notes and playing.

When Joan and Donna were in high school, they sang “How Great Thou Art” at Mrs. Daisy Long;s sister’s funeral at the Baptist Church in Campbellsport. They did well.

Then came proms. Both got new dresses. Joan got to be Prom Queen in 1962 and Karl Ketter was Prom King. Les and I had to be sponsors. That was the first Prom I ever attended.

Well, that's about it for this time.

Till next week.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #9

Well, hello again. It's time for another "Mom's Story" installment so here it is. This one is a little shorter than most, but there just was a good breaking point. Enjoy the continuing adventures of Helen Gertrude Adler Howard.

When we got our 1949 Ford, Les and I took a trip to Minnesota to see John and Vivian Yancey.
Donna was only one year old and Mom Howard and Dad came from Fond du Lac and stayed on the farm to take care of things. I got lonesome for the girls so we came home soon, but Donna didn’t know me. Joan was 4 and she was glad to see Mom and Dad. I told Les right then, "No more trips without the girls." and we didn't.

Joan started accordion lessons when she was 7 years old. We bought an accordion from Gigante Music and Shirley Polzean was her teacher. There were six or eight kids taking lessons when she started, so Shirley started a small accordion band, and it was good.

When Donna was about 5 or 6, we bought her a snare drum. She got really good on it and could play with Joan real nice. One fall Shirley took Joan and Donna to the Slinger Fair to play together – Joan on her accordion and Donna on her drum. I couldn’t go to hear them as it was milking time, but Shirley said they did good. One of the legs on Donna’s drum stand broke right in the middle of one of their songs, and the drum fell. So she had to prop it back together to keep going.

We had a group of neighbors that got together every so often for a card club. When it was our turn to have everyone over at our house, the girls always had to entertain. They would play and sing and everyone really enjoyed it. They really made Les proud with their music. Years later, whenever the family got together, they would sing and Les would sit there smiling. My favorite song for them to sing was "Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" because Les's hair was snowy white in later years.


******

Well, that's about it for this post.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #7

Well, I guess it's time for another story installment. I can't believe it's the weekend already.


Bill and I went horseback riding in a new area this morning and it was GREAT! Loaded the horses into the trailer and went south about 18 miles. There's a really nice trail to ride that parallels the highway, and best of all - No Motorized Vehicles Allowed. That means no noisy little 4-wheelers coming up behind you and spooking the horses. Guess all we have to worry about is a deer or turkey jumping out in front of us. THAT'S why I hang on pretty tight when I 'm riding now. I DO NOT want to see the inside of a CAT - Scan anytime soon again.


So, here's installment #7. Enjoy! Last time Ma was extolling the joys of a combine over a thrashing machine to harvest the grain.

When the oats was ripe enough to thrash, Les went through with the combine. It cut the stalks, thrashed out the grain into a hopper on the combine, and dropped the straw in rows in the field. When the hopper was full, it was unloaded into a gravity box on a wagon. Then it was pulled to the granary and dumped for the auger to go up into the grain bin. Now it was a two-man job. When the girls got old enough to drive the little jitney, hauling grain was their job.

The oats was used for ground feed for the cows and chickens. It was put in bags and taken to the elevator in town where it was ground, then put back in the bags to take home.

Corn was cut with a corn binder that was pulled with two horses. It was pulled down one row and cut and bundled – tied with twine, and dropped on the ground. Horses were pulling a wagon in the next row and farmers were putting the bundles on the wagon all laying the same way to make it easier to unload. Then the load was taken to the silo filler which was a machine run with the tractor that took the bundle, cut it in small pieces and blew it into the pipe that went to the top of the silo.

We did load after load of bundles until the silo was full of chopped corn. Then the rest was put on a pile on the ground outside next to the silo. This chopped corn was called silage and was used to feed the cows.

Then Les got a job at Press Steel Tank in West Allis, so we moved to a cute little house on 71^st. St. & Bluemound Road. It was my first house and was I happy. Les walked to work on the 3^rd. shift.

