(OBITUARY)
Mrs. Hammers Services Held
Funeral services for Mrs. Howard (Myrtle) Hammers, 73, of Ellery, were held Sunday afternoon from Nales Funeral Home.
Mrs. Hammers died Thursday at Fairfield Memorial Hospital, where she had been a patient since September 30 after suffering a stroke.
Surviving are her husband, Howard Hammers of Ellery; two sons, Ralph Fryman of Ellery, and Bruce of Aurora, Indiana; three daughters, Mrs. Daisy Ewing of Ellery, Mrs. Dora Hutchcraft of Burnt Prairie, and Mrs. Willard (Pearl) Jones of Ridgway; 21 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 10 step grandchildren; two sister, Mrs. Ruby Apple and Mrs. Lydia Brothers, both of Peoria; and two brothers, Orville Hopper of Peoria and Roy Hopper of San Francisco, California.
Born February 10, 1899 in Orange County, Indiana, her parents were Charles and Belle York Hopper, she was married May 2, 1915 to James Fryman, who died March 5, 1956.
Mr. and Mrs. Fryman had six children, one, an infant son, died in 1956.
Mrs. Hammers operated the old Ellery Independent Telephone switchboard for seven years, prior to its closing October 4, 1963. She also operated the Golden Gate switchboard until it closed.
June 2, 1964, she was married to Howard Hammers, who survives.
Rev. Wayne Williams of Burnt Prairie officiated at the services, with burial at Bethel Cemetery southwest of Ellery.
Albion Journal-Register, Albion, IL
November 1, 1972
Page 1 (Front page)
(Some errors above need correcting. The brother, Orville, and sisters, Ruby and Lydia, were from Paoli not Peoria. Brother, Roy, should be Ray (Ollie Ray). Jim and Myrtle's infant son died in 1921, not 1956.)
************************************************************
Occupation-Housewife-Myrtle kept house and raised her family almost alone down through the early years of her marriage. Jim was home only one day a week. He arrived in Ellery on the train from Mt. Vernon about noon on Saturday and left to go back to work at noon the following day. This was a fact of life with railroad families. When he took his vacations, the family made the best use of the valuable time they had together. Many times they made the trek to Indiana to visit family and friends. When Jim was away, Myrtle tended to home, garden, and critters. Railroad wages didn't pay for everything and means had to be found to make up the difference. A garden had to be planted every year and tended to add healthy fruits and vegetables to the diet of a growing family. This included sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, okra, potatoes, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. Fruit trees were planted to produce cherries, apples, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, etc. Ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, pigs,and milk cows provided meat and protein.
As the children grew older, they were given more responsibilities around the home. It's called "chores". They began to learn about weeding the garden, feeding the animals, chopping kindling and firewood for the stove, cooking, washing and ironing, canning, etc. All the things which makes homelife easier. Chores were usually performed before and after school.
The years go by and the children enter their teens, but its the same tedious existence-survival! But you do it, and you win. Then one day you look around you and find that all of your loved ones are grown and have left home to make better lives for themselves. Peace of mind reigns in your soul and contentment fills you of a job well done. Oh, no! Some of them are coming back. Will it never end?
Jim and Myrtle loved their family and never turned any away.
(In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grandma Fryman still had the remnants of the orchard. She still tended a garden and raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs. She and her second husband, Howard, had a Jersey milk cow. She was an excellent cook and continued to can fruits and vegetables. She had a 230 volt electric stove with oven, but preferred the old wood burning stove. It was economical and efficient for cooking and baking, as well as heating the kitchen area in cool weather. The newly installed bathroom remained in competition with the old outhouse a few more years as a reminder of the past)
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Ellery Independent Telephone Company, Ellery, IL (July, 1956-July, 1963)-she replaced retiring Mrs. Lela Baker, who had been switchboard operator since July, 1918 (38 years). Mrs. Baker then became Mrs. Fryman's assistant and relieved her when Mrs. Fryman had to take time off for personal or company business. It was really a 24/7 job with people calling at all times of the day or night. Mrs. Fryman was dedicated and performed her job well.
