Abbott "Pete" Smith D.V.M.: June 16, 1938 - February 22, 2010 Virginia Joyann "Jody" Haley Smith: April 2, 1938 - May 9, 2021 |
Welcome to Milliron Monday where every Monday we celebrate the legacy of Milliron Farm and Clinic, Dr. Pete and Jody Smith.
"A quarter was a lot of money, especially when you realize I'd picked a bushel of dandelions from the yard for a dime."
― Virginia Wurl Rhonemus Haley
Do you think I'll ever run out of topics for Milliron Monday? I don't think so. Boxes of notebooks, letters, legal documents (of no use now) - a lifetime of paper just waiting to be shared. Today, thinking about what to write, I ran across a bright pink typed pamphlet written by Jody's mother, Virginia Wurl Rhonemus Haley, aka Meme.
I never met Meme, but the stories keep coming. She was a character with a lot to say. Jody often shared her mother's antics and the many times she got under Pete's skin (and vice versa).
Over the next few weeks, I am going to share stories from Meme's pink pamphlet. They will keep you engaged and entertained; a part of history and more insight to Jody's family. Here's the unaltered intro and First Section:
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First Section: The Way it Was
Mary Virginia Jenkins Waltermire "Aunt Molly", 3 daughters
(Mrs. Samuel Westly Waltermire)
Born May 30, 1850 - Died April 26, 1938
[Mary Virginia is Jody's great-grandmother]
Drizella Wynnowa, daughter, lived just a few months - died of summer complaint
Nellie Wave Waltermire Krout, Mrs. Ed Krout, 2 sons
1) Arlo Clymer Krout (1901)
2) Gaylord Krout (1916)
Jessie Wurl Waltermire Rhonemus (Mrs. Harry B. Rhonemus)
Born March 25, 1885 - Died March 25, 1975 on her birthday
[Jessie is Meme's mother, Jody's grandmother, Jessica's namesake]
My Grandmother was hard working and a community supporter. She was asked to teach children and adults, much older than she when she was fourteen (14) years old.
She was a great reader (I can remember her reading the Bible when I went to bed and she was reading when I got up.) She loved to read - because she could read and understand. What she read was due to her Mother, Samantha Orcutt - from New England - I never learned how she got to Ohio - and married Anthony Jenkins. She had a boy, Charles Landon, 1/2 brother to my Grandmother, they looked alike, thought alike, everything. 4th of July or near, we went to visit. Hosea Jenkins, her full brother, and the 1/2 relation were never close, Hosea raised Clydesdale horses and was well-to-do and let everyone know it (I guess). But it was never a case of your children and my children are fighting our children. It was a contented household. My Grandmother told me she was in her teens before she knew that the older girls who came to see her father were actually her 1/2 sisters and they always brought little gifts for everyone.
Grandmother, as a young girl, went before four men, neighbor farmers, to prove she could answer questions pertaining to History (1st man), Geography (2nd man) etc: Math and Spelling, they asked her to sign their names and they marked an X. None could read or write. She was paid by being given bed and board at their various homes each week. She told many times she waited in the door of the school (barn) on Friday night because of a mix up or being forgotten it was their turn.
My Grandmother, "Aunt Molly", as she was lovingly called, later had charge of all knitting for Hardin County during the 1st World War. She spent more time fixing mistakes of others, until she sat me down and stitch by stitch turned a heel so she could point out that a 10 year old could do it. Oh! I disliked sitting there - I wanted to roller skate.
She was also the Official Coffee Maker for the Town - Odd Fellows - Rebecca which the lodge was named after Virginia Rebecca Lodge. In later years, the men carried her up the long flight of stairs - it was boiled coffee in those days with eggshells to settle the grounds - she fixed her own beans.
When I was a junior in high school she fell down the basement stairs and broke her shoulder. Her personality changed and she just sat in a chair I bought for the porch - waiting as she said for the "Grim Reaper". She told several stories of interest to the Sunday School Class as she taught for many years at the First Presbyterian Church at Forest, Ohio.
Of course, in her youth - lighting was by candles, oil burning in a pan. A neighbor invited everyone to come at night to see her surprise - everyone was impressed, "Why you could see the dust in the corner of the room." A LAMP. And Joyann [Jody] has the Parlor Lamp that was only used in the front room when the minister or folks from the Lodge stopped by.
My Grandmother wanted the letter "W" in her child's name. Nellie Wane, etc. - Jessie "Wurl" - the name "Wurl" was concocted when she was sitting in front of the stove and the word "Murl" was the name of the oven. So she changed the letter and Wurl was developed. My father wanted to name me after Mother.
