An Account of the Lives of George and Louisa Crom George and Louisa Crom continued farming in Ohio for a few years. Edna, the oldest daughter was born near Bowling Green, Ohio, August 23, 1885, and Pearl the second daughter was born February 1, l888, also near Bowling Green, Ohio. George farmed summers and worked in the oil fields winters. About this time Louisa's parents wanted to see each of their children settled on a good farm, so gave each either farmland or money to apply toward farmland. George and Louisa had saved up a little too, so in 1890 George decided to make the trip to Michigan and investigate farm land here, as he had heard that it was much cheaper than in Ohio. After extensive looking he found a beautiful place in Gratiot County, between Perrinton and Pompeii. The community was referred to as Fulton Center. The farm was 160 acres, had an almost new house on it, a beautiful row of evergreen trees behind the buildings, and a new orchard behind that. The Fulton Center school was nearby and there were a few neighbors. However the only close neighbors were the Greenswikes, who lived just across the road. George purchased this farm. When he returned to Ohio, he sold his livestock and what tools he couldn't bring to Michigan. George and Louisa had a rather difficult experience during their move from Wood County, Ohio, to Gratiot County, Michigan. One of Louisa's brothers volunteered his team and wagon, and the men started hauling the Crom furniture, tools and other possessions to the nearest Railroad siding. Most of the family's clothing was packed in trunks for shipping. It was all loaded into a Civil War vintage box car. The freight agent told them it would arrive in Perrinton in five or six days. They stayed with relatives a few days and then after sad farewells, George, Louisa and daughters, Edna and Pearl, boarded the train with only suitcases of clothing, bound for Toledo, where they transferred over to the Ann Arbor line. Upon arrival in Ashley they found a small hotel to spend the night, and took the Grand Trunk Line to Perrinton in the morning. The Greenswikes came to pick them up, but alas - their furniture and other possessions had not arrived yet. The Greenswikes took them into their home and made them feel most welcome while they were waiting for their possessions to arrive. George made the trip by horseback into Perrinton every day to see if there was any word of their things. Finally George got the freight agent to put a tracer on their car. Communication being very slow in those days it took a week or more to locate the missing box car. The dispatch office of the Ann Arbor RR found the car had been set in a car storage siding by error, and the officer assured George it would be moved out on the main line the next day. So in about five days it arrived at Perrinton. During this long wait George had been looking around for cattle, horses, farm equipment, etc. Louisa and Mrs. Greenwikes had scrubbed and cleaned the house throughly. The Greenswikes (and probably others) helped them get settled in their new home. The girls were put in school at the Fulton Center School. The Greenswikes always remained very good friends and neighbors of the Croms, and the Croms felt a great sense of gratitude for all the help the Greenswikes gave them. On July 15, 1890, Emma, the third daughter was born. George and Louisa were very hard working people, and improved their farm by clearing more land and picking up stones. It was a standing joke with them, since Louisa's father had given her some money, that George's 80 was the stoney part, and Louisa's 80 was the sandy part. They farmed and prospered here. When Emma was five, Louisa got a little homesick for Ohio relatives, and persuaded George to put tenants on the farm, and go to Ohio for the winter. They found a house near the oil fields, not far from Bowling Green. Louisa was an excellent cook. She boarded some of the other men who were working in the oil fields. Edna and Pearl were the water girls, and it took lots of water for the men to wash up before eating, and for drinking. Their house was so close to the oil fields, that the oil gushed up and often blew and spattered on the clothes hanging on the line. Edna and Pearl had new sunbonnets and were walking to school, when a well gushed,and spattered oil all over their new sunbonnets, and other clothes. Louisa could never get it all out. Emma was only five, but had started school in the first grade in Ohio. While working in the oil fields, some pipes broke loose and fell to the ground, rolling onto George, breaking his leg. It was a very painful break, and George was laid up for a long time, Emma was the errand girl for her father. He kept her very busy, as he sure hated being confined, and he grew very impatient to get going again. When spring came, George and Louisa again loaded their family and possessions on the train and returned to Michigan. Although they made many more train trips to Ohio after that, it was only for short visits to their Nelson, Shinew and Crom relatives, and to