 Ruth's parents (and my grandparents) Circa 1880's ENLARGE |
My mother was born in Norwood Ohio, one of the ten children of German immigrants Fred and Agnes Woeste Stockman. Fred was a decorative wrought iron artisan. They both died in 1930, leaving Ruth (aged 14) and the others broken hearted, orphaned and on their own. The four younger ones found themselves in Mt. St. Joseph Orphanage from time to time but mostly they were on their own to struggle against a growing economic depression. You can imagine what it was like to be orphaned and thrown into a society in the throes of a depression. Finishing high school came in a distant second to being sheltered, clothed and fed. Ruth worked at a number of jobs in Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Illinois. It was while working in Chicago that she met Roland. They married in late1941 and had their first child in1943. A daughter would be dead at birth and a second son entered this world in 1945. |
