Milbee Wallace (d.1967)
One of Emogene's chores was to feed the chickens, bring in the eggs, and close their doors at dark. She would go to the second floor in the shed and get some wheat from the grain bin for them. She would nibble on some of the wheat on the way. Once there was a sour (old) hen on the nest. Emogene would take the hen and throw her in the creek. That hen wouldn't get off the nest so Emogene could get the eggs. The next day that hen would be right back on the nest, squawking and complaining. Emogene would promptly throw her in the creek and douse her again! Eventually Ida killed that hen and the family enjoyed some chicken soup. The Gustafson family had a lot of chicks every year to raise. These chicks were ordered through the mail, so someone in the family was sent to the post office to pick them up.
During the summers, berry picking was a common chore. Emogene would pick strawberries for farmers and earned a few cents per quart. One year there were a lot of green beans as well. Emogene can remember having to pick and snap coutless green beans that summer to sell to the cannery in Iron River. She remembers not wanting to eat green beans for a long time after that incident. Willie had a bicycle, but he would never let Emogene ride it. Little did he know that when he wasn't around, Emogene would take his bike for rides! Emogene learned how to ride a bike from the experience and would often take Willie's bike down the lane to the mailbox to get the mail.
Emogene had seven girlfriends that lived nearby, so they got to play together quite often when they were done with their chores. In the wintertime, the girls would go sliding together. The Gustafson family had a big ravine and a large sheet of tin. Four or five girls would sit together at once on the tin and fly down the hill! The Gustafsons enjoyed sliding quite a bit. Sometimes they would visit the Franson's and slide down the road by the cemetery with a couple of bobsleds hooked together. Afterwards they would go into the Franson's house for hot chocolate.
During the wintertime, the ride to school on a horse and sleigh was very cold! Emogene would carry a flat iron wrapped in newspaper to try to keep warm. Her feet still were cold, so when she arrived at school, she would stay in the furnace room until she was warm. She would then go to class late, but the teacher never said anything. When the Nelsons go the bid to drive children to school, Emogene was delighted. The Nelsons had some fast horses. She didn't realize that those horses couln't run when they were loaded down on a sleigh full of school children, so it was back to a slow trip to school again, along with cold feet.
Dennis Wallace
Diane Wallace Vodden
Nancy Wallace