attend the Nelson-Shinew Reunion. Michigan was now the Croms' permanent home. George's work in the oil fields was over, and the rest of his life was devoted to farming. However upon arriving back at Fulton Center, they found that the tenants who had occupied their house, had left bedbugs. Louisa was horrified, and they fought bedbugs night and day. They had to fumigate the house by burning sulphur and close it up tight for awhile in order to get rid of the unwanted guests. When the girls went back to Fulton Center School, the teacher refused to take Emma, saying she was not old enough to go to school in Michigan, until the next fall, and then she would have to start the first grade over. Of course, Emma was heartbroken. Even though George had a tenant man, the girls always had lots of work to do, both indoors, and outside. Generally Edna and Pearl worked with their father, and Emma helped her mother. All the girls learned to handle horses very well, and helped George in the fields. They had to feed and water the horses and cattle. They learned to milk at an early age. All milking was done by hand then, and they were the milk maids. For many years the milk was "set" in a "milk safe". This meant that the milk was poured into large low pans, and the cream was allowed to rise. Then the cream was taken off the top and churned into butter. The remaining skimmed milk was usually fed to hogs and chickens. Some would be made into "Curd" for cottage cheese. In later years they got a cream separator and sold cream, still giving the skimmed milk to the hogs. The girls also took care of the chickens and gathered the eggs etc. Houses were heated in those days by wood stoves, and a large kitchen range was used for cooking and baking, and for heating water, to wash and bathe with. One of the winter jobs for George and his hired men, was to cut enough wood to supply the stoves for heating the house and for cooking. The trees were felled and the logs were cut into the correct length by two men using a cross-cut saw. The men would haul the wood up and unload by the woodshed. It was often the girls' job to pile it inside. The men always had to keep some split to burn in the range and for kindling. Even the wood chips were saved, and gathered in pails or baskets for using to start fires. One of Louisa's favorite expressions was, "You're as welcome as a basket of chips', and you couldn't appreciate what that remark meant if you didn't know that it was a job to gather a basket of chips. Louisa always saw to it there was a basket of wood chips behind the stove each night for starting the fire in the morning. Then of course, the ashes had to be emptied every day. This was another chore for the girls. Fortunately the well was right by the back porch and so the water didn't have to be carried far, but the girls had to keep the water pails, teakettles and the stove reservoir full of water. In those days there would be a "swill pail" on the back porch, and the peelings and garbage were saved and fed to the hogs. It was the girls job to keep the swill pails emptied. George and Louisa thought that idle hands got in trouble, and they surely saw to it the girls were not idle. It had been seven years since the stork had last visited the Croms. Now it was time for another visit. Dr. Hall, from Pompeii, came for the delivery. Opal, the fourth daughter, arrived June 29, 1897. George had so wanted a boy this time, that it was two weeks before he'd tell the men up town that the baby was not a boy. George and Louisa now decided they had tried often enough, and it was not their lot in life to have a boy. As was customary in those days, George often needed to hire an extra man in the spring. A young man by the name of Murt Valley, had been working in the logging camp in the winter, and had heard of the Croms needing a hired hand. When George talked with Murt he found that Murt, like himjself, had had to get out on his own at a very young age. Murt was probably about sixteen years old when George hired him. George took Murt right to his heart. Murt was a hard worker, always giving a good day's work. Of course he hired out by the month, getting room, board, washing, etc. and monthly wage, also a horse to drive. Murt was always willing to learn from George, and soon became part of the family, he became the son George never had. When World War I came along, Murt went. He served until the war was over. When he returned to the Croms he stayed awhile, then decided he should get out on his own, so he bought a farm up by West Branch, married, and raised a nice family. Murt's family was always very close to the Croms, and the girls always treated Murt like a brother. Louisa was always cooking and baking, and fed her family and hired men very well. She was great on Sunday dinners for the relatives and friends. Two of her brothers also came to Michigan to seek their fortunes. These families were often Sunday dinner guests, and the Croms returned to the Nelson places often too. Then every summer there was the Nelson-Shinew Reunion. It was held 