Friday, January 2, 2009

Reflections

I have lived a great number of years, it was a quarter of a century last November 24, 2008. When I was born it was the great depression, following the crash of 1929.

Men all over the country was having a hard time supporting their family's. There was a great deal of stealing to stay alive. My mom told me a story of Dad and Grandpa, they went out to steal some chickens one night, it was a dark night so they thought they could get away with a couple chickens. The chickens had a say about it, so they went into the hen house and nabbed two but they had scared the hens when they entered. They grabbed the hens by the legs and what a squawking and clucking started, that set the farmers dog to barking. My Grandpa ran into the woods but my Dad went into the outhouse, thinking he would not be caught, this probably would of worked but the hens would not be quiet. My Dad was caught and spent some time in jail, he never did that again. My mom told this story many times over, it was funny and a good laugh was had by all. My Dad went to work in the coal mines in West Virginia and the last part of 1930's he got a job in the steel mills in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. I think the moral to the chicken story would of been to tuck them under their arms instead of picking them up by the legs.

We survived the Depression and life seemed to be going well until October of 1942. When my mom answered the door she knew something was wrong, my dad had been hurt at work. My dad lived three days , he had been hit on the top of the head by an object that fell off of a overhead crane. In those days they did not wear helmets if they did I would of enjoyed my dad longer, I was nine years old. My dad had a rough life growing up, his first dad divorced his mom and she remarried. There was Cherokee in my dads family, he was one half and you could see it in him. He was taking a course in radio, trying to better himself, in school he only finished fourth grade because he had to help support the family, which was the case in many families. He loved cars and workrd on ours a lot my cousin Eddie was always at our house helping dad. Many years later Eddie told us that dad was going to present to Ford Motors Co. and try to get a patient for an improvement in the car engine, but he was killed before he had a chance. Eddie did not know what it was because my dad was keeping it a secret until he presented it.

My mom gave up trying to raise us, my older sister June was already out in Michigan, we lived in East Liverpool, Ohio. Mom contacted my Aunt Margaret and ask if we could come and stay awhile, she said yes. We came to live here, for awhile my aunt treated us nice and then she started to get real mean toward us. She made us do the housework, which we did not mind but she would go behind us and find what we missed. It was called to our attention and we not only did what we missed but she made us do the whole thing over, the ironing was a disaster, we never knew how to clean and she would not show us just tell us to do it. When we were to go on picnics she would find fault with one of us and we did not go. I could take the yelling but the slapping in the face was too much, she said we looked at her the wrong way. This went on for nine years, and my mom did not come for us and signed papers for my aunt and uncle to be our legal guardians. She was worse than the stepmother in Cinderrella, at least she was saved by a handsome prince.

We did graduate from high school, I in 1953 and found a job right away at a nice office. I finally was happy and I moved out of her house to my apartment. Life was going along pretty good, I worked for a nice company and could not get use to people being nice to me. Can you believe it I made a great big sum a week of $37.50, but gas was only .17 cents a gallon, bread .20 cents and believe it pop .15 cents, hamburg ,49 cents a pound, well the wages were small at the time. I worked for this company for eight years and had to fight for every raise, in the end when I quit I was only making $62.50 a week.

I met my husband in 1958, he was divorced and his wife went home to Okalahoma to live with her folks, they had two children. We married on July 30th, 1959, we had been going together for almost a year. My husband was layed off in 1960, right after the birth of our son, Douglas. He could not find work for a few months, then he was hired by Railway Express in Muskegon, Michigan in 1963, right after the birth of our son Ronald.

Life has its ups and downs in many marriages, but my husband was a good father and good to me. My husband worked for Railway Express until it went out of business in 1968. So he went back to college and learned to be an illustrator, after graduating in 1971 he went to work for Gardner Denver in Grand Haven, Michigan. We moved here to be close to his job but this company moved out of town to New Jersey, but not to dispear he was lucky to get a job at Haworth in Holland, Michigan, no we did not move to Holland, I love Grand Haven and will live here until I pass on and meet my animals at Rainbow Bridge. My husband worked over 20 years for this company and he retired in 1996. We have seen many hard times but none like I had living with my aunt. I have been as good of mother that I could be, we all make mistakes with our children, but I tell you this when I ask my boy's to do something for me I never check to see if it is done right (I might tidy behind their back), they are really good boy's, men now. Doug is 48 years old and Ron is 45 years old.

I hope I have not bored you with this post, many do not like to bare their soul for all to see, not me I have lived many years doing good and I have a few regrets. I miss my home state in my memories but I love Michigan and after living here since 1946 I guess I could call her home, I love Lake Michigan, I love to walk her beaches and hear the sound of sea gulls and feed them popcorn or bread and also I like to metal detect her beaches. I like it when people come up and ask me what I am doing or just to talk, there are a lot of tourist on our beaches in summer. I really get a kick out of the kids, they follow me and yell with delight when the detector makes a beeping sound and want to dig, I let them and if it is money I let them keep it, only after they ask their parents.

