I was born at home in Osceola, Iowa. I was the only child born to Fred and Emma Saddoris. There were many who thought I would be spoiled, but I had too much work to do. Even my mother said I wasn't spoiled, and my grandmother told me in later years that she felt sorry for me because I had to work so hard as a young person. The reason was that my father had been crippled when he was kicked by a horse, and from then on he walked with a crutch and a cane. It limited him in what he could do. When other children went home from school, they might do whatever they chose, but it was my responsibility to do chores that my father wasn't able to take care of. I had to hurry home to take care of chickens. I also had to carry up coal from the basement and put it on the back porch. I had to carry enough for my father to use the next day because he could not go downstairs. Every Monday I had to carry enough water to fill the boiler and put it on the stove, so that after supper Mother could do the laundry. The girl I walked home from school with had only to practice the piano because her mother didn't work. I always hoped she would help me but she didn't. That person is a good piano player today.
My piano playing didn't go that well. I took lessons from Carrie Dumire, but I couldn't practice year round. We had to live conservatively. My mother worked at the Fair Store for Mr. Johnson. That became Spurgeon's Store. She was a bookkeeper for 23 years, but her wages were not high, and we had to be careful with our money. One means of doing that was to only heat two rooms in the winter - the kitchen and dining room. The piano was in the parlor. This part of the house was shut off and not heated, so I couldn't practice and it was hard for me to keep up. Mother made it a rule that I could only take a piano lesson one time. She would not pay for me to take the same lesson twice. The result was that my lessons were discontinued.
Church was a very important part of our lives. We attended the Methodist Protestant Church on the comer of Main and Webster Streets. Mother and I often walked to church because she couldn't drive, and my father wasn't always able. We often walked with the John Fleming family. I remember Alice, Everett, Arlie, George, Gladys, and there was another whose name I don't recall. They lived south of the cemetery, so the walk was a considerable distance from our homes to the church. It was my job to keep a lookout for them to come.
The MP Church, as we always called it, was a small, friendly church. In the vestibule was a long flight of stairs leading up to a balcony. It wasn't really needed because we had more space than we had members. However, we young people thought it was smart to sit up there. When we were not allowed to do that, we sat in the back of the church. The balcony and basement were used for Sunday School. Cora Smith played the piano for Sunday school and taught for years. There was no organ. Nina Pond played the piano for the church service. Since the church was so close to the railroad tracks, the service was often interrupted because of trains passing through. It became no big deal. We stopped and started again when the train had gone.
Both my mother and I attended church and Sunday school in this building. I was in my Sunday school class when someone came and asked me to teach. I first taught the small children in the basement. The last class I taught was a high school class, which consisted mostly of girls. I taught Sunday school pretty much all the time I was in that church, and until I joined Merle Funck's (which became Fern Underwood's class) after we changed to the ME (Methodist Episcopal) Church. My recollection was that most classes had more girls than boys.
Warren McComas was the backbone and leader of the MP Church. Effie Crawford, Flora Lingle, and Cora Smith were also members. I remember Althea Van Scoy, Alice Fleming, and Berdice Hart, who later married Loris Barnes, also a member of our church. Older people were comfortable criticizing youngsters. I remember once an older lady telling my mother not to let Vivian wear her dresses too short.
I have fond memories of the old MP church. It wasn't a fancy church. It was for poor, hard-working people. I don't remember there being any professional people. Some in our congregation had the impression that the Methodist Episcopal Church people looked down on the MP church, so when there was a merger, there were some who did not feel comfortable in joining the ME church. Nationally, in 1939, the Methodist Protestant, Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Episcopal Church (North) united. The transition did not happen easily or without dissension. Other denominations were formed, but my mother thought we should stay with the Methodist church. Mother didn't approve of the controversy. She felt controversy was not good for our church or its members. She wouldn't even participate in it, and we were among those who did make the transition. We didn't ever regret it or wish to go back. My mother's funeral was held in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
I attended school in Osceola. I went to seventh and eighth grades at South Ward, which stood where the United Methodist Church is now. I graduated with the class of 1931. I was on the honor roll most of the time but I had to study. My father insisted that I have a high school education as he was only able to go through the eighth grade. I did not go on to college. I didn't really want to. I didn't want to study any more, and my parents didn't have the finances for me go. Instead, after high school, I got a job working in an office at Armour's Creameries.
