Inspired by Genealogy: Family History Interviews

I have only one living grandparent – my maternal grandmother.

Yesterday, after listening to an interview with Ali Edwards about her new book, I felt inspired to do a little digging. Ali spoke about a mini-album she made called "You should know..." She described the mini-album as a full-sized photo of a family member on the left-hand page, followed by a list of tidbits about that person on the right. For example, in this book she made for her son, when writing about her father-in-law, she listed facts like that he lived in a tent for an entire summer. I found this inspiring to capture pieces of history.

Being that I have only one living grand-parent, who wont be around forever, I felt the need to find a list of questions so that I could get some answers. (About.com has a great article: Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews)

I called Grandma up last night and started interviewing her over the phone. I assured her that I wouldn't do all 50 questions at once. (I would have done it face-to-face, but I now live 7 hours away from her.) She got call-waiting twice during our interview. (Ah, modern conveniences.... she can remember getting a telephone and electricity as a little girl.... and I have since been spoiled with call-waiting, caller ID and cell phones. However, for the record, Grandma had a cell phone for about two years longer than I did.)

• There were 10 kids born to her parents; although, the 2nd and 10th both died at birth. Grandma was the 7th birth and the 2nd girl. Her father was a teacher and her mother was a home-maker. (College degrees were not required to teach back then; only a high school diploma was needed.)
  
• The family, originally from southern Indiana, traveled by horse and buggy to South Dakota. They somehow settled in northern Wisconsin and bought 80 acres of land which they had built into a farm. Later, they purchased more land to add to it.
  
• Her older brothers used to tease her that she got her name because "you were such a freak, they just didn't know what to call you...." (How's that for Brotherly Love?)
• She, along with her siblings, walked two miles to school each day.
• She was not allowed to go to school until her chores were done. She learned to milk a cow at age 6 and couldn't go to school until her cow was milked. As she got older, her parents added more responsibilities and she remembers having to milk 2 or 3 cows before walking to school.
• Because they had no running water on the farm, in the winter, she said they would drive the cattle in to the woods where they had chopped a hole in the ice for the cows to drink out of Levett Creek. With no electricity in the house, they used lanterns and lamps for light. (Candles, she said, were too dangerous.) They used to carry a lantern with them out to the barn to milk the cows.
• Grandma's house had an outhouse.
  
• She went to school in a one-room schoolhouse at Woodland School, which is no longer standing. There was one teacher (Mr. Nagel) who taught all eight grades (1-8) as well as all subjects. (That teacher is still alive today.)
• Grandma said she always struggled with arithmatic. (Gee, now I know where I get that from...)
• Because the school didn't have enough boys to fill a ballteam, they allowed the best girls to play ball. Grandma says she was "sporty". She said she usually played in the outfield, but sometimes she played a base; she would play wherever they needed her.
• When asked "Are there any special items in the house that you remember?" she told me that they used to have a wood cookstove in their kitchen and the coffee pot always sat on the back burner.
  
• Grandma told me that my great-grandmother had quit school to help raise her younger brothers because she had been the oldest of three kids, at age 5, when their father had been killed on the railroad. She quit school in 3rd grade and had to educate herself. Grandma said that her mother was very smart, was good at writing and was a very good cook.
  
• Grandma said that when she was a young girl, her mother sewed her a doll. (They didn't have money so, everything was hand-made.)
  
• Grandma remembers that every other day, her mother baked 8 loaves of fresh bread. (Grandma says that was always her favorite food, until she discovered that she loved chocolate.)
• Although Grandma did not get an allowance, she used to babysit for the neighbor kids. She would earn 50¢ a night. Living in the country, there was nothing to spend your money on so she would save it. Then, once a month, they used to go into town to go shopping where she could take her money to buy herself a little treat. She laughed and said "You could bet that mine would be some kind of chocolate."
• Before her teenage years, she remembers that they had gotten electricity and telephone on the farm.
• They did not have kindergarten back then. Grandma attended grades 1-8 and then 3 years of high school.
  
• At age 16, Grandma met my grandfather at a hunter's dance. (He was not a good dancer, but was a good talker.) She married him at age 17. She also became a mother at age 17. (THIS, I can't imagine.... how scary to have a baby at age 17! When asked about it, she said that she was quite apprehensive and didn't know what to expect.) Grandma had six kids: 4 girls and 2 boys.
• As a young adult, as a gift of appreciation, her father gave her a cow that he had named after her. That cow later had a calf so they were able to have fresh milk.
• In 1965, with 6 young kids, Grandma got a job as a state worker. She said that it was the smartest thing she ever did. They were on the verge of losing their home so, she took the bull by the horns and entered the workforce. She, for once, handled the money and saved their home, supporting 6 kids.
  
• She worked for 29 years before retiring.
• When asked "If you could have had any other profession, what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?" Grandma responded quickly: A Nurse. She said that she thinks she would have liked that a lot; however, there was no time for education to become a nurse because she had to get money right away to support those 6 kids.
• She kicked her alcoholic (and abusive) husband out of the house in May 1972, after supporting the family for 7 years. Their divorce was final in May 1973.
• Her second marriage has been put 'out of her mind' she says.
  
• In 1989, Grandma had met the love of her life. A man she describes as: gentle, down-to-Earth, a man who loved life and treated her with such respect. Those four years of marrige made Grandma the happiest she had ever been. Grandma had met "Jack" at a wedding dance. They loved to dance the polka, as well as have and attend card parties. (My card parties are to make greeting cards, while her card parties were to play cards.) He taught her how to play Sheepshead and how to golf. They also travelled a lot. "Those were four wonderful years" she says.
• Q: "What was your proudest moment as a parent?"
  A: When your mom got her diploma at age 49 and we went to Iowa (Upper Iowa University for her college degree) to attend her ceremony. Afterwards, when your mom had that party at their house, she raised her glass and said "Mom, I owe this to you. You always told us that we can DO ANYTHING if we work at it." I was real proud of her and think that was the only time I ever willingly had a sip of alcohol was at that toast.

So, in my first interview installment, I learned a lot about my grandmother. (I even got to tell my own mother WHY she was named after her aunt, which was news to her.) I look forward to capturing more of her life.... for my own memories.