Ethel Proctor-Life Story Part Five

My Book of Memories

by Ethel P. Formo

1910-1978

     Another fall came and in November we got word Aunt Lizzy had died.  She had given birth to a little daughter (Ruth Elizabeth Proctor) and had only lived long enough to realize there were complications.  She kept saying, “Let Aunt Annie raise the baby.”  Aunt Lizzy was Dad’s younger brother’s wife.  They had quite a family and things had been hard for them too.  Aunt Annie was my mother.  Within two weeks we got word they were unable to care for the baby and she was sick.  Could we come and get her.  We did not have a car but Uncle Will and Aunt Amelia had a big Rio, and offered to take us from Wapello, Idaho to Leland, Utah to get her.

Home in Wapello

     My, what a trip.  There were five of us and four of them plus our luggage.  Us kids were sitting on the suitcases between the seats.  It was November and pretty nippy out.  The Rio was not an enclosed car but came with curtains with icing –glass windows that could be snapped inside, thus closing out the cold winds.  We were having a great time playing games and singing songs.

     Mom and Aunt Amelia had packed fried chicken, slices of homemade bread spread with sweet fresh churned butter and bottle of lots of good fresh milk and several kinds of cookies.  It was too cold to stop and picnic so we ate as we traveled along.  As we neared Tremonton, Utah, something went wrong with the car.  Neither Dad nor Uncle Will could get it running though they worked on it for what seemed like hours.  Finally, they decided to walk into town to find a garage. I can’t remember how we all slept but we did and the sun was shining when the men got back.  There was nothing open until then.  But, they thought we would be hungry again so they had bought a few oranges, a banana a piece, and several packages of fig newtons.  We ate fig newtons until none of us could stand them for years to come. 

     We stayed at Uncle Frank’s until the baby felt better.  It was only a few days but we learned why they were unable to care for her.  ( She was so tiny and allergic to milk but they didn’t know that so they had her on sugar water.)  They had named her Ruth Elizabeth and she was so tiny and sweet, we were thrilled beyond words to have a little new sister.

Annie holding Ruth

     Of course that meant Mom could no longer help Dad out in the fields although she still helped by milking the cows, etc, whenever she could.

     That year was the “flu epidemic of 1918.”  Of course it went through the whole family.  Poor little Ruth!  She was only about six weeks old when she got it and went into convulsions.  They moved a bed out into the kitchen where it would be warm and kept the kettles of water boiling to put moisture into the air.  I really don’t know how the doctor got out there so fast in all that snow but good old Dr. Davis never failed us.  He and Mom worked over Ruth for two days and nights with mustard baths and I don’t know what of all, but they brought her through it.  As for the rest of us, we had to follow orders and keep warm and take our medicine.  We really didn’t mind—we could help ourselves to part of it.  Mom had sliced some raw onions and put them in a bowl—sprinkled them with sugar and put them up on the warming oven to draw the juice.  We would have a teaspoon of juice every two hours.  Dr. Davis said he could have Dad come into town with him to have a prescription filled at the drug store.  But why do that when Mom probably had the same thing only not in pill form right on her kitchen shelf.  He asked for some baking soda.  He scrubbed off a dime dipped it into the soda and make sure it was holding all it could possible hold, put the soda into a half glass of tepid water and said, “Give each one, one of these every 2 hours until the fever is broken, then every 4 hours for several days—then once a day until they feel chipper.  But make each  - one drink this much with plenty of water after - no snitching.

On the left is Annie holding Ruth.  Not sure whose on the right

     Poor Mom!  She worked herself sick, even with Dad’s help and he was a good helper, whenever he could be inside instead of doing chores and driving the sled to school and back each day.  He really loved us kids and their Mom and he just couldn’t seem to do enough.  It was marvelous what these two simple people could do.  We all survived that epidemic without loss of life to any of us and no aftermath reactions for any of us.  

Dear sweet Annie (Ludlow) and George Kidd Proctor Jr.

To be concluded next week.

     [Ruth Elizabeth was my Mother.  I am so grateful to these two beautiful people who raised her like their own and gave her so much love.  I always knew them as Grandpa and Grandma Proctor.  I sure did love them.]