2 years in Ohio and 1 year in Michigan. George and Louisa and the girls didn't miss many. Louisa would cook and bake and plan for weeks ahead if the reunion was to be held in Michigan. She always wanted to entertain her Ohio brothers and sisters and their families, who would come for a few days' stay. This was a big event in the lives of the Croms. When the reunion was to be held in Ohio, Louisa would sew and see to it the family had proper clothes to wear for the train ride, and while visiting around with the relatives. In those days a picnic lunch was packed to eat on the train, midway through the long ride to Bowling Green. Edna was the first of the Crom daughters to marry and leave home. She married Frank Beck, a young farmer who lived in Greenbush Township, Clinton County, Michigan. The Croms helped to get them settled, the moving being done by wagon and team. The trip to the Becks now became a regular thing, as they all liked to go to Edna's to help. Then on August 9, 1908, Edna was to have the first grandchild for the Croms. This was a big event for George, Louisa and the three younger sisters. Dr. Hall was summoned, and the house was bursting with excitement. George and Frank were sent to the barn to wait, and to get out of the women's way. However Frank made several trips to the house awaiting the news. Finally he returned to the barn to tell George. George asked excitedy "Did ye' get a boy?" Frank held up two fingers, indicating *two boys*. George jumped up and down, and said, "By Gad, Frank, how did you do it? Here I tried four times and never got a boy, and you get two on the first try! 'Tain't fair". But George and Louisa were very pleased, and right away went and bought 2 high chairs, and 2 of everything for those boys. Of course these high chairs, beds, etc.were handed on to all the Crom grandchildren. Edna, with three younger sisters had help with the twin boys, until time for school to take Emma and Opal again. Pearl was the next to marry. She married Clayton Minaker April 14, 1909. RDB note: there's a family story that he was a travelling salesman who apparently slept around and ended up giving Pearl gonorrhea, which rendered her sterile. This probably contributed to their divorce 10 years later. In May 1909, George and Louisa observed their 25th Wedding Anniversary. No formal celebration took place at this time, however, they received greetings and best wishes from many relatives and friends. Emma entered Normal Training School in Mt. Pleasant, and this left only Opal at home. The Croms began to get restless, and they began looking for a different farm. They found one they liked north of Elsie. This was also a very beautiful place, with good buildings on it. The Ann Arbor Railroad ran near the corner of it. They bought this place in 1910. They left the Fulton Center Area, with all its fond memories, and all their many friends, and moved to Elsie. This farm had rich soil and was very productive. They had no trouble rising early, as the morning train went through at 5:00 A.M. waking the chickens and everyone in the house. Opal entered the Elsie High School. Here Edna's twin boys and her daughter often visited and have many happy memories of this lovely place. Here George's brother Edwin came to visit driving a nice new Cadillac. He had a Cadillac dealership in Bowling Green, Ohio. He took the family for rides in it and George started thinking about a car. However Louisa didn't share his enthusiasm. She was always a little afraid, and while she had no objections to riding fast in a buggy, she was very frightened in a car. She held out a few years more, but in 1915, George bought his first car, an Overland touring car. George just couldn't stand to be outdone by his neighbors, and his son-in-laws, and those Ohio relatives any longer. Art Vermilya, George's brother-in-law, had driven a new Overland car to Michigan to the Nelson-Shinew Reunion, and George wanted a new car to drive back to Ohio. Opal was the first to learn to drive it, and when it came Reunion time, Louisa still wouldn't hear of making that long trip down there in *that car*. Well, Opal took them to St. Johns, where they took the train for Owosso and transfered to Ann Arbor to Ohio. Opal became quite the driver, and also the mechanic to care for the car. She changed the oil, spark plugs and changed and fixed tires, etc. She found many excuses to drive into Elsie every day. In the years to come Louisa did get so she would ride to Ohio in the car. George's second car was a Star. All went well on this farm, north of Elsie, except that the Cordary drain went near the south boundry of the farm. The Ekenburg Condensery in Elsie, was where about everyone sold their milk. The wastes and rinsings from the condensery were all dumped into this Cordary drain. As the drain flowed by the Crom farm, the odor was very offensive, especially during the summer months. The Croms stayed on this farm eight years, and Louisa thought the odor got worse every year. Opal had been keeping company with a progressive young farmer from east of