Nan

Elizabeth Louise {Jenkins Wood} Heinl - 1917 - 2014

Recently, while researching family history, I thought I might look through some of the family member bibles that were among Mom's things.  I found this in one of them and thought it was so appropriate in these times as divisions grow in this country.  Let's never let them grow within the family.   (So wise.)

Memo to My Children

My love for you does not depend
     (Has not since you were born.)
On whether my views you defend,
     Adapt dismiss or scorn.

So when your thoughts and mine oppose,
     My wish, all else above,
Is that my understanding grows
     In measure with my love.

For Nan's Journal on her 1964 trip to Europe, follow this link

 

 

Precious

A POEM ABOUT NAN by Precious Wright

Roses are red, Violets are blue, You are the only person I knew born on April Fools.
Your first name is Betty and when we first met, we took it pretty steady.
Although I want to cry, I will always remember your favorite was Rhubarb Pie.
I will not forget when we had a seat, I asked to rub your feet.

When I laughed, I always choked, because with you I loved to joke.
Every time I was with you for a while, I always loved to see that big smile.
With you I could never fear
For you always called me "my dear."

You were always in your big brown chair and Yaya did your soft curly hair.
I remember we used to laugh and play with Monster all day.
You always smelled like cherries and outside we used to eat black berries.
I remember we used to get some sun, we would always have so much fun.

I liked to help you down the stairs, when you were sitting in your wheel chair.
Your hugs were more soothing than sitting in a warm Jacuzzi.
I'll always treasure my birdhouse. It was the size of a tiny mouse.
Your lipstick would be red, just like Santa's sled.

By the fireplace filled with soot, you taught me how to play Hand and Foot.
Your personality shined so bright, it almost made me lose my sight.
My time with you is now due, but in my head our memories dance ahead.
And those memories will never be dead.

I have a future that awaits, but meeting you was one of the GREATS.
I'm sorry our time is done, but I will never forget our fun.
The future is something to look forward to.
But for now all I can think about is YOU!.

A little humor

The artwork in the background was done by mom in her youth.

 

Mom's 1972 Christmas Letter started with the following:

We used to live where we are no more
     We've moved where we never were before-
You know where we were
      But not where we is;
So here's the new address where 'tis:  (Yakima address)

 

April 1, 2017

Mom (Nan) on her 90th Birthday.

I remember many times telling her that I don't mind buying this or that if it gives me more free hours because time was money to me.  I felt that I worked hard and that I needed some conveniences to ease my life.    She must have thought "kids these days are so spoiled." When I think of all the things she did while I was growing up to make sure that we had what we needed, I regret ever telling her that.

At 38, she lost her second husband and had to learn how to run a fruit ranch and make a living to support six children.  I don't ever remember seeing her sit down and relax.  If she was sitting she was either at the table eating the dinner she had prepared for everyone or sitting at a sewing machine making clothes for someone.  Along with managing the fruit ranch, she also sold Avon and eventually worked for the local newspaper, gathering and writing news and went on to become the Editor of a weekly newspaper.  Each year she planted a small garden,  canned  fruit and vegetables, made cakes for school fundraisers and helped out neighbors when needed.  She always made sure we had what we needed for school, that we had transportation to our activities and often hosted family gatherings at the ranch.

Mom grew up during the depression.  She knew what it was like to be poor and get by on little.  Her parents lost their home during this time and what she had she took care of and appreciated.  She learned as her mother did, to cook well and make something out of nothing.  Nothing went to waste around the ranch.  She found a use for it.  Once she made my sister a prom dress and made one to match for my doll.  Most of my doll clothes were made from scraps of material left over from other sewing projects.

One on Nan's art pieces from her high school days at Yakima High (that later became Davis).

When I think of her these days, I remember how fortunate I was to have her live with me the last two years of her life.  I hear her laughing and telling stories and I am reminded of all of the times we sat and played cards.  She loved reading books and when she could no longer read, I would play audio books for her.  Some of her favories were a mystery series involving cats.

We had this black cat named Monster.  She often said she would never move into my home because of this cat but she finally did and she and Monster became the best of friends.  He would lay on her bed while she did her morning exercises and whack his tail on her arm as she counted out her exercises.  He was as fond of her as she was of him.

She approached life with a positive attitude and never complained about anything.  She always enjoyed helping with some project around the house and we tried to find things for her to do to feel useful.  Most of all, she loved the visits and phone calls from her kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Her family was always the most important part of her life.

Should any family member have some memories of Nan they would like to share, please send them to me by email and I will add them to this page.

 

 

Betty's Recollection During the 30s and 40s

 Editors Note:  I am not sure what year I took these notes but I do think it was before Mom came to live with us in Renton.  I asked her what she recalled about the time of her youth, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, WW2 and the Depression.  While I don't believe we ever got a chance to finish this, here are the recollections that she had of this time in her life.

Nan;s Recollection

"I was born April 1, 1917 in Yakima, Washington and was in my 20's and early 30's during this decade.  I was married, had two children and lived in many places during the decade.  

I was also employed at the National Youth Administration (NYA) in Seattle.  The NYA was a program started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the purpose of training people throughout the country who were unable to afford to go to college and the NYA provided training so that they could find work. The program offered them training in areas that assisted with the war effort.  For example, they might learn to weld for employment with shipyards or Boeing.  There were many such opportunities through this training.

Youth would come from all over the country, received their training and their living at no expense to them.  They were snatched up for jobs as quickly as they received their training.  Often companies would call our organization and ask for so many youth trained to do certain jobs.

