Born December 25, 1945 in Springfield, Missouri.

This is my recollection of family history.  I make that statement as each of us may have different memories of what someone told us and our perspective at that moment.  I look forward to hearing what my siblings remember.  My name is Betty (Mary Elizabeth).  I have been called Betty since I was born.  I believe the story is that I was named Mary after Dad’s mom and Elizabeth after Mom’s sister who at the time I was born had joined a convent. They called her Betty also.  Mom told me once that her sister Betty told her that if Mom had a girl and I was born on Christmas Day that would be the sign that she had chosen to be a nun was the right decision. I was born on Christmas Day, 1945.   Mom’s sister took the name of Sister Mary Beata and became an inspiration and mentor to me and all my siblings.  We all loved her very much but she really holds a special place in my heart. 

I am the third child of Frances and Leonard Erb.  I was born in Springfield, MO and the first granddaughter to both the Erb and the Smith families. Our family lived on the farm at Timken when I was very small. I was much too little to remember the time spent before our move to the farm in Timken.   The two memories of living on the farm are when my doll was be-headed and Mom putting it in the attic, and a memory of noticing and being in awe of all the stars at night. We moved back to Springfield when Bill was a baby.

My first memory of our home in Springfield was a house on LaFontaine St., not far from Grandma Smith’s house.  At that time, Mom’s brothers, Larry, Joe, Walter and Gene lived on the same square block as the original Smith home.  We would walk past Grandma’s house on our way to school at St. Joseph’s Catholic School.  I remember the house we lived in had what I thought was a forest next to it.  That forest holds memories of adventure.  I remember once losing my rosary there and also of Jim starting a fire to cook something in Mom’s small cast iron skillet.  I also remember once that Dad’s engine on his car caught fire in our driveway and he put it out with a rug before the fire department came to help.  That was exciting.  I remember all of us having the measles and chicken pox at the same time, the little boys, Bill and Jerry, in baby beds in one of the bedrooms.  I remember John & me reciting the alphabet backwards to friends visiting.  I can still say the alphabet backwards. 

On our visits to Timken, we stayed at Grandpa and Grandma Erb’s house.  At that time, the upstairs was an apartment and rented by the lady who worked at the Depot.  Maybe Jim or John can remember her name.  I can’t.  I remember visiting the farm where Art and Laverne, Dad’s brother and sister-in-law lived.  There was a shower outside in a building next to the house.  The top of the shower had a tank that would be filled from the windmill well next to it.  I remember it being a special treat when there was rainwater in that tank to shower with, as the rainwater felt so much softer than the well water and smelled better too. 

We moved from Springfield to Timken when I was in the second grade.  I believe it was around Christmas time.  We moved to Grandpa and Grandma’s house and they bought a house across the railroad tracks on the other side of Timken.  We could see the front yard from our porch.  The school was next to the church and we went to mass every day just as we did in Springfield, before school started even though the school was a public school, our priest, Fr. Clumpny provided that time for daily mass for us Catholic students.  Our Aunt Bertha (Grandma Erb’s sister) was the cook.  Every morning we could smell the rolls or bread she was baking as the kitchen was in the hallway right next to the “little room” where the first 4 grades were taught.  The “big room” was for the older students in 5th through 8thgrades.  The school did expand and there was a kitchen and dining area added as well as more classrooms. I’m not sure what date that was done, but I do remember making it to the “big room” when the expansion started.   I have very fond memories of school and some great friends and great teachers.

Dad was the manager of the Timken Lumber Co. It was located next to the Bank and Post Office on what we called the Main St.  The railroad tracks separated Main St. and the road where we lived.  There was a ditch on either side of the railroad tracks and our ditch was the deepest.  There was a plank across the ditch and we walked that plank to cross over to the other street to visit the Lumber Yard or our Aunt Bertha who lived on that street just west of the Lumber Yard.  I remember that Dad had the first TV I ever watched at the Lumber Yard.  Reception was fuzzy but it still fascinated all of us.  At home, Mom would listen to the radio during the day and we would get home from school to hear “The adventures of the Lone Ranger”.  By the time most of the homes in Timken had a TV, including us, there were 3 channels to watch.  Mom controlled our watching until all the work was done that she felt needed done first. 

I can’t imagine the work it took for Mom and Dad to raise us.  There was always something to do.  Mom assigned or we volunteered to take care of a baby or younger sibling, dressing, feeding or entertain when needed.  On Mondays Mom would do the “washing”, or “warshing” as she pronounced it.  She had a ringer washer with two tubs next to it.  One tub was for soaking and the other for rinsing.  All clothes were hung outside on the line to dry.   Monday evening, there would be laundry to take off the line after school and ironing dampened with the sprinkling bottle (a coke bottle with a sprinkling cork on the top) and rolled and packed in the ironing basket.   Tuesdays Mom ironed and at times, I ironed when I got home from school.  Wednesdays Mom baked bread…oh I still remember the smell of the house when we got home.  Thursdays Mom would go to town for groceries.  Friday was catch-up day. Every day, there would be cleaning and picking up to do but Fridays were meant to do things Mom couldn’t get done the other days. Saturday’s were spent with chores such as mopping, waxing, washing down walls, or whatever chore Mom would decide to get done.  We all probably pitched in but I remember John and I doing the majority of helping Mom and Jim doing other chores with Grandpa and Dad.  But, we were all required to help with dishes.  I remember once Mom telling one of the boy’s friends when he came to get the boys for an evening baseball game at the school, that he could sit and watch or help the boys with dishes, but they weren’t leaving till the dishes were done.   Of course on Sunday we would go to church and afterwards would either have visitors or visit.  Sundays were meant for days of rest and I don’t remember doing much else when were young.  One really big treat was when we made ice cream on Sunday afternoon.   

There was fun to be had too.  I remember lots of baseball games with my brothers next to the house and baseball games behind the school.  I remember watching movies on summer evenings on the outside wall of the school with other Timken families, sitting on blankets on the ground.  We fished on the creek lots of summer evening after digging worms from the ground next to the ditch culvert.  We would set bank lines sometimes, but most of the time, we used cane poles that Dad had made with a line, hook and bobber.   I don’t know where the bikes came from, but there were always bikes to ride, some fitted with playing cards in the spokes.  Summer evenings, we would catch fireflies, play kick the can and hide and seek.  In the winters, we would go sledding on the hill behind  Vernon & Ida Mae Bieber’s house Ida Mae (Kraisinger) was Dad’s cousin).  Once Dad made a big wooden sled that fit all of us and he would pull it down the snow packed streets of Timken. 

 John has given an accounting of Erb and Smith family history that I feel is accurate.  There is one thing, I remember Grandpa Erb telling me on a trip to Great Bend that differs from John’s recollection.  Grandpa told me that Grandma Erb was born in a dugout in ShafferKansas.  Shaffer is a town just east of Timken.  The Walnut Creek does run through the town and I have heard stories of homes being dug out of the side of the bed of the Walnut Creek.

I am looking forward to reading the thoughts and memories of each of my siblings and I plan to add more as time goes on, as we talk, something sparks a memory that can be shared.  Many, many thanks to John for providing this forum.