Ernie Hammer is a long time Kiowa County Press contributor. This story is written by Ernie’s Aunt Liz, Elizabeth Katherine (Hammer) Smith Benatti, based on her memories and family research. The story begins in Germany with Oswald Hammer and Margarethe Marie von Barsewisch, Liz’s parents. Liz passed away at the age of 104. She was living at the Kohart Home in Kit Carson at the time of her death. Part 14 can be read here.

The Sisters-Gertrude

At about three or four Gertrude would go with Miss Riley to the O’Conner acreage the Hammers rented.  Miss Riley made dresses for Trudle.  She would feed Trudle and give her a nap before bringing her back.  Miss Riley would say to Ma about Gertrude, “she’s as pretty as a picture, she surely is.”  I think Rod and Oscar could imitate her voice perfect until Ma made them quit.

The ceramic lamp where she hid fried chicken pieces to use as peace offerings later.  Sometimes she’d forget and mother would clean up the lamp and refill the bowl with kerosene and find some very old chicken.

Many days the outhouse was used for the sharing of secrets.  The toilet was usually treated with a good dose of lye-soapy water.  The two holes were comfortable beveled wood, smoothed and painted or varnished.  Often Gertrude and Elizabeth went there to exchange little secrets or look through the Sears Roebuck catalogs.  Sometimes sneaking away like that was a disaster if they were supposed to be at work someplace.

One of these secrets was about Liz and her first corset.  She was in the seventh grade when Ted suggested to Ma in private, “shouldn’t Liz have one of those things women wear to become a lady?”

But this day in the toolshed Gertrude and Elizabeth were supposed to be looking for old lady’s dresses for Mrs. O’Conner to make over for their soon-to-be school clothes.  But they found this funny looking thing and got sidetracked. They carried it to the outhouse and shut the door.

The thing Gertrude was holding had this long white shoe string wound into a figure eight tied to the corset with a narrow light blue ribbon.  They had a lot of unwinding to do.  They soon figured out how it was to go.  Then Gertrude got on top of the toilet seat and with Liz in this bunch of stays held it in place while Gertrude pulled the strings tighter and tighter. Just then Ma called, “you been there long enough, come get dinner ready.”  Then they struggled with the loosening when Liz realized she could press the opening in front and off came the stayed tight corset.

Gertrude was not allowed to wear her good slippers to school because the playground was rocks and dirt and sand.  Good shoes couldn’t take that much, so Gertrude would take her good shoes in a hidden place in her school bag and then before getting on the school bus she took the old shoes off and left the old everyday shoes by a post near the bus stop.  One day Fritz came home early and noticing the slippers picked up the shoes wondering whatever was happening, whose slippers?  

She came home and found not her old shoes.  “Who took my shoes?” she asked upon entering the house.  Whatever happened to this day no one knows.  Neither mother nor daughter had anything to say and of course, Fritz was astonished by his find and was sorry he hadn’t thought of the truth.

Gertrude had a very sad conception of the value of money.  She cashed a check and denied it was her signature.  Another time she ordered saddle blankets for William and Henry for Christmas at the Denver Dry Goods Western Shop.  She charged them to the Hammer ranch to be sent and paid for on delivery.  Another time, on mother’s birthday, she ordered red roses and had them delivered to the I.H. Ranch where she and Harold worked for the Turkey Track ranch and Ma was staying there as the boys were building her three room cottage in the front yard of the I.H. Ranch.  Mother had to pay all but the down payment required at the time.  The flowers were delivered through the mail.

Next week – Prairie Critters

Summarized by Janet Frederick

The Kiowa County Press invites those who live in or have ties to Colorado - especially the southeast, however all contributions are welcome - to share their story with our readers. Family history, current life, unique sites and adventures, and other aspects of living in Colorado are welcome. Contact us at editor@KiowaCountyPress.net.