We first met when she was 25 years old so I knew nothing of her early years as a Kansas farm girl. Little by little, she unwrapped the layers and the complexities. She told her stories and shared her family with me. It took several decades to unravel some of the nuances of her being. Some tales she told willingly, others needed questions to commence the revealing. Some tales reduced us to smiles and laughter, others reduced us to sighs and tears.
But what were her first 25 years like? I would like to meet her when she was a toddler, when she was a girl, when she was an adolescent, when she was a young woman. I long to be there and witness some of her growing up experiences and hear the exact words of conversations, share secrets, meet her friends. She did share that as a grade school student she rode her horse Beauty to her one-room school house. Each morning, she would meet a fox along the way which peeked at her through tall grass. She grew up loving horses and dogs. She did not grow up loving farm work. She grew up loving Midwest starry skies. She did not grow up wanting to be a farmer’s wife. She grew up loving the dream of working in a city. She did not grow up wanting to stay in one place. This is just a sampling of what she did share about those first 25 years. Wish she were here to answer my questions and delve a little deeper.
Yes, I would love the meet the young Merna Mae Storer. At the age of 25, she would become my mother…I would visit her world through her eyes and memories.
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 
I’m Linda Guyer Rice and I grew up in Osborne County, KS. I’ve really enjoyed your postings! The names that I have attached are people that I know who were in your Mother’s High School class of 1942. I can supply phone numbers, too, if you would like. Carole Pyles and Misty Schulz know and have met these people, too. I was born in 1948 but I vaguely remember hearing of your Mother. She was beautiful! Our family was close friends to the Clifford and Wendall Storer families.
Mitch (Elmo) Mischler5224 S Espana StCentennial CO 80015 Lyle and Carol Dixson2505 Hobbs DrManhattan KS 66502
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Linda, we have met before through Carole and Misty. Mitch is my mother’s cousin. I will contact Mitch. When my mom passed away 8n 2014, I let Carol Dixson know. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts.
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I’m Linda Guyer Rice and I grew up in Osborne County, KS. I’ve really enjoyed your postings! The names that I have attached are people that I know who were in your Mother’s High School class of 1942. I can supply phone numbers, too, if you would like. Carole Pyles and Misty Schulz know and have met these people, too. I was born in 1948 but I vaguely remember hearing of your Mother. She was beautiful!
Our family was close friends to the Clifford and Wendall Storer families.
Mitch (Elmo) Mischler
5224 S Espana St
Centennial CO 80015
Lyle and Carol Dixson
2505 Hobbs Dr
Manhattan KS 66502
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So much love exudes out of these words 💜
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Thank you, Valarie.
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