By
Helen Louise Raine Rowley Parent
Written with her daughter
Carol Louise Rowley Roberts
Fall 2005
My
Parents
My parents were both from the Midwest.
My mother, Minnie Belle Starr, had come from a family of five children. She was
born October 22, 1883
in Keosaugua, Iowa. She resided there until she became a school
teacher in Wyaconda Tp. Clark County,
Missouri. My father, Samuel
Jonathan Raine, also came from a family of five. He was born in Gorin, Missouri on January 18, 1884. He began working
in Gorin after 3rd grade. His father saw no reason to go to school
if he could make money for their family. So he worked with his family in the
farm fields or what ever other work he could get. His father was an alcoholic
and didn’t support the family. They lost their farm and became tenant farmers. My
father was very ambitious. He left rural Gorin, Missouri
to get a job in St. Louis
as a street car conductor on the LaClede Line. He wanted to make money so he
could marry my mother. They were married in Wyaconda Missouri on May 1, 1910. After they were married they lived
in Chicago
where he was trained as a steam fitter by Armor Meat Company. In spite of
little formal education he was very successful at work. They moved to Detroit because he could
get a high paying job ($5.00 a day) at Ford Motor Co. He stayed there until the
union was organized. He joined the union and left Ford to take a variety of
better paying union jobs. He worked on the Oriental Theater and Pontchartrain
Apartments in Detroit.
The apartment building which is twelve
stories high still exists in Detroit.
It was quite “the place” at that time. It was completed in 1929.
My
Early Years
I lived at 12th and Davison in Detroit. It later became the Davison Freeway
which was the first freeway in Detroit.
My grandparents Benjamin Asa and Clara Eliza Starr lived in the upstairs flat
and we lived downstairs. Grandma had suffered a stroke and was an invalid. My
mother and aunts cared for her along with a nurse and a girl named Gladys. Gladys
was a child from a family that was very poor. They couldn’t afford to raise her
so grandma and grandpa raised her as their child. My life seemed to revolve
around those caring for grandma so had no time to play and no kids to play with.
My grandpa was busy working but was very sweet to me. They thought that taking
in foster kids might be a way for me to have kids to play with. That didn’t
last long when they came down with chicken pox and gave it to me and then gave
me head lice. My mother Minnie would always walk me across the street to
kindergarten because we lived on a very busy intersection. Someone finally
convinced her to let me walk across by myself and I almost got hit by a truck
one day. The truck didn’t hit me only because it stopped at a store for a
delivery. My mother totally fell apart after the incident. Shortly after that
mom, dad and I moved to a home in the “suburbs”. Grandma and Grandpa Starr
continued to live at the house on Davison until they died in 1929.
Our home at 15756 Princeton
was so new there was not even a street in front of it yet. I watched them build
the street. They used tin cans as fill for the street. After the road was completed, it was possible
to visit with other families on the street. I had a great time with so many kids
to play with. When I was seven I finally got roller skates. Other kids had them
long before that age but my mother was very protective of me. My first skates
were “learner” skates and were very slow. Once I got my skates it was one of my
favorite activities. Many of the families on Princeton
had lots of kids and there always seemed to be someone giving birth. They had
their babies at home and all the neighbor kids would gather under the window
and listen to the sounds coming from the house. We imagined what was going on
in there for the baby to be born – with all the
screaming etc. One of the mother’s who had six kids always seemed to be sitting
on her porch darning socks. She just let her kids take care of themselves. She
taught me how to darn socks. Because we lived ½ blocks from the school we had
lots of activities close by in the summer. The Detroit recreation department had a program
five days a week at the school. I got to do crafts, dance, play games and sing
during the day and at night play kick ball. The boys played baseball at night.
They also taught me to run and I came in second at a race at Belle Isle. I would have won except I turned around to
see where the other runners were and one passed me.
Money was a concern because of the great depression. My
mother made up embroidery patterns and sold them and would do embroidery for
people. She also made fancy aprons and children’s clothing to sell. When she
had enough to sell, we would also make some home made potato chips and bag them
up. I would travel with her by streetcar to the more affluent parts of Detroit on Grand Blvd. with
her “Boston Bag” full of wares. We would
sell the chips and clothing and then return home. While on our selling trip we
would eat lunch at the dime store. I always ate a hot dog and my mother always
ate ice cream. We could only afford one choice each.
My dad would come outside every evening and sit on his short
ladder and water his lawn and garden. He’d keep his eye on me this way while I
played with neighbor kids. My mother
would stay at home while my dad was friendly and visited with all of the
neighbors. She only went to church meetings. Every Sunday we would all go to church. Mom
would have a roast cooking while we were at church. When we came home we would all eat and then
all afternoon dad and I would take a long walk. It was his only day off and I
treasured the time with him.
Every other year we would go to Iowa
and Missouri
to visit family. I loved going there and seeing family. One of my greatest
memories is going downtown to get ice cream with my dad and his dad. They
always bought me a cone but not one for themselves. They just shared mine. I
soon found out that if I bought a chocolate ice cream cone they wouldn’t eat it
– so chocolate became my “favorite” ice cream (I really didn’t like chocolate
but realized by getting that I could eat all of it).
We also went to Chicago
every summer to visit mother’s sister, Aunt May. We rode the elevated subway
there and I thought it was quite an adventure. I like looking down onto the
buildings below as we rode by in the cars. I thought my cousin Merle was mean
because he called me, “Helen, Helen,Watermelon”. I
would run crying to my mother.
