Happy 100th Birthday Grandma Marian!

Marian - 1st Communion

Marian - 16 Yrs Old

Today, my grandmother would have been 100 years old.  She lived a long and interesting life.  She saw the best of times during her childhood and some of the worst of times during her teenage years. She experienced the trauma of war as a younger mother and worried sister.  Grandma was a young mother, grandmother and great grandmother and unfortunately, a young widow.  She lived in interesting times!

Marian with Elaine, Norma & Pauline

 Helen Marian Gage Johnson was born in a farmhouse in Mapleton, Monona Co., IA on 10 June 1920 to Ora Silas Gage and Florence Christine Shawver.  By that time, her parents owned the farm they lived on in near Mapleton, IA and she had an older brother, Orland who had been born in 1918.  Her brother John Bernard followed in 1922, then Elaine, Pauline, Norma, Don, Byron, Duane and Gary.  She was the oldest sister amongst a family of ten children and she took that role very much to heart.  Grandma talked often of those younger years.  She often said that she squabbled more with Orland but Bernard or Bun as the family called him was her playmate and there were a lot of wonderful memories of playing around the farm.  Of course, there were chores, but I expect to Grandma Marian, that was merely a part of life.  There was a point as the younger siblings came along that her mother gave her charge of one of the younger ones…for Grandma that was Don.  Grandma told me of her learning to take care of her baby brother and I think that she loved all of her siblings, but she always had an extra soft spot for Don as he did for her.  Grandma talked about those younger years where she talked about having the privileges of parents who had a comfortable life.  She had store bought dresses and pretty things and her childhood was without care.  That changed after the depression hit. By 1932, her parents had to make a hard choice.  They weren’t able to make enough money to make the mortgage payment.  Rather than take the chance of having the property foreclosed on and causing a financial loss for their friends, Ora and Florence signed the land over to Lou Brenner and shipped their things to South Dakota and took the trip north to the unknown in Philip, SD.

Florence with Norma, Elaine, Pauline & Marian

Marian - 1 Yr Old

On paper, I am sure that the rental property looked like a decent opportunity.  There was enough land to raise crops and a house.  However, what looked like good land from Mapleton, Iowa was not good land in Philip, South Dakota.  Philip is located near the Badlands and was probably very poor farmland in the best of times, 1933 was not the best of times.  It was especially important to Grandma Florence that her children continue their schooling.  It was a hardship!   During that winter, Orland and Bun spent time in the cellar cutting seed potatoes for planting and soon after both boys became terribly sick with pneumonia.  While Bun recovered, Orland got much worse.  He ended up with severe pleurisy and abscesses in his lungs.  His parents were told at one point that he would not make it through the night.  Orland had been about 160 pounds and was down to 120 pounds and had lost all his hair.  The younger boys had problems with whooping cough and croup.  Nothing seemed to go well nor was it getting any better.  Once again, the family took off for “greener” pastures.

Loggie that Family lived in up on Hatter Creek

Chicken Coop made into a house in North Dakota

When I think of traveling across Montana in November with six children in a Model T, it boggles my mind.  Grandma Marian remembered it as being one of the happier times of her childhood.  They stopped at her Uncle George’s near Jordan, MT and they spent Thanksgiving there.  I have been to the Shawver ranch in Montana and I am not sure how they made it there.  When I was there, it rained and the trip out to the ranch was almost cancelled because of the road being washed out, and that was in August.  However, Grandma remembered the trip as riding horses with her cousins, going to dances at the neighbors and having fun!  When they left Jordan to head to Idaho, I suspect that Grandma Marian left the last of her childhood behind.  This was the early winter of 1934 and as a 14-year-old and oldest sister, I am sure she felt a lot of responsibility.  As they traveled across Montana, Bernard remembered stopping and building a fire so Grandma Florence could make meals.  The meals always involved eggs…as that is what they had (from Uncle George’s ranch).  They made it to Dover, ID and the family was in a rental while Granddad Gage scoped around with some neighbors (Harve Hespen and Louis Becker) and Orland was finally able to return to the family in early February.  By late spring, Grandad Gage had bought some land on what we know today as Hatter Creek near Princeton, ID.  Within a short time, they built what the family referred to as the “loggie”.  Schooling was still very important and between working for a local family to take care of children and boarding at the Ursaline Academy in Moscow, ID, Grandma Marian wasn’t home too much.  She was trying to do her best to help with expenses in the family.  Because of illness and moving…the oldest three Gage siblings all graduated in 1939 from Potlatch High School.  Bernard was amongst the youngest in the class with Orland and Grandma likely the oldest.  

Marian & Frank - 1939

It was a short time after graduation when Grandma met Frank Johnson…a friend of a boyfriend who had come up to Idaho after serving in the CCC’s (Civilian Conservation Corps).  One thing led to another and they were engaged in July (at the birth of her youngest brother, Gary) and married in October.  Soon after, the young couple headed to North Dakota which is where Grandpa Frank was from.  My Dad arrived in July of 1940, Shirley in October 1941, and Anne in November 1942.  Life was harder in North Dakota.  As a young wife, she struggled to take care of her father-in-law and sister-in-law.  Grandpa Frank worked whatever job that he could get, sometimes working as many as 4 jobs.  They bought a chicken coop and made a home with two rooms.  When work was tough to get, they were living on $ 17 a month of social security that her father-in-law received.  Grandma found it was cheaper to buy syrup for sugar than actual sugar.