My son Doug gave me this computer and showed me how to use it, I will never know what he knows about computers. When I discovered blogging I was hooked, I have over a hundred blog sites on my bookmarks and a few on my side bar. I consider you all my friends and love to come and see what you are up to and love the reciepts you put on your posts. The stories are awesome and I like the animal stories and all the pictures of family and nature, you all have a exceptional quality of posting the right way, thank you my friends for coming to visit me, I wish you all the best, you have been a comfort in my loss of my furry friends and supportive in Dusty and Logan, God Bless you all, Margaret.

39 comments:

Patty said...

Good evening Margaret,
How awful living with an Aunt like that. Did your Mother ever give you a reason as to why she gave you kids up like she did? Or did she just give up after your Father passed? And did they name you after this Aunt?

My parents had it rough, Mom was 13, when they married, in May of 36, Dad had turned 18 in July of 36, Mom turned 14 in December. I was born in Oct, so Mom was still only 13. I was born two months early, born at home, weighed in at about 4 pounds. They had plenty of ups and downs in their marriage. And as bad as this sounds, the best time of my growing up years was when Dad was gone and in the Navy. He was always yelling at us about something. He expected us to act like grown-ups when we were small.

I went from living at home, to getting married, never lived alone. I got married two months after I graduated from High School, we were married on July 12, 1955, first baby came June 1, 1956, second one came May 10, 1957, third one came July 5, 1958, then I had two more surgeries for gall bladder and then about 18 months later for removal of adhesions and gall ducts were explored and drained. That was the worse surgery I've ever had. First surgery was when I was 16, had a dermoid cyst on my left ovary which had to be removed along with the tube. But apparently my right ovary was very healthy. LOL Then on March 7, 1962 our 4th baby came along. By this time things were running pretty smoothly, health wise and all. And lo and behold, I had another baby on June 27, 1973. Believe me I told the doctor I wanted that right ovary put out of commission.

Again everything was going pretty good, until I got something called sarcoidosis of the lungs. That was 1995, then Abe had an aortic aneurysm surgery in March of 96, and in July of 96 he had to have a hernia repaired in the lower part of his incision. In July of 97, I had breast cancer of the right breast, and again things were running pretty smoothly until Dec. of 2006, when I had breast cancer of the left breast. Thanks goodness, both times, there was no cancer in any of the lymph nodes, so I only had to do radiation treatments, except this last one, they have me taking Femera everyday for five years. Then of course, Abe's collapsed lung in Nov and again in Dec. otherwise, for two old farts, we're doing rpetty good. LOL

We've had a few ups and downs, no one can live together 24/7 without having some problems. If you met someone that says they never had problems, I say one of them is dead. LOL

Sorry for such a long comment. Sounds as though we both come from good stock. LOL Hope 2009 is a Happy Healthy year for us all.

Yankee Girl ~ Missy said...

I love reading your blog. To me it's a step back in time. Loved the story about steeling chickens. I can't believe that you dad went to jail for that. Hope you are having a very happy new year. God Bless

Anonymous said...

Margaret, thanks for sharing. I may think twice about complaining in future. I love to visit, now I have found you. Happy New Year Margaret to you and yours and well done Doug! :o)

Judy said...

Oh, Margaret, thank you for sharing your story with us. It made me cry to think about you and your siblings having to live with that woman. I love your blog and like to come over here and visit with you. I know your sons are very lucky guys to have a mother like you. Thank you for your comments on my blog. I am feeling much better and finished the antibiotics today. Just hope the tooth does not flare up again.

Kathleen said...

Hi Margaret,

Your stories remind me a lot of my mother's stories. She was born in 1933, on the farm, and had a temper hotter than a firecracker. The youngest of 6 kids, she was both spoiled and made to pull her weight. They were dirt poor, so Grandpa did whatever work he could find and Grandma went behind him to finish whatever he couldn't. They worked the farm, broke horses, gambled, and made moonshine during prohibition to make ends meet and keep from losing the farm. What tales she told!

Thanks for sharing your past with us. I love reading about you!

Anonymous said...

Hello Margaret..

I came over to tell you that I didn't write what was on my Happy New Year Blog... I copied it from an email I had received. I just like the way it was written.

And then I saw your post. Your growing up years sound a lot like my mother's family. Her mom and dad died while she was very young and she went to live with her brother and his wife. Some of the other children went to live in other homes. They all had some interesting stories to tell...

One of these days I might bare my soul, but not yet.

I'm so glad your son got you a computer so we could get to know you. I really enjoy visiting your blog!!

NCmountainwoman said...

