Grandma and Grandpa 1948
Dear cousins, growing up in the 1970's, we all remember the TV series created by Earl Hamner called The Walton's. It was both a fascinating and extremely well done family TV show of that depicted life during the depression through WW2.
Have recently purchased the entire series box set a few months ago, I sat down this morning to watch an episode called, "An Easter Story"~in which the mother of the family known as Olivia contracts Polio. It made me think of Grandma Bruemmer and it would have been just around this time 73 years ago in 1948, when life for the Bruemmer family would take a tragic turn.
She was born Barbara Josephine Cook (or Josephine Barbara as indicated on the birth certificate above) on November 16th 1912. Barbara loved to play sports such as basketball and baseball!
But it was at a baseball game in/around 1935 that she would meet William John Bruemmer of St. Louis .
Visiting California with his mother Anna, he asked Barbara if she knew any place to ride horses and indeed she did!! Below is a copy of William and his mom taken while visiting Catalina Island along with I think is the very first photo taken of our grandparents together ready to go riding!
After William and his mom flew back to St. Louis, many love letters were exchanged between Barbara and William. They were true soul mates and when William proposed to Barbara, she immediately accepted!
Below are two news articles from the Healdsburg Tribune regarding the happy couple!
Her Name is Barbara
Jeannette, Eleanore, Barbara, Charles and Nell on the wedding day September 5th 1936. Most likely William was taking this photo.
From 1937 through 1948 a total of six children were born to William and Barbara.
Barbara Ann
Oct 26, 1937
Susan Marie
November 24, 1939
Nancy Ellen April 21 1942
Shirley Catherine May 12, 1945
William John August 29, 1946
John Charles May 7, 1948
In\/around 1947-1948-, Grandma began to notice that her legs would give way underneath her. At times she would quite feel exhausted.Unbeknownst to her- this would be the beginning of her Polio symptoms. It was a scary time while carrying our Uncle John.
For those not familiar with what Polio is, the CDC describes it this way
Most people who get infected with polio virus (about 72 out of 100) will not have any visible symptoms.
About 1 out of 4 people (or 25 out of 100) with polio virus infection will have flu-like symptoms that may include:
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Sore throat
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Fever
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Tiredness
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Nausea
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Headache
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Stomach pain
These symptoms usually last 2 to 5 days, then go away on their own.
A smaller proportion of people (much less than one out of 100, or 1-5 out of 1000) with polio virus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord:
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Paresthesia (feeling of pins and needles in the legs)
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Meningitis (infection of the covering of the spinal cord and/or brain) occurs in about 1 out of 25 people with polio virus infection
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Paralysis (can’t move parts of the body) or weakness in the arms, legs, or both, occurs in about 1 out of 200 people with polio virus infection
Paralysis is the most severe symptom associated with polio, because it can lead to permanent disability and death. Between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from polio virus infection die, because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe.
Doctor visits did not go well at first. Unable to diagnose the problem, a few even told her that it was all in her head. But in 1948 a polio epidemic occurred. Mostly it was children who got but it could also happen to adults. When Barbara was able to find the right doctor, her diagnosis was Polio. It would be seven long years before a vaccine was developed.
So that his wife Barbara could rest, William would take the older children Barbara and Susan out to horseback ride along the Mississippi river. Other times he would take the Bruemmer clan minus Uncle John who had not yet been born to see the Roy Rogers Wild West show with Dale Evans,the Ice Capades and another time to the Shrine Circus!
Another wonderful memory as told to me by my Mom and her older siblings was in the winter time, their Dad used a thick rope to attach a sled, to the back of a jeep/truck.
Climbing onto the sled, the Bruemmer clan held on to each other for dear life, while their dad would drive madly through the fields and up and down the hills. The oldest Bruemmer siblings remember this being quite fun! According to Aunt Barbara, there was one time when the rope broke and the kids went sliding and sliding down the hill! No injuries but to them, it quite exciting even though Grandma Bruemmer thought her husband was being rather reckless.
On Saturday mornings, the kids would climb into bed next to their dad William while he read the funny papers and occasionally he would crack his big toe which his children loved. Mom even remembers sitting on the cold floor of the bathroom while her dad sat on the pot reading the latest adventures of Dick Tracy!
CHORES: For the oldest Bruemmer children, Barbara, Susan and my mom, washing the dishes and setting the table were definite responsibilities! Outside was feeding the horses their grain, raking out the horse stalls and putting in new hay, taking out the manure and putting it in the garden for fertilizer.
Charles and Nell came several times to visit their daughter Barbara and her family. I am not certain but I suspect it was either by train or by driving their car from Cloverdale CA to St. Louis (about a 31 hour drive!). Aunt Barbara remembers then coming to visit but as to where they slept is a bit of a mystery. She had the middle room while the others shared the room together with the newest baby in a crib.
"I remember that Grandma and Grandpa came to visit after Bill was born in 1946 and later in 1948 after John was born and when Dad came home from his operation. Nell never liked to stay in one place for very long so she went back home (most likely by the train)
Within the same month that Uncle John was born, his dad William began having severe headaches. A few years before, the doctor would see large nasal polyps on William but then they would go away. But when they reappeared, the doctor felt there was something suspicious. A biopsy was done which revealed brain cancer.
Visits by Barbara's older sister Eleanor and her family to St. Louis were recalled by cousin Clare as great fun and seeing her uncle William Bruemmer, happy and smiling "you would never have guessed that he had cancer"
In a video interview with Aunt Barbara, I asked her whether he was in any sort of physical pain and indeed he was.
"I can remember Dad coming into the house and sitting down-he had terrible pain in his head, cradling it in his arms trying to make it go away. He had been out with the horses and I remember asking Mom, what's wrong with Dad, did the horse kick him and in reply Mom said, No he just has a really bad headache"
WORK HISTORY OF William J Bruemmer: Although he had gone to law school, it was not his intention to actually become a lawyer. Yet, the education he received was more than applicable to his venture into the business of Realty and Planning commissions. Below are the graduation class photo and his law degree
