Lost teeth

Shelby came with me to visit Eleanor while Joanne and I were baby sitting the girls. Shelby showed Eleanor her missing teeth, and Eleanor informed me that she had a tooth fall out yesterday. The girls posed for a picture to compare their lost teeth and great smiles. I'm thinking a trip to the Seward Dental Clinic for a check up for Eleanor. That will be after her appointment on the second to have her staples removed from the Christmas Eve trip to the emergency room. Looks like a busy first week of the New Year-- 2012.

Grandmother Albers and a question.

Today I asked Eleanor about her mother. I really can't say that I know much about my grandmother Albers even though I spent more time on the farm in Goodhue than my siblings. I can remember that she liked to recite poetry, that she was a school teacher from Lake City, and that her cooking skills seemed to limited to eggs and sandwiches when I visited the farm.
Eleanor was six when her sister Lorraine was born and she helped her mother care for Lorraine. I asked if that freed Lillian up to help cook and work on the farm, and my mother informed me that her mother wasn't much of a cook. When the threshers, came to harvest crops, Aunt Margaret, the real cook in the Albers family, would come to the farm and take over the cooking. Eleanor described her mother as stingy, she seemed to think the workers should be able to get by with a lot less food than Margaret prepared. It was maybe a difficult thing to be turned out of the kitchen of your own home for another person to cook. Eleanor wasn't sure that her mother was very happy as a farm wife, she had an education, and was a city girl who never was very comfortable with the isolation of the farm.
The first time her mother left Minnesota was when she went on the train to visit Eleanor at basic training in Iowa. She was part of a program to assure the mothers of nurses who had joined the Army that their daughters were being  treated well. When Eleanor came home from WWII, she remembers driving her mother to a town where they had a circular bridge that went down next to the river. Lillian was terrified when Eleanor decided to drive down the bridge and informed Eleanor that she was entirely too reckless for her own good.
As I was preparing to leave, Eleanor had a question for me. "Do I think it is time for me to move to a nursing home?" Eleanor has fallen three times in the past month, and she has had a compression fracture on her hip, a badly bruised thumb, and a cut on her head that required 10 stitches. Her decision to move to a wheel chair several months ago is not helping with her strength and balance. She seems to be at risk in transferring from her wheelchair to a standing position. I didn't know how to react to the question, and was somewhat surprised that she was considering the possibility.

Christmas Memories

Tis the season for Christmas past, present, and future. Eleanor has been enjoying the Turner Classics Channel watching old favorites. White Christmas, Miracle of 34th Street, and Scrooge were all on this week-- one night we watched the Wizard of Oz, not sure what the connection is there, maybe getting home for the holidays. Thanks to Mary Ann and Nette for the cookies and  beautiful poinsettia, and to Barb for writing Eleanor's Christmas letter and sending out her many, many cards. I am always amazed at how many people she knows and still gets cards from. I brought the Christmas tree from the past trees that Mary Ann has sent; something salvaged from them all make a tree that Eleanor thinks is beautiful
   We asked her about her early memories of Christmas, and she shared lots of memories. Real candles on a tree, which were only lit twice as her father was concerned about setting the house on fire.  Christmas presents arriving from the Sears and Roebuck catalog, and the Christmas they arrived late. A winter storm that prevented them from going to church, and how Aunt Margaret saved the day by walking to church and picking up the kids Christmas candy bags.{ Barb and Mary Ann can probably remember the bags we received after the Christmas service at Trinity}A Christmas dinner of roasted goose, not many had turkey in the 20's. Her grandfather coming for dinner and praying and reading the Bible in German. ( Komm Herr Jesu)
   Special thanks to Liz and the boys for visiting Eleanor while Joanne and I were in Mexico, and to Jill for her cards and letters. Prayers and hopes that your holiday is great!

This is a test.

   Tomorrow morning I have to go to Eleanor's apartment to get her up for a telephone test on her pacemaker. She slept through the last one, so we are going to get her up and caffeinated prior to the test at 10:30 a.m.. This summer we went to the cardiologists office and were told that the battery in the pacemaker would last between 6 to 18 months; that was about 3 months ago, so she is a little nervous about the test tomorrow. The replacement of the battery in the pacemaker would require surgery, but we were told it would be a simple out patient procedure.
    I remember going to Mississippi when the pacemaker was put in. The process was scheduled as an out patient procedure, but she was in the hospital for 4 days. I guess one just prepares to expect the unexpected in these cases.
   Thanks to everyone who helped to celebrate Eleanor's birthday. She received lots of great gifts; probably too much candy, but who am I to say how much candy is too much.

Who will take care of me?

   Since Eleanor's visit with her sister in law Donna, she has been preoccupied with the question of what is going to become of her when she is too old to take care of herself. Donna is moving in with Paul and Nancy Neeley, and Eleanor is wondering who she will move in with. She has even referred me to an article in Reader's Digest about parents moving in with their children. She has become more and more concerned about her bank statements and the cost of living at Heartland. Her decision to give up her walker and use the wheel chair has definitely slowed her down and made things more difficult for her from the mobility standpoint. I've given up trying to get her to use a walker or get out of bed for lunch because all we seemed to do was argue. I concluded that she has make these decisions, so when I come to visit, I try to enjoy my time with her.
   I can recall my experiences with Joanne's mother Mary, and Aunt Marge. They both struggled to maintain their independence, but ultimately they realized they needed to get more help. I'm not sure what we will decide about her question.

What is truth?

