Other Events and Attributes:

• Federal: Adel, Dallas County, Iowa, United States; Federal
• Mom’s 95 Birthday!: Mom’s 95 Birthday!
• Residence: 1930, Colfax Township, Dallas County, Iowa, United States
• Residence: 1940, Colfax Township, Dallas County, Iowa, United States
• Occupation: 12 Apr 1950, Adel, Dallas County, Iowa, United States; Bank Teller

Notes:

Federal:
Role: Household Member


Mom’s 95 Birthday!:
Well it's December 5th, 2021 and it would be mom's 95 birthday. It's Sunday morning and about 6:30 when I got up today. If things were as they had been all my growing up years, I would wake up to mom already in the kitchen and the smell of her preparing our Sunday dinner would already be in the air. She always got up early to get our big Sunday dinner in the oven on timed bake so that when we walked in from church, dinner was usually already ready. The terms we had for meals were:

? Morning Meal – Always the first meal of the day regardless of whether it was just cereal
or a big meal was called 'Breakfast'.
? Noon Meal – If it was a small or simple meal it was 'Lunch', but if a big meal, like on
Sunday's or a special event like Thanksgiving or Christmas, it was 'Dinner'.
? Evening Meal – It was always called 'Supper' regardless the size. I thought people who
called the evening meal Dinner were snooty, high society types – or people who thought
they were.

So on Sundays, like today, mom would have been in the kitchen for a while and have 'dinner' already in progress with the great smells of her home cooking already permeating through the house. When young, besides the anticipation of a great dinner in the offing, it created a subconscious feeling of security, permanence, and love. I think it was especially meaningful because it was always joyful on her part. She loved cooking in the kitchen and was always happy to be there cooking for her family.

She grew up on the farm at a time of challenge, both because of the fact that farm life entailed a lot of physical work at that time (1920's and 30's) anyway, and because it was especially challenging in the depression and dust bowl of the 30's. So she was use to hard work, and applying the principle that if you diligently applied yourself to a task, you could improve your circumstances.

When we lived in Iowa, she was a stay-at-home mother. She was a good instructor. I recall
standing beside her on a chair and her showing me how to wash the dishes – glasses first,
because they are less dirty, then silver ware, then plates, and then pots and pans. I was probably no more than 3-4 years old at the time, but I still remember the lesson.

When we moved to Arizona, she had to work outside the home. She had worked at a bank in Adel when she got out of high school before she and dad got married and so immediately upon arriving in Arizona she got a job at the Bank of Douglas in Mesa. I know that because we lived in a little mother-in-law apartment behind a house on south Robson Street (132 S. Robson?). Banks then were open on Fridays until 6:00 and I stayed with the lady in the main house on Friday's until mom got off work. We lived there less than a year so I know she went to work right away. She transferred to Valley National Bank on the SE corner of Country Club Drive and west First Street when we moved to the house at 404 West First street, just across the street on the NW corner.

So she worked Monday through Friday at the bank all the years of my growing up in Arizona. Then on Saturdays she would clean house all day and do the grocery shopping (at Fuller's Fine Foods). Then on Sunday she was up before everyone else working on getting dinner prepared so that it was ready when we came home from church. And when we opened the door, the house always smelled wonderful. What a welcome home!

So on this Sabbath morning of her 95th birthday I am reminded of unfailing - and joyfuldedication to her family. Despite undoubtedly feeling tired from a week of work and then a full day of cleaning and shopping on Saturday, she used her time to bless us all with a wonderful home of love and comfort.

I will add as a side bar that that is all the more meaningful today because I now recognize the challenges she and dad faced financially in those years we lived down in First Street. It was a modest rental house with frayed carpet (showing the threads on the back of the carpet in places) and the stuffing coming out of the old maroon couch here and there. Its only source of heat was a small heater in the corner of the living room where Pam and I used to go in the mornings to get dressed by. So it was all the more significant that she was able to make that into a place we all wanted to gather through her dedication and effort, the sacrifice of her own comfort and rest, her love of family, and her joyful, optimistic outlook on life. She was someone very special, and we are all blessed because of her presence in our lives.

So, a very Happy Birthday mom! We love you!! Your memory is a joy and an inspiration.

Barbara married Teddie Hiddleson Taggart on 28 Feb 1947 in Adel, Dallas County, Iowa, United States [Church Of The Brethren]. Teddie (son of William Arthur Hartman and Lillis Mae Taggart) was born on 29 Mar 1924 in Lucerne, Putnam County, Missouri, United States; died on 18 Nov 2018 in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Judy Wendt [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Christal Renee Mead [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

UID C9EF9A511D1A4E138302484864CCB90841F7

Pamela married Jon Hermanutz [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Pamela married David Allen Nelson [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mason married Stacy Ellgen [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Kelsey married Paul Kuntz [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]