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| Mother and Grandpa on the Belford Bridge in 1926 shortly before it opened. |
Grandma Gladys Rainey Smith thought Grandpa Calvin Callcayah Smith never corrected my mother, their only daughter, Bernyce. Angie and I can attest he never corrected us other than a barely audible “Uh-uh" which we interpreted as "Stop right now!"
When Mother was quite small, she cried because she didn’t want their family to spend the night at the home of her maternal grandma, Rosa Rainey in the Bend (just about a half mile from where Mother lives now). Grandpa placed her in the Model T Ford and drove around “the square” until Mother drifted off! Then he carried his sleeping little one back into Grandma Rainey’s home, and their family spent the night at the Rainey home as planned.
An Only Child Trying to Help
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| Mother as a preteen. |
Even though Grandma never earned money, she often worked outside the home, leaving Mother, an only child, to make good decisions. According to family stories from her Rice cousins, she began cooking at age 7, standing on a step stool. Grandma served as a Bend community nurse pro bono during the Great Depression. She also worked alongside Grandpa in the field.
One day my mother spotted ironing that needed to be done. In her young mind, she reasoned This is a way I can help Mama.
In those days, ironing wasn’t a matter of simply plugging in an electric iron. They used a sadiron. Its name derived from an Old English word sald which meant “solid.” It was heated on a stove and then grasped with a padded holder for the ironing to begin.
Mother successfully heated the sadiron and lifted it with the pad to press wrinkles from one of Grandma’s dresses. Alas, since the sadiron had no heat regulator, Mother’s inexperience caused her to “pucker” the fabric on Grandma’s dress. As Mother described it, “That dress was history.” Grandma didn’t make a big fuss. Evidently, she looked at the intent of Mother’s heart in trying to help. I jokingly told Mother I am not sure she would have reacted with such understanding if Angie or I had ruined one of her dresses!
Playing Basketball for Belford Grade School
Mother played basketball when the basketball court was divided into three sections with two forwards, two guards, and two centers comprising each team. The third section (no longer used) was a center court where obviously the two centers played. The two guards played on the opposing team’s offensive end with the two forwards playing on their team’s own offensive end. Each time the ball went down the court it must go to one of the two players in the center court.
One day my mother spotted ironing that needed to be done. In her young mind, she reasoned This is a way I can help Mama.
In those days, ironing wasn’t a matter of simply plugging in an electric iron. They used a sadiron. Its name derived from an Old English word sald which meant “solid.” It was heated on a stove and then grasped with a padded holder for the ironing to begin.
Mother successfully heated the sadiron and lifted it with the pad to press wrinkles from one of Grandma’s dresses. Alas, since the sadiron had no heat regulator, Mother’s inexperience caused her to “pucker” the fabric on Grandma’s dress. As Mother described it, “That dress was history.” Grandma didn’t make a big fuss. Evidently, she looked at the intent of Mother’s heart in trying to help. I jokingly told Mother I am not sure she would have reacted with such understanding if Angie or I had ruined one of her dresses!
Playing Basketball for Belford Grade School
Mother played basketball when the basketball court was divided into three sections with two forwards, two guards, and two centers comprising each team. The third section (no longer used) was a center court where obviously the two centers played. The two guards played on the opposing team’s offensive end with the two forwards playing on their team’s own offensive end. Each time the ball went down the court it must go to one of the two players in the center court.
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Willard Clarence Tautfest, Mother's teacher and coach |
Mother recollects her most memorable game found the little rural grade school of Belford playing at the old gym in the “big town” of Ralston. As she approaches her 99th birthday, she recalls being passed the ball and immediately launching the final shot to win the game at the buzzer. Coach Woodson, the Ralston girl’s coach exclaimed when it swished the net, “She’s a wizard!”
Life-Altering Decision
Mother began living in a home that practiced their faith in the early 1930s, when both of her parents, made commitments to Jesus that altered their lifestyles, their language, and their priorities. Grandma began teaching Mother Bible stories when she was around seven years old. They attended church if services were being held.
Mother recalls, at age 14, wanting so much to make the same commitment her parents made about seven years earlier but was unwilling to courageously make a public profession of faith in Jesus as her Savior and Lord. She based her understanding on Matthew 10:32-33, where Jesus stated, "…Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
At age 18, she publicly professed faith in May 1943, under the preaching of Brother Aubrey. From that day forward, she has exemplified her faith through her words, actions, and faithfulness in serving with God’s people through her church. She attests she hasn't been perfect, but her utmost desire has been follow the Lord.
Final Observation
Life-Altering Decision
Mother began living in a home that practiced their faith in the early 1930s, when both of her parents, made commitments to Jesus that altered their lifestyles, their language, and their priorities. Grandma began teaching Mother Bible stories when she was around seven years old. They attended church if services were being held.
Mother recalls, at age 14, wanting so much to make the same commitment her parents made about seven years earlier but was unwilling to courageously make a public profession of faith in Jesus as her Savior and Lord. She based her understanding on Matthew 10:32-33, where Jesus stated, "…Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
At age 18, she publicly professed faith in May 1943, under the preaching of Brother Aubrey. From that day forward, she has exemplified her faith through her words, actions, and faithfulness in serving with God’s people through her church. She attests she hasn't been perfect, but her utmost desire has been follow the Lord.
Final Observation
This week Dr. David Jeremiah preached from I John. I was cleaning in the kitchen but returned to the table where Mother was sitting when I heard Dr. Jeremiah began quoting a passage. Mother was quoting the verses aloud with him. She was not looking at the TV screen or her Bible. I could tell she was adjusting in her mind to adapt to the New International Version from which Dr. Jeremiah was quoting even though she had memorized it from the King James Version.
Memorization helped her focus her mind on reliance on Jesus when she memorized His words from Matthew 11:28-30 during Dad's care and death. Many of the verses of John 3 can be quoted word perfect by Mother. I believe the early memorization of so many passages and often repeating of those powerful words from the Word of God have strengthened and encouraged her far more than anyone will ever know.
Happy 99th Birthday, Mother!
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| Dad described this photo as, "the one I carried all through the war." |
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