Nana's funeral was memorable. Family and friends came from near and far offering spiritual support. I know that Nana was there. I know she was smiling. Trust me, I know!
Lois, the last of Nana's siblings, was at the funeral. I was determined to coax some Kruschke family stories out of her. Lois tolerated my questions with a quiet confidence which reminded me of Nana. In fact, Lois' whole demeanor was reminiscent of Nana. The way she held herself. The way she sat. The way she stood. The twinkle in her eye.
When I met Nana and Grandpa George 55 years ago, I was an intrusion in their life. Being an outsider to the family, I would constantly hear stories about the Stegers and the Kruschkes. It was confusing. It took me awhile to figure out that with 9 children in Nana's family and 8 children in George's, I might never get all the names straight. So I began a "name association" process that had a lyrical ring to it. It became "Amie and Franklin" (Amie was the oldest Kruschke sister). When Mom would tell me Amie was coming to visit the family I would respond with "who"? You know, "Amie and Franklin". Yep I got it. I needed Franklin in the title. I remembered the whole family that way. Love and marriage. Horse and carriage. Lyla and George. Chet and Lois.
For me, Chet will forever be part of Lois. As I began to talk to Lois yesterday there was a similar life pattern to Nana's that began to evolve. The beginning years were farm. There were the "living years" which included earning a living. Wouldn't you know that Chet and Lois owned their own retail business for auto parts (known as NAPA). Most of the sales were to other businesses. Lois was the "bookkeeper". Her memories include hours and hours of trying to find out why the general ledger system was not balancing. It meant finding differences of several pennies. Why spend all that time balancing the books? Because that is what you do. Nana would relate that same story as she tried to reconcile the "sheet metal books". Actually your Mom would agonize over ledger sheet errors at Mooney and Mooney Law offices. Talk about family traits!
Lois was slow to share stories with me. I asked her if there had ever been any family fires? Nope! Were there any car accidents in the early days? Nope. Had any of the Kruschke kids fallen through the ice? Nope. And so it went. Provocative questions followed with a cute grin. I gave up.
As your mom and Grasshopper No.5 were taking down the bulletin board in the Church basement, they asked Lois if she would like any of the pictures. She noticed one of a young Nana sitting on the fender of an old model car. Lois said she remembered the family car. It was a Whippet (I think I got the spelling right). Whippets went the way of the buggy whip. Lois said they took the Whippet to church one Sunday and while the family was in church, a fire broke out around the engine compartment. A "passer-by" saw the fire and immediately threw dirt and gravel on the fire to put it out. When the family came out of church, the front of the car was covered with sand and gravel. My intense questioning could not find that story. A single picture on a bulletin board got the whole deal. It was a car story. It was a family crisis. The story had the history I had been looking for. Maybe I need more pictures in my life.
After a short time with Lois I think I can finally drop the word association game with Chet. Lois and Nana are now etched in my mind. There is no doubt Nana and Lois are sisters. Oh my, they are sisters.
Love,
Dad