The company was formed in 1902/3 and construction of the network required many miles of a single transmission wire line attached to glass insulators on wooden poles strung throughtout the proposed district. The telephone in use at the time was a crank magneto device with two large drycell batteries wired to the system. The system contained multiple telephone banks or groups (not all customers were hooked up to one single system, but one of several). Everyone on their particular line could listen in on the conversations of others. Not much privacy was afforded to the caller. When the telephone company closed-there were 117 customers. General Telephone Company bought the old company and the rights, and laid all new underground cable introducing the new dial telephone system-thus giving each customer complete privacy. Those old crank magneto telephones became antiques overnight (well, they were already antiques, but that is neither here nor there).
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Golden Gate (Independent) Telephone Company, Golden Gate, IL (November, 1964-about May,1968)-Myrtle, Howard, and Diane (Howard's granddaughter, who was living with them at the time) closed their home in Ellery and moved to Golden Gate to live. She resumed the same type of lifestyle she had as the telephone operator in Ellery the year before. In 1968, The General Telephone Company purchased the company and installed a new system similar to the one Ellery had received five years before.
Howard Hammers-2nd marriage-June 2, 1964
Member of: Ellery Christian Church (Baptized), PTA, and the Bethel Unit of Home Bureau.
Mrs. Hammers Services Held
Funeral services for Mrs. Howard (Myrtle) Hammers, 73, of Ellery, were held Sunday afternoon from Nales Funeral Home.
Mrs. Hammers died Thursday at Fairfield Memorial Hospital, where she had been a patient since September 30 after suffering a stroke.
Surviving are her husband, Howard Hammers of Ellery; two sons, Ralph Fryman of Ellery, and Bruce of Aurora, Indiana; three daughters, Mrs. Daisy Ewing of Ellery, Mrs. Dora Hutchcraft of Burnt Prairie, and Mrs. Willard (Pearl) Jones of Ridgway; 21 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 10 step grandchildren; two sister, Mrs. Ruby Apple and Mrs. Lydia Brothers, both of Peoria; and two brothers, Orville Hopper of Peoria and Roy Hopper of San Francisco, California.
Born February 10, 1899 in Orange County, Indiana, her parents were Charles and Belle York Hopper, she was married May 2, 1915 to James Fryman, who died March 5, 1956.
Mr. and Mrs. Fryman had six children, one, an infant son, died in 1956.
Mrs. Hammers operated the old Ellery Independent Telephone switchboard for seven years, prior to its closing October 4, 1963. She also operated the Golden Gate switchboard until it closed.
June 2, 1964, she was married to Howard Hammers, who survives.
Rev. Wayne Williams of Burnt Prairie officiated at the services, with burial at Bethel Cemetery southwest of Ellery.
Albion Journal-Register, Albion, IL
November 1, 1972
Page 1 (Front page)
(Some errors above need correcting. The brother, Orville, and sisters, Ruby and Lydia, were from Paoli not Peoria. Brother, Roy, should be Ray (Ollie Ray). Jim and Myrtle's infant son died in 1921, not 1956.)
************************************************************
Occupation-Housewife-Myrtle kept house and raised her family almost alone down through the early years of her marriage. Jim was home only one day a week. He arrived in Ellery on the train from Mt. Vernon about noon on Saturday and left to go back to work at noon the following day. This was a fact of life with railroad families. When he took his vacations, the family made the best use of the valuable time they had together. Many times they made the trek to Indiana to visit family and friends. When Jim was away, Myrtle tended to home, garden, and critters. Railroad wages didn't pay for everything and means had to be found to make up the difference. A garden had to be planted every year and tended to add healthy fruits and vegetables to the diet of a growing family. This included sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, okra, potatoes, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. Fruit trees were planted to produce cherries, apples, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, etc. Ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, pigs,and milk cows provided meat and protein.
As the children grew older, they were given more responsibilities around the home. It's called "chores". They began to learn about weeding the garden, feeding the animals, chopping kindling and firewood for the stove, cooking, washing and ironing, canning, etc. All the things which makes homelife easier. Chores were usually performed before and after school.
The years go by and the children enter their teens, but its the same tedious existence-survival! But you do it, and you win. Then one day you look around you and find that all of your loved ones are grown and have left home to make better lives for themselves. Peace of mind reigns in your soul and contentment fills you of a job well done. Oh, no! Some of them are coming back. Will it never end?
Jim and Myrtle loved their family and never turned any away.
