From the Beginning

From the Beginning (1)

[corresponds to cover and unnumbered page 1 of From the Beginning]

From the Beginning

Verna Cushman Bergandine

[cover photo: Verna Cushman Bergandine]

From the Beginning (2)

[corresponds to inside cover and unnumbered page 2 of From the Beginning]

[illustration:Community Library Bookplate]

From the Beginning (3)

{corresponds to title page and unnumbered page 3 of From the Beginning]

From the Beginning

Verna Cushman Bergandine

[photo: Verna Cushman Bergandine]

Community Library

1996

Verna C. Bergandine [signature]

From the Beginning (4)

[corresponds to numbered page 2 of From the Beginning]


Land in Champaign Co., Ohio known as the Darby Plains was purchased by parties

from the New England States in 1819. After considering Hartford for the settlers

from Connecticut, New Albany for the New Yorkers, the name Woodstock was

chosen for so many arriving from Vermont. After a while the Yankee School District

became the Woodstock School District.


Five families from Connecticut came in 1819, among them William Gifford. The

following year five more families joined the Colony including Harvey Cushman.

These two names of early settlers are the ones that are of interest to me.


Harvey Cushman was a direct descendent of Robert Cushman of London , business

agent for the Pilgrims. He and wife Lucinda Bennett Sears brought their young

son, four year old Franklin, with them from Massachusetts.


Harvey was a man of many interests. He was a farmer, Attorney, Physician and Inn

Keeper. He built the first Hotel in Woodstock. In the old History of Woodstock, I

found this account.


"In 1835 Harvey Cushman built a hotel on the east portion of lot 15. In those

days the ceremony of of "raising" a house was attended with the consumption of

vast quantities of corn whiskey. On the day that frame work of the

Cushman Hotel was raised, every man present, except Sylvanus Smith, was

drinking, and most were decidedly under the influence of the whiskey.


When the framework was finally up, it was decided to christen the future hotel

in some such manner as battleships are christened. A bottle of whiskey was

provided the soberest man, who climbed to the top, took a drink of the

contents, then threw the bottle, dripping its contents enroute over the building.

Thus was christened the Woodstock Hotel.


A heated discussion took place following the christening. Some said that hotel

was spelled with one I and others insisted that two were needed. The question

was referred to Sylvanus Smith, he being the only sober man in the crowd.

Smith surveyed the crowd around him and rendered his decision - If this was

a sample of what the hotel was to be, it should be spelled "hot-hell". It proved

to be that for three or four years. Gangs of hoodlums gathered there on

Saturday afternoons, staying until midnight, terrifying the people with their

demoniacal yells, fighting and running horses on the street.


The local residents finally put a stop to the weekly orgies. A vigilante committtee

gathered many eggs and let them age in the sun. The next Saturday night when

the "gang" emerged from the hotel the conspirators turned loose a volley of

eggs. A man has to be pretty drunk not to resent meeting an aged egg face to

face. The men in charge of the egg brigade must have had practice, for the

mob beat a hasty retreat. The hotel came in for a share of the omelet, and the

next morning presented a grotesque yellow appearance. The proprietor decided

From the Beginning (5)

[corresponds to numbered page 3 of From the Beginning]


to confine his liquor sales to travelers, and the hotel became a very respectable

tavern.


In the early days no social gathering was fully complete and enjoyable without

dancing. Several terms of Dancing School were taught in the hotel soon after

it was completed. Seldom a Fourth of July or New Years passed without having

a Grand Ball in the hotel ballroom on the second floor."


For many year, after the hotel was no longer used for travelers, it was a private

dwelling. It was torn down a few years ago, one of the oldest landmarks.


In 1837 Franklin Cushman married Susan Brown Gifford, daughter of William

Gifford. They had five children, Julius Jehiel, Charles Anthony, Lucy Lucinda,

Warren Sibley, and Daniel Harvey. Daniel died in infancy. Franklin died in 1848 leaving the

young widow to raise the children.


In 1857 another New England family came to Woodstock to make their

home. Samuel Standish set out from N.Y., N.Y. for Illinois with his family.

Not finding that area to their liking, after three years, came back east

as far as Woodstock. Samuel, a direct descendant of Miles Standish of

Plymouth the first white child born on Manhattan Island,

India, where his father Miles was a Methodist

Missionary.


There were five children in the Standish family.


[insert]

News from Our Files

Fifty Years Ago - 1863

February 25, 1927

Sixty four years ago on the 18th day of February in the little village of Woodstock,

the wedding bells rang out to announce the marriage of Charles Cushman and

Julia Standish. Both are old pioneer stock.


The bride, a descendent of the gruff old captain, Miles Standish, of Plymouth,

was a charming vivacious member of a group of young people, who make life

merry and pleasant not withstanding the dark days of the civil war that were

upon the land.


Charles Cushman was one of the first to enlist in 1861. Two sons, Arthur and

Charles are veterans of the Spanish-American war and a grandson, Frank

Cushman of the World war.


They have nine living children, Mrs. George Standish, Urbana; Mrs. John McCarty,

Mrs. Asa Owen, Arthur and Charles Cushman, Jr., of Woodstock;

Warren Cushman, Dayton; and Frank, Julius and Jared Cushman of California.

[Clipping from the Marysville Tribune]


[right photo: Woodstock Hotel -1935]

From the Beginning (6)

[corresponds to numbered page 4 of From the Beginning]


Samuel, Mark, Miles, Josephine and Julia Augusta. In 1863 Julia

married Charles Anthony Cushman.


Up to now, I have written about some of my ancestors all of whom I had

to become acquainted with through genealogies and books written about

the history of the town where I was born. Now we are in the period of time

when I grew up, I knew the characters in this drama. Of course I didn't know

Julia Standish when she married during the Civil War, but much later when she

was my grandmother I had the privilege of spending time with her. I never tired

of asking questions about her journey from N.Y. in a covered wagon to the time

she finally arrived in Woodstock, Ohio. She was a petite, gentile lady with a

twinkle in her eye that told of her zest for life. Always busy with projects she

was working on. Sewing, knitting, crocheting lace and working crossword

puzzles. Always a student she was well read. She had taught school when

she was 16.


Of course when I knew her, she was in her declining years. She had raised her

family of 13 children and knew the heartache of losing 3 of them. Harriette

died of whooping cough when she was 4: Sara, at birth; and Robert died of

spinal meningitis when he was 19.


Arthur Garfield was her 9th child, born in 1880. He was my father. Between

his Junior and Senior years in high school he enlisted in the Spanish American

War along with his brother Charles. They were sent to the Everglades, Florida

to train; but the war


[photo lower left: Arthur G. Cushman and Charles W. Cushman - 1998]

[top right photo: Julia (Standish) and Charles A. Cushman - 1928]

From the Beginning (7)

[corresponds to numbered page 5 of From the Beginning]


ended before they went any farther. He was back in time to

finish high school with his class of 1899.


He went on to Buchtel College in Akron on a scholarship. It was

Universalist College, the denomination of his church in Woodstock.

One summer when he was home between classes, he was working in

the General Store where he met Mary Ellen Blake from Milford Center.

She was visiting a friend who insisted that she go with her to the store

so she could introduce them. It was a successful attempt at match-

making. They were married in 1903.


Unlike growing up with relatives on the Cushman side of the family, we

saw mom's family only now and then. Milford Center is 5 miles from

Woodstock. In the days before cars were commonplace we occasionally

went by train. I remember once when my sister and I were permitted

to go by ourselves. I'm not sure what the occasion was. We spent the

afternoon visiting relatives and then caught the train at 6:00 p.m. to

return home. I know I kept worrying about what time it was, afraid we might

miss our train. Mom's brother Uncle Johnny Blake always had a nice car and

would drive over on Sunday afternoon. Grandma Blake died before I was

old enough to remember her.


[insert]

PROGRAMME

TENTH ANNUAL

COMMENCEMENT

OF THE

Woodstock Public Schools

UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

ON

Wednesday Evening, May 24 , '99

"Non Honores, sed Honor."


Music-"On the Sea"............................................Buck

Apollo Quartet

Invocation........................................... Rev. Colgrove

"Education"....................................Arthur Cushman

"Alexander Hamilton"........................John Houser

"Effects of the Late War"............Leonard Kidder

"Sunshine"......................................Mabelle Kimball

Music-"Gay Hearts".......................................Macy

Apollo Quartette

"Clara Barton"......................................Elsie Lincoln

"Monuments of the Ages"..............Nelle Martin

"Grant and Lee"........................Nelson McClellan

Music-Jenk's Vegetable Compound........Macy

Apollo Quartette

"Environments"..............................Howard Sharp

"Oh Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?"..
.....................................................................Lena Smith

"Not Honors, but Honor".................Nena Smith

Music-"Ben Bolt"............................................Wiske

Apollo Quartette

Address........................................Hon. O.T. Corson

Presentation of Diplomas

Music-"Home, Sweet Home"......................Buck

Apollo Quartette

"Benediction"..................................Rev. Colgrove


NEWS PRINT, MECHANICSBURG, O.

From the Beginning (8)

[corresponds to numbered page 6 of From the Beginning]


[photo]
Cushman Family Reunion - 1910
Great-Gradfather Stanish in the Center

[photo]
Great Grandma Wetzel's 100th Birthday Party
Milford Center - 1910

From the Beginning (9)

[corresponds to numbered page 7 of From the Beginning]


William Henry Blake, my grandfather came to Milford Center sometime in the 1800's

He fought in the Civil War. He married Emma Parthmore who came from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with her parents

and sister, Great Aunt Hattie Parthamore.

The Parthamores came to America in the

1700's. One of them fought in the

Revolutionary War. This I learned from

research a distant cousin had done on the

Parthamore family tree. Great Grandma

Wetzel lived to be 100. The picture is of

her birthday party at the Blake home in

Milford Center in 1919, My mother had three sisters, Carrie, Bertha, and Alice. Her

Two brother Henry and John served World War I.


I was born on November 14, 1914, the sixth child in a family of 11 - We were named

for aunts and uncles from both my parents families. Starting with the oldest, Elsie

Margaret, Robert Henry, William Howard, Bertha Lucille, Julia Virginia, Verna

Louise then Susan who lived only a few days, having been born with a heart defect.

