Rose Heritage, 65, of LaVerne CA, passed away at her residence in the early morning hours Thursday, February 5, 2004. She was born May 25, 1938 in Lewis Co., MO, the daughter of Henry Louis and Leta Mildred McDaniel Riney. She married Allan Kenneth Heritage on June 30, 1960 in Monrovia, CA. He survives. She was preceded in death by her parents, Peck and Leta; one brother Bill Riney; and a son in infancy. Rose grew up in the Lewis Co., MO area and attended school at St. Patrick. She had lived in California most of her life. She was employed by the Monrovia, CA school district as a teacher's assistant for thirty years, until her retirement in January 2003. She enjoyed working with children and helping them learn. After her retirement, she and her husband took an extended camping trip to the Southern states, the East coast, and the Mid-West, stopping along the way for sight-seeing and visiting family and friends. She was very active in community affairs. She liked working with people and volunteered with the Red Cross during the wildfires in California during the summer of 2003. She and her husband enjoyed playing cards and shuffleboard with the other residents of the retirement community in which they resided. She also enjoyed taking local children for an annual week's campout at the beach. Rose had a real talent for organizing and planning trips, which she enjoyed taking with her sisters to China, Switzerland, Ireland, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. She had also traveled to France and Portugal with her husband. Rose was very family oriented and enjoyed babysitting her grandchildren. She also made at least one trip to the Mid-West each year to visit family. Being the oldest of nine children, she considered herself their California mother, and her home was always open to them. Rose had been an avid genealogist for forty years. She treasured the many hours she spent in research, and she was always elated when she was able to add a new branch to the family tree. She will be greatly missed by her multitude of family, friends, genealogical contacts, and her dachshund Gretchen. Survivors include her husband Allan of LaVerne, CA; four sons, Richard Bishop of Monrovia, CA, Kenneth Heritage of Duarte, CA, Donald (wife Laurie) Heritage of Joplin, MO, and Gary (Victoria) Heritage of Covina, CA; 6 grandchildren; 2 step-grandchildren; 5 sisters, Lillie Riney and Mary Payne of Springfield, IL, Bernie (husband, Jake) Murphy of Williamstown, MO, Amy (husband Richard) Smith of LaGrange, MO, and Mona (husband, Tad) Stalets of Riverton, IL; two brothers, Bob (wife, Rosanna) Gibbons of El Cajon, CA and Larry Gibbons of Keokuk, IA. Douglas & Zook Mortuary in Monrovia, CA is in charge of arrangements. Funeral plans are pending.
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Rose's Memoirs
A long time ago in the northeast section of Lewis County, MO, two grandmothers anxiously waited at the home of my parents Peck and Leta Riney for the birth of a grandchild. One already had 3 grandchildren but the other was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild. I made my appearance in this world at 2:30 p.m. on the 25th day of May 1938. As a youngster, I had blue eyes and blonde curls.
My first years were formed, especially by my grandparents McDaniel. I was the apple of their eye and spent many, many hours, both day and night, at their home. I have more memories of being at their home than at home with my parents; however, I know this isn't true, as I had parents who loved me dearly. My Grandfather Riney was dead before my birth, and Grandma Riney died when I was just 1½ years old. I don't remember interacting with my McDaniel grandparents until I was about 5 or 6, but from pictures and Grandpa's diaries I know I spent a lot of time with them.
Although Mother and Grandma both converted to Catholicism, which was Daddy's religion, Grandma was the example that I looked to for a truly devoted person and the comfort that could be derived from one's religion. Her strong belief still holds a very deep place in my heart and has caused me to value my religious upbringing with great appreciation and devotion.
My childhood is filled with so many memories that it would be impossible to record them all, but for the sake of my children and those to come, I will attempt to write a brief summary. Most of my childhood was filled with happy times, and not much sorrow entered it until I was a teenager. I don't recall the house where I was born, as we moved about 5 miles away to a small house in which my brother Bill was born when I was 2 years old. Although I don't remember his birth or his being a baby, I do recall someone taking me to the neighbor's house during his birth. That is my earliest recollection in my life. We lived in this small house for about four years. Although it was in the country, we did have neighbors who lived right across the road, Doc and Mrs. Bowman. Doc was a frightening man for a little girl, but I am sure he was really a nice person. Mrs. Bowman was always friendly but seemed to be of much higher class than we were. We had a small pond near our home. Daddy once caught a snapping turtle and brought it to the house for Mother to make into soup. She wouldn't do it. She was afraid that it would bite her. I also remember the time I opened the metal cabinet which held the dishes and trying to reach something, climbed up on some of the shelves and tipped the whole cabinet over. Luckily, the fall was halted by the table, and my only injury was to my pride. The dishes all fell out, some breaking, along with the open jars of syrup and sugar which immediately became entangled in my long blonde curls. I shed many tears while Mother cleaned me up, and I remember being comforted with the words, "I know you didn't mean to do it but we've got to get this hair cleaned up." I don't remember who spoke those words, but for a frightened 4 year old, they didn't hold much comfort.
I don't recall what Daddy did to bring money or food into the home before we made our next move to the Derrahs area. That was only 2 miles from Grandma and Grandpa's house. He then worked at the sorghum mill that Grandpa owned. It was a family-owned mill. Neighbors would bring in their cane, and for a certain percentage of it, Grandpa would grind it into sorghum molasses for them. With the help of his two old faithful horses who walked hour upon hour in a circle around the grinder to force the juice from the cane, Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and sometimes with the help of a neighbor, they would cook the juice over a very hot flame for hours while stirring it almost constantly. I was rarely allowed into the sorghum mill for fear that I would be burned.