My mother’s sister, Aunt June and Uncle Wilson, and my
cousins Carl and Arlene lived two doors down from us in Detroit. Aunt June was so much fun and a role
model for me. She was a private duty nurse. Uncle Wilson had been one of her
patients after he was injured severely. He did handyman work. They included me
with their family in all activities after my homework was done. Every winter evening
Dad and I went to Aunt June’s to play cards (Rook). Uncle Wilson, my cousins
and Dad and I would play until Aunt June got home from her twelve hour nursing
job and then she would join us. She worked 7am
to 7 pm. If she was cold, she would stand over the furnace grate to
warm herself and drink hot coffee before she joined us to play cards. My cousin,
Arlene, says she remembers her mother going into the kitchen and removing her
corset before playing cards because the stays would stick her in the ribs. My
mother didn’t like outside activities and would not even allow cards in our
home. She was quite a contrast from her fun loving sister. When Aunt June would
pick me up for an activity my mother would give her a list of rules of what I
could do or not do. Aunt June would let me do everything! She even taught me to
sing “Three o’clock in the
Morning” when I was only 3 years old. She knew it would upset my mother to hear
me singing about dancing all night and she thought that was really funny. Aunt
June was a nurse and every time she would finish a private duty case, she would
party with my cousins and Uncle Wilson. She always included me in her party!
Schools
Days
My grade school went until 8th grade. They were
just beginning the new Jr. High concept and all schools weren’t the same. At
our 8th grade graduation the girls all wore white dresses that we
had to make ourselves. We could choose only the sleeve style. We could have set
in sleeves or cap sleeves. I made mine with cap sleeves.
I attended 9th grade as my Jr High year. Our
class wrote a poetry book and I had a poem in the book. This year was quite a
hard year. My hard working dad could no longer get work in Detroit because of the depression. My parents
were real savers so we did better than some, but the time still came when we
could no longer make house payments. We lived in our home until the courts got
around to evicting us. It was quite some time since nearly everyone was in the
same situation so the courts were busy. By letting the house go they lost all
the equity but were able to eat and to save whatever Dad made rather than
making house payments. He finally had to go out of town to find work. He
traveled to Midland, Michigan and lived there for five days a
week every week. It took this heart wrenching blow to make me realize how much
I appreciated my dad. No one ever left the family to work elsewhere back then
except for dire emergency. I suspect he did that in some measure to assure that
they would have money to send me to nurses training. He later was able to
return to Detroit
and work as “maintenance man” for 3M. 3M had just opened a small branch in part
of the old Ford factory where he had first worked in Detroit. He retired from there many years
later to move with us to Colorado.
My high school years were wonderful. I attended Cass Tech
High in Detroit.
It was a huge eight story building on a city block. We had 5,000 students.
There was a school of commerce next door. We had a skywalk between the schools.
We had to have a good GPA to be accepted at Cass Tech and had to maintain our
GPA to remain in the school. By graduation we were ready to go into the work
world. My best friend at school was Marceline Rowley. She transferred to Cass
Tech from Kansas.
She had moved to Detroit
to live with her older brother, Sam, and his family after her mother and father
died. She came during the school year and they asked me to show her around. We
became closest of friends and were always together. One time I was standing by
the “lost and found” room when a boy came up to me. He stopped and laughingly
said, “What did you lose – Marce?” Her brother, Sam, was a teacher at Cass
Tech. Marce took science and I took pre nursing as a major. Marce dated Bob
Parent who was also a student at Cass Tech. He was in mechanical drafting.
Marce and I were chosen to assist with registration for classes each year. They would set up tables in a huge gym and
all 5,000 students came there to pick their class schedules. Because Marce and
I worked we were allowed to pick our schedules first. I always made sure I had
a long lunch break. Why? Because during lunch break we could
go dance in the orchestra practice room.
Every day I would quickly eat lunch and then head for the practice room
and dance until classes resumed. The Detroit
River water front was a
short walk from Cass Tech. They made
Vernor’s Gingerale at the water front. If we had any money, we would buy a
delicious Vernor’s cream soda made with Vernor’s and ice cream. As a Senior I
roller skated across the brand new Ambassador
Bridge to Windsor, Ontario, Canada with Marie Diem, Martha
Phimister and a boy all of whom were classmates from Cass Tech. It was such a
fun thing to do. The bridge replaced the
ferry that went across the river. It cost us $.05 to ride the ferry. If we just
rode across on the ferry and stayed on we could come back without paying
another nickel. If we happened to be lucky enough to have a nickel, we could
choose between the ferry and a Vernor’s. We never had enough for both. Bob
Parent and I graduated in January and Marce graduated in June 1935. They later
married and I eventually married her brother, Ted.
Marce Rowley 1935
Helen graduation from Cass Tech
My
Nursing Days Begin
Dreams of being a nurse – I wanted to be a nurse because my
Aunt June (my mother’s sister) was a nurse. She was the person who all the
neighbors looked to for help when they had medical concerns and needs. She
always told me that I could go with her. One day I went with her when a little
neighbor girl was hit by a car. I saw Aunt June pick her up and hold her as she
died.
1935-1938
I graduated from Cass Tech in January 1935 but could not
enter nursing school until I was 18. So I continued at Cass Tech until then
taking a variety of classes. In August 1935, I started nurses training. I was a
student at Highland Park General Hospital at 369 Glendale,
Highland Park, Michigan
which is a suburb of Detroit.
The hospital had about 100 beds. My mother and father paid all of their savings
to allow me to attend school. It only cost $100 for all three years including
room and board.
Dad’s hard working and their thrifty ways had made it
possible for me to attend. That also made it possible in 1938 for them to buy a
big old brick “fixer upper” house to move into when the eviction notice finally
came to pass. Dad and my uncles did most of the repairs and mom rented rooms
and fed college students from the Lawrence School of Technology. We had four
boys and an unmarried teacher who ate meals there. It was like having younger
brothers when I was at home. It was such fun. Every night after dinner, we
rolled up the rugs and danced. Dad had danced as a young man so allowed us to
dance. Mom had never danced.
While in nurses training I met a patient, Harvey Brown, and
we double dated with Marce and Bob Parent.
Harvey
had a twin sister, Peggy. Peggy and her fiancé, Harvey
and I and Marce and Bob went on a camping trip to the Michigan
sand dunes with Harvey’s
mother as chaperone. We had a great time. We were engaged until Harvey broke off the
relationship. Marce and Bob then encouraged me to stay active. I then began to
go to the ballroom with other students. I also often went out with the young
men who rented the apartment at our house. Since we all loved to dance we had
fun together. We were just friends.
