Recollections by Lila Kemppainen Kauppila

To Those Who Read This: 

These pages were written as the thoughts came to my mind; without any plans or rough sketches to go by.  Spelling, typing, punctuation, etc., errors are numerous, so-----please overlook them. 

To type the four copies by one finger pecking and looking for the keys was enough to tax my brief patience. 

Recollections 

By 

Lila Kemppainen Kauppila 

Written 1978-79 

          PAGE CONTENTS 

MY PARENTS 

My parents emigrated from Finland to the U.S. in the early 1900’s, when they were barely 20 years of age, searching for a better way of life.  

Father left his native Puolanga, where he had worked in the woods sawing logs all winter.  Then during the spring floods, he drove the logs down the swollen rivers to the sawmills. He had many brothers and sisters; two sisters and the four brothers came to the United States.  All six of them eventually settled in the Limestone Mountain area (near Pelkie) to make a living from farming.  His family suffered from poverty and other hardships.  During a winter of extreme famine, the family had to eat bread made from ground-up pine bark.  

Mother’s family consisted of 12 children (six of each), but only half lived to adult-hood.  Mother was the only one of them who came to America.  Her family was considered well-to-do, as they lived on a very large farm.  They had many hired help, “rengies” (men), “piikaas” (maids,) who did the work on the farm and in the house.  The piikaas as well as mother did the barn chores.  Mother hated cows so she left for the United States.  

Father worked in the copper mine in Hancock.  Mother was a maid for the well-to-do mine officials in Houghton.  That was hard work and long hours.  She had to get up at 2:00 A.M. on wash days to scrub the clothes by hand so she would be through in time to serve breakfast for the family by 7:30.  There were piles of ironing.  All the bread, pies, cakes, and cookies were baked at home.  The meals were served in the dining room.  Mother had to wear a special uniform for that duty and always change into a white apron to answer the door bell.  Her wages were $10 a month.  

Father’s name:  ----- b. March 10, 1879  

Mother’s name:  ------, b. April 16, 1883 in -----  

They met in Hancock, married there April 23, 1906.  

Father had three weeks of formal education.  He had very nice handwriting.  Mother had a few years of public schooling.  Both had very good mathematical minds.  

Page 2 

RETURN TO FINLAND 

Lina was born January 24, 1907.  Late in the winter of 1908, my parents decided to return to Finland, so in April mother and Lina left.  Dad remained in Hancock to work in the mine to earn money to pay for his ticket.  A few weeks after mother had gone, dad broke his leg at work and so his departure was delayed for several months.  He arrived there in the summer.  

I was born in Tyrnava September 30, 1908.  

Dad worked wherever he could until the following winter when he suffered double pneumonia.  For weeks and weeks they watched over him as he wavered between life and death.  The medications we have today were unknown then.  His illness left him in such a weakened condition that he wasn’t able to work for a long, long time.  

We lived with mother’s parents on the ----- farm.  By late 1909, dad was able to do some menial tasks to earn a little money of his own.  They made up their minds to buy a small farm.  The spring of 1910 when dad went to town to close the deal for the farm, he came back and told mother, “Shall we buy a return ticket to return to the U.S. instead?”  

So, in June of 1910, they returned to America.  

Mother was terribly seasick all the way.  The doctor on board the ship had given up all hopes for her survival because she hadn’t eaten a thing during the entire voyage…not even a drop of water would stay in her stomach.  She was so weak and dehydrated, the doctor said, “She will not make it anymore.  Let’s try a bit of brandy.”  By then New York harbor was in sight; miraculously the brandy stayed down and a bit of nourishment did, too. 

Mother told me late that because I was raised at the ----- farm with the grand-parents, aunts, and uncles handling and caring for me, I was a very active child and WILD.  The table tops and top bunks were my favorite places to climb all the time.  

While on the ship coming across the Atlantic Ocean, I was constantly running away from the baby sitter who was hired to care for me because mother was so sick.  During a severe storm on the ocean, all the passengers were ordered to remain in their cabins and off the deck.  Of course, I disappeared.  A ship-wide search was on for a missing brat.  When found, I was ready to take the last few steps and be on the deck---maybe to be swept overboard.  

Page 3 

BACK IN HANCOCK 

My folks rented an upstairs flat where we lived from 1910 to July 1914 when we moved to the Pelkie area.  