(In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grandma Fryman still had the remnants of the orchard. She still tended a garden and raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs. She and her second husband, Howard, had a Jersey milk cow. She was an excellent cook and continued to can fruits and vegetables. She had a 230 volt electric stove with oven, but preferred the old wood burning stove. It was economical and efficient for cooking and baking, as well as heating the kitchen area in cool weather. The newly installed bathroom remained in competition with the old outhouse a few more years as a reminder of the past)
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Ellery Independent Telephone Company, Ellery, IL (July, 1956-July, 1963)-she replaced retiring Mrs. Lela Baker, who had been switchboard operator since July, 1918 (38 years). Mrs. Baker then became Mrs. Fryman's assistant and relieved her when Mrs. Fryman had to take time off for personal or company business. It was really a 24/7 job with people calling at all times of the day or night. Mrs. Fryman was dedicated and performed her job well.
The company was formed in 1902/3 and construction of the network required many miles of a single transmission wire line attached to glass insulators on wooden poles strung throughtout the proposed district. The telephone in use at the time was a crank magneto device with two large drycell batteries wired to the system. The system contained multiple telephone banks or groups (not all customers were hooked up to one single system, but one of several). Everyone on their particular line could listen in on the conversations of others. Not much privacy was afforded to the caller. When the telephone company closed-there were 117 customers. General Telephone Company bought the old company and the rights, and laid all new underground cable introducing the new dial telephone system-thus giving each customer complete privacy. Those old crank magneto telephones became antiques overnight (well, they were already antiques, but that is neither here nor there).
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Golden Gate (Independent) Telephone Company, Golden Gate, IL (November, 1964-about May,1968)-Myrtle, Howard, and Diane (Howard's granddaughter, who was living with them at the time) closed their home in Ellery and moved to Golden Gate to live. She resumed the same type of lifestyle she had as the telephone operator in Ellery the year before. In 1968, The General Telephone Company purchased the company and installed a new system similar to the one Ellery had received five years before.
Howard Hammers-2nd marriage-June 2, 1964
Member of: Ellery Christian Church (Baptized), PTA, and the Bethel Unit of Home Bureau.
(OBITUARY)
Mrs. Hammers Services Held
Funeral services for Mrs. Howard (Myrtle) Hammers, 73, of Ellery, were held Sunday afternoon from Nales Funeral Home.
Mrs. Hammers died Thursday at Fairfield Memorial Hospital, where she had been a patient since September 30 after suffering a stroke.
Surviving are her husband, Howard Hammers of Ellery; two sons, Ralph Fryman of Ellery, and Bruce of Aurora, Indiana; three daughters, Mrs. Daisy Ewing of Ellery, Mrs. Dora Hutchcraft of Burnt Prairie, and Mrs. Willard (Pearl) Jones of Ridgway; 21 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 10 step grandchildren; two sister, Mrs. Ruby Apple and Mrs. Lydia Brothers, both of Peoria; and two brothers, Orville Hopper of Peoria and Roy Hopper of San Francisco, California.
Born February 10, 1899 in Orange County, Indiana, her parents were Charles and Belle York Hopper, she was married May 2, 1915 to James Fryman, who died March 5, 1956.
Mr. and Mrs. Fryman had six children, one, an infant son, died in 1956.
Mrs. Hammers operated the old Ellery Independent Telephone switchboard for seven years, prior to its closing October 4, 1963. She also operated the Golden Gate switchboard until it closed.
June 2, 1964, she was married to Howard Hammers, who survives.
Rev. Wayne Williams of Burnt Prairie officiated at the services, with burial at Bethel Cemetery southwest of Ellery.
Albion Journal-Register, Albion, IL
November 1, 1972
Page 1 (Front page)
(Some errors above need correcting. The brother, Orville, and sisters, Ruby and Lydia, were from Paoli not Peoria. Brother, Roy, should be Ray (Ollie Ray). Jim and Myrtle's infant son died in 1921, not 1956.)
************************************************************
Occupation-Housewife-Myrtle kept house and raised her family almost alone down through the early years of her marriage. Jim was home only one day a week. He arrived in Ellery on the train from Mt. Vernon about noon on Saturday and left to go back to work at noon the following day. This was a fact of life with railroad families. When he took his vacations, the family made the best use of the valuable time they had together. Many times they made the trek to Indiana to visit family and friends. When Jim was away, Myrtle tended to home, garden, and critters. Railroad wages didn't pay for everything and means had to be found to make up the difference. A garden had to be planted every year and tended to add healthy fruits and vegetables to the diet of a growing family. This included sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, okra, potatoes, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. Fruit trees were planted to produce cherries, apples, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, etc. Ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, pigs,and milk cows provided meat and protein.
