What was your courtship like? Describe your marriage day.

I guess I will cover both of my husbands.

I met Kerry Lynch as a blind date.  I was working with his sister, Mickey, at Hanford.  I was single and she set me up with her brother.  We went out and "Liked" each other.  I was living in Richland with Darlene Swanson in a prefab home.  Kerry and I dated for about 9 months.  I became pregnant (oops) and we were married at Christ the King church on September 1, 1972.  Our reception was at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Richland.  Great party.  Our honeymoon was a week of camping in the Seattle Area and Victoria, BC.

I met Mark Johnson at Hanford in the 308 bldg.  He asked me out on a date for the long weekend, July 1.  We went out boating in the beechcraft.  He had two more dates over that long weekend but cancelled them both after our date.  We saw each other every day after that because first of all we were working in the same bldg. (308 bldg.)  Mark moved in with me at 2538 West Entiat in September and we have now been together for 37 years and counting.  We did get married four years after moving in together.  We had bought our house at 415 Green Place and had our first child together so I told him that if he wanted to continue our relationship he had to marry me. We were married at the hitching post in Coer de Laine, Idaho (didn't spell that correctly) on our way to Priest Lake.  Jason and Lindsey were with us.  Our honeymoon was another week at the lake.

How did you meet your spouse?

I met my first spouse through work.  I was working with Mickey Rose, Kerry Lynch's sister.  She set me up with a blind date with Kerry.  Our courtship followed, I got pregnant (oops!) and we were married about a year and a half after meeting.

I met Mark Johnson at work.  I had been watching him.  It was late on a Thursday, before a four day 4th of July weekend in 1978 when he came into my lab and asked if I would like to go out boating with him on Friday.  I said yes and after that date, we were together every day after that.  We lived together starting that September, marrying four years later after buying a house and having Lindsey Erin.  Somehow I always did the wedding ceremony after having the kids.  Those were the days of free love I guess.

Were there two or three food dishes your mother or father made that were especially memorable?

I loved the Spanish Rice that Mom made.  I loved the cabbage rolls (Holubets, in Ukranian) that Mom made.  In later years, Mom made really good chicken enchiladas.  Having such a large family, mom made the typical stuff.  Nothing fancy, but good.  Meat Loaf, Fried Chicken, fish sticks, roasted beef or pork roast with potatoes.
I loved the fried shredded potatoes that dad would make on Sunday mornings.  That was the only day of the week that we had a hot breakfast.  Cereal the rest of the time, mostly.

What foods do you like and dislike? Describe any food allergies you or other family members had.

I like most all food.  My favorites are shrimp, lobster and pizza.  I don't have any strong dislikes.  I don't particularly care for lamb but I would eat it if served.

I have no food allergies.  Katie, my granddaughter has a peanut allergy.  She is the only person in the family that has a food allergy that I am aware of.

Was religion an important for you and your family? If so, explain what religion your family practiced and what it meant to you. Explain if it is or is not an important part of your life today.

I was raised a Catholic.  Both my parents and their entire families were Catholic.  I attended mass weekly and went to Catechism every week till the age of 18.  When I was married, to Kerry Lynch, it was in the Catholic Church.  When I married Mark we eventually had our marriage blessed in the Catholic Church.  The kids were raised going to mass.  We occasionally missed mass but tried to attend weekly.

My weekly attendance slowly petered out after the kids left home.  My husband, Mark attended when we went with the kids but would not attend when I went by myself.  After my Mother passed away in 2005 I completely stopped going to mass.  Maybe I went all those years because I felt guilty about not going and if my Mom asked if I attended mass I had to be able to say yes.  After she passed I knew that Mom would never ask about mass so I was comfortable not going.  Apparently I didn't get enough out of mass to continue attending after I got the kids through their religious training.

What medical issues have you had to deal with throughout your life?

My health until age 47 was very good.  Had three pregnancies and delivered three children.

At age 47 I was diagnosed with a non cancerous brain tumor.  It was a meningioma.  It was removed during a nine hour operation at Harbourview Medical Center in Seattle.  Dr. Winn.  The result of that operation was that my vocal chords and the right side of my throat were permanently paralyzed.  I learned to speak again and after six months of eating through a feeding tube, I learned to eat again.  I have problems with coughing because of the paralysis but I am doing much better at age 63.