I remember the move to the Derrahs area where I spent the rest of my childhood until Daddy's death. This was a much larger house, having 2 bedrooms downstairs and 2 upstairs, a large back porch, walk-in pantry, kitchen and living room. We didn't use the upstairs very much except for storing stuff. Sometimes we would get to sleep up there but not often. At one time, the pantry was used as Bill's bedroom. We would sometimes sleep 3 to a bed in the winter time to keep warm. We had heavy homemade comforters and quilts but would sleep on featherbeds, as that was warmer. I remember spending the night with Jane Logsdon and sleeping between featherbeds. I thought that was really fun. Mother was pregnant with Lillie when we made this move. She was standing on a chair attempting to fit a stove pipe into the chimney opening when the back of the chair broke off and she fell across one of the broken spokes. She received a severe gash in her leg. I don't remember if she went to the doctor or not but probably not because people just doctored themselves in those days. A bed was put up in the living room, as Lil was born in very cold weather. I was allowed to sit in a little rocking chair next to Mother's bed and rock the baby. We heated only the kitchen and living room. My first recollection of our heating facilities was a big potbelly stove which used wood and then later coal. We then got a coal oil heater. I was responsible for lighting this stove when Bill and I got home from school. I must have been about 8 years old at the time. First I had to turn it on, wait only so long so not too much oil would drain in, and then throw in a match to light it. I let too much oil get in once, and fire came out all around the bottom of the stove and onto the floor. We had a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, and I just knew that the whole house was going to burn down. I ran to the telephone which was a party line, and a couple of the old "neighbor biddies" were talking. I interrupted them and told them our house was burning down and I needed to call Grandma's house. I then grabbed a wet mop and tried to put it out. I had just succeeded when the son of one of the ladies came to help. She had sent him after my frantic call.
I attended Derrahs School for the first 4 grades. This was a little one room school about ½ mile from our house. Mrs. Mildred Fishback was my teacher. We all called her Miss Mildred, including her own 3 children who attended the school. There were 9 students in the school and it was 1st through 8th grade, although there were no children in some grades. The blackboard was across the front of the room, the old pot-bellied stove was in the middle of the room near the front and 2 person desks in columns on each side. We used pencils and crayons, and the older kids had pens that you could fill with ink. When the school closed I then attended St Patrick School through the 9th grade.
In those days, we didn't have electricity. I was 10 years old before electricity was brought into our neighborhood. We had always had an icebox, but now we could have a refrigerator. I don't remember our first one. Daddy would go to Canton 15 miles away and bring back ice for the icebox in a galvanized tub covered with a rug. Homemade ice cream was a delicacy that was shared by neighbors. We would invite people over to birthdays and have homemade ice cream.
I first learned to drive a car when I was about 13 years old, by driving in the hay field. It helped the family for me to be able to drive to Grandma's for them. I had many times used the horses and wagon.
Daddy and Mother later worked at the glove factory in Canton while we kids were in school. Daddy developed a heart condition which prevented him from doing hard labor such as farming. I have this same condition, and it can be successfully treated now. Daddy died in 1952 when I was 14 years old. I saw him in the hospital the day before he left us. He wiggled his toes at me, and his last words to me were, "Rose, you be a good girl and mind your mother." His funeral is my first recollection of a sad time in my life. I was then expected to be the surrogate mother to my brothers and sisters. By now, there were 5 of us children: me, Bill, Lil, Bernie, Amy, and Mary to be born in 3 months.
Other memories of my childhood include:
Things I loved: my first pair of pajamas at age 8; playing in the barn; Bill & I chasing the goat in the barn and trying to ride it although we were never successful; hunting for baby mice in the corn crib--Oh! those pink little bodies--they were so ugly; going fishing in the pond; mushroom hunting; learning to shoot my first rabbit; cracking the shells from walnuts and getting my fingers stained; picking blackberries.
Things I hated: pulling weeds in the garden; having to milk the cows morning and evenings; those long rides to and from school and finding a place to spend the night if the creek was out of its banks and we couldn't'get home; grabbing the broom and sweeping the dirt into the bedroom and shutting the door if we saw dust down the road as that meant company was coming; being left alone with the kids after dark (I was afraid of the dark); poison ivy (my eyes would swell shut); getting a bag of someone else's used clothes and pretending they were "new."
A couple of years after Daddy's death, we moved to Edina, MO. I attended high school there for a year, but being a teenager, I saw no use for an education. I went to work as a waitress and soon thought I had fallen in love. I married a young man, Jim Bishop, and we had our first son Richard. We moved to Massachusetts where I remained for only 3 months. During that time we lost a baby son. Marriage was not the starry-eyed bliss that as teenagers we thought it was. I, then, returned to Missouri.
It was in 1958 that I decided to take Richard and move to California. Thanks to the graciousness of my brother Bill, who was then married, and his wife, they opened their home to me. I supported my family by working as a nurse's aide in a hospital.
It was on New Year's Eve 1959 that I met my present husband, Allan Heritage. We married in June 1960 and have just recently celebrated 40 years of loving togetherness. We are approaching the age of a different stage in our life, that of retirement. Allan has worked in the auto parts industry for 40 years, and as for myself, I entered the work force when our children had all entered school. I have been an instructional aide at the elementary grade level for 28 years and dearly love working with those whose minds we help form and shape forever.