I had hepatitis, had an appendectomy and was in a car
accident while in training so had three months to make up. I couldn’t leave school until the time was
made up. So I worked for an additional three months after the other students
were finished. When I graduated from nurses training and moved back home I
would take the streetcar down to the ballrooms to dance. My dad would meet me
at the streetcar stop and walk me home even though the dances ended at 1am.
I am sure my mother insisted that he do that but he never complained.
Bob Parent remembered that my mother would always give us a detailed map of how
to get to wherever he and Marce and I were going. I remember that too - she
would give us all the directions and then we would leave and go which ever way
we wanted! Carol has the little red Detroit
map book that she used for those directions.
January 1939
I worked in the newborn nursery at the Florence
Crittenden Hospital
in Detroit. I
worked in the public area but they also had an unwed mother program. In that
program the girls stayed in a dorm area and did light work on the premises.
They were also required to take full care of their babies. I don’t know how
long they could stay after the baby was born. Our nursery averaged 60 babies. The
nurses changed shifts every two weeks. There were three nurses on the day shift
and we were responsible for giving every baby a bath every day. Evening and
nights had two nurses to care for the 60 babies. Each shift diapered and
delivered the babies to mothers on 3-4 hour schedules. There was no “rooming
in” as there is now in OB. The nurses did all
of the diapering and the mothers just held their baby long enough for the
feeding and then we took the baby back to the nursery. Our baby cart held ten
babies. It was just a long box like cart where we lined up the babies next to
each other. In order to fit ten babies in we put them in alternating one head
to the top and one to the bottom. It was usually time to start picking up the
first babies by the time we finished taking them all out to their mom. On
return to the nursery, they were diapered and weighed if they were breast fed.
If they didn’t weigh “enough” after breastfeeding a supplement was given. Between times (what times)? Whew!) We also
made formula, washed and sterilized bottles, folded laundry and charted. After
eight hours of basically bending over double, it was hard to walk upright and
breathe fully. I loved the babies but only stayed about six months. Pay was $70
a month. I could have stayed at my school where I trained and also have free
room and board for the total pay of $30 a month. I didn’t need the room and
board since my parents lived a short distance from the hospitals so I was
fortunate to be able to live with them and make a little more money. I gave
them money to pay for part of their expenses and bought my first car by paying
½ of the cost of a model T Ford. It was the courtesy car that had been used to
drive dignitaries around in the Ford factory where my Dad worked and he bought
it for a good price.
Summer 1939
I signed on with a General Duty Registry (basically a
forerunner of Kelly Girls or Temps). They assigned us to hospitals usually in
the downtown Detroit
area. Those hospitals always seemed to need more help than they had and felt
they saved money by calling in temps for help at busier times. We could plan
our own schedules and only needed to tell them the day before if we wanted to
work. That work was most apt to be split shift from 7a-12p and 4p-7p. They
provided a dormitory room with pull curtains around beds for resting in between
shifts if desired. Many girls hated it, but it suited me to a T. I was free
evenings to go dancing (usually at the Grande or Graystone Ballrooms) where
groups of boys and girls met. We got to know each other well. A lot of them
were schools friends. In those days there were not many real dates among the
kids who went dancing. No one had the money to finance any more than themselves
because it was during the depression years. Whenever two girls danced together,
it was understood that they wanted to dance and then two boys would come and
take them as partners. It worked fine and everyone had a great time. Staying
out late and taking a mid day nap was a good way of life for me. Since dances
didn’t end until 1 am and
then a big group would go and have a little snack somewhere.
My preferred working place was Harper Hospital
– a general hospital with 6-8 identical floors. Each floor was run exactly
alike so it made no difference where we were assigned. We all did “total
patient care” which included, baths, medications, treatments, therapy or
delivery to other departments for x-ray etc. There was no such thing as a
nurse's aide. We did it all. At that time all surgery patients stayed 10 days
(mostly flat in bed) so bed pans were a big item too. Rooms didn’t have
adjoining baths so it meant all water, wash basins, bedpans and other equipment
we needed would be in one utility room somewhere on the floor of about forty
patients. I also worked sometimes at Woman’s, Grace and Blaine Hospitals
but none of them were as well organized as Harper.
I took a break from hospital work a couple of times when a
doctor needed temporary help in his office. The first one was in the Fisher
building half way downtown. I worked for two pediatricians – Dr. Barnes and Dr.
Groh and one dermatologist. I also worked occasionally for two Osteopathic
Physicians in Highland Park and at the Osteopathic Hospital. The first day I worked for one of the
osteopathic physicians, Dr Holman, he had to amputate a finger in the office.
Family
Life Begins
March 1941
I continued along this line of work until March 1941 when I
went to St Louis, MO. I had met Ted Rowley the brother of my
best friend Marce Rowley when he came home on leave from the Army. Marce and
Bob had arranged a date for him with a girl who worked with Bob but Ted said
not to call her again. He couldn’t get a word in edge wise. So they arranged a
date with me. Ted and I went with Marce and Bob to Belle Isle where the
fountain was frozen and then to a New Years dance at the Masonic Temple.
Ted and I then sat up all night and talked. After he returned to his post in St. Louis he wrote and
proposed marriage to me. I decided his two week leave was not long enough to
decide if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. So I went to St. Louis to work while he
was stationed there in the Army. He lived at the Jefferson Barracks. I worked first at the St. Louis Maternity
Hospital on the Barnes
Hospital Campus. It was a beautiful area by Forest Park. However, I had applied for
General Duty at the Missouri
Pacific Hospital
and they soon called me and I went there to work. Marce and Ted had spent some
time there when their brother John was dying with cancer and they said it was a
wonderful hospital. It really was a nice place to work. Back then they
furnished housing for single nurses and the housing for Missouri Pacific nurses
was in two lovely very old homes with fireplaces in each huge bedroom. They
were beautiful quarters and each house had a housemother. My housemother had been a seamstress and even
helped me make my wedding dress!