As the children grew older, they were given more responsibilities around the home. It's called "chores". They began to learn about weeding the garden, feeding the animals, chopping kindling and firewood for the stove, cooking, washing and ironing, canning, etc. All the things which makes homelife easier. Chores were usually performed before and after school.
The years go by and the children enter their teens, but its the same tedious existence-survival! But you do it, and you win. Then one day you look around you and find that all of your loved ones are grown and have left home to make better lives for themselves. Peace of mind reigns in your soul and contentment fills you of a job well done. Oh, no! Some of them are coming back. Will it never end?
Jim and Myrtle loved their family and never turned any away.
(In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grandma Fryman still had the remnants of the orchard. She still tended a garden and raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs. She and her second husband, Howard, had a Jersey milk cow. She was an excellent cook and continued to can fruits and vegetables. She had a 230 volt electric stove with oven, but preferred the old wood burning stove. It was economical and efficient for cooking and baking, as well as heating the kitchen area in cool weather. The newly installed bathroom remained in competition with the old outhouse a few more years as a reminder of the past)
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Ellery Independent Telephone Company, Ellery, IL (July, 1956-July, 1963)-she replaced retiring Mrs. Lela Baker, who had been switchboard operator since July, 1918 (38 years). Mrs. Baker then became Mrs. Fryman's assistant and relieved her when Mrs. Fryman had to take time off for personal or company business. It was really a 24/7 job with people calling at all times of the day or night. Mrs. Fryman was dedicated and performed her job well.
The company was formed in 1902/3 and construction of the network required many miles of a single transmission wire line attached to glass insulators on wooden poles strung throughtout the proposed district. The telephone in use at the time was a crank magneto device with two large drycell batteries wired to the system. The system contained multiple telephone banks or groups (not all customers were hooked up to one single system, but one of several). Everyone on their particular line could listen in on the conversations of others. Not much privacy was afforded to the caller. When the telephone company closed-there were 117 customers. General Telephone Company bought the old company and the rights, and laid all new underground cable introducing the new dial telephone system-thus giving each customer complete privacy. Those old crank magneto telephones became antiques overnight (well, they were already antiques, but that is neither here nor there).
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Golden Gate (Independent) Telephone Company, Golden Gate, IL (November, 1964-about May,1968)-Myrtle, Howard, and Diane (Howard's granddaughter, who was living with them at the time) closed their home in Ellery and moved to Golden Gate to live. She resumed the same type of lifestyle she had as the telephone operator in Ellery the year before. In 1968, The General Telephone Company purchased the company and installed a new system similar to the one Ellery had received five years before.
Howard Hammers-2nd marriage-June 2, 1964
Member of: Ellery Christian Church (Baptized), PTA, and the Bethel Unit of Home Bureau.
Mrs. Hammers Services Held
Funeral services for Mrs. Howard (Myrtle) Hammers, 73, of Ellery, were held Sunday afternoon from Nales Funeral Home.
Mrs. Hammers died Thursday at Fairfield Memorial Hospital, where she had been a patient since September 30 after suffering a stroke.
Surviving are her husband, Howard Hammers of Ellery; two sons, Ralph Fryman of Ellery, and Bruce of Aurora, Indiana; three daughters, Mrs. Daisy Ewing of Ellery, Mrs. Dora Hutchcraft of Burnt Prairie, and Mrs. Willard (Pearl) Jones of Ridgway; 21 grandchildren; 23 great grandchildren; 10 step grandchildren; two sister, Mrs. Ruby Apple and Mrs. Lydia Brothers, both of Peoria; and two brothers, Orville Hopper of Peoria and Roy Hopper of San Francisco, California.
Born February 10, 1899 in Orange County, Indiana, her parents were Charles and Belle York Hopper, she was married May 2, 1915 to James Fryman, who died March 5, 1956.
Mr. and Mrs. Fryman had six children, one, an infant son, died in 1956.
