In a Family of Fifteen Interactive Story
(Add Your Two Cents To The Story!

Many times I would comment to friends that when you come from a family of 15 there was always something going on. I always had a story to share and usually they were funny. Our life was more interesting then a soap opera and sometimes I would think someone really should write these things down. Well here is your opportunity! Add to the story started and if you cannot add to the subject at hand, go ahead and start a new one by starting a new paragraph. Let's see how this goes. I am going to start it off with something Jude wrote a long time ago but I think it sets the scene for this page... Jude, I hope you don't mind, I hear you can get kinda crabby(LOL J/K) . You never were much of a mother but you are a great writer!! :-) Here it goes...

Ok, you provoked this. For those of you who get easily bored, I am sorry. These are scrambled thoughts. I never got back to finishing them. But here they are.

Thoughts from a family of Fifteen:

Each child has a nickname: “Horses horses in the living room.” “Monkeys Unkies in the Kitchen.” “Oinkle Snoinkle, Pork Chop, Smokie, String Beanie”…..(yes I saved some of you from the embarrassment.)
Yet another child's name will also do, “Joanie, Linda, Donna… YOU know who you are!” “Yes, I’m JUDY!”
There is also the all included name-calling. “Jack, Mary, Susie, Jim, Joyce, Karen, Terry, Joanie, Linda, Michael, Judy, Donna, Mark….Fall in!
In a family of 15 you add Ketchup to your spaghetti.
You sew the holes in your socks
You do not delight in anothers stylish jeans, because someday they will be yours and they will no longer be stylish.
You share a one hundred-pound Bicycle with Three other siblings and live on top of a big hill.
In a family that big you share a bed with three other people, and a bedroom with seven others and 1 bathroom with all of them.
You dream of the day you get chosen to sleep in the crib, so you have a bed to yourself.
You sort your laundry on the dinning room table, by sex not by child.
Then fight it out when they are divvied up in the bedroom.
Your Jeans reside hanging on the back of the bedroom door for another day’s use before being laundered.
All the socks are community property.
They reside in a draw in the bathroom.
You pull them out like picking night crawlers.
If it is your lucky day, they will not totally clash with what you are wearing and will match.
The laundry is piled in a heap in the corner of the bathroom. Piled waist high most of the time.
If the misfortune of a broken washer should happen, it gets laundered like smashing grapes for fine wine, In the bathtub. Being agitated by the feet of children. (mom never said we were useless.)
There is a line at the bathroom door after any event. For instance After school, before school, or after a car ride.
Dinner may be prepared by plungering potatoes in a bouya (sp?) pot with clothespins.
The coffee is made in a 30-cup pot. Which always seems to be down to the last cup.
He, who takes the last cup, makes the new pot. - this rule still stands!
Toast and coffee on most days, is a satisfying breakfast.
In the spring there is smelt, By the garbage can full. Which makes a weekend meal.
In the fall there is a corn roast. All the corn you can eat cooked on the fire pit. You ate ears until it came out your ears.
Milk was sometimes bought by the 5-gallon bucket from a farmer 20 miles away. Yet it was distributed one glass per child.
Meat was always portioned, one piece per meal.
You could do a lot of bartering at the dinner table as long as mom didn’t know.
I would trade almost any thing for belly buttons. aka, lima beans.
You had bread with every meal. Usually more than one piece.
The things no one liked, got fed to the dog under the table. It was a sad day when Sassy got sick of Mashed potatoes!
The house was cleaned by a number.
If messy it was a fifteen or twenty things clean. Every body had to pick up 15 or 20 things. Somehow it worked. I think Joyce kept track of who got this done. I sometimes wonder if she ever picked up her share? I guess this is what must have made her a good delegater In my dreams I still hear, “Judy, see that fuzzy over there?” “Go pick that up.”
Washing the dishes was a very big job.
We changed washers from week to week. (I think this was only assigned to the girls, Correct me if I am wrong.) It was a never ending big job.
The house was always spotless for 3:15 when Daddy arrived home.
In the summer we went camping.
Bologna and warm milk at a roadside was a treat. A slice of ring bologna folded in a slice of bread sometimes dressed with Miracle Whip, ketchup, or baked beans. Aka, Fold over sandwiches.
An any time event would be baseball in the field behind the neighbor’s house. Which was an unfair game since Pie could hit to the Quincy mine shaft and mark to home plate.

It is amazing we all survived. I think it made each of us wonderful people to know. How did we do it? To My brothers and sisters, Please share any thoughts you may have. I hope this has brought back a million memories for you as it has for me. To My nieces and Nephews I hope this sparks many happy memories between you and your parents. To Donna, get a Kleenex and stop crying. I love you all and Miss you. Horses horses! (AKA Judy)

Ok, Now it is your turn...