July 4,
1942
Ted and I were married and we moved to a cute little
apartment where we were very happy. But that stay was short
because the Army chose Ted to go train the “Woman’s Army Corps” in Des Moines, Iowa.
He left 10 days after we were married and was told he could not take family
along. This was the first time the Army was to train WACS and they weren’t sure
how the experiment would work. I moved back to the nurse’s home so that I
didn’t have to live alone or take a streetcar to work. Seemed strange that years before my father, Sam Raine, had moved from Wyaconda, Missouri area
to St. Louis so
he could make money and marry my mother, Minnie Belle Starr. He was as a
streetcar conductor on the La Clede line in the same town where I later lived
and rode streetcars.
September 1942
Finally I was allowed to go to Des Moines, Iowa
and join Ted. We rented a small apartment with a couch for sleeping for one
week. We then found a small house and sub-let the apartment. I worked at Methodist Hospital. I knew I could always get a
job immediately in OB because there were so
many bedpans to pass that many nurses didn’t like to work there. I like OB because it was such a happy place and I loved babies.
October 1942
Ted was again transferred after only one month to Daytona Beach to continue
training the WACS. I moved to Detroit
to be with my parents while he relocated and found housing.
November 1942
We finally found a little apartment three blocks from the
ocean in Daytona Beach.
Our address was on North Wild
Olive Ave. I worked in a small hospital in a huge
old house. Everyone did everything. That meant I went to the kitchen for
patient meal trays and all over the house for whatever else was needed. I
assisted with everything from deliveries to surgeries. It was without a doubt,
the most varied and interesting of my jobs.
December 1942
Ted was transferred to FT.
Oglethorpe, GA. I
stayed in Daytona because there was no housing at Ft. Oglethorpe.
In January I left our apartment to room and board with friends.
March 1943
By the time I joined Ted in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA
I was pregnant with Janice and too nauseated every day to work. We lived in an
apartment in Rossville, GA
near Ft. Oglethorpe. Ted borrowed cots from the
Army for our temporary beds and we both woke up covered with bites (bed bugs –
ugh!). He traded off those cots for new ones from a different supply room.
May 1943
We finally got housing at Ft. Oglethorpe
and Janice was born there at the base hospital on September 17, 1943. Our quarters at the base
were beautiful. We had three bedrooms and two floors. We had to buy a basic
amount of furniture but the Army would move it for us.
Janice age 3 months
May 1944
Ted was called to overseas duty during WWII. Janice and I
went back to Detroit
and lived in Grandma and Grandpa Raine’s upstairs apartment. I had to work at least six weeks at that time
to keep my R.N. license, so I went to work part time at my training hospital
again. It had been enlarged and seemed so strange. Carol was born there on December 26, 1944. While
Ted was in the Battle of the Bulge, she was born
at Highland Park Hospital.
May 1945
Ted was finally home from the war. He was temporarily assigned
to Camp Ellis, IL
and the girls and I remained in Detroit
while he decided if he wanted to remain in the Army. When he came home from the
war he initially didn’t plan to reenlist.
September 1945
The Army offered Ted a 60 day leave with pay and a bonus so
he did re enlist. While he had leave we left Carol in Detroit with grandma, Aunt June and Aunt
Hildegard and traveled with Janice to see all of Ted’s family and my family. We
borrowed dad’s “Old Lizzie” (his older Ford) for the trip. We then settled into
very frequent moves with the Army.
March 1946
We moved to Carthage, Mo near Camp
Crowder. Carthage
had a lovely town square where I could walk with the girls. There were nice
long areas without curbs so she wouldn’t fall as she toddled. Carol was just starting to walk at age 15
months. At birth her feet were turned sideways
due to her position in-utero. Thankfully the pediatrician was very conservative
and tried having us put her shoes on the wrong feet for quite awhile and then
putting her in orthopedic shoes instead of doing surgery. Even though she
didn’t walk early, once she started she was the fastest mover in the family. Since
we didn’t have a car, walking was our only means of transportation.
May 1946
We moved to Leesville, Louisiana near Camp
Polk. Mom and Dad drove
with us down to Leesville. They drove their new Ford and we drove the old
Lizzie Ford which they gave to us for transportation. On the trip Janice rode
with them and Carol rode with Ted and I. As we
traveled Dad accidentally drove off the side of the road down a gully. They
were behind us so we didn’t even know it had happened until someone stopped us
down the road. No one was hurt and the car was fine but Mom was pretty shaken
up. Once we got to Louisiana
we found VERY hot summer weather. Ted’s
solution was to make the girls a “swimming pool”. He took canvas and hooked it
to the porch on one side and poles on the other. He then filled it with water
for them to play. They really had fun staying cool. Ted usually had to use the car for driving to
work so I was still without transportation. We had wonderful neighbors, the Tatmans, who helped me out a lot. They had a grandson the
age of the girls and loved to play with Janice and Carol. They also helped by
picking up groceries if needed.
September 1946
Ted transferred to Ft. Dix, NJ and the girls and I went to live with mom and dad in Detroit. There was no
housing at Ft. Dix. Within a couple of weeks we moved
to a tourist cabin in Brown’s Mill’s, NJ to be with Ted. Our entertainment then
was only going to an occasional dance where there was a jukebox. The big song
then was “Heart Aches”. Ted was still working with WACS and they would come
over and baby sit with the girls.
October 1946
We moved to a motel near the Boston Army base for two weeks
and then to McLaren apartments in Ayer Massachusetts. While staying at the
motel I was feeling very sick. A neighbor nurse checked on me and got a base
Dr. to come out to see me. He diagnosed me with pneumonia and prescribed
antibiotics. She took care of the girls while I recovered. Ted had to be gone
long hours for military duty. Ayer was 40 miles from Boston so he had a long drive to and from
work every day. If the girls and I needed to go to town we had to take the
subway. I needed harnesses for the girls because the subways were very crowded
and one or the other of them (usually Carol) would invariably run off if I
didn’t watch them every second. I sure got some strange looks but at least I
knew they were safe that way.
