By Sarah Myers, 1988 Mabel Bauerle lives in the beautiful white farmhouse that she and her husband, Herbert, had lived in since they were married. It is decorated simply, with many books and plants. She has lived with only her dog, Brownie, since her husband died. Her son and one of her daughters live nearby and visit her frequently. She has many hobbies to keep herself busy. She collects rocks, stamps, and coins. As Christmas presents, she crocheted 33 rugs. She is now crocheting a wall hanging of the "Last Supper" by Da Vinci. Mrs. Bauerle reads frequently. Some of the books she has just finished reading are autobiographies of Charles Kurault and Lee Iacocca, and Ernie Harwell's "Tuned to Baseball". But she reads mostly devotional books by authors such as Catherine Marshall and Paul Tournier. Mrs. Bauerle was born 79 years ago, the youngest of four girls. They lived on a farm in Riley Township, four miles northwest of DeWitt. Her earliest childhood memory is going to her grandparents' house with her parents when her grandfather died. There were several people in the house and a baby on the floor. When someone else entered the house, a huge dog ran inside too. She was terrified that the dog would eat the baby. Although her mother assured her that the dog knew the baby and wouldn't hurt it, that incident made her very afraid of dogs. She attended a rural school, with 40-50 students in it. Their farm was across the road, so her father saw everything that went on. During her early school years, the United States was engaged in World War I. Because her family was of German origin, they were looked down upon. Although her father was harassed by some of the neighbors, he told his children to never answer when they were teased. One day a girl called Mrs. Bauerle a "slacker" or person who didn't do his share to help the war effort. Going against her father's orders, she replied "I'm not a slacker, you're a slacker". That night at home, her sister tattled, and Mrs. Bauerle was severely punished. In school, Mrs. Bauerle had two close friends. One girl had a very rich aunt who sent her huge oranges. When the girl ate them in school, everyone gathered around her desk and ate the orange peels. Mrs. Bauerle and her other friend would be sent to a nearby house to fetch water since the school didn't have a well. All the way there and all the way back they would talk like [?]d [sic]. During recess, all the girls would pair up and walk arm in arm around the schoolhouse whispering about boys. When peace was declared at the end of World War I, the news reached Riley Township very early in the morning. Everyone went outside and rang his dinner bell. That day in school the children had a parade, marching up and down the road singing patriotic songs. When she graduated from eighth grade, she had to recite a poem. In the audience there was a boy on whom she had a crush. She would smile at him and he would smile back. Although her parents didn't say anything to her, her sisters tormented her about it. Because of her sisters' teasing, she gave up on boys all through high school. She was 21 before she began to date. After graduating from St. Johns high school, she went to the County Normal, a school where she could get her teaching degree in one year. She met her future husband Herbert, when his family got a new tractor and her father took her along when he went to see it. She was busy teaching school, and he was busy working his farm, so they didn't see very much of each other. He telephoned her every Sunday morning. They discovered once that the operator was listening to their conversation. When Herbert visted her, he would sit with her father and discuss tractors. They were married on June 15, 1932. Their love deepened as the years passed. She quit teaching when she was married. She had four children - [deleted for privacy] - all born at home. One of the most wonderful times in her life was when she first felt the life of the baby she was carrying. She enjoyed taking care of her babies. When [her youngest child] was in second grade, Mrs. Bauerle began substitute teaching. She continued for nine years. She worked on the farm in all her spare time. When her husband became sick, she quit teaching so she could take care of him. She has always wanted to become a missionary because she felt that she should give a year of her life to God. After her heart attack and problems with her knees, she decided to get in shape enough to go. But before she could go, Dan Kelly, her grandson was in an accident which put him in a coma for two months. After he regained consciousness, he wanted to graduate from high school. Mrs. Bauerle spent the rest of his junior year, and all his senior year helping him study and do his homework. He succeeded in graduating and everyone stood and clapped when he received his diploma. That was the year of her life that she had given. She was going to write a book about the Bath school disaster, but her husband died and she was too busy taking care of the farm to finish it. Today, 12 1/2 years after her husband died, Mrs. Bauerle keeps herself busy, believing that sitting around feeling sorry for yourself is the worst thing you can do. She doesn't watch very much television except for football, baseball, and basketball games. She will be watching the Super Bowl and rooting for the Denver Broncos. She still remembers the most important thing her parents taught her: if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. She has memories of sitting by her favorite aunt in Church, going flowering (picking wild flowers), and gathering around the piano to sing with family and friends on Sunday evenings. Although she welcomed an automatic washer and dryer, a sink in her kitchen, and instant coffee, change sometimes threatens her. She is more scared now, knowing she is not capable of a lot of things. She hates not being able to drive her car. But she accepts the conditions and is a believer in the power of positive tinking. She concentrates on the positive and not the negative. Mrs. Bauerle [is] a fascinating person and I am glad that I took the time to get to know her better.