Chapter 16, Park Falls, The Early Years

Moving "Up North"  

Louie and I with 3 month old Debbie traveled back to Park Falls on May 9 of 1967, Lou's 29th Birthday.  We moved into an adjoining apartment to his grandmother, Anna (Ma), in a old large farmhouse. There was a connecting door between us.  We had a small bedroom off a large central kitchen, a medium sized square living room and a small bathroom tucked under a stairs leading to another level, which we did not use. A three by three foot floor register in the kitchen was the only source of heat from a large woodburning furnace in the basement.  A floor trap door along the edge of the kitchen and our bedroom opened to basement stairs resembling a slanted ladder.  The basement had a small set of steps leading to a ground level heavy, double door opening to the outside. We had a washing machine, but no dryer or dishwasher.  The living conditions were a step back from what I was accustomed to, which were quite basic to begin with.  I was young, a new mother,  energetic, idealistic, trustful in the future and naively in love. I was content.  Life was good.

One notable achievement after moving "up north" is an entertaining, though frustrating  story.  The high school I graduated from did not provide driver's education.  At 21 years I still didn't know how to drive.  Once when I was around 16 Aunt Emma let me drive her car down a grass hill near their cabin.  I couldn't brake fast enough and almost landed us in the rapidly flowing Flambeau River at the bottom of the hill. 

When Louie and I had moved to Milwaukee he agreed to try teaching me to drive, after declaring I wasn't capable.  He drove us to a cement platform near a railroad track. He had me get behind the wheel to drive a little way then turn around from the tracks.  In those days all cars had a clutch to maneuver  along with a brake and gas pedal. To his horror I almost landed us off the platform and on top of the railroad track.  That proved it...I would never learn to drive.

 After we moved back to Park Falls I lamented to his Uncle Bert that I wanted to get my license but Lou had no faith in me.  He offered to teach me while Lou was at work and volunteered his wife Christine to watch Debbie while we practiced. They faithfully came over and we would do our secretive project.  After several months passed I got my license!  One day when Louie came home from work for lunch I had the driver's license sitting on his plate.  "What's this?" he exclaimed,  totally shocked that I was capable of learning to drive.  But was also quite pleased that I acquired my license and he didn't even have to risk his life.  The End.  OR  The Beginning!    

Tragedy and Life       

The summer of 1968 I received a call from Indianapolis informing me that my brother, Eugene, had died.  He was living in Ohio at the time and was found unresponsive from an overdose of pills. He was around 39 years old.  He suffered from mental illness and was occasionally confined to mental health facilities.  Louie and I visited with him a few times we were in Indianapolis.

We made a 500 mile car trip to Indianapolis with toddler Debbie. I remember being very emotional at the funeral.  I had prayed  and hoped so hard for him to regain a healthy mind.  

 I was pregnant again at that time.  Somehow I  knew my next baby would be a boy...even in those days before gender revealing ultrasounds.    

 The Pioneer   

 Louie's mom, Rose, still maintained old time cooking habits.  She baked all her white and rye bread, had a  large garden, shredded cabbage for homemade kraut to can for the winter, shook rye seeds from the stalks growing wild in the back field, cut up venison from hunters who brought her fresh rib portions, "rendered lard", made various desserts from fresh rhubarb growing behind the barn in spring.

 I was eager to learn the ways of the north.  For a few years, until they died out, I shook the rye seeds from their stems, learned to knead bread dough thumping the newly baked bread to ensure it was done, hand grated potatoes for dumpling, squeezed hand grated cabbage with salt to ferment in a 10 gallon kraut crock.  

 I learned by doing and misdoing.  One spring I proudly went out behind the barn to cut rhubarb for "dojun", a dessert of pancake like dough covered with rhubarb chunks, butter and sugar.  I triumphantly brought in an armful to Rose who immediately gasped, staring at my offering.  "THAT is not rhubarb!" "THAT is burdock, a weed".  She laughed and pointed out that rhubarb had smooth leaves with red solid stems.  What I brought in resembled rhubarb but  had fuzzy leaves and green, hollow stems. It was my first lesson in recognizing counterfeit from authentic.   

Shortly after Rose's new house was built, she invited us to move in with her. By now my son, Gerry, was born.  The four of us slept in a large upstairs bedroom. Louie was absent from home more and more as the months went on, coming home late in the evening having socialized with his friends.   

I still wonder at one incident while living at "the farm".  It was early predawn hours when I was wakened by hearing slow heavy footsteps coming upstairs. They stopped at the top of the landing. No steps going back down. No more sound. A bit alarmed I wondered. There was no one gone and expected to come home.  Shortly I went back to sleep. Next day I told Rose about it. She related that years ago German families would have said Uncle Al came back to visit since that day was his one year anniversary of dying. "But", she remarked, "Don't worry, Al never hurt anyone".   

Progeny

At some point we moved back to Lou's grandma's attached apartment. Now we had baby Gerry along with toddler Debbie so we used the upstairs with two bedrooms as well. Burt, our third child was born shortly after...Gerry was about 2&1/2.  Soon, daughter Angie came along.  Burt was 15 months.  

With 4 children and primitive living conditions I  became restless living at Ma's, wanting a home of our own.  Lou didn't seem concerned so I started looking. There was a large, old home built in the late 1890's sitting on 1/3 acre of land in town.  It was selling cheaply through the bank.  With a loan from my dad we became proud owners of "a fixer upper".   

Shortly after moving in I suffered a miscarriage.  I was devastated and sad for several weeks.  One night while sleeping I saw a baby's face with curly blond hair and lovely blue eyes smiling at me.  I was comforted and at peace.  I look forward to meeting this little girl someday in heaven.  I have named her Savanah.

 It wasn't long after that I became pregnant again.  This was a small boy of 5lb 11oz. and 18 inches. Big Al we call him now, but then he was a pixie child.  

 Chuck was born 18 months later.  From the first moment I brought him home, Al was not happy, greeting him with a big hit on the head.  

 Two years and 2 months later Bill arrived.  I figured he was the last since he broke the formula...browned eyed girl, brown eyed boy, blue eyed boy/brown eyed girl, brown eyed boy, blue eyed boy/brown eyed boy...the end. He was number seven.  The number of perfection and completion!

These three became known for many years as "the three little boys".  Almost a double family. 

                                    (Photo: Bill's baptism day.)

Baby Bill, at 2 weeks old gave us a scare.  It was his baptismal day, but he had been lethargic for a couple days. (Lou was also incapacitated with severe tooth     pain.) We completed the ceremony but then at home I noticed a bulge in his right scrotum.  I took him to the emergency room where the doctor scolded me for not bringing him earlier.  We were soon in the ambulance racing to a hospital 100 miles away for emergency strangulated hernia surgery.  I felt so helpless as they inserted an IV into his head.  He came through the surgery and after 3 days we could take him home.  Louie drove down with the other 6 kids.  On the way back Debbie wanted to know if we could stop for pizza.  Not now.  

 Nature decided I was done birthing.  Being good Catholics we felt guilty about birth control, and "rhythm" belonged to music not the bedroom.  After the 7th child I would have heavy bleeding and an early miscarriage.  I was distressed but worried about my health and ability to raise 7 children.  When my local doctor found abnormal cells I had a hysterectomy. I was 31. Forever after, any weird behavior or odd feelings I blamed on being neutered.