Indiana: Grover Cleveland "Clevie" & Lina Myrtle "Dollie" Coffman Parker Family
Grover Cleveland (Clevie) Parker & Lina Myrtle (Dollie) Parker had 5 children; Garold, Tressman, Beryl, Sterling, and Juanita. Garold died of pneumonia at age 2. The family farm in Putnam County, IN is still a working farm under new ownership. This section presents photos of their family, Dollie's family (the Coffmans), and Dollie's later years. For more photos of Tressman, Beryl, Juanita & the Herring family, CLICK HERE. Other pages showcase Sterling's photos; hover on the Clan Photo Gallery above, then on Parker, to view these.
Grover was not only a farmer, but the principal of Belle Union High School. He also helped Roosevelt get rural electrification established in the state of Indiana. He married Lina Myrtle when she was ~ 14 yo. She had completed a 4th grade education, but one would never know it. She certainly had advanced gifts in domestic arts of all kinds. A farm wife's life was very hard in the Depression; she kept bees, milked cows, killed chickens, stored garden produce in a combination root/tornado cellar, and helped prepare meat after slaughter. She canned and had a back porch full of pies when we visited--lots of gooseberry from her vines. She nursed Grover or "Clevie" for 10 years 24/7 when he became too crippled by arthritis & blinded by cataracts to leave his bed. She kept a blue parakeet in her kitchen named "Budgie" which kept her company in her later years. Her sons Sterling & Tressman finally convinced her to move to a retirement center in Indianapolis. She lived to age 92. My dad said she was called a "beauty queen" at school, back in the day. (Memories cont. below)
Grover was not only a farmer, but the principal of Belle Union High School. He also helped Roosevelt get rural electrification established in the state of Indiana. He married Lina Myrtle when she was ~ 14 yo. She had completed a 4th grade education, but one would never know it. She certainly had advanced gifts in domestic arts of all kinds. A farm wife's life was very hard in the Depression; she kept bees, milked cows, killed chickens, stored garden produce in a combination root/tornado cellar, and helped prepare meat after slaughter. She canned and had a back porch full of pies when we visited--lots of gooseberry from her vines. She nursed Grover or "Clevie" for 10 years 24/7 when he became too crippled by arthritis & blinded by cataracts to leave his bed. She kept a blue parakeet in her kitchen named "Budgie" which kept her company in her later years. Her sons Sterling & Tressman finally convinced her to move to a retirement center in Indianapolis. She lived to age 92. My dad said she was called a "beauty queen" at school, back in the day. (Memories cont. below)
In Memoriam: Garold Ray Parker Oct. 11, 1908--Mar. 11, 1910
Mary Janet Parker Kankamp sent me this photo 11-11-2010 of the child Grover & Dollie lost to pneumonia. He looks exactly like my dad Sterling's baby pictures. He was so beautiful and what a tragic loss to the family. I don't remember my grandmother ever really talking about him or the loss. My dad recalls hearing ambulances in the country, often taking a child to Indianapolis for care & possibly from a disease such as whooping cough or diptheria--all before today's vaccines.
Below is a slide show of the family, including another picture of Garold & the 4 siblings he never knew. For the show below, CLICK PLAY.
Below is a slide show of the family, including another picture of Garold & the 4 siblings he never knew. For the show below, CLICK PLAY.
Dollie Coffman Parker--Later Years
Dollie Coffman Parker Family
Parker Memories, cont.
Dad also said he remembered her spending whole mornings killing snakes that tried to creep onto their front porch. She had a beautiful treadle sewing machine & taught me to sew on it. I first made jack bags for myself & my sisters. She also gave me one of her kerosene lanterns to take home; I used to read Nancy Drew by kerosene lantern, thinking of her. She also let me wear her metal curling rods she used to give herself a permanent and change the dial on the big radio.
Her phone number was two longs & a short as I recall & she let me listen on the party line. I don't remember her ever sitting down at the dining room table when the Parkers gathered; she always stood at the back, ready to heap more fried chicken, milk gravy, or homemade noodles into a bowl. She had a crank-type flour sifter in the kitchen & a 4-burner stove with a pot in the center where she cooked her noodles. She would milk her Jersey cow and let the cream rise & then made refrigerator ice cream. All leftovers went into a stone crock in the pantry where we did dishes; then I would follow her to a pasture where she'd let me call the pigs so she could slop them. I considered this a very great honor. She also let me help her gather the eggs & shoo the hens off their nests. To thank her, I walked the fields & gathered green burrs. I sat under a giant hickory tree and made baskets with handles by sticking the burrs together--then I found wildflowers to put in the baskets. She appeared to be very grateful for these sticky gifts!
Her phone number was two longs & a short as I recall & she let me listen on the party line. I don't remember her ever sitting down at the dining room table when the Parkers gathered; she always stood at the back, ready to heap more fried chicken, milk gravy, or homemade noodles into a bowl. She had a crank-type flour sifter in the kitchen & a 4-burner stove with a pot in the center where she cooked her noodles. She would milk her Jersey cow and let the cream rise & then made refrigerator ice cream. All leftovers went into a stone crock in the pantry where we did dishes; then I would follow her to a pasture where she'd let me call the pigs so she could slop them. I considered this a very great honor. She also let me help her gather the eggs & shoo the hens off their nests. To thank her, I walked the fields & gathered green burrs. I sat under a giant hickory tree and made baskets with handles by sticking the burrs together--then I found wildflowers to put in the baskets. She appeared to be very grateful for these sticky gifts!