Because of father’s illness in Finland, the doctor forbade him from working underground.  He had to be satisfied with surface work that paid only $1.50 a day.  To make ends meet, mother took in washing, did much custom sewing and rented one of the four rooms we had to two lovely ladies who worked in a store.  

For a long time, our table was a huge box, smaller boxes were the chairs.  Before they had gone to Finland, they had sold all the lovely furniture they had and couldn’t afford to buy new ones until sometime later.  

A cow provided us with milk and some butter occasionally.  Some milk was sold at two cents a quart for additional income. There weren’t any luxuries but we were not hungry as there was good simple food and made-over clothes to keep us warm. Mother made our underwear from flour and sugar cloth bags.  Clothes that people gave were renovated for our dresses and coats. She knit our stockings, mittens, scarves, and hats. Irene was born December 7, 1910; and Aura on November 24, 1914. 

Those days, bath time was an event.  A big round galvanized laundry tub was set on two boxes or chairs so it was off the floor’s draft.  Warm water was added and two of us girls were bathed at the same time.  A large bath towel or blanket enclosed the bathers to keep in the warmth as the houses weren’t very warm those days.  Mother gave us some sweetened hot water to drink while in the tub so we wouldn’t catch a cold.  That was so good!  

Page 4 

COPPER COUNTRY STRIKE OF 1913 

Mining ceased during the strike.  Income plummeted but the union did furnish coupons to the employees which were redeemable at their relief store for some groceries.  I remember going to that store with mother and picking out what we needed from cartons on the floor.  It was only a warehouse for distributing the groceries----no shelves for display purposes.  

That year my parents purchased the 80 acres of woodland in Pelkie, and dad went there to clear a spot to build a house.  He sawed down the trees and hewed them into proper-sized logs.  They were flat on two sides; the top remained rounded but the bottom side had to be grooved to that side would fit snugly over the rounded top side of the lower log.  The ends had to be dove-tailed so they would fit squarely in the corners.  He carried or dragged the logs to the house site.    

The next spring dad returned to continue building our four-room home.  Mother, we four girls, and our family possessions came to Papin siding by train----that was the closes stop to our new home.  The train came via Keweenaw Bay, Hamar, Pelkie, etc.  By then, we had accumulated kitchen, dining room and living room tables, two rockers, some straight back chairs, two beds, a dresser, cook stove, a heater, and a cradle that rocked automatically when a spring was wound.  Oh, I almost forgot---the precious loveseat---a kind of chair for two with a padded seat; the forerunner of the davenport.  

Page 5 

THE FIRST MONTH IN PELKIE 

Our home wasn’t ready when we came to Pelkie, so we stayed with Uncle Joel and his family.  Our six and their four in their unfinished log house; it was better than our roof-less house.  Water had to be carried from a spring about a thousand feet from the house.  The outhouse was by the barn.  The sauna was ready for bathing.  There wasn’t a chimney, so the smoke belched into the sauna and escaped through a vent near the ceiling.  The inside of the sauna was sooty so the benches had to be scrubbed before we could sit on them.  

One incident that happened while we were at Joel’s is so clear in my mind...Mother was baking bread and she had set the panned loaves of bread to rise on the open upstairs steps (space was at a premium).  They were covered with a clean towel, and we kids had no business on the stairs.  Mother forgot about the breads and sent me on an errand upstairs.  My short legs couldn’t skip the step where the breads were, so my foot went “plunk,” right on a loaf.  Hurriedly, I straightened the towel.  I’ve often wondered if mother was curious why one loaf of bread was flatter than the rest.  

Our home was very crude those first years.  There was no finishing on the logs and the cracks were stuffed with a mixture of moss and clay.  A lean-to was added to the side to serve as a woodshed and entrance hall so the winter winds couldn’t blow directly in as the door was opened.  

Dad hurried to build a small barn to house the cow he bought.  There were three stalls---one for the cow; the empty ones held the hay he gathered along the old logging roads.  Remember, he had no horse, so he cut, raked, and carried the hay all by man power.  

Page 6 

WINTER SET IN 

It was tough for us all.  Dad’s total earnings that entire winter was $26.00, which he earned for making some cordwood by hand and sending it to Hancock by rail.   

Our groceries were ordered from Sakaries’ store in Hancock and delivered by train.  They okayed dad’s I.O.U. with a promise to pay when he could.  The groceries consisted mainly of flour, salt, sugar, yeast, coffee, salt fish, pork, peas, lard, and laundry soap.  No matter how poor one was, so was a necessary item to keep clean.  The cow went dry, so our beverage was coffee or warm water with a bit of sugar.    

