DEAN AND TERESA WOODS

Without question, young people today live in a world totally different from the one in which many of the potential readers of this book have lived in or realize. The question to Teresa: "What is it like to be a young working mother in these days? Tell about your schedule."

O.K - Tiffany is 13 years-old and is in junior high softball as well as A.S.A. (Amateur Softball Association). This is something the girls are given an opportunity to try out for. Tiffany, who is a catcher, was chosen along with a girl from Murray and the rest are from Osceola. They play tournament games Friday nights through Sunday nights from May 15 through July 11.  The games are within Iowa; but we were in Fort Dodge two weekends; Indianola one weekend, and the rest of the games were played all over Des Moines. Our team didn't win a whole slug of games but the girls learned a lot-and the parents learned a lot! During the weeks, there was local junior high softball. Tiffany remarked that she hasn't had much of a life this summer and her parents agreed, "Neither have we."

Tricia, who is 10, had ballet dance practice with a recital at the end of May, and also played major league softball two nights a week. Trenton, age seven, was in t-ball, which is in the afternoons and on Saturday mornings. He is also in the youngest troop of Scouts, Tiger Cubs.

There are piano lessons, too. The May recital ended practice for Tiff and Tricia, but just now they are getting cattle ready to show at the County Fair. They start working with them in late spring through 4-H club, the Osceola Go-Getters. The kids get the cattle broke and, at the Fair, lead, wash, brush and basically handle them.

In addition to being involved in the children's activities, I work at Clarke County State Bank 40 to 45 hours a week, and Dean works about 50 hours a week as a welder for Townsend Engineering Company in Des Moines. He leaves home at 5:00 am and gets home at 6:00 in the evening. Both of us are on the Little League Board. That is pretty much how our lives go.

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I was born at the Decatur County Hospital, on April25, 1963, into a loving, attentive family. My parents are Dennis and Kay Fierce, a mixture of German and Irish descent. Our grandparents were also very much a part of our family and we idolized them. Both sets were lifetime farmers who gave us an example of hard work and high morals, always putting other people ahead of themselves. They were all involved in many community organizations. I never knew my grandfather, Georgia Cox, because he passed away before I was born, but he was one of the founders of the Van Wert Assembly of God Church, and helped construct the building. Both he and Ruby, his wife, were very active in every aspect of church life.

Our grandfather, Russell Fierce, died just last year, 1998. He had been incapacitated for some time and our tiny grandmother, Mabel Hacker Fierce, took all the care of him. He was nearly six feet tall and she just over five feet. Grandma Fierce is a sister-in-law of Thelma and Ellen Hacker. In addition to being a farm wife, helping with various aspects of farm work, she was a 4-H leader for about 25 years. They retired off the farm over 20 years ago and moved to Leon. She continues to live there and is still active in the Van Wert United Methodist Church.

Our family followed Grandparents Fierce, living on the same farm, which has become a century farm; that is, it has been in our family for 100 years. My parents had four children. I am the oldest; Doug is 18 months younger than I; Tammy, six years younger; and Jeff is 12 years younger. I am the runt. Both my brothers are over six feet tall and my sister is five feet, nine inches. Tammy was born on Doug's birthday and he wanted a brother. He and I had bet a dollar, even though neither of us had a dollar, about her gender. I won when she showed up as our sister. Doug was not receptive to the point of wanting Mom and Dad to take her back to the hospital but we all voted to keep her. Because of our age difference, I didn't play much with Tammy or Jeff.  Doug and I were close even though we fought like cat and dog.

We lived 10 miles from Leon and rode the bus to attend Central Decatur Schools all through the grades and high school. From the time we were eight-years-old, we were expected to help take care of hogs and cattle, walk beans, cut thistles in pastures and assist in harvesting vegetables from Mother's massive garden. We were also very involved in boys' and girls' 4-H clubs.  I actively participated for nine years.

The highlight of our summers was the Decatur County Fair. Five different school districts participated heavily in that Fair, with stiff competition and judging. Doug and I got to meet and become friends with kids from other schools.

