Marriage: 25 July 1914 in San Francisco William Nedson Strickler; the ceremony was performed by the Justice of the Peace A. T. Barnett; they were married in a Catholic ceremony by the Rev. James E. O'Malley 29 Dec. 1963.
Children:
- Doris Katherine (b. 8 Sept. 1916, married John Cahalan,, sons John and William "Bill");
- Marge Albina (b. 23 May 1919, married 1st Jack Erlan, son Jack Erlan; 2nd Rudy Alholm);
- Edwin William (b. 13 April 1921, married Ann Mattucci);
- Claire Grace (b. 5 Feb. 1923, married Sept. 1942 Eldred "Bill" Lawrence Showers, sons David William and Steven James).
Catherine was christened at St Michael's Catholic Church on 17 July 1892 by Rev. T. Callaghan. Her sponsors were Philip and Ludvina(?) Monterello. There is no indication if they were family friends or relatives. Catherine was only 9 when her father died so her recollections of him and possible relatives were limited and she only passed a few stories to her children.
She grew up working in the family store when she was not attending school (she reached the 8th grade), and one of her weekly chores is a reflection of life in that period. She was to collect the glass chimneys in the house from the oil lamps and clean them since the soot from the burned oil coated the inside of the glass and reduced the light that could pass through. So in her lifetime she went from horse drawn vehicles and oil lamps in the 1890s to atomic power and moon landings by the time she died in 1982. Perhaps no other generation saw such a change in life. She witnessed the advent of automobiles (she called them "machines") that replaced the horse, airplanes and then jets, electric lights and telephones in every home, radios to make mass communication instantaneous, the refrigerator (always called a "Frigidaire" by her since that was the first company to market them), and the television. She also saw the United States endure foreign conflicts from the Spanish American War through WWI (her husband signed up for the draft), WWII (her son Edwin and sons-in-law "Bill" Showers and Rudy Alholm served), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Catherine related to her family a few of her memories from her childhood. She remembered working at the store on 28th Street and watching the parishioners leaving the church down the street and coming over to the store. What annoyed her was that some would shoplift pieces of fruit from the displays along the sidewalk in a fine display of hypocrisy. At the time of the 1906 earthquake she was awakened and looked out the back window and to see the windmill there (for a well?) swaying wildly back and forth, and it was she who told of witnessing the exodus of those fleeing the City fire as they made their way up Mission Street carrying what possessions they could haul along. She told my brother Dave that for a week the sky was lit red at night from the glow of the fires and embers.
As a young woman she went to work for the telephone company where crude equipment (compare to today) required operators to plug in each phone's individual line to the line of the other person's phone. Her mother eventually worked there too after her husband died. Some of these operators wore skates to get back and forth across the huge banks of outlets.
All her grandchildren called her Nana, and my memories of her come from late in her life. She loved to play bingo each night when we vacationed in summer at Whispering Pines in Lake County.
After Catherine passed in 1982 my mother wrote a poem for her.
"Missing Mother"
I hear her voice
on a whisper of the wind
I see her face
only in my mind's eye
I feel her presence
just beyond reach
The child in me
searchers for her mother
The woman in me
longs to comfort her
Her body grew old and tired
it was time for her to go
I know she is with
her God in Heaven
But, oh mother
I miss you so
Children:
- Doris Katherine (b. 8 Sept. 1916, married John Cahalan,, sons John and William "Bill");
- Marge Albina (b. 23 May 1919, married 1st Jack Erlan, son Jack Erlan; 2nd Rudy Alholm);
- Edwin William (b. 13 April 1921, married Ann Mattucci);
- Claire Grace (b. 5 Feb. 1923, married Sept. 1942 Eldred "Bill" Lawrence Showers, sons David William and Steven James).
Catherine was christened at St Michael's Catholic Church on 17 July 1892 by Rev. T. Callaghan. Her sponsors were Philip and Ludvina(?) Monterello. There is no indication if they were family friends or relatives. Catherine was only 9 when her father died so her recollections of him and possible relatives were limited and she only passed a few stories to her children.