Had a great visit on Monday with Neeley relatives in Seward.  My Aunt Donna had wanted to come to Nebraska to see Eleanor, and the opportunity to make the trip occurred when Nancy Neeley drove to Weeping Water, Nebraska to visit daughter Cora, son in law Adam and grandchildren . The weather was beautiful and a good time was had by all.
   Donna is 84, and is doing quite well, she reminded me of all the things Eleanor could do when she arrived in Seward. She have lost a lot of abilities over the past six years. Eleanor was recounting one of her stories about when she first moved to Pennsylvania and met her in-laws.
One morning Eleanor awoke and found a five to six year old  Elwood standing next to her bed. "Daddy shot Harper" Elwood announced.
 Fred was not close to his family, so they didn't make an effort to trace down the events surrounding Elwood's announcement. It did seem possible the Fred's dad might have indeed shot at his son in law Harper.
When Eleanor recounted her experience, Donna added a new fact to the story. Harper it seems was the name of the family dog, and her dad had indeed shot Harper. 
   I have heard that story many times and had concluded along with Eleanor that my Grandfather Neeley was an ill tempered and violent person. I have heard other things that seem to fit with that conclusion, however the Harper story can no longer be cited as proof. I wonder how many impressions we have about people and events that are based on incomplete or incorrect memories?

Getting Ready

   Eleanor's Neeley relatives are coming Monday for a visit. All told the number stands at 10, so we have been busy with planning for a luncheon. They should all arrive about noon, and we will head for my house for lunch and visiting. I will take the great- nieces and nephews out side or to the basement, so everyone can visit. Eleanor's hearing aids work best with one or two people talking, so a big crowd will only confuse her.
   She had a good visit at Dr. Donovan's office and her next appointment is in January, so the shots have been having the desired effect on her back and hip. Next week will be a busy one as she has visitors on Monday, a perm on Tuesday, and plans to go to the movie matinee of "The Help" on Wednesday.

Colds and codeine.

   Eleanor has had a bad cold, possibly mild pneumonia. this past week. We went to the clinic on Thursday to see Dr. Suma ; he had an intern with him and after listening to Eleanor's lungs told her that he thought this might be as close to the sound of pneumonia as he could have her listen to. My sister Barb came down to visit this weekend, but unsure how much visiting took place, as Eleanor was using the codeine cough syrup that Dr. Suma had given her for her cough. Barb did manage to get Eleanor to get dressed after telling her she couldn't stay in the same pajamas for 36 hours( probably more like 48). I get nervous about codeine for Eleanor as Dr. Froehner  used to give her pills to help her sleep that had codeine in them. I believe it may have contributed to her falling. She called me today to wish me a happy Labor Day, so I'll take that as a sign that she is recovering.
   Eleanor is still in the wheel chair and has refused to use her walker. Evelyn's falling and breaking her hip has frightened Mom to the point that she won't use her walker. She had the Heartland staff put in in her shower.
   Happy Labor Day to all!

Old scrap books.

   Liz called the other night and said that she had taken the boys to see Eleanor, and get some ice cream cones at Heartland. While she was there, Eleanor was pulling old cards from her scrap book of the World War II years. She has kept that book for over 60 years, and suddenly she decided to "recycle" the cards, by tearing them out of the book and giving them to the ladies at Heartland to make new cards. Joanne, Mark, and I took Eleanor to lunch at the Country Club today, and she had baked salmon with green beans. She really enjoyed missing dinner at Heartland.
   When we returned to the apartment, Joanne rescued the remains of the scrap book and brought it to our house "for the boys to look at". There were lots of news articles from the Goodhue and Red Wing papers as well as cartoons, church bulletins, and magazine articles. I wish she hadn't decided to recycle, as I feel we have lost a link to her life. Something that one could go to and get a sense of who their mother, grand mother, or great grandmother was.
   Last week was a difficult one for Eleanor, she was depressed as she went through a period of remembering Fred's birthday, death, their anniversary, and Evelyn's broken hip. She seems to be doing much better now; she had several days of visits from Mark, and Liz and the boys, a family cookout with  Mark, Dan and Jill, Liz, Sam, Maggie, Austin, Shelby, and Natalie in attendance.
   It's important to get out and see the world instead of sitting in Heartland. It's a nice place to live, but probably gets "old" being there day after day. Her back pain seems much improved, so maybe some short outings may be just what the doctor might ordered.
 

Lois, Evelyn, and Irene.

   Joanne and I took Eleanor to the Nebraska Pain Clinic on Thursday for a steroid injection in her back. She has had injections before and sometimes they help and sometimes they do not. Our appointment was at 2 p.m., so we went to Perkins for an afternoon meal before returning to Heartland. She had two eggs, French toast, bacon, and hash browns; I was amazed at the amount of food she ate. We returned to Heartland, and we iced her back and drank some Gatorade to try to keep her sodium levels up.
   I have spent quite a bit of time the last two days with Eleanor to monitor her sodium level and make sure that she isn't showing signs of confusion. Hopefully we have been proactive enough that she won't have to have a sodium infusion, and getting the pain shots won't be so traumatic for her.
   I left for home at 3 p.m. today before she went to dinner. Eleanor just called to tell me her friend Evelyn Garske had fallen and broken her hip.  Evelyn is mom's closest friend at Heartland and she really enjoys her company. I am sure that this will be depressing for Eleanor, as this is the second good friend at Heartland that has had a broken hip. When Eleanor moved into Heartland she became good friends with her neighbor,Lois Geisselman; Lois broke her hip and died about three weeks later. Another friend, Irene had a stroke about two months ago; Eleanor and Irene used to crochet together when Mom lived in independent living.
   I'm sure that Mom will be saddened by the loss of another friend. In coming to Seward, she left all her friends from Mississippi, but Mom has always been outgoing and able to connect with people. It is difficult to lose ones friends, and being in assisted living hasn't made getting out and meeting people any easier for Eleanor.
   Please keep those cards and notes coming, as they remind her she isn't forgotten or alone.

National Politics

   I have been trying to proactive about the debt ceiling talks in Washington D.C., by planning a course of action if the debt ceiling isn't raised. One cannot spend money one doesn't have, so on Monday I am going to ask the Jackie, the financial director at Heartland, what might happen to residents whose social security and other government pensions might be in jeopardy if a budget resolution doesn't occur.
   I don't plan on keeping Eleanor at Heartland if she is receiving no income, as it would be irresponsible to stay there if she doesn't have income coming in. I've been measuring doors and considering options on moving her to our house if the worst case scenario does occur. I would assume that I am not the only one who is starting to think along these lines. When I hear tea party spokespeople saying a default wouldn't effect the economy, I don't really think they have a good understanding of how economies work.