At age 59 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Left breast.  Stage One.  Had a lumpectomy, radiation and chemo. The chemo was because of an OncoDX test on breast tissue which was medium risk and doctor said it was up to me as to chemo and if I had it I would decrease my recurrence chance by three percent.  Not too much but I went through it anyway.

 As of December of 19, 2015, two more of my sisters have been diagnosed with breast cancer, stage one, and all four of the other sisters are Chek 2 positive, which is a gene mutation that is a marker for increased chance of breast and colon cancer.  I tested negative for it so I cannot pass it on to my children.

What were some of the challenges you have had to deal with in your life?

I feel my life has been very good in regards to challenges.

My only challenges have been getting through brain surgery when I was 47.  The result of this surgery is that the right side of my throat is paralyzed for life.  I have trouble with coughing a lot because of the damage, but I have learned to deal with it.  I was glad that I had such a challenge and not one of  my children or husband.

My second challenge came at the age of 59.  Breast cancer.  I had a lumpectomy, radiation treatment and chemotherapy.  It was stage one cancer but my onco DX test showed my tumor was medium grade for recurrence so the oncologist suggested I take the chemo.  It was horrible.  I am through it now.

My sisters and I have all the gene test for breast cancer and unfortunately my four sisters tested positive for the Check 2 gene mutation which means that their chance of getting cancer is twice the general population.  Sue and Patty both got breast cancer with two years of me.  I was the only sister that did not have the mutation but I have had the cancer, however at a much older age than sisters.

What do you see as your greatest strengths?

My greatest strengths......I believe my greatest strengths are:

1.   My positive attitude.  My glass is always half full.

2.  My dedication to my family.  I always tried to show  a consistent value system to my kids and grandkids and guide them on a path that would lead them to be good people that other people would respect.  I also tried to show them the path to a happy successful life.  I also let them know that I was always here to support them if they needed.

3.  My dedication to my marriage.  I know that marriage is something that you have to work on.  When things would get tough I didn't take the easy way out.  Counseling a few times over the last 35 years has been priceless.  One of the biggest problems with our country is broken families.  The kids always pay the price.  Unfortunately, I learned this lesson after divorcing Jason's father.  However, Lindsey and Kyle are the result of that life change so I guess it was a good move!

4.  My ability to save money.  I always spent less than I made and saved for retirement so that I was never a burden on my family and would also have funds to help the kids if needed.

If you went to college or a vocational school, what school did you attend? Describe what memories you have of those years and what subjects you studied.

I attended "Modern Business School" located in the Angus Village (Vista Way) in Kennewick.  I looked at CBC but knew I wanted to be a secretary so I signed up.  The President was Velta Belba.  What a weird name but I have never forgotten it.  I attended for 7 months of an 8 month program to become an Executive Secretary and got an interview and job offer from Wadco (Westinghouse's first name when they set up a subsidiary at Hanford).  I was a temporary typist.  I quit Modern Business School and started my career! Remained with the same company for 40 years!
I remember that there were a lot of women on Welfare.  They were being paid a wage and had their babysitting paid for so that they could learn a trade and get off of welfare.  I thought that was a pretty good deal.  I also remember walking across Kennewick avenue to buy lunch at McDonalds once in a while.  19 cents for a hamburger!

Who were some of your friends in school? Explain what your friends were like and what they are doing today if you know that.

My friends in school were Carol Jo Martinson, who lived at the end of our block.  She and I walked to school everyday together.  We had sleepovers at her house.  Not at my house unless it was in the back yard because we had too many kids.  These sleepovers started in high school because back in that time young kids didn't go to others houses to sleep over.  Carol was very athletic and I was not but we had lots of fun hiking around town, building forts and playing.  Carol is back in Benton City and is fighting breast cancer also.

Pam Wendling was another friend that lived close by.  We hung out together because we lived close.  Pam was a cheerleader in  high school.  We would hang out together and chase boys.  We spent a lot of time together in high school going to dances and to Prosser.  All the hot boys were in Prosser.  She now lives north of Seattle.