Allan and I were blessed with 3 more sons, Kenneth, Donald, and Gary. Our children have given us so much pleasure that it is impossible to record the memories that we cherish of their childhood. Richard married and has a son and 2 stepsons. He is a dedicated worker for the City of Monrovia and lives locally, so we enjoy his company frequently. Kenneth was born prematurely and not given much of a chance of survival but today is a strapping 6'1", healthy, robust gentleman who loves interacting with people, especially children. He has been in the auto/truck industry for 20 years. He has been married but has no children. He likewise lives near us. Donald pursued his interest in becoming a fireman and lives in Joplin, MO. He is married and has 3 sons, Dustin, Steven, and Tanner. We get to see each other at least once a year and talk frequently. Gary is married and has a daughter Sara. He has also worked in the auto/truck industry for 16 years. He makes his home about 10 miles from us.
I now understand the pride that swells a grandmother's heart when she speaks of her grandchildren. If I can be only half the grandmother to my grandchildren that my grandmother was to me, I will feel that my place on this earth has been fulfilled.
I grew up in poverty with love and wonderful guidance to become the person that I am today. I thank God for giving me such wonderful parents and grandparents and the wisdom to know Him and carry on some of these great values that have been instilled in me to my children, who will in turn carry them on to their children and generations to come.
****************************************
Rose's Memoirs
A long time ago in the northeast section of Lewis County, MO, two grandmothers anxiously waited at the home of my parents Peck and Leta Riney for the birth of a grandchild. One already had 3 grandchildren but the other was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild. I made my appearance in this world at 2:30 p.m. on the 25th day of May 1938. As a youngster, I had blue eyes and blonde curls.
My first years were formed, especially by my grandparents McDaniel. I was the apple of their eye and spent many, many hours, both day and night, at their home. I have more memories of being at their home than at home with my parents; however, I know this isn't true, as I had parents who loved me dearly. My Grandfather Riney was dead before my birth, and Grandma Riney died when I was just 1½ years old. I don't remember interacting with my McDaniel grandparents until I was about 5 or 6, but from pictures and Grandpa's diaries I know I spent a lot of time with them.
Although Mother and Grandma both converted to Catholicism, which was Daddy's religion, Grandma was the example that I looked to for a truly devoted person and the comfort that could be derived from one's religion. Her strong belief still holds a very deep place in my heart and has caused me to value my religious upbringing with great appreciation and devotion.
My childhood is filled with so many memories that it would be impossible to record them all, but for the sake of my children and those to come, I will attempt to write a brief summary. Most of my childhood was filled with happy times, and not much sorrow entered it until I was a teenager. I don't recall the house where I was born, as we moved about 5 miles away to a small house in which my brother Bill was born when I was 2 years old. Although I don't remember his birth or his being a baby, I do recall someone taking me to the neighbor's house during his birth. That is my earliest recollection in my life. We lived in this small house for about four years. Although it was in the country, we did have neighbors who lived right across the road, Doc and Mrs. Bowman. Doc was a frightening man for a little girl, but I am sure he was really a nice person. Mrs. Bowman was always friendly but seemed to be of much higher class than we were. We had a small pond near our home. Daddy once caught a snapping turtle and brought it to the house for Mother to make into soup. She wouldn't do it. She was afraid that it would bite her. I also remember the time I opened the metal cabinet which held the dishes and trying to reach something, climbed up on some of the shelves and tipped the whole cabinet over. Luckily, the fall was halted by the table, and my only injury was to my pride. The dishes all fell out, some breaking, along with the open jars of syrup and sugar which immediately became entangled in my long blonde curls. I shed many tears while Mother cleaned me up, and I remember being comforted with the words, "I know you didn't mean to do it but we've got to get this hair cleaned up." I don't remember who spoke those words, but for a frightened 4 year old, they didn't hold much comfort.
I don't recall what Daddy did to bring money or food into the home before we made our next move to the Derrahs area. That was only 2 miles from Grandma and Grandpa's house. He then worked at the sorghum mill that Grandpa owned. It was a family-owned mill. Neighbors would bring in their cane, and for a certain percentage of it, Grandpa would grind it into sorghum molasses for them. With the help of his two old faithful horses who walked hour upon hour in a circle around the grinder to force the juice from the cane, Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and sometimes with the help of a neighbor, they would cook the juice over a very hot flame for hours while stirring it almost constantly. I was rarely allowed into the sorghum mill for fear that I would be burned.
I remember the move to the Derrahs area where I spent the rest of my childhood until Daddy's death. This was a much larger house, having 2 bedrooms downstairs and 2 upstairs, a large back porch, walk-in pantry, kitchen and living room. We didn't use the upstairs very much except for storing stuff. Sometimes we would get to sleep up there but not often. At one time, the pantry was used as Bill's bedroom. We would sometimes sleep 3 to a bed in the winter time to keep warm. We had heavy homemade comforters and quilts but would sleep on featherbeds, as that was warmer. I remember spending the night with Jane Logsdon and sleeping between featherbeds. I thought that was really fun. Mother was pregnant with Lillie when we made this move. She was standing on a chair attempting to fit a stove pipe into the chimney opening when the back of the chair broke off and she fell across one of the broken spokes. She received a severe gash in her leg. I don't remember if she went to the doctor or not but probably not because people just doctored themselves in those days. A bed was put up in the living room, as Lil was born in very cold weather. I was allowed to sit in a little rocking chair next to Mother's bed and rock the baby. We heated only the kitchen and living room. My first recollection of our heating facilities was a big potbelly stove which used wood and then later coal. We then got a coal oil heater. I was responsible for lighting this stove when Bill and I got home from school. I must have been about 8 years old at the time. First I had to turn it on, wait only so long so not too much oil would drain in, and then throw in a match to light it. I let too much oil get in once, and fire came out all around the bottom of the stove and onto the floor. We had a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, and I just knew that the whole house was going to burn down. I ran to the telephone which was a party line, and a couple of the old "neighbor biddies" were talking. I interrupted them and told them our house was burning down and I needed to call Grandma's house. I then grabbed a wet mop and tried to put it out. I had just succeeded when the son of one of the ladies came to help. She had sent him after my frantic call.
