Ruth Says

Mother and Dad were scholars and teachers – always learning and the teaching us and others.  What a grand heritage!  Dad was sought after for counsel and advice.  Mary’s response to it was “he’s always right.”  They were very devoted to each other.  They tried to give us the very best in outstanding living and education.

Mom was such a good Mother and never complained and we just took it for granted.  She was pregnant most of the time and I thought she was cute that way.  There was always a pan of leftovers on the back of the stove. (Never mind putting them away.  Someone was always hungry.)

When I came home from school, the frozen clothes would often be on the clothesline. Mom would have hot, fresh bread baking. I had to bring the frozen clothes and then I could have the heel of bread and butter.

The four older girls made up a Gardiner quartet.  We sang for schools and churches and travelled to sing for businessmen’s luncheons and funeral parlors.  Florence played the violin and I played the piano, and we did piano and violin duets.   We traveled all one summer and were all anxious to get home to see our boyfriends, but Dad found out there was going to be a Gardiner Reunion in the park in Joplin, Missouri.  We had to go to the reunion to sing before we got to go home.  There were a lot of twins and triplets as that Gardiner reunion.

Dad would come in late from traveling (about 9:00-9:30 PM) and turn the radio on to listen to  “Amos and Andy” and “Lum and Abner.”  Mother had two favorite shows, “Old Ma Perkins” and “Myrt and Marge.”

Some fond memories were the “party life” atmosphere that goes with being a large family of young people so close in age.  Sundays were always filled with church activities and a big dinner, usually of roast beef or pork or chicken, noodles and vegetables, and always pie and cake.  Weekdays, Mother would make little tart pies baked in muffin tins – chocolate cream, butterscotch, coconut cream, fruit, and so forth.  She made all kinds of candies, cookies, and always yummy hot bread, just out of the oven. 

I loved to clean the house and keep it neat.  Dad was warm-blooded so he would come home and tie the curtains in a knot in the middle of the window and run around in his BVD’s to get “air.”   Never mind he was “messing up” the curtains.  Oh well, it was his home.

            Mother would make up the feather beds and fluff them as high as she could get them.   The first kid  by the bed just couldn’t resist and would jump in the middle of the fluff.  Mother made all of us velvet boots and shoes - moccasins with high tops and a tie in the front.  Sometimes she would put cardboard in the soles.  Dad would bring business machines home for Mom to make fitted covers for them.

Mom made Betty a whole house full of doll furniture one year for Christmas.  She made the pieces out of wood, stained them, lined and made cushions and pillows.

Mary, Ruth and Florence all married about the same time, and had the first grandchildren about the same time, thus starting the second generation.

One of Mom’s favorite admonishments was “Be sure your sins will find you out.”  Nineteen years of life packed us with memories and lessons learned, and helped launch us into our own lives.

Ruth Says About Her Family

Phil and Judy live in Grand Junction, Colorado.  They also have a dome home that Phil built in Winter Park, Colorado.  Phil worked for IBM for 15 years and retired when he was 37.  They are  retired now and both are artists.  Phil has gotten into agriculture and has several acres that he farms (beautifully landscaped, rock gardens, grapes, fruit trees and flowers).  Lately he has been riding around with the police to see what their life is all about.  When Ruth asked if he was every going to stop trying something new, he said “probably not.”  Phil’s web site is: philfrisk.com and the web site for  Phil and Judy's art is: www.friskart.com.

Larry and Kay live in Sandy, Utah.  Kay has retired after 34 years of teaching and insurance company work.  They have a son, David who has a 2-year-old son, Kody.  Larry has thought about retiring but loves what he does (manufacturing engineer for an aero space company for the last 33 years). 

Marilyn keeps busy as Mom to her two daughters (ages 13 and 21).  She is a paralegal in the Denver area and has recently moved into a new home.

Kathie works part-time for a lady in advertising.  She and her husband have one daughter, Jacquie (named after Kathie’s twin) who will be a junior in high school next year.  Ruth babysat her until she was about eight years old.  Every morning they spent about 2 ½ hours going to the library, reading, going to lunch and playing music.  As a freshman in high school Jacquie was voted  “Who’s Who” and again in her sophomore year (very unusual to be voted in for two consecutive years).

Jacquie works for the Denver Board of Realtors.  She has recently remarried and moved into a new home.

Lynne Remembers:
It seemed like a long way from our house in Nampa to Ruth’s farm but we went often. The house had a furnace grate in the floor.   We were cautioned not to play near it because it got hot enough to burn the “grate” impression on your legs if you fell onto it.  Phil and Larry had a unicycle  ( I never did get the hang of it, but I did see Milton ride it once).  Seems like Phil had a butterfly collection.  I really didn’t think sticking pins in their wings seemed like such fun, but Phil probably didn’t think it was such fun for me to be fiddling with his collection either.   When  her family lived in Fife (near Tacoma) we drove to see them about once a week.  Larry and I had “burping” contests while eating bags of “broken bars” from the Brown and Haley candy factory (weren’t they about 69 cents a bag?) We laughed hysterically - I have no idea what was so funny, we usually both ended up feeling sick!  Larry and I thought everything was funny in those days.   He gave me a “monkey bite” as we rode together in the back seat of Grandma and Grandpa’s car. 
When the twins were born,  I took them out in our back yard in Tacoma, laid them on our dining room chairs and took lots of pictures of them with my “Brownie Camera.”   I always have loved little dolls!  Someone visiting Dad that day asked if Larry and I were the new parents of these twins. 
Ruth  always wore pearls and had her nails polished (Mom said she was a real “lady.”  She always wore gloves to town).
Ruth and I talked before the reunion this year.  She has recently moved in with Jacquie because  health has not been the best.  When she talked with her doctor, she asked if her health would return to where it had been.  When he told her “probably not,”  She wanted to say to him, “Oh, shut up!”  (Sounds like a Gardiner to me.)

Gail Remembers:
Laying on the front room floor in Nampa with Phil making “man” paper dolls for me.
Ghost stories in the dark basement (Bloody Bones).

Robin Remembers:
I remember stopping for an overnight stay in Denver, Colorado, on the way to Kansas every summer.  We always ate lots of  food - seems to be a common thread - and  listened to her play the piano.  She would often talk about what was going on at church.

Lois Remembers:
My bedfellow.  She fluffed and made our featherbed to perfection; then sometimes I would jump right in the middle of it.  She loved high-heel shoes and pretty things.

Diane Remembers:
Ruth’s big smile.  The day the twins came home from the hospital in Tacoma.  Lynne and Larry hiding out upstairs eating and burping.  They wouldn’t let me in, so I sat outside the bedroom door and listened and tried to untangle Larry’s brain teaser puzzles.

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