Shelley, my cousin, was another close friend.  Shelley and I rode horses together all over Benton City.  Shelley had a horse named Blackie.  Blackie was stabled with "Lady".  I got to ride Lady because her owner "Doc" Allen wanted Lady to get exercise.  We usually rode bareback.  We would ride around town collecting beer bottles and pop bottles.  Then we would take them to the tavern to redeem them for their deposit value.  Then off to Moon's Market to get penny candy and creme sodas.

Ginny Spencer lived close to Shelley.  She also had a horse and she would ride with us.  Ginny and I spent a lot of time chasing boys together also.  She liked going to dances and to Prosser.  Her horses name was "Star".  If she touched Star close to her tail she would always kick out her back legs.  Trick!

What subjects did you like the least? Explain why.

I didn't really dislike anything.  My lowest grade came in CWP (Contemporary World Problems) in high school.  I guess I didn't really care about what was going on in the world.  My world was Benton City and my friends.

What were your favorite subjects in school? Explain why.

My favorite subjects in elementary and middle school were spelling and math.  It came easy for me and I enjoyed it.
In high school my favorite subjects all had to do with business.  Typing, shorthand, office practice.  Also English.  My worst grade in high school was CWP (Contemporary World Problems).  I got a D.

Where did you go to school? Give some details about what was school like for you and some of your memorable experiences.

I attended school at Kiona Benton in Benton City for all 12 years.  I always walked to school.  I was a little envious of the kids that got to ride the bus.  All 12 grades were in the same school complex.  The majority of the kids that I started school with were in my graduating class.  We had approx. 50 kids in our graduating class.  I always enjoyed school.  It was never hard.  I especially enjoyed the math competitions.  You got to stand up and then stand next to the desk of the student behind you.  The teacher would ask a times table questions like 9 times 9.  Whoever answered first got to move to the next students desk.  I always tried to move all the way around the room.  Janet Hedgepath was my biggest challenge.  She was quick!

I enjoyed getting hot lunch.  Mom would make each child take turns getting hot lunch for a week.  The rest of us had our lunches packed at home.  My favorite was mashed potatoes with hamburger gravy and scalloped potatoes and ham.  We also had a milkshake machine that took a ten cent token.  They were the world's best.  My favorite games at recess in elementary school were "Red Rover", jump rope, and Jacks.

Middle school was not very memorable.

High school was fun.  Got to go to football games at night. Dances afterwards, sock hops.  I did not participate in girls sports.  There weren't many of them and I wasn't athletic.  I was a member of the girls drill team that performed at half time during basketball games.  I was a member of FBLA, which was Future Business Leaders of America.  As a senior I received the top award at the Senior Recognition night.  I was asked to quit Swing Choir because I had such a poor voice!  Traumatized.  My group of girl buddies enjoyed skipping chorus, which was just before lunch period.  We would get in Pam Harmon's studebaker and drive to Richland, get a fifty cent lunch at the Arctic Circle Drive-In  and then drive to Zip's to eat it.  Zip' was more expensive so we couldn't afford it.  Sometimes we would stop and buy Swisher Sweet cigars and smoke them on the way to Richland.  We were real rebels.  My grade point at graduation was 2.8.  I thought it was pretty good.  Mom and dad didn't put much pressure on getting really high grades.  As long as we didn't get a D we were in good standing.

I never attended a Kegger. I was too afraid that Clyde and Theresa would catch me.  I didn't drink during high school but I did smoke cigarettes.  Didn't smoke marajuana either during high school either.  I saved that for after high school.  I wasn't adventurous enough in high school to risk getting in trouble.

Who were your aunts and uncles? Write about any of your aunts or uncles who really stand out in your mind. Give some details about them (names, personalities, events that you remember doing with them, and so on).

On my Mom's side there were:
Uncle CHIEF and Aunt Effie Muffenbier
Uncle PHIL and Aunt Thelma Muffenbier
Uncle Emerson and Aunt ISABELLE White
Uncle John and Aunt TEKLA Bush
Uncle LAWRENCE and Aunt Dean Muffenbier
Uncle PAUL and Aunt???????

