Some things I remember about our family:

We always lived in big houses - busy, noise, lots of music and lots of people.  Mom was always around.  She was washing clothes or ironing, or cooking, or sewing, or something.  It was only in her later years that I saw her take an occasional nap.  I don’t recall ever seeing her just sitting - doing nothing.

Dad loved to read, but I guess as he was older his eyes would be too tired, so he would ask Mom to read to him.  I think reading aloud is hard work - but she did it to please him.

He wanted the best for his kids.  Most of us had piano lessons.  R. D. Henry was my teacher.  I didn’t enjoy practicing so of course would never have been a concert pianist.  Florence and Ruth had violin lessons and some had voice lessons, so there was always some kind of music.  Dad would have liked us to be interested in sports (probably so we would be less interested in boys) but none of us seemed to be.

Our social life was the church.  We all went to Sunday School, morning church, NYPS, and evening church.  We also went to Wednesday night prayer meeting and nightly during revival meetings.  I would sometimes go to the altar right away during revival meetings to keep people from gathering around to get me to go.  I really didn’t like people pushing or touching me or breathing on me.  Lynne, you would understand that.  When God invites you how different it all is.

Mom made our clothes remodeled either from hand-me-downs, or from new material.  My first job was baby sitting.  I believe the lady paid  10 cents an hour and I used most of my earnings to buy fabric.  If some of us didn’t think our new clothes were fitting well, Mom would say it would be okay after it was pressed - and I guess it was.

When we lived in Twin Falls, Idaho,  I remember spending a lot of time around bushels of pie cherries, pitting them so Mom could can them.  Of course we ate plenty before they reached the jars.  We also ate blue plums and left seeds wherever we were.  Mom didn’t like that very well.

Florence and Ruth kept Mom’s hair permed and set.  They were good to see to that.  They also fixed the rest of our hair and sometimes the neighbors.

I don’t think Milton was spoiled.  He was more of a loner because he was the only boy and of course his interests were different.  We all thought he was special.

As is usual I think, we fussed a lot - not physical, just verbal.  I don’t know how Mom could stand us.  I guess she was so busy trying to survive she didn’t have time to listen to the squabbles.  I remember how shocked I was when I was older and saw two girls actually fighting.  I thought only boys did that.

The older sisters always seemed to have boy friends around.  When Mary was getting married, I remember she spent hours sewing miles of white ruffle curtains for her first apartment.

Dad’s advice when we went somewhere was, “If you act as well as you look, you will do all right.”  I hope we all did - at least most of the time.

Dad gave us one penny for every fly we killed. 

We got a  nickel if we would rub his feet when he came home from work. 

Lynne Remembers:
Mom and Dad and I stayed with Esther and Paul one summer during General Assembly.  It was hot and my feet were swollen and hurt so bad in my new beige high heels that I cried.  (Didn’t matter if it was 110 degrees, you were required to wear a girdle, nylons, dress and limp along in your high heels even if you were only 15 or 16 years old...Ouch!)
Esther worked at “Headquarters.”  I laugh  because my Mom laughed.  She could not say Esther’s name without calling her “Esther Lester.”  This sent us through the whole alphabet (i.e.,  Asther, Bester, Cester, Dester, Esther, Fester, Guesster, Hester, Jester, Kester, Lester, Mester, Nester, Pester, Quester, Rester, Sester, Tester, Vester, Wester, Yester, Zester).  Mom always got so tickled that it was worth going from A-Z.  She enjoyed Esther’s phone calls.
Esther is  good to everyone, and she hates to be touched.  (Smile, is that where I get it?)

Gail Remembers:
Flannel graphs in her apartment in the basement of Grams in Nampa.
Quiet love (and lots of it!) 
Simply doing the hard things that people need done for them - the hand up when you’re broken.

Barb Remembers:
I remember visiting her family when I was around 12.  She had a “fall” wig I loved wearing.  I had fun with her kids.  Esther cheerfully told (over and over) one of those kids the story of what happened when they fell out of a moving car.

Lois Remembers:
Not much patience for haggling about trifles – on to the point!!  Generous, kind, wise, long-suffering.  My Sis!

Robin Remembers:
Esther was my famous aunt who worked at “Headquarters.”  She was married to my famous uncle who “made a record!”

Diane Remembers:
Religious – worked for the church.  The softest spoken of the siblings until this 2000 reunion.  While trying to learn to bead, she was having a hard time and she leaned over to me and said quietly, “          , and I mean it!”

Copyright © 2003-2008 Phil Frisk
Last modified: March 31, 2008