Many Webbs farmed on Grand Island, as did Esther's family. Born in 1899, John probably was an infant when his mother, Esther, began to take him to Grand Island to visit her parents and other Webb relatives in the summer. The following quote is from
Pieces of a Life. John's younger sister, Dorothy Helen Kellogg, was born in 1903
"As John reminisces about Grand Island, he makes it sound as though that was where he grew up. He was there only a few weeks in the summer, with his mother and sister and perhaps an occasional visit from his father. Summer would have been the best season for the bridge-building
Kelloggs and their crews to be out of town."
"John probably enjoyed Grand Island where he could play with other children, see his grandparents, aunts, uncles as well as do chores. It must have been much more relaxed than his time with his father and step-brother. I wonder when he realized that the Irish -- his mother's many relatives on Grand Island -- were lower in social status than the English and Scottish in his father's line?"
Here's a little of John's writing from "75 Years - Where Did They Go?. "Where did one buy things? Virtually everything we ate came from stuff raised on the farm or from basic raw materials they bought. Flour came in barrel lots and each day or two one of the girls or Grandmother would bake bread. That did not last long with a lot of hungry men to feed. Farm machinery was scarce. Most jobs were done by hand. All were up and had finished breakfast before 6. When the crops were ripe. they often worked until dark, which might mean 8 or 9 at night. Suppose that the grain were ripe; if not promptly harvested, rain would beat it to the ground where it was without
worth."
No comments:
Post a Comment