On my Dad's side:

Aunt KATE and Dan Dieringer
Uncle FIRMAN and Aunt Ladene Feuerborn
Aunt THERESA and Uncle Bert
Uncle ERNIE and Aunt Maxine Feuerborn
Aunt LOIS and Uncle Phil Barbour
Uncle GLEN and Aunt Barbara Feuerborn
Aunt PATTY and Uncle Kenny Millard    Patty became a Lesbian later in life and married (?????)
Uncle Pete and Aunt WILMA Todish
Aunt MARYANN Feuerborn

Blood is in all caps.

Saw Mom's family only occasionally when we visited.  Don't remember any of them coming to visit.  Went and stayed for a week with Carol White when I was about 13.  Had lots of fun remember drying the dishes and singing the hit song from the hot band, The Monkeys.  Hey Hey, were the Monkeys, people say we monkey around.  Were to busy singing to put anybody down.............

Also Phil and Thelma took me with them to Cannon Beach one year.  We stayed in a little cabin.  Their kids Judy and Billy took me to a store and made me stand watch while Billy stole a myrtle wood chest! I was terrified and can still remember running for my life.  The only time I  was ever involved with stealing something.

Did your grandparents live close by? If so, describe how they were involved in your life. If they lived far away share some memories of visiting them or of them traveling to visit you.

Grandma and Grandpa Feuerborn lived about 40 yards from our house.  You would go out the back fence, across the open field and into their back yard.  Us kids would go to their house regularly to say hi and get a cookie if we were lucky.  Joe played hundreds or thousands of games of checkers with grandpa Feuerborn.  Grandma would always bake an extra pumpkin pie for Joe if she was making pies cuz she knew Joe loved them and he was special because he played checkers with grandpa.

Grandma and Grandpa Muffenbier lived in an area of Portland called West Moreland.  I don't remember them ever traveling to see us.  They didn't drive and didn't own a car.

Share Some Memories of your Grandparents

Grandma and Grandpa always lived across the field from us in my memory.  Grandma was a kind person that was stoic.  Grandpa was a little grumpy and didn't talk much to the kids.  Grandma made cookies a lot and usually had a peanut butter or sugar cookie for us when we went to her house.  She and grandpa always made peanut butter candy on Christmas and shared it with us.  Grandma was usually home that I remember and most of her time was spent cleaning, cooking, visiting with people and going to church.  She also did sewing, making quilts occasionally.  Her biggest enjoyment that I could tell was visiting with her children and grandchildren when they visited.

Grandpa was a serious person that worked a lot as a pipefitter and when he retired he spent a lot of time watching the two tv's he had in the living room.

They had a raspberry bush in the backyard, along with peach and apple trees.  We were always welcome to come over and pick and eat all we could.

My grandparents took Ed and I out to "N" Reactor when I was about 10 and we saw President Kennedy make a speech.

Grandpa and Grandma Muffenbier were always in Portland on 42nd Street, living in the same house Mom grew up in.  We visited maybe once a year for a weekend.  My memory is of Mom and Dad visiting in the living room with Mom's sisters, brothers, and parents.  The kids could walk up to the local store, "Piggily Wiggily" to buy an ice cream or candy.  My aunt Tekla worked at the Piggily Wiggily.
The kids slept upstairs in an old iron bed. When you walked upstairs you had to push the curtain aside to walk up.  The curtain kept the heat from going upstairs in the winter I guess.  There was an old iron tube set up upstairs.  If you wanted a toilet, you had to walk outside the back kitchen door because it was built on the back porch.  Mom talked about how she would sit on the toilet and wrinkle up pages from the Sears catalogue to soften it up because she had to use it for wiping!

The "Oaks" amusement park is a short walk from Grandparents house.  We went down there a few times.  It is still there, next to the river.

Did Your Family have specific ways to Celebrate Holidays

My previous post described Christmas.  We always went to Church Christmas morning.

Thanksgiving was a turkey dinner that Mom prepared.  I don't remember ever having a guest or going to someone else's house.

Easter was usually getting up early to hunt eggs in the back yard, which we had colored on Saturday.  The Easter bunny always brought a special basket of candy for each child.  Then off to church.  A ham dinner in the afternoon.