Not until I was grown up did I realize why dad and uncle would go bear hunting at night with a flour sack in his pocket and a miner’s carbide light.  They went shining for deer.  No wonder we had smoked and bottle meat to eat all year long that first winter.  Mother was a great berry picker---wild raspberries and strawberries were our sources of fruit those first years, plus maybe a few apples from -----’s.  Mother made some pies.  We kids lined up to have our turn to get the peeling and core from the apples to eat.  

The next summer another cow was added to the herd.  What a good producer she was---12 to 14 quarts per milking.  How elated we kids were to be able to have all the milk we wanted to drink with no water added to stretch the amount.  There was cream for the coffee and plenty of butter.  A few chickens were hatched, so there were eggs and an occasional chicken for the pot.  Chicken and dumplings were a favorite with us all.  

Page 7 

SCHOOL 

There was no school for us kids the first year as it was two miles away and we were too young to walk that through the woods---roads were mere trails and snow plows unheard of.  A school was then built near our house.  

Eight or ten pupils entered school that fall; no kindergarten in those days.  We read and re-read our single book for the year until it was memorized.  The box of six crayons was used until only crumbs too small to hold remained.  Every square inch of paper was used to write our numbers and spelling words.  All used envelopes, calendar sheets, store paper, and bags cut into small sheets for school paper work.  

The Christmas programs and spring picnics were the big all-family events of the school year.  Sandwiches, cake, coffee, and lemonade were served.  The program consisted of recitations by each child, group singing, short plays by the older children, and a few Finnish songs by the kids for the parents’ delight.  

How dangerous it was to have a huge Christmas tree and real lighted candles on it during the evening.  Oh, it was pretty, though!  

Program and picnic time was the time we kids had our two new dresses for the year.  The Christmas dress was worn every day to school that winter and the picnic dress was the Sunday dress for the summer.  

We were the janitors for the school; wages $2.50 a month.  Lina and I, being the oldest of the girls, helped mother scrub the school floor on our hands and knees about four times a year.  We carried the water from home and heated it on the school stove.  In the winter, the water froze on the floor while we were scrubbing. All the drinking water was carried from home; those kids sure drank pails full of it.   

The teacher boarded at our house.  If we misbehaved at school and were punished there, the others would tattle on us and it was a double punishment from mother.  

Page 8 

WATER 

Water was like liquid gold for years and years.  The first supply was obtained from a 20 foot well which furnished a few pails full of water for cooking and drinking.  Dad dug several holes here and there that accumulated rain water for washing dishes and scrubbing the floors.  Whenever it rained, rain water was collected for washing clothes and bathing.  Everyone ran to set the tubs, boilers, and buckets under the eaves when it looked like rain.    

Sometimes we carried the clothes, tubs, boiler, soap, scrub board, and our lunch to the river where we picnicked and washed and dried the clothes. 

No rain in the winter so we had to melt snow for washing clothes and bathing.  The boiler on the stove and a dishpan in the oven were filled with melting snow.  The rinsing water from the dishes had to be saved for the next washing.  No waste in those days.  

The next deep well had good water; when a pail was filled with it, it was so clear that the bottom of the pail looked only inches down.  Oh, but it was heavy to pump.  Two of us kids had to work together.  The summer was o.k., but on a cold windy day in winter the wind blew the water everywhere else but in the pail.  It was much better after the pump house was built and the windmill was installed.  That was heavenly.  

The first sauna was a long way from the house because that was where there was a hole with water.  When we’d run in from the sauna in the winter our hair would freeze into long icicles.  Later when the sauna was built closer to the house and my brothers were in their teens they would tip-toe barefooted on the packed snow trail to the house.  

Page 9 

WINTERS 

The winters were long, cold, and snowy.  In the 19—teen years, the roads were never plowed.  In the early 1920’s, a huge barrel-like roller, about eight or more feet in diameter and ten or more feet long was rolled over the road bed, drawn by many teams of horses.  That packed the road so it was like cement, super for sledding and just plain racing for the kids.  

When the snow melted in the spring, the horses would sink through the snow and make deep pits which made walking treacherous for the people.  Those who had a car, it was put up on blocks for the winter as only horse travel was possible.  In the early thirties, a huge tractor-like machine called a Holt with large plows would open the roads after a bad storm; that was o.k. for a few days.  Regardless of a storm, an “off day” for school was unheard of.  The kids would come wading through the snow half-frozen.  Only sissies stayed at home.  There were no busses then as a country one room school was located every two miles so no child had to walk more than a mile to school.  

When I wrote about schools, I forgot to mention that they were one-room schools.  All grades from one through eight were in the same room taught by the same teacher.  Total enrollment could be from 20 to 38 pupils.  The younger children listened to the older ones and learned from them, too.  The 8th graders had to take a state prepared exam in arithmetic, spelling, grammar, history, civics, orthography, agriculture, and reading; and pass them to receive a diploma.  Geography and physiology exams were taken in the 7th grade.  We took the exams at Nisula, seven miles away.  The 8th grade ones took two days.  We left home at sunrise to walk the seven miles to get there for nine o’clock.  Tardiness was not excusable.  

Page 10 

SHOES 

What torture it was to wear shoes after it got cold in the fall.  Summer time was so free to go without shoes from early May until October; barefooted to school, to Pelkie for the mail and groceries.  After we were a little older and ashamed to go barefooted, those shoes pinched like blazes, so we’d carry them most of the way.  The main reason everyone went without shoes was because it was cheaper.    

Our winter shoes were the swamper (rubber foot part and leather ankle height uppers), that way one item was water-proof and shoe.  They were not very warm, though, but we wore home knit woolen stockings and a piece of woolen cloth or burlap to wrap around the foot before putting the shoe on.  If we did wear shoes in the summer, long, heavy cotton stockings were worn with them---that was too warm.  

UNDERWEAR 

We all wore long unionsuits in the winter time.  They were baggy affairs; our legs were so lumpy.  Unfortunately, slacks were unknown for girls to hide the folded long legs of the underwear.  Girls wore dresses all the time and big balloon-size bloomers.  The boys wore knee-length pants until their teen years.  How we survived the bitter cold is a miracle.    

Toward spring, we girls would roll up the underwear legs above the knee, then the lumps were there.  How we hated those long undies.  At age 16 or 18, most of the country girls went to the city to work as household help.  In the early twenties, a girl who valued her reputation would not work in a factory or as a waitress.  

One girl I knew, left home in the winter wearing her longies. Enroute to the city via train, she discarded her longies in the restroom and dropped them down the toilet which emptied directly onto the tracks.  Wonder if someone found a pair of long underwear on the track.  

Page 11 

JUNE 24, JUHANNUS 

 June 24, St. John’s Day, or Midsummer’s Day, or whatever one preferred to call it was a great celebration day for the Finns.    

The first few years when we were on the farm, Midsummer’s Day was a day of special festivities.  Dad chopped some trees about 10-12 feet high and stuck them in the ground to make a circular arbor in the yard.  A make-shift table was added and benches made to surround the arbor.  Friends, relatives, and neighbors came, bringing food to add to the picnic lunch.  The parents sat around chatting while the kids played tag, hide and seek, an assortment of singing games, or Aunt Anna directed some Finnish games.  Lunch was very simple; ground venison sandwiches, boiled eggs, plain yellow cake with maybe a little beaten egg white for frosting, and coffee.  There were no such goodies as potato chips, Jello salad, fresh fruit, Kool-aid, or pop.  We had fun, though!!!!  

Kid’s fun activities were hopscotch, swinging, Old Maid card games that we made, reading the Finnish newspaper, and our Finnish Sunday School book.  The boys made their own baseballs, bats, and slingshots.  If they were lucky enough to get a catcher’s mitt, it was patch, fixed, re-stuffed, and made to last as long as possible.    

In the winter, the boys built the ski jumps with scaffolds and all.  They trapped weasels to earn money to buy some skis and shared them with each other.  

Everyone walked to the river which was ¾ mile away to go swimming in the summer.  That water was frigid, but it was O.K.  All the fishing equipment that was needed was a hook, a little leader, string, a sinker; the pole was a long stick from the woods.  There was plenty of fish.  

Of course, there were no televisions, radios, or stereos; not even electricity for any appliances or lights.  Kerosene lamps and lanterns were the source of lighting at night.  

Page 12 

HAYMAKING 

Dad depended on us four girls for all the help he needed with the farm work---we were adults before the boys were old enough to help him.  

The first six years we were on the farm without a horse.  Dad cut the hay by hand with a scythe; we girls had to spread it out with a pitchfork so it would dry faster, rake it into windrows at night, stack it, then spread it in the morning again, and repeat until it was dry enough; then make large stacks.  Then dad pushed two long poles under the pile.  Dad and mother would carry the hay stacks into the loft which was out in the field.  In the winter, dad used a home-made sleigh to pull the hay to the barn on Sunday, because he worked in the woods during the week.  