October 1947
After finally living one year in one place, we again had to
move. There was a fire at the McLaren apartments. Carol was less than three by
this time but she still remembers the night of the fire and being wrapped in
blankets at a neighboring home. Thankfully none of us were hurt but some of our
possessions were damaged. We were happy to move to a housing project where we
had our first two bedroom apartment. Ted
took his Army discharge from Boston with hopes
that he could re enlist in Michigan
and be stationed closer to the folks.
May 1948
We moved to Detroit
with mom and dad again while Ted re-enlisted.
Thankfully he did get assigned to Jackson,
Michigan. There was no housing
available so the girls and I temporarily stayed in Detroit. During our frequent moves I did not
work as a nurse but cared for Janice and Carol.
September 1948
Janice started kindergarten at Ford
School in Highland Park, MI.
February 1949
We were all finally settled in Jackson, MI
with Ted working for the Army with National Guard and Reserves there. It was
good because we could be close to mom and dad who were only about 75 miles away
in Detroit. We
lived in a rental house.
August 1949
When our rental house sold we moved into another rental home
on East Prospect Avenue
in Jackson. It
was a nice home.
September 1950
Carol started kindergarten. The house on Prospect was sold
so we had to move again.
November 1950
We rented a house at 240 E. Addison and when that house went
up for sale, we bought it. Finally, our first home. In order to keep my license
current I decided to work one night a week. I worked General Duty at Foote Hospital.
I didn’t work too many months because I became pregnant again.
June 8,
1952
Charles was born at Foote Hospital
in Jackson, MI.
August
15, 1952
We felt so blessed to have stayed in one place for 4 ½
years! We knew it couldn’t last forever. When Charley was only two months old, Ted
had to relocate to Anchorage
Alaska. They said he could not bring
his family. We all packed up and moved to Grand Junction, CO. Aunt Marce and
Uncle Bob, Uncle Frank and Uncle Sam already lived there and we wanted to be
near family. So mom and dad and our whole family moved out west. We shared a home with mom and dad until we
each found one to buy.
September 1952
Mom and Dad bought a house at 1347 Orchard Ave and we bought a house at
301 Orchard Ave.
Janice and Carol started school in Grand Junction. Soon after
we bought our houses the Army said we could come to Alaska. We just had to wait until Charley
was 6 months old before we could travel to Alaska.
Cousins – Janice, Gordon and Carol
Charley outside our
house at 301 Orchard Ave.
December 1952
We rented our home and left Grandma and Grandpa in Grand Junction and flew north to Alaska. While we were gone Ted’s family
cared for my parents just like they were theirs. Janice and Carol started school again in Alaska. There was no
military school building. The girls started school again at the Army base. They
went to classes in metal Quonset Huts that were heated with wood stoves. The
second year of school they built a real school that even had central heat. The
only draw back with that was that during moose mating season the kids couldn’t
go out on the playground because the male moose would attack the kids. The
girls also rode the bus to and from school in the dark because of the long dark
days of fall through spring. Every week they rode a bus to the base theater
where the Army “Brats” were treated to a movie and
popcorn. Charley learned to walk and talk while we lived there. I didn’t work
as a nurse in Alaska.
It was not one of the United
States at that time and would have been
nearly impossible for me to get work as an RN and I was very busy with family. We
waited for six months for our furniture to arrive from the states! Until then
our furniture consisted of army cots as beds and another cot as a couch and a
kitchen table set and one set of pans. We thought we were living it up when we
bought one comfortable chair for the living room. Everyone wanted to sit in it.
After Charley went to bed each night, I read to the girls while they each sat
on an overstuffed chair arm. While we lived there we experience the eruption of
three volcanoes. On July 9,
1953 Mt. Spur, Mt. Torbet and a
third unidentified mountain in the Alaska Range 80 miles west of Anchorage erupted. A huge
volcanic cloud covered all of Anchorage
and our quarters in Ft Richardson. It was pitch black during the middle of the
day. Ash filtered even into closed doors and windows. We saved containers of
the ash to show our family back in the states. Once we decided to take a drive to
Fairbanks
through the mountains and ended up driving in a terrifying sudden snow storm.
We never took a trip to the mountains again! We also watched dog sled races down
the dirt streets of Anchorage during the
winter carnival. Unbelievably there was a shortage of snowfall that winter and
they had to truck in snow for the event. Some of the sleds were pulled
by beautiful white huskies. Anchorage
was far from being a metropolitan city at that time! Ted did lots of fishing
while we were there and sometimes the kids and I went along. The water was
freezing cold but the kids loved the adventure.
July
26, 1954
We took a bus at Anchorage to
the train at Whittier.
We left Whittier, Alaska
on the U.S.S. Freeman – a naval vessel and arrived in Seattle, WA
many days later. The girls loved the freedom they had to roam the naval ship. The
cooks would give them left over fruit to throw to the jelly fish. They also saw
whales blowing in the distance and miles and miles of water. Charley loved to
run in and out of the doors and we all had our hands full keeping an eye on
him. Quite an adventure for a 10 yr old, a 9 yr old and a 2
year old. The ship was more like
a cruise ship than a naval vessel. We had wonderful meals with even a choice of
menu. Ted drove to Portland
to pick up the car he had purchased. The kids and I remained in Seattle at a hotel. When
he came back with the car I thought it was beautiful. It was two tone blue and
cream car. It was the first car we had owned that wasn’t black. We drove to Grand Junction, Colorado
in style! Ted was called to FT. Leonard Wood, MO. for temporary duty and we
stayed with mom & dad again while waiting for a new assignment.
