Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Erma West's Journal - Post 2

(Date: 4-17-86, Page 4) I can only say a few words now. I would understand it all and my mother use to speak it too. But after we started to school she tried to speak English to us, she would talk half and half. My mother owned some land from her first husband between some relatives and neighbors. They pitched in and built a house, grainery and barn. My mother, my two brothers and two sisters lived there and myself. My brothers were getting old enough that they could do the farming.

My sister Agnes got married when she was 16 yrs, then my brother-in-law helped them farm. They didn’t live with us they rented a farm near Mitchell. My sister Mary went out to work so there were just my brothers, mother and I - I was 4 or 5 yrs old then. We lived there several years when Agnes had her first baby “Raymond”, that’s the one that now winters in Mesa, Arizona. She had 3 boys Raymond, Harry and Edward.

I was between 6 and 7 years old when my mother re-married and that was a sad mistake that she did – she just got herself a lot of work.

We were getting along nicely, some friends of hers happened to be friends of his also. He had about 11 kids and lived in Wessington Spring, So Dakota. which was in this same territory 20 or 30 miles apart. These friends introduced him and immediately he talked her into getting married and moving over to his place in Wessington Springs. So then my sister Agnes and Henry her husband moved onto the place where we lived and farmed it. All 11 of his kids lived at home and my poor mother just worked herself to death there. My mother passed away when she was just 55 years. I guess she worked so hard while there. I was about 15 yrs when I ran away from home while she was still alive. I went over to some neighbors. He came and got me and made me go back and 2 weeks later I ran away again. That time he let me go.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Erma West's Journal - Post 1 - Homes Lived In

(The picture is of Anna Rumlova. She is Erma's mother)

by Erma West

(Page 1 & 2 were blank. Her journal started on page 3)

This first home I lived in was in Junction City, Oregon. Maybe you’ll think its funny, but I can remember a few incidences that happened there.

My mother divorced my father when I was only 2 years old and we moved to South Dakota, but I can remember playing with some neighbor’s children and my brother Frank who is three years older than I am. They were pretending they were making medicine, and they had a bottle of water, by putting some milk in it and shaking it like they use to make the old time linament. I remember my mother making linament for her arthritis that way. She would put eggs and other stuff in it and shake it, so we thought we were doing the same.

I can remember that, and I can remember having a little red rocking chair. Also I remember when we left Oregon, we were at the depot waiting for the train, there was a bush or tree out front and it had large yellow blossoms on it. I went and picked one of those blossoms. My mother was so worried. She was afraid a policeman would come and we would be arrested because I picked that blossom.

We went to Letcher, South Dakota to live with my grandmother. They had a part wood and part brick or sod house. Quite a large house, it had several bedrooms.

I slept with my mother until I was about 6 years old, until she remarried. I cried the first two nights, because I couldn’t sleep with her.

I also remember my grandmother raised red turkeys. There was an old gobbler, and every time I went out to play he would chase me, and I would always run and climb upon the wagon, and then I’d holler for some one to rescue me.

I know I was grandmother’s favorite. My cousin and her mother used to come over quite often. Grandmother would give me things, where she would not give my cousin any. We were the same age.

I remember my grandmother passed away when we lived there. My grandmother came from Czechoslovakia and she only spoke Czech and I use to be able to speak it quite well when I was a kid.

Grandma Erma West's Journal

I have Grandma West's journal. I started typing it a few years ago and stopped before I was done. I regret that I did not finish it for Aunt Phyllis to read.

I feel Grandma wants me to finish it so that her children can read it. I will publish it on the web when I'm done in the meantime I will post some of it on this blog. I have tried not to correct most of her spelling and grammar.