First Female Licensed Pilot in Howard County Iowa

[Bird]

She was obviously quite a gal.

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks for all the compliments. Aunt Charline would be humbled by them. She always played it down.

 

[SirReal63]

Clearly she was an amazing person that exemplifies the spirit that made them the greatest generation. I thank you so much for sharing this.

 

[dmccarty]

Very cool.

My wife's great grandmother died many years before I married into the family. Gathered one afternoon after one of the great grandmother's children had died and we were going through a box of old photos. There was a photo of the great grandmother in her early/mid 20's and she was very pretty but what really stood out was the intelligence and determination in her eyes. The last photo of her was before she died when she was in her 90's. The hair and face were "old" but they eyes had not changed a bit. I wish I could have known her and listened to what she had to say.

Her husband died of the flu and she raised three kids by herself, run a 1,000 acre farm on her own, and became partners in a peanut mill, peanut retail operation, and the largest department store in her part of the state. Heck, back then, it might have been the largest department store in the state. One of her kids eloped and the daughter in law and the great grandmother did NOT get along. The great grandmother, her son and the daughter in law lived in the same house until the great grandmother died. Now it is a big house but still. I think the great grandmother believed in the old saying of keeping your friends close but keep your enemies closer. :shocked:

The son and his wife lived in that house until they died and the house is still in the family. Not sure how many more generations will live it that house but I would guess someone will be living there for another decade or so. If that house could talk. :laughing:

It is sad when we loose family members and their history. Some family members did out of the ordinary things, and often we never really know what they did...

Later,
Dan

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed it. She was an amazing lady. It makes me wonder what stories the elderly people could tell when I see them.

 

[ovrszd]

Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed it. She was an amazing lady. It makes me wonder what stories the elderly people could tell when I see them.

I always think about that Eddie. My Mother died a year ago. Beyond the homesick feeling for her, what I missed most was being able to ask her about things that happened long ago.

In the case of my Aunt, she was quite private about her young life when talking to her only child. Him and his family spent a couple hours with us the night before the funeral visiting about family. My Dad talked a lot about his childhood and about Aunt Charline as a kid. I repeated all of the stories I could think of that might have relevance. My Cousin was unaware of almost all of it. I felt bad for him that his Mother had chosen to not talk about it. I told him and his wife that this should be a lesson to us. Talk to your kids. Tell them every little detail. Even when they get that "not listening anymore" look. Every time we have a family gathering I drag out all the old pics and family documents I was given by my Mom. My Sons and grandkids spend a couple hours looking thru them and asking questions. I've got documents from the mid 1800s when my ancestors immigrated here from Germany along with old pics of their farm buildings there. I want to make sure when I'm gone the next generation knows who those people are and from where they came.

 

[jacain]

That's awesome Richard! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to share this with my young daughters. I keep telling them that the mind/imagination is the only thing that can hold you back.

 

[mostly_gas]

Thanks for sharing Richard and sorry for your loss.

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks again guys for your kind words.

 

[roadhunter]

That is just plain awesome. Clearly she was a one in a million kind of woman. Thanks for sharing some of her adventures.