I attended Derrahs School for the first 4 grades. This was a little one room school about ½ mile from our house. Mrs. Mildred Fishback was my teacher. We all called her Miss Mildred, including her own 3 children who attended the school. There were 9 students in the school and it was 1st through 8th grade, although there were no children in some grades. The blackboard was across the front of the room, the old pot-bellied stove was in the middle of the room near the front and 2 person desks in columns on each side. We used pencils and crayons, and the older kids had pens that you could fill with ink. When the school closed I then attended St Patrick School through the 9th grade.
In those days, we didn't have electricity. I was 10 years old before electricity was brought into our neighborhood. We had always had an icebox, but now we could have a refrigerator. I don't remember our first one. Daddy would go to Canton 15 miles away and bring back ice for the icebox in a galvanized tub covered with a rug. Homemade ice cream was a delicacy that was shared by neighbors. We would invite people over to birthdays and have homemade ice cream.
I first learned to drive a car when I was about 13 years old, by driving in the hay field. It helped the family for me to be able to drive to Grandma's for them. I had many times used the horses and wagon.
Daddy and Mother later worked at the glove factory in Canton while we kids were in school. Daddy developed a heart condition which prevented him from doing hard labor such as farming. I have this same condition, and it can be successfully treated now. Daddy died in 1952 when I was 14 years old. I saw him in the hospital the day before he left us. He wiggled his toes at me, and his last words to me were, "Rose, you be a good girl and mind your mother." His funeral is my first recollection of a sad time in my life. I was then expected to be the surrogate mother to my brothers and sisters. By now, there were 5 of us children: me, Bill, Lil, Bernie, Amy, and Mary to be born in 3 months.
Other memories of my childhood include:
Things I loved: my first pair of pajamas at age 8; playing in the barn; Bill & I chasing the goat in the barn and trying to ride it although we were never successful; hunting for baby mice in the corn crib--Oh! those pink little bodies--they were so ugly; going fishing in the pond; mushroom hunting; learning to shoot my first rabbit; cracking the shells from walnuts and getting my fingers stained; picking blackberries.
Things I hated: pulling weeds in the garden; having to milk the cows morning and evenings; those long rides to and from school and finding a place to spend the night if the creek was out of its banks and we couldn't'get home; grabbing the broom and sweeping the dirt into the bedroom and shutting the door if we saw dust down the road as that meant company was coming; being left alone with the kids after dark (I was afraid of the dark); poison ivy (my eyes would swell shut); getting a bag of someone else's used clothes and pretending they were "new."
A couple of years after Daddy's death, we moved to Edina, MO. I attended high school there for a year, but being a teenager, I saw no use for an education. I went to work as a waitress and soon thought I had fallen in love. I married a young man, Jim Bishop, and we had our first son Richard. We moved to Massachusetts where I remained for only 3 months. During that time we lost a baby son. Marriage was not the starry-eyed bliss that as teenagers we thought it was. I, then, returned to Missouri.
It was in 1958 that I decided to take Richard and move to California. Thanks to the graciousness of my brother Bill, who was then married, and his wife, they opened their home to me. I supported my family by working as a nurse's aide in a hospital.
It was on New Year's Eve 1959 that I met my present husband, Allan Heritage. We married in June 1960 and have just recently celebrated 40 years of loving togetherness. We are approaching the age of a different stage in our life, that of retirement. Allan has worked in the auto parts industry for 40 years, and as for myself, I entered the work force when our children had all entered school. I have been an instructional aide at the elementary grade level for 28 years and dearly love working with those whose minds we help form and shape forever.
Allan and I were blessed with 3 more sons, Kenneth, Donald, and Gary. Our children have given us so much pleasure that it is impossible to record the memories that we cherish of their childhood. Richard married and has a son and 2 stepsons. He is a dedicated worker for the City of Monrovia and lives locally, so we enjoy his company frequently. Kenneth was born prematurely and not given much of a chance of survival but today is a strapping 6'1", healthy, robust gentleman who loves interacting with people, especially children. He has been in the auto/truck industry for 20 years. He has been married but has no children. He likewise lives near us. Donald pursued his interest in becoming a fireman and lives in Joplin, MO. He is married and has 3 sons, Dustin, Steven, and Tanner. We get to see each other at least once a year and talk frequently. Gary is married and has a daughter Sara. He has also worked in the auto/truck industry for 16 years. He makes his home about 10 miles from us.
I now understand the pride that swells a grandmother's heart when she speaks of her grandchildren. If I can be only half the grandmother to my grandchildren that my grandmother was to me, I will feel that my place on this earth has been fulfilled.
I grew up in poverty with love and wonderful guidance to become the person that I am today. I thank God for giving me such wonderful parents and grandparents and the wisdom to know Him and carry on some of these great values that have been instilled in me to my children, who will in turn carry them on to their children and generations to come.