She grew up working in the family store when she was not attending school (she reached the 8th grade), and one of her weekly chores is a reflection of life in that period. She was to collect the glass chimneys in the house from the oil lamps and clean them since the soot from the burned oil coated the inside of the glass and reduced the light that could pass through. So in her lifetime she went from horse drawn vehicles and oil lamps in the 1890s to atomic power and moon landings by the time she died in 1982. Perhaps no other generation saw such a change in life. She witnessed the advent of automobiles (she called them "machines") that replaced the horse, airplanes and then jets, electric lights and telephones in every home, radios to make mass communication instantaneous, the refrigerator (always called a "Frigidaire" by her since that was the first company to market them), and the television. She also saw the United States endure foreign conflicts from the Spanish American War through WWI (her husband signed up for the draft), WWII (her son Edwin and sons-in-law "Bill" Showers and Rudy Alholm served), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Catherine related to her family a few of her memories from her childhood. She remembered working at the store on 28th Street and watching the parishioners leaving the church down the street and coming over to the store. What annoyed her was that some would shoplift pieces of fruit from the displays along the sidewalk in a fine display of hypocrisy. At the time of the 1906 earthquake she was awakened and looked out the back window and to see the windmill there (for a well?) swaying wildly back and forth, and it was she who told of witnessing the exodus of those fleeing the City fire as they made their way up Mission Street carrying what possessions they could haul along. She told my brother Dave that for a week the sky was lit red at night from the glow of the fires and embers.
As a young woman she went to work for the telephone company where crude equipment (compare to today) required operators to plug in each phone's individual line to the line of the other person's phone. Her mother eventually worked there too after her husband died. Some of these operators wore skates to get back and forth across the huge banks of outlets.
All her grandchildren called her Nana, and my memories of her come from late in her life. She loved to play bingo each night when we vacationed in summer at Whispering Pines in Lake County.
After Catherine passed in 1982 my mother wrote a poem for her.
"Missing Mother"
I hear her voice
on a whisper of the wind
I see her face
only in my mind's eye
I feel her presence
just beyond reach
The child in me
searchers for her mother
The woman in me
longs to comfort her
Her body grew old and tired
it was time for her to go
I know she is with
her God in Heaven
But, oh mother
I miss you so
Marriage: 25 July 1914 in San Francisco William Nedson Strickler; the ceremony was performed by the Justice of the Peace A. T. Barnett; they were married in a Catholic ceremony by the Rev. James E. O'Malley 29 Dec. 1963.
Children:
- Doris Katherine (b. 8 Sept. 1916, married John Cahalan,, sons John and William "Bill");
- Marge Albina (b. 23 May 1919, married 1st Jack Erlan, son Jack Erlan; 2nd Rudy Alholm);
- Edwin William (b. 13 April 1921, married Ann Mattucci);
- Claire Grace (b. 5 Feb. 1923, married Sept. 1942 Eldred "Bill" Lawrence Showers, sons David William and Steven James).
Catherine was christened at St Michael's Catholic Church on 17 July 1892 by Rev. T. Callaghan. Her sponsors were Philip and Ludvina(?) Monterello. There is no indication if they were family friends or relatives. Catherine was only 9 when her father died so her recollections of him and possible relatives were limited and she only passed a few stories to her children.
She grew up working in the family store when she was not attending school (she reached the 8th grade), and one of her weekly chores is a reflection of life in that period. She was to collect the glass chimneys in the house from the oil lamps and clean them since the soot from the burned oil coated the inside of the glass and reduced the light that could pass through. So in her lifetime she went from horse drawn vehicles and oil lamps in the 1890s to atomic power and moon landings by the time she died in 1982. Perhaps no other generation saw such a change in life. She witnessed the advent of automobiles (she called them "machines") that replaced the horse, airplanes and then jets, electric lights and telephones in every home, radios to make mass communication instantaneous, the refrigerator (always called a "Frigidaire" by her since that was the first company to market them), and the television. She also saw the United States endure foreign conflicts from the Spanish American War through WWI (her husband signed up for the draft), WWII (her son Edwin and sons-in-law "Bill" Showers and Rudy Alholm served), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Catherine related to her family a few of her memories from her childhood. She remembered working at the store on 28th Street and watching the parishioners leaving the church down the street and coming over to the store. What annoyed her was that some would shoplift pieces of fruit from the displays along the sidewalk in a fine display of hypocrisy. At the time of the 1906 earthquake she was awakened and looked out the back window and to see the windmill there (for a well?) swaying wildly back and forth, and it was she who told of witnessing the exodus of those fleeing the City fire as they made their way up Mission Street carrying what possessions they could haul along. She told my brother Dave that for a week the sky was lit red at night from the glow of the fires and embers.