After we had a horse, we had to follow the mower to spread the hay because it was so thick.  Every day we had to rake, stack, and spread in the morning; and repeat until it was dry.  The dew would bleach the hay; it had to be green.  Two of us girls had to be top loader, dad and mother pitched the hay on the jumper, one girl raked the left overs, and the fourth girl was at home babysitting, making meals, and in-between coffees.  To spread the hay in the barn was a killer on a hot day.  It was work, work, work from early morning until moonlight on some days.  

The cows were not in fenced-in pastures; they roamed wherever they chose, along the roads or in the woods.  Many times during the daty we’d have to keep listening for their bells to find out which way they headed so we’d have some idea where to look for them in the evening.  Two of us girls had to get the cows for milking.  At times we couldn’t find them though we looked until dark.  They’d come meandering home during the night.  We’d have to get up to milk them, carry the pails full of milk into the house and turn the separator by hand.  It separated the cream and left pails full of skim milk heaped high with foam which was fed to the calves and pigs.  

Two of we girls would carry a five gallon can of cream to Gidding Siding, a mile from home.  We’d flag down the train when it came chugging along and it would stop and pick up the can that was on its way to Bridgeman Russell Creamery in Hancock or Duluth.  There were no refrigerated cars, so I can imagine how sour the cream was upon arrival.  Days later, we picked up the empty can from the siding.  

Page 13 

TRAINS 

Freight and passenger trains traveled between Mass City and Keweenaw Bay, via Nisula, Alston, Gidding, Pelkie, Hamar, and Froberg.  At one time there were two trains a day that hauled mine rock, logs, and lumber.  We kids would often walk to Pelkie, buying more groceries than we could carry so we’d ride the train to Gidding.  Someone would meet us to help carry the food home.  The fare was ten cents.  

At age ten, I’d take the train to Hancock, transferring at Keweenaw Bay, visit the Aholas and Sakaris for a few days, shop a bit, and then return home via train.  I’ll always remember the wide brimmed navy blue sailor had with the navy and red ribbon trim that I bought.  I was so afraid mother would be angry about the red ribbon.  Red clothing was a no-no in those days.  (Red was a no-no because:  Years and years ago, the Finns suffered untold miseries, humiliation, hunger, and poverty while under very oppressive rule by the Russian Red Bolsheviks (as they were called then).  Naturally, the Finns developed a deep hatred toward the “Reds” of Russia—so much so that the Finns couldn’t tolerate the color red in any form, shape, or size of anything.  Years later they mellowed and accepted the color red.)  

The train was discontinued in the early 1930’s.  Before its abandonment, its schedule was very erratic.  Because of the unpredictable schedule, the last times I was taking it to Houghton to finish my high schooling, I left home (for Houghton) before noon, waited at the store in Pelkie until the store closed, then waited at a friend’s house.  The train came at 7:30 P.M., and after switching and switching cars at every mile post we arrived at Keweenaw Bay about midnight.  We missed the evening train, but the depot agent left the depot unlocked so we could at least wait inside for the 4:30 A.M. train.  Several of us highschoolers were going to Houghton.  We arrived at Houghton at 6 A.M.  I had walked to  Pelkie so the trip took 19 ½ hours.  No wonder I made very few trips home during my years at Houghton…..for Christmas and Easter vacations only.  

Page 14 

FLU EPIDEMIC OF 1918-1919 

World War I ended November 11, 1918; soon after that the influenza epidemic was raging world-wide, and it hit the Pelkie-Alston area like lightning.  In some cases the whole family was stricken over night with extreme high temperatures, nausea, aching muscles, severe headaches and very sick; then pneumonia set in, which was often fatal.  Many people died that winter.  The Red Cross sent doctors, nurses, and medical supplies to the area.  An emergency hospital was set up at the Alston town hall and school staffed by the Red Cross and local volunteers who escaped the disease.  

When the flu hit our family, Mother, Lina, Aura, and I were the hardest hit.  A nurse came by to care for us but in a few days there were so many who needed nursing that we were taken by horse to the town hall at night about the middle of December.  We were the first patients there, but by morning the place was full.  Dad, Irene, and Leslie were not as sick so they remained at home.  Denia was nine months old then; Uncle Joel's fam’ly took care of him while we were at the hospital.  Irene was only eight years old, but she did the cooking for the three weeks we were gone.  