Josephine Martha was next and then the three little boys as we called them when

referring to them collectively, Charles Blake, John Franklin and Arthur Garfield.

Naming the boys came out just right since the last one bore the name of my father.


It was a very happy childhood for all of us. My father was firm but fair. The boys

were kept busy with chores and work that went with his occupation. He worked for

the railroad and also had a large tract of land for truck farming. The soil in that

area was a rich black loam which with know how and hard work grew very good

crops. He raised all kinds of vegetables for sale as well as providing a wonderful diet

for the family. His hot beds in the early spring were the source of plants for most

of the gardens in town. Nearly everyone had a little plot. Also tomatoes were

canned in the W. G. Lincoln factory. He not only raised many of the plants for the

farmers who grew them but he also produced several acres of them himself. I must

not forget to mention the green beans. that is where we girls came in. I didn't

mind it so much unless swimming and a picnic had been planned for the day the

beans needed to be picked. then I would pray for rain, which was a little

shortsighted of me, because if it rained we wouldn't be going on the picnic anyway.

We girls all did babysitting and housework for some of the families for our spending

money and some of our clothes.


I would describe my mother as being easy going, always happy to turn the disciplining

of us over to my father. We all knew instinctively the things we would probably not

be allowed to do. If something came up we wanted to do that was questionable, we

would first ask Mom. She would say that we'd have to ask Pop. All in all we were

given much latitude, knowing that the consequences for any infractions would be ours

to deal with.

[photo]
Charles A. and Julia Cushman - 1923

From the Beginning (10)

[corresponds to numbered page 8 of From the Beginning]


I stared to school in 1920. Broshes, Clark, Conner,

Corbett, Cushman. That was the order of seating in

the first row in my class, grades one through 12.

During those years things went along pretty much the

same in the village also. For the most part the

inhabitants were four or five generations from the

early settlers.


It was a thriving community, population three

hundred. "Downtown Woodstock" boasted a Post

Office, 2 banks, 3 groceries, hardware, drugstore,

restaurant, 2 garages (one in the livery stable of days

gone by), a Taxi Service (consisting of a Model T

Ford Coup), Pennsylvania R.R. Station, grain elevator,

family doctor, 3 churches, grade school and high

school and later electric shop and furniture store.


I like to think of Woodstock as I knew it. To my way

of thinking just about the best place on earth! I

wouldn't have changed a thing. I knew everyone I

would meet on the streets and where they lived. But

alas, an event over which no one had any control occurred in 1933 that was to be the

beginning of the end of the town as we knew it. President Roosevelt declared a

moratorium on the banks. Ours closed and never reopened. In due time the villages

nearby were to profit by the commerce which formerly was done in Woodstock. The

loss of the bank combined with the times of the depression resulted in business

failures. After a time not even a grocery store was doing business there.


[top right photo: Verna in Grade School]

[bottom left photo: 1929 Back row left to right: Bill, Robert, Bertha, Mom, Julia, Pop, Verna, Elsie
Front row: Josephine, Charles, John and Arthur]

From the Beginning (11)

[corresponds to numbered page 9 of From the Beginning]


I remember the oldest inhabitants fondly. A few of them still wore the lace trimmed

high neck blouses and long dark skirts. One old gentleman still wore a long black

cape when he sallied forth in winter. They were kindly folks some of whom we

called Aunts and Uncles. Often times when we couldn't think of any thing to do we

went to "Aunt Mayme's and Uncle Winn's" house to listen to the phonograph with

the horn. We never asked; but he would ask us if we would like to hear it, knowing

of course that was the reason for our visit.


When I was about twelve we moved to the country. At the time my father went to

farming full time. My sister Elsie moved to Columbus where she went to Ohio State

University and worked part time for Ohio Bell Telephone Co. as a long distance

operator.


Robert was next to go to the University where he made the wrestling team. The

matches were broadcast on radio. We heard them on a set with two ear phones at

my uncle's house. He and my father listened and reported to us what was going on.

The team traveled by train. On the return trip when they had been to Indiana or

Illinois, Robert threw off a note tied to a cake of soap as they went through

Woodstock on the Pennsylvania Railroad. One of the section hands would find it

and bring it to our house. That created much excitement in our little town. Robert

nicknamed "Shrimp", wrestled in the lightest weight class. Even if it appears that I

am bragging, I must say he won most of his matches.


Bill also went O.S.U. One of his courses was in Forestry. He and a friend decided

to go to Montana to work in the fire season as a lookout. They did that for two

summers coming back home for the winter quarter. Always an outdoors person,

hunting and fishing, he decided that Montana was where he wanted to hive. He

worked for many years in the Forest Service taking courses in winter at the

University in Missoula. He was married there and returned to Ohio only occasionally

for a visit.


Bertha studied Horticulture. She also worked at Ohio Bell when she was in school.

Julia and I came along in 1930 and 32 when the depression was a big factor in

everything one might want to do. College was put on hold for us. After a time both

of us married. I forgot my hopes of becoming a teacher. Josephine went to business

school in Columbus. Charles, upon graduation left the next day for Ft. Bragg, N.C.

as a Second Lieutenent in the Army. The year was 1942. John was starting his

second year when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He left school and enlisted in the

Marines. Arthur was the youngest and the only one at home helping run the farm.

At that time my father bought a smaller farm, one that he and a hired man could

manage. Art was off serving as paratrooper in the 101 st Airborne.


The two older boys, although married and with families also enlisted in World War

II, Robert in the Navy and Bill in the CB's. When we asked of my mother if she weren't

worried with all five boys in the service, she replied, "I expect them all to come

home." That says much about her wonderful way of looking of at life. Always cheerful

and not wearing her innermost concerns on her sleeve.

From the Beginning (12)

[corresponds to numbered page 10 of From the Beginning]


And now I must go back to my high school days. I always liked school and all my

teachers. One I especially admired was my Music Teacher, Adah Madden. Every

spring she conducted an operetta wherein all the students participated in one way or

another. If not chosen for a major roll, she made chorus seem very important to the

production. She knew how to get the best out of all of us. Our high school girls

sextet was called upon to sing for many occasions. The one I shall never forget was

a funeral. It was for a young mother who died and left six children. The funeral was

held in the little tenant house where they lived. The oldest girl, about twelve, sat

holding the baby. There didn't seem to be any other family members present only

the distraught father and a few neighbors. Rather than sing, I felt more like crying.

Somehow we managed to get through it. The man expressed his appreciation to us

for our part in the service. To say the least, it was a very sobering experience for us

who were usually so happy go lucky.


Basketball was the highlight in winter months. When I was a freshman as a lowly

substitute, I wore the bloomers and middy blouse that were handed down through

the years. My oldest sister, Elsie, then Bertha and finally Julia had worn them before

me. That year new suits were purchased for the first team. Julia's team was the first


[photo:'28-'29 Junior Julia is second from left in front row
Freshman Verna is fourth from left in second row]

From the Beginning (13)

[corresponds to numbered page 11 of From the Beginning]


to appear in the "shorts". They came to the knees but after being so fully clothed

they seemed downright risque. How important it was to look one's best out on the

floor! We rushed home from school on Friday, washed our tennis shoe strings and

curled our hair with a curling iron. The iron was heated by inserting it in the

chimney of a coal oil lamp. Woe to the blonde girls who turned the wick up too

high! She could count on a few black streaks.


No chance for me and my friends to get into the game until our sisters had

graduated. Then we were the first team! My younger sister Josephine also played

basketball. soon after she graduated, all the county schools dropped girl's basketball

from the curriculum.


[photo:The Woodstock girls

Leah B. Lincoln of North Lewisburg loaned the Citizen this

photograph of the Woodstock girls basketball team in

their 1931-32 season. With some married names added,

the first row, seated, are from left Mary Rhodes Stittings,

Mildred Lucas, Verna Cushman Bergandine, Ruby

Lucas, Harriet Lincoln West and Darlene Westfall

Seaver. The second row from left are Winifred Clark

Raff, Leah Broshes Lincoln, Coach Willis Pond, Erelene

Westfall Simpson and Mary Connor Tackman.]

From the Beginning (14)

[corresponds to numbered page 12 of From the Beginning]


In the summer the favorite pastime was swimming. Brush lake, located two miles,

from town was the place to go. there were no swimming pools until

later, consequently the young people from towns around were there

frequently. We knew many of them from seeing them at events where

our schools competed in sports. At any rate that was the highlight of the

week when we could spend Sunday afternoon at the lake.


One Sunday when I was still in high school, Julia and I met these two

fellows from Marysville, Bob Orahood and Frank Bergandine. Julia and

Bob were married in 1932.


Frank's family lived in Union Co., starting with his Grandfather, Samuel

Bergandine where in the mid eighteen hundreds he bought a farm in

Allen Township.


Jesse, Frank's father, was born there and married Myrtle Burroughs.

Their five children were born there also. When Frank, the youngest child

was three years old, they left the farm and moved to Marysville.


Frank's mother's family also settled in that general area. His great

grandmother Holycross lived to be 104. I didn't

know Frank's father. He died in 1930.


[top left photo: Brush Lake - 1929 Bert, Judy, Josephine, Verna]

[top right photo: School Picnic at Darby Creek - 1930 Verna, Julia]


[bottom left photo: My Last Day of School]


middle right photo: Woodstock High School] ]

From the Beginning (15)

[corresponds to numbered page 13 of From the Beginning]

Frank had graduated from Marysville High in 1929. A fine athlete, he

especially liked playing basketball. In his Junior and Senior years they

won the district Championship. Jobs were hard to come by at that time.

It so happened that the Plant Manager for the Nestle Co., Mr. Grout was

an avid basketball fan. He followed the team and had gotten to know the

boys. Frank applied at the Milk Plant and Mr. Grout found a place for him.

That is where he was working when we were married in Dec. 1934.


Julia and Bob were living in a double at the time, and we were able to rent the other

side. We spent evenings playing bridge and making popcorn which came from

home. Rarely could we come up with the price of a movie on the small paychecks.

