Goldie Mildred Whinery Edmonston passed away on August 6, 2014. She was born in a three room house built during the Civil War near Evansville, Arkansas January 23, 1920 to Elmer Ernest Whinery and Goldie S. Galloway Whinery, now both deceased. She is survived by son, Ernest Edmonston and daughter-in-law Roseanne of Roswell, a daughter, Linda Bentley of Clovis, a Granddaughter Marla Edmonston of Albuquerque, and several nieces and nephews. Mildred had two brothers and two sisters, all now deceased.
Mildred was cremated and there are no services scheduled at this time. Her ashes will be scattered among those of her husband in a private ceremony.
Mildred married Marvin Edmonston in Clovis, New Mexico on February 8, 1941. Marvin was making $8.00 a week at the time. They lived in the Community of St. Vrain for some time before moving to Clovis. They were married for over 65 years which was terminated by Marvin's death in 2007. Marvin retired as a locomotive engineer with the AT&SF railroad.
Mildred was raised in Arkansas during the depression and wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone who would listen about how hard times were there. The family moved several times in search of better conditions, but would generally return to Arkansas. It was during one of these moves when Mildred was staying with relatives in St. Vrain that she met Marvin, married him, and lived in the Clovis area for the rest of her life.
Mildred was a homemaker for the most part, and worked hard at it. She also worked for the Clovis City School system, Furr's Cafeteria, and as a poll worker when time allowed.
Mildred was a fun loving person and her favorite hobby was talking. She would talk to anyone about anything. She also enjoyed knitting and knitted afgans for all her kin and friends, some of which were blue ribbon prize winning specimens. She had also made some beautiful quilts during her younger years.
Mildred was of the Baptist faith.
Mildred was determined not to leave her home and did manage to stay there until she was 94 years of age. Finally, her weakened condition caused her body to fall behind her courage and desire to hold on. She will be missed by her friends and remaining relatives.
MEMOIRS OF GOLDIE MILDRED (WHINERY) EDMONSTON
June, 2010
I have been asked to write my Memoirs so will make an attempt to do so:
To begin with we go back to Jan 23, 1920 and a 3 room house built during the Civil War on the side of a hill at the foothills of the Ozarks in Arkansas. I was born that cold day in that old house, the second daughter of Elmer and Goldie Galloway Whinery. Marie, the oldest was born April, 1918 and my brothers Ernest, born December 17, 1921 and ONeil, born March 15, 1924. Wanda Lou was born July 1, 1930.
In September 1924, my parents, with us 4 children in tow, caught the train in Stilwell, Okla. and went to Montesano, Washington where some of the relatives had gone and there were jobs available whereas there was nothing to make money from in Ark. The baby Oneil developed pneumonia and died the last day of December at the age of 9 months, my parents never got over this, especially as on account of the Doctor who was called to the house diagnosed his problem was caused by “Something he had eaten”. He could probably have lived had he had proper treatment.
Mama did not like living in Washington where she considered the females indecent, immoral, and trashy, They even dared to wear bathing suits where they could be seen. They had good school houses and nine months of schools there, but that didn’t seem to mean anything to Mama. Why my dad paid any attention to this I don't know, but he wanted to please her so away we go in an old model T Ford to the wretched old place they owned in Arkansas. We were lucky if we ever had more than 3 months of school per year. The teachers didn’t know very much and good ones wouldn’t take that job that paid very little. I had gone through eighth grade but Mama said I was too young to be out of school so I went back another term. Then another year went by- this was my 15th year of age. I felt like a bird in a cage and told myself that someday I would be able to see something besides the hills, hollows, spooky old cemeteries, etc. We three children had to help daddy in the fields, carry water, chop wood, and any and all work that had to be done. Marie and I learned to milk cows, help shear sheep, wash clothes on the rub board and on and on.
Someone had built a one room “church house” about half way between us and the village of Evansville. There we held Sunday school, church services, and whatever was needed for a meeting place. Evansville was 3 miles from our house and often people would come from that village to our “to do’s” at Centerpoint Church. Among these people was a man (about 21 or 22) that took a “shine” to me and decided I was his girl friend. As time went by he kept coming around to see me as often as he could. He didn’t have a good reputation so was considered unfit to associate with. I have no idea what he was, had done, was guilty of, etc. My dad had ordered him to stay away from me but he didn’t so my parents decided to “remove me from the scene”. I was 16 years old by this time.
