Agnes

This blog post is about my mother's side of the family. It is about my Aunt Agnes. She was born in 1909 in Pray, Wisconsin and never married. Pray is a small town in central Wisconsin. It was was an important logging area in the late 1800's. Pray is named for the man who owned the first sawmill, not for religious reasons. It had a train depot and my grandpa and a couple of my uncles worked on the railroad. It was an up and coming community and then it wasn't. Now it would be a stretch to say 10 people live there. 

All of Agnes's siblings had a spouse and children to document their lives. In a small way I would like to fill that gap for Agnes. My mom was very close to her oldest sister, and I spent a lot of time with her. I will be interested if any of my cousins have their own memories. She had a long and interesting life that included many people.

 

 

Agnes was the oldest child and my mom was the second youngest of ten children. This photo is of my grandpa Holger, Agnes and her brother Lyngaard. He was 3 years younger. I am not sure when this was taken but Agnes looks about eight and Lyng about five. Grandpa was only in his 30's but looks a lot older. Times were very hard then.

 

This family photo was from September 1932. They were poor but they were all together at this point. Imagine cooking on a wood stove for all these people, carrying water and no indoor bathrooms. 

This next family picture was taken in the 1940's. Agnes is on the far left, continuing in descending birth order to my mom second from the right, and last on the right my uncle Gene. This picture was before all the 4 youngest brothers went to WWII, some were newly married, the two oldest boys were working on the railroad with grandpa and Agnes was teaching.

We all called her Aunt Aggie. She was the oldest and took on the role of caretaker for all of her brothers and sisters. Their mother died when Aggie was just 28. She had more than one chance to marry but declined. I know she was engaged, but as a young person I never heard any details. She wrote in a journal for much of her life. I don't know what happened to those journals, but I am sorry they were lost. I think that since their mother was very ill for years and died so young, Aggie felt responsible for some of her younger siblings. When their mother died, five of the ten children were under 18.  

When Aggie graduated from high school, she went to Marathon County Normal School in Wausau, Wisconsin. I believe it was only a one year program because she graduated in June of 1928. She was 19 years old. 

From that point, she became a teacher in a one room schoolhouse in Pray, Wisconsin. Since she taught all primary grades, she ended up teaching six of her siblings. 

 

The Pray School was in Pray Wisconsin in the Township of City Point. The township included the towns of City Point, Spaulding and Pray. City Point and Spaulding had their own schools. It was built before 1900 and closed around 1942. The few students that were left were transported to the City Point school.

Interestingly I found an autograph book from the 1928-1929 school year. It had two entries written by Aggie's sisters Christine and Bernice. They had to call her Miss Jepsen. My mother said Aggie was harder on her siblings than the other kids. She couldn't show favoritism. These pages say they are sorry she won't be back the next year but my mom, her brother and a future sister in law are in a later photo. I found out that Aggie taught from 1929-1940 except for 1931 and 1936-1938. The very same Bernice who wrote in this autograph book became the teacher from 1941-1942. 

 

My mom is the girl in the middle, her little brother is in the bottom row and far right. Aggie is in the top row and next to her is what would end up to be her sister in law Lillian. My mom was in 8th grade in 1936-1937 and Aggie was not teaching for those years. I think this photo was probably a couple years before that. I don't have an exact date. 

When it was time for high school the kids would board in a town with a high school. Imagine at 13-14 years old going away and living on your own for the week. They would often come home for the weekend, but many times they would not. They didn't have money and lived on what ever was provided by the boarding house. Grandpa would give them a nickel for spending money. My mom said they would get day old sweet rolls and eat them.

The curriculum was pretty hard. I found a lesson plan book from the 1940. They learned to recite poems, act in plays, do the normal 3 R's plus a lot of history and literature. Those of you who attended country school know you learned from the grades ahead of you. I think it made for some pretty smart and well rounded individuals. It wasn't all bad, except for the bathroom facilities and having to stoke the fire in the winter so everything wouldn't freeze. There were no buses and no cars. They really did have to walk a couple miles each way through the woods to get to school. 

When it was time to quit teaching, Aggie moved to Madison, WI. That is where she lived until she died. I don't know what she did for a living at that time, but she ended up working at the University of Wisconsin library in Madison. She loved it there and made many friends. She traveled all over the world. She seemed to enjoy her life. She loved jewelry, colorful clothing and perfume. I wasn't a fan of that perfume. 

She also wasn't much of a cook. I remember having to spend every Christmas Eve with her. I don't remember much about the meals except for one thing. She would always have a jello salad with some type of berry in it. To this day, I don't know what it was. They tasted like puke, and the thought of it makes me gag. I am sure my sister will remember the "puke berries" as well. Aggie was not much of a housekeeper either. She had a lot of books, magazines and clippings from newspapers. I am lucky she did that because she kept and wrote on everything. That has made it easier for me to piece together her story. All my cousins will remember the fawn picture she took. She sold it to a postcard company and everyone had a copy of it. Every drawer and bookmark was a picture of that fawn. 

