"We grew up on a farm and there were 13 of us…9 girls and 4 boys. Our father wanted 9 boys, but he accepted us anyway."
What was it like having 12 siblings? "We never got lonesome and we never knew privacy."
"I can remember trying to do extra chores for my father. What we would do for praise was amazing." "She always did something extra, and sometimes it was outstanding enough that my Dad noticed it. If not, she brought it to his attention."
"My mother worked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. She sewed clothes for all of us. She cooked and cooked and cooked. And everybody learned how to do something as they grew up. The older ones took care of the smaller ones until they left home. Som
"Remember what our father said when somebody did something wrong? He would ask who did it, and if you didn’t own up to it you had all these siblings who would make you sorry for it."
When you left home at 15, was it difficult not to live around siblings? "We were old enough to take care of ourselves. We were independent. And we didn’t have a choice."
What did you learn from your siblings that you applied to your adult life? "We learned to respect each other’s opinions, because there’s always two sides to everything no matter what. And you do the best you can. And you pray about it."
"We all stood up for one another, irregardless. We might crab about it later, but we did stand up for each other, which was a good thing."
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