#21 Faith – Mom joins the church and gets
married
My mom, Eleanor, had a beautiful singing voice and she loved to sing,
singing any and every chance she could get. Almost everyone always asked for a
song and no one ever argued. Although my mom and Harry, my dad, both belonged
to the same church, and she was a member of the choir, they didn’t meet there.
They met at a Halloween party. Dad did notice her in the choir, however. He once told his mom, Ella, while pointing out my mom in the choir, “I’m going to marry
that girl.” They were married in the St. Johns Reformed Church in September of
1950, but I’ll let her tell the story; of how she joined the church and lost
her dad in one week, met her future husband later that year at a Halloween
party, and then, a year later, got married.
At
this time my family was living near the St Johns area of Drums along the
Nescopeck River. I started singing in the choir at Harry’s church in 1948, a
church my dad and I joined in 1949, but it wasn’t until I attended a Halloween
Party held at the Log Cabin Inn, at Rumbles
Corner in Drums,
in October of 1949, that I actually met Harry.
I worked at the Kaplin Shirt Factory on McKinley Street
in Hazleton. By 1949 I’d been there for 6½ years, having started out when we
were living at 672 Lincoln Street in Hazleton (I had to get work papers due to
my age to work then). I started as a Sleever and did that for three years when
I was promoted to Floor Girl doing trimming and so forth. I did that for three
years. Right before we moved to the Valley, they made me Fore Lady so I hung on
to that job!
After joining the choir in 1948, I began thinking of
becoming a member of the church. What I didn’t know was that Dad had wanted to
join the church as well. We never talked about it because we were never home at
the same time with our work schedules. His plan was to join the church on my
birthday, February 6, 1949. When we learned of his interest in doing this, we,
Mom and I, convinced him to wait until the following Sunday, February 13, and
he and I would join together. That Sunday he was so happy he had a smile from
ear to ear.
The next week was a normal week. I took the bus, or as we
used to call it in ‘49, the “Tooterville Trolley”, to work and back.
On Sunday, February 20, Rev. Hesson announced to the
congregation that Elton and Eleanor Shearer had become members of the church.
All was as normal as things could be. On Monday, the 21st,
I got home and started the wash (washing clothes). When Dad got
home he said he wasn’t feeling well. He complained of pains in his shoulder and
arm. I kept doing the wash while Mom tried to help him by rubbing liniment on
his shoulder and back.
But the pain just got worse. We knew then that something
very bad was happening, of course we didn’t know about heart attacks at that
time. Mom tried to contact Dr. Raddon but he was out, so she left a message.
Then she told me to try and get Rev. Hesson, the church pastor. My cousin,
Emerson, drove me to St. Johns and we did find him, it was late so we had to
wake him up. We got back to our house just before mid-night and just as the
doctor arrived.
Dr. Raddon went in to see my dad and then came back out,
called Rev. Hesson over, and told him Dad had just died. Rev. Hesson said a
prayer and offered what comfort he could. Emerson took Rev. Hesson home again
and I went back down stairs to finish the wash. It had to be done. Of course, I
was just moving through the paces by then, as my mind was elsewhere, with Dad.
Rev. Hesson said that in all the years he had served that
church, I think close to 40, this was the first time he announced someone had
joined the church on one Sunday and then that the same person had died on the
very next Sunday. Dad was 50 when he died, two weeks shy of his 51st
birthday, March 4, 1949.
The next eight months were difficult for my mom. She
focused mostly on church and work, just to keep herself together. Come October,
the last thing she wanted to do was go to a Halloween party.
Willie-Mae, my brother Clayton’s wife, made me go to the Halloween
party because she was worried that I had pushed everyone away when Dad died and
was staying too much to myself. When we finally got to the Log Cabin Inn, the
party was in full swing and everyone was having a jolly time. But I had worked
all day and was very tired and the longer the evening went, the tired-er I got!