Our family background was a very religious one. We attended the Assembly of God church that our Cox grandparents were involved with, and Loving Chapel United Methodist Church in Leon, so I had a Pentecostal as well as Methodist background. If there would be a Sunday when we couldn't attend church, my father would hold a Bible study session at home. At the time we kids thought that was sheer torture but now we realize that we needed that and have a lot of good memories of it

No one would know it now but I took piano lessons for seven years. In school I was involved in everything other than athletics, although I did go out for basketball in junior high; and, when volleyball was offered for the first time when I was a senior in high school, I did go out for it.  Other than that, I was a cheer leader all the way through.

My real interest was in speech, drama, and music; and I had teachers who encouraged me and enlivened those subjects.  A married couple, Miles and Mary Ruth Horn, were my speech, drama, and English teachers. John Nielsen was chorus instructor and Robert Christiansen directed the band in which I played clarinet. They were energetic people, totally wrapped up in what they did, and were far above and beyond normal teachers. They would plan spring and fall musicals every year to give the high school kids an opportunity to show what they could do.

Each of those teachers wanted kids from the rural community to be able to see what else was out there in the world. The Horns took those of the student body that wanted to go to the Civic Center in Des Moines to see musicals. We raised money to take a trip to New York City. This was arranged by John Nielsen to give opportunity to the swing choir to perform at a festival at the High School of Performing Arts. We were in New York for a week and got to see two musicals-Chorus Line and Barnum. We stayed in downtown Manhattan a block away from Times Square and I spent my 18th birthday on the island of the Statue of Liberty. I was unable to attend an Honor Band tour of Europe arranged by Mr. Christiansen.

At graduation I was honored to receive the Leon Rotary Club's award for excellence in music for chorus. I had lots of awards in 4-H through the years and one unforgettable experience through my association with that club. We regularly attended camps at Madrid. One was an Adventure Camp when we were in the boonies four days without any of the "creature comforts"-no shower or anything. Our leaders were students from Iowa State University. We backpacked and canoed down the river followed colored dots on trees to find our way through a forest; we rappelled up a steep embankment and crossed over a waterfall on a thin log while holding hands of fellow campers. It was a true adventure.

For several years, after I graduated from high school, Dad served on the school board. He is very community minded and received Governor Branstad's community service award in 1993.

After high school I went on to college at AIB. (American Institute of Business) and attained an Associate Business Degree. While at college, I worked in the Secretary of State's office filing loan records of the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code).

Dean and I met while we were both dating others from the Grand Valley School System. This no longer exists but at that time included the Grand River and Kellerton high schools. We became very much aware of each other at basketball games and made eye contact, but never spoke. For a year and a half we didn't talk to one another and didn't actually begin dating until after I started attending AlB. We saw one another during Christmas break, while we each were with friends at the Pizza Hut in Lamoni. We struck up our first conversation, started dating after that and went together a year and a half before we were married.

Dean's parents are Ron and Patty Woods, who have lived near Osceola all their lives. Dean has a sister, Ronda Henry, who lives near Osceola with her three children-Dustin, Cody, and Nicole. Ronda's fiancé is Mike Rowe, who has two children, Cassie and Michaela. Ronda works in the Windsor Heights (Des Moines) City Hall. Another sister is Rachelle (Shelly) Bowman.  She and her husband, John, live near Indianapolis and both are in the airline industry. They are expecting their first child. A third sibling, Becky, lives in Brownsville, Texas, and is an outstanding teacher and coach for Los Fresnos school system. She has received both local and state teaching and coaching awards. Maxine Woods is Dean’s grandmother; Merrill and Ann Burrell are his uncle and aunt

The coincidence of birthdays in our family is interesting. Dean was born November 5, 1962, sharing a birthday with my sister, Tammy, my brother Doug and his daughter, Alley. My dad and Dean's sister, Becky, have birthdays on the same date; Tiffany's and Grandmother Patty's are the same; and Grandmother Mabel's and Victoria's were the same.

Dean attended Weldon Elementary School and came to Osceola for junior high and high school. His work ethic reflects that of his background. He is very hard working and energetic, all his life he has basically worked two jobs whether he was paid for them or not. That attitude carried over into sports, in which he excelled in high school and now, as a spectator, he follows them with great interest. He is involved by coaching the AS.A team and has been assistant coach for other teams. His other hobby is hunting.