Our blue and cream Ford
September 1954
Janice and Carol started 2nd and 4th
grades in Grand Junction.
It was so good to be with family again. Dad had a beautiful flower and
vegetable garden and we all kept busy preparing and eating the produce. He grew
every kind of vegetable imaginable so the kids would learn about how things
grew. He even planted peanuts and pop corn so they could experience growing it
and then eating it as a snack. He sat on
his little ladder every evening to water his yard and watched his grandkids
play. That ladder sure brought back memories for me. Mom had taken cake decorating classes while we
were away in Alaska
and the girls enjoyed seeing her make special flower etc. She used to mail us
decorated cakes all the way to Alaska
when we lived there.
January
1, 1955
Ted started his new Army assignment as an Army advisor for
the Wyoming National Guard and Reserves. There was no housing available in Cheyenne so the kids and I remained in Grand Junction with mom and dad.
At Marce & Bob’s
for Rowley Reunion. Cousins Carol,
Janice, Gordon, Karen, and Aunt Alice Sawyer
March 1955
The kids and I packed up again and moved to Cheyenne. We rented a home
at 3106 Snyder in Cheyenne.
Mom and dad stayed in Grand Junction
with Ted’s family. The girls started in new schools once again. There was not
room in the same elementary school for them to be in the same school so they
went to two different schools.
Summer 1955
The girls had joined Girl Scouts and when there was the need
for a camp nurse I decided to put my nursing skills back to work. I had been
the camp nurse in Frankfort,
MI for my church camp when I was
about 23 years old and had enjoyed the experience. They were glad to make
arrangement for Charley to be at camp too which was quite an experience for a
three year old. The girls were also allowed to attend camp for free since I was
the nurse. We all had a wonderful two weeks in the foothills west of Cheyenne at Hynd’s Lodge.
Most of campers needing my assistance had ticks to remove and a few had scout
knife cuts. We all enjoyed it so much that we repeated the experience in 1956.
After that we did two years of day camp with only one overnight. The breakfast
our very last morning at scout camp is one I will never forget. The famous Cheyenne wind had kicked
up and made all of our pancakes very sandy. Ha!
After helping at the scout camp in 1955 the nursing “bug”
bit me again and I started at DePaul Hospital in Cheyenne.
I worked 3-11 Sunday evenings when Ted was home with the kids. I really enjoyed
it and worked either the medical or surgical floor.
1956
We purchased our home at 3121 Snyder. I started two evenings
a week so we could finish up the basement apartment and rent it. Dad and mom
moved from Grand Junction
about this time. They bought a country house at 110 3rd Ave in Orchard Valley
right outside of Cheyenne.
The kids had a great experience watching Grandpa raise
rabbits and chickens and grow a great garden. He again spent each evening
sitting on his short ladder watering his garden. They helped grandma with
housework and went to church functions with her. Dad also helped Ted with the
renovation of our basement apartment and making the garage at 3121 into a
bedroom for the girls.
The front porch of our house at 3121 Snyder
Dad and Mom
September 1957
Janice and Carol were in Jr High.
Charley started grade school.
1959
We purchased our home at 3241 Acacia Drive in Cheyenne. That meant that Carol and Charles
had to switch schools again. Carol started 9th grade in a new Jr High. . It was a
trying year as she adjusted to all of the changes in schools. Janice continued in High School at Central High.
The dining room at 3241 Acacia
Christmas 1961
Uncle Charley – my mother’s brother on a visit to Cheyenne
1961
Janice and Carol were attending high school on split
sessions. They were building East High but it wasn’t ready for occupancy yet.
They both attended school early in the day and worked in the afternoons and
evening. Janice graduated in June and
headed for Colorado
State University
for a major in Medical Technology.
1962
Ted had a massive heart attack. Life changed as we adjusted
to how short life could be. He finally stopped smoking cold turkey. He
substituted wintergreen lifesavers for his cigarette habit. We all liked that
smell so much better than the smoke! Unknown to us at this time his smoking had
taken even a worse toll on his lungs than his heart.
1963
There were big changes in our family. Janice had been away
at CSU in Med Tech for two years and she and Carol now both started nurses
training in August. Charles was 11 years old and busy with school. I continued
to work at DePaul and also started working ½ week at Dr. Joder’s office. I
shared the job with various other nurses. The carry over of each job to the
other made for the “best ever” job. Dr. Joder was a rare and even tempered
gentleman who never spoke a cross word. Mom and dad moved from Orchard Valley to be closer to us. They bought a
home right down the street from us at 3151
Acacia Dr in Cheyenne.
1966
Janice and Carol both graduated from nurses training. Janice
graduated from St Luke’s in Denver and began her
nursing career in Hastings,
NE. She went there to help Carol
prepare for her wedding. Carol graduated from Mary Lanning in Hastings
and then after her marriage to Jim began her nursing career in Denver while Jim worked
for BF Goodrich. Charley was growing so
big and was in his teen years. Quite a change for us all.
May 1967
Carol and Jim presented us with our first grandchild, Scott.
He lived a short five days due to a congenital heart defect. We were broken
hearted. Mom and Dad never even got to see him. Carol and Jim had planned to
bring him to Cheyenne
for the weekend. By then he was gone.
Our back yard at 3121 Acacia. Charley with Jim, Carol
and me. Carol is pregnant with Scott.
August 1967
Janice and Gary Mousel were married in Hastings, NE.
They began their married life in Omaha where Gary worked for Mutual of
Omaha.
May
17, 1968
Mom went home to be with her Lord. The past year had been
tough with her having problems and dad falling occasionally. I spent time at
their home daily and Charley frequently would go down to check on them. The
time finally came when we had to admit mom to a nursing home for her own well
being. It was a difficult but necessary decision. She had fallen and could
never walk alone again.
June 6,
1968
Janice and Gary presented us with our second grandchild,
Douglas. I was so glad to be there to help Janice with him for a short time.