When his Dad needed help putting in the crops, we would go up every weekend and help. One time I stayed a week until the planting was done. I drove the tractor for Dad Howard, and then in March of 1940, Les quit Press Steel and we moved back to run the farm with his folks. We did it on shares until 1943 when his Mom and Dad moved to Fond du Lac.

To be continued next week.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #6

Here's Mom and Dad's wedding picture - October 2, 1937. I never remember seeing Daddy with that dark hair - he really had a head full.


And now, another episode in the continuing saga of Helen Adler Howard.

I was 19 when Les and I got married in the parsonage at the First Baptist Church in Campbellsport. It was October 2, 1937. My sister Jane was my matron of honor and Les’s brother, Don, was the best man. We wore deep blue velvet dresses. Later, I made little dresses for the girls from my dress.

We lived with his folks on the Howard farm on Hwy. 67 until 1940. We helped raise sugar beets. They were planted in rows like potatoes in spring. When they were big enough to thin them out, we had to hoe out some and leave two or three plants in a clump. When they big enough for thinning again, had to get on knees and leave one plant to grow big.

In early fall, we had to dig ‘em loose and lift ‘em out so we could top them and put them in the wagon. We had to go between the rows and throw them in a pile – so many in each pile. Then they were topped. You picked them up with left hand, and had a big knife to chop off the tops.

The horses would pull the wagon across the field till there was a load. Then they were taken to town to the train to go to the sugar beet factory. I think it was in Green Bay. Before loading in the train boxcar, the load was weighed. After the beets had been put in the box car the empty wagon was weighed again. Got paid by the weight.

Les also raised peas for the factory in Eden. Around June or July the peas had to be harvested. Pea cutters would come in and peas were hauled to the pea viner on Hwy. 67. We had to have men help with that. When they came we had to cook a meal for them. Three or four would help each other, like thrashing oats.

During thrashing, we would have 10 to 12 neighbors to help. Neighbor ladies would help cook in the house. It went like that for many years.

Farmers had grain binders that put the grain stalks in bundles and dropped them on the ground. Men would have to shock the bundles, heads up, until it was dry enough for thrashing.

Then the thrashing machine would come. The oats would go in bags and the straw would blow out a pipe on a stack. One man would shape the stack and 5 or so would carry full bags to the granary and dump ‘em in the grain bin. It was hard, dusty work. Some years the grain would be rusty, and then it was very dry and dusty work. All ten would come in for dinner and supper.

I was never so happy than when combines were made to do the grain.

Well, I think that's about all for this time. Hope you're enjoying the story.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #5

Well, I guess you are ready for "more of the story" so here's another piece of it. Enjoy!

When I was 17 in 1935, I came to Campbellsport to work for my Aunt Ann Jaeger for room and board and what she could afford. She needed help and Aunt Nell didn’t. Aunt Nell had kids as old as me. They took me to the Northwestern train to go to Campbellsport. Aunt Ann got me and I was there until I was 19 years old. She had 7 children and worked with Uncle Jerry in the garage. And she cooked for Jerry’s father – too much for her to do alone.

She got her gallon of milk for the day every morning at Alfred Howard’s farm. So every morning I would walk to the farm across the road and get the milk. Sometimes I would wait till he had some cows milked and the milk strained to put in my gallon pail. One day I asked Aunt Ann if that old man did the milking alone and she said that he had a son, Leslie, who worked with him on the farm.

Ann took her family to church and I went with them. One night during Lent, Les came into Jerry’s Garage to talk to the workers and Al Krueger said, “Ann’s niece from Marshfield is in the house taking care of her kids”, so I finally met Les.

He asked me if I could dance, and, as soon as Lent was over, we went dancing. We went dancing a lot We went together until my Aunt Linda wrote to my Ma. She needed me to work for her as she had a baby girl named Mary. So I was with her till she was able to do her own work. Then I got a different job at Mayhew’s on Bluemound Road.

