Recipes for Living Max Marjorie Faulkner

My name is Max Faulkner. Marjorie and I live at 114 Country Club Drive in Osceola. I was born and raised on a farm in Hamilton County, Iowa, near Vincent. I was the only one in my class all the way through rural school, grades one through eight. I went to high school at Eagle Grove. During the summers, I worked for Clair Berryhill doing well work, and continued after I graduated. Eventually, I moved to Gowrie, Iowa and established my own well work business.

In 1950, I married Sharon Maybe from Gowrie, and was drafted into the Army in January, 1952. I went to Camp Pickett, Virginia for 16 weeks of training. The first eight weeks was military training, and during the second eight weeks, we learned how to give one another shots. That was our medical training. From there I was sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for more medical training, and on to Fort Hood, Texas, where for eight weeks I worked in a hospital. Then I received my orders to go to Korea. I went in September on the ship, Marine Links, which took us to Tokyo, where they gave us different clothing, put us back on the ship, and we went to Pusan, Korea, which is at the southern tip.

While I was waiting to go into the service, I drove a truck for my brother-in-law in a brokerage firm. The powers-that-be saw that on my record, so when I got to Korea, they sent me to a dispensary, which was a dental chair in the back of a two-ton truck. My job for awhile was only to start the truck. I would have moved it if it needed to be moved, which never happened. The doctor had a jeep, and if he needed go to somewhere, I drove that. We also had a gasoline generator, which I started every morning at 8:00, and at 1:00 I would restart the jeep, which the doctor had turned off while he had his lunch. That was my routine for about six weeks.

One time, when I returned from driving the doctor to Seoul, I discovered I had been transferred from the truck to the dispensary. I became a medical man for the military who reported for sick call. A doctor came from Seoul once a week, and the rest of the time medics took care of everything. Once in awhile we treated the natives, but mostly we gave out APCs, which was a type of aspirin, or penicillin shots if they were needed. The majority of our cases were caused when soldiers put shells in the big guns. If they got their fingertips under the edge of it, they were pinched. Pain was eased by the APCs. There was one injury when an engine backfired and burned a soldier's face, but it wasn't in combat. I treated a soldier that was hit with a shell that went through his helmet. It nicked his forehead and I put a band-aid on it. The wound was not bad but he was frightened by what could have been. In movie scenes, an injured man or his friend calls, "Medic! Medic!" If that had happened, I would have been the one to respond. I was very fortunate that we didn't see anything really serious.

Before long, I was attached to the 728 MPs (Military Police), who moved to a different area every two or three days. They would always set up the mess tent, and we would dig foxholes large enough for two of us. We put up our small cots, and slept in sleeping bags. We were 25 feet from a big gun, so on occasions when they fired three or four hours at a time, there was not much sleep. But that didn't happen every night. I was always on call, so I did have to sleep once in awhile.

I ended up with the 25th Artillery, 105 weapons, which were small artillery. The 38th parallel was the dividing line between North and South Korea, and we, of course, were in South Korea. We were always back of the front lines a few miles. In June of 1953, the United Nations declared a cease-fire. We went past the area where the sides exchanged prisoners.

I left Korea the 23rd day of December 1953, and spent Christmas on the ship. The same ship we'd gone across on was waiting for us at the west port of Korea - Marine Links, and it took me back to Seattle, the place I'd started from. I went in September, 1952, and left in December, 1953. According to my discharge papers, I was in the service one year, eleven months, and 20 days, overseas one year, two months, and 13 days, for which I was given an honorable discharge and a good conduct medal.

Although Korea has forests and mountains, the part I saw was flat, reminding me of the terrain of north Iowa, where I grew up. There was no other similarity. Villages consisted of little huts. The crop was rice and the work was done manually or with oxen. Their fertilizer was human excrement, which they kept frozen during the winter. When it thawed in the spring, they put it on their paddies and the smell was stifling. I have finally become able to eat rice.