I'm glad I found your blog. I will look forward to reading the archives. Thank you for sharing your interesting life. And Happy New Year!

sammawow said...

I really enjoyed your post today. It was all so very interesting. I was happy for you when you got your office job and the people were nice to you! I'm also glad that your son got you a computer and you started blogging!

P.S. You asked about my toy, Squeaky, from last week's Photohunt. Yes, Squeaky is a duck and he sits on my nightstand!

Squeaky was a duck with black button eyes, and orange felt beak and feet. There is a zipper on the bottom as he was filled with a pillow! And he was very fluffy too!

I'm trying to find a picture of how he looked when I first got him!

sammawow said...

Oh, I almost forgot to wish you, your husband and your cute ferrets a very Happy New Year!

Colleen - the AmAzINg Mrs. B said...

Hi Margaret (that was my Mother's name!)
I too enjoy your stories - history one should not forget or be lost for others to read and learn from. My mother-in-law tells great stories about her youth as well and I love hearing them. I tell my children and grandchildren now MY stories! I feel it's very important. I never knew any of my grandparents(they had all passes before I was born) so to hear stories and to share them with my grandchildren is very special to me.
Thank you for visiting me the other day. I hope you'll feel comfortable enough to visit again.
Have a wonderful week-end and , please more stories!
Colleen

Anonymous said...

O dearest Margaret! thank you ever so much for allowing me to look into the windows of your life today. I so enjoyed learning about your past...life was different back in the good old days that is for sure. Times were hard then and you have the skills today to weather the storm we are facing in our country right now. SO many do not...
the Bible says to be content in all circumstances...that is what makes one a survivor.
Thank you for coming to visit me so often...I have been such a tardy responder not leaving my calling card sooner. We need to time manage better around the cozy cottage...
New Years Blessings to you and your beloved ones from Miss Peach

Tesla and Hansel said...

wow! i came here acaz yoo saz yoo fink me iz hansum (DIS IZ HANSEL) an me an mommeh really luffed readin yoor bloggy! fank yoo fur sharin dis wif effuree one!

Cats~Goats~Quotes said...

What an interesting post!
I enjoy knowing some history of families. It is sad about how your aunt treated you. Am thankful you got out of it, but wish you could have sooner.

Bobbie of The Bunch

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It was very interesting to read and I am so happy you were able to put it behind you and raise good boys. I will enjoy stopping back to see you :o)

My Littel Island said...

WOW girl i just love your story and kiss and hug your boys (MAN) from me for giving you your pc your storry can u can make it longer i will be wating it made me cry and smile you made my day girl god blees

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the few moments of reading inside your heart....We all have a past that contributes to the person we become. If we could relive our pasts and change anything I most definately would not change any of it. The hell I put myself through with the choices I made have molded me into a strong spiritual woman 55 years in the making. I am proud of who I have become and thank the Lord daily for being by my side through it all. I know life ain't supposed to be easy at all and it's in those heart breaks and hurts that we learn who we are, what we are made of. God has always been beside you and He knew you'd be okay and I think you are and you know it in your heart Margaret as well as in the heart and the eyes of your children.
thank you for sharing with us...We all feel we know you a little more now
=^..^=

Gigi Ann said...

I have been busy the last few days and will be back to read your reflections tomorrow afternoon. Just wanted you to know I'm still around.

Merle said...

Dear Margaret ~~ Wonderful post and thank you for sharing it with us. It was great that your son gave you a computer and taught you how to use it. Because blogging is so wonderful. We become very close friends, although most of us will never meet. We share the good times and the sad times and feel so close.
I am so glad that you enjoyed the story of Molly, she is an inspiration.
I hope your son is feeling much better after his surgery by now. Glad you got some laughs. Take care, my friend, Love, Merle.

KC and the Giggleman Kitties said...

I really enjoyed the story too, it is a look back at another time. Your aunt sounds absolutely horrible.
I am very thankful for your son Doug giving you a computer and showing you how to use it.
We would have missed a very good friend, otherwise.
Love, ML

Gigi Ann said...

Hi Margaret,

What a story! To lose your father at such a young age and then go live with your aunt and be treated so nasty, I can't begin to imagine that. But, I was so glad when I read you got a job and was able to live on your own and support yourself. It was so nice that the people at work were so nice to you. Now you finally learned that the whole world wasn't like your aunt.

It was wonderful that you are happily married and have been together for 50 years. That is an achievement in itself. And to have raised to wonderful sons what a delight that was. Even though you had an unhappy childhood you rose above it and proved that. One thing for sure is, we can't change our past, but we can change how we want to live our lives now. I'm so glad you found happiness.

Sherry said...

Thank you for sharing your story. What a very difficult life your father and you have had. I am going to have my children read it tonight. They have no idea what life was like during this time. I am sure glad your son taught you to use a computer.
Blessings,
Sherry

Irene said...