That summer Julia and I would be waiting with sandwiches when the boys came

home from work and off to Millcreek we would go. I don't think there were any real

keepers where we fished, but it was great fun.


As neighbors we borrowed not only the proverbial cup of sugar from each other but

anything else we needed that the other one had. I used her food grinder as often as

she did. When Frank and I later moved to Sunbury, she presented me with a gift,

a food grinder, a cherished possession which I still use from time to time even

though I have a more up to date food processor.


Annual Commencement

Woodstock High School May 19, 1932

Reflections From The Operas Huffer Orchestra

Invocation Mrs. Hulda Kimball

The Old Refrain Kreisler Girls Senior Sextett

Objectives of Education

Health and Fundamental Processes

Worthy Use of Leisure Winfred Clark

Citizenship Mary Lininger

Vesper Bells Are Ringing Van Norman Boys Senior Sextette

Santus Schubert Junior High School Chorus

Vocations Leah Broshes

Character and Home Membership Mary Connor

Nightfall In Granada Bueno High School Chorus

Listen To The Lambs Dett Nash High School Chorus

Goodbye Old Hi Moore Boys Senior Sexette

Presentation of Class Memorial Clarence Barnette

Acceptance of Memorial Harriette Lincoln

Out of Dusk to you Zamenik Girls Senior Sexette

Presentation of Diplomas W. V. Pond


[top left photo: Frank - 1926]

From the Beginning (16)

[corresponds to numbered page 14 of From the Beginning]


In September 1935, Anne was born at home, She was delivered by

Bertha's husband, Dr. Henry W. Katter of Dublin.


Two weeks later Frank underwent a tonsillectomy. An operation

that usually causes a very sore throat for a few days but not a long

recovery. Not so with Frank. After surgery and for over a week

following he continued to hemorrhage. We later learned that the

excessive bleeding was caused by an abnormality known as

Von Wilobrandt's Disease. Of our eight children, all but two of

them also have that tendency.


The Doctor came to the house many times to try and stem the

bleeding with stitches in his throat. Frank was so weak from the

loss of blood that it was nearly a month before he was able to be up.

Had it occurred today, he would been in the hospital and would

have been given transfusions. With his throat so sore from all the

stitches, about the only thing he could swallow was jello. Small wonder

that from time on he didn't care much for jello. Luckily, Julia and Bob

were close at hand to see us through the ordeal and help with taking

care of Anne.


Uncle Henry came to the same address in Sept. 1937, and delivered Susie.


By this time Frank was working in the Research and Control Laboratory

where they were experimenting with a new product, Nescafé. By 1939

they were trying it out in the Sunbury Plant and before the year was over,

were producing it there. Frank had been driving back and forth from

Marysville. In April 1940 we moved to 185 Letts Avenue.


[upper right photo: Anne, 7 months Old, West Second Street Marysville,

Ohio - 1936]


[lower left photo: Anne and Susie - 1938]

From the Beginning (17)

[corresponds to numbered page 15 of From the Beginning]


My first trip to Sunbury was very reassuring. It would be pretty hard to get a

negative impression of the town when one of the first things I saw was the old Town

Hall. Chuck Nettelhorst was the first person I met when he came to the house to

hook up our gas stove. Mary Ellen Miller delivered milk to us. When she stopped

to collect, we would always have a little chat.


Louise Sheets had just opened "The Little Shoppe". When doing other errands, I

would stop in for a visit with her. The shop was full of so many interesting things.

Anne and Susie noticed the pretty earrings she always wore. Seeing the case full of

them, they asked if she put on a new pair everyday and then put them back in the

case.


Luretta Day welcomed the little girls when I took them to the Methodist Sunday

School. I was invited to join Search Light Club. It didn't take long for us to feel

that we belonged here.


Anne started School in the fall of 1941. Susie, age four, missed her very much.

Several times a day she asked when Anne would be coming home. Mr Strosnider,

our neighbor, was putting sidewalks in front of our house. She spent the day

watching. He later told me that she had announced to him a coming event. She was

wearing a pair of blue coveralls that had been Anne's. She told him she was saving

hers for the brother.


In April 1942 Uncle Henry came to the house once more and delivered a baby girl,

instead. We named her Barbara.


During Anne's first year in school she was having tonsillitis often. In the summer she

had a tonsillectomy and was hospitalized for bleeding. Frank and my sister Elsie

were the same blood type as hers. She had a pint from each of them. My blood went

to replace a pint in the hospital blood bank. That was before the Red Cross started

the blood donor program.


Susie suffered the same fate as Anne when she had a tonsillectomy the following year

and also needed transfusions. Same blood type, same donors. After that we decided

enough was enough with tonsils. Somehow the others survived the sore throats

without going through the ordeal with surgery.


In Nov. 1943 , it was Dr. M. W. Livingston who came to the house and this time

delivered the "brother", John Franklin.


This year the Sunbury Plant received the Army Navy E. Award given for outstanding

accomplishment in the war effort. Nescafé was packed in the K Rations of the

armed Forces.


The company, feeling the need for increased production, purchased an old Brewery

in Granite City, Illinois, and converted it into a coffee plant.

From the Beginning (18)

[corresponds to numbered page 16 of From the Beginning]


Mr. E. C. Teut was the plant manger here. He left in February to start up

the new facility taking Frank along as Asst. Manager. Little did we know it

was to be in October before suitable housing could be found. It was a

nice old house in Edwardsville, fifteen miles from Granite City.


Anne had started fourth grade and Susie second grade in Sunbury.

Barbara was two and half years old. John 10 months when we set

out for Illinois.


Once more Julia came to the rescue. She went along to help with the

children and to help get us settled.


I had not seen the house at 215 N. Kansas St. before the day we arrived. I

was more than pleased with what I found. The neighborhood was all I

could have asked for. Grade school within the block, the Presbyterian

Church two doors from us and neighbors who soon became good friends.


After leaving Julia at the train in St. Louis to return home, we didn't see

anyone from home for more than a year, with gasoline rationing. The

first Thanksgiving we invited all the Nestle "strays" who had moved

there from other places and were unable to get home to be with their families


Charlie joined our little group in Feb. 1946. He was born in St. Elizabeth Hospital,

Granite City. Arriving about a month before he was expected, Charlie was

the smallest of the children weighing in at 5 lb. 5 oz. He was more interested

in sleeping than in taking in nourishment. I worried about his slow weight gain.

By the time he was a month old he was awake more and hungry. He just needed

a little more time to get caught up. By Christmas he was pulling himself up and

walking around the play pen,


[top right photo: Grandma Bergandine with Susie, John, Anne, and Barbara at 185 Letts Avenue Before We Moved To Edwardsville, Illinois - 1944]


[ bottom left photo: Visit to Ohio in Summer of 1946]

From the Beginning (19)

[corresponds to numbered page 17 of From the Beginning]


Santa had brought John a little tool box containing saw and hammer.

He discovered the rungs of the pen were easy to saw. Charlie soon

the opening for his get-away. When I found him crawling around outside

the pen, I confiscated the saw and pushed the pen against the wall on the side

where the damage was done.


To this day John is very good with the saw. His hobby is working with wood.

He has turned out some beautiful pieces of furniture. One of them, a little

table with cabriole legs, was made from the walnut tree that had been

next to our driveway. It sits in my living room.


In 1948, Mr. Teut left to start Nescafé production in another plant, and Frank was

made Plant Manager. About that time he discovered that he was diabetic.

With a change in his diet he was able to control it for a time without

insulin.


With St Louis only some 20 odd miles from Edwardsville, we were able to

go there occasionally for some entertainment and shopping. The children

enjoyed the zoo.


[top right photo: John in Wooden Jeep Made During Wartime - 1947]


[middle right photo: A trip to St. Louis for Barbara, Susie, Anna, B Orahood,
Dick Orahood, and John]


[bottom left photo: Charlie at Christmas - 1949]


[bottom right photo: Grandma Widicus with Charlie, John, Barbara - 1947}

From the Beginning (20)

[corresponds to numbered page 18 of From the Beginning]


Three times during the school year, the Jr. High went by bus to hear the St Louis

Symphony. Susie wanted to be first getting her money in so she would be sure to

get a seat on the bus.


In summer the Municipal Outdoor Theatre at Forest Park put on some very

good light opera. Ice Hockey with the St. Louis Flyers and the Cardinal Baseball

team were two special attractions.


At the 8th grade picnic, Anne fell and injured her leg. The bone was bruised, an

osteomyelitis developed. She was on penicillin and crutches for most of the

summer. When she was able to walk without the crutches, she wanted to see

the Cardinals play. She knew Billy Southworth in Sunbury. He was manager of

the Cardinals. Before he left home for Spring Training he would stop for her

when he was taking Carole to school. She and Frank waited by the dugout. It

was quite a thrill for her when Billy emerged and talked to them. He was a

thoroughly likeable person.


When Barbara was about six years old, she and her friend

Virginia Kinsman were fascinated with weddings.

Virginia's father was minister of the First Presbyterian

Church. He would permit the girls to quietly

observe the


[top left photo: Virginia Kinsman John Barbara - 1945]


[top right photo: John, Barbara - 1947]


[bottom right photo: Barbara with the New Look. Gone Are the Braids. Her
First "Toni" Given by Her
Beautician Mom - 1949]

From the Beginning (21)

[corresponds to numbered page 18 of From the Beginning]


ceremonies from the balcony. They took it very seriously in their Sunday

best, wearing white gloves, their Easter bonnets and carrying their pocketbooks.

They felt as much a part of it as if they had been invited guests seated below.


The fact that I lived close to the church and was usually at home, I was occasionally

called upon to witness a marriage. One day my friend and next door neighbor

Lucille Harrison, asked me what was going on. She saw me hanging clothes on the

line, and in a matter of minutes I was walking down the street toward the church

wearing a dress, heels and lipstick. The next thing she knew I was hanging up clothes

again. Seeing me at the clothesline was not unusual, in fact hanging diapers on the

line was almost a daily ritual. It was the sudden departure that caused her to

wonder. When Mrs. Kinsman called, not wanting to keep the bride and groom

waiting, I would get there as soon as possible.