At the time I was discharged, I returned to the life I had left in Gowrie. My marriage lasted 24 years before we divorced. During that time we had two sons, Brian and Perry. To ensure veterans would be employed, there was an incentive program for employers to hire us for two years, so I went back to work for Clair Berryhill in his well business, until I started my own called Faulkner Plumbing, in 1956. I specialized in well work and built up a good reputation in the Gowrie area. I sold out in 1973, and started selling body shop equipment for Buske Body Shop and Frame Straightener Company. My territory included North and South Dakota, Iowa, Montana and places between. I had a customer to whom I sold equipment in Osceola. While I was traveling for that job, I happened to stay at the Des Moines Holiday Inn and met Marjorie Wood Duvall.

Like Max, I was born in the northern part of Iowa - in Mallard, which is near Emmetsburg, where my father was superintendent of schools. I was born at home on December 30, and the doctor had to come during a snowstorm. I am three years younger than my brother, Fred, who is now veterinarian Dr. Fred Wood in Osceola, and we have a brother, David, an architect, who is five years younger. Because of the nature of our father's career, we moved around and went to different schools in the area.

While I was growing up, we lived in Clay County, and I was in 4H for seven years. I was county officer for several years. One year at the County Fair, I won the competition for the best groomed girl. My fondest memory of 4H was when Betty Burg and I won the competition at the State Fair. We refinished furniture. Our theme was "Off with the Old and on with the New." It was during the period when blond furniture was "in." We removed paint and put on a blond finish. For that we won a blue ribbon. I also had a chest of drawers at the State Fair that year, and won a blue ribbon for it.

My first love in high school was basketball. From a very young age, I was in love with the sport. My father was a girls' basketball coach. At age four, when we lived in West Des Moines, I was mascot for the team. My mother made me an orange and black suit to wear on the basketball court while the team was warming up. I had my own little ball to bounce around. We moved back to Mallard and when I was in second grade, for home games I got to be a cheer leader with the high school girls. Of course, Mother made a matching outfit for me.

For many years during the summer, about every night, I practiced ball and scrimmaged with the neighborhood boys under the yard light. I was high scorer in my conference for three years and I was also voted on the all-conference team. I was known for my long shots which then only counted two points. Today they count as three. My brothers had the brain, and I had the brawn. But I was truly dedicated. I trained, ate the right kind of food, kept hours, and didn't carouse around. My father coached but not at this time. When I was a baby, he coached at Mallard, which was a little tiny town south of Emmetsburg, and his girls' team went to the state tournament. That was really something!

Also in school I participated in band, Glee Club, Mixed Chorus, declamatory and plays. From 8th through 12th grades, I was also very much involved in the church, as pianist, Sunday school and Vacation Bible School teacher, and active in the youth group.

After I graduated, I went to Iowa State University intending to become a home economics teacher. I soon realized this was not my preference. I wanted to teach younger children, and because ISU didn't offer education for teaching lower grades, for my second year I transferred to UNI (University of Northern Iowa). This was in the late 1950s, when we were qualified to teach on a two-year certificate. I finished in 1958, which was the last year teaching without a preprofessional commitment was allowed.

UNI is where I met my husband, Earl Duvall, a Navy veteran of the Korean War. We were both initiated into the National Honor Society. We were married when I was 20, and we began looking for teaching jobs. In those years, it was difficult for married couples to get jobs because that would be too much money going to one household. However, we were hired by the United Community of Boone - Earl as a high school coach and me as an elementary teacher, but because of our marital status, my salary was reduced by $3,000.

From there, we taught at Hubbard, Iowa, and I became pregnant. Pregnant women were not allowed to teach after the first three months. We stayed that year and when it was over, we moved to West Des Moines where I taught in the Urbandale public schools. Earl went into the insurance business. Our first child, Debra, was born in 1960. When she was two years old, I decided to stay home, and I didn't work again until 1980.

During my years as a stay-at home mom, I was involved in volunteer work. I did several years as leader of Brownies, Junior Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Webelos. I also was busy in my church and did many years of Vacation Bible School.