July 2nd.

   Heartland celebrated the 4th of July two days early, They had watermelon and fireworks. It was cloudy with some light rain. so most of the residents sat under the large awning on the assisted living side. The problem was that if you sit under the awning, you can't see the fireworks. The staff are really a dedicated group of people and a lot of their spouses and children were there to help.I appreciate all the things they do and effort they expend; it must be difficult to plan and put these programs on with so many residents not caring or participating.
   Eleanor enjoyed watching people more that the fireworks, she did enjoy seeing several of her friends from the independent living side. I wonder if other retirement communities have the division between the assisted and independent living residents. It seems that most of the independent living residents don't choose to mix with the assisted living residents at Heartland.
   We are having a cookout on the 4th : brats, salads, beer and rhubarb crisp are the planned menu.
    Hope everyone has a great day!

Fathers day and walleye.

We are getting ready to cook walleye and go to Eleanor's for a Father's day dinner. Lots of memories of families have been discussed this weekend and she talked quite a bit about her own family. She remembered when her sister Florence and brother Bob came for a visit two years ago. She commented that Bob had told her that he doesn't really have many memories of her. She was 13 when Bob was born, and had left for nursing school and then WWII when he was 4 years old.
   We talked about how families today move apart and don't get to see one another on a regular basis. I told her that when she moved here, she was essentially a person I remembered from 35 years ago when I left home to go to college. I am thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with my mother after three and one half decades. I regret that I had didn't have the time to do the same with my father.We are the people who others remember us to be; unfortunately for some those memories are 30-40 years old. Take some time to reconnect with family and talk about the present, not the past. It would be a good day to remember our fathers and the families we all were a part of years ago.

Cards.

   Barbara has been visiting Eleanor this weekend and and has been helping her sort  out her cards. Eleanor has hundreds of cards, mostly for birthdays in stacks in her apartment. Barb found cards from Janet that Eleanor received when Jan and Steve were in Greece, and an Easter card that her mother sent her a week before she died.
   I have undertaken the same project at least twice before, but after I get everything sorted, Eleanor wants to look at them and make sure that I haven't put anything in a pile that she might not want to throw away. We wind up with the cards resorted, but nothing thrown away. I would guess that Mary Ann has also had the card cleaning experience when she comes to visit.
   If a card has been kept for 50 years, she probably has some reason for keeping it. It is hard to decide what stays and what needs to go. I have things in my drawers that have been there for years because some attachment or memory keeps me from tossing the item. We have boxes at our house that seem to become fuller each time we downsize Eleanor's apartment. Glass birds, crocheted items that Aunt Margaret made, Shoji dogs  from Okinawa:  these items all represent a decision by Eleanor to not discard a memory that is somehow connected with the item. It is tragic that as peoples lives are downsized to ever smaller spaces, that the decisions as to what stays and what goes are being made for Eleanor and not by her.

Write a note.

   Eleanor is a little down and could use some mail from some of her friends. She can't hear very well on the phone, so I have suggested to my children that they start sending her a card with a note instead of calling her. If anyone else reads this blog, she would appreciate hearing from you.

Mississippi Flooding.

   Eleanor was has been watching the news about the flooding on the Mississippi River, and remembered when she and Fred went to Alabama with the Red Cross. She had been trained as a volunteer and was considering going as a nurse for a shelter in Alabama. Seems that a friend of theirs called to ask if Fred could drive the Emergency Relief Vehicle, ERV, to Alabama, so they left together for the shelter. Fred was only going to help by driving the ERV down, but wound up staying for a couple of weeks helping run the shelter.She remembered people bringing in clothing to have washed and that in some cases the clothing had to be washed several times to get all the mud and smell of the flood out of the clothing. One lady lost all her clothing in the flood, so the Red cross gave her $50.00 for clothing. She purchased one dress for $50, because she had never had a nice dress before. Lots of the people at the shelter didn't have the resources to flee the flood or take care of themselves. Thank God for the Red Cross! If you are reading this, Eleanor wants you to make a contribution, or do something to help with the Red Cross efforts in Mississippi. She remembers being exhausted when she and Fred finished their deployment, but they felt that they had done a really worthwhile thing.

Confirmation Sunday

   Sunday was confirmation Sunday at the Lutheran Church in Seward. Eleanor had read the church bulletin and listened to the sermon on the tape before I visited last night. She noted that her friend Lois Gieselman's grand son had been confirmed and she noted that she hadn't seen Lois's daughters much since their mother had died. Lois and Eleanor were neighbors at Heartland when mom lived on the independent living side, they enjoyed each others company and enjoyed pizza and beer several times a month.
   Eleanor remembered her own confirmation and noted that it is a time when you renew the vow's of Baptism for yourself. Mom's baptismal sponsors were August and Matilda Bennett, her aunt and uncle. The Rev. Theodore E. Cook was the confirmation pastor; "a very rigid and strict man" recalls Eleanor. "Be thou faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" was her confirmation Bible verse. She received a Lutheran hymnal from her sponsors.
   When Fred died in Mississippi, Eleanor used the memorial money for a stained glass window at Our Savior Lutheran Church. She selected a cross and crown design for the window, as her confirmation verse was referred to as the "cross and crown" . We recalled confirmations in Wyoming, Okinawa, and Nebraska, and I was quizzed on if I remembered my confirmation verse, I passed that test. Barb and Mary Ann?

Plattsmouth, NE.

