Stories

So, I have discovered some great stories about my Great Grandma Nelson who died last August. I feel that need to share them, actually to journal about them.

Josephine Nelson - She was baptised on her mother's coffin because she dies 1 month after grandmas birth. At this point she went to live with her grandmother who had four children herself without a living husband. Here my grandmother was raised strictly and by the age of 14 was canning, cooking, quilting etc because her older sister had left the house hold. When it came to school she was torn between her grandmother and her father, just as I was torn between my divorced parents at a young age. At 16 she began working for the Felix family, they owned the local clothing store. Through this job she met her husband whose sister was dating a Felix son.

The following story is about my Great Aunt Joan - When my great grandfather left for WWII she thought to herself that he would never return. This caused her to be quiet for the next three years until his safe return. When he arrived home after a drive from Lacrosse my Aunt Joan ran to him in the back seat of the car and squeezed him so tight that he thought she would squeeze him to death. Aunt Joan also mentioned to me that when WWII ended there was a party on Main Street with a bon fire for 2 whole days.

These stories are important to me and I wanted to get them recorded. My artwork has been dramatically influenced by these stories and the strength of my grandmothers, especially my great grandmothers. I can't wait to learn more and I hope to be at least half the woman they were.

On to other topics, I think I'm staying in Whitewater. I need to do what is right for me. And I need to live for me, no one else. This has been very hard for me and I don't believe I've ever lived for myself, so we will see how this goes.