It didn’t rain that year of 1936 and it was apparent that there would be no crops raised. The bootlegger in Evansville owned a car and was going to take my dad and a couple other guys to Oregon to work in the fields and orchards. I was taken with them to St Vrain, New Mexico where my grandparents, Orpha Jane (Hickman) and Jesse Galloway lived on a farm. That was the luckiest day of my life. I took to the desert like a duck takes to water. I could see for miles and miles. I could actually get to go to high school!! We had to ride the school bus to Melrose as there was no High School at St Vrain, but did have a grade school at that time. The first time I can remember seeing Marvin Edmonston was about half-way between the school house and Charlie Roach’s service station and very small grocery store. Marvin said “I’ll race you down to the store”. We took off and I “beat him” as I could run faster than he could. Time went by and I graduated from Melrose High School. After that I worked there at the school on NYA ( I was daughter of a man on WPA) and I got the whole sum of $3 per month!!
Marvin had gone into Clovis and was working at a very low-paying job at $8.00 per week. The rent on the apt. where he was living was $10 per month. He was given 2 frozen (dressed out chickens)and one qt. of cream by the owner of the place where he worked. His parents brought us eggs and butter when they came into town from St. Vrain. We were getting nowhere fast and it was a lucky break he got layed off. This was in the spring of 1941. We had been married in Feb. of that year and I had moved into town at that time. He worked for a farmer for $1.00 a day for a short while. Clovis was having a celebration every June and that year we were there for that event and ran into John “Sol” Kilmer, a Section Foreman for the Santa Fe Railway Co. He said they were hiring workers and encouraged Marvin to apply for a job. This he did and he went to work tamping ties using a pick and shovel (they later had a machine that did this work). We moved into a section house between Melrose and Ft. Sumner and we had one room in that building. A family from St. Vrain had 2 rooms and the several others were occupied by Hispanic families and all apts. had its share of cockroaches, no electricity, running water, and any conveniences whatsoever. The Kilmer’s let us use their outhouse and we had to carry water from a windmill nearby. The St.Vrain family had a cow they kept nearby and we got one pint of milk from there every day. I had to pack lunches for Marvin and years later I asked him “what in world did I put in them?” He said he couldn’t remember but he had more than Mr. Kilmer did. Every day he had a snuff glass with red Karo syrup in it and some bread to go with it. The same thing every day. You can call this “living” if you want to but I beg to differ. It was terrible.
We learned that they were hiring for the bridge gang (Santa Fe Railroad)that worked at different places on the railroad system. Marvin went to work on that system and I went back to St.Vrain where I stayed with my parents and brother and younger sister. Marvin got sixty some odd dollars a month then and he brought some lumber and my dad built us a little 2 room house there in St. Vrain. They soon started working in Clovis and Marvin rode into town with a man named Frank Walker who owned a car. They were working on the round house when Frank fell off and landed on his head and died within a few days. We had to move to Clovis so rented a house on east 5th St. for $15 per month and were living there when our son was born in November 0f 1942.
Our daughter was born in that house in 1945 and we lived there until we built another house and moved into it on Davis Street. Meanwhile Marvin changed jobs again and hired out as yard Locomotive Fireman earning a little over $6 a day. He shoveled coal into these engines until they changed over to diesel and no longer fired with coal.
He became an Engineer and continued working for the Santa Fe R.R. for close to 40 years, part of the time in yards at Vaughn and Belen NM. He retired at age 60 and lived to the age of 85. As time went by, things got better and we ended up having all the things that most normal people have and much more than a lot of them.
Mildred was cremated and there are no services scheduled at this time. Her ashes will be scattered among those of her husband in a private ceremony.
Mildred married Marvin Edmonston in Clovis, New Mexico on February 8, 1941. Marvin was making $8.00 a week at the time. They lived in the Community of St. Vrain for some time before moving to Clovis. They were married for over 65 years which was terminated by Marvin's death in 2007. Marvin retired as a locomotive engineer with the AT&SF railroad.
Mildred was raised in Arkansas during the depression and wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone who would listen about how hard times were there. The family moved several times in search of better conditions, but would generally return to Arkansas. It was during one of these moves when Mildred was staying with relatives in St. Vrain that she met Marvin, married him, and lived in the Clovis area for the rest of her life.
Mildred was a homemaker for the most part, and worked hard at it. She also worked for the Clovis City School system, Furr's Cafeteria, and as a poll worker when time allowed.