Speaking of churches, the Christian church was on the other side of us. Twice during

our stay in Edwardsville, young couples thinking our house to be the parsonage, rang

our door bell. They asked if the minister was in. They wanted to get married.


On the other side of town the Baptist Minister caused us a certain amount of

involvement. His name was Boergadine. We received many of his Christmas cards

and one year a lovely plant was delivered to our door with a note thinking him for

burying her husband. I called the florist and told him the flower was not intended

for this address. He insisted that perhaps I didn't remember the lady but he was sure

that Rev. Boergadine would know her. I finally convinced him that the Bergandines

lived at this address, not the Boergadines.


The itinerants passing through town found our door with a certain degree of

regularity. One man we particularly came to expect on Christmas morning. On this

occasion and in the spirit of the day, I came up with ham and Swiss Cheese

sandwiches and a few goodies that I wanted to share. It finally dawned on me the

reason they knocked on my door instead of the neighbors, they too thought it was

the parsonage.


In September 1950, Jim was born in St. Joseph Hospital, Alton, Illinois. The

other children all brought their friends home to show him off. Charlie's little

friend Jamie Kinsman knocked on the door and asked if she could see the

baby. Jamie was a little younger than Charlie, and he sometimes treated her

as if he were a little superior. After hesitating he told her she could come in

but she was not to touch the baby because he was sterilized. She was used

to Charlie's rebuffs. If he told her he didn't want to come out and play, she

would go home and come back the next day.


[bottom right photo: Charlie, Jamie Kinsman, Jim, John
Edwardsville - 1959]

From the Beginning (22)

[corresponds to numbered page 20 of From the Beginning]

Our good friends. Les and Leanore Marks and daughters, lived across the

street. Les was a funeral director. They lived on the second floor in a large

old brick Victorian house that sat way back from the street surrounded by

a wrought iron fence. Once when Suzanne and Linda Marks with Susie

and Barbara were playing house under one of the large evergreens,

sweeping the pine needles and sending the dust flying, Susie had an

attack of asthma. That night she could scarcely breath. We called the

doctor. He came and gave her a shot of adrenalin and left a syringe for

another dose. He recommended that we take her next day to a specialist in St.

Louis which we did and also at regular intervals for about six months. The treatment

worked and she has not been bothered by asthma since. The Marks girls came to

our house to play when there was a funeral going on across the street.


[top left photo: Back Row:
Anne, Susie, Linda Marks, Barbara
Front Row:
Suzanne Marks, John Across the street at the Mark's in 1946]


[bottom photo:
Anne
Susie
Charlie
Barbara
John
1950]

From the Beginning (23)

[corresponds to numbered page 21 of From the Beginning]


The girls had gone from Girl Scouts

and Jr. High activities to band and

choir in High School. Anne played

French Horn which she liked all

except the part about carrying the

horn to and from school. The

director required practice at home.

It was quite a walk to the high

school. It was always a keen

competition for first chair between

her and Tommy Reilly.


Susie played clarinet in Jr. High but

going into high school her interest

was in choir. In the tryouts, she was

one of the two freshmen to be

chosen for the Acappella Choir.


As we go into the year 1953, I

remember it as one that tested my

abilities to cope. First of all in

January on a beautiful crisp Sunday

morning, snow on the ground, I

realized that I would be going to Alton to St. Joseph Hospital. I got the little ones

ready for Sunday School and informed

Anne she would be in charge until Frank

returned later. The little ones did not

know that I wouldn't be there when

they came home. In a few hours, Frank

called home and Anne was able to tell

them that they had a a new baby brother,

Robert Steven.


In March Frank was to leave us for a

time once more. The company decided

rather than do a complete overhaul on

the boilers in the old building in

Granite City, they would close the plant.

Frank returned to the Sunbury Plant. It

being Anne's senior year we planned to

wait till June to move.


On morning in April, Susie came down

stairs with a persistent pain in her side.

The doctor suspicioned appendicitis and

told me to take her to St Joseph

Hospital. He was right. She had

surgery that afternoon. All week while


[top left photo: Linda Marks, Barbara, Charlie, Jim - 1951]


[bottom right photo: Charlie, John , Barbara,
Bob, 4 Months, Verna, and Jim
Edwardsville, Illinois - 1953]

From the Beginning (24)

[corresponds to numbered page 22 of From the Beginning]

she was in the hospital, I went to see her everyday. We managed to keep things

going at home with a little babysitting help from my dear neighbors. Bob survived,

showing no ill effects with someone feeding him and still another person burping

him.


My efforts then turned to getting ready for Anne's graduation. A trip to St. Louis

shopping was necessary. Frank came for graduation, and we had one week to

prepare for the movers.


The older children weren't thrilled with leaving their friends. John had but one

request. That was that our new place would have some boys to play ball with. He

had had it with all the girls. I knew that there was much I would miss about

Edwardsville, mainly the people; but if Frank was to be transferred anywhere, I was

glad it was to return to Sunbury.


Coming back to Ohio we were bringing three boys who were not with us on our trip

west.


Anne and Susie left by train the day before. when the big moving van pulled away

from 215 N. Kansas St. and our car was packed and we were ready to leave, there

was quite a group gathered around us to say goodbye and to wish us well. The

Marks, Kinsmans, Harrisons and Lucille's mother Grandma Widicus and even the old

bachelor, Henry Weidey. It was then that I was made aware of the great impact they

had all had on our nine and a half years spent among them. We couldn't have been

happier!


Frank had been looking for a house in Sunbury from the time he arrived in March.

It wasn't until two weeks before we were wanting to move that one became available.

An elderly man had died, and his daughter barely had time to close out his

belongings before we were here. She assured me that anything I wanted to do to

redecorate would be fine. It was a nice old 2 story house, but it did take some doing

the next few years to make it seem like home. It was on the corner of High and

Harrison Sts. and yes, John got his wish. There were boys in the neighborhood. The

boys soon found way to occupy their time. The girls missed their friends, and the

routine they had left behind. We bought our first television set which added a new

dimension to their summer.


After school started Susie got a job working at the drugstore for Mr. Hill some

evenings and on Saturdays.


Anne started college at Otterbein only nine miles away, but after leaving her there

we faced the realization that for the first time she wouldn't be coming home with us

and we would just have to get used to it.


To close a very busy and eventful year my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding

Anniversary on Christmas Day 1953, with all of their ten children and their spouses.

I was especially glad to be back home in Ohio and able to visit them a few more

From the Beginning (25)

[corresponds to numbered page 23 of From the Beginning]


times in Woodstock before my father died

in March, 1954, after surgery for cancer.


In the spring John, age 9, was operated on

at Grant Hospital for appendicitis.

Running true to form he also had

prolonged bleeding after surgery. The

pattern seemed to be that it took just so long for the bleeding to stop no matter what

measures were taken. What a relief

it was when finally there were no

more episodes, and he was able to

come home.


By the end of the year we were back

nto the swing of things. With all

the familiar faces at P.T.A., church

and Searchlight Club, it was almost

as if we had never left Sunbury.


Anne took a summer job at Lazarus,

leaving town each morning on the

Greyhound Bus to

Columbus at 7:00

and returning in the evening at 6:30.

The boys playing in the

neighborhood

knew when they heard

the Nestlé whistle that it was 12:00,

time for them to be home, hands

washed and ready for lunch when

their father would be home.


[left top photo: Golden Wedding - 1958]


[top right photo: Mom and Pop - 1942]


[bottom right photo: In Marysville at Aunt Judy's - 1953
Bob is 6 Months]

From the Beginning (26)

[corresponds to numbered page 24 of From the Beginning]

In December Frank celebrated his 25th year with the company. He and I left by train

from Columbus at 9:30 p.m. and arrived at Grand Central station, N.Y. at 7:30 next

morning. We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel. Frank had been to N.Y. several times

on business, but this was my first trip and what a grand time of year to see the City!

To say that it was decorated for the holidays was an understatement.


We were met by one of the men from the corporate office from the Manufacturing

Dept. who frequently visited the Sunbury Plant, and each day another couple, acted

as our hosts to show us the city. The first day we visited the United Nations, then

had lunch at the Rockefeller Plaza looking out at the skaters and the huge decorated

Christmas Tree. The view of the city from the top of the Empire State Building

minimized the size of everything below.


Another time we had dinner at the Stork Club. Sherman Billingsley, the owner

seated at a table near us, recognized the couple who was with us and had a bottle of

Champagne sent to our table with his compliments. After we saw the play,

"Can Can" with the original cast. Guy Lombardo was celebrating his 25th year

playing at the Roosevelt Grill. We dined and danced to his music with the Warren

Bullocks and Harold Colvins. The last evening we were in N.Y. we attended the

Annual Christmas Party at Glenn Island Casino. It was a large affair with 600 guests,


[photo: Nestle Christmas Party in 1954 at Glenn Island Casino, New York}

From the Beginning (27)

[corresponds to numbered page 25 of From the Beginning]


the office staff and their spouses. We were seated next to the President, Mr. Dan

Notion. It was than that Frank was recognized for his 25 years of service and

presented with a gold watch.


I have been to N. Y. several times and always enjoyed it but this trip I remember

best, five days of pure fun and excitement. We arrived home on the 17th with just

enough time to make ready for Santa Caus. I am indebted to my mother. She

stayed with the children so that I could go with Frank and also Julia who took Bob,

who was not quite two years old.


Susie graduated from high school in 1955. Her interest was always in music. In the

fall she started at Ohio University. By the end of the first semester she was

disappointed in the the music program. She came home and the following year

enrolled at O.S.U.


About that time when Jim was in the first grade our neighbor, an old gentleman

whose name escapes me, died. the previous summer when he was sitting on his

porch, Jim and Bob would go over and talk to him. I answered Jim's questions about

the funeral and burial and also added that his soul went to heaven. Later I heard Jim

explaining it all to Bob who didn't understand about how he was to get to heaven.

Jim gave it some serious thought and then said, "They just take the gravity off." Bob said, "Oh".