She was raised that gambling, playing cards, etc., was not the way to live. Mother, one evening, was teaching me the names of the different cards when my Grandmother came in, took a big sweep with her hands and had the cards in her apron and went and threw them in the furnace, saying "As long as you have your feet under my table there will be no card playing in this house." When you realize her family lost a large plantation in Virginia with the turn of a card. The man who won came and threw some silver spoons (which I had up North) in her lap, saying, "I can't take everything, here." And walked away.
Well, we were speechless with losing the cards. Mother said, "But this happens to be my table and Virginia needs to know how to play cards." With that she gave me a quarter and called Mr. Shields to tell him to give me the best playing cards he had. I can remember carrying that quarter out in front so I could keep my eye on it. A quarter was a lot of money, especially when you realize I'd picked a bushel of dandelions from the yard for a dime.
When I got back from Shields Drug Store with the cards, everything seemed under control and Mother continued telling me about the cards. The house had been bought together, the furniture was new so was kept by Mother. My Grandmother's furniture was given to [Aunt] Nellie and the two women did their best to raise me in a normal atmosphere.
My Father, Harry B. Rhonemus [Jody's grandfather], was a handsome person, a wonderful personality. He owned Mans' Clothing Store in Ada, Ohio where Mother was in college at Ohio Northern getting a degree in music. Father, I was told, was a great outdoor person and decided he wanted to raise special chickens. So, they built a special, modern house for the times, with a dumbwaiter (shelves you could pull up from the basement - putting milk, butter, etc., on them to keep cool). I would put chickens and cats on the shelves to give them a ride. Also, I was told to be helpful. I sat on the little chickens to keep them warm, like the hens did. So there went the profit.
He was out hunting and putting his gun through the fence, he caught his foot on the saw wire and fell on the butt of his gun. He developed problems from that accident in digestion. He worked in the office of an elevator (farmers brought corn in to be ground into flour) and he was showing the machinery to the important person. They were at the top of the elevator, 4 floors up. The man stepped back on a loose board and both men fell. (The other man died later). My Father went to the McFadden Clinic in Chicago for treatment. After many months it became certain there was no need for him to stay as he knew he couldn't get well and he wanted to see me. He came back in a boxcar with two nurses and a doctor. I was brought in to see him in bed and he perked up so much everyone had hopes. The nurse said, "Mr. Rhonemus, we think you should rest. We will bring Virginia back in two hours." And she carried me to the door, I waved and threw him a kiss. He smiled and raised his hand to wave and died, May 11, 1911, at the age of 29. In other words - he starved to death. Mother sat by the office holding his hand for three days and nights. Not crying nor talking. Finally she said, "Doc, did we do everything that could be done?" He answered, "Yes, Stubby, for now, in the future we will be able to do more by operating, bypassing injured parts." She got up and never stopped. She was 28 years old. She went to summer school for many summers, putting me in a very expensive girls summer camp in New York State. She went a whole year to New York City studying the Fletcher Method in music. She opened a music studio with her four pianos and also gave organ lessons. (She had to hire a boy to pump the bellows up so she could practice and when he went out of the church to smoke I kept it going which took me off my feet but I did it just a short time till he came back - Mother never knew about it, I hope). On some Saturdays, she hired a horse and buggy and went out into the country to teach, sometimes I went along. My first automobile ride, so I am told, was with Uncle Doc to see new twin girls. There were no doors on the car, so I was tied in and I loved it, singing and laughing, which pleased Uncle Doc. Later the one twin and I became good friends (the other twin died at age of 18 months).
Uncle Doc (William Nelson Mundy) was married to Maggie Waltermire, niece of my grandfather. His brother's daughter. The families were very close. Uncle Doc was very small, about 5'. He left New York City because the gangs picked on him. He rode the Rails and hopped off, by luck, at the Waltermire farm where they were putting firewood out of the train. Two piles, one for the train engine and the other pile - cherry and walnut wood - to be taken to be made into chairs (Joyann [Jody] has the chairs). Uncle Doc was hired to be down at the tracks to see that the correct piles went to the right place.
After living as one of the family, he impressed everyone how he could cure cuts, burns, etc., in humans as well as animals. So he was sent to Medical School in Cincinnati where he graduated with honors. Only thing - he had to promise to practice medicine in Hardin County and Forest - which, of course, he did. He had two sons - Carl Seymore and Giles. Carl became a well known doctor in Toledo. Also promised, if anything happened to "Stubby" (my Mother), Carl was to raise me and see that I got a college degree.
Connect with Gina...
Through captivating, powerful, and emotional anecdotes, we celebrate the life of Dr. Abbott P. Smith. His biography takes the reader from smiles to laughter to empathy and tears. Dr. Smith gave us compelling lessons learned from animals; the role animals play in the human condition, the joy of loving an animal, and the awe of their spirituality. A tender and profound look into the life of a skilled veterinarian.
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