I met Dell Hutchings through my job at Armour’s. He worked in a gas station on the corner. He was born and raised in Derby, Iowa, and came to Osceola to work at Shell Oil Company. In later years Shell sold out to Mobil Gas. Our family lived at 510 West McLane, where the HyVee Store is now. I walked the ten blocks when I went to work in the morning, when I went home for dinner, and when I got off work at 5:00 in the evening. So I saw Dell three times every day as I passed the station. One day he asked me if I wanted a ride home. He said, "Get in the car and I will take you home." I wasn't sure he knew where I lived, but by that time I felt I knew Dell, and we started going out. We went to the theater for entertainment. Neither of us danced.
My boss had a daughter who wanted my job, so I was out of work. I tried to find another job and finally Bernadine Simmerman came and asked me if I would work two or two-and-a-half hours a day in Simmerman's cafe, running the cash register during the noon hour. This was across the street from where Dell worked. So our relationship continued. I married Dell on May 12, 1934, when I was 20 and he was 28.
We bought our first home two blocks from the square at 330 South Fillmore. We sold it to Marjorie Dickens, who still lives in it. Our second and only other house was on Park Street. Dell loved our home because it was just a block from the square. It, too, has been sold and Clarke's Used Furniture bought what we had. My nephew, Harold Saddoris, took care of my clothing and personal items.
Dell and I had a good marriage. He had a good disposition, was agreeable, and worked hard. He was not a particular eater. He ate about anything I fixed, except that he didn't like fish. He loved to fish but he didn't like to eat them and always gave his catch away. I had always had cats and loved them. Dell had never had a pet, but he eventually came to like cats, too. I continued to have a cat, Katie, when I was alone after Dell's death. When I came to Long Term Care at the Clarke County Hospital about five years ago, I gave her to the Marvin McCann family and they still have her.
Dell and I worked well together. We owned and operated the Gamble Store for 25 years. I usually ate before I went to work at noon, and Dell went to the cafe to eat. He would go home, then, and rest while I ran the store. He came back to work until we closed the store at 6:00 - nowadays it would be 5:00. We worked hard. That is the tendency when it is your business and you are the one responsible. We liked running a business and tried to be friendly to everyone. I did the office work, waited on customers, and the years went fast.
Mrs. Fannie Porterfield was one of our first neighbors in our first home. She went to the grocery store with us until it became too hard for her to go. At that time, I would go and get her groceries for her. She came over to our home a lot, and we always got along fine. It became harder for Fannie to stay in her home, but I didn't feel that I had the authority to do anything but let her stay there, so we tried to keep her in her house. She had no close family, so when she died, I planned her funeral and contacted her nieces. I sold her home and took care of her estate. Attorney Larry Van Werden lived next door on the other side, 324 South Fillmore, and he helped me a lot. I sold her home to the Kim family who still live there, and they also bought the furniture because at that time they were new to the States.
I attended Sunday school and church as long as I was able. I had an arrangement with the cab company to take me and pick me up. I also used their service when I was the Wednesday Pink Lady at the hospital. I did that for 25 years. Our main "job" was to deliver mail, but I liked to visit with all the patients, and I went into every room and visited even if they had no mail.
I get excellent care at Clarke County Hospital. I don't participate in all of the activities that are offered, but I usually play Bingo every Monday. My nephew, Harold Saddoris, comes every day and takes care of many of my needs. There is also Mike Boldon who brings me the church bulletin every Sunday and lately has brought the minister's sermons. I have a sister-in law in Chariton who comes about twice a month. Wilda McCann and her sister, Norma Estell, come every Friday, and I have cousins who come occasionally.
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