Clayton had been waiting for one of his war buddies so
when this fellow came in dressed like a farmer, I thought it was Clayton’s
buddy. But it wasn’t. He never went to Clayton’s table. Well, I was about at
the end of my rope so I finally went over to Clayton’s table and said, “I just
cannot stay any longer. Who will take me home?” No one said a word. Four
drivers and none of them would take me home. I wanted to cry. So I said, “Ok,
if no one will take me home, I’ll walk!”
I turned around to head to the door and right behind me
was this fellow dressed like a farmer. “I’ll take you home,” he offered. I was
ready to drop so I said, “Oh, thank you!” and my eyes welled up so I was afraid
I’d make a fool of myself and start crying right there. I knew I shouldn’t accept rides from
strangers but I was so tired I just didn’t care.
On the way home, Dad asked Mom if she’d like to go out
with him that Saturday. She thanked him but said no. She wasn’t looking for a
relationship. At that point, all she really wanted was to just get home! But
then Willie-Mae found out about the invitation for a date.
Then
on Saturday, Willie did make me go out with the fellow. We sort of hit it off
and we started seeing each other more regularly. I guess it was late November of 1949 when
Harry took me to meet his parents, Elmer and Ella Drum. I knew his father
because I’d seen him at Church but for some reason had not connected him with
Ella, Harry’s mother. When I did on that visit, I realized she was the same
woman who sat on the bus all the time talking about this person and that
person, seemed like she talked about just about everyone in the valley, and all
sorts of scandal and gossip. Well I didn’t like that but I couldn’t tell that
to Harry!
Then
I met Grandma Mary (Elmer’s mother) and had a very nice conversation with her.
Seems Ella had nasty things to say about her too a lot but that was something
else I wasn’t telling Harry! Then it was out to see the farm, 2 BIG pigs, 2
cows, and a pen of chickens. I looked and “admired” and said things like, “Oh
yes,” and “Oh my” and “my goodness!”
Then
I saw the bee hives. I didn’t like them at all. To me they were murderous!
Harry just laughed.
At
Christmas Harry gave me a Coo-Coo Clock. It was beautiful and still is; it still
hangs on our wall. I have no idea how he was able to afford it. Harry asked me
to marry him on Mother’s Day in May, 1950. I
almost said no because I didn’t want mom to lose my pay. Since my father died,
I was the only full-time wage earner. Once I explained, Harry said my
continuing to work was no problem and that we’d continue to help my mom as much
as possible.
Mrs. Drum (Ella) wasn’t very sure about the wedding. She had
herself so worked up over it the doctor had her taking pills! I almost backed
out a few times myself but Willie-Mae always talked me right back into it. Mrs.
Drum wanted the wedding reception in the church social room but my brothers
wanted a lot of space for dancing and drinks. All Mom said was, “Who is the
bride?” “Me!” I said. “Then it should be your way!” and that’s how she left it!
Harry married me on September 17, 1950. Rev. Hesson
performed the ceremony and I cried all the way out of the church because it was
all just so beautiful.[1] For the reception, my brother, Nelson, supplied
all the beer and so forth. Clayton paid for the cake. Harry bought me my
wedding gown and somehow Mom found the money for the Butler Township Fire Hall.
My singing teacher, Mrs. Gladys Deis, was the soloist. In 1953 Harry built us a
house on land his parents owned and which his mother sold to him in 1959,
property Elmer and Ella had bought from Calvin Schaffer in 1941; six and one
third acres on West Butler Drive in Drums.
The house Dad
built as it is today, front and back. I call it “Drumyngham”.
Mom’s Black Forest
Cuckoo Clock.
Return to Drums of Drums, PA on April 8, 2019 for a look
at the Drums as Methodists in the post:
The Methodists.
[1]
For a photo of Mom and Dad leaving the church after the ceremony, see the
previous post: #20 Faith – Baptisms,
Marriages, and Deaths, oh, my! …and maybe a party or two.
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