When I worked in Milwaukee, I missed Les. I went with my two aunts, Gertrude and Margaret, to Eagles Ballroom to dances. When I got my Christmas cards that Mom sent me that I’d gotten at home, there was a card from Les, (as well as one from Rueben and one from Tommy). and I was so happy. I wrote and sent my address to him, and he looked me up one Sunday afternoon. We were so glad to see each other.

Les would come to see me almost every Sunday. When he got tired of driving to Milwaukee with his 1929 Durant, he and I got married.

****

Well, we'll leave the happy couple at this point, and continue the story next week.

JB

Mom's Story - Installment #4

I went from Milwaukee to Menasha to live with Aunt Nell, as Big Grandma was afraid I’d go with non-catholic boys – which I did. But only to their house. No dances or driving around. No cars for young kids those days. Reuben Axelson was my first boyfriend and we’d got to his house and play the Victrola. One record was “I Found A Million Dollar Baby in the 5 & 10 Cent Store” and we played it over and over.

Then my parents moved to Arpin. There I went to Tommy Welch’s house and played ball with all kinds of kids. It was fun. For Christmas Tommy gave me a new dress. It was way too big, but when I went to Aunt Nell’s, she made it to fit. No more Tommy. He was too far away. No letter writing either. No one could afford to write.

When I was 17, I went to Milwaukee to work for Aunt Linda and Uncle Ray Ushold while she was in the hospital to have her veins removed from her leg. While I was there, I got other jobs working for some other people. My Grandpa Adler and my Dad would take me to Milwaukee to work for Aunt Linda.

Grandpa Martin Adler passed away in 1936. There weren’t funeral homes then where bodies were shown, so till the day of Mass, he was in the house on Adler Road where he’d lived. The people came for visitations at the house all day and evening. I’d never seen a person in a coffin before and I was very sad and I cried. My Dad took me in another room so people wouldn’t see me crying. Grandma was in the kitchen making fried potatoes for all the family from Milwaukee that had stayed there for a couple days.

I learned to keep house from working for ladies in Milwaukee. They would inspect my work when I had Thursday afternoons off and then would have a list of what I had to do on Fridays. When they had women over, I had to serve them. They’d have a salad and yeast rolls. I made butter horns or parkerhouse rolls. I got good recipes from Mrs. Bryan.

On Thanksgiving Day, I would go to my Aunt Gert and Uncle Jim Gildernick’s and we would have a frozen river and snow banks in November. We’d slide down hills with sleighs and go to the river to ice skate. I didn’t have skates, just my rubber boots. I had lots of fun.

When it was summer, I went to Grandma Croell’s (big grandma) and helped her with housework. She had an old organ we could play to make music and an old Victrola and records. Aunt Nell and Uncle Alex came from Menasha to visit and stay at Grandma’s. I’d have to go home, and I didn’t want to. Aunt Nell and Uncle Alex brought a box of candy bars for her three sisters’ families and that was a treat for Aunt Gert and Sophie and Ma. They all thanked them.

Uncle Alex had a tavern and dance hall in Menasha. We all thought he was rich. He drove a swell car, had nice clothes, and a big house. We never got to visit them as Dad was farming so he couldn’t get away, and no car to go that far.

*******
Well, "that's all folks" for this time. There'll be another installment next weekend.

JB

Mom's Story - 3rd. Installment

Mom's SHere's another installment of Mom's story. I have it all laid out to print in book form and I believe I'm up to 125 to 130 pages, in that layout. I'm up to page 11 in what I've already posted here on the blog, so you can see there's a lot more to come.

I hope that you are enjoying the read as much as I enjoyed typing it up from her notes and proofing it a little. I thought she did a really good job remembering, considering she didn't start until she got down here, so would have been 87 years old. She was a sharp little lady.

Enjoy.....

