The earliest I remember my parents is when we were moving into our home in Walker, Iowa. When my parents adopted me I think they were living in Whitten, Iowa. That was one of the first towns where my Dad was a Methodist Minister. We lived in the Methodist Parsonage there. My folks had a wonderful baby sitter for me there. Her name was Martha and of course I was a baby then and I don’t remember her then since I was a baby, but my parents kept in touch with her all through the years. I always called her Aunt Martha. When we moved to Walker I must have been around 3 years old. The first thing I can remember when I moved there was falling down the stairs. Ha Ha I remember Dad saying that he needed to repair those stairs. (luckily he was a good carpenter) Dad also had another church he served in Troy Mills, Iowa. He had two services on Sun. morning, the first one in Walker and then the second one in Troy Mills. That is where we met the Willoughbys. They had 3 girls and one boy. I had so much fun playing with the girls that we spent a lot of time there and one day the told me they had a new little brother. That was the first time I had seen a new little baby. Henry eventually grew up and had a Department Store on main street in
Cedar Falls. I started school in Walker and my teacher’s name was Miss Cherry. I remember every morning we sang this song to Miss Cherry.
“Good Morning to you! Good morning to you! We’re all in our places with sun shiny faces for this is the way to start a new day! I had lots of Uncles and Aunts and Grampas and Gramas in all the different places where we lived in Iowa. One family I remember so well in Walker was the Nelsons (who lived in the country) used to take me out to their place after church. I loved to go out to there because they had a player piano and they would let me pump the peddles on it and play those old piano rolls by ;the hour. I have always loved music!
One day in school a little girl across the aisle from me go very sick and her parents came and got her. She later died of diptheria. My parents had the Doctor come to our house right away and give me a vaccination right away. I remember that so well just like it was yesterday!!
We lived in Walker until I was about 6 years old and then we moved to Clarence.
It seems like I always knew I was adopted. My Mother told me there were 5 babies at the University hospital in Iowa City that were up for adoption and they picked me out. I was always really proud and happy that they picked me out. That made me feel pretty special. I told that story to all my best friends that! They all seemed pretty impressed! I was so fortunate to have such wonderful parents. I was never interested in trying to find out who my real parents were. Rev. James Wilber Bearse & Rose Eleanor (Lodge) Bearse were the only parents I ever knew.
I always has a wonderful home and all the people in the churches where we lived were my extended family. I do not remember how my parents met. I know they met in South Chatham, Massachusetts, where my Dad lived with his parents, Isaac & Rose Bearse. They were married in Massacusetts. I have their wedding picture. They were a good looking couple. My Mother came over from England with her family when she was 16 years old. They moved to Iowa so Dad could go to Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, for four years so Dad could be a Methodist Minister. I remember my Mother telling me that all their furniture came on the train from Mass. They didn’t have Moving Vans then. They took me to Mt Vernon lots of time as I was growing up and as they knew quite a few people there and they wanted everyone to see and meet their daughter, Lois. Dad never made a lot of money as a Minister, but we always had a wonderful home and lots of love for each other. I was a very happy and fortunate child and felt very loved. I know we had lots of good times together!! Of course there were sad times too, but I remember the happy times the most.