As a young woman she went to work for the telephone company where crude equipment (compare to today) required operators to plug in each phone's individual line to the line of the other person's phone. Her mother eventually worked there too after her husband died. Some of these operators wore skates to get back and forth across the huge banks of outlets.
All her grandchildren called her Nana, and my memories of her come from late in her life. She loved to play bingo each night when we vacationed in summer at Whispering Pines in Lake County.
After Catherine passed in 1982 my mother wrote a poem for her.
"Missing Mother"
I hear her voice
on a whisper of the wind
I see her face
only in my mind's eye
I feel her presence
just beyond reach
The child in me
searchers for her mother
The woman in me
longs to comfort her
Her body grew old and tired
it was time for her to go
I know she is with
her God in Heaven
But, oh mother
I miss you so
Children:
- Doris Katherine (b. 8 Sept. 1916, married John Cahalan,, sons John and William "Bill");
- Marge Albina (b. 23 May 1919, married 1st Jack Erlan, son Jack Erlan; 2nd Rudy Alholm);
- Edwin William (b. 13 April 1921, married Ann Mattucci);
- Claire Grace (b. 5 Feb. 1923, married Sept. 1942 Eldred "Bill" Lawrence Showers, sons David William and Steven James).
Catherine was christened at St Michael's Catholic Church on 17 July 1892 by Rev. T. Callaghan. Her sponsors were Philip and Ludvina(?) Monterello. There is no indication if they were family friends or relatives. Catherine was only 9 when her father died so her recollections of him and possible relatives were limited and she only passed a few stories to her children.
She grew up working in the family store when she was not attending school (she reached the 8th grade), and one of her weekly chores is a reflection of life in that period. She was to collect the glass chimneys in the house from the oil lamps and clean them since the soot from the burned oil coated the inside of the glass and reduced the light that could pass through. So in her lifetime she went from horse drawn vehicles and oil lamps in the 1890s to atomic power and moon landings by the time she died in 1982. Perhaps no other generation saw such a change in life. She witnessed the advent of automobiles (she called them "machines") that replaced the horse, airplanes and then jets, electric lights and telephones in every home, radios to make mass communication instantaneous, the refrigerator (always called a "Frigidaire" by her since that was the first company to market them), and the television. She also saw the United States endure foreign conflicts from the Spanish American War through WWI (her husband signed up for the draft), WWII (her son Edwin and sons-in-law "Bill" Showers and Rudy Alholm served), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Catherine related to her family a few of her memories from her childhood. She remembered working at the store on 28th Street and watching the parishioners leaving the church down the street and coming over to the store. What annoyed her was that some would shoplift pieces of fruit from the displays along the sidewalk in a fine display of hypocrisy. At the time of the 1906 earthquake she was awakened and looked out the back window and to see the windmill there (for a well?) swaying wildly back and forth, and it was she who told of witnessing the exodus of those fleeing the City fire as they made their way up Mission Street carrying what possessions they could haul along. She told my brother Dave that for a week the sky was lit red at night from the glow of the fires and embers.
As a young woman she went to work for the telephone company where crude equipment (compare to today) required operators to plug in each phone's individual line to the line of the other person's phone. Her mother eventually worked there too after her husband died. Some of these operators wore skates to get back and forth across the huge banks of outlets.
All her grandchildren called her Nana, and my memories of her come from late in her life. She loved to play bingo each night when we vacationed in summer at Whispering Pines in Lake County.
After Catherine passed in 1982 my mother wrote a poem for her.
"Missing Mother"
I hear her voice
on a whisper of the wind
I see her face
only in my mind's eye
I feel her presence
just beyond reach
The child in me
searchers for her mother
The woman in me
longs to comfort her
Her body grew old and tired
it was time for her to go
I know she is with
her God in Heaven
But, oh mother
I miss you so
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