Those who weren’t sick went from house to house to feed the livestock and help with chores.  All schools were closed for a long time.  

Bless the doctors, nurses, and volunteer aides for the good care.  All able-bodied local people were there to help in various ways.  They brought bread, butter, eggs, venison, milk, potatoes, and what other vegetables they had; also, bedding.  Everyone was too sick to eat at first but after we started to feel better, the few slices of orange were sooo good.  

I can’t imagine where or how all the laundry was done without automatic washers; the bedding was changed once in a while.  

Christmas Eve was a busy one.  I felt somewhat better by then.  I awakened during the night; the aides were carrying cartons to the stage, scurrying back and forth… anticipation was rising.  Christmas Day, with breakfast over, the patients were readied for the big event.  The stage curtain was drawn to reveal a huge beautifully decorated tree.  Gifts were distributed to everyone…peanuts, oranges, I can’t recall what the adults received.  The children received a snowman bank to save money for the Red Cross, a comb, pencils, crayons, and a toothbrush.  Before the tree was taken down the children were permitted to choose one of the boughten (purchased) glass ball ornaments.  How we treasured them; they were carefully wrapped and boxed after their annual display on the choicest spot on the tree.  Mine was a red one.  

 Mother was very ill; one night two doctors and a nurse watched and worked over hr for hours.  When the crisis was over for her, recovery was slow but steady; she was weak for a long time.  Her hair fell out, so only a fraction remained.  We were back home a week after New Year’s.  

Page 15 

That winter of 1918-1919 was an extremely mild one; I recall the eaves dripping and the sun shining all the time…..little black wrigglers crawling on the snow.  Were they the microbes that spread the disease?  I’ll never forget that year.  

We were advised to boil tar and water on the stove to ward off the flu…..  Mother did, but we got it just the same.  

In December 1918, all the Christmas programs were canceled.  

How we would look forward to the ones given by the neighboring schools.  Blocked roads or winter storms didn’t keep us away.  The lantern was filled with kerosene, we dressed into our warmest clothes to walk two miles to a school. And, off we’d walk two miles to a school where a program was being presented.  We needed the lantern for traveling light (no flashlights, then) and it was needed at the school for light.  At the completion of the program Santa appeared to distribute candy for the children.  The little ones were so excited.  No Santas at department stores; no department stores, period, in 1918.  

Page 16 

VISITING AND VISITORS 

During my youth and until I was through school, visiting the neighbors and having them come over unannounced was the order of the day.  No one had phones then, and we welcomed guests with open arms whenever they came.  

To see the light of a lantern advancing along the road in evening was exciting; that meant that someone was on the move.  The anticipation and hope that a traveler would stop at our house kept one person at the window relaying the progress.  If the lantern turned to our house, there was a mad scramble to straighten the carpets, clean off the table, and quiet the little ones before the guests arrived.  Food was always served to visitors.  

We walked miles in the evenings to go visiting; carrying a lantern to light the way because in the summer cows liked to sleep on the road in the night and one wasn’t fond of stumbling over a cow.  Moonlit nights were always visiting times…subzero winter evenings were beautiful.  We dressed warmly and trudged along singing to scare off the wolves.   

A couple times every winter, several of us girls would hike the three or four miles to Dad’s companies’ lumber camps on a Sunday.  We loved to go there, have a sumptuous meal, and listen to the old Finnish records on the phonograph that the cook had there.  The food at the camp was really something!!!!!  There was homemade bread, nisu, four-inch sized cookies, a variety of pies, big slabs of cake, plus the meat, potatoes, and vegetables.  Linda Mattson was cook, then.  

Page 17 

BABYSITTING 

Babysitting for the neighbors and relatives was gratis.  Once I sat for four little boys while their mother (widow) had to walk 3 ½ miles to Pelkie to get groceries.  The trip took several hours so I had to make lunch for the boys and their workman; it was a Saturday, so I swept the kitchen and bedroom.  I felt so ashamed of myself for accepting the dime she gave me because I didn’t scrub the floors for her.  

So, there were 50 of us first cousins living within five miles of each other.  They were all related on Father’s side, as mother didn’t have any close relatives in America.  She had a sister in America who died before she came to the U.S.A.  

Page 18 

SCHOOL DAYS 

My first eight grades were completed at the Gidding School next door to my farm home.  One teacher took care of all eight grades.  I was the only pupil in my grade through all eight grades so there was no one to compete with for higher marks….classes consisted of questions and answers….I had to answer all or fail. 