In 1966, Earl was working for Mutual of Omaha, and happened to be at the home office when he was shot by a young boy whose livelihood was robbing people and taking their cars. People saw Earl get out of his car, but they thought he was drunk and wouldn't help him. Finally, a young boy approached him and asked what was wrong. The boy happened to be a young Indian, just off the reservation. He took Earl to the county hospital in Omaha.

My father was also working for Mutual of Omaha, and was spending the night with me in West Des Moines, when I got the phone call. The caller briefly reported what happened, where Earl was, and that he registered no blood pressure. We left my daughter with a friend and drove to Omaha. By that time, Earl had recovered sufficiently that he could climb onto the Gurney-albeit, the wrong way, and they had to get him turned around. They were able to save his life, and the staff found it exciting to have a patient who could pay. That was not the usual in a county hospital.

The fellow, who shot my husband, got on a bus and went to Des Moines. In a bar, he bragged that he had shot a man in Omaha. What he didn't know was the story had made the Des Moines paper - a man from West Des Moines was shot in Omaha. Another customer overheard him, turned him in, and he was caught. There was a trial during which the defense attempted to exonerate him because he was a farm boy, he'd never been around this kind of people, and there were prejudices involved. Earl said he'd have given him everything, if he had asked, so none of the defense held up. The kid got 30 years for intent to kill.

It wasn't the end of the dilemma. A couple weeks later, we had a phone call from the boy. My husband sent him some money. In awhile, we had another call, asking for more money. It continued until it became a matter of extortion, and we had to hire a lawyer take care of it.

The next year, seven years after we'd had our first child, we were blessed with a son, Steven. Fourteen months later, I became pregnant again. Two years later, we had another daughter, Dixie. Life went along normally until 1971, when my husband had a massive heart attack. He wasn't able to work again and I took care of him and my children for two years before he died. He had been a good provider, including insurance provision, and it was not necessary for me to work.

When I was widowed, my children were three, five, and twelve, and I faced questions about what to do with the rest of my life. A Drake course, "The Woman Alone" sounded helpful. It included how to do taxes, run your life - all these matters single women or widows must consider. I knew I wanted more education. In 1968, I had attained my Bachelors' degree from Drake University, now I wanted to get my Masters' degree, which I received when I was 50 years old.

I applied at Drake for a stipend, and was given the opportunity to teach in the Study Skills Center. Because I was a student, I was able to take advantage of counseling, and met a Guidance Counselor, who asked the question that had been on my mind - what was I going to do with the rest of my life, and my answer was, "I am going to stay home and raise my children." She advised against that, saying, "Your kids will grow up and leave home. You will have invested everything in those children and you expect a return. But they will have their lives, and you have to make your own life, too. You've got to go out, once a week, as regularly as going to church." She was a single gal, and said, "We'll go to Holiday Inn where everybody goes to meet people." She met Max first. She told me, "I have someone I'd like you to meet," and brought him over.

The next day, Max invited me to lunch. We discovered we had much in common- the same kind of background, growing up in rural Iowa. He, too, was a Methodist, and we had the same values. I remembered that when my husband knew he would not live long, he said, "I would dearly love the man who will help you raise your children." I got a winner when I got Max. I can say that I have never known Max to be mean to my children, except once he patted Dixie on the behind because she talked back to me. She never did it again.

We met in March and married in May, 1975, so we've been married 31 years. When I married Max, I gained two step-sons, Brian and Perry; and he gained three step-children - Debra, Steven, and Dixie. Their situations in 2006: Brian is a licensed plumber in Des Moines owning his own business; and Perry does construction and concrete work. For a period of time, Max' oldest son, Brian and my oldest daughter Debra were married. It lasted for 18 years and they had two daughters, Brook 17, and Dru 15. They were both work-oriented, which probably contributed to their divorce. They still remain friends. Debra graduated from Drake University and is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) living in West Des Moines. She has worked for Wells Fargo for lots of years, and is the Marketing Manager in their credit card department. Her particular interest is fraud cases.

