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Note: Irene can be found at Temple, OK school Dist #86 by 1929 along with Allene and Walter.
As long as I can remember, she was always growing flowers and one of the greatest joys was her Garden Club. Her favorites were iris, roses, and batchlor buttons but she also had a passion for zinnias. Our house in Okla, which was our home base between the overseas moves, had a huge yard that was bordered by flower beds. Dad had dug the beds and put in concrete edging so the grass couldn't creep into the flowers. Through most of the year, there was always something blooming. The garden was an impressive sight and people driving down the street would often stop and talk to her about the flowers when they saw her out. One of my strongest memories of Mom was of her coming in from the garden. She liked to wear a beat up straw hat with a floppy brim that had frayed cotton fringe around the edge. Her pants were rolled up to her shins and the seat and knees were stained from sitting in the dirt. She always wore shoes to do the gardening but usually kicked them off at some point. When she came back to the house, her shoes would be full of dirt and her feet were filthy. She would kick her shoes off at the back door and come into the house to wash her feet in the bathtub.
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