March 2018 SOLSC - 16/31 - Question #10
How did your father support your family? Did your mother work outside of the home? Doing what?
When my dad came home from the Army, they moved into the farm house where my Grandparents lived and he farmed the 240 acres raising corn and beans. They also had some milking cows. But farming was not enough to keep up with the bills.
In the mid 1940's he became a carpenter working for a contractor, Al Hendron. I'm guessing they built 2-3 houses a year from the ground up. As far as I know, there were 3-4 men that worked with Al and they did all the labor - from pouring cement, to laying blocks & bricks, to framing the house, roofing, windows, building cabinets and finishing the inside. He must have had contractors who did the plumbing and heating installation. Dad worked for Al until he retired in the early 1980's, when he turned 62 or maybe 65. In addition to farming and carpentry, he also sold Hulting Hybrid seed corn to the local farmers. I remember driving to Geneseo, IL to pick up the corn and then deliver it. The bags of seed corn were really heavy.
After retirement, he mowed lawns and did odd jobs, gardened and worked around the house. After Mom passed away in 1989, he became a courier for the small, local hospital and doctors. He transported samples and papers to the larger hospital in Kankakee. He continued doing that job for many years.
Mom was a stay-at-home mom until my brother and I were both in school. She did a lot of volunteer work for the church. She also helped out working with the contractor's wife, staining and finishing the cabinets and woodwork. Probably about the time I was in 7th or 8th grade, Mom was a cook at the elementary school and worked there for many years. I'm not sure when she retired, but she continued with volunteer work and was always available to care for our kids when we needed help.
When my dad came home from the Army, they moved into the farm house where my Grandparents lived and he farmed the 240 acres raising corn and beans. They also had some milking cows. But farming was not enough to keep up with the bills.
In the mid 1940's he became a carpenter working for a contractor, Al Hendron. I'm guessing they built 2-3 houses a year from the ground up. As far as I know, there were 3-4 men that worked with Al and they did all the labor - from pouring cement, to laying blocks & bricks, to framing the house, roofing, windows, building cabinets and finishing the inside. He must have had contractors who did the plumbing and heating installation. Dad worked for Al until he retired in the early 1980's, when he turned 62 or maybe 65. In addition to farming and carpentry, he also sold Hulting Hybrid seed corn to the local farmers. I remember driving to Geneseo, IL to pick up the corn and then deliver it. The bags of seed corn were really heavy.
After retirement, he mowed lawns and did odd jobs, gardened and worked around the house. After Mom passed away in 1989, he became a courier for the small, local hospital and doctors. He transported samples and papers to the larger hospital in Kankakee. He continued doing that job for many years.
Mom was a stay-at-home mom until my brother and I were both in school. She did a lot of volunteer work for the church. She also helped out working with the contractor's wife, staining and finishing the cabinets and woodwork. Probably about the time I was in 7th or 8th grade, Mom was a cook at the elementary school and worked there for many years. I'm not sure when she retired, but she continued with volunteer work and was always available to care for our kids when we needed help.
Love this idea of writing in response to a question jar! I enjoyed reading about your parents!
ReplyDeleteNot that your mom wasn't busy with kids, but your dad sure kept himself busy during his life. A lot of jobs there!
ReplyDeleteThe question jar provides good prompts. You are making a wonderful collection to Michelle (who probably knows most of the stories) and to the two the twin granddaughters.
ReplyDeleteSo often we regret not having the story of our parents and grandparents. This is a great way to record your family history with anecdotes.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely from a family of hard workers and I see you have kept the tradition alive.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a question jar. Are these questions from your daughter? Your students? What a great way to connect.
ReplyDeleteI love the question jar too! I love that all these stories are captured here. I’m amazed at all the jobs Grandpa had. I didn’t know Grandma helped stain the woodwork! It’s amazing all that they did.
ReplyDelete