We lost two of our family members in 1956. Grandma Bergandine died in August,

having lived to be 78 years old. She was in a wheel chair the last few years. always

a joy to be with, the children loved it when she came to visit. In spite of all the

commotion that was ever present, ours was the place she enjoyed the most.


My sister Elsie Bowerman died the 26th of December. She was 52 years old. She

had been wanting ice skates and found a pair under the tree that Christmas. She and

her two daughters, who were students O.S.U. went to the skating rink the next

evening. She had no sooner started skating when she fell to the ice and was gone

almost immediately of an aneurysm in the brain. Elsie was a Phys. E. Major in

college and always excelled in sports. She was captain of her basketball team and

was an excellent swimmer. Our holidays ended on a very sad note.


[photo: Sisters Bertha, Julia, Verna, Mom, Josephine, Elsie
Memorial Day -1955]

From the Beginning (28)

[corresponds to numbered page 26 of From the Beginning]


Barbara went with members of the Big Walnut Choir to a summer camp at Westminster

Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She returned home to find that another brother

had taken up residence with us. Jeffrey Miles was born on August 5th, 1957 , at White

Cross Hospital.


Frank had scarcely returned home from White Cross when it was necessary to take

Susie to University Hospital. She had had a wisdom tooth pulled several weeks before.

There had been some bleeding from time to time, but at this point it continued to bleed

in earnest. The eight days that I was required to be in the hospital, Frank went from

seeing mother and child to being with Susie while the bleeding continued. Her face

swollen with the huge clot that formed. Doctors were undecided as to what should be

done as this was most unusual. Finally they did remove the clot and a day after Frank

brought Jeff and me home, Susie was able to come home. Having had

so many shots she needed a pillow to be able to sit at the kitchen table.


Frank was glad to have us all around the kitchen table after eight days

of shuttling back and forth between

hospitals and the anxious moments he

went through with Susie.


I laid Jeffrey on the davenport when

we came home. Bob was four and

a half at the

time and remembers running in

to check on Jeff several times while we were

having lunch. He was fascinated with the

little newcomer. Up until now he had been the

center of attention.


[top right photo: Jeff Gets a Bath on Christmas Morning - 1957]


[middle left photo: Bob, John, Jim, Charlie - Christmas 1957]


[bottom right photo: Jeff Playing John's Drums]

From the Beginning (29)

[corresponds to numbered page 27 of From the Beginning]


Many exciting events were to come in the next few years. Anne graduated from O.S.U.

in June, 1958, and went to Elyria in the fall to teach 4th grade. Outside at recess with

the class, she fell on the ice and broke her arm. Unfortunately, being left handed it was

her left arm.


Bob started to school in 1959. Jeffrey was asked what he would do now that Bob was

in School. He said, "I pay wid Wayme". Rayme Saunders was a neighbor and friend of

Bob.


Once again I was left with just one little one at home till my boys in grade school

came trooping home at noon for lunch with their father.


Frank was offered the Nestlé Plant in Freehold, N. Jersey to manage. It was

presented in a way that left Frank to decide. The opening there came up and

since it was a larger plant, they told him it was his if he wanted it. It would have had

some advantages at this time. It was actually Barbara who made the decision

final for him when she said, "Money isn't everything, Dad." with a pleading look that

was not possible for Frank to ignore.


[top right photo: Queen Barbara and Her Court at Homecoming - 1958
Her Football Escort Duncan Whitney to Her Left]


[middle left photo: Bob, First Grade]


[middle right photo: Bob sharing Cake on His 6th Birthday with Neighborhood Friends Left to Right: Jim, Amy Stockwell, Bob, Doug Crowl, Mary Ault, Jeff Tom Crowl, Tom Ruthg, Booby Chaffin]

From the Beginning (30)

[corresponds to numbered page 28 of From the Beginning]


[top left photo: Jim and Bob
Sunday School bound in 1958]


[top right photo: The Boys in New Christmas Sweats - 1959]


[middle photo: Bob, Frank, Jeff, Verna, John, Barbara, Anne, Susie, Charlie
January 2, 1959]


[bottom left photo: Bob, Jeff at Aunt Judy's 1960]


[bottom right photo: Jeff First Grade]

From the Beginning (31)

[corresponds to numbered page 29 of From the Beginning]


Sunbury Plant was their Research Plant and Frank was told that this was

the decision they had hoped would make. sometimes it took a balancing act to

meet production demands and also work out scheduling trial runs for the

Laboratory. It required cooperation and the company appreciated Frank's

ability to make things run smoothly.


In March 1960, Susie graduated from O.S.U. She started teaching Music at

Bellville in the fall. We had two graduates that year with Barbara from Big Walnut.

That fall she started at O.S.U. John was next to graduate in 1961. He also went to
O.S.U.


Over the next three years there were three weddings. First Susie to Ed O'Bryan in

April 1961; Anne to Larry Stockert in July, 1962; and John and Polly Reynolds in

January, 1963. A rather sudden change in the household. Although Anne and

Susie were at home only summers, it was not the same without them. John had

driven to school from home, and his absence was felt even more.


Frank and I were given a three week cruise to the Caribbean by the Nestle Co. As

we were basking in the sun from one island to the other we learned on the ship's

daily newspaper of the extreme cold in Columbus, Ohio - 25 degrees below zero.


Our itinerary included stops at San Juan, St Thomas, St. Lucia, Nevis, St Kitts and

Barbados. Always when we went ashore the natives greeting us with music from their

steel bands.


We left the ship at Port of Spain., Trinidad, the hottest place I have ever been, to

spend three nights there with the Nestlé people hosting our stay and showing us

around the island. After a picnic on the beach Frank had a case of sun poisoning

with swollen hands so that he had to call off a golf game scheduled for the next day.

By contrast, coming into the hotel out of the sun, the lobby was so cold it almost

made your teeth chatter. The one main road on the island was built by the G. I.'s.

during World War II.


[photo: Frank in Nestlé's News - May 1961]

From the Beginning (32)

[corresponds to numbered page 30 of From the Beginning]


We flew from Trinidad to Kingston, Jamaica. The Director of Nestlé Operations,

Mr. Hay, an Englishman, met us; and he and his wife showed us many interesting

places the three days we spent there. The Straw Market and a visit to the

Governor's Rose Gardens were some of the places. Mrs. Hay was a good friend of

the Governor's wife. I didn't get to meet her as she was as they say, "On holiday in

England." I must say that roses do beautifully in Jamaica, but then the climate is

ideal for both roses and people.


One evening the Nestlé driver drove us and Mr. and Mrs. Hay to Blue Mt. Inn

for dinner. Our table was before a fire on the hearth and dessert was the famous

strawberries grown on the hillside. I remember Arthur Godfrey on his radio show

telling about his experience there and commenting on how great the strawberries

were. He was right!


Mr. Hay showed Frank some of the Nestlé facilities. Our stay in Kingston went very

fast and next we were driven about 3 hours to the northern shore to Ocho Rios

where we stayed three more days at the Plantation Inn. One thing I noticed on all

the islands where we had dinner, it was always served in the open under the stars.

Their insect control must have been very effective because I never saw a fly or

mosquito which always seem to want to share in the fun on our outdoor events here.

At ocho Rios on the beach I polished off my already very deep suntan. In fact when

all the kids came to the airport to meet us, they recognized Frank as we came down

the steps of the plane; but they wondered who he had brought back with him.


[photo: Ocho Rios, Jamaica - 1963]

From the Beginning (33)

[corresponds to numbered page 31 of From the Beginning]


We were driven to Montego Bay where we took a plane to Miami and on home by

evening.


Susie and Ed and one month old Christopher stayed with the children while we were gone.


It was at this time we bought my first clothes dryer. With all my eight children, it

had to be my first grandchild whose diapers were dried in it. Of all the housewifely

duties I performed through the years, I think I enjoyed washing most and that

included hanging clothes on the line. However, I soon realized the dryer was a

better way. I wondered how many miles of clothesline full of socks I had fastened

to the line with clothespins.


The Surgeon General of the United States came on T.V. with the long awaited

announcement of the findings of the Cancer Society on the direct connection

between smoking and lung cancer. The date was Saturday Jan. 11, 1964.


Frank and I had decided before hand that if what he had to say was bad news we

would give up the habit. It was bad news, and we did not buy any more cigarettes.

With only ten left in the house we made them last till Monday morning, and that was

it!


Frank had taken up smoking out of boredom in 1944 when he was in Illinois for

several months with the family. Later in 1949, I decided to give it a try, being

convinced by the advertising that claimed if you only "reach for a Lucky

instead of a sweet" maybe I could lose a few pounds. Trouble was there would be

days go by that I would forget to smoke. Finally I learned to enjoy them. Most of

my friends had smoked for years, but I had had no desire to try it. Smoking was

never spoken of as being harmful to health. At least people now are fully informed

about why they should not smoke.


It took two weeks before I didn't want a cigarette. I started new projects that would

keep my mind and hands occupied. Frank's battle with kicking the habit required

much more strength of character as he was surrounded by smokers everyday.


Charlie was next to graduate from high school. The following February on

Valentine's Day, he was struck by a car on the square in Galena. He had stopped

his car and had gone around behind it when a classmate thinking to give Charlie a

scare pulled in toward him. Charlie looked up to see headlights in his eyes and at

that moment was pinned between the two cars. Obviously the boy's judgement in

executing the prank was faulty to say the least.


On impact Charlie's car was pushed up the incline onto the grass on the other side

of the sidewalk. His glasses and shoes were found several feet away. Deep cuts in

both legs, one to the bone continued to bleed for several day. Many blood

transfusions were required. He didn't lack for donors. Friends came forth to offer

their blood for him. It was nip and tuck for a time before the bleeding stopped. It

From the Beginning (34)

[corresponds to numbered page 32 of From the Beginning]


was three weeks before he was able to come home from Riverside Hospital. I++t took

a little time before his legs wanted to function as usual. I remember him telling how

scarry it was the first time he started across the street downtown with the green light

and hoping to get there before the light changed.


In March 1966 my mother died. She was 82 and until the last few months had always

been well and very active. Flowers in her garden was her delight in summer.