Dear Margaret,
thank you for opening your heart. God bless you and your family. Wishing you a joyful, healthy, loving 2009.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Mrs. Cloud, thank you so much for sharing your incredible story with us.

As much as it hurt to live with that aunt, it made you the strong person you are today. As your grandfather said, if you can't stand your neighbor, learn to live with him (or something close to that, as I recall). It's true. You learned a great deal of patience, self-restraint and how to handle what was likely rage and anger and perhaps resentment and abandonment. You rose above all this and became a wonderful, loving person.

You did one heckuva job, and you're so very lucky to have found your husband.

I love reading your stories.

Cats~Goats~Quotes said...

We would like to thank you for coming by and leaving nice words for us about our Bandit.

~ The Bunch, minus one

Margaret Cloud said...

Once again I give thanks to all of you for coming by. It is comforting to see so many of you and as I have said I do like to visit you. One more thing, my Aunt Margaret died of cancer at the age of 85 years in a nursing home. There is a lot of things I have left unsaid, maybe another time, so thanks to all of you.

Ms. Tee said...

Hi Margaret :)

First, I wanted to say thank you for coming by and wishing me well - that was so sweet of you.

Second, your post was not boring at all. I loved reading all about your past and your family, and growing-up years. It's just wonderful to learn all of it and so interesting.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and have a great New Year. :)

Hugs to you!

Becky said...

What a great, but sad story Margaret. You certainly had some difficult times, but you survived, and are better for it. I enjoyed reading about your life.
Have a wonderful day, and good luck metel detecting. We can't get out now because of winter.
B.

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

Thanks for sharing this with us. You have led a very interesting life. Happy New Year,,,Hugs...m..

Kathleen said...

Thank you so much for sharing your very moving story. The coal mines and steel mills were a hard way to support a family. Both of my grandfathers worked in the mines and my dad did too until he was injured in a collapse. We were very blessed that he survived. When I turn on a light I often think that a miner made the electricity possible.

Kathleen said...

I forgot to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Forty Paws said...

This is sad that your Aunt was so evil and mean spirited toward you kids. Many families have these things that happen, and it eventually shapes us into who we are. Sad, but true.
We wish you a very happy New Year!

Luf, Us

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

I think that sharing what's on your heart is what blogging is about. THe good with the sad times. Even thou your aunt wasn't nice, you are:)Have a great weekend. Thanks for visiting me and for your concern and prayers.The candy in the photo does have pecans on the bottom.They were SO yummy. I wish I had more.
Deb

Anonymous said...

Hi Margaret, this is a very inspiring post which touches my soul. I am half of your age and the road is still a long way off for my family, though we are facing hardship, I always draw my strength from God, from friends and from inspiring stories like yours. This makes me moving and welcoming each day with gladness :)

Juliet

Back Through Time said...

I love reading your blog and I think you were meant to blog! you do a wonderful job.
I hope you have a great weekend, and thank you for sharing your memories.
Michelle

Angel MoMo and Charlotte said...

It's experience like this that makes me so grateful for what I have. We who were born in into middle class families in the latter half of the 20th century and have experienced little hardships have much to learn and a lot to be thankful for.

SS

Momo:
Thanks for the delicious warm milk! Great after a frolic un the snow.

Sabrina, Sam and Simon said...

Oh Margaret, I totally enjoyed reading about your life, feel sad about the few bad parts and overjoyed about the many wonderful parts that outnumber the bad. I always tell people the older I get the happier I am, and it is life's experiences that make us that way, I am sure. Discovering blogging has added an even deeper dimension to my life as it has yours. Thank you so much for sharing this, I loved reading it!
Many hugs to you and Charles,
Jan

Lilly said...

Margaret, your story is amazing. It really is. How horrible for you as a child to live through what you did. And your poor mother too. I am sure it was horrendous for her too. But what a wonderful lesson for you too in bringing up your own children. I bet you are a wonderful Mom as a result.

I think we need to hear more stories about the depression because things are going to get worse and people need to know how to live more economically.

Thank your son for us for getting you into blogging will you? Writing these posts is going to be truly wonderful for your family to always have. And it certainly is wonderful for us to read too. Its important we share our stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed it - it reminded me of similar stories my grandmothers told me - especially the bit about stealing chickens or turkeys or whatever. My grandfather was in trouble for stealing turkeys as a boy. Gosh life must have been hard then - we do not realise when we have it so good.

All the best to you and Charles and the furry one.

PS Tell Charles he is a lucky man indeed!!

Anonymous said...

You have had heartbreak in your life to lose your father so young..I really admire you for writing with so much truth and sharing it with your blogger friends...I haven't really ever done that online..not yet anyway..I am happy to have met you Margaret....Michelle..

Margaret Cloud said...

Thank you all for coming and someday I will write about my beginning.

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