We bought local fireworks on 4th of July and lit them in the yard.  A barbeque in the back yard was usually the dinner fare.  Sometimes grandma and grandpa Feuerborn would come over.  Grandma and Grandpa usually had holiday dinner with Wilma and Pete Todish.  I guess it was because Wilma was the daughter and wanted her mom and dad.  Wilma and Pete came to Grandma Feuerborns a lot for Sunday dinner.  I don't remember every sitting at their dinner table for a meal.  Sometimes I ate in the kitchen.

What are some of your family traditions that you remember?

Our family growing up did not have any traditions that I remember.  Our family had "routine", which was necessary for a large family.  At Christmas we hung our stockings by the chimney with care.  Santa always came and put a small something in it.  We always got something from Santa and had a wrapped present under the tree.  Usually clothing.  We spent all holidays at home because our family was too big to go anywhere or be hosted.  We did go down to Portland on Easter occasionally and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Muffenbier.

What are the names of your brothers and sisters? Describe traits and memories that stand out in

Describe traits and memories that stand out in your mind about each of your siblings.

Oldest brother, Edward Martin Feuerborn.  Born August 22, 1950.  Born 10 months after Mom and Dad were married.  Ed is a very family oriented, relaxed, friendly, chilled out type.  A little bit hippie, little bit health nut.   Doesn't stress out about much.  He has worked as a welder in the union trades all his life but during this time he got a BA degree in Philosophy and then a Masters degree in Communications.

Me.

Sandra Marie Weissner, born April 4, 1955.  Sandy is a happy, friendly, fun sister who married Jack Weissner after having a son, Nick, with Ron Moore.  She is known for her cooking skills and we call her "Martha Stewart".

Joe Martin Feuerborn, born August 13, 1957.  He was a basketball superstar at Kiona Benton High School and still holds records in 2014.  Joe is a very quiet man and has been frugal with his money his entire life.

Rosemary Ann Rutherford.  Rose was born April 13, 1960.  Rose was a happy girl sporting a "pixie" haircut.  Mom loved to give Rose and Sue pixie haircuts.  Rose is a very competitive sister.  Rose married Tim Dunham and hard her son, Jeremy.  Later getting divorced, she married Wally Rutherford, who adopted Jeremy and they adopted two daughters, Megan and Lexie.

Suzanne Marie Norris.  Suzanne was born December 22, 1962.  Sue was the wild child of the family.  Sue went to Western Washington State University for her BA and followed that up with a Masters degree from Oregon State University in Eugene.  She met Jerry at her first job in Southern California.

Patricia Grace Ensign.  Patty was born November 15, 1966.  She was the high performer of the familly.  Pat was the valedictorian of her class.  Graduated from WSU in Pullman and married Kevin Ensign, who she met at her first job at DOE.

Are there any obvious or unusual genetic traits that run in your family line?

Mom had RH negative blood, which meant that her blood would fight a babies blood while in the womb.  All of her children were born with normal blood so I think our kids are okay.

I had genetic testing in 2015.  I did not show any mutated genes for cancer.  Suzanne Norris and Patty Ensign, my sisters, however, did have the Chek 2 gene which is a marker for increased chance of Breast, colon, and  thyroid cancer, prostate cancer in men.  My kids cannot get the Chek 2 gene because I do not carry it.  So far Myself, Patty and Suzanne have all had breast cancer.  My age was 59 when I got breast cancer, Patty was 49 and Sue was 52 when they both got breast cancer.

My mother's side of the family mostly died of cancer, including colon, lung and stomach.  My father's side of the family, Clyde Feuerborn, mostly died from stroke and heart problems.  Joe had his first heart attack at 49, the same age his father, Clyde Feuerborn had his first attack.  Dad lived to 75.

What kind of hardships or tragedies did your family experience while you were growing up?

The only tragedy I can think of is when Mom carried a baby to full term and she died in Mom's womb prior to birth at about 8 months.  The doctor had Mom carry the baby to full term and delivered it.  The Feuerborn Baby Girl is buried in the Benton City Cemetery.  The little girl was 2.5 years younger than Suzanne.  The next baby, two years later was Patty.  That is the only time I can remember when my Dad cried, was at that funeral.

The only hardships I can remember was the tight budget for groceries, $40/week is what I remember.  The only vacation the family ever took was driving to Portland to stay with Grandpa and Grandma Muffenbier.  Also we had one trip to southern California to see Aunt Kate and Uncle Dan.  After I left home Mom and Dad bought a trailer and took the younger kids on some camping trips and to the ocean.   