Elsie. They became engaged and announced to the Croms that they planned to be married. This was the last daughter to leave the nest. So the Croms again went looking for another farm, one far away from the Cordary drain. On December 5, 1918, they purchased the C.D. Bates farm, about 3 miles south of Elsie. This farm had two houses, one could be used for a tenant house. Opal was married in the house north of Elsie on December 31, 1918, and George started the moving process soon after that. Of course, the son-in-laws, and daughters all helped. Louisa said she didn't mind Opal leaving so much because she was so busy with the moving and settling. Again, George had bought this farm in the winter, and snow covered the fields. When spring came, to his dismay, the fields were stoney. George and Louisa managed the farm, with the help of tenant families for many years. The Croms lived in the main house until 1936, when Clifford and Opal Dunham came to take over the farming operation. The Dunhams moved into the main house, George, Louisa and Pearl moved to the tenant house, where they lived in semi- retirement. Here they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The daughters planned a really nice affair for their parents, and the family and friends gathered to help them celebrate. This was the place where the daughters and their families gathered for Sunday dinners and Holidays. Now the grandchildren were bringing husbands, wives, girl friends and boy friends. Then the great- grandchildren started arriving. They all remember the good food prepared by Louisa and her daughters. George had established very good relationship with his son-in-laws, there was good fellowship, a few hot political arguements, and friendly discussions of the future of farming, and the political topics of the day. Often the men walked the farm and looked over the crops. After 59 years of married life, Louisa suffered a stroke. Pearl and George, with the help of the other girls, took care of Louisa until her death, October 23, 1943. Louisa had never wished to make the trip to Florida, but after her death, Art Verrnilya and other relatives and friends insisted that Pearl take her father to Florida. They really enjoyed it, and George, whose hip was painfully lame now, felt much better and was able to get his exercise in the warm sunshine. However, he had used a cane for many years. They went to Florida each winter for the next six years. Maynard, Gaylord and Stanley Whitlock often drove them down and flew back. In the summer George and Pearl spent much time at Frank and Edna's helping with the work on the Fruit Farm. George liked to tend the Roadside Market and visit with the many people who stopped to buy fruit and sometimes just to visit. George accompanied Maynard and Gaylord Beck often on truck trips they would make into other states, and also on local deliveries. George suffered a stroke in Florida in 1948. He died in the hospital at St. Petersburg, Florida February 10, 1949. George and Louisa's lives had been long, happy and rewarding. They saw many of their dreams fulfilled, and carried rich memories throughout their long and productive lives. They started with very little, and while they were never rich, they lived well, and had enough to take care of themselves, and with a little to spare. George made good on his promise to Louisa's father, that he would take care of Louisa so long as there was any strength in his hands, or breath in his body. They were kind and loving parents, and raised their daughters well. They taught character lessons and moral values by the examples they set. They lived in what I consider to be one of the most interesting eras in history. They certainly saw great changes take place. They began their lives when farming was carried out by hand power, and by horse power, but they lived to see mechanized tools make it easier to farm, and enable a farmer to farm more acres. The mode of travel changed from horse drawn vehicles and trains, to automobiles, trucks and airplanes. They saw many changes in communication. Mail used to move slowly, and it might take a week to get a letter to Ohio. But that too changed, and letters reached Ohio in one or two days. Better yet, the telephone made it possible to talk with people, right now! Louisa saw modern improvements make her life easier and more enjoyable. The electric lights did away with washing and filling kerosene lamps. The electric refrigerator did away with all that carrying food to the basement to keep it cool. The wood stoves were replaced, first by oil space heaters, then furnaces. Louisa got rid of the old wash board, and replaced it with an electric wash machine. Many hours were spent listening to their first battery operated radio. They lived through two World Wars, and while they did make the sacrifices they were called upon to make, they suffered no casualties in the family. I am sure if one could ask them, they would say they made their share of mistakes, but looking back on their lives, I can think of nothing that I would want to change.