She introduced me to pizza and shrimp. I thought she ordered "peach pie" but it turned out to be my first slice of pizza. She called it Pizza Pie. I told her I liked the shrimp except for the hard part I couldn't chew. She told me those were the tails and I wasn't supposed to eat them. 

I think she was a mother figure for everyone. When she died in 1995, I was there. Just like my mom at the time of death, she turned back into a young looking version of herself without any stress or pain. It was a comforting thing to see. She was cremated and I went by myself to the funeral home to pick up her ashes. They stayed with me and later we transported them back to the old home cemetery and church in City Point, Wisconsin. She was buried with her parents and grandparents. I go to the cemetery twice a year to put flowers on the cemetery and remember. It is something I will do as long as I can. 

We all choose our paths. Sometimes it isn't the path others think we should be on, but it is our own journey. Aunt Aggie had a rich and full life. She loved all of her siblings and their families, and they loved her in return. You can't ask for anything more.
 

A Fabric Pan Cover

Every time I bring a dish to pass, I cover my dishes with aluminum foil unless the pan comes with a cover. I don't like having to do this. It seems so wasteful. There is also a lot of information about health concerns from overusing foil but that is usually when it's heated. I have used beeswax wraps for small bowls, but I needed to cover bigger pans.

I do roll the clean foil up in a ball and use it in my dryer for static control. That probably isn't safe either but it works well. 

This little project can save a few pieces of foil. There are a lot of things out of our control, but maybe this will help in my small way. I also use compostable garbage bags/zip lock bags and cloth towels instead of paper towels. 

Recently I saw a video about making fabric pan covers. I thought I would try. They would be a secure cover, and they would be washable. 

The first thing I did was go down in my stash of fabric to find something appropriate. It had to be stable and washable. I found a piece of fabric my sister gave me last spring. I had made a tablecloth out of it but had enough leftover to make this project.

I chose the pans I wanted to make covers for. I chose a glass 9 x 13 pan and a 9" pie plate. I measured the pans and added about 2 inches around. I cut two pieces for the 9 x 13 pan. I measured the piece 13" by 19'.  I added a little to accommodate the handles. This step isn't necessary if there are no handles. I also cut two circles for the 9 inch pie plate. These circles were 13 inches.

 I wanted to round the corners on the rectangle so I marked a rounded corner with a plastic cup on the wrong side of the fabric.

Then I put the right sides together and stitched around, leaving an opening of three inches. Through this opening I turned the piece to the right side. This would also make a nice place mat or stuff it for a pillow.

 

After top stitching the piece about 1/2 inch in, I ran a length of 1/4 inch elastic. I cut the piece about 7 inches shorter than the circumference of the pan. In the case of the 9 x 13, I cut the piece 36 inches. Using a safety pin, I threaded the elastic through the placket. I attached the elastic ends together and evened out the gathering. All that was left was to stitch the opening closed.

This is the finished project for a 9 x 13 cake pan and a 9 inch pie plate. This is just a covering for transport. I'm not sure it would keep the cake or pie from drying out. It also would not keep it hot or cold. I think using quilted material might help or sandwiching some wool batting between the layers. I may make a couple more and try to add some padding. 

None of these things will probably put a dent in helping the environment, but it can't hurt. It also keeps my brain working a little bit. That is probably most important. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a quick recipe. When I need a quick treat, this is a go to recipe.  It is for Peanut Butter cookies without flour. It is hard to believe that it works so well, but it does. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

Mix these ingredients together until blended. 

You can add chocolate chips or nuts but it's optional. I added mini chocolate chips to this batch. 

Roll in balls and flatten with a fork.  

Bake 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until just golden brown 

It made 16 nice sized cookies. 

We have our memories

There comes an age in your life when you start thinking of the past more than the future. I'm not sure when this happens. It might be a gradual thing, but I am definitely there. I guess the good (and some bad) memories you have are more powerful than the future. I spent my whole life taking care of people. I am adjusting but every time I see a wild animal or see a beautiful sunrise, I either post it for strangers or just enjoy it on my own. I still cook. I make soup because I made soup and rice pudding every week for my dad. I bake bread and cookies just because that is what I have always done. It was mostly to save money, but it's just what I do. All those memories made me who I am. Life is meant to share, and that is the hardest adjustment. Life is good but it's just different. Friends come and go. Now friendships are mostly through email and texts. Written words are just not the same as a familiar voice but that too is how it is.

