When I was 18 months old, we moved to a house just east of the church where my Grandfather was the minister. I remember crying for my little pink coat the first night we were in the new home. I was home sick and wanted to go home. In less than a year my younger brother Benjamin Jacob was born. It was now quite a job for two young people to keep five children fed, dressed and happy. Pranks by the two oldest boys, Joe and Ralph were not unusual. One of the best that I can remember-one morning mother must have chased us all outside so she could get some work done in the house. We were lucky to have a little red wagon and a pet calf. Joe and Ralph had worked for several days making a harness for the pet calf, unfortunately Rilla, myself and baby Ben went down to the barn where the boys were m the last process of hitching the calf to our beautiful red wagon. They had taken the tongue off the wagon and had almost had the job down. Rilla, age seven, was standing near holding our little brother Ben. Some how Ben grabbed the tongue, and hit the calf on the head. Of course this scared the calf and away he ran with our wagon. When all was said and done, the wagon had no sides and was just a mess. Rilla and I cried because our wagon was ruined and Joe and Ralph cried because Daddy gave them the whipping of their life.

I well remember one 4th of July morning a very good friend of our family ran one-half mile to our home to tell my Daddy that his youngest son had taken his own life. That was 89 years ago. I never go to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried but what I have an urge to go to Charlie's grave to read the scripture on his tombstone --John 13-7 "what I do now thou shalt not know but thou shalt know here after." So here on this place where we live I realized there is joy and sorrow. Joy that we were five happy kids and the friends sorrow at the loss of Charlie.

In October of 1906, three of my uncles {father's brothers} decided they wanted to move to Eastern Colorado and take government claims which they felt would be wealthy locations. They influenced my father to go too. A combination sale was held at my grandfather's place and my father and two oldest brothers were on their way by covered wagon headed for Kiowa County, Colorado. It took them three weeks as they had to stop early in the evening to make camp. Besides two fine teams of horses, there was a cow led behind the wagon and they all needed rest. Mother, Rilla, Ben and myself waited several weeks to go as there had to be a house built before we arrived. My Uncle William had a small cabin--we called it a shack. I can remember that we slept several nights in this cabin [shack].It was a short distance from our house. I shall never forget when we arrived at Sheridan Lake, on the train. My Father met us and he had not shaved since he left Missouri. My little brother Ben, then three years old, would not go near father because of the beard. Ben had really been an entertainer on the train. He stood in the aisle by my mother's seat, held on to the armrest, and sang the hymn, [Only Trust Him]. We lived about ten miles from Sheridan Lake; a very small town which consisted of one small grocery store, a depot and a few minor shops and homes.

My Father tried to farm but soon found that the land was no good for farming. The grazing of cattle and sheep was the only way to make any progress. Buffalo grass, a short brown grass that never got green was all there was. It took several acres to keep an average herd. We did have good water well on our place. In the two years, 1906-1908, there was only one rain.

My Father went to work for an irrigating company that we called the ditch. He soon lost this job and went to work as a section hand on the railroad. Life was hard for Mother, being home alone as she was) and it was several miles to the nearest neighbor. She worried about my two oldest brothers and my sister who were in school. They had to walk three miles to school and three miles back. Life on the prairie was not much fun, as we had to always be on the lookout for rattlesnakes and thorny cactus. Sandstorms were very numerous in this area. I remember one very bad one that came up while my brothers and sister was in school. My Mother worried all day as to how or if they could make it home. My brothers made it home by following the fence rows. When they got home they told mother that some very nice people let my sister spend the night. The winds blew most all of the time. My Mother had to draw water from the well for the cow to drink.

July 13, 1908 my younger sister Ruth was born. We had a beloved Dr. Clark who was to deliver this baby. He was at our house in March and while there he became very ill. Father took him to a ladies house that was an angel of mercy to everyone. He had pneumonia and passed away in a few days. This was a jolt to my parents, but Dr. Clark's son, Dr. John Clark, from over in Kansas, promised to come when the baby was due. This baby got in a hurry and didn't wait for Dr. John. Who else could we turn to but the angel of mercy, Mrs. Morton? Ruth Sarah was born in the early a.m.

