My father was William Paul Adelbert Groves. He was born in Olney, Illinois. His siblings were Claude, Russell, Grace, and Lulu. His father worked on the railroad as did my father and his brothers. Their railroad work brought them to Freeman, South Dakota and that’s where they settled.
Their home was just a few blocks from where I grew up. My grandparents died before I was born so I never knew them.
My father met my mother at a young people’s gathering and that’s how they got together.
Early in the years of World War I my father was drafted and spent his army years in France. He was wounded by shrapnel in one leg, and spent some time in a hospital before he was honorably discharged. Soon after that time, he and my mother were married in 1918.
They moved a chicken house into town, remodeled it and made their home there.
My father was employed by the city of Freeman as a night watchman on the police force. He held that job until 1942 when his eyesight was failing due to cataracts. At that time our family moved to my uncle’s poultry farm.
He had taken some classes on animal husbandry at a local college, so was prepared for taking care of animals.
By that time we were a family of eight children so there were plenty of hands to do the farm work.
My father was, for the most part, a gentle family man. He loved to gather the family in the parlor for a time of singing accompanied by my sister at the piano and him on the violin. Those were special times for me.
He had surgery to remove his clouded lenses in his eyes. At that time that’s all they did and after healing he wore glasses with heavy lenses to allow him to see. He often misjudged doorways and bumped his head due to poor eyesight. I spent a lot of time following him around trying to warn him about doorways and places where he would bump his head.
In October of 1950, while he was shelling corn with one of my brothers, he suffered a heart attack and after a short time died. I was 13 at the time and what a sad time that was for me.
My mother was Mary Stucky. She grew up in rural Marion, South Dakota on a farm. Her father had been married before and his new wife was my mother’s mother. She had two half-sisters from the first marriage and was the oldest of six siblings. Her father died when my Mom was 13 and she was left to help take care of the children. She had to quit school and go to work for various families in order to make a little money to support the remaining family. Her siblings were Henry, Joe, Pete, Emma, and Frances.
My mother was always a very hard worker. After her teen years of taking care of her siblings she was well prepared for taking care of her children from her marriage.
She was a gentle and loving mother and a role model for me. Sewing, gardening, cleaning, and cooking were tasks she carried out without complaint and did so well.
After her children were all gone from home she chose to move to Kansas and be close to some family who had settled there. So she sold what she didn’t move and settled in a duplex of one of my brothers’ homes. I had moved to Kansas in 1957 when she was already here. My oldest three children loved having her near and she died when my fourth child was a little over a year old.