I wanted to go on vacation like some of the kids I knew.  Shelley and Mike went with Aunt Maxine and Uncle Ernie camping in their truck and camper a lot.  That really bugged me.  That was the advantage of having a small family.  The first restaurant I ever ate in was an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) with my Dad when we drove to Seattle to pick up Mom, who delivered Patty in Seattle because of RH Negative blood factor.  

Have any of your family members died? If so, explain what they died from and what you remember of their death; the circumstances of their death.

As of August 1, 2015, I have lost my Mother(79 of colon cancer), Father(75 of heart disease), and one sister, which was a baby girl that died prior to being born.  The little girl, that was never named, is buried in the Benton City Cemetery, along with Mom and Dad.  The little girl was born between Suzanne and Patty.  Mom had RH Negative blood which made delivery a higher risk.  That is what killed the fetus.  Suzanne's blood had to be changed out at birth and Patty had to have her blood changed out invitro.  That was done in Seattle hospital.

Most of my mother's family has passed away, mostly of cancer.  Most of my father' family has passed away, heart attack and stroke.  Factor 5 runs in dad's family, which is a marker for higher risk of stroke and heart attack.  I was tested and do not have it.  I was genetically tested for mutations in genes that cause cancer and I do not have any of the mutations.

What kind of work did your parents do (farmer, salesman, manager, seamstress, nurse, stay-at-home mom, professional, laborer, and so on)?

My father, Clyde had many jobs as a young man.  Working in the field harvesting crops in Walla Walla (onions) and outside Portland picking strawberries when he was a teenager.  He worked with his father and brother hanging wallpaper and worked in a gas station for a while and then joined the army when world war II broke out.  In the war he was an auto mechanic and when he returned to the states he was a  truck driver.  He later learned to weld in the shipyards in Portland, along with both his parents and his brothers Ernie and Firman.  He later moved to Benton City with his new wife, Mary Theresa Muffenbier and their two kids, Edward and Angela.  He spent the rest of his working life as a welder and pipefitter until retirement.  He never worked for any Hanford Contractors but worked for small contractors (JP Head Mechanical and Thompson Mechanical) through Local Union 598, Plumbers and Steamfitters.  He was always a union man and a Democrat.

My Mother, Theresa, worked in the strawberry field as a young girl and later worked for White Stag, a clothing manufacturer.  She went to work in the shipyards during the war.  After marrying Clyde she stayed home and was a full time homemaker, as were most of her friends in those years.  Late in life she got a job in a hotel as a maid when Dad had retired.  That lasted about three days.  She didn't like making all those beds!

What memories do you have of your mother (her name, birth date, birthplace, parents, etc.)?