Rose Heritage, 65, of LaVerne CA, passed away at her residence in the early morning hours Thursday, February 5, 2004. She was born May 25, 1938 in Lewis Co., MO, the daughter of Henry Louis and Leta Mildred McDaniel Riney. She married Allan Kenneth Heritage on June 30, 1960 in Monrovia, CA. He survives. She was preceded in death by her parents, Peck and Leta; one brother Bill Riney; and a son in infancy. Rose grew up in the Lewis Co., MO area and attended school at St. Patrick. She had lived in California most of her life. She was employed by the Monrovia, CA school district as a teacher's assistant for thirty years, until her retirement in January 2003. She enjoyed working with children and helping them learn. After her retirement, she and her husband took an extended camping trip to the Southern states, the East coast, and the Mid-West, stopping along the way for sight-seeing and visiting family and friends. She was very active in community affairs. She liked working with people and volunteered with the Red Cross during the wildfires in California during the summer of 2003. She and her husband enjoyed playing cards and shuffleboard with the other residents of the retirement community in which they resided. She also enjoyed taking local children for an annual week's campout at the beach. Rose had a real talent for organizing and planning trips, which she enjoyed taking with her sisters to China, Switzerland, Ireland, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. She had also traveled to France and Portugal with her husband. Rose was very family oriented and enjoyed babysitting her grandchildren. She also made at least one trip to the Mid-West each year to visit family. Being the oldest of nine children, she considered herself their California mother, and her home was always open to them. Rose had been an avid genealogist for forty years. She treasured the many hours she spent in research, and she was always elated when she was able to add a new branch to the family tree. She will be greatly missed by her multitude of family, friends, genealogical contacts, and her dachshund Gretchen. Survivors include her husband Allan of LaVerne, CA; four sons, Richard Bishop of Monrovia, CA, Kenneth Heritage of Duarte, CA, Donald (wife Laurie) Heritage of Joplin, MO, and Gary (Victoria) Heritage of Covina, CA; 6 grandchildren; 2 step-grandchildren; 5 sisters, Lillie Riney and Mary Payne of Springfield, IL, Bernie (husband, Jake) Murphy of Williamstown, MO, Amy (husband Richard) Smith of LaGrange, MO, and Mona (husband, Tad) Stalets of Riverton, IL; two brothers, Bob (wife, Rosanna) Gibbons of El Cajon, CA and Larry Gibbons of Keokuk, IA. Douglas & Zook Mortuary in Monrovia, CA is in charge of arrangements. Funeral plans are pending.
****************************************
Rose's Memoirs
A long time ago in the northeast section of Lewis County, MO, two grandmothers anxiously waited at the home of my parents Peck and Leta Riney for the birth of a grandchild. One already had 3 grandchildren but the other was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild. I made my appearance in this world at 2:30 p.m. on the 25th day of May 1938. As a youngster, I had blue eyes and blonde curls.
My first years were formed, especially by my grandparents McDaniel. I was the apple of their eye and spent many, many hours, both day and night, at their home. I have more memories of being at their home than at home with my parents; however, I know this isn't true, as I had parents who loved me dearly. My Grandfather Riney was dead before my birth, and Grandma Riney died when I was just 1½ years old. I don't remember interacting with my McDaniel grandparents until I was about 5 or 6, but from pictures and Grandpa's diaries I know I spent a lot of time with them.
Although Mother and Grandma both converted to Catholicism, which was Daddy's religion, Grandma was the example that I looked to for a truly devoted person and the comfort that could be derived from one's religion. Her strong belief still holds a very deep place in my heart and has caused me to value my religious upbringing with great appreciation and devotion.
My childhood is filled with so many memories that it would be impossible to record them all, but for the sake of my children and those to come, I will attempt to write a brief summary. Most of my childhood was filled with happy times, and not much sorrow entered it until I was a teenager. I don't recall the house where I was born, as we moved about 5 miles away to a small house in which my brother Bill was born when I was 2 years old. Although I don't remember his birth or his being a baby, I do recall someone taking me to the neighbor's house during his birth. That is my earliest recollection in my life. We lived in this small house for about four years. Although it was in the country, we did have neighbors who lived right across the road, Doc and Mrs. Bowman. Doc was a frightening man for a little girl, but I am sure he was really a nice person. Mrs. Bowman was always friendly but seemed to be of much higher class than we were. We had a small pond near our home. Daddy once caught a snapping turtle and brought it to the house for Mother to make into soup. She wouldn't do it. She was afraid that it would bite her. I also remember the time I opened the metal cabinet which held the dishes and trying to reach something, climbed up on some of the shelves and tipped the whole cabinet over. Luckily, the fall was halted by the table, and my only injury was to my pride. The dishes all fell out, some breaking, along with the open jars of syrup and sugar which immediately became entangled in my long blonde curls. I shed many tears while Mother cleaned me up, and I remember being comforted with the words, "I know you didn't mean to do it but we've got to get this hair cleaned up." I don't remember who spoke those words, but for a frightened 4 year old, they didn't hold much comfort.
I don't recall what Daddy did to bring money or food into the home before we made our next move to the Derrahs area. That was only 2 miles from Grandma and Grandpa's house. He then worked at the sorghum mill that Grandpa owned. It was a family-owned mill. Neighbors would bring in their cane, and for a certain percentage of it, Grandpa would grind it into sorghum molasses for them. With the help of his two old faithful horses who walked hour upon hour in a circle around the grinder to force the juice from the cane, Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and sometimes with the help of a neighbor, they would cook the juice over a very hot flame for hours while stirring it almost constantly. I was rarely allowed into the sorghum mill for fear that I would be burned.
