In her later years June (Washburn) Thompson, wife of my Uncle Lyman, wrote a memoir for her children. It is undated, but the passing reference to Bruce Thompson’s age suggests that it must have been done in about 1988. The following is an excerpt from it. I am grateful to Pat Koukal for sending this wonderful document to me, because Aunt June’s recollections offer a vivid picture of life in the Sam Thompson household during those decades in Black River Falls.
Lyman’s mom and dad raised seven kids and he worked in the box factory and the highest he ever made was $32.00 a month. Sam fed and clothed and worked so very hard. He started his job as a young man and worked with a team of horses until the factory had a Model T truck. But Sam loved his horses. They raised, fed and dressed and paid for their house, not counting hospital bills. I remember when we got there and I’d ride down town with Sam; and he’d forget he was driving a car and said (Whoa). They were clean and very nice people and you’d have loved them. Pen would go up to Pearl and Sam’s and Pearl would rock the kids on her knees and sing to them.
Sam and Pearl had a summer kitchen with a pretty iron cook stove. The coffee was hot all day and she’d always have coffee and cookies for whoever came. That was their home for 40 years. They were very smart people but just had no formal education. Juanita was the only one that graduated. I don’t know how they managed. Pearl was there when her grandson Bruce Thompson was born. He weighed less than three pounds and Dr. Erwin Krone [Irwin Krohn] didn’t even bother to put drops in his eyes. Pearl fed him with an eye dropper and he made it. She pulled him through but he wore very thick glasses. Bruce was six feet tall and very good looking. He must be about 50 now.
Sam was six feet four inches when he was young. He had black curly hair and brown eyes that just twinkled. She was five feet and looks exactly like Gale and Brenda. They were a darling couple. She was jealous of him until he died. Every anniversary they would disappear and go to a park outside of town which was where they went when they fell in love. He dearly enjoyed teasing her, but really she loved every minute of it; and she sat on his lap a lot.
I also must tell you, she tried not to show it, but Penny was her favorite love. Pen would go to Pearl’s and Pearl would hold her and Pen could do no wrong; but she loved them all. They had their problems but never with each other. I have never seen such true love. I remember when we were there and ended up at Pearl’s (Lyman and I). They had a round dining table so Pearl, Sam, Lyman and I were playing cards and Sam was teasing her and she got miffed and threw the cards. She would never play cards again.
Pearl fried a lot of potatoes and kept them on the back of the stove. When it was strawberry time she’d make a big pan of shortcake and it was so good. Then she got stuck on a delicious chocolate cake (I still make it). She always had food for whoever dropped in. She always fed the hobos if they stopped. She used to smoke and kept her cigarettes in her apron. She’d go out to the outdoor bathroom and smoke and then chew coffee. She thought she was fooling all of us. She stayed at home and sat on her stool by the cook stove. She was a sweetheart — very tricky but never hurt anyone. Then if company ever came from Milwaukee or Minneapolis we’d all chip in and have a big picnic. She just loved it. This may sound like an old joke but there never was toilet paper, but always a catalogue. They never had a car until about 1960. They always walked and came to town on their horse-pulled wagon.
In the winter, Pearl would heat bricks in the oven and wrap them for all the kids in the big wagon and go to town. One summer night they all walked to town and pulled Lyman in his Red Rider old fashioned wagon. They got home and Lyman wasn’t in the wagon. He had fallen off and they went back and he was still asleep. Then finally, after kids left home, they saved and bought a pretty big radio with doors. She watched it like a hawk so no one would scratch it. She kept it in the front room and very few people were invited in there.
Years ago when they lived out in the country on the farm, Sam would be seen carrying a large sack of flour and other things and walk ten miles (all that way). He was a strong man and never complained about anything. Lyman would catch him in the garage with a bad toothache with tears in his eyes and he’d work it loose and pull it out with his pliers. Sam loved horses, dogs and all animals. He would never hunt or fish. He was also Sheriff when he was young.
Pearl saved everything. She filled the garage so they couldn’t even get a car in. So he built another along side of the other one. In fact when we left Wisconsin for Washington, we had a small barrel of all the kids baby clothes I wanted to save. Well we couldn’t get to it. The garage was so packed.
All the Thompson children were born at home and they had Dr. Erwin Krone [Irwin Krohn]. Everyone in Black River Falls had him and he was the only doctor in town. He brought my Mom into the world and I imagine all of her sisters and brothers. Everyone thought he was God. He brought all the grandchildren — three of mine had him. [. . .]
Here is an anecdote that I thought was amusing. Dotty and I were each sewing a dress and it was at night in the summer kitchen. There were oil lamps and I was trying my dress on for her to see. So I held the lamp and slowly backed up for her to see. As I slowly moved back (Rover) Sam’s big dog was behind me and we didn’t know it. He slowly raised up to move so I slowly rose up more. She and I laughed so hard. That following cold winter Sam came in with Rover in his arms and [the] dog must have weighed 200 lbs. Sam had tears in his eyes and it was terribly sad. He laid him on a blanket and Rover died.
Left to right: Juanita Peterson, Roberta Peterson (in the background), June Thompson, Tom Thompson.
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