8 December 1955 Alton, Osborne County, Kansas
Being the baby of the family, I grew up with two sisters and a brother. Through the years, they had moved on to other places and homes. Letters flew back and forth from time to time. Phone calls to the farm came only if there were a family emergency. So, I discovered two friends I thought of as sisters. Boy, oh boy, did they have different personalities.
One of those gals was Margaret Simpson, who lived a few farms over. A bit younger than I, she was the wife and mother of two sons. She worked hard on that farm: taking care of the chicken coop, growing vegetables in her patch, raising her boys, and other jobs. At harvest time, there was always the chore of fixing the hands a huge hot noon meal. She loved to socialize so if I had time to run to town and stop at her place on the way home, she was there to greet me with a cup of coffee. She was president of the Homemakers Club and loved to organize the events. She was always calm in any emergency.
The other gal was Faye Simpson, who just happened to be Margaret’s sister-in-law. She lived a few farms over in the opposite direction. She loved doing man’s work on the farm and was always dressed in plaid shirts and overalls. Along with her husband, she loved raising horses. She and her husband would travel to Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming looking for Appaloosas for sale. She could make berry pies like no one else. Politics was her thing…not like the other women…she wrote letters to the editor of the newspaper…the topic was often about taxes. She was a firebrand of a woman.
When all of us wanted to have a leisurely afternoon, we spent it with other 25 members of the Busy Bee Club. We made friendship quilts, crocheted, knitted. We lunched and (hate to say it) gossiped about the news in the town. Underneath it all, I loved these two like sisters.
~Isabella Mary Boultinghouse Storer
Note: Isabella is my maternal grandmother. I had met Margaret and Faye all those years ago. I loved visiting their farms and riding their horses. I have one of the friendship quilts made by them in 1930.
Hi Mary Ane,
I enjoyed this post about your grandmother and her friends. My paternal grandmother lived on a farm in northern Illinois near where I was born and raised. She also belonged to a neighborhood women’s club. And my mother for many years belonged to Home Extension club. My grandfather was the oldest of four children. His father was a prosperous farmer who emigrated from his family vineyard in Germany in the 1850’s. I was able to find a biography of him on an Illinois historical website. My grandfather and each of his two brothers were given 100 acres of rich Illinois farmland when they married. Their sister was given real estate in town. My grandfather and his brother, my Uncle Rob married sisters, so I grew up with double cousins. I tell you this about the land, not to brag, but to say that my grandparents lived simple lives, enjoying their farm and their family. Grandpa was a hard worker. They were married 63 years and never borrowed money. In fact, they loaned money to my grandmother’s siblings during the depression. They could have mortgaged their land and bought more ground and expanded, but they were content. Sadly, they lost their firstborn son at 9 months and their second son was killed on Normandy beach during the D Day invasion. My dad was their thirdborn son.
I do so enjoy your posts. I guess I am feeling a little lonesome and sad. I was the middle out of five siblings. My oldest brother died in 2018 and my only sister was diagnosed at 58 with frontal temporal dementia. She is now almost 75 and no longer knows me. My two younger brothers are just 19 months apart and have always been very close. We live very different lifestyles and have not communicated much in the last five years. I lost my last aunt a year ago. Recently I have contacted several of my cousins, but they don’t seem interested in a relationship. My husband is a retired LCMS Lutheran pastor. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 63 and had to retire at 66. We moved from northern Iowa where he had served his second parish for 17 years to eastern Washington. Our daughter had married a man from Pasco and they wanted us to come here so they could help us. I guess maybe I am telling you more than you want to know.
Judy
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We are here to share our family stories together…tell and share as much as you want. Many of us are connected because our ancestors were farmers. They were pioneers in the Midwest. Here is to your family, Judy. Thank you for sharing. Hugs and blessings.
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Thank you. Have a blessed Christmas!
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