I was the oldest and was to watch the younger kids and do the dishes. If Ma and Dad would be gone over dinner, I would have to make lunch – milk toast or graveyard stew. Hot milk over toast with sugar sprinkled on it. No butter. Graveyard stew was canned tomatoes put over toast or toast broken in tomatoes when it was hot. Sometimes hot canned tomatoes with macaroni in.

When Ma was home for lunch we’d have pancakes or fried cornmeal mush with Karo syrup on it. No maple syrup. Only people who made maple syrup could have it. Ma would make vegetables out of the garden. It was my job to peel them and cut them up. She also would make fried or canned meat and we’d have cake. I could mix up a cake when I was in 4^th. grade and it would be good. We had plenty of home canned food.

Our parents made it go in hard depression times. When I was 14, I went to work for ladies who had new babies. I would have to cook meals and wash clothes while the lady was sick. I did that for $3.00 a week and could get new shoes that I needed, or I gave it to Ma and she’d get what I needed.

School vacations were fun because I could go barefooted until Sunday. Then had to put shoes on for church, and we always had to go.

When I was 16, I went to Milwaukee and worked for people for $5.00 a week. I hired out to a family who needed someone to keep house and watch the older children when there was a new baby. Then at 17, I got $7.00 a week, and I could manage and save some for myself. I could go on city buses all over town and wasn’t afraid of going anywhere on the rapid transit car to visit people I knew from up north on my Thursday off work.

I had to go to the dentist to get my teeth filled. I had toothaches, and he did all the teeth that needed filling.

***********

Well, we'll stop this time with the dentist. I still find it hard to believe that you could actually save money and do stuff on $7.00 a week. Now that'll barely buy two gallons of gas. Isn't that depressing!?!?!

Till next time.
JB

Mom's Story - 2nd. Installment

Here's another bit of Mom's story. Enjoy!

My parents had 4 children under 6 years old - a boy named Cyrell, sister Jane, brother Martin and sister Vivian - before we moved to Granton. We kids all spent our winter in Marshfield having whooping cough. We had to be quarantined, and when the baby buggy with baby Vivian would move, the older children would call mother or shake the buggy fast so she could get her air.

Dad would take us to school in the sleigh when it was too cold to walk the mile and a half to the one room schoolhouse. The school had a wood heater for warmth and the teacher would put a kettle of bean soup on top of it so we could have hot soup for lunch with our cold sandwiches. Those sandwiches were made with homemade bread that Ma baked and were filled sometimes with corn syrup and sometimes with peanut butter from the store.

All of us kids grew up and graduated from 8th. grade. We had to go to Neilsville, WI to write the exam and get diplomas. We were in a one-room school thru all 8 grades.

When I was 10 years old I went to the Neilsville hospital to have my tonsils and adnoids out and had to stay one night. Dr. Rath from Granton was my doctor.

I was 12 years old when I was confirmed in St. John's Catholic Church in Chili, Wisconsin. Ma made me a white dress and white headband to wear.

When I was 14 years old, I worked for Paul Garbish and they took me with their family to the Clark County Fair. There at the fair they gave airplane rides and they let me ride with one of their kids. It was my first ride in a plane. The pilot saw that I was afraid, and the family watched the plane go up. The pilot did all kinds of dips and curves, and when I screamed, he laughed and did some more. I thanked him for the ride. All the people wondered why he was doing that in the air. I almost fainted when we got out. I didn’t have another plane ride until June of 1969 when I flew with Donna to Seattle, WA to visit Joan and Bill Mertz.

Grandpa Adler would bring a large bag of peanuts in the shells for all of us at Christmas. No gifts or cash. Dad would go to the tree farm and get a tree to put up on Christmas Eve. We all got pencils or something like an apple for Christmas. There were no lights on the tree, but maybe some candles. Then Dad would stand and watch it in case the candles got too close to the needles and the tree would catch fire.

Well, that's all for this time. Things were sure different in the "old" days, weren't they?
JB