Grandma Hornung's home: 1929-1931
My parents, Richard & Othelia (Stambaugh)
Hornung, were married in 1928 & moved to Toledo
OH where they both had jobs. They rented an
apartment, bought furniture etc. Then the great
depression hit & they lost everything. They
moved back to Ottawa, moved in with John & Emma,
my Grandpa and Grandma Hornung.
My father got a job at the sugar beet factory.
I was born in 1930 in my Grandmother’s bedroom.
We lived there about a year or so & of course I
was too young to remember any of this. We moved
to Fremont OH where my father worked for Kroger
grocery, then to Tiffin, he became a manager &
then to Findlay, OH. |
Grandma Hornung's home: 1936-1939
I do remember visits at Grandma Hornung’s. I
remember her beautiful & plentiful flowers,
especially the round zinnia beds in the front
yard. I remember being with her in her garden,
her sun bonnet, big cabbages, delicious tomatoes
which I loved, the smokehouse, the outhouse…being
a “town” kid, I told all my friends that my
Grandma had an outside bathroom!
I don’t remember much about Grandpa Hornung
except when he died. His body was in the parlor.
The family was there & we kids were marched past
the casket. It made me sick and woozy and I ran
outside and threw up under the apple tree. I had
a “funeral phobia” for many years after that but
eventually conquered it.
I think I was about 6-8 years old when I visited.
One time I was standing in the kitchen looking out
the screen door, it was raining & suddenly a ball
of fire rolled up the front yard & blew out the
phone on the wall by the door! Someone must have
grabbed me, I wasn’t hurt, but thought it was very
exciting! |
