Marie Marie Dickerson Oman

I have many fond memories of my childhood. I would like to share these memories in this journal so that future generations can enjoy the simpler times I enjoyed growing up.

I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and was one of five children. My youngest sister died when she was eight of leukemia. Of course, there was no medical knowledge at the time of this disease, so it was very sad and hard on our family. My father was a farmer and my mother was a homemaker. My mother’s parents originally came to the United States from Germany and migrated to Wisconsin. Once in Wisconsin, they heard about land in Nebraska that they could homestead and were instantly fascinated. My uncle gave my parents land to farm.

Since my mother was from Germany, I remember her telling me stories about how she could only speak the German language, and not English, when she started school in the United States. I wish she would have taught me the language; however, I do not believe my dad wanted me to learn it. He felt that since this was the period of time during WWI, it was not a good thing to be touting that I spoke German.

My school days were filled with walking to school ¼ mile away. Needless to say, I went through a lot of shoes. It was a large school, and housed students through the 8th grade. I remember that in order to get into high school there was a test that was required to be taken.

Growing up on a farm was very labor-intensive. We didn’t have modern conveniences. My mother would wash our clothes by hand. When it came to food, all of it was homemade. I was involved in helping my mother and her sisters can fruits and vegetables. We would then place them in the cellar to keep the food cold. Refrigerators? What were those? This was our version of a refrigerator! We had lots of chickens on the farm, so I would be responsible for collecting the eggs and making sure they got put into the “refrigerator.” My mother also made homemade noodle soup and would make the noodles by hand. We cooked on a stove that was fueled by coal. We always planted potatoes on the farm, and I would help put them in the cellar. However, during the winter months I would also have to help get them out and de-sprout them.

Since all of the food was homemade, I remember making trips into the canyon to pick wild plums and chokecherries. My mother would make wonderful jellies and butter. The chokecherries would also be used to make a sauce for the waffles. However, my favorite snack of all time was cornbread and milk. Mmmm…

There were many other chores I tended to on the farm, including feeding the pigs, chickens and calves. I remember putting my fingers in the milk pail and having the calves suck the milk. There was also a time when a tornado tore the roof off of the chicken coup and my sister and I had to bring the chickens in the house to dry them by the stove.

My family had many traditions growing up as a child. Our Christmas tradition included going to my grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve for oyster stew and oyster crackers. Christmas included “real” candles on the tree. Keep in mind that strings of lights weren’t around at this time. My dad and aunt would keep watch over the tree, and would pinch the candles to make them go out. Ouch! Before we began opening presents, we would all sing at the piano, and all of the children had to sing, “Away in a Manger.”

Another tradition was that every Sunday we went to church. It’s interesting, because my grandfather and brothers actually built the church and the pastor stayed on the land. My sisters and I sang in the church choir and sometimes at funerals. We had lots of church activities, and our youth group had gatherings once a month on Fridays.

I was like any kid growing up…I liked to play. We had a grove of trees near our house and I made many tree houses. I used old boxes for a make-shift stove. I would pretend that the dark-colored sand was “pepper” and the light-colored sand was “salt.” There was a time when my father took an old water tank that had rusted out on the bottom and smoothed out the rough edges. I would get in it and roll down the hill. I also spent many winters sledding and ice skating on the frozen creek.

One of my first jobs was going to work in a cannery with my sisters. The boys went to pick apples. The girls did not have any gloves and our hands got pretty beat up. We were responsible for making sure that certain-sized pears were put in the cans.

As I got older, my favorite memory was the trip to Washington. My brother had a car with a canvas top and a rumble seat. If you don’t know what a rumble seat is, look it up! There were six of us that made this trek back in the 1930’s. It was raining heavily in Wyoming and the top started to sink lower and lower with the water piling on top. We had to stop to drain the water off, because if you touched the top, it would start to leak. In addition, on our return trip, my cousin saw a wheel come off of the car, and asked, “What is that wheel doing out there?” It was definitely a fun, enjoyable trip that I will never forget.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention all of the interesting sayings I heard as a child that I oftentimes use today. I have listed them below along with their interpretation.

- “Grab a root and growl” – (sit down and eat).

- “Knee-high to a grasshopper” – (not big).

- “Born in a barn?” – (why didn’t you shut the door?)

- “By Golly, Miss Molly” – (goodness sakes)

- “One side or a leg off” – (get out of my way)

- “I’m alright, the world’s all wrong” - (self explanatory)

- “I’ll shake you ‘til your teeth rattle” – (in trouble)

- “Nix come rouse in a Dutchman’s house” – (full of baloney; I don’t believe what you are saying).

It was enjoyable and fun growing up, even though there were some hard times. However, I would not change a thing! These memories will always be treasured and kept close to my heart.

Survivors, children; daughters Pat Farnes, and Sally &(Ronnie) Walker, son Rod &(Rhonda) Oman, sister; Gladys Swaim, grandchildren; Bobby Farnes, Johnny &(Barb) Farnes, Lacinda &(Derek) Harris, Justin &(Dorina) Miller, Wade Oman, Jessie &(Janice) Oman, great grandchildren; Brittany &(Dylon) Daniel, Brianna Farnes, Renee Farnes, Karissa Farnes, Preston Harris, Kendrick &(Amanda) Harris, Gia Miller, Matalia Miller and Aiden Oman. Brittany and Dylon would have made Marie a great, great grandmother this October. Marie was preceded in death by her loving family; parents Lesley & Clara Dickerson, brother Arthur Dickerson, sisters; Violet Burwell, and Lucille Dickerson, husband Robert D. Booker, and a grand-daughter Stephanie Miller.

Family and friends may pay their respects on Wednesday, from 4pm to 7pm at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary. Services Thursday, April 25, 2013, 12pm, in the Chapel of Peace located at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary. Interment to follow at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado.