Free was the oldest daughter of seven children born to Swedish immigrants. She started her "mothering skills" early in life. Her mother had been a pastry cook in a Norwegian bakery and Freda learned to bake. After she left school she worked with a woman who made hats for women in Minneapolis. There she learned to be an excellent seamstress. In Anaconda she worked in a jewelry firm and learned how to keep the books. There she met her future husband, Bill. She thought him "bossy" and then discovered he WAS the boss.
After returning from the army, Bill moved to Seattle. He wrote to Freda and asked if she would come to Seattle and marry him. She did. She worked with him in their jewelry store until they moved to his family homestead in Cinabar. She lost a still born child, then had a healthy boy they called Billy. When Billy was three, Freda gave birth to a girl they would call Betty.
Free had a babe in arms, a three year old, a wood burning cook stove, water packed from a spring 300 feet from the house, kerosene lamplight, a radio and no electricity until Billy was 16 years old. She filled her days by planting and harvesting a large garden, canning, keeping chickens and selling eggs, helping Bill butcher animals, keep bees, did the family financial records and a daily diary. The diary could always be found open on the kitchen table ready for entries.
Free was a very good cook. The usual grocery list was flour, sugar and lard which were purchased several times a year. Some of the family favorites were the delicious fried chicken Sunday dinners followed always by two kinds of pie. Another favorite dinner was spaetzle with meat and gravy. She always made our bread and the world's best cinnamon rolls and fruitcake. Oh, to come home from school to these freshly baked delicacies was wonderful. And those pies! Mama makes two kinds of pie every Sunday. Apple, cherry, rhubarb, lemon meringue . . . After a big dinner of fried chicken, potatoes and fresh vegetables, Mama asks Daddy what kind of pie he would like. He always says, "Oh, I can't decide. I'll have a piece of each." Mama only knows how to cut a pie in quarters, so Daddy has half a pie after his big Sunday dinner! Mama also sewed and mended and taught daughter Betty.
Bath time is a weekly event. Mamma heats the water in a big copper boiler on the wood stove and then she carries the water by bucket up to the tub in the bathroom. Cleanest one gets to bathe first. That would be me.
Every night at bedtime she read to Billy and Betty. The family never went to church. Dad goes to milk the cows and Mama holds church at the kitchen table.
The same table where we gather for meals three times a day, where family decisions are made, where homework is completed, where mama's diary and expense ledgers are written and the same table with saw marks in it from butchering our meat.
In the kitchen where diamonds are set and watches repaired at Dad's workbench, Baby chicks are incubated in a box and a runt piglet is nurtured and kept warm by the kitchen stove.
Mama holds church at the "table of life". She reads from her worn and tattered Bible. We listen to a radio program that offers free Bibles to children who learn a list of Bible verses. We learn a new verse this week – that is the lesson. No crafts, no games, just verses. We earn our Bible. I had mine for a lot of years before passing it on to a son.
Mama took an oath that she would never drink alcohol. She never did. At parties she would ask if there was alcohol in the punch – if yes – she would refuse.
She was a tough woman and at the same time very gentle and caring. One of her favorite sayings was – "If you can't say anything good about somebody, don't say anything." People said they felt better after being around her.
In later years Free and Bill loved to travel around the Northwest. The beach was one of their favorite places and where she got a new nickname of "Freda, the clam diggers sweetheart."
Written by daughter Betty
After returning from the army, Bill moved to Seattle. He wrote to Freda and asked if she would come to Seattle and marry him. She did. She worked with him in their jewelry store until they moved to his family homestead in Cinabar. She lost a still born child, then had a healthy boy they called Billy. When Billy was three, Freda gave birth to a girl they would call Betty.
Free had a babe in arms, a three year old, a wood burning cook stove, water packed from a spring 300 feet from the house, kerosene lamplight, a radio and no electricity until Billy was 16 years old. She filled her days by planting and harvesting a large garden, canning, keeping chickens and selling eggs, helping Bill butcher animals, keep bees, did the family financial records and a daily diary. The diary could always be found open on the kitchen table ready for entries.
Free was a very good cook. The usual grocery list was flour, sugar and lard which were purchased several times a year. Some of the family favorites were the delicious fried chicken Sunday dinners followed always by two kinds of pie. Another favorite dinner was spaetzle with meat and gravy. She always made our bread and the world's best cinnamon rolls and fruitcake. Oh, to come home from school to these freshly baked delicacies was wonderful. And those pies! Mama makes two kinds of pie every Sunday. Apple, cherry, rhubarb, lemon meringue . . . After a big dinner of fried chicken, potatoes and fresh vegetables, Mama asks Daddy what kind of pie he would like. He always says, "Oh, I can't decide. I'll have a piece of each." Mama only knows how to cut a pie in quarters, so Daddy has half a pie after his big Sunday dinner! Mama also sewed and mended and taught daughter Betty.
Bath time is a weekly event. Mamma heats the water in a big copper boiler on the wood stove and then she carries the water by bucket up to the tub in the bathroom. Cleanest one gets to bathe first. That would be me.
Every night at bedtime she read to Billy and Betty. The family never went to church. Dad goes to milk the cows and Mama holds church at the kitchen table.
The same table where we gather for meals three times a day, where family decisions are made, where homework is completed, where mama's diary and expense ledgers are written and the same table with saw marks in it from butchering our meat.
In the kitchen where diamonds are set and watches repaired at Dad's workbench, Baby chicks are incubated in a box and a runt piglet is nurtured and kept warm by the kitchen stove.
Mama holds church at the "table of life". She reads from her worn and tattered Bible. We listen to a radio program that offers free Bibles to children who learn a list of Bible verses. We learn a new verse this week – that is the lesson. No crafts, no games, just verses. We earn our Bible. I had mine for a lot of years before passing it on to a son.
Mama took an oath that she would never drink alcohol. She never did. At parties she would ask if there was alcohol in the punch – if yes – she would refuse.
She was a tough woman and at the same time very gentle and caring. One of her favorite sayings was – "If you can't say anything good about somebody, don't say anything." People said they felt better after being around her.
In later years Free and Bill loved to travel around the Northwest. The beach was one of their favorite places and where she got a new nickname of "Freda, the clam diggers sweetheart."
Written by daughter Betty
Free was the oldest daughter of seven children born to Swedish immigrants. She started her "mothering skills" early in life. Her mother had been a pastry cook in a Norwegian bakery and Freda learned to bake. After she left school she worked with a woman who made hats for women in Minneapolis. There she learned to be an excellent seamstress. In Anaconda she worked in a jewelry firm and learned how to keep the books. There she met her future husband, Bill. She thought him "bossy" and then discovered he WAS the boss.
After returning from the army, Bill moved to Seattle. He wrote to Freda and asked if she would come to Seattle and marry him. She did. She worked with him in their jewelry store until they moved to his family homestead in Cinabar. She lost a still born child, then had a healthy boy they called Billy. When Billy was three, Freda gave birth to a girl they would call Betty.
Free had a babe in arms, a three year old, a wood burning cook stove, water packed from a spring 300 feet from the house, kerosene lamplight, a radio and no electricity until Billy was 16 years old. She filled her days by planting and harvesting a large garden, canning, keeping chickens and selling eggs, helping Bill butcher animals, keep bees, did the family financial records and a daily diary. The diary could always be found open on the kitchen table ready for entries.
Free was a very good cook. The usual grocery list was flour, sugar and lard which were purchased several times a year. Some of the family favorites were the delicious fried chicken Sunday dinners followed always by two kinds of pie. Another favorite dinner was spaetzle with meat and gravy. She always made our bread and the world's best cinnamon rolls and fruitcake. Oh, to come home from school to these freshly baked delicacies was wonderful. And those pies! Mama makes two kinds of pie every Sunday. Apple, cherry, rhubarb, lemon meringue . . . After a big dinner of fried chicken, potatoes and fresh vegetables, Mama asks Daddy what kind of pie he would like. He always says, "Oh, I can't decide. I'll have a piece of each." Mama only knows how to cut a pie in quarters, so Daddy has half a pie after his big Sunday dinner! Mama also sewed and mended and taught daughter Betty.
Bath time is a weekly event. Mamma heats the water in a big copper boiler on the wood stove and then she carries the water by bucket up to the tub in the bathroom. Cleanest one gets to bathe first. That would be me.