I remember the move to the Derrahs area where I spent the rest of my childhood until Daddy's death. This was a much larger house, having 2 bedrooms downstairs and 2 upstairs, a large back porch, walk-in pantry, kitchen and living room. We didn't use the upstairs very much except for storing stuff. Sometimes we would get to sleep up there but not often. At one time, the pantry was used as Bill's bedroom. We would sometimes sleep 3 to a bed in the winter time to keep warm. We had heavy homemade comforters and quilts but would sleep on featherbeds, as that was warmer. I remember spending the night with Jane Logsdon and sleeping between featherbeds. I thought that was really fun. Mother was pregnant with Lillie when we made this move. She was standing on a chair attempting to fit a stove pipe into the chimney opening when the back of the chair broke off and she fell across one of the broken spokes. She received a severe gash in her leg. I don't remember if she went to the doctor or not but probably not because people just doctored themselves in those days. A bed was put up in the living room, as Lil was born in very cold weather. I was allowed to sit in a little rocking chair next to Mother's bed and rock the baby. We heated only the kitchen and living room. My first recollection of our heating facilities was a big potbelly stove which used wood and then later coal. We then got a coal oil heater. I was responsible for lighting this stove when Bill and I got home from school. I must have been about 8 years old at the time. First I had to turn it on, wait only so long so not too much oil would drain in, and then throw in a match to light it. I let too much oil get in once, and fire came out all around the bottom of the stove and onto the floor. We had a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, and I just knew that the whole house was going to burn down. I ran to the telephone which was a party line, and a couple of the old "neighbor biddies" were talking. I interrupted them and told them our house was burning down and I needed to call Grandma's house. I then grabbed a wet mop and tried to put it out. I had just succeeded when the son of one of the ladies came to help. She had sent him after my frantic call.
I attended Derrahs School for the first 4 grades. This was a little one room school about ½ mile from our house. Mrs. Mildred Fishback was my teacher. We all called her Miss Mildred, including her own 3 children who attended the school. There were 9 students in the school and it was 1st through 8th grade, although there were no children in some grades. The blackboard was across the front of the room, the old pot-bellied stove was in the middle of the room near the front and 2 person desks in columns on each side. We used pencils and crayons, and the older kids had pens that you could fill with ink. When the school closed I then attended St Patrick School through the 9th grade.
In those days, we didn't have electricity. I was 10 years old before electricity was brought into our neighborhood. We had always had an icebox, but now we could have a refrigerator. I don't remember our first one. Daddy would go to Canton 15 miles away and bring back ice for the icebox in a galvanized tub covered with a rug. Homemade ice cream was a delicacy that was shared by neighbors. We would invite people over to birthdays and have homemade ice cream.
I first learned to drive a car when I was about 13 years old, by driving in the hay field. It helped the family for me to be able to drive to Grandma's for them. I had many times used the horses and wagon.
Daddy and Mother later worked at the glove factory in Canton while we kids were in school. Daddy developed a heart condition which prevented him from doing hard labor such as farming. I have this same condition, and it can be successfully treated now. Daddy died in 1952 when I was 14 years old. I saw him in the hospital the day before he left us. He wiggled his toes at me, and his last words to me were, "Rose, you be a good girl and mind your mother." His funeral is my first recollection of a sad time in my life. I was then expected to be the surrogate mother to my brothers and sisters. By now, there were 5 of us children: me, Bill, Lil, Bernie, Amy, and Mary to be born in 3 months.
Other memories of my childhood include:
Things I loved: my first pair of pajamas at age 8; playing in the barn; Bill & I chasing the goat in the barn and trying to ride it although we were never successful; hunting for baby mice in the corn crib--Oh! those pink little bodies--they were so ugly; going fishing in the pond; mushroom hunting; learning to shoot my first rabbit; cracking the shells from walnuts and getting my fingers stained; picking blackberries.
Things I hated: pulling weeds in the garden; having to milk the cows morning and evenings; those long rides to and from school and finding a place to spend the night if the creek was out of its banks and we couldn't'get home; grabbing the broom and sweeping the dirt into the bedroom and shutting the door if we saw dust down the road as that meant company was coming; being left alone with the kids after dark (I was afraid of the dark); poison ivy (my eyes would swell shut); getting a bag of someone else's used clothes and pretending they were "new."
A couple of years after Daddy's death, we moved to Edina, MO. I attended high school there for a year, but being a teenager, I saw no use for an education. I went to work as a waitress and soon thought I had fallen in love. I married a young man, Jim Bishop, and we had our first son Richard. We moved to Massachusetts where I remained for only 3 months. During that time we lost a baby son. Marriage was not the starry-eyed bliss that as teenagers we thought it was. I, then, returned to Missouri.
It was in 1958 that I decided to take Richard and move to California. Thanks to the graciousness of my brother Bill, who was then married, and his wife, they opened their home to me. I supported my family by working as a nurse's aide in a hospital.
It was on New Year's Eve 1959 that I met my present husband, Allan Heritage. We married in June 1960 and have just recently celebrated 40 years of loving togetherness. We are approaching the age of a different stage in our life, that of retirement. Allan has worked in the auto parts industry for 40 years, and as for myself, I entered the work force when our children had all entered school. I have been an instructional aide at the elementary grade level for 28 years and dearly love working with those whose minds we help form and shape forever.