Remember the time... 2

Speaking of nick names... Remember the time when Pie was babysitting "us little kids" and Donna(about 10 or 11 years old at the time) was not a happy camper and had done something Pie thought he needed to respond to. He said to her "Listen here little girl" Donna interrupted him and said "I am not a little girl... I am a WOMAN!!!" Hence forth Donna was called Woman or Womz! :-)
I always felt if you were one of the kids with a nick name you were "In".
Then I realized we all had nick names...
I guess were were all "In". ;-) Love Ducky(AKA Linda)

3... I guess like Womz I was not a "little girl" either, I was a "Big Gwewzz!" Apparently I couldn't say my "r's" and I was very scrawny so Dad mimicked calling me "Big Gwewzz!" always shaking that limp wristed hand (paw) at me when he would say it... he was very observant for someone with a million kids because he picked up on the way I always said "Well... and hesitated when asked a question of what I wanted... I guess I was probably co-dependent at a very early age, always trying to answer politically correctly as to not hurt anyone's feelings. So he would go around saying, "Well, Big Gwewzz..." followed by WHATEVER he wanted to tease me about...like this... "Well, Big Gwewzz at all of her mashed potatoes...", or "Well, Big Gwewzz doesn't have to go to bed yet, she's a BIG Gwewzz now!" "Well, Big Gwewzz got a new wheelchair.." I guess it really sticks in my mind that one glorious day all of my sister's (except maybe Ducky! LOL) can empathize with when Dad walked in from work, took one look at me... came over and shook that hand at my proudly worn AA with the cotton straps hiked up to my ears saying "Well, Big Gwewzz got a new Bra!!" YES Big Gwewzz turned all kinds of shades of RED! Oh well, only HE could get away with it! I don't think he ever stopped calling me "Big Gwewzz" and it was very special to my heart to hear it. I miss you Dad, Love, Your Big Gwewzz! :)(AKA Karen)

4... Do you remember these things as clearly as I do?
Picking blue berries at 40 acres
Drinking out of a fresh spring in Montana
Being woke up for an early morning swim with Mary
Racing up Ryan Hill for a cup of coffee at lunchtime
Golfing on Labor Day with Uncle Gordie
Going smelting
Playing gross out with Mom’s spices
Getting locked in the monkey cage
Fire crackers in Aunt Vi’s tunnel
Getting stuck in a hail storm at Lake Gogebic
The 12 o’clock knocker
Picking papers with pokers
Picking clams at Twin Lakes State Park
Playing marbles in the back yard
Snowmobiling in the field and getting stuck
Dad cutting the string between our house and Brisson’s
Sucking gas through a garden hose
Throwing Dad in the drink at the beach
Swimming at Soumi
Climbing on the roof of the pavilion
Winter picnic at the beach
Parking campers on the lower road
Northern Lights
Shoveling the driveway late at night
Those little white berries (poppers) on the steps leading down town
Riding around during a snow storm
Big Mac’s hauled all the way from Marquette
Pulling off Dad’s shoes after work
Hauling a bike up White St.
The big asteroid crater
Butchering chickens
Bouya
Sneaking off school grounds to go to the candy store and the crabby old man that ran it.
Getting bottled Coke out of the machine at City Hall
“Pickle” the cop
Rolling up crossing guard belts
Playing baseball in the field
The green water fountain at the beach
Baby skunks
The smell of burgers cooking in the concession stand

It is amazing how these memories come back to me and how much warmth they carry in my heart. I hope they all stay with you. JUDE!

5... What about these...
Sitting on the wall in front of the White St house playing my car, your car.
Playing Jump rope on Upper Ryan.
Slipping and falling on all the sand on the road after the snow melted.
Cracking the ice that formed over the water running down the side of the road.
Playing bandits and sheriffs on the Glider on the swing set.
A sand box sectioned into 12 plots.
Bambi the drunk.
Giant French Fries from new potatoes.
Re-using bath water.
Sorting socks.
Fresh Lilacs when the school year was ending.
The smell of coffee after toast with butter has been dunked.
How your hands went numb rinsing the clothes in the metal tub.
Standing in the mound of dirty laundry playing “Black Eagle”
Sleeping sideways on the bed.
The smell of slightly burnt cinnamon buns.
Watching the “Wizard of Oz” and “Cinderella”.
Listening to Eddy Arnold during nap time.
Homemade Rice pudding.
100000 piece puzzles!
Real frost on the bay window.