Always a fresh bowl of sweet peas on her kitchen table. "The way to keep them

blooming is to pick them everyday", she said.


All my sisters and I enjoyed gardening as much as she did. She had the advantage

of having rich black loam soil which didn't require as much coaxing to get the best

results. A little manure from the barn and her dahlias, gladiolas and asters, which

she called fall roses, were real prize winners. Anyone who stopped by always

left with and armful of whatever was ready in her garden. I think that describes

her best. Her generosity was seen in all her actions. She said, "I enjoy them more

if others have some of them, too".


When the children were small and I had little time for flowers I was content with the

offerings the little boys brought to me. I probably had the first dandelions and violets

spotted in the neighborhood. How pleased they were when I made a fuss over their

bouquets and would look for just the right glass to hold their little short stems!



We started our new house at 217 High St. in August. It can honestly be said that this

house was "built upon a rock." It took several days to dig the basement with a bulldozer

and truckloads of rocks were hauled away.


We moved in on the 15th of December, 1966. Only the three younger boys were at

home. Charlie did not move with us as he and Cheryl Saunders were married a few days


[upper right photo: Mom at Her 80th Birthday Party April 16, 1964]


[bottom right photo: Digging the Basement at 217 High Street - August 1966]

From the Beginning (35)

[corresponds to numbered page 33 of From the Beginning]


before. It was an exciting time to be settled in the new house and have the children

and grandchildren here for Christmas that first year. The large family room in

basement was more than adequate.


Barbara and Duncan weren't able to be with us until the next day. She was working

in the University Hospital in Charlottesville, Va. where Duncan was in law school at

the University. We were glad to have them for a few days after Christmas.


The next two years were busy ones for Frank. A new product has many problems

to solve before the first batch comes off the line. Several engineers were hired to get

the equipment ready with the bugs ironed out before Tasters' Choice, a freeze dried

instant coffee was in production.


Heavily insulated suits and boots were required for the workers in the "Cold Room".

The men spent a limited amount of time on that detail because of the extreme low

temperature before they were relieved by the next shift.


The Sunbury Plant produced the first Nescafé in 1939, Nestea in 1946 and now in

1968 Taster's Choice made it's debut on the market.


In 1969 Jim graduated from Big Walnut then started school at C. I. T. Bob in 1971

and on to O. S. U.


When Jim and Julia Dudas were married it was just Bob and Jeff at home. The sun

did not set on the day of the wedding before Bob had moved all his belongings from

the room he had shared with Jeff into Jim's room. Bob looked at the wedding not

so much as losing a brother around the house but as a joyous occasion when he

acquired his own room. The feeling was mutual as Jeff expressed much satisfaction

in having his own space, also.


Jeff was the last to graduate from Big Walnut. From Sept. 1941 when Anne started

to school it was 34 years of contact with the schools. I had mixed emotions with it

all coming to an end. No more PTA. When 7th and 8th grades were in Galena

Building it meant membership in two of them. Always room mother for one of the

children, programs to attend when on of the children performed, Band, boosters and

so many other reasons to be involved.


Almost half my life to that point keeping schedules and seeing that the children of

all ages were where they were supposed to be and on time. Not only grade school

but also high school and college to say nothing of always a little one keeping me

company at home until Jeff started to school.


And now looking back over the years that were so important to me, I have to think

that I must have been about the happiest person alive in all this tangled web of

activity that some how seemed perfectly normal to me at the time. I suppose one can

say that from this phase of my life I had arrived at retirement the same year that

Frank retired from the Nestlé Co.

From the Beginning (36)

[corresponds to numbered page 34 of From the Beginning]


[top left photo: Anne - '53]

[top middle photo: Susie '55]

[top right photo : Barbara '60]


[ middle left photo: John '61]

GRADS

[middle right photo: Charlie '64]


[bottom left photo: Jim '69]

[bottom middle photo: Bob '71]

[bottom right photo: Jeff '75]

From the Beginning (37)

[corresponds to numbered page 35 of From the Beginning]


Blue Chip Profile


Sunbury Executive Heads Two Organizations


Frank D Bergandine heads up two large organizations in nearby Sunbury, Ohio: his family

with eight children and 11 grandchildren and the Nestle Co. Inc. plant of 240 employes.


Bergandine, 63, has been Nestle plant manager since 1953. He stands as Sunbury's leading

industrialist. On average the company employs one of every nine Sunbury residents.


In former years, soft-spoken Bergandine has served as president of Sunbury Lion's Club,

which another businessman said is as close to a chamber of commerce as the town has,

and the Big Walnut Band Boosters Association.


He and Verna, his wife, served on the committee that coordinated Sunbury's

sesquicentennial celebration in 1966.


Mrs. Bergandine is the former Verna Cushman of Woodstock in Champaign County. She

a former president of Sunbury PTA and now serves on the official board of Sunbury

United Methodist Church.


A lot of Bergadine's leisure time goes to golf. He is a member of Sunbury

and Blackhawk golf clubs.


AS OF TODAY, Bergandine has been with Nestle exactly 44 years. It was in

1929 that he took a factory job at Nestle's plant in Marysville. He had

worked two months before that for Scott Seed Co. after graduation from

Marysville High School.


He worked in production five years, then spent four more in the control

and research laboratory. In 1940, Bergandine was transferred to Sunbury

in charge of the plant's laboratory.


Four years passed and when Nestle opened a plant in Granite City, Ill.,

Bergandine went there as assistant plant manger, becoming manager in 1947.

He returned to Sunbury as plant manager six years later.

Four of the Bergandine children are graduates of Ohio State

University and fifth is a junior there now.


THE NESTLE Co. has owned the plant since 1918, when Nestle's only

business was milk products. Until that year , the plant was the Sunbury

Creamery, founded circa 1895.


Nestle, whose parent company is headquartered in Bevy, Switzerland,

has corporate U.S. offices in White Plains, N.Y.


Since 1967, when major rebuilding was done at the plant, main product

from Sunbury has been freeze-dried, instant coffee. Bergandine said the

process was developed for production between staffs at Sunbury and

Marysville Nestle plants and was an industry first.


Bergandine said the facility, in 1939, started the first successful, commercial

production of instant coffee, a lot of which went into Army K rations during World

War II, and its instant tea was probably first in the industry.


BESIDES FREEZE-dried coffee, the operation today produces a non-dairy creamer

and fills containers with some products shipped from other company plants.


Coffee beans for the plant come from abroad. But Bergandine gets questions about

producing his own. A seven-foot tall coffee tree, given to him as a seedling by an

employee, is nearing the ceiling of his paneled office. (R. N. Moore)


[photo: F. D. Bergandine]

From the Beginning (38)

[corresponds to numbered page 36 of From the Beginning]


In Retirement

[top left photo: 1975]


[middle right photo: Nestlé Quarter Century Party 1976]


[bottom left photo: Frank in Nestlé Golf Tournament 1978]


[bottom right photo: Two Nestlé Men Frank and Jeff]

From the Beginning (39)

[corresponds to numbered page 37 of From the Beginning]


Jeff was off to O.S.U. where he made the Marching Band and had the thrill

of playing at the Rose Bowl. We were off to Europe on a three week tour which

the Nestlé Co. provided for Frank's 46 years of service.


Our itinerary was planned to the smallest detail. We knew before we left home

where we would be and which of our Nestlé friends would be showing us the sights

in each country. When the men from the plants in Europe visited the U.S. they

always spent some time in Sunbury, it being their experimental plant.


Our first stop was London. We arrived there a day before our luggage. Luckily

our carry on bags contained all the essentials. They delivered our bags to the

hotel the next morning.


In London Don and Patricia Cunliffe were our hosts. Don was Plant Manager

at the Hayes Factory. Patricia had accompanied him the summer before on his

visit to the U.S. and they spent several days in Sunbury. They were very

gracious and one evening invited their close friends to join us for dinner at

their home.


For sightseeing a tour guide picked us all up in her car every morning for the day's

agenda of places we wanted to visit, then back to the hotel to dress for dinner. Near

the end of our stay, I jokingly said to Patricia that I thought the English had taken

a bum wrap from some who accused them of eating only roast beef an boiled

potatoes. She asked me if I had not noticed that we had dined each evening in

French restaurants known for their fine cuisine. At any rate, there were no

complaints about the fare.


Frank and Patricia managed a game of golf. Neither Don nor I are golfers so we

dropped them off at the Country Club and with their six year old son, Adam, he and

I toured a couple of very old churches in the country side near by. One of them was


[photo inserted into article: Frank D. Bergandine]

Nestle Plant Manager Retires After 46 Years of Service


Frank D. Bergandine, who has been plant manager of The Nestle Company's soluble

coffee plant at Sunbury for the past 22 years will retire Sept. 1. He has been with

Nestle a total of 46 years and during that time became involved in the production of many

Nestle's " firsts" which have positioned the company as a major soluble coffee and tea

manufacturer.


Bergandine started as a general factory worker in 1929 at Nestle's Marysville plant which

at the time made condensed and evaporated milk and milk powders. In 1935 he joined

the plant's Quality Control Research Laboratory.


Five years later he was promoted to supervisor of both the laboratory and of manufacturing

at the Sunbury plant, which had been built in 1939 for the first manufacture of Nescafe.

Since then this product has become the world's largest selling brand of instant coffee in

the world.


When Nestle build a new plant at Granite City. Ill., in 1943 to produce Nescafe instant

coffee for World War II armed forces, Bergandine first became its assistant plant

manger in 1944 and then plant manager in 1947.


Bergandine returned to Sunbury in 1953 to take over as plant manager, and was

responsible for the first US manufacture of Taster's Choice freeze-dried coffee in the

1960's. This is now the top-selling freeze dried coffee in the country. And he also

managed the first production of Taster's Choice Decaffeinated in 1971, now the leading

brand of decaffeinated freeze dried coffee in the country.

From the Beginning (40)

[corresponds to numbered page 38 of From the Beginning]


500 years old, made of stone and still in use. The graveyard was interesting with the

old tombstones, one of them was Sir Thomas Moore, author of "Ellegy, Written

in a Country Courtyard". This being the Sunday for Celebration of the Harvest, the

altar was laden with produce and according to tradition was to be distributed among

the widows of the Parish.


I remember fondly the beautiful countryside and the little hamlets we drove through

on that day in the fall of 1975. When it was time to bid farewell to England we left

from New Haven where we boarded the boat to take us across the channel to

Dieppe, France.


By the time we were settled in the hotel I began having a strange feeling in my chest.

It didn't get any better and by 10:00 o'clock Frank called the desk and asked for a

Doctor. There was a decided communication gap between his English and my

French but he decided a shot of valium was needed. It must have been a strong dose

because I was in slow motion for a couple of days. However the pain left and I

managed to get dressed and accompany Frank to lunch the next day which had been

planned for us with the management of the Nestlé Plant.


The French really know how to entertain. I was sorry I couldn't show a little more

enthusiasm at the five course luncheon. The best I could manage was a few

nibbles. They served a different wine with each course and were very hospitable and

entertaining.


They took me back to my room and I slept all afternoon and most of the next day.

The following day we left by train for Paris. I had to leave Dieppe with exploring

the town and sights nearby.


We were met at the station by a gentleman we didn't know but he and Frank had

mutual friends in the company. He was very helpful in getting us settled in our hotel

and then took us to dinner. The next evening he and his wife accompanied us to

dinner, at the Eiffel Tower. We spent almost an entire day at the Louvre. It was

only a block from the Concorde Louvre Hotel where we were staying. I was getting

awfully tired but I thought the chance that I might pass that way again was nil and

I just had to see as much as I possibly could.


Another evening we went to the Lido for dinner and saw a show that was a real

extravaganza. The tables were arranged around the stage on three sides. The show

opened with cowboys riding horses racing down the center stage for a wild west act.

Then the floor changed to ice and the skaters put on a show. A desert scene with

camels and veiled women entertained. Topless dancers descended the stairs with

their ornate headdresses of feathers so tall that it looked as if it were a real feat for

the girls to keep from toppling over.


Another day of sightseeing in Paris and then we left from Orly Field for Barcelona,

Spain. We were met by Juan Roccomora. I saw this handsome man standing alone,

I told Frank that he was was our host. Frank said, "What makes you thing so?' I told

From the Beginning (41)

[corresponds to numbered page 39 of From the Beginning]


him that he was definitely a Spaniard and he was looking for someone. When our

eyes met he came forward and asked if we were the Bergandines. From that

moment he was in charge of seeing to it that our stay in Barcelona was most

enjoyable. He and his wife Carmen picked us up each morning at the Diplomat

Hotel and we were off for the day. Along the Costa Brava we stopped at a little Inn

and had a fisherman's lunch. Traveling in another direction along the Mediterranean

the scenery was spectacular against the deep blue of the water. In Barcelona Harbor

we saw Christopher Columbus pointing west and the Castle where Queen Isabella

knighted him on his return from his voyage to the New World. The Roccomoras

planned to visit the U.S. in 1977 to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. To

prepare for it Carmen and their two teenage sons were being tutored in English.

When we rode along together in the back seat on our tours Carmen would ask me

to repeat words so she could hear me pronounce them. She said her teacher was

good but when she spoke in English it still sounded like Spanish.


We looked forward to seeing them again and for the opportunity to show them

around our area. Unfortunately about a year after we had seen them we received

a letter from Juan saying Carmen had died of cancer. Although our

acquaintance with them was of short duration they lift a lasting impression with us.


Our next stop was Nice, France where we spent a couple of nights along the Riviera.

Then on to Geneva, Switzerland.


The old hotel where we stayed in Vevey, the Trois Couronnes, had quite a history.

Built on Lake Leman in 1840 on the site of a 13th Century Castle, it boasted a

roster of guests that contained names of crowned heads of governments as well as

many important travelers. On leaving we were presented with a book from the hotel

containing pictures and signatures of many of them.


One of them was Paderewski shown practicing on one of the grand pianos in the

ballroom for a music festival in 1913. The scenes that met the eye from our window

was one I am not likely to forget. In the distance the misty Alps majestically pointed

skyward changing reflections on the lake as the sun changed positions throughout the

day.


The first evening we were there Dr. Carl Angst, head of the Nestlé Co., drove us to

a quaint Mountain Inn for dinner. Saddle of deer was the specialty that evening -

a new taste for me which I thought was quite good.


The next few days we spent touring the countryside with different hosts stopping at

places of interest.


One day at a very high elevation we came to Gruyere Castle. looking down at the

valley below at the cattle and goats, their tinkling bells playing a tune as they grazed

on the hillside is the picture that comes to my mind when I think of Switzerland.


We had lunch in a little restaurant on a road leading up to the castle. We chose the

From the Beginning (42)

[corresponds to numbered page 40 of From the Beginning]


one that offered only a Swiss Menu. A slab of Gruyere Cheese on a toaster of sorts

was placed on the table from which we scraped slightly melted cheese onto the

smallest of red potatoes, boiled with the skins on, and served with small sweet

gherkins, delicious hot bread and butter, strawberries and cream and of course wine.

The cheese was made in the village nearby and was out of this world.


We visited the large Corporate Office of the worldwide Nestlé Co. Frank, having

spent his entire working life in it's service, really enjoyed seeing where the important

decisions were made that were responsible for all it's fine products.


To top off Frank's enjoyment of our visit Switzerland, Dr. Angst had arranged for

a game of golf on our last day. Unfortunately it rained the entire day. We left for

Rome that evening with a rain check for a game at Black Hawk on his next trip to

Sunbury.


We spent the last two days of our tour viewing the ruins of the Ancient City, many

of which I recognized from pictures in my Latin book. I mention this because my

teacher, Miss Hunter, had been to Rome and enjoyed telling the class about what she

had seen. When our translation had to do with a particular building we would ask

the right questions we could get her started on that. We always expressed a great

interest in learning how it was. That reduced the time for translation. If we really

hadn't studied our vocabulary for the day we didn't have to expose our lack of

preparedness.


Miss Hunter was near retirement age and was probably on to our scheme but she was

a good sport and made Latin more interesting.


It happened that we were there on Sunday and on the visit to the Vatican we saw the

Pope making his appearance from the window and blessing the huge crowds of

people.


And Miss Hunter, whenever you are, I do thank you for whetting my interest in

Rome with your stories. I enjoyed seeing the Old Colosseum and could picture in

my mind all the events that took place when Julius Caesar watched from the stands.


Veni, vidi, vici - We left for home with the feeling that I came, I saw, I conquered.

As I write this account of our trip I like to remember all the wonderful sights we

enjoyed and the hospitality that was shown us where ever we went.


And now back home in Sunbury with the laundry and mail caught up I decided I had

better go see Dr. M. W. Liningston about why I wasn't feeling just right. He took an

Electrocardiogram. He told me I had had a heart attack and that I should go home

and do nothing. Frank took over with the house hold chores. I went in for tests at

regular intervals and by April the Electrocardiograms showed much improvement and

there didn't seem to be any damage to my heart. As soon as possible I started

walking and have continued ever since. It has become so much a part of my early

From the Beginning (43)

[corresponds to numbered page 41 of From the Beginning]

morning routine that I hate it when the weather is bad.


Annette Roberts comes along at 6:30 and our route takes us about 2 miles. When

Judy Morris was living she joined us on Greenbrier and the three of us solved many

of the world's problems in our discussions as we walked along. We both lost a dear

friend.


The Bicentennial year was celebrated with several events. One of them was a Tour

of Homes sponsored by the Community Library Friends. Six homes were open to

the public as a fund raiser on May 16, 1976. From 1 to 6 p.m. over 500 signatures

were recorded in the guest book at our house.


At this writing we are coming upon Memorial Day which has always loomed large

in my life experience. From the time we were children old enough to walk from the

church to the cemetery, we formed lines behind my father and Uncle Charlie. With

flowers handed us by the women of the church we followed up the hill and hunted

a grave with the little American flag on it to lay them on. My father, after seeing to

it that no soldier's gave was missed, led us to the spot where one of our leading

citizens would tell us why we should always honor our men who served their country.


The band that played as we started out in step to the cadence of the drum beat

consisted of three old men playing fife, bugle and drum. To this day when I hear

the music of a drum and bugle corp I fancy myself in my best summer dress and

black patent leather slippers - bouquet in hand.


With the exception of the years when I had children in the Big Walnut High School

Band, I have always gone "Over home" for Memorial Day. During World War II

with the railroad running along beside the cemetery, the speaker and special music

always had to stop and wait for trains to to pass, sometimes twice what with all the

hauling by rail for the war effort.


A large monument stands in the Woodstock Cemetery since 1895. It was built by my

great uncle, Warren S. Cushman to commemorate the family and all the men who

volunteered in the Civil War from Woodstock. Names of 140 soldiers are etched on

a scroll on one side where above them the sculptor's profile is shown with his bugle.

He was the company bugler.


On the base of the monument are carved the three main branches on the family tree-

Cushman, Hewitt and Gifford. On one end is Julius Cushman, brother of the artist

in a military fatigue uniform. He was the first Woodcock soldier to die in battle.

Beside the scroll of names is the third brother, Charles Anthony, one of the first to

enlist in 1861. Warren stands beside the family history on the other side. Members

of Woodstock families who have long since moved away come back to see their

soldiers names carved on the monument. Time and weather have not been kind to

the Portland Cement from which it was made. It has required constant repair to fill

the cracks by the artist's two great grand daughters. A few years ago my brother

and cousin Bailey Cushman replaced the time worn names in the cement with

marble slabs which will be there for time to come.

From the Beginning (44)

[corresponds to numbered page 42 of From the Beginning]


A word about the artist. He was born in 1844, died in 1926 with over 1000 paintings

to his credit. He studied at the Corchoran Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. His

portrait of President Rutherford B. Hayes was hung in the Nation's capitol. He

exhibited "Spanish Dancing Girls" at the World's fair in Chicago in 1893. The

painting later sold for $10,000.