   Eleanor moved with Janet and David to Plattsmouth, Nebraska in 1952, she was accompanied on her trip from Minnesota by her Aunt Margaret, and her sister Florence. As they drove to Nebraska, everyone had warned them of the difficulty they would have crossing Highway 20 on their way to Omaha. When they arrived at the junction of Hwy 20 and Hwy 73/75, there was no traffic in either direction. The memory is very vivid for her, as every time we have driven to my sister Barbara's house and cross Hwy 20, she always recalls the sense of dread that she had on the initial trip to Omaha. When they arrived at Offutt A.F.B. they drove right on the base to find Fred, he had found a hotel for them to stay in while they looked for a home to rent. Upon leaving the base, the guards at the gate were amazed that they could get on the base when their car had no security sticker or visitor permit. Evidently they had just driven on the base without stopping for authorization, turned out it was easier to get on the base than off it.
   They did take a day for some sightseeing and went to Lincoln to look at the state capital building--the picture of the family in front of the Nebraska capital was taken by Florence. The family found an upstairs apartment in Plattsmouth which was about 15 miles from the Air Force Base. Eleanor always seems to have been happiest while working, because she found a position at the Masonic Hospital in Plattsmouth as a weekend nurse. She remembers that one night a woman brought her father to the hospital and had a suitcase of money to with her to pay the expenses. She called the Hospital director and recalls that he came up right away.  She was offered a position as the chief nurse at the hospital, but decided against taking the position.
   Fred and Eleanor joined the Lutheran Church in Plattsmouth and Fred took confirmation lessons from pastor Meisinger. The  Meisinger's became on of their best friends in Plattsmouth along with the the Wilson's, and the Hanson's.  Fred road to work with other airmen from the base, so she had a car at home. Shortly before her daughter Barbara was born, the family moved into a large three story home on Oakmont Drive. The house had a huge lawn and garden, some chicken coops, a cement pond, and bee hives.Fred had a large garden and helped with the bees, they would also buy chickens to raise in the spring. The house was cold in the winter and had an old boiler with heat radiators. Eleanor wondered how many times the family members burned their rears on the radiator after a bath in the winter. The house also had a large sun room on the south side of the house which was very comfortable on sunny winter days.
   More will be written on the family in Plattsmouth, but this is a good place to stop.

Lots going on.

We have been busy the last part of the week, and next week should also have lots of activity for Eleanor. She had her hair done on Wednesday, a pedicure on Thursday, a whirlpool bath today. Next week we have a vision clinic appointment on Tuesday, and the lift chair delivery early next week. It will take some time to figure out how to use the chair and also what piece of furniture we will be getting rid of. Tomorrow is Easter, and we will be having dinner at 1:30 p.m. with  Eleanor, Joanne, David, Dan, Rob, Jill, Liz, and the grandkids; that should be twelve of us if my math hasn't failed me. Easter Egg hunt at 12:30, Joanne has loaded all the eggs and we will have to put them out before the participants arrive. Happy Easter! Christ has risen, Indeed!

Furniture.

   I have been spending a lot of time with mom the past three days and noticed today that she really doesn't have any furniture that I can remember as a child. My wife's mother and her Aunt Marge, both had furniture that she can remember growing up, it belonged to the family and was always in the houses where they lived. My mother in law had a golden dog that a women she had cleaned house for in the 1930's had given to her. I remember my grandson Sam used to carry that dog around our basement; after gluing it together about twenty times, we had to put it in the garbage--so much for family keepsakes.
   The only furniture I can remember always being there was my parent's bedroom set. I asked mom about it. She said they had purchased it when they were stationed at Offutt A.F.B, in the 1950's. It was the first furniture that they owned. Being a military family, we didn't have much furniture. I can remember moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Okinawa, with only a suitcase. We did have two beds that folded up and were passed from child to child, but mostly we had little or no furniture while I was growing up.
   Mom and dad's bedroom furniture was here when she moved from Mississippi, but when she moved to a smaller apartment about a year ago, I took it to the Indian Reservation in Walthill, Ne. My sisters can perhaps remember furniture from the post Okinawa days, but when we returned in 1968, I was 19 and leaving for college.

Easter Sunday: 1948

   Eleanor and I were discussing plans for Easter this morning, and I asked if she wanted to go to church; I suggested we could go to the Easter Sunrise Service. At that point she told me an amazing tale.
   Fred and Eleanor were getting ready to go to Easter Sunrise services in Panama. They planned to meet their neighbors from across the street at the bus stop for the ride to the Lutheran Church. Eleanor was getting dressed and thought she smelled smoke; she asked Fred to go to the kitchen and see if anything was burning. After checking out their small apartment, Fred came to the bedroom to assure her that nothing was on fire. Soon thereafter Janet, Fred, and Eleanor were standing outside at the bus stop when Eleanor again smelled smoke. She thought it was coming from the end of the apartment complex that they lived in, so she asked Fred to go to the end of the apartments to see if everything was alright.
   Fred went to the end of the apartments, and suddenly ran up the stairs to an apartment where he could see smoke coming out a window. The apartments in Panama didn't have glass in the windows, only a screen. As Fred looked in, he could see that the bed was on fire in the apartment. The couple sleeping in bed had gone out to celebrate the night before, and somehow the mattress had caught on fire between them,. Fred broke the door in and picked up the women to take her downstairs, she began protesting loudly that she didn't have any clothing on. Fred went up the stairs to help the husband out, and as they were coming down the stairs, some of the other residents of the apartment complex came and started to put out the fire.
    At this point the couple that Fred and Eleanor were going to Church with arrived at the bus stop. The woman asked Eleanor if she shouldn't hurry upstairs and save her valuables in case the whole apartment complex went up in fire. Eleanor left Janet with their friends and began running up the stairs, once she reached the top, she suddenly stopped and realized that SHE DIDN'T HAVE ANY VALUABLES.
   Eleanor walked down the stairs. Fred joined them at the bus stop.  They caught the bus to go to the Easter Sunrise service. The whole event had lasted only a few minutes.
   It would hard for me to match the excitement of Easter Sunday, 1948

Granddaughter's visit.

   It's been a busy week as Maggie, Shelby, and Natalie came for an overnight visit in Seward. Maggie was on spring break, and we went to the children's museum on Tuesday and the YMCA swimming on Wednesday. Joanne had bought the girls new swim suits, so we had a nice fashion show. The Y was deserted at 2 p.m., so we had a private pool and lifeguard. We stopped at Eleanor's apartment to read books and play with puzzles; Eleanor has three books and three puzzles under her television, so each girl had her own project to work on.
   I made a Dr.'s appointment to today, as Eleanor has a cough that has been getting progressively worse, so she may need a chest x ray today. Barb and Keith will be here for the weekend, so hopefully she will be feeling better on Saturday.

