Good Morning Merry Sunshine!
Baby Kathryn 1911
That is what my mother would say to me as her morning greeting,
especially if I had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
especially if I had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
"Good Morning Merry Sunshine".
Oh how that irritated me as I got older.
I feel sad thinking about that now...
Oh how that irritated me as I got older.
I feel sad thinking about that now...
I also remember a favorite song of hers, "You Are My Sunshine".
That was the first song I learned to play on the electric organ.
Thank goodness it wasn't the accordion...
Like my brother Billy!
That was the first song I learned to play on the electric organ.
Thank goodness it wasn't the accordion...
Like my brother Billy!
Billy
She wanted her children to be happy.
I know she rarely was. Life had been difficult for her.
Losing her mother at just 13 and not being able to go off to college,
as her two siblings had. She was a child of the Great Depression.
Losing her mother at just 13 and not being able to go off to college,
as her two siblings had. She was a child of the Great Depression.
Kathryn
Mother's father had lost a leg in a rollover accident.
A wagon rollover. The mule pulling the wagon lay on its side
(in the ditch for hours) and didn't move until help came.
If it had moved it would have killed my grandfather.
A wagon rollover. The mule pulling the wagon lay on its side
(in the ditch for hours) and didn't move until help came.
If it had moved it would have killed my grandfather.
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My mother, aunt, and uncle.
After that, my grandmother went back to college and got another degree so she could support her family. She became one of the very first female doctors in Washington State. That was a real accomplishment (for a woman) at the turn of the century.
Dr. Sarah Gibson
Her career didn't last long. She died after a car accident
(no seat belts back then).
She was sent into surgery and never came out.
She was sent into surgery and never came out.
My mother found out at school... on her first day of 8th grade.
Not a good start to the new school year.
The picture below shows her a few years later with her
Not a good start to the new school year.
The picture below shows her a few years later with her
very stylish "Flapper" hairdo.
Kathryn age 16
Mother didn't get to go to college as her brother and sister had.
The Depression had made that impossible.
She worked and put herself through nursing school.
That was not her choice, but what was available.
I am sad to say I have no idea what she had aspired to be.
I do know that she was artistic and loved poetry.
She worked and put herself through nursing school.
That was not her choice, but what was available.
I am sad to say I have no idea what she had aspired to be.
I do know that she was artistic and loved poetry.
Kathryn at Nursing School Graduation
Mother was born in 1911.
She had me late in life. A surprise at 40.
I think maybe it was also a slight embarrassment.
She had me late in life. A surprise at 40.
I think maybe it was also a slight embarrassment.
She was a R.N. and worked on the maternity ward.
She worked her shift the day I was born. I think she needed to
as she was working full time to help support the family.
She did the best she could...
She worked her shift the day I was born. I think she needed to
as she was working full time to help support the family.
She did the best she could...
She would have been 114 years old today.
She died at 97.
Kathryn age 97
I hesitate somewhat to show this last picture.
Mother was slightly vain about her looks.
Saddened by the fact that she lost her beauty early on.
That's what a hard life can do to you.
Mother was slightly vain about her looks.
Saddened by the fact that she lost her beauty early on.
That's what a hard life can do to you.
Happy Birthday, Mother.
It was hard, but I did love you.
xoxo
xoxo
Bunny Jean
(This story was edited and reposted to reflect the current date.)