Each year at the cemetery on Memorial Day half of the people I see are relatives

although none of them reside in Woodstock anymore. There are only two houses

where I can name the residents. My sisters and I join my brother in Mechanicsburg

for a potluck at noon. In July there is a much larger reunion at Goshen Park and

this year we will celebrate Robert's 90th birthday. He is the Patriarch of the family.

The tradition of reunion started with the first families of Cushman, Hewett and

Gifford. Now it is only the Cushmans who are within range and some of them come

from quite a distance.


In 1979 we attended Frank's 50th High School alumni Banquet in Marysville. His

class was one of those exceptional classes of students that produced several good

athletes as well as many strong ties of friendships that continued through the years.

His High School Principal, Miss Fern Mills was present, ninety years old at the time,

and his baseball coach, Whitney Dutton. It was quite a party that prompted Miss

Mills to comment that she was gad to see that nothing had changed their behavior.


In 1982. I had another slight heart attack and this time was advised to have an

angiogram. It showed a complete blockage of a small artery and also evidence of the


[photo: Cushman, Hewitt, Gifford Monument in Woodstock Cemetery]

From the Beginning (45)

[corresponds to numbered page 43 of From the Beginning]


one suffered in 1975 on a main artery. Medication was prescribed which I have

taken even since.


Frank had an angiogram two weeks after mine. We told the doctor about his

bleeding tendency and was assured by him that of the hundreds of procedures he had

performed not one of them had ever bled. Well, he can't make that statement

anymore.


Frank was scheduled to go home the same day but just before he was to be dismissed

his bandages and bedding were soaked with blood. They kept him overnight. The

hemorrhaging continued with at least one episode per day for several days.


When it was the night of my 50th High School Alumni Banquet he didn't want to run

the risk of having to make a sudden exit so Susie drove us to Delaware where we left

Frank in the good hands of Nurse Barbara. Susie had the "pleasure" of

accompanying me to the party where she met all my classmates about whom she had

heard stories through the years.


Frank got along through the evening with no problems, but about 2 a.m. we were up

changing the dressing. As with the tonsils the little one inch incision at the elbow

finally healed.


Our annual family Christmas party fell on the 20th of December this year, our 48th

wedding date. The children surprised us with a wedding cake, presents and all the

trappings of a golden wedding celebration. It was our last one. On June 26th, 1983

Frank died suddenly.


At that moment for me the whole world seemed to have stopped. Disbelief and

numbness finally gave way to the thankful realization that he did not suffer an

extended illness. While I didn't fail to count my blessings for the 48 years of

happiness with Frank the wonderful memories made my loss harder to accept.


That is where my children came in to help me through this period that I can't

imagine facing without them. He had taught well by example. They were there

with help, many times even before I would think of needing it. Surely I have been

blessed. With eight children, fifteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren

there is always a happening taking place. Birthdays, graduations, weddings, new

babies and all sorts of important occasions in between. We never lack for reasons

to celebrate. Frank lived to see all but one grandchild, Jim's daughter, Amy. Our

first great grandchild, Susie's granddaughter, Brooke Elizabeth was born in 1986.

Frank was denied the privilege of knowing any of the great grandchildren. Until last

July it was six of one and half dozen of the other. Anne's granddaughter, Olivia

Lucille was born in Dearborn, Mi., making it 7 girls and six boys.


We looked forward to a little change of scenery in summer when Frank had vacation

from work. The years we lived in Illinois we spent that time in Ohio visiting friends

and family.

From the Beginning (46)

[corresponds to numbered page 44 of From the Beginning]


It was exciting when we set forth on the trip. I filled the Coleman Cooler with ham

sandwiches, potato salad, cake and fruit. We stopped at a rest area just east of

Indianapolis. It was over half way to journey's end, a good time to let the little ones

play in the little creek that ran through the park. After that, it didn't seem so long

till we came to the Ohio line and were in Ohio Country. the older children still talk

about the fun they had at Knightstown, Indiana.


After seeing everyone and having such a good time we were all just as eager to start

the trip home.


Later on in the summer, a trip to Florida with Jim, Bob and Jeff was the destination for

our get-away. By then the girls, also John and Charlie, had summer jobs. After they

were married some of them moved out of state. We visited them which took us to

N. Carolina, Michigan, Virginia and New Mexico.


Jeff at an early age could spot the Holiday Inn signs a mile down the road. After

riding for what seemed to him like a very long time, he looked forward to a swim in

the pool. Also, he pointed out all the Golden Arches that he spied up ahead. And

many times during these trips, we heard the question, "Are we almost there?"


After the children had all left the nest, Frank and I spent a couple of weeks in

Florida each winter. That was as long as we cared to stay. Even with the snow and

cold, Ohio was the place we wanted to be.


Frank was the last surviving brother-in-law. After he died my three sisters and I

spent time together at Siesta Key. Long walks on the beautiful, white beach was how

we started the day with sunning and swimming till noon. Evenings we played euchre.

Josephine, not an avid card fan, would have no part of bridge which was the game three

or us enjoyed playing: so euchre was a compromise. By the time our two weeks were up,

we were caught up on family news and much of the past had been gone over. Mostly

about people and events that took us back to Woodstock. The next year we would start

all over again.


We do not go to Florida any more, but each spring the four of us plan something

together closer to home. If it is any distance, we have drivers who are willing to see

that we get there intact. Susie and Carolyn, Bertha's daughter, are willing to listen

to the same old stories and our arguing about events being discussed as to whether

it was this way or that. Otherwise Josephine is the "designated" driver. She has


[photo: Spring Break 1990 in Siesta Key, Florida
Josephine, Julia, Verna, Bertha]

From the Beginning (47)

[corresponds to numbered page 45 of From the Beginning]

come many times and driven us to Indiana to her house and brought us back

home. She being the youngest of the four, we absolutely forbid her to get old.


We were saddened by the loss of two of our young men when accidents

claimed their lives. On April 16, 1988, Scott, Charlie's son, met with death on

his way to work in his truck. He was not far from the Golf course where he was

working when he failed to make the turn.


In 1991 on May 10th, Christopher, Susie's son, was on his way home from work

at Honda when he was crossing a seldom used railroad with inadequate marking.

A train came along at a fast rate of speed and carried his car down the track.


Chris was 28 and left his wife Vicki, daughter Brooke, age 5 years, and son Blake,

2 years old. Scott was just through school and on his first job which he liked very

much.


The loss to all of us left a large void which is hard to understand, but we can only remind

ourselves of the joy that they had brought into our lives. They are always with us when

we think of the smiles and winning ways of two handsome, tall, blond young men who

were very dear to us.


Life does not always go along as planned. Divorce results from marriages which were

probably not meant to have been. It is never an easy time when that seems to be the only

solution but somehow life goes on. Five of my children found themselves in this

unfortunate situation. Four of them have since remarried.


Charlie and Karen Stevens, from Ostrander, bring Natalie and Angie Stevens into our

family. Jim married Debra Winters of Delaware and have a daughter Amy. John and

Darcie Dunzwiler from Zanesville married last summer, and Susie and Steve Churchill of

Columbus were just married June 15th. Steve has two children, Susan and Steve III.


Anne also is divorced and living in Rockwood, Michigan enjoying her children and

grandchildren. When my children are happy, I am happy for them.


As I bring my story to a close, it occurs to me that there is a side of my personality

that I haven't mentioned. and that is the need I have always had to create

something with my hands. I wasn't until the children were no longer young before

I could find the time to pursue my interests.


Perhaps if I had been content to stick to one thing, I could have achieved more

success. No sooner than I finish one project I want to start something new.


[top right photo: Verna 1990]

From the Beginning (48)

[corresponds to numbered page 46 of From the Beginning]


[top left photo: Out to Lunch on my 74th Birthday - 1988 Judy Morris, Betty Jo Guidotti and Me]


[top right photo: 75th Birthday Party at Lindeys - 1989]


[middle photo: My 80th Birthday Party
In Front: Barbara, Susie, Me, Anne, Karen
In Back: Charles, John, Jeff, Bob, Duncan, Debbie, Jim]


[bottom photo: Sisters Julia, Verna, Josephine At My 80th Birthday Luncheon At Barbara's 1994]

From the Beginning (49)

[corresponds to numbered page 47 of From the Beginning]


However, I always finish what I start. A hooked rug or crocheted lace tablecloth

might have taken a year. But I was driven by the desire to see how it turned out.


For a few years I was very much in to quilting which was truly a creative process.

From the selection of the calico prints that required going from store to store to find,

to arranging them as to color. That makes the quilt one of a kind which definitely

reflects one's own artistry even though others may use the same pattern.


When the adult evening classes in Art were offered at the high school with teacher

Bill Fraley, I signed up and spent many happy hours with some of my good friends

with similar interests. We were working in oil, and later I had a few sessions in

water color with Ruth Firestone. I mean to get out the paints again; and if some

other project doesn't get in the way, I probably will.


The trees we planted in the yard 30 years ago have grown so tall they shade my

flower beds. I must hunt for a sunny spot here and there to plant any thing at all.

I love the trees and have to accept the fact that I can't have it both ways, but I do

miss the variety of cut flowers from which I can pick and choose to make

arrangements for my tables. Also the last summer that my friend, Judy Morris was

with us, I enjoyed seeing her face light up when I took flowers to her.


From the time I started collecting antiques, I have spent hours removing paint and

varnish with all seemed worthwhile when the final finish was being smoothed out

and the beauty of the wood came through. I have brought home items from auction

sales which had definitely seen better days. In fact at times Frank would doubt my

judgement or lack of it. However, he would set to work although grudgingly, on the

drawers making them glide smoothly and any other repair that was needed. With the

removal of the old finish and the results of my labors in restoring the piece, he was

as excited as I was over the transformation.


I believe that this sums up the important events in my life that I recall. Although I

put off starting it for one reason or another, I have actually enjoyed remembering

details that I hadn't thought of until I needed to put them in writing.


As much as I enjoyed the places and people I came to know in moving where Frank's

work took us, I feel privileged to have spent so much of my life in Sunbury. a good

place for family, and friends that make life exciting and worthwhile.

From the Beginning (50)

[corresponds to numbered page 48 of From the Beginning]


[photo: Shep and I September 1996]

From the Beginning (51)