Our wedding was April 3, 1983, at the United Methodist Church, performed by Rev. Richard Eis. We honeymooned in Dallas and Fort Worth. A month later, a tragic event brought us quickly back down to earth. A group of us were on motorcycles, returning from Motor Cross races in Kansas City. We were near Liberty, Missouri, when a drunk driver hit and killed my cousin and the fellow she was riding with. The driver was about our age, maybe 20 or 21, looked like a hippy, had no shoes, and was either so drunk or high on drugs that he could hardly walk. He didn't even know what had happened. He thought he had hit a deer.

It was late at night, about 11:00, and for about a half-hour we couldn't get anyone to stop. It seemed like forever before an ambulance came and took her and her riding companion to the hospital. She was pronounced dead and her companion bled to death. The fellow who hit them didn't live long, but not from results of the accident. He was brought up on charges, jumped bail and was gunned down by a friend for messing around with his girl friend. The whole ordeal was tragic and utterly senseless.

I continued to work after we were married.  During the three years that I was employed at Osceola State Bank, Tiffany was born on November 25, 1985. I went to work at Clarke County State Bank for just three months and on to Farmers' Home Administration for one year before returning to Clarke County State Bank in 1987, and have been there ever since.

I have worked in every area of the bank and now am Vice President in the loan department.  I have continued my education by going to the Iowa School of Banking, the Iowa Commercial School of Banking; I have attended various HOD (Housing and Urban Development) and other government agencies' training sessions on lending.

Our daughter, Tricia, was born August 3, 1988; and son, Trenton, on February 25, 1992. He was two months premature and has undergone several surgeries but is perfectly normal now­however "normal" is defined for a seven-year-old high-energy boy.

Besides my family and work, my interest lies in music and travel. As a family we have traveled to Mexico and San Francisco; and a few years ago Dean and I took a cruise to see the Mayan ruins, which are on the Yucatan peninsula off the mainland of Mexico. The ruins are evidence of a race of Indians whose civilization reached its height about 1000 A.D. We went to the Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica before returning home. The poverty level in both Jamaica and Mexico were eye­openers and made us thankful to live in Iowa

My brother, Doug Fierce, married Rene Schuler and they have two children, Alexandria (Alley), age five; and Nathan, age one. They had a child, Victoria, who came into the world with physical disabilities and died at 18 months, which far surpassed the doctors' expectations, not only of how long she would live but what she would physically be able to do. Victoria was an inspiration to anyone who met her. In her short life she brought our family closer together and taught us to be thankful for everything God gives us.

Doug and Rene live on the century farm north of our parents, where our grandparents used to live. He works at Paul Mueller Company in Osceola, and assists Dad in the farming operation. Rene is head librarian at the Leon Public Library.

Tammy and her husband, David Peebler, live in Altoona and their family consists of Pebbles, a very talented dog that likes to climb trees. Tammy works at Principal in Des Moines and David works for Jacobsen Warehouse Trucking. Jeff received his degree in Agriculture at Iowa State University last year, 1998. He lives in Ames and works for DeKalb. He is single and plans to stay that way for awhile.

We are a close-knit family. We are all good friends and get together often. David, Tammy, and Jeff have been coming to softball games on weekends. We spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter together, traveling between the two sides of the family on each holiday.

My recipe for living? If I could have the world the way I would like it to be, I'd wish for world peace, no poverty, and for all individuals to have basic human rights. I am not a feminist in the connotation that some people give to that word, but I believe men and women should have equal rights and opportunities in the world. I believe the United States offers more in this area than other countries although we have a long way to go.

I wish all children could have the chance to be children and not be forced into child labor or worse atrocities. I wish adults would take responsibility in providing for their children in making sure that they get a good education. These are our future leaders and adults need to think about the example they are setting for children, to attempt to make sure the world will be a safe, productive place for their children to inherit.

I consider the role of adults as models to be extremely serious. I honestly believe there would not be a drug or alcohol problem among children and teenagers if all adults would be responsible in their own lives and think of their children ahead of their own selfish, destructive dependencies. I see this as the only way to break the chain of poverty and drug and alcohol abuse. It boils down to having a basic love for humanity, for yourself, your family and your God.

Return to main page for Recipes for Living 1999 by Fern Underwood

Last Revised July 15, 2012