My Grandma (Monica) Age 73 grew up in a country town called Holler, which is now known as South International falls. She was born at home and not the hospital, which is where most babies were born back then. Grandma had three sisters and two brothers when growing up. Her Dad was a band teacher, which meant she had to take piano lessons. My Grandma was deathly afraid of the dark but still had to go most nights to the chicken coop to close it up. This was really frightening to her because at this time there was no electricity they instead had to depend on kerosene lanterns to light their pathway and to put in their windows so they could find their way back home.

Grandma went to St. Thomas Catholic School in International Falls. Schools were very different back then. You could pray. They started every day off with a short prayer. Schools were very strict. You would never dare talk unless you raised your hand first and than wait until you were called-on by the teacher. The teacher’s could spank or hit you with a ruler on your hand for punishment. When the kids wanted a drink of water they would have to wait until bathroom break. The water was warm since they didn’t have coolers for their fountains at this time. They also did not have lockers, so they would have to use cloakrooms. A cloakroom is what we would consider a closet and that’s where they all would have to keep their coats, hats, etc.

Grandma didn’t have very many clothes. She wore the same clothes two to three times a week. She would only have four to five outfits a year. In school the girls were not allowed to wear pants or jeans. They had to wear either skirts or dresses. The only place grandma was allowed to wear overall jeans was at home. Also kids had to always wear long wool underwear all winter long. Washing clothes was very difficult which was probably one of the reasons people didn’t have as many outfits back then. Some women even broke their fingers from getting it caught in the ringer.

Kids were responsible to do many more chores in those days. Grandma and her sisters had to do dishes everyday. This was more than just putting them in the dishwasher, they had to heat up the water and use two large tubs, one for washing and the other for rinsing. When they were done with that they had to dry and put away every dish. Grandma and her siblings had to carry in firewood or coal everyday to keep their wood/coal burning stove. Also, they didn’t have a toilet until the kids were older, they had to use the outhouse. When they had to go at night they had to use a container and in the morning they would have to dump it out and clean it. They didn’t have a refrigerator so instead they had to use an icebox. The icebox was very little it had a large block of ice in it. They would have to clean it out everyday because the food would only last that long in it. It didn’t work as well as refrigerators do but that’s all they had in those days.

If kid’s found a dime they thought they were rich. Grandma use to babysit to earn money for herself. The very most she would get was 50 cents. She thought that was a lot! For 10 cents you could buy a whole bag of candy. My grandma saved her money for quite a while because she wanted to buy a dress. Finally after quite some time she was able to save two dollars so she went to JCPenny’s and bought a dress for $1.75.

Grandma never heard of pizza, McDonalds, or any other fast food until she was married. When she was growing up everything had to be from scratch. Most of their vegetables came from their garden. Their cow supplied them with milk and cream. Their hens supplied them with eggs and they canned their vegetables and some fruits to eat at a later time.

There was both love and discipline in Grandma’s house. She would get spanked if she did something wrong. Her dad (my great-grandpa) was very strict. If he had to pick her up from someplace he expected her to be ready for him at exactly the time he had told her. One time she remembers when her dad left her because she was late coming out of school (from an after school function) and she had to walk home (which was miles from her house).

When people were sick back then they wouldn’t go to the doctor like they do now. She does remember having a bad ear infection once and then she had to go to the doctor. That was the only time until she was much older. She also never went to the dentist until she was older. The medical care was definitely not as good as it is now. Her brother, Lawrence, died of a bursted appendix he was only 11 years old and she was only seven at the time, that was very difficult for her and her family. There were many children in Grandma’s class that died from different illnesses that now can be taken care of with immunizations.

The baby care was pretty much the same. One thing that was very different was all babies had to wear cloth diapers. Babies had to wear long sleeved under shirts that were pinned to their diaper. Most of their outfits were handmade. They would have to use many blankets for babies to keep them warm since many houses were so cold compared to now. Parents had to mash up their baby’s food themselves. One other thing she mentioned was the buggy’s they hadn’t invented strollers yet. They were so big and bulky that you really had to find room to store them.

Social life was a lot like it is now. They went to the movies but the movies were "silent" and "black and white". Grandma fondly remembers the first time she went to a silent movie was when she was 8 years old. Not too long after that they had "talking movies" but they were still black and white for years later. They had dolls, and played softball, and hung out with friends. Another thing that was popular was skating, either ice or roller-skating. The major difference was there were no malls, TV’s (which also meant no video games), computers or really not a lot of free time just for themselves!

Interviewing Grandma really made me understand where she came from and how lucky we are to have so many things that make our lives easier. Also, I would like to mention that Grandma lost her mother to cancer when she was 17 years old and that was the most difficult thing for her during her childhood. She really had to grow up fast after that. Grandma seems to really enjoy the things that we take for granted and now I know why. Her husband (my grandpa) of fifty-four years just passed away last month so I really appreciate her being able to do this interview for me. Thanks Grandma, I Love You!

By: Karissa Showen