From my Mother's Journal.
November 4, 2011
59 years ago today (11/4/52) my husband had to leave for the
army. We had been married for 6 months and were working on the farm with his
mother and father. When we got the letter that he was selected we did nothing to
stop the process as his uncle Floyd Green was on the committee for the war
department at Cavalier and it would not look too good if we used him for an
excuse. I started crying as soon as the letter came and kept right on crying ‘til
he left. Grandpa George cried with me. That first night I put his work boots by
my bed and grabbed one of his shirts and wore it to bed and started a letter
than night. I’d write a page a night telling him all the days events. He went
to Kentucky and did well as a soldier. We thought he would be coming home for
Christmas, but it didn’t happen. So we wrote to each other every day and I’d be
standing at the mailbox waiting for the mailman. (His name was Lowell
Livingood.) Whenever there was a letter he would blink his car lights a few times
and I’d jump up and down and wait. He wrote of all the stuff he was learning
and doing, a lot of walking. He had a chance to go to OCS (Officers Candidate
School) but some how it didn’t happen and he felt lucky after hearing about all
the guys who did make it and went to the front lines in Korea. He was
responsible for a lot of guys going through basic training. And then they found
out he was good at typing he got the job of Ammunitions Records Clerk in an
office with a nice group of men. By the time spring came around we had a little
girl and she and I joined him in Kentucky. Laurie became her Daddy’s greatest
follower. She would get so excited when he got home at night, and she would
say, “There he is!” But it didn’t not sound like that. She would even salute
him.
Every day we thought it would be our last day together as
men were leaving for Korea daily. Then it was quite obvious that I was pregnant
again so soon and we had a May 13th baby boy. It was that doggone
furlough in August of 1953 to combine wheat that I got pregnant again. Oh well,
we love kids.
We met a lot of nice people and we seemed very happy.
November 4th, 1954, we came home to the farm. Grandpa and Gran’ma
Green went to California for the winter and we took over the farm house along with El Prigge, the hired man that had been here for many years, a very nice fellow.
Both he and Manvel worked at the potato plant in St. Thomas washing out spuds
or tying sacks. The deep freeze was stocked full of beef and pork and we had
lots of potatoes. El would help with the dishes after supper and Manvel played
with Laurie and our new baby boy, Robert. We had a fun winter. We had a few
people over for meals, played cards, and cribbage.
When spring came Grandpa and Grandma came home and then
rented a house in Grafton before buying a home on 7th street west
(451 West 7th Street) where they lived many years. We were not
through having children. We had Pam in March of ’57 and Karen in Feb ’58. We were
always lucky to have good help with the washing, ironing, vacuuming and I
cuddled my babies, washed, fed and sang to them. I just loved my job of being a
mother. Manvel was very helpful with dressing them for bed after baths and
reading stories and a good Daddy!
The growing up years went fast. We seemed to be going to
someone’s game and school programs (we enjoyed these little people very much)
and loved all the activities. We were very pleased with their interests in
Christian activities. Rob had perfect attendance in Sunday School. Now when I
was growing up at the Lutheran Church, when you had perfect attendance for a
year you got a gold tiny cross pin. But, Robert got his whole record of gold
stars. He never was ill, but the girls sometimes missed because of illness. I
was so proud of Rob being head of Sunday School and working so hard with young
Christians. The girls did a lot of singing for church and school. Laurie and
her friends had a little group that played guitars and sang called The Farmer’s
Daughters. Rob enjoyed playing basketball and the last year of high school he played
football. He was always needed at home after school to help on the farm. The
gals all took piano lessons and now I wish that we would have had Robert take
piano because he liked it so much when he got older. But, none of his buddies
were interested. At that time not very
many boys were taking lessons at all. Today I’m sad over this fact. Our 4
children brought us so much joy and fun. We really had some wonderful meal
talks. Manvel laid down the law that if the phone rang, the person was told
they would be called back after dinner was over. It worked.