Mildred was a fun loving person and her favorite hobby was talking. She would talk to anyone about anything. She also enjoyed knitting and knitted afgans for all her kin and friends, some of which were blue ribbon prize winning specimens. She had also made some beautiful quilts during her younger years.
Mildred was of the Baptist faith.
Mildred was determined not to leave her home and did manage to stay there until she was 94 years of age. Finally, her weakened condition caused her body to fall behind her courage and desire to hold on. She will be missed by her friends and remaining relatives.
MEMOIRS OF GOLDIE MILDRED (WHINERY) EDMONSTON
June, 2010
I have been asked to write my Memoirs so will make an attempt to do so:
To begin with we go back to Jan 23, 1920 and a 3 room house built during the Civil War on the side of a hill at the foothills of the Ozarks in Arkansas. I was born that cold day in that old house, the second daughter of Elmer and Goldie Galloway Whinery. Marie, the oldest was born April, 1918 and my brothers Ernest, born December 17, 1921 and ONeil, born March 15, 1924. Wanda Lou was born July 1, 1930.
In September 1924, my parents, with us 4 children in tow, caught the train in Stilwell, Okla. and went to Montesano, Washington where some of the relatives had gone and there were jobs available whereas there was nothing to make money from in Ark. The baby Oneil developed pneumonia and died the last day of December at the age of 9 months, my parents never got over this, especially as on account of the Doctor who was called to the house diagnosed his problem was caused by “Something he had eaten”. He could probably have lived had he had proper treatment.
Mama did not like living in Washington where she considered the females indecent, immoral, and trashy, They even dared to wear bathing suits where they could be seen. They had good school houses and nine months of schools there, but that didn’t seem to mean anything to Mama. Why my dad paid any attention to this I don't know, but he wanted to please her so away we go in an old model T Ford to the wretched old place they owned in Arkansas. We were lucky if we ever had more than 3 months of school per year. The teachers didn’t know very much and good ones wouldn’t take that job that paid very little. I had gone through eighth grade but Mama said I was too young to be out of school so I went back another term. Then another year went by- this was my 15th year of age. I felt like a bird in a cage and told myself that someday I would be able to see something besides the hills, hollows, spooky old cemeteries, etc. We three children had to help daddy in the fields, carry water, chop wood, and any and all work that had to be done. Marie and I learned to milk cows, help shear sheep, wash clothes on the rub board and on and on.
Someone had built a one room “church house” about half way between us and the village of Evansville. There we held Sunday school, church services, and whatever was needed for a meeting place. Evansville was 3 miles from our house and often people would come from that village to our “to do’s” at Centerpoint Church. Among these people was a man (about 21 or 22) that took a “shine” to me and decided I was his girl friend. As time went by he kept coming around to see me as often as he could. He didn’t have a good reputation so was considered unfit to associate with. I have no idea what he was, had done, was guilty of, etc. My dad had ordered him to stay away from me but he didn’t so my parents decided to “remove me from the scene”. I was 16 years old by this time.
It didn’t rain that year of 1936 and it was apparent that there would be no crops raised. The bootlegger in Evansville owned a car and was going to take my dad and a couple other guys to Oregon to work in the fields and orchards. I was taken with them to St Vrain, New Mexico where my grandparents, Orpha Jane (Hickman) and Jesse Galloway lived on a farm. That was the luckiest day of my life. I took to the desert like a duck takes to water. I could see for miles and miles. I could actually get to go to high school!! We had to ride the school bus to Melrose as there was no High School at St Vrain, but did have a grade school at that time. The first time I can remember seeing Marvin Edmonston was about half-way between the school house and Charlie Roach’s service station and very small grocery store. Marvin said “I’ll race you down to the store”. We took off and I “beat him” as I could run faster than he could. Time went by and I graduated from Melrose High School. After that I worked there at the school on NYA ( I was daughter of a man on WPA) and I got the whole sum of $3 per month!!
