MY FAMILY By HAZEL SNOW 1
This book was created as part of Lifescapes, a senior writing project sponsored by Washoe County Library System, University of Nevada English Department, and Nevada Humanities. Copyright by the author 2008 Sparks Library Press 1125 12 th Street Sparks, NV 89431 www.lifescapesmemoirs.net 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS Beginnings p.4 My Father p.6 Grandmother p.7 Shoes p.8 Sauna p.9 Kitchen Stove p.10 The Unexpected p.11 3
BEGINNINGS My grandfather Eli Karkinen was born February 22, 1860 in Finland. He married Maria Kalliomaa who was born January 21, 1850 in Finland. Eli immigrated to America by himself, leaving Maria and the three children in Finland. The children were: John born April 29, 1881, Mike born September 23, 1883, and my mother, Hannah born March 30, 1887. Maria and their children came to America in 1889. They homesteaded in Runeberg Township, Becker County, Minnesota. Born in Minnesota were my mother s brothers and sisters: Nester, Hilda, Victor and Selina. When my father, Peter Blomberg, and mother were married, my mother s daughters Esther and Hulda became part of the family. I was born April 8, 1925 in Minnesota. My sister Helene was born November 13, 1923. My brother Elmer was born April 4, 1927. Our baby brother Charles was born March 1, 1931. We lived on a forty-acre farm across from my Grandfather s farm. We did not have electricity or running water in the house. For light in the house we used kerosene lamps. A kerosene lantern was used in the barn and sauna. My father did not milk cows; it was done by my mother. Later, when Esther and Hulda were older they helped with the milking. My mother worked very hard. During haying time she would work with my father putting up the hay for winter. Bread was baked two times a week. She carded wool, using the spinning wheel to make yarn. She knitted our stockings, mittens and caps for winter. Before we got a washing machine mother scrubbed our clothes using a washtub and scrub board, hanging them outside to dry. She nursed us when we were sick. We did not have aspirin for pain. She would sit by our bed and rub our headaches away, or our tummy aches. She would knit, crochet and tat. She sewed dresses for Helene and me. She washed our hair and cut it when needed. Mother washing clothes. 4
Sitting on steps: My mother Hannah Karkinen, my grandmother, Maria Karkinen. My grandfather Eli Karkinen, neighbor. House on Eli Karkinen homestead 5
MY FATHER My father was a Spanish-American War veteran. He did not talk about these years of his life. I was out of high school before I learned that I had a half brother. He lived in Canada, and my father had lived up there with John before moving to live with his sister in Minnesota. We met John only one time. He liked my sister Helene, but did not like me very much. He was a farmer and also was a very good carpenter. He built the big red barns in and around Minnesota. He also built our house in Menahga, Minnesota when we moved away from the farm. If any place that we moved to did not have a sauna, he would build one. My father seemed to feel the presence of spirits. One afternoon he was out splitting wood. He came in and told my mother that a neighbor came over and said good-bye. He did not come in body form but like a ghost. Next day we heard that the neighbor had died. Many times during a winter evening father would go visit at our neighbors. She and my father enjoyed talking about political problems, at times they got very outspoken. It was when father was gone that our mother and us kids would run around the house and up and down stairs. Our dog would join us, too. Mother enjoyed having a fun time with us. Father was more reserved and did not even allow us to talk or laugh at the dinner table. House my father built. 6
GRANDMOTHER My mother s mother had a stroke. They lived thirty miles from us. Our mother had to go to Grandma s farm to help take care of her. One evening about two weeks later dad told my sister Hulda to hurry and get the milking and the barn chores done. We were going to go see Grandma. When we were half way there a hearse went past us. My grandma had died. My dad had sensed this and thought we would get there before she died. When Grandma was sick her daughter-in-law Hilma lived across the field on the next farm. She was expecting her fifth baby. She did not feel well with this pregnancy. She told her husband Victor that she saw a bright light come from Grandma s window across the field to their house. She said, Grandma and I will die at the same time. Not long after this Aunt Hilma was taken to the hospital where she died. Grandma also died at the same time. Three souls went to Heaven as the baby died with the mother. Back row: Sisters Esther and Hurda. Middle: Hazel, Father, brother Elmer, Mother holding Hazel s neice, sister Helene. Front: brother Charles. Back row: Sisters Esther and Hulda. Middle: Hazel, Father with brother Charlie, brother Elmer, Mother with grandchild, sister Helene. 7
SHOES I remember the shoes my mother always wore. They were plain black with one-half inch heels and black laces. I have not seen this type of shoe in the stores anymore. My old comfortable tennis shoes had seen better days. A new pair did not feel comfortable for long walks. I was having problems finding a pair that would fit and feel good when walking. One day at the store I started trying on tennis shoes. Most of them were plain white; some gray, nothing fancy until I picked up a gray colored pair. What set them apart was the pink, sparkled with silver laces. The size looked right and they were narrow, the kind that I needed. The upper part was leather and they felt comfortable on my feet. The sale price was marked down to sixteen dollars. My granddaughter hated the color pink. I put them back on the rack and tried on others. It was funny, but I kept going back to the gray and pink shoes. I put them back on my feet and liked the way they fit. After all, I am an old woman of eighty-three. I have earned the privilege to be colorful, even on my feet. 8