High school was in two parts; ninth and tenth grades were attended at Alston, six miles away.  I worked for room and board in Alston during the week.  Friday afternoon, I’d walk home and return to Alston Sunday afternoon in the winter, but in the summer I’d walk back early Monday morning.  

One teacher taught both grades nine and ten.  Subjects for grade nine were algebra, Latin, history, and English; for grade ten, Latin, geometry, English, and history.  It was all book learning with questions, answers, many tests and exams.  No projects or extra-curricular activities.  Anyone living within a mile walked home for lunch whether in grade school or high school.  

I finished my high schooling in Houghton. There was a public bus connecting Nisula and Hancock; so in the summer, I went to Houghton via bus.  I came home for Christmas, Easter, and in June; couldn’t afford to come oftener.    

The first few weeks in Houghton, I tried to work for my room and board.  That didn’t work out.  I stayed over a mile from the school; at noon, I’d walk home for lunch, had to serve the family their lunch, wash the dishes after having a bite to eat myself, and dash back to school.  My room was up in the attic and I was not allowed to use the bathroom on the second floor, so it was down to the basement bathroom for my use.  The Mr. and Mrs. would go out every evening until 2:00 or 3:00 A.M. and I had to wait until their return before I could go to sleep.  I also was terribly homesick.  Finally, I went to room with three girlfriends.  We had kitchen privileges, so we made our own meals.  

What we ate and got by with is a miracle we didn’t become anemic or suffer from malnutrition.  A typical daily menu was:  A breakfast of oatmeal and diluted canned milk; lunch was bread and butter, cocoa made with water and canned milk, and sometimes Campbell’s vegetable soup; supper was boiled potatoes, bread, cocoa, egg or bottled meat, or gravy made from salt pork.  Our folks sent the bread, butter, eggs, canned meat, and salt pork by mail.  We had canned berries and nisu as a special treat occasionally.  Carrots and rutabaga were available in the fall.  Vegetable consumption was almost nil; fresh fruit, never!!!  All of us were going to school with very limited finances.  We got by….perhaps the long daily walks in the wind, rain, snow, or sleet with none too warm clothes kept us healthy.  

A ten-cent hot lunch was served to the kids who came from the outlying areas; all town kids went home for lunch.  

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The second year, I got tired of the meager lunches we ate, so, being a favorite student of my cooking teacher, I asked if I could work in the kitchen during the serving time and earn my lunch.  It was my duty to supervise the seventh graders and see that they left the kitchen in perfect order for the afternoon classes.  Those lunches were simple, but ample; a hot dish, a sandwich, cocoa (made with milk), and a dessert like cake, fruit, pudding, or a cookie.  I felt well-fed, then.  

We paid $5 a month for our room.  

I didn’t have any money to attend a football game, but I did attend a few basketball games and a couple movies during the year.  But I did not attend any of the school dances; no money or appropriate clothing, and too shy to go, anyway.  

What I regret to this day is the fact that I didn’t borrow the money or skip a few soups to go hear the John Philips Sousa band in person at the Kerredge Theater.  But, in those days to borrow money for mere pleasure was unheard of.  That opportunity knocked only once and I let it pass.  

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MY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION 

Oh, that was a red-letter day in my life, but darkened by the fact that not one of my family was present at the graduation exercises.  My folks didn’t have a car until five years later, and, at the time, couldn’t afford to hire someone to drive them there.  

We didn’t have caps and gowns; the boys wore dark suits, the girl wore white street-length dresses, white shoes, and hose.  Later, I painted my shoes blue because white ones were impractical on the dusty, muddy cow-littered road.  My sister, Lina, sewed my dress which was later dyed a pale green, and was my dress-up dress for my college years.  I sewed a dress in high school class; Lina sewed two more dresses for me; and an outfit was handed down by a friend…which made up my wardrobe for the college!!!  

How I longed for one of the flary, pleated swirly skirts all the girls were wearing then.  Due to the pleats, they were impossible to make and no money to buy one.  

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DAYS AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE 

My high school Home-Ec teacher was the go-between to find me the place to work for my room and board at her cousin’s home in Marquette.  She recommended me on her own volition and, needless to say, I was elated as that solved a financial problem for me.  Without any interviews, I was on my way.  

