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At what time in your life were you the happiest and why?
What was the happiest time of your life? I was my happiest when all three of our children were young. I loved watching them grow and learn and still want to snuggle. I’ll admit it got better when the babies started…
Christmas, New Years Eve and My Final Story
It’s New Years Eve 2021 and the two of us are sitting in our living room together watching television. I’m feeling sad because, let’s face it, we are too old to party much anymore. Our friends, many of them who are…
Cookie Baking with the Kids and Grandkids Over the Years
I always enjoyed making cut out sugar cookies with the kids when they were little. Some of them loved to cut them out and would stick it out for the whole batch and others would disappear after a few pans. They always…
Did you ever move as a child? What was that experience like?
I was born in a farmhouse Northeast of Clarksville and went to a country school a couple of miles away. When I was in third grade, we moved to a farm outside of Sumner near Buck Creek. I also went to a country school…
Did you have any nicknames as a child? How did you feel about them?
My Dad either called me Louisa or Josephine. Luckily others didn’t pick up on it. Louisa was because of my middle name which is Louise. I didn’t mind because he used it when teasing me in a happy way.
Do you believe that people can change? Why or why not?
Yes, I definitely believe that people can change! My father was an alcoholic and not a happy-go-lucky one. My Mom put up with way too much and kept her marriage going. I have some pretty bad memories from my early…
Do you know what your first words were?
I know you will think I’m making this up but, I had a cousin Bob Piehl and I was always told that my first word was Bob. I don’t really remember the rest of his family. He was the son of my Dad’s sister Mildred. We…
Fads and clothes worn in my high school years
Since my family didn’t have much money to spend on clothes and seldom went shopping, I was lucky to have my sisters Lavon, Marva, and Norma who looked out for me. Lavon and Norma were my size, so I got hand-me-downs…
Favorite Pictures
Sorry, I goofed last week and didn’t do a story. It’s hard to do you know! So I’ve decided to send a couple of my favorite picture memories. It was one of the very rare times we have all been together. It was a very…
Has anyone ever rescued you, figuratively or literally?
As everyone knows, I can’t swim, and I hate water. We used to go on weekend stays with several other couples. While staying in a motel a group of us were in the hot tub. I got up from sitting on the edge and when…
How did you celebrate your 30th birthday?
Since my thirtieth birthday was actually more than fifty two years ago I haven’t any idea how I celebrated it. I do remember that I dreaded becoming thirty. Somehow it felt like I was becoming OLD. I do remember how I…
How did you rebel as a child?
I was actually very shy as a child and didn’t rebel much. Dad had a razor strap hanging on the wall as a threat if we misbehaved. He never did use it but we knew it was there. Mom had two rules. Do not spit and do not…
How do you prefer to travel?
Traveling has been one of my favorite things in life. I’m not sure which mode of travel I like best. It is nice to fly somewhere and then rent a car so you can drive to the things you want to see. Traveling by car with…
How is life different today compared to when you were a child?
There are many ways that life is so different now than it was when I was a child. The first thing that comes to mind is that we didn’t have bathrooms. Nothing like going to the outdoor privy on a cold winter night. I…
If you could see into the future, what would you want to find out?
I would want to find out what my kids, grandkids and the great grandkids are doing with their lives. What their jobs are, if they are married, do they have kids and are they are happy. Since there are always so may…
Learning to Dance and Fun Times at Dances
My Dad loved to dance and expected us to learn. I remember the rug being rolled back in the old farm house and learning to waltz, polka, and two step with Dad as my partner. There was a dance hall called Fishers out…
Learning to Ride Bicycle
I had an Aunt and Uncle who lived in Clarksville and I frequently stayed at their house. Clayton and Irene Elliott were my Mom’s sister and brother-in-law. Clayton was always very good to me. They had a daughter Colleen…
My Brothers and Sisters
I come from a family of five girls, two boys, and a foster brother. My sister Gladys was born in 1932 and was sixteen years older than me. She moved to Clarksville with my grandparents to go to high school so she never…
My Chicken Story
Sorry Mike and Ellie I’m desperate this week so telling my chicken story. When I was growing up my parents always had chickens. Smelly dirty chickens. Hens for eggs to sell and roosters to butcher. It was my job to…
My First Job
My first job lasted one night! My brother-in-law John Flugga got me a job setting type, at night, for a price list at Hoxie Fruit Company in Waterloo. It was to be me alone in a huge warehouse full of wagon loads of…
My grandparents
My grandfather Henry Frericks was born in Germany on May 10, 1852. In 1877 he married my grandmother Bilda Tiedens, who was also born in Germany in 1857. They lived in Hollen Ostfriesland Germany until 1892 when they…
Our Grandchildren Andrew and Elena Fenneman
Andy was born April 4th, 1993 in Iowa City, Iowa. His parents are Mike and Natalie. Andy has always been one of the sweetest and kindest people I know. He is very intelligent. I’m not just saying this because I’m his…
Our Grandchildren Mandy and Anthony Marshall
Mandy was born on March 1, 1979 in the Charles City, Iowa hospital. In 1979 grandparents weren’t allowed on the maternity floor, so our first sight of her was on a TV screen in the gift shop. It was love at first sight…
Our history in pictures
This week I would like to add pictures of Bob and I when we were dating and on into our marriage. This last picture was taken at our 50th anniversary party.