Blogging with Eleanor.

   Yesterday, I went to Heartland to visit in the evening as I wanted to take Eleanor to the computed to view "About Eleanor". Once we had found the computer and logged in, everything went very smoothly. She really enjoyed looking at all the pictures, and we talked about them for at least 30 minutes. She read several blog entries before telling me we need to get an appointment at the vision clinic so she can get some better reading glasses. I think she plans to read the blog, We had quite a discussion as to what a blog was, and why anyone would need one. I think she actually enjoys being the subject of the blog.

Minnesota 1950-51

   Eleanor was at her parent's house, when a friend called to ask if she could help out at the Zumbrota hospital; there had been an accident and one of the injured patient's parents had requested special duty  a nurse to be with the them in the hospital. Eleanor agreed and wound up working the next three days in Zumbrota. At the end of the experience, the hospital director offered her a full time position. She declined, but he had even made arrangements for her to stay in the house across the street from the hospital. The owner's wife had died, and he wanted to go to live with his daughter, so she had a furnished home in Zumbrota that she could live in rent free. Eleanor's sister Florence came with her to baby sit Janet and David, and wound up working in a nurses training program at the Zumbrota Hospital. Eleanor enjoyed having her own place to live and even purchased a used car while she was in Zumbrota. It was the first she had ever owned; a tam Chevy which a friend helped her pick out.
   Fred's unit in Korea was the 13th air force which flew bombing missions into North Korea, his squadron was known as the "grim reapers", so they probably saw a lot of combat during the war. Eleanor remembers that when they would go to reunions after they retired, that several men claimed that Fred had saved their lives. One airman actually started a scholarship fund and recognized Fred as a reason why he was alive.
   When Fred returned from Korea, he called her from the airport in Washington and told her he would be arriving in St. Paul. Eleanor and Florence drove her car up to St. Paul to pick Fred up. This was the first time he had ever "owned a car" so it was a quite an experience. It was several months before Fred received his orders to Offutt Air force Base in Nebraska. Eleanor remembers that they went fishing almost every day and it was great to be a family again. They did discuss staying in Minnesota as Eleanor had a good position, and they even looked at the possibility of buying her grandparent's farm in Lake City, but they decided to move to Omaha and hopefully a more settled life.
   The first four  to five years of my parents marriage was characterized by constant relocation. California, Pennsylvania, Panama, Minnesota, California, Minnesota, and now a move to Omaha. I am sure they must have wondered how long they would be in Omaha as they prepared to relocate once again. All this moving did have a plus side as it made my mother unafraid of change. I recall that six years ago she called me and told me she had sold her home and was planning to move to Seward. She asked me to pick out an apartment at Heartland retirement living center, and that I should plan on coming to Mississippi in help her drive her car to Nebraska.
  

David, California, and back to Minnesota.

   In May 1949, Eleanor was living in Goodhue with Margaret while Fred was in California. She went into labor in the evening of May 31, and since Margaret didn't drive at night, she called Dr. Flom in Zumbrota to tell him she was in labor and ask if he would pick her up on the way to the hospital in Red Wing. When they arrived at the hospital, the nurses thought she was Mrs. Flom, as the doctor was carrying in her bags. She delivered David about three hours after arriving at the hospital, and was moved to the maternity ward where her room mate was the wife of her old boy friend. When Fred sent two dozen red roses and it was the talk of Red Wing.
   After a few months, Eleanor took Janet and David on the train to California where Fred was stationed. They purchased a small trailer to live in off base. The trailer was so small that it had no bath room or running water, the kitchen table folded up into a bed at night. They had no car, but it seemed that no one else did, so you either walked or took the bus if you were going somewhere. A lot of the military wives would visit and set up play areas for the children. The cold war was in full swing, and the airmen were training and rumors were always circulating about where people might be stationed.
    In June 1950, the Korean War began, and Fred's squadron was sent on a six week assignment to Japan. Eleanor stayed in California, but when it became apparent that the squadron was going to be stationed in Korea, she decide to sell the trailer and return to Minnesota. A Sargent offered to buy the trailer, but since he had no money, he offered to send her a check every month until the trailer was paid off. She signed an agreement with him and left for Minnesota. Fred told her she would never get one check from the Sargent, but he faithfully sent a check every month and a letter thanking Eleanor for having faith in him accompanied the last check.
   After another long train ride, Eleanor arrived in Red Wing in late October and stayed with her sister Lorraine, who was a nurse in Red Wing. The next evening she took the train to Goodhue. It was cold and snowing, and she was nervous as to how she would get to Margaret's house with her luggage and two small children. When she arrived in Goodhue, two men walked up to her, one took Janet and her luggage, and the other took David and Eleanor to a truck. Margaret had sent Babe and Clifford Hansen to pick Eleanor up and bring her to the house.

Jedi Nights

   Liz and the boys stopped by to bring Eleanor some walleye on Tuesday evening. Austin had a star wars book that he wanted Eleanor to read to him. May the force be with her.