It was in October of this year that we left the Colorado ranch and started to Missouri. Father, Joe and Ralph came back on a freight train to be with the animals and furniture. Mother had the four youngest children with her and came by passenger train. Ruth was only four months old, so Mother had quite a responsibility. Rilla and Ben were sick on the train, which didn't help at all.

My Father rented a farm two miles northeast of Lowry City, Missouri. We lived on this place for three years and during this time Joe, Ralph, Rilla and I were all enrolled in Denny School. Miss. Minnie Bernesser was the teacher and she was a very stern person. Truly, I was afraid of her. She carried a club at all times and I remember a beating she gave a boy before the whole school. It was brutal and the boy, about sixteen, never offered any resistance. At this time there were forty-two children in the school We attended my Grandfather's church, German Reformed, which was a very friendly church and in the vicinity of honest Christian people.

In the year of 1911, we moved to the Ohio community. Here we attended Little Jewel School and it was at this school that I finished my elementary schooling. Following this, I went to high school in Deepwater, Missouri. In 1919 we moved to the Appleton City, Missouri community. Our years in the Ohio community were dull and uneventful. After moving to Appleton City, we were all happier. We lived approximately two miles north of town. It was in 1921 that I became a member of the Methodist Church. There was a large membership in the Epworth League. My brother, two sisters and myself took active parts. My Mother, two sisters [Rilla and Ruth] and myself all became members of the Rural Home Improvement Club at Mt. Hope. Both of my sisters and youngest brother were married while we lived here. We loved this area as there were lots of young people here. Twelve of us young people decided we would like to put on plays for the Home Improvement Club. We ask Clara Brown, who was trained in dramatics, to train us. We performed two plays under her direction, both comedies, and they were both great successes. Ben and me were the only ones in our family who had parts. Both of my future brothers-in-law also had parts in the plays. I shall never forget that we danced "the Virginia Reel in one of these plays. I n fact, that was the first time I had ever done this dance and also it was the last time.

In the year of 1929, my parents and me moved to a forty-acre farm one-mile west of Johnson City, Missouri. This was a beautiful little farm set on the side of a hill and we were glad to know that there was a good grocery store in the village of Johnson City. I attended the Church of God quite often with some very good friends.

I had never known real sadness until September 11, 1932. We had spent the day in Deepwater, Missouri with my Aunt Lydia. Ruth and her two oldest children, Jo Frances age 3 and Bobby age 1, were with us that day. We were having lots of fun and very happy. That evening my Father and I decided to go to Spring Grove Church to attend a revival that was in progress. We had not gone far from home when one of our neighbors came running out waving his hands and told us that Mother had died. We rushed home to find that she had expired in the barnyard while doing the chores. She was 59 years old and the oldest from a family of nine children. It was a terrible shock and very sad for all of us, but much worse for Father. He lived fifteen years after her death. I look back at those years and thank God I was there to comfort him and take care of him during his last illness.

Father and I left the farm in 1944 and went to Bentonville, Arkansas. My brother Joe wanted to buy a home in this area and wanted us to be near him. We stayed there for six months and my Father was so home sick that we returned to Appleton City. We lived there until September 1947 when he passed away. I was very much alone but knew that I had to make it somehow. I helped people in their homes, mostly where there was sickness.

Ruth's youngest boy, Donald, was in school in St. Louis, Missouri and attending the Missouri School for the Blind. She had made a trip up there and told me what a nice place it was and was sure that I would enjoy working there. I sent in my application for employment in March of 1949 and in June was sent a letter of acceptance. One of the last days in August I left for St. Louis. I had never been in a large city before alone.

