(1992 Memoirs)
After my brother was about 4 and I was 9 or so [ca. 1914], our family broke up because of my mother's failing health. Perhaps she did overdo at housework; my father thought she did. [She had tubercolosis.]
September 30, 2012
September 29, 2012
Ellmans
(1992 Memoirs)
Olga was the oldest [Ellman] and never married. Minnie, my mother, married a gardner; Max went off to the Phillipines to fight for his country; and Fred was a druggest who always limped [because of an accident with runaway horses] and used a cane as long as I knew him. ... Emma died young.
Olga was the oldest [Ellman] and never married. Minnie, my mother, married a gardner; Max went off to the Phillipines to fight for his country; and Fred was a druggest who always limped [because of an accident with runaway horses] and used a cane as long as I knew him. ... Emma died young.
September 28, 2012
Hoot!
(1992 Memoir)
The Ellmans, [Caroline & Frederick, came from Germany,] so their children were of German stock of which Hattie [Harriet] was the youngest. My mother, an invalid, enjoyed having Hattie come and she enjoyed the railroad trip. "Hoot!" my father would call to her. And both would shake with laughter because "Hoot" means "Hat" in German, about all the German my father knew. She was one of a family of six and a milliner by trade. She could take a straw frame, tack up the brim, run a narrow ribbon around a daisy, and you'd be proud to wear it to church.
The Ellmans, [Caroline & Frederick, came from Germany,] so their children were of German stock of which Hattie [Harriet] was the youngest. My mother, an invalid, enjoyed having Hattie come and she enjoyed the railroad trip. "Hoot!" my father would call to her. And both would shake with laughter because "Hoot" means "Hat" in German, about all the German my father knew. She was one of a family of six and a milliner by trade. She could take a straw frame, tack up the brim, run a narrow ribbon around a daisy, and you'd be proud to wear it to church.
September 27, 2012
Guns
(1992 Memoirs)
At the top of the stairs of the Kilmer house, called by some "the laundry," he kept his guns, about half a dozen shotguns, always loaded, standing leaning in a corner. "Oh, Clarence," my aunt would wail, "please take those guns out of the house. The children--" "Yup, yup," he'd say. And then in a grumbling, menacing tone, "You boys, leave those guns alone. Ya hear?" "OK, OK" the three would say. "Oh, Clarence," Aunt Hattie would wail. And there they stood at the top of the stairs, loaded, as before, as long as I was aware.
At the top of the stairs of the Kilmer house, called by some "the laundry," he kept his guns, about half a dozen shotguns, always loaded, standing leaning in a corner. "Oh, Clarence," my aunt would wail, "please take those guns out of the house. The children--" "Yup, yup," he'd say. And then in a grumbling, menacing tone, "You boys, leave those guns alone. Ya hear?" "OK, OK" the three would say. "Oh, Clarence," Aunt Hattie would wail. And there they stood at the top of the stairs, loaded, as before, as long as I was aware.
September 26, 2012
Uncle Clarence
(1992 Memoir)
As I lie in bed at this retirement home, I keep thinking of who I am and of those who came before me. Tonight for no reason at all my mind is hovering over Uncle Clarence, Aunt Hattie's husband - a Kilmer, a Canadian, I think. As Aunt Hattie was my mother's youngest sister, I went to visit quite often. The Kilmers lived in the northern part of Wisconsin where Clarence and his brother had a hardware store, the only one in Oconto Falls.
As I lie in bed at this retirement home, I keep thinking of who I am and of those who came before me. Tonight for no reason at all my mind is hovering over Uncle Clarence, Aunt Hattie's husband - a Kilmer, a Canadian, I think. As Aunt Hattie was my mother's youngest sister, I went to visit quite often. The Kilmers lived in the northern part of Wisconsin where Clarence and his brother had a hardware store, the only one in Oconto Falls.
September 25, 2012
Editing
(1992)
Skip, I hope you are editing this [memoir]. Am I repeating myself? ... Isn't this at a point where you can finish it yourself? ... And if I think of interesting incident, always can be added. [The blog is reproducing Polly's fragmentary recollections pretty much as they were received.]
Skip, I hope you are editing this [memoir]. Am I repeating myself? ... Isn't this at a point where you can finish it yourself? ... And if I think of interesting incident, always can be added. [The blog is reproducing Polly's fragmentary recollections pretty much as they were received.]
September 24, 2012
Barter economy
(1992)
My Aunt Lois gave me a $10 gold pen in a case and on chain around my neck, and I gave it for my first ride in a plane for 10 minutes. Maybe it was $5 for five minutes - whatever. Lorin watched me, would not go up, and said he was glad I was safe on ground again, but I wished for a longer ride. That was at the football field, I think.
My Aunt Lois gave me a $10 gold pen in a case and on chain around my neck, and I gave it for my first ride in a plane for 10 minutes. Maybe it was $5 for five minutes - whatever. Lorin watched me, would not go up, and said he was glad I was safe on ground again, but I wished for a longer ride. That was at the football field, I think.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)