Janet

   I surprised Eleanor with the topic today. I asked if we could talk about Janet as a child, and at first she said there wasn't much to say, but after a minute or two, the stories poured forth.
    Eleanor described Janet as an easy baby; easy to care for and easy to love. She remembered their maid Brenda always liked to dress Janet in nice dresses to take to the play area in Canal Zone housing. Brenda would wash and iron Janet's dresses and always took care that Janet was the best dressed child when they would go outside. Eleanor would have opted for simpler clothing, but Brenda wouldn't hear of it. One day Eleanor arrived home and Janet had a broken match stick curled tightly in her hair. Brenda informed Eleanor that Janet had the hiccups, and this was the best way to cure the problem. When Eleanor removed the match stick, Janet began to hiccup, so the folk remedy  must have worked. Brenda was a 40 plus year old woman who had come to Panama before World War II, she was from Portugal, and was Jewish. She spoke Spanish and some English, but didn't read or write in English, so Eleanor regretted not being able to keep in touch with her when they returned to the U.S. Eleanor remembers when Brenda took Janet to the Synagogue before the New Year to collect the money on her insurance policy. If you hadn't died during the year, you would get some money returned to you if you came to claim the money before the new year.  Brenda pretty much ran the household in Panama, "she even told Fred what to do, and he did it."
   The family left Panama in early March of 1949, and traveled by boat to Florida. Eleanor remembers being terribly sea sick as she was pregnant with David. They had to buy winter clothing in Florida, as they didn't have any heavy clothing while living in Panama. They took the train to Minnesota and Fred  continued on the his assignment in California. Eleanor stayed with Margaret in Goodhue,and they visited her parents quite a bit. Janet loved her grandpa Albers as he rocked her in his chair and sang her favorite song, "In the shade of the old apple tree." She didn't get along as well with grandma Albers, as she told Lillian that she was the big bad wolf and bit her on the leg.

Panama

   In the summer of 1946, Eleanor took an airplane in St. Paul, MN.to fly to Panama where Fred had been stationed. She recalls that the plane must have stopped at every airport between St. Paul and Florida where she would catch the plane to Panama. In Florida, she found that she needed a photograph to get a visa to enter Panama, and she was fortunate that she had some snapshots of her and Janet. She really didn't have to worry about the details when she went to England as the Army made all the arrangements. She received her visas and boarded the flight to Panama where she was seated with "two Mexicans who had been drinking beer and eating chili all day". The stewardess found her another seat, so the flight didn't turn out too bad, but it was exhausting. Upon arriving in Panama the sun was so bright and the temperature was so hot that she wondered why she had come. Fred soon found her and they went to the apartment he had rented above a bar called the Buzzard's Nest. The neon sign flashed on and off all evening. They had no furniture so Janet's crib was the top drawer of the chest of drawers. She remembers that they had no money,but she found an English 20 pound note in her purse which they took to the bank and received almost $50 American.
   After a couple of weeks, Eleanor went to apply for a nurses position with the Canal Zone Authority. People had told her there was a long waiting list for positions, and she probably wouldn't get hired. She was hired that day as she was given priority status because she was a veteran.  Throughout her career in nursing, Eleanor has been helped time and time again by the fact that she was a veteran. She makes no apologies for being given opportunities which she feels she earned by serving her country.
   Once she was hired by the Canal Zone, she qualified for housing, so Fred, Eleanor, and Janet moved into housing that was so close to the Canal that she could see the boats coming through the canal from her kitchen window. It was hot during the days, and rained a lot, but the evenings always cooled down to a comfortable level. She rode a bus to work and the Panamanians were very respectful of her because of her nursing uniform. She hired Brenda, a  Panamanian woman to watch Janet when she went to work. Brenda would buy fresh fish from the local fisherman, so they enjoyed great seafood while in Panama. They did take a few trips, but as Eleanor reminded me " it isn't a very big country."
   When she was preparing to retire, Eleanor learned that the civil service had given her credit for the two years that she worked in Panama,  that surprised her because when she left, she was given money that she believed was her retirement fund. This is a vivid memory, as she was given a thousand dollar bill as part of the payment and worried that she would get robbed all the way home from the office.Shortly before they returned to the U.S., Fred was sent to McCook,  Nebraska with his bomber squadron to drop feed to cattle stranded in the Blizzard of 1948-49.
   My wife's parents, Russell and Mary Mund were stranded in North Platte, NE in early 1949 by the same blizzard that brought Fred's bomber squadron to Nebraska.

Pennsylvania, Janet, and major decision.

   Eleanor was married to Fred Neeley at the First Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN on July 28th, 1945. Reverend Herschel Roper was the pastor and Lorraine Albers and Ruby Soeffker were the witnesses for the wedding. After the ceremony, Fred and Eleanor went to Goodhue for a couple of weeks before moving to Cochranton, PA.
   Fred's family lived in Cochranton, so they decided to move there to see if they liked it. Fred found employment at a zipper factory, and Eleanor took the bus to one of the surrounding towns where she applied at a Catholic Hospital for a nursing position. Nurses were is such demand that they offered to let her start that day, even though she wasn't Catholic.When Fred returned home that evening and asked what she had done today, she told him that she had found a job and was starting tomorrow. They rented an upstairs apartment from the Powell's. She remembers the name of the family, because when she went into labor and needed to go to the hospital for my sister Janet, Mr. Powell drove her to the hospital, as Fred was at work and they didn't own a car.
   Eleanor remembers how nice Fred's half brother Buster and his wife Velma were to them. Buster was a bread delivery man, and Velma was a school teacher. They had two girls from Velma's previous marriage. Eleanor described Velma as a beautiful woman with golden hair. One day Buster and Velma drove Fred and Eleanor out to the Neeley family home in their car. She remembers Buster's comment of "My God, she's pregnant again!" as Fred's mother came out of the house. Cora Neeley was pregnant with Paul Neeley, who was born a couple months before Janet.
   Janet Neeley was born on April 29th, 1946 and was baptized in an Episcopal Church in Cochranton, PA.; Buster and Velma Neeley were her god parents.Shortly thereafter, Fred decided that he wanted to rejoin the military, as he didn't see himself working the rest of his life in a zipper factory. Eleanor was happy with the decision as she had enjoyed military life and the idea of travel appealed to her. When Fred returned to the Air Force, he had to go to a training program, so Eleanor took Janet and returned to Minnesota where she lived with her Aunt Margaret until Fred received his assignment.
  Note: When I use italics, I am injecting editorial comments. I hope that what I write here is not offensive to people, but I have made an effort to record her thoughts as accurately as possible.
 I would speculate that Fred and Eleanor had enjoyed the thrill of the military during WWII. You were doing something of vital importance and literally risking all on a daily basis; so life in Cochranton and a job at the zipper factory weren't as satisfying as they would have liked. My mother has always had a special affection for her Aunt Margaret, and as I have been talking with her, it is always Margaret who my mother had confidence in and knows that the door is always opened for her. Eleanor has commented several times as we have been working on this project that Fred did not graduate from high school. He was embarrassed about this and kept it a secret for quite a while. "He was very intelligent, but never had the opportunity to get his education, he could have been an officer".