I also held a job prior to this one in Ellensburg, WA to another FDR program that had to do with farming and offered programs for farmers to help them make a living on their farms.

I married the USO director in Seattle.  Service men would hang out at the USO and play pool, card games, watch movies, etc.  It was a social setting for service men.  My husband organized sports events for participation by the service men.

We lived in Seattle when we met and then moved to Riverside, California and then to Herlong California where he also served as USO Director.  Later we moved back to southern California and he passed away in 1947.  I was faced with raising two small children on my own and moved back to Yakima area to be near family. 

One of the unpleasant parts of the 40's had to do with the government rationing program which meant sacrifices for everyone.  The rationing was set up to deal with shortages caused by the war effort.  During the war, all people were issued ration coupons for certain purchases.  For example, shoes, sugar and other items were part of the ration limitation offered.  A person could only buy two pair of shoes a year.  This was particularly hard for families that had small children who's feet grew more quickly than their 2nd pair would carry them in one year.  People would often trade coupons with others who would not need the extra shoe coupons.  Sugar was also rationed which changed the cooking habits of many.

Many of the women's clubs would knit scarves, mittens and hats to send to the service men and our allies.  

My brother was in the Navy.  He flew in a fighter plane which was a dangerous mission.  Many of them did not come back.  In Seattle, there were lots of people involved in the war effort.  Many companies made parts for weapons for the war effort.  In the NYA, we would get calls from companies that needed people for jobs and most of these were in the war effort.

I imagine that every family was affected by the war in some way.and especially people who had children that were serving their country.  Many came home and many did not.  The war caused many to be fearful of what it meant to our country.  Because of rationing, all families had some level of involvement in the war effort.

Everyone was very happy when it ended.  President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met with the Japanese to sign papers that the war was over.  That was a thrilling thing, done on a battleship or destroyer belonging to our country and it was quite a deal and very impressive to know that the war ended in our favor.  I do not remember celebrating the end of the war.  It ended when I lived in Herlong, which was an Army post where ammunition was stored during the war.  The ammunition was stored under cover in rows.

I wasn't surprised at the end of the war.  People expected it to end.  I wasn't surprised that it started either but it was a thing of concern because our young people were going over to fight.

I did not hear about the Holocaust.  Hitler was disliked by everyone.  In the news you would read different things about the Germans and I don't recall there being any movies that showed the situation there.  It wasn't until after the war that news of the Holocaust started coming out.  Many Germans did not even believe that these atrocities went on in their country.

When I was 19 years old, my folks had a mortgage that amounted to probably $1500.  It was probably between $2500 and $3000 to purchase in the beginning.  Many people had difficulty at that time making a living.  I don't think my mother ever had a time when she did not worry about money and had to manage a househld with a small amount of money."  [Her parents lost their home which was quite a substantial loss for them.]

 

Nan's German Potato Salad and Annice Ortman's Chocolate Cupcakes

Nan wrote this at the time we compiled the Heinl family cookbook.  It may not have been included there so it has been added here.

German Potato Salad:

"I make the amounts of ingredients according to how much I need to make.  Boil potatoes with skins on until slightly firm.  Skin and cut in bite-size slices.  Chop up celery and onions, green pepper, hard-boiled eggs and cooked bacon strips.  

For the salad dressing use mayonnaise and thin down slightly with a little vinegar or sweet pickle juice.  Sometimes I use a few chopped sweet pickles.  The secret of this salad is to pour in a little of the bacon drippings.  Of course, use salt and pepper to taste.  Sometimes a little chopped parsley is nice.  I make this not long before I need it as it is best warm at room temperature."  

Nan goes on to talk about her history of cooking.  "Before living alone I didn't mind cooking, preparing nourishing meals for the family and often using some fancier recipes for company meals.  

When I was growing up my mother could put together a delicious meal with little or nothing.  She rarely referred to a recipe so it wasn't easy to know the amounts and contents of my favorite things she made.

Mother (Nana to her grandchildren) and her mother (Grandma Taylor) were well known for German Potato Salad.  It took me a few years before I could ome closer to the flavor. Nana made wonderful coffee cake and when she did there would be from 10 to 12 warm cakes on the counter when I cae home from school.  Some were topped with butter, sugar and cinnamon while others were topped with apple slices covered with sugar and cinnamon.  Many of these were given to friends and neighbors.  But on that day there was always a neighbor or two, or friends having care and coffee with mother in the living room.,

During those times people didn't call first but would drop in for a visit.  When mother didn't have much on hand she would whip egg whites into peaks, sweeten with a little sugar and vanilla.  She generously spread this on saltine crackers and put them in the oven to give them a golden glow.  But do watch them at this time.

One of mother's dear friens, Annice Ortman, was a wonderful cook too.  One of her recipes "Chocolate Cupcakes" was a favorite of mothers; and mine.  Annice's Chocolate Cupcakes:  Add ingredients in this order:  1 egg, 1/3 cup Cocoa (unsweetened powder), 1/2 cup shortning, 1 1/2 cup sifted flour, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 teas. salt, 1 teas. soda, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup boiling water.  Mix only until all is moistened.  Do not overbeat.  Bake for 15 minutes in 350 degree oven in cupcake tin.  You can make icing for these with butter, milk, powdered sugar and cocoa.  But there are lots of frostings in the stores now."

Other recipes that Nan made that were put in the family cookbook were her Spinach Salad, Grandma Heinl's Springerle recipe and our annual Christmas Cookies.