When I reached the Union Station in St. Louis I was as wide-eyed as a small child was. I had breakfast at Fred Harvey's and then went by taxi to 3815 Magnolia the Missouri School or the Blind. I was the most frightened little country" hick" in the world. On each side of the doors in the lobby were two antique chairs and I sat down in one of them. A very nice young lady came over to me and asked if she could help me. She called the Superintendent and also the lady that would be my Supervisor. They were trying to be kind to me, as they must have known how I felt. They took me to the second floor to my room, which was a dreary little room but did have some very nice furniture. The Superintendent left the Supervisor and me alone and she started to give me my instructions. She told me that this would be my dormitory and that I would have twenty little boys. They would live in two large rooms with ten beds in each room. We had several meetings before the children came in on Labor Day. It all sounded so complicated and how true it was. Not only the work involved but also I had some very bad little boys. Just three or four in a group of twenty is like a bad apple in a barrel. I was determined to stay with the job and somehow I stayed with the little boys for five and a half years. In 19541 had a bad leg injury and was in the hospital for two weeks and then had to return home. I was able to return to work in September.

Going back to the leg injury: I had taken a totally blind child down town to get him some shoes. We had almost made it back to the school on the city bus when I got up to ring for the driver to stop. I twisted my knee causing a large blood vessel to break and also stretched the tendons. In two hours I was in great pain and the school doctor was called in from his home. This happened Friday p.m. and I was admitted to Incarnate Word Hospital on Sunday. Not being able to walk, two very handsome young men carried me down the steps and I was soon in the hospital. My leg was tapped four times to draw blood to prevent internal bleeding. I had to leave school for the rest of the term.

After five and one half years with the little boys, I was transferred to the sewing room as school seamstress. I worked here for three years and was very unhappy because I was too isolated. While working as seamstress, I was on call to substitute as relief in dormitories, health center and one summer served as food manager in the kitchen.

In September of 1957 I went to Collins Hall as housemother for little girls from five and one half to eight years of age. This was a very pleasant place to work and I loved those little girls. In this dormitory family I had White, Black, Italian, Japanese, and Korean. I worked there until I retired in 1966. It was terribly hard to leave the children. There were children that had been deserted by parents; many from the very best of homes and some had been over protected. Being a house Mother involves many areas such as being a nurse, teacher, counselor and a mother away from home. Many parents with exceptional children don't realize what divorce means to the child. This is the time when ties should be closer. Grandparents or even great aunts were raising many of the children that I had. There is nothing more heart rendering than to hear a child cry and say why can't my parents love me?

Going from the group of parents that didn't care to those that did, I would like to mention Mrs. Pruesser and many others who were loving and concerned. Mrs. Presser's little daughter, Susan, was with my group for two years. She was a lovely little girl who developed a brain tumor. A case like this was heartache even to me. Also among the little boys I had was Bobby, a beautiful little boy who years after he was with me, developed cancer. At the age of seventeen he passed away. I went to the hospital to see him several times and he was always reading. I ask him what he was reading and he said I am reading God Is My Co-Pilot. After his death I tried to read the book, but my eyes were always too tearful to complete the book.

When the children came up at 4 PM they would set on the floor in the hall, waiting for "treats" as they called them. There were always cookies, popcorn, cool-aid and etc. On nice days we would go out on the playground. I don't 'know who was the most worn out when it was time to go in, the children or me. It sure was tun for all of them to get out into the snow in the winter. These were such happy times. I can't recall ever hearing a blind child say "I wish I could see". The schools motto, "It Is The Soul That Sees" is located above the stage in the auditorium. The Christmas programs were always so beautiful. There were four choruses from the fourth grade through high school and our little children always had the manger scene.

The year of 1957 which was my first year in Collins Hall and was the year the country was invaded with the Asian flu. I was immediately sent to the health center to help take care of the children. All children that came from the St. Louis vicinity were sent home. We had eighty children that were stricken with the flu. The two school nurses set up a dormitory to take care of them as they came down with the virus. The ones that were better but not able to be out of bed were sent to me. We were on twenty-four hour duty during this time frame. It was a trying ten days but no complications developed and we were happy winners.