Just before Steven graduated from high school, he earned his Eagle Scout award. He attended the University of Iowa, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. His is now the Mechanical Engineering Manager of Siemans Company in Ames. One reason he was hired was that the interviewer was also an Eagle Scout. Steven and his family live in Ankeny. His wife, Diane, a graduate of the University of Iowa, is also a CPA and works for Principal. They have three children, two girls and a boy - the oldest is Andrea, nine, Morgan is six, and Alec is two.

When Dixie was in high school, she was a cheerleader for the football team. Her husband, Ted, who graduated from the University of Iowa, is a computer programmer. They live near Evergreen, Colorado. Dixie graduated from Simpson, was a math major, and worked for Principal in Des Moines. Hers is the new concept of a virtual office. After several years she worked in Denver for an environmental engineering company there. She has chosen to be stay-athome mom for a few years. They have two children - Mia, who is seven, and Jane, who is four.

When Max and I married, we were living in West Des Moines and we began to realize that we'd like to live and raise the children in a smaller community, where they would be educated in a smaller school system. My brother Fred suggested, ''You are both rural people. You want to get out of the city. Why don't you come to Osceola?" So that is how we came to live here.

We moved to Osceola in the fall 1979, and I began teaching in the fall of 1980. I taught transitional first grade, which is a level between kindergarten and first. It works beautifully for the children who are immature and not ready for the learning they are exposed to in first grade. They are not physically or mentally challenged, but they needed more time for learning, or for gaining more social skills. I did it for 22 years before budget cuts forced the program to be dropped, when I retired.

When we came to Osceola, I began building houses. Marjorie's brother, David, is an architect and he gave me drawings of different plans. They were more nearly sketches than blue prints, but I built houses according to his drawings. I did all the work - framing, installing electricity, plumbing, painting - all except the cement work. My sons Brian and Perry worked for me. The first house I did was in the Harken Hills' division. I used a rustic plan which fit the environment of that area. I had it almost finished when I sold it to Judge Jim and Beth Brown. I built one around the comer from them, and Marjorie and I moved into it in August 1980. Now attorney U.J. Booth lives in the second one. I built another a little farther down, where Dr. Wood lived. I built two houses on Kossuth, three on Country Club Drive, and others.

The house Marjorie and I live in now is one I built. I found the plan in "Better Homes and Gardens." The house is distinct because of its strange shape. It looks like a fort with what I think of as cupolas, such as we used to see on barns, all across the top. It is a passive solar home, getting its heat from the sun. The south side is mostly glass, and on the north is a double wall with space between the two walls. On the south side is a solarium that lets the outside air go into a space underneath the house, and there are two ceilings, with space between. The air rises as it heats, cools as it falls, producing circulation throughout the house. The air circulates then goes out of louvers in the cupolas. The word "passive" means we use Mother Nature to help heat the house.

On a Monday morning in 1982, I woke up with a severe ache in my right arm. I went to work and noticed that when I quit and sat down, it quit hurting. I made an appointment with Dr. Kimball, who checked me and suggested I go to Des Moines the next day. They discovered one vein was almost plugged, so they did open heart surgery, using a vein from my leg. At age 58 I had a heart attack and had to retire for medical reasons. When I was 60, I had my second open heart surgery, in which they used an artery in the back of my chest to replace the one in my heart. Since my last surgery, they put in a stent. In 1983, I got between a tractor and a pick-up, and broke the femur in my right leg. That was very painful and laid me up for about three years. I've been doing well for several years now.

When I was first retired, I spent a lot of time baby sitting with my oldest granddaughter who is now 17, and I used to do this a lot if the children's mothers needed me. Now I go to Des Moines quite often to pick up parts for Bud Jones. I enjoy life. I play golf with Keith DeBerg. He formerly was the plant manager for Jimmy Dean Company, now retired, and works mornings for Randy Short. Keith and I go out at 12:00 almost every day when the weather will allow it. We play nine holes and generally are home by 1:30.

