Tribute to Mrs. John D. Ure
One time however Aunt Martha was not so kind to Mom. Mother had been getting into her Hershey's chocolates and to teach her a lesson Martha substituted X-Lax for the chocolate. Needless to say mom learned her lesson.
Several of her brothers were in the piano business, Ferrill, Ed, Eugene, and Orlin. Mom loved to hang out around all of their shops and loved to go by Uncle Orlins where he invariably would be in the back yard standing with one shoulder lower than the other and coveralls on with only one strap on the shoulder. He would be cooking up a bunch of steaks on the grill and when Mom asked him who was coming by, he said he had no idea, but he would have plenty to eat for whomever showed up.
Uncle Ed could make a terrific pot of chili and we went by there often as well.
The primary purpose in Moms life was to provide for her family. She worked outside of the home for a short time for J.A. Petersons builder where she met many builders but one of her favorites was Don Stine. I had to laugh when she told me that in her mind she pictured him as a large stocky fellow and when she met him realized that he was of much shorter stature.
She was of the old school as having been taught by her mother that Monday was wash day and Tuesday was ironing. I know that Friday was to get ready for the Sabbath, but I am not sure about Wednesday and Thursday.
I have to digress for a moment to the most important aspect of her life and that was when she met my father. I heard the story many times and she could tell it so much better but here it goes.
When she turned 18 she decided to go to California. Her brother Edwin was in the Marines and that is what made her decide to go West. She got a job on the Naval Air Station in San Diego. She had to ride the bus to get to work and my father was the checker on the bus as a part of his duty. She had not gotten all of the passes that she needed and he gave her a hard time because she was so cute. She was Smitten by him and kept waiting for him to be on the bus but that duty only came up every few days. Dad was a spray painter in the Navy and painted things such as a PBY flying boat. He was in the Navy for 6 years and achieved the rank of First Class Petty Officer. When she finally caught a bus that he was on she was so thrilled. When she got on he was in the back of the bus and he wiggled his finger for her to come back to the back of the bus where he had a seat for her. Three weeks later they were married. Dad liked to say they met in July, married in August and Little Duffy was born in September. He always laughed at that and then explained that his first born was born one year later.
I have to tell you about the time that she threw a coffee table at him hitting him in the back. You would think it was over a big deal, however he was listening to a radio station and without asking just changed to another station. He changed it back and that is what precipitated the event. Later she said she had seen Aunt Edna Throw an ashtray at Uncle Ferrill and thought that was how she was supposed to act. Well, dad got mad and left stating he did not plan to stay there and went to the barracks. He smiled when he said he was back home the next night.
Early Life