The year of 1958 was the first convention that I attended. Our organization was AAB [American Association for the Blind]. The convention was in Vancouver, Washington 22-26 June. We had planned to start the tenth of June and include a sight seeing trip along the way. Our principal, Mrs. Ina Hubbard, was stricken with a heart attack on 7 June and passed away on the 8th of June. Our departure was delayed until late on the tenth of June as we waited until the funeral was over in the a.m. We were almost like children that had lost a mother. I shall never forget, when we were all on the bus and ready to leave, Dr. Heltzell come on to tell us to go and enjoy ourselves. That's the way Mrs. Hubbard. would have wanted it.

We reached the Kansas School for the Blind that evening. Arrangements had been made for us to spend nights with as many sister schools as possible. The Kansas people served us breakfast the next morning and we were on our way. It was very hot going through Kansas but we made it to Colby, Kansas for the second night. The next morning we headed for Colorado Springs, Colorado. We spent two nights there and did some sight seeing. While in Colorado Springs, we were accommodated by the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. We puttered along up through Denver, Colorado and into Wyoming. Our first night in Wyoming was spent at the Branding Iron Motel and as I remember, it was about the only thing in that place. From there we went to Yellowstone National Park and spent one night.

This is one place that I had always wanted to see, but never dreamed it would come to be. We had reservations for cabins and ate at the lodge. The morning that we left, we waited patiently for "Old Faithful" to erupt and the wait was more then worth it. It was a very beautiful sight, one I will never forget. Our next days travel took us out of Wyoming and into Montana. We spent the night near Butte, Montana in some small cabins that were only for one person. Our last stop before Vancouver was Seattle, Washington. It was late when we arrived but we soon found a nice motel. We visited some very pretty rose gardens and watched the ships as they left for Puget Sound. In Vancouver we were housed at the Washington State Deaf School and the Washington School for the Blind. This was also new to me but very interesting. I could hardly believe that there were about 600 in attendance. We left Vancouver and went north to Astoria and from there we were on our way to San Francisco, California on highway 101.

Our first night was in a motel at Cresent City, California. The next morning I awoke at 4 a.m. and could see the big waves roll in on the beach. For a country girl it was a very beautiful sight. We spent one more night before we arrived in San Francisco. Since we were coming from the north, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and on into the city. During the two days we spent here, we went to Fisherman's Wharf in Chinatown, rode the cable cars and took a boat ride around Alcatrz. One of my friends wanted me to take a bus ride with her. At the bus stop a drunk wanted to know if we were sisters. I was very glad to get back to the Golden Gate Hotel where we were staying. On leaving San Francisco, we proceeded south through Sacramento to Reno, Nevada and stayed in a motel in Winnemucca. From there we traveled to Salt Lake City for the night. The next day we toured the Mormon Square and saw the capitol. We drove from there to Denver, Colorado. It was very dangerous going through the mountains as there were many, many cars going to the mountains for the 4th of July holiday. It was 11 p.m. when we finally reached Denver and we were all so tired and hungry that we were not even speaking. We found a place to eat and spent the night at the Shirley Savoy Hotel. From Denver on in to St. Louis, our trip was just travel. The old school bus had 6,000 miles logged on that trip.

Our next convention was in Nashville, Tennessee. The trip to Nashville was uneventful as I went in a car with the coach. We went directly to Nashville and were housed in the School for the Blind. We registered and were assigned to a dormitory for sleeping quarters. This was a hard convention for me as I was the recorder for our workshop. We were called to the auditorium for a meeting on the second day. A professor from Peabody College was there to speak. He took one look at us and said let's relax and sing "I^tve Been Working On The Railroad". It gave us a little pep. While in Nashville we had the opportunity to visit the Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson. Fire destroyed most of the white pillared mansion and Jackson rebuilt it the following year. Thousands of tourists visit the 500-acre estate every year. We adjourned to meet in Miami, Florida in June of 1962.