I haven't been much of a joiner. I am a 48-year member of the Gowrie Post of the American Legion. I joined in 1956, when I was discharged from the service. I was in the Drum and Bugle Corps and we performed in their competition in Florida, Texas, and several times in Des Moines. Their American Legion was and still is the sponsor of the July 4th celebration. I helped with that for many years and still support it financially. I was also a volunteer fireman for many years. Because I was a plumber I mainly was their pump operator. I put in all the irrigation for the new Gowrie Golf and Country Club in the early 60s. In Osceola, we are members of the United Methodist Church and I belong to the Golf Association.

Twelve years ago, when I was 56 years old I had breast cancer. One breast was fine but the other had to be removed. The procedure I chose was called "flap" surgery where they made a new breast out of my body. When operating on women who have had children, the surgeon can use extra tissue from the lower part of the abdomen, pull it up, and build a new breast. I had done a lot of research before I decided on that route. I went to the Stoddard Cancer Center in Des Moines, where there was a library. I looked up different case studies and what women had chosen to do. Of course I conferred with my family. My son is an engineer, and he didn't want me to put saline in my body, which would have been an option. This process had seldom been done in the Midwest, but I chose that method. I had to go to the plastic surgeon three times. He wanted to talk to me and after it was all said and done, he gave me the reason he consented to do it. He said, "I detected some spunk, a little rebellion about you, and to go through this surgery, you had to be tough."

It was very involved surgery, in which beforehand they took one of my stomach muscles and brought it up, took an artery and brought it up to get ready for when they took the breast off. One part of the operation is the same as though they are going to do a Caesarian section. Then they bring the tissue from underneath and make the new breast. They did it all in one surgery. I didn't have to have treatment of any kind.

Of course, the stomach muscle had to be stretched, and when I came out of surgery I was bent double. I had to learn to pull it up. Max injected, "When I first saw her, her knees were clear up to her chest. I had tried to talk her out of it and wished at that moment I had been successful." Marge admitted, "It took me about fourteen months to recuperate. I couldn't lift anything. I could hardly carry my purse, but I could teach, and I taught during that time. But I was very happy with it. For a couple years I would get catches but I don't get those anymore."

I'll be 68 this year and as I look back over my life, I realize I was a stay-at-home-mom for 18 years, taught for more than 24 years, retired three years ago, and now I am into my third career of substitute teaching about 2 1/2 days a week. This week has been an exception. I've been taking the place of a regular teacher who had a fire at her home. So I was at school full time.

Another important facet of my life that I didn't mention is that I was raised in the church and God has always been an important part of my life. I have always believed that God was looking after me and it has made a difference. We raised our children with standards. We didn't allow them to go to R or PG13 rated movies. Of course they gave the usual protest, "Everybody goes." They may have sneaked around and seen some, but not with our approval. We didn't even have cable, and our children were sure we were the only people on the planet who didn't have it. We watched TV with them. We are pleased that our adult children are passing on their religious upbringing to our grandchildren. Max and I enjoy attending their activities.

Since my retirement, I have joined Women's Club, Book Lovers' Club, and now am a lifetime member of the Iowa Retired School Personnel Association. I have been a member of T.T.T. since 1966. I am on the board of The Village so I volunteer many hours there, and donate Max's time to fixing things, etc. He has graciously helped out.

For the past 3 years I have been attending the BPS Women's Bible study group. This year we have been doing an in-depth study of the book of Genesis. We meet in a Lutheran church in Des Moines, but this is an international, non-denominational study. In addition to the evening meetings, we have a lesson to study every day, and I am learning a lot. I have attended three conferences of "Women of Faith." They are outstanding meetings.

In the early years of our marriage, we didn't do a lot of traveling. My parents had a home on Lake Okoboji and we vacationed there from 1958 to 1995. We've traveled a lot in the States, and outside the continental United States, we took the Alaskan cruise, have been to Canada, Hawaii, and we are going to Cancun in January. As long as our health permits it, Max and I will continue doing what we are doing, and taking two or three trips somewhere each year.