Our one hundred dollar vacation
When we were first farming we had very little money to spend on any traveling. In 1963 Joyce saved money from selling our extra eggs. My parents took care of Rhonda and Mike and we set off on a trip to Chicago with one…
Our Step Grandaughters Lindsay and Mandy Landers
When Scott married Joyce we got to add two more granddaughters to our family. We enjoyed the girls so much when they were young but as they grew older they drifted away more and more. We realized that they had two other…
Our Well Kept Secret
Bet none of you knew that we had this tour bus in Nashville. Sometimes it was hard for Bob to maneuver all the highways while I used the microphone and pointed out all the points of interest. A friend took this picture…
Pets and Me
Everyone assumes that I don’t like animals but as a child I had a collie dog named Buster that went everywhere I went. He died when I was 13. I also had a pet goat and lots of farm kittens that I played with. After…
September 10, 1938
On September 10th 1938 a beautiful (well Mom and Dad thought so,) baby girl was born to George and Pauline Frericks in a farmhouse Northeast of Clarksville, Iowa. The doctor assisting was Dr. Edward Mark. They named her…
Some of my memories of our trip to Europe
Aside from the memories of all the wonderful things we got to see it was also a fun trip of meeting people. We had a lady who owned a tour bus company, and she was accompanied by another lady who owned a guest ranch in…
The Covid Pandemic and its affect on our lives
The pandemic has been very stressful and scary for everyone. I’m sure we all thought it would run its course and life would go back to the comfortable way we all remembered it. When we were first told to stay in our…
Veterans Day 2021
Today is a great day of honoring veterans. Also, today is the day that the banks close to remember our veterans. I am feeling sad today because for probably the last 42 years I have gone shopping with Rhonda on this…
Were you involved in any organizations in high school?
When I was in high school there weren’t very many organizations to be involved in. I was terrible at sports so never did any of them. My one sports experience in PE was throwing my bat after hitting the ball and the bat…
What are some of your special talents?
I don’t feel that I have any special talents. I can’t sing, can’t dance, can’t draw, can’t play the piano, can’t sew. This makes me feel very untalented. I did love to bake, raise my kids, take care of grandkids and…
What are your favorite movies?
My all-time favorite movie was Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks is probably my favorite actor. Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man and Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail, Sandra Bullock in any movie, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and Patrick…
What are your favorite possessions? Why?
When trying to think of my favorite possessions I’ve discovered that possessions really don’t mean all that much to me. I would rather save my money and use it for traveling. I do like the antiques that I have that…
What are your favorite TV shows?
You do all realize don’t you that TVs weren’t in every home when we were younger. We had a neighbor who was one of the first to get one and we were invited down at times to watch with them. I was in high school before…
What do you want to say to your Valentine?
Guess I’m going to be very sentimental and sloppy. I feel like I have been one of the luckiest people on earth to find my best friend while I was still in high school and fall in love with him. Bob has been the very…
What is one of your favorite drinks?
It’s really hard to make much of a story out of this simple question but I’m lazy this week. I would say that my favorite drink would be a pina colada. It is made of rum, coconut, and pineapple juice. Wish I had one…
What is one of your favorite trips that you've taken? What made it great?
Our favorite trip, of course, was our trip to Europe but we have always loved traveling anywhere. I’m so thankful that Bob loves to travel too. We have friends that one likes to travel and the other doesn’t. That would…
What is one trait you would most like to improve in yourself?
I am a very judgmental person and I realize it. I let things bother me that really shouldn’t. Why should I care if someone dyes their hair blue or wears their pajama bottoms out in the world? Why do people live in dirty…
What is the best job you've ever had?
The best job I ever had was at Echter’s Flower Shop. I had taken a flower arranging class and applied at Echter’s in Charles City on an impulse one day while I was shopping there. I was having the useless empty nest…
What simple pleasures of life do you truly enjoy?
I enjoy having people at our home. Especially our family and friends. I envy people whose children and grandchildren live in the same town and who drop in often. I like to bake and cook. Would like it better if I had a…
What was the neighborhood you grew up in like?
I grew up in a farming neighborhood where your neighbors were also your friends. When there was work and they needed help they all worked together. Early on it was threshing and later years baling hay and straw.…
What was your first boss like?
I actually had two bosses at Cowan and Cowan Wholesale Lumber in the Marsh Place Building in Waterloo: Bill Cowan and Harold (Stump) Shultz. Mr. Cowan was the owner. He was a young man with a family and rather quiet. On…
What were you like when you were 30?
Does everyone realize that it has been almost thirty three years since I was thirty years old? At that age I had three small children. Rhonda was eight years old, Mike was six, and Scott was almost two. So I was busy…
What were your favorite subjects in high school?
My favorite subject was math. It might have been my dad’s influence because he would help me with my math. He could get the answer to the problems in his head before I could figure it out on paper. In high school I…
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What were your favorite toys as a child?
Since we were a large family, my toys were whatever was passed down from my older sisters. I remember a box with dolls and doll parts (legs, bodies, heads, and arms) but not a specific doll that was mine alone.…
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Our honeymoon was only a few days long. We got married on Sunday afternoon and after our reception we went back to Mom and Dad’s to change clothes. We then drove all the way to Iowa Falls to spend the night. On Monday…
Who have been your closest friends throughout the years?
I don’t remember any particular friends that I had in country school. I started going to Clarksville in the fourth grade. I made friends with Kay Cagley Greeley, Betty DePuew Miller, and Shirley Leerhoff Buhr. Kay was…