Faith of our fathers.

   Yesterday, when we returned from the hospital, Eleanor's apartment was being cleaned so we decided to check her mail and have a cup of coffee. The activities director came through and told us there was Lutheran communion service in the main dining room. We went to the service and wound up sitting in the front row as we were late;  good Lutherans always fill the back of the service area first, so those who come late will get the added benefit of sitting in front.
   Today we decided to talk about being Lutheran. Mom was baptized Lutheran by Pastor Korn who came to the house ten days after her birth. Eleanor was born at home and her birth wasn't registered until November 30th. Her grandfather, Peter Albers lived in Goodhue with her aunt Margaret, but often came to the farm to visit. Eleanor remembers him saying prayers and reading from his German Bible."Komm, Herr Jesu" was the prayer he always began meals with. She was confirmed on Palm Sunday, 1934 at St. Peter's Church in Goodhue, Minnesota. Except for brief times in Pennsylvania, and during WW II, she has always attended the Lutheran Church. It provides her with great confidence and comfort. She has always felt that religion is important, and always tried to be active in church. I can remember when she first came to Seward, she helped with communion set up at Heartland. My father joined the Lutheran Church while they were stationed in Panama, and they even helped with the founding of the Lutheran Missionary Church in Panama. Eleanor recalls that it was built with cinder block and wasn't much to look at. As time has passed, it is increasingly difficult to get to church but she is fortunate that St. John has a regular service schedule at Heartland.
   Joanne and I are Methodist, and I think Eleanor wishes we were still Lutheran. Getting me to go to communion with her is always her way of trying to keep the door open to Lutheranism.

Hospital Daze

   Went to the clinic with Eleanor this a.m. for a visit with Dr. Froehner. When I arrived, Eleanor was light headed and felt that something was wrong. After an exam and blood draw, she was taken to the hospital for a sodium infusion and more blood work. Dr Froehner is concerned about her low white blood cell count. We used to blame the sodium imbalance on the cortisone shots, but she hasn't had one in nearly a year, so something else is causing the problem.
   Thanks to Mary Ann for the note to Dr. Froehner. She gave us a prescription to start the process for the lift chair. Thanks to Barbara who talked mom back into the lift chair, as she was going to "wait for her stroke" before getting one. I am scheduled to pick Eleanor up at 2 p.m., so this is a fast update on the events of the day.

California here I come.

   Eleanor was rotated from England back to New York in 1944, and received an honorable discharge shortly thereafter.She had entered the Army Nursing Corp on June 15, 1943 and was discharged on September 10th 1944 at Mitchell Field, New York. She final discharge papers rated her character and service as "EXCELLENT".
   She was now faced with the question of what she would do with her life. She decided that she really didn't want to return to Minnesota, as she wasn't the same person I was when she left. A fellow nurse, Lt Carpenter and Eleanor decided to go to California, and since Carpenter had relatives in Pomona, they decided to take a train out west.
   Once in Pomona, they stayed with Carpenter's relatives and both nurses found jobs at the blood bank. Eleanor said that she drew the blood of Ingrid Bergman and Mrs. Ronald Coleman, so lots of people were still active in blood drives at this point. Eventually Carpenter and Eleanor found an apartment in Los Angeles, which was quite a feat as there were shortages of housing in most of the cities with defense industries.
   One day in May 1945, she was riding the bus home from work and sat next to a army airman. He was in uniform and Eleanor said he had the biggest brown eyes she had ever seen.  As she was getting off the bus, she smiled and said "why don't you come up and see me sometime". She had no idea why she said it, but a couple days later, this army air corps Sargent showed up at the door. "Fred" was in California waiting for orders to be sent to the Pacific Theater. He had seen a lot of combat as a bombadeer, and gunner on B 24,s in Libya and Italy. They dated for the next three months, and got married on July 28th, 1945.

A trip to Lincoln.

   Today was St. Patrick's day, and we went on a trip to Lincoln to look at hearing aids and lift chairs. Miracle Ear was our first stop and Eleanor had her hearing aid adjusted. The volume was turned down and the technician    thought it might be because she turns the hearing aid when she puts it in. Her aids have a program that adjusts to the setting that is previously being used, so every time she would turn them while putting them in her ear, the program would lower the volume. He disabled the program so now it sets to default, which is the LOUD setting for her.
  On to Jim's Home Health Care, the people we had worked with when we looked at getting Eleanor a scooter.We tried several chairs and finally found the right combination of size and features. The chair has only and up and down setting, as thee more buttons on the control, the more difficulty in using the chair. We then needed a short lesson on Medicare, and the process to be used in  applying for a partial reimbursement. I was ready to get the chair today, but the sales rep told us the Medicare forms must be dated before the purchase or no go with reimbursement. The reimbursement can include up to 80% of the motor cost, so could be about $240 if we get the application approved. We left with some brochures and a date in mind to start the process. Eleanor has an appointment with Dr. Froehner on Tuesday.
   On to Culvers for walleye dinners. The fish was great and we all had plenty to eat with a little left over which Eleanor graciously consented to take with her. she was exhausted when we arrived back in Seward, and was getting ready to sleep the rest of the day.
   Last night, I was visiting and Eleanor commented on how much she misses Lorraine. Her sister has Alzheimer's, and  has gotten to the point where she doesn't know Eleanor any more. She always felt closest  to Lorraine and sometimes worries that her own memory is fading away. It is, but she still has lots of good abilities and stories to tell.

