The Memories of Myrna Wilson Farness

Growing Up

Where were you born?

Date: 10-23-1910        Place: House North of Garden City       Town: Garden City, SD

Full Name: Myrna Christina Wilson

Father: Herman T. Wilson         DOB: 9-18-1881         Death: 5-7-1949

Birthplace: Foosland, IL

Mother: Elizabeth Schutt           DOB: 2-1-1885           Death: 4-26-1969 <>

Birthplace: Germany – came to the US at 3 years old.

 

Who did they say that you looked like? Mother

Did you ever have a nickname?  No

How old was your mother when you were born? 25

Who delivered you when you were born? Midwife – Molly Durney

Did you have any brothers or sisters? Marie Elsie Wilson – 10-30-1907

What was the best birthday you ever had?  Why? Inez Wilson (cousin) and I had them together – high school age.

What was your favorite flavor of birthday cake? White

What were your favorite games and toys? Play with paper dolls cut pictures and clothing from catalogs making creative paper dolls – not store bought.

What games or sports did your mom and dad play with you? Baseball

Did you ever go sledding, skiing or skating? What sports did you like? Ice skating on frozen ponds, roller skating, played basketball 7th, 8th grade and high school. 

What kind of transportation did you have? Pony and cart drove to grade school, horse & surrey as family – later a car – model A Ford about high school.

What chores did you do? Milked cows, gathered eggs, housework, bake

 

When given money, what did you spend it on? Candy – lots of candy

Did you have a pet, and what was it’s name?  Dog – “Teddy”

What did your house look like? Lived in Sears Roebuck catalog house with 8 rooms.

Did you move to other houses when you were little? 3 times. Born in a house by Garden City – lived in Granary which was built first and then built a shanty which they lived in until the house was built.

 

What kind of appliances did you have to cook with, wash clothes and light the house? Cook stove burned corn cobs and woo.  No refrigerator – canned meat – cooled by lowering in pail into cistern.  Smoked hams and bacon kept in grain bins buried in grain in winter, kerosene lamps round washing machine with gasoline engine in shanty.

 

Did you have a room of your own?  Shared room with Marie.  Hired man slept in one room and the 3rd room was kept nice as a guest room.

 

How did you keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer? Coal Furnace to heat – kept cool by closing shades in the morning and open up in the evening when it cooled off.

 

School and Fun

What school did you go to?  Thorp one room school until about the 4th grade

Did you get good grades? Fair

What subjects did you like? Arithmetic

Which ones did you least like? Spelling

How did you get to school? Pony & Cart – High School drove the old Ford

Who was your favorite teacher? Cora Graves

What did your school look like? Big two story brick building and one room school wood structure

 

What sports did you participate in or watch? Watched baseball and played basketball.

Who was your best friend in Grade School? Marie Wilson High School? Eva Hansen

 

 

What did you and your friends do for fun? Band concerts and Gala Days in Garden City.  Went to dances at Garden City Hall.

How old were you when you started dating?  16 – Howard Stacey went to the movies.

What was your favorite junk food? Baked rhubarb pie

What style of clothes did everyone wear?  Always wore dresses

Did you go to the prom? No  Homecoming? No

What was your High School graduation like? 4 in the class – no caps and gowns.  Speaker and received diplomas Eva Hansen, Earl Harmon, Myrna Wilson, Victor DePeel

Where did you first meet grandpa?  Met at a ballgame – Grandma: 17, Grandpa: 26.

Where did grandpa take you on your first date?  What was he like? Went to a movie in Bradley – loved to dance two step and waltz.  Nice and good sense of humor.

What was his favorite place to take you on a date? Dancing Bradley, Garden City and Round Lake

 

Getting Married

When did Grandpa ask you to marry him?  Dated for a year

What was your wedding like? Bill & Marie Shape went with to the ministers house – at Hayti August 3, 1929. 

Did you have a honeymoon? No.  Grandpa was a farming near Bradley – moved to that farm.

Where did you and grandpa first live?  Farmed near Bradley (NE) Grandma helped on the farm and was a housewife.

 

Were you a good housemaker? Average

When and where were your children born? Darlene Fae Farness 1-18-1934

Harlan Edwin Farness 2-10-1932; Delores Maxine Farness 1-17-1930

When did you learn to cook? Very little

What did you first learn to cook? Cookies

 

Holidays

What did you usually do on Thanksgiving? Big feast and lots of family – Oscar and Ed Wilson’s

What did your mom make best? Baked bread

What did you usually do on Christmas? Relatives got together with Oscar and Ed Wilson’s

Did you hang up Stockings? Yes – Santa

Did you have a tree? How did you decorate it? Yes- candles and ornaments

Did you help make Christmas cookies and candy?  What were your favorite? Fudge

What were your favorite traditions at Thanksgiving and Christmas? Turkey Dinner

Did you make cards to give on Valentines Day? Made Valentines card- never bought at the store

What did you do Easter Sunday? Go to church – Dinner with relatives

Did you celebrate Memorial Day? No

Did your family have a picnic on the fourth of July? Yes. Went to Bailys Lake

Did you ever have a big family reunion? My mothers relations came to visit.

How did you celebrate birthdays? Cake and ice cream

 

Memories

What fads do you remember best? Long and short skirts

Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t? Hawaii – never went there

Who are the people who influenced you most? Why? Teachers – Katy Sprague

 

How did you feel when you first learned you were a grandma? Excited

What did you think when you first saw me (Peggy)? Cried a lot

What advice do you have for me? Always be truthful be happy

What was mom like as a baby? Sick baby – took train from Naples to Bradley when she had Bronchitis – 2 years old.  Happy baby

What chores did mom have to do? Didn’t milk cows good – grandma showed her how and the cow kicked grandma off the milking stool.  Herd cattle, dishes, pick and carry cobs, picked berries.

What will you always remember about my mom? Always good natured – lots of friends

Did you ever travel by train or airplane? Airplane ride with David Hales – Took train and moved to Oregon.

What was your favorite trip? Oregon by car – Clarence and Tilda and Great Grandma (this is also the longest trip)

Did your family go on vacations? Not really – Drove home when moving back from Oregon – Drove three Yellowstone which was closed and Black Hills.

Did you go fishing or swimming? Fishing – grandpa didn’t like to fish

Did you go to the State Fair? Huron State Fair

How old were you when you learned to drive a car, who taught you? Marie taught me – 14 years old

Did you have your own car? No

How fast could cars go? 40 mph

When were you baptized? As an infant

Where do you go to church at? St. Paul Lutheran in Clark

What work did you do at the church? Making quilts, lefse making, serving funerals and weddings

 

Favorites

Color: teal – turquoise  Hobby: quilting Candy: Fudge

Book: Bible                              Season: Summer           Cookie: raisin

Song: Amazing Grace               Holiday: Christmas        Ice Cream: Vanilla

Sport: Basketball                      Flower: Rose