On Her Birthday

My grandmother, Anna “Schumacher” Spencer had a cool motherhood story, when she gave birth to her firstborn, a daughter, Laura “Spencer” Fredrick on her own birthday…August 3rd, 1912. It was my grandmother’s 25th birthday. Nothing was ever said as to how Grandma felt about the special birth. Some people might have taken it all in stride, while others might have made it a big deal every year. Of course, much would depend on the era of such births too. The year 1912, likely found my grandmother having her child at home, and I don’t believe her parents lived in the same state. So, it was Grandma, Grandpa, and their baby daughter, in their remote little house in International Falls, Minnesota, where Grandpa worked in the lumber industry, and at that time, Grandma is a stay-at-home mom. Sometime before 1920 the little family moved to Ranger, Texas so Grandpa could work in the oil fields, but by 1922, they were back in Wisconsin.

Times were tough, and like many mothers, my grandma found herself running a hotel just over ten years later, while her daughter cared for her baby brother, my Uncle Bill Spencer. By then, Grandpa had gone to work for the Great Northern Railroad, and things got a little bit better. Later, two more children were added to the family, my dad, Allen Spencer and my aunt, Ruth “Spencer” Wolfe. Their family was complete. They were living in Holyoke, Minnesota then and they had a little farm. They grew hay and the kids all remember making haystacks. Grandpa was a carpenter with the railroad, making and repairing the seats, and other parts of the trains. Grandma and the kids did much of the farm work. That is often how it was back then.

My grandmother was one tough lady. She was no stranger to hard work, and the kids all learned to work hard too. Aunt Laura, being ten+ years older than the rest of her siblings, got married on May 5, 1932, and soon moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The rest of the family didn’t get to see quite as much of her after that, but they tried hard to keep in touch. Over the years, the family lived in a number of placed, including Casper, Wyoming and for Aunt Laura, Portland, Oregon, which is where She passed away on May 16, 2002 at the age of 89 years. Grandma passed away in July 11, 1956, in Superior, Wisconsin. I was just 2½ months old at the time, so I never knew her. Grandma was 68 years old at the time of her passing. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Spencer and Aunt Laura. We love and miss you very much.