My mother was born with the name Mary Theresa Mufffenbier in Portland, Oregon on July 30, 1926.  Her parents were Mary (Summers)Muffenbier and Joseph Muffenbier.   My mother had to change her name to Theresa Mary Muffenbier when she was growing up because the neighbor girl's name was Mary and the mothers flipped a coin to see who would use the name Mary because the mothers would call their daughters to come into the house and both girls would come in becauses they didn't know whose mother was calling.  So, Mom always used the name Theresa (her middle name).  I didn't know this until I was grown.
Mom grew up in Milwaukee, Oregon with her seven brothers and sisters.  She went to a Catholic school until 8th grade.  She said the public school kids would call the catholic kids cat-lickers and the catholic school kids would call the public school kids pup-lickers.  She said the nuns were mean to the kids.  Mom had to stay home with her mother to help with the housework when she was out of 8th grade.  Grandma Muffenbier didn't see any reason for her to continue her education.  When Mom was high school age she and siblings would ride a bus to strawberry fields outside portland to pick berries in order to make money.  That is where she first met the Feuerborn family.  They were camped out there picking berries.
Mom eventually went to work at Jantsen Beach making clothing in a factory.  She later went to work in the shipyards during the war.
Mom told stories of her and her friends walking around Portland and having men chase her and her friends.  They would have to run and hide.
Mom grew up in the same house that her parents owned their entire lives.  I have memories of sleeping with Grandma Muffenbier.  She would lay in bed and play the game with your hands where you make a church, then show the doors, the steeple and then flip your hands and show all the people!  I remember their bathroom was out on the back porch.  Mom told about how they had to use the Sears and Roebuck catalog pages as toilet paper.  I remember her telling of how the bums would bring oranges that were old or starting to rot to them.  The bums would collect them from the back of grocery stores and bring them to grandma because she was kind to them.
My earliest memories of Mom was of her making feather pillows for us kids.  She was sewing them together just before we moved to our house on 808 Ash Street.  We moved when I was five years old, the summer before I started school.  Mom was always busy doing the daily chores of maintaining a household of kids.  She was pregnant a lot!  We were always helping with cleaning out diapers.  Mom did all the laundry, cooking, shopping, etc.  The kids helped with doing dishes, vacuuming, dusting and on Saturdays I had two big baskets of ironing that I had to iron.  We had a big carousel to hang the clothes on.  Felt like it took 4 hours to do all that ironing.  Nothing was permanant press back them.
I remember going grocery shopping with Mom one Saturday.  She bought a 7-UP candy bar at the checkout stand.  She told me that was her treat for the week.(She bought me a candy bar that week!)  She always ate it before arriving home.  We couldn't afford candy bars for the whole family.  Her budget was $40/week to feed a family of 9.
Mom's only break away from daily chores was bowling.  She joined a bowling league when I was about 10 and she bowled in a league for about 15 years.  She was very good and had an average of about 188.  Lots of trophies.  That was her outlet.
Mom was a good sewer.  She made a lot of our clothes,  Wool skirts and vests, dresses for prom which were beautiful and summer sun tops.  She was talented there.  I sewed a few dresses after I took home economics but never got much of a kick out of it.
Mom and Dad went to parties up at the American Legion.  That was their party scene I guess.  They didn't hang out at any taverns but didn't miss the American Legion parties.  I liked going up there the following morning.  The smell of whiskey and old cigarettes was exciting.  We used to drink some of the old drinks.  Gross now that I think of it.
Mom loved playing cards.  She was always up for a game of poker.  Her family played penny-ante poker with pennies or beans when she was young.  The Feuerborn family liked poker so she played with them and usually suggested a game of poker on family get-togethers during the evening.  She was a gambler and played a lot of Bingo after retirement and then started going to the local indian casinos when they built a couple about an hour away from her house.  She played a lot but never let it turn into a problem.  You could see her sitting at her machine with a smile on her face.
Mom died of colon cancer at the age of 79.

What memories do you have of your father (his name, birth date, birthplace, parents, etc.)?

My father, Clyde Anthony Feuerborn was born in Ottawa, Kansas on October 25, 1925.  His parents were Theresa (?) and Ernest Martin Feuerborn.  I don't remember much about their history but I do have a memory of living behind them in Benton City.
My father came to the northwest when he was about ten.  The entire family arrived in Walla Walla, Washington from Kansas.  They lived outdoors in a tent and hoed onions to make a living.  The reason they left Kansas was because the parish priest told Ernie and Theresa that they should leave Kansas because there was too much family around and the kids might start falling in love with relatives.
I am not aware of why they picked the Northwest area to move to.  They left Walla Walla after the onion harvest and went to the Portland area.  While they were there Ernie and his family did many jobs, including picking strawberries, running a gas station, hanging wall paper and they owned a tavern for a while.  Anything to make money.  All the kids say that Grandma Feuerbon made Coney Islands and served them in their tavern, which was called the "Coney Island".  She was known to use horse meat, which was cheaper than beef and gave the coney island sauce it's slightly sweet flavor.
Dad met my mother while picking in the strawberry fields.  Mom rode a bus out to pick berries with her sisters and brothers.  Dad and his family were living there in a tent.  They knew each other while teenagers but parted, meeting later when Dad had returned from the Army after WWII.
They married when Dad was 24 and Mom was 23.  They were married in October, 1949.  Ed was born the following August.  Angie (Me!) was born two years later and when I was one they moved to Benton City, Washington, where Dad found work as a welder and pipefitter.

Dad initially found work as a truck driver and would drive loads up to the Tri-Cities on occasion.  Later he moved up to the Tri-Cities and found work because Hanford was booming.  His father and brother, Ernie, also moved up here to work.  Grandma, Grandpa and some of the sons had learned to weld in the shipyards of Portland.  Everyone said that Grandma was the best welder because of her steady hand.