These last 2 made me want to stay home from school... and I usually did :) Love Kay

6... And the list goes on;
Making Root beer
powder milk
Welfare cheese
Roller Skating at the D
Drive-in in LL
Pulling food out of the Freezer in the basement
Making firewood
Picking potatoes out of the bin
Butchering Rabbits
sliding down the Colonial Steak house hill
Santa Claus bags from the Fire hall
Gathering at the top of the stairs waiting to see what Santa brought
Famous people; Rosie the midget; Jean the bean; Tarzie
The big red refrigerator and taking the green refrig camping for Grandpa's beer
Escanaba State Fair
Colored stuff put in the camp fire to make the flames colorful
The slide in the water at the beach

I could go on and on and on. Kathy aka Erma

7... Stuff I remember
Sleigh riding down lower Ryan to Simonson's Grocery to get a quart of chocolate milk
Picking potatoes until the bin the basement was full
Making a pan of fried potatoes for a midnight snack
Finding Kuala eggs at the campground
Sitting around the bonfire at the beach roasting marsh mellows
Having the septic tank blow up in the backyard on a hot summer night
How about the night Dad sprayed the snow Easter colors while we slept
Going to the Farm with Gramma Lindgren to help her with her carpet warp
Running from our Apartment upstairs of Aunt Vi's to the bathroom so Annie's little ankle biting chuaua didn't get us
Picking strawberries for 15 cents/ quart at Aunt Vi's farm (making sure to hide a few quarts under the seat) and selling them door to door for 35 cents.
Horse cucka mountain
Not having to sleep sideways in a bed
Playing kick the can on Ohio Street
Susie up on the peak of the roof of the house in Baltic and the neighbors panicking
Jack peeing on the rocks in Fabian's sauna and on the electric fence at Marie's Farm
Trying to hook Percy Sleeman's hat through the window using a fishing pole when Mom was at Terry's Baby shower
Forgetting to fill the stoker and having the house fill with smoke
Forgetting the basement door open and having a bear come in to visit.
Firing up the pig in the basement to heat the water on Saturdays so Mom could wash clothes
Being jealous of the Baril's because they had a van and we had only a station wagon...with more kids!
Not going to Montana with everyone else even though Mom insisted I did...No I wasn't the one taking the pictures!
Tea and toast
Trick or treating in East Hancock
A pony under the Christmas Tree
Mom calling whenever the Packers won...she new better when they lost!
Our park in Dollar Bay where we went for Picnics and to catch minnows
Wondering why Mom and Dad always had a butter knife on their nightstand and scratches in between the door frame
Trying to explain to the IRS why Mom bought twice as much as she sold at the Concession stand?
Dad with his mace and club
Dad with the mouse in his sleeve of his Police uniform!
Pot Pies for dinner when Mom came from shopping
Dad with his beard
Jack's bike decorated for Hancock's Centennial in 1963
Going to work with Dad at the old county hospital and having Julia Holpinain cook me Vollwerth's Natural Casing Wieners in the laundry for lunch

Soo many memories so little time! Love Big Jim

8... Here's a few more the BIG kids will remember:
Riding the back road to Baltic
Waiting for the church school bus to take us to VBS where we had jello in babyfood jars for dessert in our sack lunch.
Kay being born early, almost on the kitchen floor
Warming our feet on the door of the oven

Grandma's farm has a whole set of memories by itself:
living there,
the smell of the old sauna,
the rain barrel for water in the sauna,
making mud pies decorated with those yellow flowers,
The wagon wheel merry-go-round(my personal favorite)
The garden
The swing in the tree that went really high!
Playing on the underside of junked cars and in that giant tree opposite the apple orchard.
Picking summer apples for years after no one lived there.
Making firewood up on the hill watching for bears all the while
The out house
The outside fireplace we would use even after the house was closed up
Going for a ride to the farm to work on the garden and play
Was there a motel/restaurant across the street?
Fizzies and windmill cookies when helping grandma
The cream separator
The farm being sold!
More stuff:
The halo tv
Godell's play house
monkey meat(welfare spam not Chico)
sandwiches
Auntie Vi's chinchillas
The birthday party that wasn't
Getting candy from the Scott Hotel lobby
Selling lilacs and rocks by the cabstand
Hancock's Centennial
Dad hanging clothes
Uncle Carl scrapping rutabagas for us kids
Auntie Vi making ChowChow and Pickles

And the list goes on.......

9... Your two cents could be here! It can be by clicking on the interactive story link below, entering the info and submitting it. I will add the text as we go so we have a permanent record of it!

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