Allan and I were blessed with 3 more sons, Kenneth, Donald, and Gary. Our children have given us so much pleasure that it is impossible to record the memories that we cherish of their childhood. Richard married and has a son and 2 stepsons. He is a dedicated worker for the City of Monrovia and lives locally, so we enjoy his company frequently. Kenneth was born prematurely and not given much of a chance of survival but today is a strapping 6'1", healthy, robust gentleman who loves interacting with people, especially children. He has been in the auto/truck industry for 20 years. He has been married but has no children. He likewise lives near us. Donald pursued his interest in becoming a fireman and lives in Joplin, MO. He is married and has 3 sons, Dustin, Steven, and Tanner. We get to see each other at least once a year and talk frequently. Gary is married and has a daughter Sara. He has also worked in the auto/truck industry for 16 years. He makes his home about 10 miles from us.
I now understand the pride that swells a grandmother's heart when she speaks of her grandchildren. If I can be only half the grandmother to my grandchildren that my grandmother was to me, I will feel that my place on this earth has been fulfilled.
I grew up in poverty with love and wonderful guidance to become the person that I am today. I thank God for giving me such wonderful parents and grandparents and the wisdom to know Him and carry on some of these great values that have been instilled in me to my children, who will in turn carry them on to their children and generations to come.
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Rose's Memoirs
A long time ago in the northeast section of Lewis County, MO, two grandmothers anxiously waited at the home of my parents Peck and Leta Riney for the birth of a grandchild. One already had 3 grandchildren but the other was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild. I made my appearance in this world at 2:30 p.m. on the 25th day of May 1938. As a youngster, I had blue eyes and blonde curls.
My first years were formed, especially by my grandparents McDaniel. I was the apple of their eye and spent many, many hours, both day and night, at their home. I have more memories of being at their home than at home with my parents; however, I know this isn't true, as I had parents who loved me dearly. My Grandfather Riney was dead before my birth, and Grandma Riney died when I was just 1½ years old. I don't remember interacting with my McDaniel grandparents until I was about 5 or 6, but from pictures and Grandpa's diaries I know I spent a lot of time with them.
Although Mother and Grandma both converted to Catholicism, which was Daddy's religion, Grandma was the example that I looked to for a truly devoted person and the comfort that could be derived from one's religion. Her strong belief still holds a very deep place in my heart and has caused me to value my religious upbringing with great appreciation and devotion.
My childhood is filled with so many memories that it would be impossible to record them all, but for the sake of my children and those to come, I will attempt to write a brief summary. Most of my childhood was filled with happy times, and not much sorrow entered it until I was a teenager. I don't recall the house where I was born, as we moved about 5 miles away to a small house in which my brother Bill was born when I was 2 years old. Although I don't remember his birth or his being a baby, I do recall someone taking me to the neighbor's house during his birth. That is my earliest recollection in my life. We lived in this small house for about four years. Although it was in the country, we did have neighbors who lived right across the road, Doc and Mrs. Bowman. Doc was a frightening man for a little girl, but I am sure he was really a nice person. Mrs. Bowman was always friendly but seemed to be of much higher class than we were. We had a small pond near our home. Daddy once caught a snapping turtle and brought it to the house for Mother to make into soup. She wouldn't do it. She was afraid that it would bite her. I also remember the time I opened the metal cabinet which held the dishes and trying to reach something, climbed up on some of the shelves and tipped the whole cabinet over. Luckily, the fall was halted by the table, and my only injury was to my pride. The dishes all fell out, some breaking, along with the open jars of syrup and sugar which immediately became entangled in my long blonde curls. I shed many tears while Mother cleaned me up, and I remember being comforted with the words, "I know you didn't mean to do it but we've got to get this hair cleaned up." I don't remember who spoke those words, but for a frightened 4 year old, they didn't hold much comfort.
I don't recall what Daddy did to bring money or food into the home before we made our next move to the Derrahs area. That was only 2 miles from Grandma and Grandpa's house. He then worked at the sorghum mill that Grandpa owned. It was a family-owned mill. Neighbors would bring in their cane, and for a certain percentage of it, Grandpa would grind it into sorghum molasses for them. With the help of his two old faithful horses who walked hour upon hour in a circle around the grinder to force the juice from the cane, Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and sometimes with the help of a neighbor, they would cook the juice over a very hot flame for hours while stirring it almost constantly. I was rarely allowed into the sorghum mill for fear that I would be burned.
I remember the move to the Derrahs area where I spent the rest of my childhood until Daddy's death. This was a much larger house, having 2 bedrooms downstairs and 2 upstairs, a large back porch, walk-in pantry, kitchen and living room. We didn't use the upstairs very much except for storing stuff. Sometimes we would get to sleep up there but not often. At one time, the pantry was used as Bill's bedroom. We would sometimes sleep 3 to a bed in the winter time to keep warm. We had heavy homemade comforters and quilts but would sleep on featherbeds, as that was warmer. I remember spending the night with Jane Logsdon and sleeping between featherbeds. I thought that was really fun. Mother was pregnant with Lillie when we made this move. She was standing on a chair attempting to fit a stove pipe into the chimney opening when the back of the chair broke off and she fell across one of the broken spokes. She received a severe gash in her leg. I don't remember if she went to the doctor or not but probably not because people just doctored themselves in those days. A bed was put up in the living room, as Lil was born in very cold weather. I was allowed to sit in a little rocking chair next to Mother's bed and rock the baby. We heated only the kitchen and living room. My first recollection of our heating facilities was a big potbelly stove which used wood and then later coal. We then got a coal oil heater. I was responsible for lighting this stove when Bill and I got home from school. I must have been about 8 years old at the time. First I had to turn it on, wait only so long so not too much oil would drain in, and then throw in a match to light it. I let too much oil get in once, and fire came out all around the bottom of the stove and onto the floor. We had a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, and I just knew that the whole house was going to burn down. I ran to the telephone which was a party line, and a couple of the old "neighbor biddies" were talking. I interrupted them and told them our house was burning down and I needed to call Grandma's house. I then grabbed a wet mop and tried to put it out. I had just succeeded when the son of one of the ladies came to help. She had sent him after my frantic call.
