Things I Remember Growing Up,
by Margaret Tredennick Sponsler
Every Senior has a Story

I was born in Des Moines on November 1, 1924 to Roy and Louis Tredennick. When I was four, we moved from a farm eight miles northwest of Lucas to a farm at the south edge of Derby in southern Iowa. In the spring of 1939 we moved into the Derby telephone office, where I helped my mother operate the switchboard. My father was a lineman and farmer.

I remember gathering eggs, getting wood and cobs for the cook stove and heater in the living room, and pumping water into the tank in the barn for the livestock. I mowed the yard, helped plant the garden, and helped my mother get baby chicks out of a box, give them their first drink of water, and put them under the electric brooder to keep them warm.

We looked forward to company on Sundays when my aunts and uncle came for dinner. Sometimes my grandmothers spent the winter with us. One had long silver colored hair and she'd roll it in a neat roll and put a pretty comb in it, and I loved watching her do it. My Grandmother Tredennick lived in Lucas and owned and operated the theatre there. Once in a while my folks would go of an evening to see a western.

In the summer Derby often had free movies or a band concert up in the park on Saturday nights. A couple in town had a little building they moved and left up town all summer, and sold popcorn out of it for .05¢ or .10¢ a sack. They brought chairs from the opera house for the adults to sit on and we kids sat up front on plank boards.

The first week of September was the Lucas County Fair, held in Derby for several years. The grounds were on the north edge of town. It lasted five days, a celebration everyone took part in. There was no 4H then; everything was open class for everyone of all ages. I had a Shetland black and white pony named Keno which I entered for several years and won blue and red ribbons. As I grew older I entered some sewing and baked goods. We always had a small carnival with a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and a few novelty stands. Lots of times a couple cars of gypsies came along and they'd put up a tent to tell fortunes. We had a variety of good free acts in the afternoon on a platform in the middle of the grounds. One time we had animals - monkeys, dogs, and an ostrich that a fellow rode. I've never seen anything like that since. The Shaftner Players Tent shows were there for evening entertainment. Meals were served at noon and evenings by the five surrounding churches. It was always fun when we were asked to help waitress. Then we got a free meal to eat with our friends.

I had three special friends growing up. Volores Lugar lived a quarter mile from me. Once or twice each summer we'd get together for a picnic. We'd meet half way between our houses, climb over a fence into a hay field and spread a blanket under a tree and eat dinner, visit half the afternoon, then go on to one of our houses for a while. The other two girls, Mary Lozear and Bernice Cowan, lived in Derby. We'd play house with our dolls or roller skate. When I was around 12, two other girls, Magdalena Pearcy and Kathryn Mundell, moved into town and we were all close friends.

I went to the Derby school all twelve years. We lived on the edge of town, so walked to school with friends. It was only half a mile. I started in first grade, as there wasn't a kindergarten at that time. I carried a lunch bucket with two sandwiches and something for dessert. We ate in the gym. By the time I was in high school we had a hot lunch program. After lunch, we'd play table tennis or volleyball or go outside for softball until the bell rang. Outside were rope swings, giant chain swings you hung onto by your arms, a basketball court, and a big slide for the grade school students. My favorite subjects were English, typing, and home economics. I didn't like literature or geometry. My favorite sport was basketball. I played forward all four years on the first team. In the spring after our games were finished, we'd have tournaments between the junior high and high school grades. In high school they sometimes called me "Carrot Curls" because of my red hair. I always admired the blonds.

I met my husband, Kenneth Sponsler, after he moved from Humeston to Derby. I was in my senior year and he came to the basketball games and to the Methodist Church I attended. We married on September 8, 1943 at the Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. We lived on farms around the Derby area most of our 55 years together. I worked part-time at a grocery store the first year of our marriage and at the Windmill Restaurant in Humeston in later years. I was a substitute cook at the grade schools in Leroy and Derby. I worked one year at JC Penney in Des Moines, and people started calling me "Rusty." After that, Kenneth would occasionally too.

Kenneth and I had four children, Lee of Pella, Rex of Urbandale, Brent of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Wendy of Dallas Center. We have been blessed with fourteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

We enjoyed western square dancing, snowmobiling, horse races in Omaha, playing cards with the neighbors, and going to the Iowa State Fair. Kenneth always had to have a turkey leg, just about the minute he got on the fair grounds. I always liked a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. We liked going on car rides through the countryside, too, and family get-togethers. In the winter a lot of pool was played in the basement.

I've always loved cooking and canning and trying new recipes. My favorite recipes to try are cookies (especially chocolate chip) and cakes, and salads. I raised 150 young chickens each year. That helped feed the men at oat threshing, filling the silo, and putting up the hay. It also provided for a lot of our own good meals.

Planting flowers in the spring was a must so we could have a pretty yard.

There were always pets for the kids to play with and care for. Kittens, puppies, lambs to bottle feed, two goats, rabbits, two very special mallard ducks who were always close by when you were in the yard, and a big white duck. One son had a pet pig named Jenny and a chicken named Sandy. The mallard duck would follow the kids down the lane when they left mornings to meet the school bus. One morning one of the ducks somehow got on the bus and they had to lift it off.

I never learned to drive until after my second son was born. My husband took me out to a hay field and said "There's nothing out here you can run into." He gave me a little advice and said "It's all yours - have at it." It was a green 1950 Ford stick shift. All women should know how to drive. Might be a necessity sometime. I've enjoyed doing it for many years.

I belonged to the Derby Methodist Church WSCS (Women's Society of Christian Service), neighborhood clubs, the Garden Club and a ladies card club in Chariton, where we had moved to in 1997 when my husband's health started to fail.

Kenneth passed away on May 5, 1999. He was my best and faithful friend who worked hard and provided well for his family, and was always there for a neighbor if they needed help of any kind. Soon, I moved to Prairie Village in Pella, and seven years later to Fair Haven West. In 2007 I came to Hilltop. When I moved to Pella I knew no one but my son and family, but I have received a warm welcome from the people here in Pella and am proud to call Pella my home now. I especially enjoy watching the parade at Tulip Time.

Once a month eight former friends from Prairie Village come here for coffee time and cards in the activity room. I really love pitch. Taking part in activities makes time go fast and keeps our minds alert. It's a good place to live.

I miss putting on the big family dinners. The farm was a good place to raise a family. The neighbors worked together. We were all so friendly. I had a happy home. I am most proud of my family and the good life I've had. My family is very caring.

As told to marty racheter 090811

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