Clyde was a good father in that he always provided, didn't drink too much, went to church with the family and had a steady hand at handling a family of 7 kids.  Things weren't always easy.  Clyde wasn't the type of father to go outside and play with his kids.  He went to work Monday through Friday, came home at approx. 5:00, we had dinner on the table about 10 minutes after he came through the back door and put his lunch bucket on the kitchen counter.  He would wash his hands in the utility room, take off his boots and sit down for dinner.  After dinner he watched the news on tv with Mom, and the kids would do the dishes.  There was always a little hollering from Mom to get us moving.  You will see pictures of Angie on an apple box washing dishes and Ed standing next to her with a dish towel to dry them.
Saturdays were housework for the kids and I suspect Dad was doing yardwork in the summer.  I cannot remember what Dad did during the winter on Saturdays.  Sundays was 9:30 mass and then a big breakfast of hash brown potatoes and scrambled eggs.  Dad liked to fry the hash browns.  Sometimes we got bacon or sausage.  Then Dad would read the paper and go about his day.

After retiring Clyde did not have any hobbies so when Angie introduced him to Volksmarching he took to it like a duck to water.  He traveled the Northwest with Angie and her family and Margaret Johnson (Mark Johnson's Mother).  He loved to travel and loved to walk.

Clyde had a heart attack at age 52, had a bypass surgery and returned to work.  He had his second bypass 18 years later at 70.  He had a pacemaker put in two years later and at 75 died of a heart attack.  He had just finished his daily walk and came in the back door.  He collapsed walking through the kitchen.  He died November 3, 2000, at the age of 75.

When and where were you born? Describe your home, your neighborhood, and the town you grew up in.

July 7, 2015

I was born in Portland, Oregon.  September 18, 1952.  I spent my first year in Portland with my parents, Clyde and Theresa Feuerborn and my older brother Edward Martin, who was 2.5 years older than me.  I moved to Benton City when I was one year old so that my father could work in the Hanford area, where his father and brother, Ernie, had also found employment.  We lived in a couple of different houses, one of which was two houses down from my aunt and uncle, Maxine and Ernie.  When I was five we moved to the house where I would spend all of my growing years, leaving when I was 18, to move to Richland.  The address was 808 Ash St.  In later years they changed the street addresses and my new address was 1108 Ione St.  My PO Box was Box 243 and my phone number was 588-3573.  I will never forget that information.  When we first got our phone we were on a party line with my grandmother, Theresa Feuerborn (and grandpa, but he never talked too much on the phone) and Helen and Slim Sjostrum.  Mom hated it because she swore that every time she was on the phone, grandma would pick it up and listen.  You knew when somebody had received a phone call because the phone would click.  If you picked it up you could listen to other people talking.  If you talked too long the other people on your party would click the phone to let you know to get off!

Our neighborhood was great.  Lot of kids to play with.  We always went outside to play.  You generally were not allowed to to into other kids houses.  You knocked on the door and asked if your friend could come out and play.  If they were busy for a little bit you would sit in the front yard and wait for them.  We played softball, work up, kick ball and other games in the fields.  We built forts, went on long hikes around town.  Walked down to play on the toys in the park.  When my cousin Shelley got a horse I would borrow  Doc Allen's horse, Lady, and we would ride for hours around Benton City.  We would collect empty beer bottles and pop bottles.  We took them to the back of the tavern and sold them for their deposit value and then took the money to the grocery store and bought creme sodas, cheetos and Hostess Berry Pies.

The rest of my siblings were born while we lived in Benton City.  Most in Prosser hospital.

Benton City was a town of 1500.  Small then and small today.  The same businesses buildings that were there in 1952 are still there today.  The business have changed but no new buildings have been built.  No growth at all.  Just some new houses.  50 years and no new business buildings.

What is your full name. Why did your parents give you that name.

My full name is Angela Marie Johnson.  My mother gave me that name because she had read a story somewhere with the name Angela and she loved the name.  Considered it Italian.  My middle name of Marie came because it was a very popular middle name back in the 50's.  No other reason that I was aware of.