By Lenora ( Procell) Ebarb

Asked to reflect on her childhood these are the memories that really stood out for Lenora.

Papa was a very strict parent. He held fast to strong beliefs regarding religion, school & work.

He made sure we attended school as well as weekly Mass. The only reason we ever missed Mass was due to rain…. cold weather was not a hindrance. Papa would take what was referred to as a “fire-dog” (thimble from an old wagon) from the fireplace where it had been heated , wrap it in an old sack then place it in the wagon with us as a source of heat. It kept us as warm as possible in an open air wagon as we headed to Zwolle for Mass. During Mass, Papa’s eyes were constantly on us making sure we didn’t talk. We were to sit up straight & listen.

After Mass, we’d often stop at the home of Aunt Obrie (Mama’s sister) for a visit as well as dinner. We loved playing with her children, Tommy, Martin & Katherine.

If rain prevented Mass attendance, Papa would recite the rosary with us before we were allowed to do anything else.

Mama wasn’t as strict as Papa about religion. She’d been brought up in a much more relaxed home regarding the practices of her faith. Grandpa Eli was a lax Catholic. She had not even made her First Communion when she married Papa. All this came later.

Mama was a very good cook & always had wonderful meals for us. She, too, had a strict work ethic for us kids. Our day started at dawn.  We’d wake up, roll up & put away our mattresses ( the bottom one was made up of dried grass, the top was of cotton) which had been laid out on the floor. We did not have the luxury of  individual bedrooms or beds.

After breakfast, we were given a choice of either working in the fields or inside the house. I always chose the fields but my sister, Annie, chose inside.

Working in the fields required either hoeing, planting, picking or stacking. In stacking we would pull the corn then make stacks for easy loading onto the wagon later on.

Annie would help Mama with the chores inside which included  airing out the mattresses twice a week by hanging them over the fence & beating the dust out of them as well as cleaning the floor once a week with a mop made of corn shucks nailed between two sticks. She would take the stack of firewood out on the porch until after the floor dried. Jake would walk across the clean floor & bring the firewood back inside before the floor was sufficiently dried just to aggravate her. Annie flogged him more than once for this.

Mama’s day started well before ours. She was an early riser & would milk all the cows as soon as she arose.

Papa , on the other hand, was a not a morning person. I can recall Mama calling to him, “Sam, get up from there, it’s time to go to work. Frank Procell’s bunch has already passed the road (to work their field).” This never fazed Papa. He never responded….nor would he get up. However, once he did get going he would work until well after dark.

Dinner at our home was a sit down affair. Papa & Mama would fix our plates, we were not allowed to serve ourselves. We were then expected to eat everything on our plates & if we didn’t, it was the first thing we ate in the morning. Nothing was ever wasted.

Bathing was done each evening in tubs of water that had been set out in the sun to warm in the morning. Solar power was put to use.

Our evening ritual before bed was praying with Papa. He would sit while we knelt at his feet & learned our prayers.

After I married JB & had my own children, Papa & Mama were still very involved in our lives. They were so good to us. Mama made sure I knew how to quilt so that we would have plenty of cover. They also spoiled their grandchildren like any other grandparent. They especially spoiled Hester & Ray. Mama called him “Ray-Baby”.

There were many days “Ray-Baby” would decide to stay on the school bus until reaching their house instead of getting off at home. This was, of course, to avoid his household chores. Papa & Mama would bring him home later in their wagon. They would have Ray sitting between them on the spring seat & would not let him down until we promised not to spank him. I can still see Ray with his lowered head sitting between his grandparents.….no wonder he loved them.

Life was not easy in our home but no one had it any better. We had loving parents who did the best they could. They provided a roof over our heads, plenty of food to eat & taught us not only a strong work ethic but how to live our lives in Christ. They were fine examples to us all.