Doug as High School Senior
July 1968
We sold our home at 3241Acacia Dr and moved in with dad at 3251 Acacia Dr. His
health was also failing and by December he died as well.
September 1970
Charley graduated in June and headed for Montana State
University. He headed for
Ohio for the
summer after school to live with Jim and Carol for three months and work for BF
Goodrich. He then
went back to Montana State in Bozeman
in the fall.
December
10, 1970
Janice and Gary presented us with out third grandchild, Lynn
Marie. I loved helping out a short time after her birth. Her big brother adored
her!
Lynn
as High School Senior
August
6, 1971
Carol and Jim presented us with our fourth grandchild, Paul.
What a blessing. I went to Toledo,
OH to spend time with them. It
was wonderful being a grandparent again!
Paul as High School Senior
Fall 1971
It was pretty quiet around our home. Charley was still away
at college after spending the summer with Jim and Carol in Ohio. I was approached by Mayetta Johnson,
nursing director, at DePaul. She asked me to take the position of relief
supervisor for the 3-11 shift of the whole hospital on the two nights I worked.
I didn’t feel qualified since I’d never had much training in IV’s or ER. So
many more procedures were done by doctors rather than nurses when I trained.
She insisted I was capable of doing the job and said, “You know where the
experts are, don’t you?” Of course I did, after 17 years there. So for two
years I worked as relief supervisor and didn’t have any unsolvable problems.
May
18, 1972
Janice and Gary presented us with grandchild five, Jill
Marie. She lived a short eight months before suddenly dying of meningitis on January 24, 1973. What a
shock for all of us. It seemed just “impossible” that we could loose still
another precious grandchild!
October
15, 1972
Charley married Diane Schnell in Belgrade, Montana.
They eventually opened Rising Sun Leather Company in Bozeman where they resided until 1985.
Retirement
Years
August
7, 1973
This year brought Ted’s 60th birthday we both
retired and began 15 years of winters in Arizona
and summers in Cheyenne.
August
17, 1973
Carol and Jim presented us with grandchild six, John Edward.
He was born in Medina Ohio where they now resided. Ted and I both
traveled to see the grand babies this trip. It was wonderful. We rented our
home to our friends the Whitakers and headed out in our motor home.
John as High School Senior
1974
We bought a mobile home at Pacific Mobile Manor #48 in
Apache Junction, AZ. That was our winter residence until 1988. Ted felt at home
right away playing golf and playing cards. Retirement?
Of course not for a nurse. My first winter of
retirement didn’t satisfy my need to accomplish something worthwhile, so about
a month after we got settled in Arizona I
started working two evenings a week at Scottsdale Community
Hospital on McKelleps Rd.
It was a 30 bed osteopathic Hospital and not really too organized. I worked 5
months there and continued working 2-3 months every summer at DePaul through
1976. Our second winter in Arizona
I got busy as entertainment chairman I had a great time. Marce and Bob owned a
mobile right down the street from us and that was so enjoyable. We also had
many Cheyenne
friends there at the same mobile court.
1976
We bought a mobile home in Cheyenne
at Colonial Mobile Park
for a summer residence and continued to rent our home.
1977
We sold our mobile home and moved back to our house in Cheyenne for the summer to
repair damage done by renters.
1978 August
We sold our house in Cheyenne and moved to a Marlette mobile
home at Sunnyside Villa #26, 3901 Ridge Rd, Cheyenne as a summer residence. We
retained that as our summer residence until 1987 when Ted’s lung condition did
not allow us to live in such a high altitude.
January
17, 1981
Charley and Diane presented us with grandchild seven –
Jessica Starr born in Bozeman.
I went up to help and Diane said, “just hold her all
you want. What an invitation!! I hardly put her down at all.
Jessica as High School Senior
September
11, 1985
Charley and Diane presented us with grandchild eight –
Madison born in Portland, OR. He was always the quiet one in the
family. Mainly just listened while Jessica talked nearly
“full time”.
Madison
as High School Senior
1987 August
We purchased our golden west mobile home and resided at
Quail Hollow Mobile Home Community 21100 N.E. Sandy Blvd. #37, Portland, OR. It
was our first double wide mobile. It was such a good climate for Ted and so
good to be with family. What fun it was
to be around our younger grandchildren as they grew. We missed that with our
older ones because of work commitments.
April
22, 1988
Charley and Diane presented us with grandchild nine – Hannah
Jean. Ted and I were both there when she was born. How amazing that was for
both of us. Ted was so thrilled. What a joy she has been. The only grandchild
we could be around for her whole life.
Hannah as
High School Senior
October 1988
Ted’s health was getting much worse. Carol took leave from
work and came to Arizona to help get him
settled for a transfer to Oregon.
She also helped with settling the mobile sale. I flew to Portland with Ted. Charley and Diane helped settled him in a
nursing home close to their home. I flew back to Arizona
to close the mobile and Janice came and drove with me up to Oregon with our belongings. We had a
beautiful drive up the Pacific Coast on our way to Oregon. Janice felt I needed a beautiful
slow relaxing trip and I certainly did!
1989 April
Ted died in Portland
from COPD. He also had some signs of Alzheimers. He was comfortable and I was surrounded by
family. My niece Bev Bruton and her husband, Charles, were visiting at the
time. It seemed like God was giving me all the support I needed. It was a
relief to see his suffering over. I continued to live in the mobile park in Portland year round and
traveled to visit family. It was a hard adjustment. His sister, Marce, and my best friend from
high school had died in 1986 with Alzheimer’s and a heart attack.
1989 November
We received shocking news that Janice had colon cancer. I
went there to care for her after her surgery.
March
6, 1990
Janice died from her colon cancer. We were all in a state of
shock and sorrow. It was a horrible year for all of us. Carol was in Omaha to care for the last
2 weeks of her life. Lynn
was in her first year of college and Doug was graduating from college. Gary and
the kids showed courage to continue on without her.