The train ride to Marquette was filled with anticipation.  Dr. ----- met me at the depot.  They were the most kind and generous family a person could meet.  At Christmas time, the doctor asked if I’d completed my shopping; I told him I wasn’t doing any.  He handed me $10 and told me I must buy something for my younger sisters and brothers.  

During my first year at N.M.C., the policy was changed that that year’s class was the last one that could earn a Life Certificate in two years.  Dr. ----- told me that he hoped I was considering getting mine.  I told him that that was too much to expect my parents to sacrifice as they hoped I’d be out earning by then.  He offered to pay all college expenses.  

My mother was all for that plan, so that’s how I got my life certificate.  He paid the tuition, books, all supplies, and gave me extra money for spending and some clothes. 

My high school roommate was also working for her room and board.  Her host was manager of the Delft Theater and related to the -----s.  Elinor was given a pass for two whenever she wanted to see a movie, but it had to be the early one at 7:00.  She always asked me to go with her, which was O.K. with the -----s as they’d never go out before 9:00 as the doctor had evening office hours.  Elinor and I saw just about every change of picture at the Delft (it was a five to ten minute walk).  The talkies were just being released the second year I was in Marquette.  We sure enjoyed them and saw more shows then than I did in later years.  We still had long evenings to study and our entertainment didn’t cost anything.  

 The -----s had three girls, aged thirteen, eleven, and two years.  The two oldest were Mrs. ----- by a previous marriage.  Her first husband, a lieutenant, was killed in action World War I in France.  I am forever grateful for all they did to help me.  

Their living quarters were on four floors.  The ground floor with back entrance had the kitchen, dining room, screened patio for summer dining, and laundry rooms.  The ground floor front entrance had a large foyer, a huge living room, music room, play room, bath, and a sun room.  The third floor housed four bedrooms, a hall, a large bathroom, and screened porch.  The fourth floor had a combined spare bedroom and sewing room.  There were four fireplaces; in the dining, living, playroom, and a bedroom.  The first two were in daily use.  

My duties were to do the weekly cleaning, daily pick-ups, and dusting, assist with dinner, start breakfast, set the table for each meal, wash dishes, do some baking, and help with mangling; the laundress did most of that work.  On weekends, I’d prepare lunch.  I was the sleep-in baby sitter.  I was treated as one of the family, ate in the dining room with them. They gave me my first wristwatch when I graduated from NMC.  I was so proud of that watch.  My sister, Lina, went to work for them later; I left and she stayed there until illness forced her to leave after seven and a half years.  She died six months later.  

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ADVERSITIES OF FARMING 

(Back to 1933)  

At the beginning of the 1930 depression, my dad purchased four purebred Guernsey heifers.  It was around 1933 and the heifers were just about full-grown.  That summer, the grasshoppers were devouring the hay, grain, and other crops; and what they didn’t eat, the drought was killing.  The farmers tried to kill the hoppers with poison (a mixture of bran, poison, and banana oil…the concoction was deadly).  After poisoning the fields, dad stored the tub in which the poison was mixed in the garage.  The wind blew the garage door open, and unknown to anyone, those four heifers went in licked the tub, and died there.  What a loss, when Dad’s hopes were so high for purebred cows and times were so bad!!! 

Aura Remembers  

It was during the early days on the farm when income was very meager, barely keeping the wolf from the door.  There just was not any money available for anything new.  The well was going dry from which we were getting the drinking water.  Dad was concerned and worried about the water supply…there wasn’t any money to have a well dug, so in his desperation he broke down to weeping.  Mother told him, “Don’t cry, we can borrow money from your life insurance and have a well dug.”  That policy was a $1,000 one, which at that time was a huge fortune.  I can’t recall if the loan was made.  

Aura also remembered that on an extremely frigid wintery stormy day, someone had to pump the water.  I was bundled up like an Eskimo from top to the tips of my toes to do the honors on that bitter day.  How well I remember those days when the wind blew the icy water all around with little going into the bucket.  

The woods were very close to the house.  About a hundred feet from the house seemed like a half a mile in the woods.  So when Dad was clearing land there, we kids would carry Dad’s lunch to him so he didn’t have to waste time to come home to eat.  Gradually the woods were chopped down so now on the home farm, the woods are a half mile away.  

Any one of you readers who were born after the 1920’s have no idea and can’t possibly visualize what hardships we had to endure and the hard work our parents went through to feed, clothe, and keep the family warm.  Mothers made all the clothes, and knit stockings and mittens.  Ready-made clothes were scarce.