Every night at bedtime she read to Billy and Betty. The family never went to church. Dad goes to milk the cows and Mama holds church at the kitchen table.
The same table where we gather for meals three times a day, where family decisions are made, where homework is completed, where mama's diary and expense ledgers are written and the same table with saw marks in it from butchering our meat.
In the kitchen where diamonds are set and watches repaired at Dad's workbench, Baby chicks are incubated in a box and a runt piglet is nurtured and kept warm by the kitchen stove.
Mama holds church at the "table of life". She reads from her worn and tattered Bible. We listen to a radio program that offers free Bibles to children who learn a list of Bible verses. We learn a new verse this week – that is the lesson. No crafts, no games, just verses. We earn our Bible. I had mine for a lot of years before passing it on to a son.
Mama took an oath that she would never drink alcohol. She never did. At parties she would ask if there was alcohol in the punch – if yes – she would refuse.
She was a tough woman and at the same time very gentle and caring. One of her favorite sayings was – "If you can't say anything good about somebody, don't say anything." People said they felt better after being around her.
In later years Free and Bill loved to travel around the Northwest. The beach was one of their favorite places and where she got a new nickname of "Freda, the clam diggers sweetheart."
Written by daughter Betty
After returning from the army, Bill moved to Seattle. He wrote to Freda and asked if she would come to Seattle and marry him. She did. She worked with him in their jewelry store until they moved to his family homestead in Cinabar. She lost a still born child, then had a healthy boy they called Billy. When Billy was three, Freda gave birth to a girl they would call Betty.
Free had a babe in arms, a three year old, a wood burning cook stove, water packed from a spring 300 feet from the house, kerosene lamplight, a radio and no electricity until Billy was 16 years old. She filled her days by planting and harvesting a large garden, canning, keeping chickens and selling eggs, helping Bill butcher animals, keep bees, did the family financial records and a daily diary. The diary could always be found open on the kitchen table ready for entries.
Free was a very good cook. The usual grocery list was flour, sugar and lard which were purchased several times a year. Some of the family favorites were the delicious fried chicken Sunday dinners followed always by two kinds of pie. Another favorite dinner was spaetzle with meat and gravy. She always made our bread and the world's best cinnamon rolls and fruitcake. Oh, to come home from school to these freshly baked delicacies was wonderful. And those pies! Mama makes two kinds of pie every Sunday. Apple, cherry, rhubarb, lemon meringue . . . After a big dinner of fried chicken, potatoes and fresh vegetables, Mama asks Daddy what kind of pie he would like. He always says, "Oh, I can't decide. I'll have a piece of each." Mama only knows how to cut a pie in quarters, so Daddy has half a pie after his big Sunday dinner! Mama also sewed and mended and taught daughter Betty.
Bath time is a weekly event. Mamma heats the water in a big copper boiler on the wood stove and then she carries the water by bucket up to the tub in the bathroom. Cleanest one gets to bathe first. That would be me.
Every night at bedtime she read to Billy and Betty. The family never went to church. Dad goes to milk the cows and Mama holds church at the kitchen table.
The same table where we gather for meals three times a day, where family decisions are made, where homework is completed, where mama's diary and expense ledgers are written and the same table with saw marks in it from butchering our meat.
In the kitchen where diamonds are set and watches repaired at Dad's workbench, Baby chicks are incubated in a box and a runt piglet is nurtured and kept warm by the kitchen stove.
Mama holds church at the "table of life". She reads from her worn and tattered Bible. We listen to a radio program that offers free Bibles to children who learn a list of Bible verses. We learn a new verse this week – that is the lesson. No crafts, no games, just verses. We earn our Bible. I had mine for a lot of years before passing it on to a son.
Mama took an oath that she would never drink alcohol. She never did. At parties she would ask if there was alcohol in the punch – if yes – she would refuse.
She was a tough woman and at the same time very gentle and caring. One of her favorite sayings was – "If you can't say anything good about somebody, don't say anything." People said they felt better after being around her.
In later years Free and Bill loved to travel around the Northwest. The beach was one of their favorite places and where she got a new nickname of "Freda, the clam diggers sweetheart."
Written by daughter Betty
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