1992
I dropped my nursing license registration when I was 75
years old. The fee that year went from $20 to $50 and I decided that was too
much to pay for pride. Besides I could still help others by taking blood
pressures for neighbors. It was easy to stay in touch with nursing though and I
volunteered at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital
in Portland for
many years. I took baby pictures of the newborns until 2005 when my “job” was
replaced by electronic equipment changes. It was sure fun to be around the
mom’s and babies.
January 1994
I was called by Bob’s children and granddaughter asking me
to go to Arizona
to care for their dad/granddad. Bob was suffering with pneumonia after the
recent loss of his second wife, Audrey. I really hesitated to go because of
concern of what the neighbors would think. Carol, Charley and friends all
encouraged me to go. During that visit we both realized that we wanted to marry
and enjoy our remaining years together. Quite a surprise from what I went there
for in the first place. Both of our families where very pleased.
May 1,
1994
Bob and I were married in Gresham, OR
with Charley and his family and Carol present.
We lived in Arizona during the next two
winters and in Portland
during the summers and traveled often to visit all of our children. Between his
four kids and their families and mine we were traveling often! It seemed
someone was always having a wedding, new baby or graduation. We enjoyed dancing
and traveling as a couple so very much.
4 years after our wedding.
1996
Bob sold his mobile in Arizona
and we resided in Portland
year round. We decided it was enough traveling to just keep up with all of our
children and grandchildren and it was such fun! Between us we had 21
grandchildren and oodles of new babies just kept coming – they still are!
2000
We were all shocked with the news that Bob had myelodysplasia. We had been on a trip and tired so easily.
Upon return we went to the doctor and after the confirming tests our lives
changed drastically. It revolved around weekly blood transfusions and hospital
visits. We were still stung by the recent early death of his daughter Kris from
cancer and now this. It was all so very hard to accept. We added on to Charley
and Diane’s home with a wonderful handicapped accessible apartment. We sold our
mobile home and moved to Charley’s with the help of Carol, Charley and Diane. At
least we had five most wonderful years together before he died in April 2002.
2005
Since Bob’s death I have continued to remain active. Being
busy helped me heal from the pain of loss. I have kept busy by taking baby
pictures of newborn babies at Kaiser Hospital, being active in my church, playing cribbage
at the Sr. Center and of course traveling to visit
family. I met a new friend, Loretta, at the Sr. Center
who is also a retired nurse. She has become a very close and congenial friend.
We do a lot of things together in church activities and otherwise.
Holding the hats I crocheted for the
homeless. I made 48 hats in 2005. Our church group gives them to homeless
children each Christmas season.
It has been so good to be near family. I am always welcomed
at the grandchildren’s programs and activities as well as Charley and Diane’s.
Each summer I have traveled to see as much of Bob’s family and my family as
possible. I also usually spend May with Carol in Ohio. In September I fell and broke my hip,
so I have slowed down a little. I’ve been blessed with help from family,
friends and my church. Carol is with me now caring for me and helping me write
this memory book. I plan to get strong again and resume my travels again by
spring. I look forward to spending more time with my grandchildren and great
grandchildren in 2006 and beyond.
Notes added August
2008 by Carol
Mom did eventually recover from her fractured hip but then
had a setback when her hip repair broke.
She never was able to resume her travels to see grandchildren as she had
hoped but she continued to stay in touch with them by phone calls. She also
loved the many visits from grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great
grandchildren. January 2007 she moved into an apartment at Courtyard Plaza
just a short distance from Charley and Diane’s home. She remained very active
there and had several special friends who made her last couple of years very
memorable. She also remained active with Tabor Heights
United Methodist
Church where she helped begin
a ministry for seniors as well as crocheted hats for the homeless.
February 2007
Mom was diagnosed with a pericardial sarcoma (cancer of the
surrounding of her heart). As always she faced the challenge bravely and with
grace. She told me often that The Lord would see her through and she really
lived with hope for the future even if that future was short. The physicians
seemed quite surprised when she informed them that all she wanted was to
celebrate her 90th birthday and then she was ready to meet her
family in heaven. I flew back and forth from Ohio as needed and we arranged for Hospice
so that all of us could have the support we needed as Mom’s illness progressed.
June 13, 2007
We celebrated with Mom at a beach in Oregon and it was wonderful. She even danced
a few steps of the Charleston
for us while holding onto her walker. Other than tiring easily she didn’t look
sick and had no symptoms. She asked me to write down how her memorial service
was to be done and she picked all of the scripture and the songs and I created
the folder cover.
June 13, 2008
She surprised everyone and celebrated her 91st
birthday too! This time she wanted just a quiet day. Her cancer had progressed
enough that she was quite tired. Charley, Diane, grandson Madison and I had
dinner with her. She enjoyed phone calls and cards from so many people that
day. The year had been filled with family visits and Mom treasured each visit. I
gave her a stone with the word DANCE
on it. She was looking forward to dancing in heaven and said that often.
July 2008
Mom’s last week was a busy one even though she slept a lot
and began to experience some pain in her back and chest. We had dinner at
Charley and Diane’s, went for car rides. She participated in activities at The
Courtyard. She talked to all of her
grandchildren and she called the two step grandchildren who had birthdays. She
even danced a few steps to In the Mood
with Charley and me. On Sunday July 27 she prayed with me that God would give
her the strength to die gracefully and that she would go quickly. He honored
those prayers. By Monday afternoon she began to peacefully fade away with
Charley, Diane, Madison and me with her. We played soft music, massaged her
hands and feet, laughed, cried and said goodbye before she went into a deep
sleep. Tuesday morning at 10:58 am she quietly breathed her last breath.
August 6, 2008
We celebrated the Life of Helen Rowley Parent at Tabor Heights
United Methodist
Church. She has touched all of our lives by her
strength and her ability to overcome sadness with her trust that she could live
each day because of her faith. At her request we sang Because He Lives at her
Memorial Service.
It has been a blessing to me to be able to write up this
story as Mom dictated it or handed me notes. I know it will be a treasure
forever for all of our family.