Lt. Albers

  The 187th  Army Hospital was located near several fighter and bomber air bases, and most of the patients before D Day were airmen. One day while she was in surgery a nurse came to relieve her and told her she had a visitor. Robert Dierks was from Goodhue, and Eleanor's Aunt Margaret had given him an address to find her when he was sent to England. He had hitched a ride on a delivery truck to the hospital to see her.That was the biggest surprise she remembers from her time in England.
    Social life consisted of going to dances on the airbases. Lots of scotch and water-- they were in Scotland after all. The bomber squadrons had the best parties because they had ice for the drinks, and some airmen would actually churn ice cream while flying to and from a bombing mission. I never realized that it would get that cold at high altitude, but I'm sure things like making ice cream and ice cubes for the party that night would take your mind of more serious concerns.
   D-Day. Things really changed after D Day. The hospital became much busier. Eleanor said everyone knew it was going to happen-- both our side and theirs. The roads were full of men and trucks. The hospital wasn't that far from the coast and Salsbury. The flights to the United States became more frequent as the casualties came in.In all the time she was in England she remembers only one trip to London, it was tough to get off and transportation was difficult. London was pretty torn up with all the damage from bombings and areas of rubble. The clean up comes after the war in most cases.

World War II

   Finally a chance to sit and talk about the things that I had intended for this blog. This morning we had coffee and talked about World War II. I asked her why she decided to join the Army Nurses, and she talked some about patriotism, but more about the feeling that this event was history in the making and she wanted to be part of it. She was also interested in seeing life outside Minnesota, and wondered if she would ever leave if she didn't take the opportunity.
   She enlisted in the Army Nursing Corp and went to basis training in Clinton Iowa with her friend Irene Wreitmann. While at Clinton, the mothers of the nurse trainees were brought by train to see the progress their daughters were making. It was probably the first time her mother Lillian had ever left Minnesota, and she was very impressed with the VIP treatment she received. After graduation, Eleanor went to Colorado Springs, Colorado for additional training. In the Spring of 1943, she left for England aboard a boat and landed in Liverpool, England shortly before Easter Day, 1943.  She remembers going to church in Liverpool for Easter services, and the blackouts the city was under in the evenings. None of the women she was trained with were assigned to England, so she went solo for quite a while. My mother is definitely not a shy person, and I am sure the self confidence she shows today was evident in England.
   Eleanor was assigned to the 187th General Hospital in Scotland. The hospital was centered in a castle that belonged to the King of Ethiopia, Heille Sal-lase. Her serial number was M7795870, I was amazed at how quickly she could recite the number; they must really drill it into you at boot camp.
   Before D-Day she would care for injured soldiers, and once every six weeks she would go on a flight from England to the U.S.A.. They would bring back wounded soldiers to Mitchell Field, which is outside New York City and then reload the plan with supplies for the trip back to England. One thing to look forward to on the flight was the stop over in Greenland where they would stop by Camp Ichabod, a local officers club for drinks.While in the U.S. Eleanor usually called home which was a great opportunity that most serving in the military during WW II didn't have. Her parents were always glad to hear from her and she enjoyed talking with them. Many times people would come to her when they heard she was flying to the States and ask if she would call their family, Eleanor remembers making phone calls for people she had just met to their loved ones to let them know everything was o.k..
 

Emergency Room

 Eleanor had a great day yesterday, so I was surprised that we wound up in the emergency room today. The urinary tract infection has returned and this time she will need to take antibiotics for seven days instead of three. The doctor was new to Seward and is a major in the air force. Mom worked emergency rooms quite a bit in her career. After we were released, we went to Mac Donald's for a strawberry shake.  I will have to fill her prescription in the morning, and hopefully she will sleep well this evening.

Saturday Pancakes

Our son Dan called last night and said that Jill and the girls were coming to visit on Saturday. We suggested they come for lunch and decided to have pancakes, bacon,and a fruit bowl consisting of fresh blueberries,strawberries, and peaches. We picked Eleanor up at 12, so we would all be here when Dan and Jill arrived. We had a great time visiting and eating pancakes, it was a long and leisurely dinner for everyone but Joanne who was cooking the pancakes.It is difficult for Eleanor to get out on trips with her walker, but she is a real trooper and she enjoyed the afternoon.

Coffee and earthquakes.

I stopped for coffee this afternoon to visit with Eleanor. We watched the footage of the Earthquake in Japan. Since they show the same clips over and over again on the weather channel, we began discussing earthquakes. We remembered the small quakes while we were on Okinawa, and she remembered the first time she was in a noticeable earthquake. She looked out the door and saw Lorraine and A.C. Kendall's car rocking in their driveway. I asked if perhaps it was their son and his girlfriend, but she laughed and said we were in school at the time--otherwise it might have been.
   I usually file her mail while I am there, since she worries able the possibility that she might throw something away. She had a pile destined for the garbage, but one letter was to inform her that an annuity she had with Kemper had been transfered  to Zimmer Life, so it's good that we have our no throw policy in place.
   Next week we have plans to go to Lincoln for a hearing aid tune up; which is greatly needed, then on to Jim's Home Health Care to look at lift chairs, and finally to Culver's for walleye. They have always had walleye in the Lenten season, and Eleanor loves her walleye. She always loves to remember fishing with Fred in Minnesota and all the great fish dinners they would enjoy.

Liz saves the day.(vacation.)

   Joanne and I have been in Mexico the past two weeks, so it fell to my daughter Liz to be "on call" for Eleanor. We have had a great string of healthy days the past several months, so we had hoped that the string of good luck would continue. Last weekend Eleanor called Liz and wanted to go to the emergency room. E had a bladder infection, so Liz took her to the hospital and wound up staying several hours with her while she had a sodium infusion. My sisters both tried to call while they were at the E.R.and were alarmed that they couldn't reach her. .

   This week Liz went to Heartland to a soup supper with Eleanor. They were in line to get dinner when it was announced that a construction crew had broken a gas line at Heartland and they were evacuating the residents to the high school. Liz took Eleanor to Dairy Queen for a hamburger and then to her house to wait for the all clear. This time she called my sisters to tell them where mom was. Live and learn.