Marvin had gone into Clovis and was working at a very low-paying job at $8.00 per week. The rent on the apt. where he was living was $10 per month. He was given 2 frozen (dressed out chickens)and one qt. of cream by the owner of the place where he worked. His parents brought us eggs and butter when they came into town from St. Vrain. We were getting nowhere fast and it was a lucky break he got layed off. This was in the spring of 1941. We had been married in Feb. of that year and I had moved into town at that time. He worked for a farmer for $1.00 a day for a short while. Clovis was having a celebration every June and that year we were there for that event and ran into John “Sol” Kilmer, a Section Foreman for the Santa Fe Railway Co. He said they were hiring workers and encouraged Marvin to apply for a job. This he did and he went to work tamping ties using a pick and shovel (they later had a machine that did this work). We moved into a section house between Melrose and Ft. Sumner and we had one room in that building. A family from St. Vrain had 2 rooms and the several others were occupied by Hispanic families and all apts. had its share of cockroaches, no electricity, running water, and any conveniences whatsoever. The Kilmer’s let us use their outhouse and we had to carry water from a windmill nearby. The St.Vrain family had a cow they kept nearby and we got one pint of milk from there every day. I had to pack lunches for Marvin and years later I asked him “what in world did I put in them?” He said he couldn’t remember but he had more than Mr. Kilmer did. Every day he had a snuff glass with red Karo syrup in it and some bread to go with it. The same thing every day. You can call this “living” if you want to but I beg to differ. It was terrible.
We learned that they were hiring for the bridge gang (Santa Fe Railroad)that worked at different places on the railroad system. Marvin went to work on that system and I went back to St.Vrain where I stayed with my parents and brother and younger sister. Marvin got sixty some odd dollars a month then and he brought some lumber and my dad built us a little 2 room house there in St. Vrain. They soon started working in Clovis and Marvin rode into town with a man named Frank Walker who owned a car. They were working on the round house when Frank fell off and landed on his head and died within a few days. We had to move to Clovis so rented a house on east 5th St. for $15 per month and were living there when our son was born in November 0f 1942.
Our daughter was born in that house in 1945 and we lived there until we built another house and moved into it on Davis Street. Meanwhile Marvin changed jobs again and hired out as yard Locomotive Fireman earning a little over $6 a day. He shoveled coal into these engines until they changed over to diesel and no longer fired with coal.
He became an Engineer and continued working for the Santa Fe R.R. for close to 40 years, part of the time in yards at Vaughn and Belen NM. He retired at age 60 and lived to the age of 85. As time went by, things got better and we ended up having all the things that most normal people have and much more than a lot of them.
Goldie Mildred Whinery Edmonston passed away on August 6, 2014. She was born in a three room house built during the Civil War near Evansville, Arkansas January 23, 1920 to Elmer Ernest Whinery and Goldie S. Galloway Whinery, now both deceased. She is survived by son, Ernest Edmonston and daughter-in-law Roseanne of Roswell, a daughter, Linda Bentley of Clovis, a Granddaughter Marla Edmonston of Albuquerque, and several nieces and nephews. Mildred had two brothers and two sisters, all now deceased.
Mildred was cremated and there are no services scheduled at this time. Her ashes will be scattered among those of her husband in a private ceremony.
Mildred married Marvin Edmonston in Clovis, New Mexico on February 8, 1941. Marvin was making $8.00 a week at the time. They lived in the Community of St. Vrain for some time before moving to Clovis. They were married for over 65 years which was terminated by Marvin's death in 2007. Marvin retired as a locomotive engineer with the AT&SF railroad.
Mildred was raised in Arkansas during the depression and wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone who would listen about how hard times were there. The family moved several times in search of better conditions, but would generally return to Arkansas. It was during one of these moves when Mildred was staying with relatives in St. Vrain that she met Marvin, married him, and lived in the Clovis area for the rest of her life.
Mildred was a homemaker for the most part, and worked hard at it. She also worked for the Clovis City School system, Furr's Cafeteria, and as a poll worker when time allowed.
Mildred was a fun loving person and her favorite hobby was talking. She would talk to anyone about anything. She also enjoyed knitting and knitted afgans for all her kin and friends, some of which were blue ribbon prize winning specimens. She had also made some beautiful quilts during her younger years.
Mildred was of the Baptist faith.
Mildred was determined not to leave her home and did manage to stay there until she was 94 years of age. Finally, her weakened condition caused her body to fall behind her courage and desire to hold on. She will be missed by her friends and remaining relatives.
MEMOIRS OF GOLDIE MILDRED (WHINERY) EDMONSTON
June, 2010
I have been asked to write my Memoirs so will make an attempt to do so:
To begin with we go back to Jan 23, 1920 and a 3 room house built during the Civil War on the side of a hill at the foothills of the Ozarks in Arkansas. I was born that cold day in that old house, the second daughter of Elmer and Goldie Galloway Whinery. Marie, the oldest was born April, 1918 and my brothers Ernest, born December 17, 1921 and ONeil, born March 15, 1924. Wanda Lou was born July 1, 1930.