Our school term was the same as the public schools and the course of study was also the same. Our duties in the dormitory starting on Monday through Friday--- children were awakened at 6a.m., go to the bathroom and wash hands and face, then back to their rooms to dress and back to the bathroom to get their hair combed. I had to be at breakfast at 7 a.m. and before I left the dormitory all of the beds had to be made. If you don't think that was a lot of work to do in one hour, think again. The children arrived for breakfast at 7.30 Am.: When they finished eating, they had free time until the class bell rang. Most always we had time for stories. I read several books and lots of short stories t6 the children. We had a hi-fl in the living room &id they enjoyed listening to records. They were back to the dormitory at noon to wash for lunch. After lunch was siesta time--one hour. Following siesta time the classes began again until 4 p.m. Evenings were like most children have in their own homes---play time-dinner-shower-bedtime. This is a brief sketch of a day in the life of the blind.

Our next convention was in 1962 in Miami Beach, Florida. I went with others in the Principal's car and we made a tour of the Smoky Mountains on the way. The first night was spent in a motel in Maryville, Tennessee. We went to Gatlinburg and really enjoyed the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. From here we headed south and our next stop was Talladega, Alabama where we stayed at the Alabama School for the Blind. It was a beautiful place and had a very large campus. Our next stop was in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida School of the Blind. Our room looked like a bedroom in a home, they were so large. We went on to St. Augustine and while we were there, we drank from the fountain of youth. If you don't believe it makes you feel young, just go and try it.

We saw the oldest schoolhouse in the United States and visited an old jail. I was placed in a cell for a few minutes--sure was a thrill. From there we went to Lake Wales where we spent the night. The next day we went to see the Great Master Piece, which was Leo de Vincis Last Supper]. This was put together with imported granite squares. We also saw some famous glass blowers here. Our sight seeing ended here and we were on our way to Miami Beach to the Deanville Hotel were the convention was to be held.

The convention ran from June 28 to July 2 1962. When we left Miami, we headed for Sarasota, Florida where we had free motels courtesy of a friend in our line of work. In Sarasota we had the opportunity to see the John Ringlings mansion. After leaving here, we spent a night in Tallahassee and then on to New Orleans, Louisiana. We took a tour while in New Orleans with a guide named Jack. He was as windy as a tornado but did give us a good tour. When the four hour tour was over, Jack gave us an address of a nice place to eat in the French Quarter. We went to this address but entered the wrong door and found ourselves in saloon. There were men and women whopping it up like in the old west. The bar tender took one look at us and decided he didn't want us in there. He rushed over and took us to the place we were supposed to be. We had a three-course dinner--boiled beef-potatoes-no desert-rotten coffee. We went on from there to Natchez, Mississippi and got to see the battlegrounds. Our last night out before arriving in St. Louis was in Blytheville, Arkansas. The last day was a little sad as we had been together for two weeks and parting wasn't as easy as it sounds. I had gone to Iowa with this same group to visit the Iowa Sight Saving School. A side trip while we were there was to the Amanas and enjoying the very good food they prepared.

Every year between conventions we would go on visitations to a sister school. One year I chose to stay in St. Louis and visited the Central Institute for the Deaf It was so different from our school and most interesting. These children were not taught sign language. They were wearing hearing aids and learning to talk. This place had children from all over the world. It was very expensive to send a child to this school. Another trip made but not under the supervision of the school was to Springfield, Illinois where we went to see Lincoln's tomb and the duplicates of the log cabins where people lived during his time. We also went through Lincoln^'s home and the church that he attended. During our Easter vacation in 1964 I went to Baltimore, Maryland to see my niece. The first day there we went to Philadelphia to the Historic Square where the Liberty Bell is located. We also went to Carpenter Hall and the old church where Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross attended. We went to Betsy Ross' house and saw the room where she made the first American flag. Our next trip was to Washington D.C. where we saw the capitol, toured the White House and the Smithsonian Institute. We took a trip to Fort McHenry and to the Naval Academy and from there made a trip to Arlington Cemetery. During 19661 made a trip with my sister Rilla, my niece and her family. The high point of the trip was to see Mt. Rushmore to see the great stone faces.

