Helen Elizabeth Bailey (Piety) was
born and raised on a farm near Pimento, Indiana.
We were not a big family.
I had one brother. I
attended Pimento High School where my mother had graduated
- also my two children graduated from there in 1959 and 1961.
By living out in the country and having “chores” to do, we
did not get to attend all community gatherings.
The one gathering I remember was every Saturday night the
whole community went to the grocery store in Pimento for groceries
and visiting and in the summer time a movie out on the side street.
This was the 20’s and 30’s and farming and homemaking
were done the hard way. I
do remember going to the World’s Fair in Chicago (1933) and to
Niagara Falls in 1934 on a special train excursion.
That was the extent of our travels because of time and money.
During my senior year of high school we had a new boy in our class
– he didn’t stay long as his father moved to Florida.
However, he came back the next Spring.
Buel E. Piety was that boy.
My story will include him from now on as we were married
October 11, 1937. (I
know my folks must have wondered “why now” at harvest time when
they were so busy) – but love does funny things and I didn’t
consider the hardship I was causing.
We were married in South Bend, Indiana and I took on a “big
family”. He had seven
sisters and two brothers. They
took me in as one of them and taught me the ropes of home making.
They were all experienced and I owe my abilities for
“doing” to them. They
were good teachers and my mother was 200 miles away and couldn’t
help me.
Buel worked for the S. S. Kresge Co. (dime store) and was
transferred to Detroit, Michigan in 1940.
We stayed six months and moved back to South Bend, we were
too far from family! Our
two children were born while living in North Liberty, Indiana (near
South Bend). In 1945
Buel was called to service for our country.
Thankfully, he was discharged in 1946 as the war had ended.
Since he was without a job it was an ideal time for us to
move back “home” – that is near my folks.
We were farmers and continued to farm until retirement caught
up with us in 1982. We
built a home in Farmersburg, Indiana and moved there in 1983.
(The strip mine had bought our home place so we purchased a
farm near Sullivan, Indiana.) We
spend 5 months each year in Florida to escape the cold and have done
so for many years. During our life together we have traveled far and near –
the farthest was a drive to Alaska in 1989 and again in 1992 with a
tour group. We started
our travels with a tent and progressed through a bed in the pickup
– a slip in camper and then a pull type R.V.
Now we rely on motels and tour groups.
The Western Rockies and Pease Resort in Wisconsin were our
favorite trips.
Reading is a big pass time for both of us and Buel makes airplanes
from aluminum pop cans and works jigsaw puzzles.
We are blessed with a loving family – Dennis and Sharon Piety and
Keith and Karen May – six grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
God willing we will celebrate 62 years of marriage on October 11,
1999 and our story will continue.
Written by Helen
Piety in August of 1999. |
|
|