In September 1924, my parents, with us 4 children in tow, caught the train in Stilwell, Okla. and went to Montesano, Washington where some of the relatives had gone and there were jobs available whereas there was nothing to make money from in Ark. The baby Oneil developed pneumonia and died the last day of December at the age of 9 months, my parents never got over this, especially as on account of the Doctor who was called to the house diagnosed his problem was caused by “Something he had eaten”. He could probably have lived had he had proper treatment.
Mama did not like living in Washington where she considered the females indecent, immoral, and trashy, They even dared to wear bathing suits where they could be seen. They had good school houses and nine months of schools there, but that didn’t seem to mean anything to Mama. Why my dad paid any attention to this I don't know, but he wanted to please her so away we go in an old model T Ford to the wretched old place they owned in Arkansas. We were lucky if we ever had more than 3 months of school per year. The teachers didn’t know very much and good ones wouldn’t take that job that paid very little. I had gone through eighth grade but Mama said I was too young to be out of school so I went back another term. Then another year went by- this was my 15th year of age. I felt like a bird in a cage and told myself that someday I would be able to see something besides the hills, hollows, spooky old cemeteries, etc. We three children had to help daddy in the fields, carry water, chop wood, and any and all work that had to be done. Marie and I learned to milk cows, help shear sheep, wash clothes on the rub board and on and on.
Someone had built a one room “church house” about half way between us and the village of Evansville. There we held Sunday school, church services, and whatever was needed for a meeting place. Evansville was 3 miles from our house and often people would come from that village to our “to do’s” at Centerpoint Church. Among these people was a man (about 21 or 22) that took a “shine” to me and decided I was his girl friend. As time went by he kept coming around to see me as often as he could. He didn’t have a good reputation so was considered unfit to associate with. I have no idea what he was, had done, was guilty of, etc. My dad had ordered him to stay away from me but he didn’t so my parents decided to “remove me from the scene”. I was 16 years old by this time.
It didn’t rain that year of 1936 and it was apparent that there would be no crops raised. The bootlegger in Evansville owned a car and was going to take my dad and a couple other guys to Oregon to work in the fields and orchards. I was taken with them to St Vrain, New Mexico where my grandparents, Orpha Jane (Hickman) and Jesse Galloway lived on a farm. That was the luckiest day of my life. I took to the desert like a duck takes to water. I could see for miles and miles. I could actually get to go to high school!! We had to ride the school bus to Melrose as there was no High School at St Vrain, but did have a grade school at that time. The first time I can remember seeing Marvin Edmonston was about half-way between the school house and Charlie Roach’s service station and very small grocery store. Marvin said “I’ll race you down to the store”. We took off and I “beat him” as I could run faster than he could. Time went by and I graduated from Melrose High School. After that I worked there at the school on NYA ( I was daughter of a man on WPA) and I got the whole sum of $3 per month!!
Marvin had gone into Clovis and was working at a very low-paying job at $8.00 per week. The rent on the apt. where he was living was $10 per month. He was given 2 frozen (dressed out chickens)and one qt. of cream by the owner of the place where he worked. His parents brought us eggs and butter when they came into town from St. Vrain. We were getting nowhere fast and it was a lucky break he got layed off. This was in the spring of 1941. We had been married in Feb. of that year and I had moved into town at that time. He worked for a farmer for $1.00 a day for a short while. Clovis was having a celebration every June and that year we were there for that event and ran into John “Sol” Kilmer, a Section Foreman for the Santa Fe Railway Co. He said they were hiring workers and encouraged Marvin to apply for a job. This he did and he went to work tamping ties using a pick and shovel (they later had a machine that did this work). We moved into a section house between Melrose and Ft. Sumner and we had one room in that building. A family from St. Vrain had 2 rooms and the several others were occupied by Hispanic families and all apts. had its share of cockroaches, no electricity, running water, and any conveniences whatsoever. The Kilmer’s let us use their outhouse and we had to carry water from a windmill nearby. The St.Vrain family had a cow they kept nearby and we got one pint of milk from there every day. I had to pack lunches for Marvin and years later I asked him “what in world did I put in them?” He said he couldn’t remember but he had more than Mr. Kilmer did. Every day he had a snuff glass with red Karo syrup in it and some bread to go with it. The same thing every day. You can call this “living” if you want to but I beg to differ. It was terrible.