Mrs. Hammers operated the old Ellery Independent Telephone switchboard for seven years, prior to its closing October 4, 1963. She also operated the Golden Gate switchboard until it closed.
June 2, 1964, she was married to Howard Hammers, who survives.
Rev. Wayne Williams of Burnt Prairie officiated at the services, with burial at Bethel Cemetery southwest of Ellery.
Albion Journal-Register, Albion, IL
November 1, 1972
Page 1 (Front page)
(Some errors above need correcting. The brother, Orville, and sisters, Ruby and Lydia, were from Paoli not Peoria. Brother, Roy, should be Ray (Ollie Ray). Jim and Myrtle's infant son died in 1921, not 1956.)
************************************************************
Occupation-Housewife-Myrtle kept house and raised her family almost alone down through the early years of her marriage. Jim was home only one day a week. He arrived in Ellery on the train from Mt. Vernon about noon on Saturday and left to go back to work at noon the following day. This was a fact of life with railroad families. When he took his vacations, the family made the best use of the valuable time they had together. Many times they made the trek to Indiana to visit family and friends. When Jim was away, Myrtle tended to home, garden, and critters. Railroad wages didn't pay for everything and means had to be found to make up the difference. A garden had to be planted every year and tended to add healthy fruits and vegetables to the diet of a growing family. This included sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, peas, carrots, onions, okra, potatoes, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. Fruit trees were planted to produce cherries, apples, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, etc. Ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, pigs,and milk cows provided meat and protein.
As the children grew older, they were given more responsibilities around the home. It's called "chores". They began to learn about weeding the garden, feeding the animals, chopping kindling and firewood for the stove, cooking, washing and ironing, canning, etc. All the things which makes homelife easier. Chores were usually performed before and after school.
The years go by and the children enter their teens, but its the same tedious existence-survival! But you do it, and you win. Then one day you look around you and find that all of your loved ones are grown and have left home to make better lives for themselves. Peace of mind reigns in your soul and contentment fills you of a job well done. Oh, no! Some of them are coming back. Will it never end?
Jim and Myrtle loved their family and never turned any away.
(In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grandma Fryman still had the remnants of the orchard. She still tended a garden and raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and pigs. She and her second husband, Howard, had a Jersey milk cow. She was an excellent cook and continued to can fruits and vegetables. She had a 230 volt electric stove with oven, but preferred the old wood burning stove. It was economical and efficient for cooking and baking, as well as heating the kitchen area in cool weather. The newly installed bathroom remained in competition with the old outhouse a few more years as a reminder of the past)
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Ellery Independent Telephone Company, Ellery, IL (July, 1956-July, 1963)-she replaced retiring Mrs. Lela Baker, who had been switchboard operator since July, 1918 (38 years). Mrs. Baker then became Mrs. Fryman's assistant and relieved her when Mrs. Fryman had to take time off for personal or company business. It was really a 24/7 job with people calling at all times of the day or night. Mrs. Fryman was dedicated and performed her job well.
The company was formed in 1902/3 and construction of the network required many miles of a single transmission wire line attached to glass insulators on wooden poles strung throughtout the proposed district. The telephone in use at the time was a crank magneto device with two large drycell batteries wired to the system. The system contained multiple telephone banks or groups (not all customers were hooked up to one single system, but one of several). Everyone on their particular line could listen in on the conversations of others. Not much privacy was afforded to the caller. When the telephone company closed-there were 117 customers. General Telephone Company bought the old company and the rights, and laid all new underground cable introducing the new dial telephone system-thus giving each customer complete privacy. Those old crank magneto telephones became antiques overnight (well, they were already antiques, but that is neither here nor there).
Occupation-telephone switchboard operator-Golden Gate (Independent) Telephone Company, Golden Gate, IL (November, 1964-about May,1968)-Myrtle, Howard, and Diane (Howard's granddaughter, who was living with them at the time) closed their home in Ellery and moved to Golden Gate to live. She resumed the same type of lifestyle she had as the telephone operator in Ellery the year before. In 1968, The General Telephone Company purchased the company and installed a new system similar to the one Ellery had received five years before.
Howard Hammers-2nd marriage-June 2, 1964
Member of: Ellery Christian Church (Baptized), PTA, and the Bethel Unit of Home Bureau.
Family Members
Siblings
