LIVING WITH GRANDMA JASMER I lived with my Grandmother until I was four years old. Mom was living there as well until I was two, as Dad was working for the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and was living with the other men who were working for the CCC and were housed at the Sand Lake Wildlife Refuge. In 1935, Dad was no longer required to live at Sand Lake, so Dad and Mom built a two room cabin in Columbia on the bank of the James River. Pudge was born in April 19, 1935 and stayed with Mom and Dad, while I continue to live with Grandma Jasmer. Even at that early age of three and four, it seemed like I had “chores” to do. With the help of Aunt Tillie and Aunt Hilda and Uncle Ernie, I had to feed the chickens and gather the eggs. I also had to help “turn” cream into butter, using a “butter churn”. I also “had to help” bring water up from the well. A pail hanging from a rope that was strung through a pulley was used to “draw” water from the shallow well, which was also called a cistern. Meals were only eaten at the table following a table prayer. Fresh baked bread, one of my grandmother’s specialties, at least in my eyes, was available with every meal. When the chores were finished, Grandma and I would sit on the steps of the house and watch the summer evening skies. A common phenomenon was brilliant flashes of heat lighting. Heat lighting is caused by static from hot, dry conditions. We would pray for rain that would never come. The summers of 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937 continued to be hot, dry and windy, with clouds of dust swirling through the air and leaving drifts of soil that were as high as snow banks along some fence lines and piles of rocks. There is no way to fully describe the greatness of Grandma Jasmer. She was truly a “pioneer of the prairie”, living in a very harsh land, raising six children without a husband. She lost what little money she had when the banks went bankrupt in the twenties. She toiled with horses doing jobs that were often dangerous, especially when having to rely on her children to help. Her oldest daughter, Alvina was nearly killed by run-away horses. The horses were stopped only through Grandma Jasmer’s bravery. Grandma stepped in front of the horses as the carriage was whipping through the farm yard. Grandma Jasmer was deeply religious, belonging to the German Lutheran Church (St James Lutheran Church in Leola, SD). She attended both the German sermons and the English sermons. I’m sure her faith helped to carry her though the very tough times she lived in.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:49:10 +0000
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