We learned that they were hiring for the bridge gang (Santa Fe Railroad)that worked at different places on the railroad system. Marvin went to work on that system and I went back to St.Vrain where I stayed with my parents and brother and younger sister. Marvin got sixty some odd dollars a month then and he brought some lumber and my dad built us a little 2 room house there in St. Vrain. They soon started working in Clovis and Marvin rode into town with a man named Frank Walker who owned a car. They were working on the round house when Frank fell off and landed on his head and died within a few days. We had to move to Clovis so rented a house on east 5th St. for $15 per month and were living there when our son was born in November 0f 1942.
Our daughter was born in that house in 1945 and we lived there until we built another house and moved into it on Davis Street. Meanwhile Marvin changed jobs again and hired out as yard Locomotive Fireman earning a little over $6 a day. He shoveled coal into these engines until they changed over to diesel and no longer fired with coal.
He became an Engineer and continued working for the Santa Fe R.R. for close to 40 years, part of the time in yards at Vaughn and Belen NM. He retired at age 60 and lived to the age of 85. As time went by, things got better and we ended up having all the things that most normal people have and much more than a lot of them.
Mildred was cremated and there are no services scheduled at this time. Her ashes will be scattered among those of her husband in a private ceremony.
Mildred married Marvin Edmonston in Clovis, New Mexico on February 8, 1941. Marvin was making $8.00 a week at the time. They lived in the Community of St. Vrain for some time before moving to Clovis. They were married for over 65 years which was terminated by Marvin's death in 2007. Marvin retired as a locomotive engineer with the AT&SF railroad.
Mildred was raised in Arkansas during the depression and wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone who would listen about how hard times were there. The family moved several times in search of better conditions, but would generally return to Arkansas. It was during one of these moves when Mildred was staying with relatives in St. Vrain that she met Marvin, married him, and lived in the Clovis area for the rest of her life.
Mildred was a homemaker for the most part, and worked hard at it. She also worked for the Clovis City School system, Furr's Cafeteria, and as a poll worker when time allowed.
Mildred was a fun loving person and her favorite hobby was talking. She would talk to anyone about anything. She also enjoyed knitting and knitted afgans for all her kin and friends, some of which were blue ribbon prize winning specimens. She had also made some beautiful quilts during her younger years.
Mildred was of the Baptist faith.
Mildred was determined not to leave her home and did manage to stay there until she was 94 years of age. Finally, her weakened condition caused her body to fall behind her courage and desire to hold on. She will be missed by her friends and remaining relatives.
MEMOIRS OF GOLDIE MILDRED (WHINERY) EDMONSTON
June, 2010
I have been asked to write my Memoirs so will make an attempt to do so:
To begin with we go back to Jan 23, 1920 and a 3 room house built during the Civil War on the side of a hill at the foothills of the Ozarks in Arkansas. I was born that cold day in that old house, the second daughter of Elmer and Goldie Galloway Whinery. Marie, the oldest was born April, 1918 and my brothers Ernest, born December 17, 1921 and ONeil, born March 15, 1924. Wanda Lou was born July 1, 1930.
In September 1924, my parents, with us 4 children in tow, caught the train in Stilwell, Okla. and went to Montesano, Washington where some of the relatives had gone and there were jobs available whereas there was nothing to make money from in Ark. The baby Oneil developed pneumonia and died the last day of December at the age of 9 months, my parents never got over this, especially as on account of the Doctor who was called to the house diagnosed his problem was caused by “Something he had eaten”. He could probably have lived had he had proper treatment.
Mama did not like living in Washington where she considered the females indecent, immoral, and trashy, They even dared to wear bathing suits where they could be seen. They had good school houses and nine months of schools there, but that didn’t seem to mean anything to Mama. Why my dad paid any attention to this I don't know, but he wanted to please her so away we go in an old model T Ford to the wretched old place they owned in Arkansas. We were lucky if we ever had more than 3 months of school per year. The teachers didn’t know very much and good ones wouldn’t take that job that paid very little. I had gone through eighth grade but Mama said I was too young to be out of school so I went back another term. Then another year went by- this was my 15th year of age. I felt like a bird in a cage and told myself that someday I would be able to see something besides the hills, hollows, spooky old cemeteries, etc. We three children had to help daddy in the fields, carry water, chop wood, and any and all work that had to be done. Marie and I learned to milk cows, help shear sheep, wash clothes on the rub board and on and on.
