Mom was an excellent cook.  Dad always had a large garden in the back yard.  That was a large source of food for the family.  Mom canned many different foods as well. Dad's garden ranged from potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, Mom's section of the garden contained different types of flowers, and dill for her canning. Click on the button below for Grandma's Cookbook.  Sheri Elsen, Mom's granddaugher, compiled all of Mom's recipes into a book for the family. Her Kolaches are to die for. There was always a fight among us siblings to get to eat more than the others. They were gone in a flash and if you didn't get some early, you were without.


The Leonard and Frances Erb family is centered around the Roman Catholic Church. Our mother's family was of Catholic origin.  Our father's parents were Methodists.  Not sure of the year, but Mom convinced Dad to join the Catholic Church.  The Catholic religion was the center of our upbringing.  We all went to Catechism provided by Rt Reverend A.B. Clupny.  All of us boys were alter boys.  Father Clupny was a family friend as well.  We couldn't ask for a better religious counselor for our family.  Some of us went to Catholic school in early grades at St Joseph"s Catholic School in Springfield, Mo.  

Father Clupny was respected throughout the diocese. The letter from the Bishop of Dodge City Diocese is a testament to that respect.

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​​This is a picture of the Holy Trinity Church in Timken, Kansas. A tidbit of trivia, just before going off to join the Army and into the Korean War, Father Emil Kapaun was a parish priest here. His time here was short, around 6 months, because he was determined to serve the soldiers during the Korean War.  He was awarded posthumously the nations highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Father Kapaun is also being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. 


Right next door to the church was the Timken Elementary School.  In the early years, we would attend Mass before school started.  

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Mom was our real spiritual leader though.  Mom lead the rosary for us every night before bed time.  Her strict adherence to moral values and principals served us well.  No one ended up in jail or prison.  To this day, I'm confident she is still guiding us through the tough times we may be encountering in our lives. 



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