|
a.
|
Note: 1. Birth date of 6 May 1890 from Ancestral File (FamilySearch.org) 1900 census for Cottonwood,Clark Co. South Dakota dated 21 June 1900 (ED 86, sheet #7, pg.26, Family #131) looks like she is listed as being born May 1891 and is 11 (which doesn't make sense - she would be 9 if born in 1891) and the "1" in both the birth year and age could be a "0" if enlarged. There seems to be a faint line to the right of the "1" that I'm interpreting as a "0". The SSDI gives her birthdate as 6 May 1891 and the California death index gives her birth date as 4 May 1891. **I believe Altha was born in May of 1890 because her sister, Artha, was born in January of 1892 which is only eight months from May of 1891. It's not impossible, but very unlikely that they were born that close together. Also, my grandmother always lied about her age, making herself younger that she was. 2. Remebrances by granddaughter Cheryl Paulson Haas (November 1997): Gram was very proper and organized. She could have fun, too, and I remember her bringing her forearm to her mouth to hide her smiles sometimes. When I was about 6 or 7 and staying at her house I teased a neighbor boy by hiding in the bushes and repeating everything he said. I guess he got really mad and told his mom, who told Gram, and Gram thought it was funny, but didn't want me to know it so she hid her smile. I heard her telling Pop-Pop later, though, and she was laughing. Gram's house was very neat and I remember that I was a little nervous to stay with her when I was younger, because I knew I couldn't make a mess. But I also was made to feel special to be staying with her and she would often take me to a movie or shopping at Capwells. She had a green pottery canister in her kitchen cupboard where she kept homemade cake donuts. They were wonderful and a special treat she always had for our visits. She also would wash our hair with a special scrubber and when we were very young I can remember laying on her counter with my head tilted back over the sink and getting my hair rinsed with vinegar. Gram was very vain about her age and I discovered when I went through her things after my mom died that she even lied on her driver's license. Her license said she had been born in 1897 when she was really born in 1890 (and this was when she was over 80 years old!!) She always dressed well and kept her hair neat with silver bobby pins. He hair was quite thin as she aged and I think that bothered her. She was very active in the Red Cross and her church (she was an elder in the Methodist church when it was quite uncommon to have a female elder). It was at Gram and Pop-Pop's house that I first read a Guideposts magazine. This publication really piqued my interest and I remember having several conversations with Gram about God and the millenium, etc. I still read Guideposts today and feel it was a part of my journey to salvation. 3. Remebrances by granddaughter Karen Paulson Saenz (October 1997): Gram was very neat and clean. Her house and her yard were always immaculate. She loved gardening and passed that down to Mom who passed it down to me. Gram and Pop-Pop had a big hill behind their house which they turned into a garden with stepping stones. We girls used to love going up there to play hide and seek. Gram used to have us girls over one at a time to spend the night. I remember climbing into the bed (it was high) and crawing into fresh, clean, ironed sheets (they smelled so good!). In the morning when Gram came to wake me up she would sing "Good morning to you, good morning to you, we're all in our places with sunshiny faces - Good morning to you!" and then crawl into bed with me and make me move over to the cold side of the bed which woke me up right away! I remember going out into the kitchen and watching Pop-Pop shave with a single edge blade that he sharpened on a leather strap and Gram making homemade donuts (I have the recipe). After breakfast I got to help Gram make the pies for dinner. She had a metal table in the kitchen that she rolled the dough out on (I have her rolling pin). I remember Gram washing my hair in the kitchen sink using a neat little scalp brush and then rinsing my hair with vinegar and drying it out in the sun. Gram didn't waste anything. She used to say "waste not, want not" and when she gave me an apple to eat she expected me to eat the core and all (not the stem). Gram was about 5'2" , had brown eyes and wore glasses. She took immaculate care of herself and smelled like "White Shoulders" her favorite perfume. A special treat when we went to spend the night was to ride the PE car to downtown Oakland and go to Capwells. On the way home we would stop for an ice cream at Fenton's Ice Cream Parlor which had wood floors, dark mahogany doors and trim, and cute little white marble tables. We would dress up to go downtown. Gram would wear her hat, coat, and gloves. We used to go to Gram and Pop-Pop's every Sunday night for dinner. She always made it so special by setting her table with her best china. My favorite dinner was her famous meat loaf and tossed green salad with mayonaise and beau monde dressing. After dinner we girls used to love to go into the front room and look at Gram's National Geograpics magazines. When we would leave at night to go home I remember the smell of eucapyptus trees and the cold, crisp air. Gram had a new GE electric stove that she kept spotless, and a picture of President Eisenhower hung on the wall. She said he looked like Pop-Pop because he was bald! 4. Remebrances by granddaughter Eleanor Paulson Foust, November 1997: When we went to Yosemite the highlight for me was going horse back riding. I rode a horse named Drifter every year and I loved him. One particular year, Gram said I wouldn't be able to ride Drifter. I was devastated...so much so that Gram had to tell me that Drifter was rented out only until the following day and that I would get to ride him then...what a relief! We also used to go to Glacier Point where the last of the Yosemite Indians would sing "Indian Love Call" across the valley and then there would be a firefall...how beautiful it was! Another special time we had was going through the Wawona tunnel which was, in fact, a giant hollowed out redwood...I also had my picture taken with Chief Leeme, the last surviving Yosemite Indian chief. I wish I had that picture. Gram would let each of us take turns visiting her on the weekends. She would take us to the local five and dime and let us pick something out and then take us to Fentons for an ice cream treat. I remember when Gram would go to Bullwinkle Ford to have her car serviced and she would have the attendant rewash the car windows until they were perfect. Gram's garden was beautiful! It was terraced and even had a stone bench toward the top where it seemed you could see the whole world. One day I saw a snake and literally flew down the stone steps and Gram and Pop Pop said it was just a garden snake and wouldn't hurt me...I even saw one of it's shed skins...Yuck!!! Visits to Gram and Pop Pop's always meant donuts and boy! did Gram make good donuts...but we always had to have oatmeal and grapefruit sections too! What special grandparents!! 5. Remebrances by Hazel Rarick Smith, half sister, as told to Linda Hartanov, granddaughter (recording, 1986): Altha was named after Uncle Ed's wife who died along with two of his 3 children in a diphtheria outbreak. Artha was named after Rachel's brother Arthur Carey. Altha and her sisters used to go to Charlebois, Michigan in the summers to wait tables. Altha was "touchy" in dispostition. Artha was the most even-tempred of the three sisters. Kate had a fiery temper, but was a very sweet and considerate person. Altha also had a thing about her age almost her entire life. Her dad would call off the names of his daughters and their age from time to time and that always made her angry. [I can testify to her 'thing' about age. I have her last Driver's license and she has her year of birth on it as 1897, when in reality she was born in 1890...and this was when she was over 80 years old!CH] Altha was working in Hastings, MI (the county seat) before she was married. Ray and Altha and their children moved to California in October 1924, following Fank and Elizabeth Rarick there.
|