Someone had built a one room “church house” about half way between us and the village of Evansville. There we held Sunday school, church services, and whatever was needed for a meeting place. Evansville was 3 miles from our house and often people would come from that village to our “to do’s” at Centerpoint Church. Among these people was a man (about 21 or 22) that took a “shine” to me and decided I was his girl friend. As time went by he kept coming around to see me as often as he could. He didn’t have a good reputation so was considered unfit to associate with. I have no idea what he was, had done, was guilty of, etc. My dad had ordered him to stay away from me but he didn’t so my parents decided to “remove me from the scene”. I was 16 years old by this time.
It didn’t rain that year of 1936 and it was apparent that there would be no crops raised. The bootlegger in Evansville owned a car and was going to take my dad and a couple other guys to Oregon to work in the fields and orchards. I was taken with them to St Vrain, New Mexico where my grandparents, Orpha Jane (Hickman) and Jesse Galloway lived on a farm. That was the luckiest day of my life. I took to the desert like a duck takes to water. I could see for miles and miles. I could actually get to go to high school!! We had to ride the school bus to Melrose as there was no High School at St Vrain, but did have a grade school at that time. The first time I can remember seeing Marvin Edmonston was about half-way between the school house and Charlie Roach’s service station and very small grocery store. Marvin said “I’ll race you down to the store”. We took off and I “beat him” as I could run faster than he could. Time went by and I graduated from Melrose High School. After that I worked there at the school on NYA ( I was daughter of a man on WPA) and I got the whole sum of $3 per month!!
Marvin had gone into Clovis and was working at a very low-paying job at $8.00 per week. The rent on the apt. where he was living was $10 per month. He was given 2 frozen (dressed out chickens)and one qt. of cream by the owner of the place where he worked. His parents brought us eggs and butter when they came into town from St. Vrain. We were getting nowhere fast and it was a lucky break he got layed off. This was in the spring of 1941. We had been married in Feb. of that year and I had moved into town at that time. He worked for a farmer for $1.00 a day for a short while. Clovis was having a celebration every June and that year we were there for that event and ran into John “Sol” Kilmer, a Section Foreman for the Santa Fe Railway Co. He said they were hiring workers and encouraged Marvin to apply for a job. This he did and he went to work tamping ties using a pick and shovel (they later had a machine that did this work). We moved into a section house between Melrose and Ft. Sumner and we had one room in that building. A family from St. Vrain had 2 rooms and the several others were occupied by Hispanic families and all apts. had its share of cockroaches, no electricity, running water, and any conveniences whatsoever. The Kilmer’s let us use their outhouse and we had to carry water from a windmill nearby. The St.Vrain family had a cow they kept nearby and we got one pint of milk from there every day. I had to pack lunches for Marvin and years later I asked him “what in world did I put in them?” He said he couldn’t remember but he had more than Mr. Kilmer did. Every day he had a snuff glass with red Karo syrup in it and some bread to go with it. The same thing every day. You can call this “living” if you want to but I beg to differ. It was terrible.
We learned that they were hiring for the bridge gang (Santa Fe Railroad)that worked at different places on the railroad system. Marvin went to work on that system and I went back to St.Vrain where I stayed with my parents and brother and younger sister. Marvin got sixty some odd dollars a month then and he brought some lumber and my dad built us a little 2 room house there in St. Vrain. They soon started working in Clovis and Marvin rode into town with a man named Frank Walker who owned a car. They were working on the round house when Frank fell off and landed on his head and died within a few days. We had to move to Clovis so rented a house on east 5th St. for $15 per month and were living there when our son was born in November 0f 1942.
Our daughter was born in that house in 1945 and we lived there until we built another house and moved into it on Davis Street. Meanwhile Marvin changed jobs again and hired out as yard Locomotive Fireman earning a little over $6 a day. He shoveled coal into these engines until they changed over to diesel and no longer fired with coal.
He became an Engineer and continued working for the Santa Fe R.R. for close to 40 years, part of the time in yards at Vaughn and Belen NM. He retired at age 60 and lived to the age of 85. As time went by, things got better and we ended up having all the things that most normal people have and much more than a lot of them.