I am not sure if she was just fed up…or missing home terribly but in January of 1943, her parents bought her a train ticket and she went back to Hatter Creek for a visit with her two toddlers and colicky baby.  Knowing my grandmother, she had decided that the family needed to move to Idaho where there were jobs to be had.  It was the first time that my great grandparents saw their oldest three grandchildren.  I am sure it was quite an occasion.  Grandpa Frank could not convince his father to come west, but within a few months, he joined them in Idaho.  

In the next few years, the young couple bought the old Hatter Creek school and made a home out of it and two more daughters arrived in the family, Mary Kay in 1944 and Frances in 1946.  Grandma Marian had 5 children within six years.  In 1952, they bought the old farm up on Mountain Home (north of Potlatch) and raised their family.  Life was never easy and there were always monetary challenges as well as family stress.  After their children were out of the house, they moved to Oregon City, OR for a new start and later moved to Canby, OR.  Grandpa Frank never had very good health and he died in 1975.  Soon after, Grandma Marian’s parents, Ora and Florence moved to Canby, OR.  I am not sure who was helping who at this point, but I know that the support was important.  Between work and taking care of her family, life was busy and fulfilling for Grandma Marian.  After the death of her parents in 1990 and 1991, life began to change.  Grandma Marian helped where she could but the family near her was working and involved in their own busy lives.  By that point, her oldest three were all retired and urging her to move back to Idaho. So in 2001, Grandma Marian moved to Idaho and began another chapter.  

Mother's Day - 2011

Grandma Marian was an intensely curious and intelligent worman.  In her youth, there were few opportunities to further her eduation.  After her move to Lewiston, ID, she embraced learning to use the computer, scanning and emailing relatives and friends.  She joined my Mom and I in our efforts at genealogical research and shared her stories and memories.  Grandma enjoyed being around her brothers and getting to know many of her Shawver cousins who lived nearby.  It was wonderful for us (the families of the Gene, Shirley & Anne) to have the opportunity to spend the time with her.  We had a wonderful 90th birthday party for her and I think she was flabbergasted at the fact that we had 150 people who came.  All of her siblings were there, her children, most of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Cousins from Montana, neices and nephews as well as her last surviving aunt.  It was a wonderful celebration that she thoroughly enjoyed.  Grandma Marian made it to one last reunion the next year.  It is a fond memory that at the dinner table at our house a few days before, she argued with her brother for almost 30 minutes about the name of some teacher they had back in South Dakota.  I suspect that she is up there arguing with him again as he recently passed away after his 100th birthday.  I miss her but am so glad that I had the opportunity to truly know her and feel as I didn't leave anything unsaid.  We love her and miss her....but am sure she is happy with her family up above and looking over us always!  Here are a few favorite photos!

Marian with siblings - 2010

Marian with children and spouses

Marian

Marian with Ora and Orland

Marian with great grandchildren - 2000

 

Loveletter to Mom

Dear Mom...
I never quite understood when you used to tell me how much you missed picking up the phone and talking to your Mom.  I wasn't able to understand because you can't understand until the day you lose your Mom.  It doesn't matter how old you are, the loss is always there.

I like to say that your Mom is always with you in your mind and your heart.  My mind remembers all of the nights playing your version of gin rummy until Dad came home from working graveyard.  Your special type of humor showing up while you talked on the CB radio or with your close friends.  I remember watching you play out in the yard until you almost collapsed with exhaustion only to get up the next day and do the same thing.  It was something else to watch you with that first computer and those that followed.  You taught yourself word processing, spreadsheets, databases and publishing. My mind still sees you sitting at the piano playing and singing song after song with the door open.  People walking along the road used to stop and listen.  I can still see you singing and filling up the church with your voice.  I can hear your laughter and jokes and even your irritation.  Anything that you did, you did it to the best of your ability.  You lived your life with passion, humor and love for your family.  There are a lifetime of memories that play in my head. They are wonderful gifts for our family to always treasure.


I miss laying my head down on your chest and feeling your arms around me.  You left a permanent impression on so many lives from your family to friends.  So many have a story to tell about something you said or did.  So, I hope that you are enjoying your Mother's day this weekend with all the women that meant so much to you during your lifetime.  I sure miss them all...but most of all, I miss you!     Happy Mother's Day!

Grandpa Frank & Old Cars

During the past year, I have been working on getting some of my grandmother's negatives scanned.  Many of them were from the 1930's and 40's.  There are many great familiar photos but much better quality.    There are two pictures of Grandpa Frank in an old car.  One is the familiar one of ol' 77 and the other one much earlier.

Sometimes I think that cars become a character in our own history.  My Dad can probably tell you every car he has ever had...come to think of if, so can I.  However, I don't have quite as varied of a history.  One of the best finds in my grandmother's negatives was an old picture that I suspect was taken about 1930.  Dad remembers his father telling him that he worked delivering coal for quite a while.  I believe that the other individual in the photo is a cousin.  Someone else would have to tell my the vintage of the car.  Even my Dad isn't sure.  My Grandpa Frank is in the driver's seat and I am sure that this was taken in Dunn Center, ND

It was a series of happy circumstances that my Grandpa ended up on Hatter Creek.  He was in the CCC's (Civilian Conservation Corps) and traveled from North Dakota to Arkansas with a side trip to New Orleans.  Grandpa ended up coming up north with a friend.  Went out on a double date with his friend and Grandpa ended up with his friend's date, my grandmother.  (No hard feels as they remained friends)  My grandmother was the oldest daughter in a family that was shortly going to be 10.  On the night her youngest brother was born (4 July 1939) - my grandparents got engaged.  As the story goes, Grandma's younger brother, John Bernard Gage (known to family as Bun) fixed up a car to race in the Tin Lizzy Derby in Lewiston, ID.  However, he wasn't old enough to drive the car yet as he was not 18 as yet.  So, he convinced his sister's fiance to race his car.  It is probably one of my favorite pictures of my grandfather.   I love the phone and the one below was also taken by my grandmother in August of 1939. 

My grandparents married a few months later in October.  They began their young married life driving across Montana to my Grandfather's home in Dunn Center,ND.  As my Dad tells the story, the 1927 Chevy through a rod and Grandpa had to try to put it back together out in the middle of nowhere.  

I love this photo of the younger couple...probably just married and getting ready to start their life together.  They had 35 years together and shared five children and 18 grandchildren.  Grandpa died at the age of 60 and Grandma survived him by another 35 years. 

Pizza and Beans

Aunt Pauline and Uncle Allen were favorites of mine since I was a child.  Pauline was my grandmother's younger sister and Allen was her husband.  I can still picture Pauline zipping about and Allen with his shirt unbuttoned with a beer in a beer cozy in his hand.  They were fun and there was always a smart ass comment.  There were a few times when I remember Pauline and Allen staying with us at our house.  They would stop by in their trailer and other than a nap or two, we were altogether visiting.  What wonderful memories!

Pauline had a way of looking at you and listening to you that made you feel as if you were one of the most important people in her life.  I haven't seen that talent in that many people but I have in my grandmother and her sisters...and I suspect that they got it from their mother.  Pauline made me feel special and important.  I think she did that for just about everyone.  I found it funny and endearing that just about every card I ever received always had a wonderful note in it which included what the current weather was in Waldport, OR where she lived.  They were lovely newsy notes that always made me smile. 

Allen was a big bear of a man with wonderful hugs and a twinkle in his eye.  I knew as a child that he had a bad back because my parents told me, but it wasn't something that he ever told me much about.  Allen was always good for a story and he was always teasing me.  I used to think that we had something special because we had the same birthday.  I can remember time and time again that I found myself sitting next to Allen to hear what he would say next.  I learned a lot of family stories at his side!

I think I must have been about 19 and it was the first trip that I drove to Canby, OR to spend spring break with my grandmother and great grandparents.  I started out my trip getting lost in Portland, OR because I took a wrong turn.  I ended up in a not so nice area :)  I got myself turned around and made it to Canby.  I spent a few days there and then decided to go down to see Aunt Pauline and Uncle Allen at Waldport, OR.  I was excited to go and see the ocean and have some wonderful seafood.  After another adventure in driving (this was my first long road trip), I made it to Aunt Pauline and Uncle Allen's.  After the initial greeting, Aunt Pauline was excited to show me her home town.  I changed out of my new tennis shoes and we began by walking around on the beach and then walking through town.  I learned at that point, that I wasn't the only person that Pauline made feel special.  Pauline was known and affectionately greeted by everyone.  What a wonderful special day that I spent with her.  I have never forgotten it!

When we got home, Pauline promised me a special treat.  I am not sure we were on the same page, because I was hoping for seafood.  Instead, Pauline brought out a frozen pepperoni pizza.  I was a freshman in college and my tastes had been elevated to Domino's and pizza delivery.  As we sat down to eat, Pauline took a pot off the stove of Allen's favorite beans.  Then I saw Allen grab a spoonful of those beans and place them on his pizza.  I can honestly say that I have never seen that before or since. 

We lost Allen back in 2001 and we lost Pauline on Jan 24, 2020 at the age of 94.  I suppose that I will aways think of that trip to Allen and Pauline's and remember the fun and enthusiasm of Pauline and the twinkle and teasing of Allen's.  Whenever I see the ocean, I remember walking on the beach with Pauline....and whenever I see a pot of beans - Allen definitely comes to mind.  I have missed Allen for the last 20 years and will miss Pauline terribly.  I can't help thinking of how lucky I have been to have known and loved these two wonderful people who always made me feel special.  I hope they knew how special and they were loved by me and everyone else who knew them!