The convention at the Perkins School of the Blind was held June 21 to June 25 in Watertown, Massachusetts. This is a suburb of Boston. This is one of the oldest schools in the country and has the highest rating for instructors of the Deaf and Blind. The teacher that educated Helen Keller was a graduate of Perkins. She was Annie Sullivan played by Ann Bancroff Most everyone has seen the "Miracle Worker". This revealed some of the problems she had while breaking though to a deaf-blind child. It was really wonderful at Perkins school. It was almost like a university. We took a tour of Boston and visited the Old North Church. We sat in a pew and heard a brief story of the church. We did not go to the steeple where the lanterns hung the night of Paul Reveres ride. We went to Paul Reveres home and also to Longfellow's home.

Our first night out from Perkins took us to North Bergen, New Jersey. We wanted to attend the Worlds Fair in New York City and this was as close as we could get to the fair grounds. We spent one day at the fair and one day in New York City. It was a great thrill to realize that I was really going to the Worlds Fair. People from several state schools along with our own chartered a bus for the trip. In this bus there were 39 passengers and one very wonderful driver [Charlie]. He was a young man we all learned to love. In New York City we had a tour of the United Nations building, went to the top of the Empire State building, rode the subway, took the Staten Island and saw the Statue of Liberty. The trip back to St. Louis was uneventful and this was the last convention that I attended before retiring. Nineteen sixty-six was the year I had decided it was time for me to leave the Missouri School of the Blind. It was a good year and I began to look back over the years I had spent there. I had worked under three superintendents--Robert Thompson who transferred to the Michigan School for the Blind. Dr. George Heltzell who came to us from Clinton, Missouri succeeded him. I worked eight years under each of these. Next was Maurice Olsen who I retired under. All of them were great, but of course Dr. Heltzell was my favorite since he came from my home area. He had lots more compassion for the children than the others did. As we only had one vacation during the school year, three weeks at Christmas, Dr. Heltzell thought the children should have all-important holidays at home with their parents. Transportation was provided and all the children went home for Thanksgiving-Christmas-Easter.

In 1967 I moved to Kansas City, Missouri and was employed by Elms Nursing Home. After living there for three and one-half years I moved to Appleton City, Missouri and worked for the Ellen Hospital for one and a half years

May 1, 1970, I moved from Kansas City to Hickory Courts, Apartment 15, Appleton City, Mo. This was a final homecoming for me. That was 25 years ago and this is certainly home to me. I have seen many residents come and go from this complex over the years. Hickory Courts was the first Senior Citizens complex built in this area of the state. The first 18 years that I was here I was very active in the United Methodist Women and also in the King's Daughters Sunday school Class and I am still a member of both. January has been an unfortunate month for me. In the month of January, years of 1986-1993-1995, I have been taken to the hospital with a serious illness. Following my recovery each time, I have been able to return to Hickory Courts, Apartment 15. I was reunited in the Trinity United Methodist Church in Appleton City in the summer of 1970. I had made my profession in this church some 70 years ago. I am the last one of a family of eight children. I have 6 nephews and 6 nieces living. I lost 4 nephews and 1 niece by death. I had my 94th birthday August 16th, 1995. I get to church often and also once a month to King's Daughters Sunday school Class. I love Hickory Courts and all of the good neighbors that I have.

This is a very special year to me as I close this life story. I have reached the age of 94. I am thankful for the years I have had as age is not reckoned by the years we have lived but how we have lived and if I be spared a few more I will look forward, praying for self independence in health and mind. It is not how old you are but how you are old.