Grandma Sailors
My grandmother came from a family of fifteen; thirteen children and her parents. Her father "Mitch" had a reputation of being quick tempered and sometimes violent. There was no doubt who was in control of the discipline in the household. He also apparently had some of the pioneer spirit in him. On one occasion, he loaded his family into a covered wagon in 1892, and they left Nebraska for land in Oklahoma Territory.
Grandma was one of those people who seemed to have a photographic memory. She could recall names, dates, and events quite easily and be able to embellish the facts with sidenotes of her own. She was only four years old when her family took the wagon trip to Oklahoma Territory. Even though she was very young, she talked about that long journey as though it happened a week ago. I remember one story in particular which she seemed fond of telling. "One day," she would say, "some strangers on horseback rode onto our property. They were dressed in black coats and black hats and all of them needed a shave and a bath."
Her father had a long conversation with these men. After awhile, the strangers dismounted and walked their animals to the watering trough.
Grandma said they were nice men since they smiled at her and offered to give her some of their food. Attached to one of the mounts was a small wooden barrel. One of the men reached inside of the container, pulled something out, and gave it to her.
She said she was a little reluctant, but she ate it anyway. Evidently, it tasted good because she asked for more. Naturally, the stranger obliged. Later she had found out that what she had eaten was a saltine cracker: the first time she had ever seen one or tasted one.
These men stayed around the homestead for a couple of weeks helping her father with the fencing and the livestock. She said they were wearing sidearms (pistols) when they rode in but agreed to keep their weapons in their saddle bags while they stayed on the farm. After supper, they would smoke, play cards, whittle, or tell stories.
One day, they packed up and left. They rode off to the north and that was the last time Grandma ever saw them again. She heard about them later, though. Early in the morning on October 5, 1892, these men rode into Coffeyville, Kansas, and consequently rode into the pages of American history. These strangers who treated my grandmother so kindly were none other than the notorious outlaws, the Dalton Gang. All but one were killed in Coffeyville that day as they attempted to rob two banks simultaneously.
She really liked to tell that story. "Seemed like nice enough fellas," she would say. "How do you figure it?"
For some reason, Mitchell sold the covered wagon, left Oklahoma Territory, and brought his family back to Nebraska by train. They settled somewhere between Bancroft and Rosalie, Nebraska. Somewhere along the line, Grandma met Grandpa and they ended up getting married in December of 1906. Their first child was born in April of 1907, a set of circumstances that Grandma really did not like to discuss. Anyway, they were married for over 50 years and brought into this world fifteen children: Lyle, Leona, Margaret, Lois, Guy, Roland (Doc), Howard, Evelyn, Fulton, Garlie, Doris, Frank, Joyce, Hillman, and Keith. Around fifty grandchildren followed. Grandpa Sailors died in March 1957 and Grandma Sailors died in November 1974.
She was a remarkable person. Imagine being pregnant nearly every year for over twenty-five years. Imagine what it was like trying to care for that large family during the Great Depression. Imagine what it was like when she watched seven of her sons go off to war in the 1940's.
Frank Sailors once said of her, "She could do more with flour than any other person could." She was an outstanding cook, and in those days, nothing was wasted. She convinced some of her children that eating chicken feet would make them good-looking. Yes, she even cooked the feet of chicken. The family was so poor during the Depression that Grandpa traded a Model-A Ford for 60 dozen eggs. The standing joke became, "Yeah, but we don't have any butter to cook 'em in!" Poached eggs?
Born in the great blizzard of 1888, Grandma endured many hardships during her life. She bore fifteen children (none were born in a hospital), survived two World Wars and the Great Depression, and was preceded in death by two of her children. But through it all she remained steadfast and enjoyed the simple amenities of life. One of her greatest joys was the installation of indoor plumbing. Imagine the look on her face after she realized no more trips to the outhouse would be necessary.
When they took Grandma to the nursing home in the early 1970's, she seemed to know the end was near. I stopped to see her once in Pender. She told me she had been having these bizarre dreams. She said she had dreamt that she was inside of a circle. The circle was comprised of people moving in a clockwise direction. She said she would wake up just as the circle was about to close in around her.
One day she didn't wake up. That day marked the end of a simple woman, who lived life the best way she saw fit, and died, a legacy to the pioneer spirit and the incommunicable past.