SAUNA Nearly every Finnish home had a sauna. The sauna building had two rooms. One was a dressing room and the other was for bathing. The bathing room had benches along one wall, I one corner was the stove, usually made from a metal drum. Sheet metal was used around it and the rocks were put on top. When there was a wood fire the rocks on top would get very not. Along one side was a reservoir for water. This would get hot and some would be mixed in a bucket or pan with cold water. The hottest spot would be on the higher bench. To make humidity, you would throw a dipper of water on the hot rocks. Steam would fill the room and make you sweat. Once my cousin Melvin teased my brother-in-law that to cool the rocks he should throw water on the rocks. This was the first time he had ever been in a sauna. It was hot in there, so Homer threw cold water on the rocks. He was shocked to find out that this only made it much hotter! The dressing room had benches to sit on. Sometimes you would feel too hot to dress, so you could lie down on the bench to cool down. If you lived near a river you could jump into the cold water and then go back for more steam. In winter my father would go out into the snow and roll around and then go back for more steam. When we were little kids we went into the sauna as a family; father mother and the youngest children. When we were older we would bathe by ourselves or with our mother. My brothers would bathe with our father. I miss not having a sauna. 9
KITCHEN STOVE Our stove in the kitchen was a blessing through the cold winter months. The warmth of the steady wood fire would draw us into the kitchen. The coffee pot was always ready and hot on the stove. Our mother would pour some coffee into a cup, adding cream and sugar. This drink warmed our bodies and tasted so good. The stove had a water reservoir against the side next to the fire area. We did not have electricity we had to heat the water for kitchen use in this reservoir. A kettle full of water was kept on top of the stove. This hot water was used in cooking. My mother baked bread twice every week. After missing the ingredients and kneading the dough, she opened the oven door and placed the pan of bread dough on the open oven door to raise the dough. The smell of bread baked in the wood fired stove would draw us to the kitchen. The slice of fresh baked bread, spread with homemade butter was delicious. My father never ate the fresh bread straight from the oven. He liked his bread more than a day later. Above the stove us a unit called a warming oven. Some foods could be kept warm until everything was ready for dinner. It made it nice to keep pancakes hot when there were many people to feed. Our garden produced lots of cabbage. My dad would make sauerkraut. The big crock was put behind the kitchen stove to ferment the cabbage. The smell was not very pleasant, but the sauerkraut each winter made us tolerate the process. Our sister Hulda would slice raw potatoes and put them right on the hot stove top. Our wood burning stove was the heart of the kitchen. 10
THE UNEXPECTED We all experience times when the unexpected happens. How we meet these times makes us what we are today. Here are some of my embarrassing bloopers. I was baking zucchini bread to take to our walking group brunch. After mixing the ingredients I put the two pans in the oven. I start to clean the counter and I noticed that I had not mixed in the two cups of Zucchini. I took out the two pans and put the shredded zucchini in the mixture. I then finished baking the bread. When I took the pans of bread from the oven they did not look too appetizing. Fortunately, I had a back up dessert to take to the brunch. The bread tasted all right and I was the one who did eat it. Writing about baking I baked a lovely birthday cake for my mother-in-law. It was summertime so the door to the kitchen was open. I had the cake on the table and went out to tell everyone to come have cake and coffee. When we neared the house our big dog came out from the kitchen. When we entered the kitchen we found the empty cake plate on the floor. The dog had eaten the whole cake. I was so embarrassed and angry. You would not believe that nearly the same thing happened again. This time I had fixed myself a hot dog. I left it on a napkin on the counter and went to get catsup from the refrigerator. This time it was snatched and eaten by our big dog, Moose. Will I ever learn that I should be alert when our big dog is ready when he sees a snack! Hot air balloon races are so much fun to watch. We were getting ready to leave and started walking back to our car when I stubbed my toe. I fell flat on my face. I was so embarrassed and then I saw that my nose was bleeding. Someone offered me a towel, but I had a handful of Kleenex. I wear glasses but they did not break. When we got home I washed my face and saw there were scratches. I later got the black eyes. We lived in a farmhouse that was thought to be haunted. Years before a man had hung himself in the upstairs. Scariest of all were the noises we heard from upstairs when all of us were downstairs. One evening when Esther, My sister, was home alone and the rest of us had gone visiting; she heard someone walking upstairs. It scared her so she ran out of the house and started walking up the road to meet us. She told Dad about the sound of walking upstairs. He went upstairs, but did not find anyone up there. We did hear these sounds quite often. One evening dad came in and told us not to go outside. Our big mean bull had jumped the fence. Dad and our neighbor were going out to find him. Because the bull was so unpredictable, dad decided to sell him. Roosters can be mean, too. One big rooster would attack us when we went outside, especially our sister Esther. Our mother worried that 11
we may get hurt. She caught him and chopped off his head. We had chicken for dinner that Sunday. When we were kids, we would help our mother in the garden. One day my sister Helene picked up a hoe to do some weeding. Our brother Elmer wanted it. Helene flung the hoe down and ran toward the house. Elmer picked up the hoe and ran after her, hitting Helene on the head. Fortunately, It did not do damage except she got a headache and Elmer got a scolding. In winter we would go sledding. My sister Hulda took a running start and belly flopped on the sled. She landed very hard and got a bad nosebleed and a swollen nose. 12