I attended Derrahs School for the first 4 grades. This was a little one room school about ½ mile from our house. Mrs. Mildred Fishback was my teacher. We all called her Miss Mildred, including her own 3 children who attended the school. There were 9 students in the school and it was 1st through 8th grade, although there were no children in some grades. The blackboard was across the front of the room, the old pot-bellied stove was in the middle of the room near the front and 2 person desks in columns on each side. We used pencils and crayons, and the older kids had pens that you could fill with ink. When the school closed I then attended St Patrick School through the 9th grade.
In those days, we didn't have electricity. I was 10 years old before electricity was brought into our neighborhood. We had always had an icebox, but now we could have a refrigerator. I don't remember our first one. Daddy would go to Canton 15 miles away and bring back ice for the icebox in a galvanized tub covered with a rug. Homemade ice cream was a delicacy that was shared by neighbors. We would invite people over to birthdays and have homemade ice cream.
I first learned to drive a car when I was about 13 years old, by driving in the hay field. It helped the family for me to be able to drive to Grandma's for them. I had many times used the horses and wagon.
Daddy and Mother later worked at the glove factory in Canton while we kids were in school. Daddy developed a heart condition which prevented him from doing hard labor such as farming. I have this same condition, and it can be successfully treated now. Daddy died in 1952 when I was 14 years old. I saw him in the hospital the day before he left us. He wiggled his toes at me, and his last words to me were, "Rose, you be a good girl and mind your mother." His funeral is my first recollection of a sad time in my life. I was then expected to be the surrogate mother to my brothers and sisters. By now, there were 5 of us children: me, Bill, Lil, Bernie, Amy, and Mary to be born in 3 months.
Other memories of my childhood include:
Things I loved: my first pair of pajamas at age 8; playing in the barn; Bill & I chasing the goat in the barn and trying to ride it although we were never successful; hunting for baby mice in the corn crib--Oh! those pink little bodies--they were so ugly; going fishing in the pond; mushroom hunting; learning to shoot my first rabbit; cracking the shells from walnuts and getting my fingers stained; picking blackberries.
Things I hated: pulling weeds in the garden; having to milk the cows morning and evenings; those long rides to and from school and finding a place to spend the night if the creek was out of its banks and we couldn't'get home; grabbing the broom and sweeping the dirt into the bedroom and shutting the door if we saw dust down the road as that meant company was coming; being left alone with the kids after dark (I was afraid of the dark); poison ivy (my eyes would swell shut); getting a bag of someone else's used clothes and pretending they were "new."
A couple of years after Daddy's death, we moved to Edina, MO. I attended high school there for a year, but being a teenager, I saw no use for an education. I went to work as a waitress and soon thought I had fallen in love. I married a young man, Jim Bishop, and we had our first son Richard. We moved to Massachusetts where I remained for only 3 months. During that time we lost a baby son. Marriage was not the starry-eyed bliss that as teenagers we thought it was. I, then, returned to Missouri.
It was in 1958 that I decided to take Richard and move to California. Thanks to the graciousness of my brother Bill, who was then married, and his wife, they opened their home to me. I supported my family by working as a nurse's aide in a hospital.
It was on New Year's Eve 1959 that I met my present husband, Allan Heritage. We married in June 1960 and have just recently celebrated 40 years of loving togetherness. We are approaching the age of a different stage in our life, that of retirement. Allan has worked in the auto parts industry for 40 years, and as for myself, I entered the work force when our children had all entered school. I have been an instructional aide at the elementary grade level for 28 years and dearly love working with those whose minds we help form and shape forever.
Allan and I were blessed with 3 more sons, Kenneth, Donald, and Gary. Our children have given us so much pleasure that it is impossible to record the memories that we cherish of their childhood. Richard married and has a son and 2 stepsons. He is a dedicated worker for the City of Monrovia and lives locally, so we enjoy his company frequently. Kenneth was born prematurely and not given much of a chance of survival but today is a strapping 6'1", healthy, robust gentleman who loves interacting with people, especially children. He has been in the auto/truck industry for 20 years. He has been married but has no children. He likewise lives near us. Donald pursued his interest in becoming a fireman and lives in Joplin, MO. He is married and has 3 sons, Dustin, Steven, and Tanner. We get to see each other at least once a year and talk frequently. Gary is married and has a daughter Sara. He has also worked in the auto/truck industry for 16 years. He makes his home about 10 miles from us.
I now understand the pride that swells a grandmother's heart when she speaks of her grandchildren. If I can be only half the grandmother to my grandchildren that my grandmother was to me, I will feel that my place on this earth has been fulfilled.
I grew up in poverty with love and wonderful guidance to become the person that I am today. I thank God for giving me such wonderful parents and grandparents and the wisdom to know Him and carry on some of these great values that have been instilled in me to my children, who will in turn carry them on to their children and generations to come.
