Interview with my Grandmother before she passed at over 100 years of age

What is most important in raising kids?

The parents should teach them principles, like respecting other people.

Teach them to believe in God and take them to church (I know that some of my family members aren’t going to church, but that’s not my fault.).

Teach your children the meaning of marriage and commitment-the meaning of “For better or worse.”

Get married instead of living together.

Teach them about money-don’t live beyond your means-Don’t get into too much debt

What is the most important faith principle life has taught you?

My mom taught me to go to church and to believe in God

I attended Catholic School in Lansing Iowa and learned about God

Everybody should get baptized and go to church.

Grandpa and I made it a practice to go often

What were some of your favorite things to cook when you were raising a family?

We always used what we had.

We raised chickens and eggs, milked cows and sold cream.

We grew our own wheat and I ground my own flour.

I cooked a lot of meat and potatoes and made my own bread

One of my favorite things to make when the kids were young was deer steak and gravy for breakfast

I remember the first cake I made for Grandpa. I forgot to put the baking powder in. When I took it out of the oven it was flat.

What do you think good eating habits are?

Don’t drink too much coffee.

Drink milk and eat plenty of good vegetables (like broccoli and cabbage), roughage is important.

Eat fruit and drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

What would you advise people about spending their money?

Watch for bargains.

Be frugal with your money.

We always watched what we spent so we had money left to retire on.

Give to other people.

Give to places like food banks, schools, the Red Cross, etc.

Learn to do things for yourselves like sewing, cooking, carpentry, etc. so you can save money.

If you could have done something different in your life, what would it have been?

I can’t think of doing anything differently.

Sometimes it was hard but it was good.

Do you miss Grandpa?

Yes, but grandpa couldn’t hear or see very well and he was ready to go.

What do we take for granted (i.e. did you have running water growing up)?

We take too much for granted.

We didn’t have running water so we had to pack water for cooking, baths, washing clothes, and doing dishes.

I think that we sometimes take good health for granted.

Grandpa had lost a lot of hearing and sight, he got so he couldn’t read the newspaper anymore.

We were fortunate that our health was so good for a lot of years because we didn’t have ready access to doctors.

We did some home remedy stuff instead of seeing a doctor.

What kind of books do you like to read?

I enjoy gardening books and recipe books, that’s why I had so many at the house.

I helped to write a book called “Echoing Footsteps.” It is a history book about Powder River County.

You have lived through the “Great Depression”. How did you manage your finances, budget the money that you made?

First of all, we went without a lot of things.

We exchanged goods with other people.

I sewed for others to make a little money.

When we would get a loan from the bank we tried not to borrow too much so we would be sure to pay it back.

Do you have any other words of wisdom that you would pass on to the rest of us?

Always treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Take time to pray everyday.

I read my daily “Missal,” it’s a daily devotional booklet, too.

Be thankful in everything, each new day is a blessing.

And remember that family is important.

I always enjoyed getting together with everyone.