Recently I saw a post on Facebook about a skating rink that was set up at a Catholic church in the town I grew up in. It was the place to go in the 1950's and 1960's. It was so much fun. I lived about 3 blocks away and nearly every day we would trek up a big hill to get to the skating rink. I don't remember a lot about the details, but I remember loving it. I am not sure when it opened or when it closed but eventually a new building was built over the land where the rink and warming house were. Time marches on but it was a good memory. 

I don't know if such a skating rink would be as popular now days. I have seen skating rinks in other towns, but they are never crowded like the rink of my childhood or are memory details different than reality? When I was in fifth grade and my sister was in first grade,  our dad would flood our backyard in the winter. At that time we could go out after school or on weekends. It was great fun. We built forts in snow piles and would play in the snow for hours. I don't remember being cold. 

We weren't addicted to technology and we had to make our own fun. I think my dad was happy when we moved close enough to the church and we could go to skating at St. Ann's church, but I can remember him out every night trying to get a good ice base for us to skate on.  I found this picture of my Uncle Jeff (yes I have an uncle who if younger than me) and our little neighbor girl Wendy from that era. This looks more like spring but still chilly. I remember wearing that outfit to skate in. I guess I thought I looked fancy. Oh brother.

Since skating was such a big part of my childhood, I thought it would be a good idea to offer the same experience to my daughters when they were young. I don't think it worked so well. I have no pictures and all I remember of that time was a big patch of dead grass. My dad never killed the grass, but we sure did.

I had a friend who also flooded their backyard for their children and neighbor kids. It was another good memory and I don't think their grass died either. Now we have pictures for every breath we take, but I don't have pictures of that either. 

It was a slower time of life and our needs were small. We played outside and didn't have all the activities and the stress those commitments bring to young people and others as well. I keep my life very calm and quiet, but that isn't the way it is today for most families. 

We were so obedient. We ate whatever we were given, wore whatever we could afford and generally respected our elders. My parents didn't spank us but we sure knew when they weren't pleased. I think this way of living made us a kinder generation. I could go on and on, but I won't. I will live with my good memories. Who knows what I will remember in the coming years. I do know that although I didn't appreciate it all the time, I had a really good life. Those whom I envied over the years turned out to be not what they appeared to be. I am glad I lived long enough to figure some of that out. 

Persimmon Soap

I am really fortunate to live as long as I have. While the world sees old people as out of touch and rather stupid to the ways of the world, I don't feel that way. I feel like I have evolved to a point where I feel rather smart. We have lived through many eras. From the days where all the information we had were from newspapers and the 6 o'clock news to now when we can get information 24 hours a day. Some of it fake and some of it real news. The trick is deciding which is which. 

Knowing all this, I had several unnerving Facebook posts. I apologize to all my friends because I rarely see any of your posts, but I see things like this. Apparently old people smell a certain way that they aren't aware of. That is why you remember your grandparents house and possessions as having an "old people" smell. The posts state that a chemical forms on the skin called 2-Nonenal. It is a byproduct of fat oxidation on the skin. It has nothing to do with personal hygiene. It can not be washed off with regular soap and water. It is not penetrable, no matter how many times you shower. It is like trying to wash out a pan that you cooked bacon in with just water. Water does not cut it. Another thing is that it starts at age 60 and gets worse with age. That is not good for a person of my age. 

I asked my family if I smell like an old person. Of course they said no, but I am sure they are trying to be nice. They also said that if they can't smell it, does that mean they have it too. That's a good question. Apparently a skunk can't smell themselves, maybe that is true for old people too. 

So being the researcher that I am, I searched for a solution. I can only assume I have that smell. I learned that Persimmon Soap cuts the crud. Does it, I don't really know? Did the persimmon industry create all this. My friend Connie introduced me to the persimmon fruit. I blogged about it in 2013. https://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/12/my-first-experience-with-persimmons.html I led a sheltered childhood and had never been exposed to them. They look like a tomato and are seasonal. They are delicious. Will eating persimmons regularly eliminate this smell? So many questions. 

 

Since persimmons are seasonal, I thought the easiest way to try them out was to order some soap. It can't hurt, right? There are so many kinds. Some are expensive, some are made with the persimmon leaves and some with essential oil. I just picked one I thought looked good. I haven't checked the actual ingredients yet. Hopefully it is not made of too many chemicals. It does say it is for nonenal body odor. 

I have only used it once. It suds very well, is a pretty color and smells good. If nothing else, it is a decent soap. 

 

 

I hope this helps with something I don't even know I have, but assume I do. I don't know what to do about my house, my clothes, my bedding and anything else I touch. Maybe I don't really care. At any rate it gave me something to think about on one of these cold winter days in Wisconsin.