Two Noras: August 17, 1914 and August 17, 2021

Nora Bauer: Monday, August 17, 1914

Anna was not at the office today. Gertrude, Clara, and I went down to Langfritz's for some stamps and had some soda. 

Nora Spitznogle: Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Typical work day (as typical as things are in a pandemic). Dan Wakefield program at Key and drinks with  Pioneer Village guys. 

I couldn't find a stand-alone ad for Langfritz Drug Store, but did find them mentioned spots as place to purchase whatever was being advertised. The store was at the corner of West Market and Front streets, so it would have been an easy walk. 

I wonder where Grandma Nora's sister Anna was? Is Clara Brill still in town? Did Nora's sister Gertrude have a job? And just as importantly, I wonder what kind of soda Grandma Nora had? 

I had a nice day. I walked to the Red Key to hear a program hosted by Indiana Humanities, featuring author's Dan Wakefield and Susan Neville. Dan had wondered how entertaining a program of watching him and Susan sit and listen to an episode of their podcast, Naptown Season One would be. I enjoyed it and it's always a pleasure to hear Dan and Susan speak. 

After the program, I was joined by some of my Pioneer Village friends, including Richard Reel and Ellsworth Christmas. 

I was having so much fun that I didn't take an photographs, so you'll have to settle for a photo of Ellsworth and me last week at the Fair. 

Now seems like as good of a time as any to tell one of my favorite stories. 

One of the stories in our family lore is about a date that Dad had before going out with Mom.

It was 1957 -  Dad was 21, back from the Army and was an apprentice at General Motors. His friend since first grade, Jack Richason, was working and staying on the Fairgrounds as a part of a 4-H junior leader program. Dad was moonlighting during the Fair with the Pinkertons, who gathered the money from the gates as the evening progressed - there would have been a lot of cash floating around in the pre-credit card era. 

Jack told Dad that he had a date for him, Joyce Christmas. Dad gathered her from the 4-H Girls Dorm and drove her a few blocks away to bar at 42nd and College Streets - I'm still trying to figure out the name of the bar that year - I'm getting close....

anyway...

Dad buys two beers and sits at a table with Joyce  and they're chit-chatting and Joy mentions school. Dad's getting a little nervous and asks what year she is. Joyce says that she's a sophomore and Dad's doing the math his head about her age. He asked if she was going to Purdue and she said, "no, high school." 

She was 16. 

Dad packed her back in his car and drove her back to the Fairgrounds. 

As kids we always joked that Joy Christmas could have been our mother. Fast forward 60 years and I mention that I've gotten to know a great man, Ellsworth Christmas. Dad and I are at the Fair and I introduce him to Ellsworth and Dad asks if he knows Joyce Christmas. 

Ellsworth looked shocked and said that Joyce was his little sister. And she had died in 1960. No one outside the family had brought up her name in decades. 

If you'd like to hear more about Dr. Christmas' wonderful career in the School of Agriculture and his time in Brazil click here and click here. 

Two Noras: August 16, 1914 and August 16, 2021

Nora Bauer: Sunday, August 16, 1914

Was to 7 o'clock & 10 o'clock Mass today. Also went to Vespers. The whole bunch of us kids went down to the office tonight. Uncle John & Aunt Minnie were over today. 

Nora Spitznogle: Monday, August 16, 2021

Worked today, the usual mix of meetings and emails. Grocery shopping after work. Dinner with Kassie and Schaun at a chicken salad place - I love that the calories were listed on the menu. 

This is an intriguing post....how many kids is a bunch of kids? Did they go to her work office? I think that Aunt Minnie was visiting from somewhere else. Now that I'm convinced that she's Philomena I can dig deeper. 

This was a Monday of my every-other Monday that I have dinner with Kassie and Schaun. Chicken Salad Chick is delicious - and they made it easy to eat within my calorie goal. The free cookie they tossed in was a problem....

The new-this-year Indiana State Fair schedule of being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays is a little odd, but it is nice to have a night "off." 

Two Noras: August 15, 1914 and August 15, 2021

Nora Bauer: Saturday, August 15, 1914
Anna was not working today. Went out to Burnettsville again today. They are just about through on the road. 

Nora Spitznogle: Sunday, August 15, 2021
Fun day at the Indiana State Fair, I went twice! First with silent auction winners and back with Schaun. 

 Ah ha! When Grandma Nora mentioned the first time that she was paying the "men off on the road," I thought she meant that she was paying the men working away from home. Nope! They are actually working ON the road. 

This must have been the project - this was in the July 23, 1914 paper so the timing is perfect. I'm feeling pretty smug about figuring that out. 

It was another fun day at the Indiana State Fair. Last year a Day at the State Fair with Nora was offered as an item at a silent auction benefiting the Propylaeum. And people bid on it. I was seriously prepared to bid under a fake name. 

I was a little nervous - could I live up to the hype? Would I bore people with my seemingly endless stream of Fair facts? 

It went well, although I had to check myself a few times when I was blabbering about the WPA buildings on the Fairgrounds. I had a great time, I hope my guests did too. 

I was still wound up when I got home so I called Schaun to see if he wanted to go to the Fair. We got there just as the parade started - you may have gathered by now that I'm obsessed with the vintage tractors. 

When the parade was over, I literally ran into my (maternal) Aunt Ann and her daughter and granddaughter visiting from Chicago. 

I was thrilled! I hadn't seen Cousin Jessica in two years. and Cora is so grown up. 

Bonus! Cousin Sarah and her daughters and husband were there too. I got to show them The Lamp and my other entries. I can't tell you how happy I was that we connected! 

Two Noras: August 14, 1914 and August 14, 2021

Nora Bauer: Friday, August 14, 1914

Mamie & Ursie had a shower tonight for Mabel. We played rum and had a dandy time. Mabel got some very pretty things. Anna Eckerle won the prize. 

Nora Spitznogle: Saturday, August 14, 2021

Another fun day at the Indiana State Fair - I got to ride in my beloved parade of vintage tractors! Raced home in time to work at Red Key. 

I love it when Grandma Nora adds some good clues to her daily notes. I've learned that the society blurbs always mention who won the prize. Bonus points to Nora for writing Anna's last name! 

And now we know that Mabel is a Minneman. I got excited thinking that Anna Eckerle was the Anna of "Anna and Chris." but I couldn't connect the dots. 

I made a solo trip to the Indiana State Fair and had a wonderful time. Of course I visited the Home and Family Arts Building and The Lamp. I walked through the Department of Natural Resources Building to see the native fish - they just arrived. I ran into friends, looked at all of the tractors in the machinery yard and walked into the Pioneer Village Barn just in time to be invited to ride in the parade! It's earlier on Saturdays, since the Fairgrounds is so crowded in the evening. 

I met Karen and Ron at the last State Fair and they were kind enough to give Dad and me a ride in their cart, pulled behind the miniature tractor that Ron made. What a great gift that was!  

And I have a confession....most State Fair days I carry an apron in by bag just in case I'm invited to be in the parade. And I was! This time I rode with their grandson. 

I giggled the whole way! Thanks, Ron and Karen! 

After the parade I rode on Ron and Karen's golf cart to the sheep barn - also a thrill! I wanted to catch up with Cousin (once-removed) Leslie and her son Ari. 

Nora's Great-great grandson, Ari. Great-granddaughter Leslie, and Granddaughter Nora. 

After that, I high-tailed it home to change for my Red Key shift. We were nice and busy! 

Two Noras: August 13, 1914 and August 13, 2021

Nora Bauer: Thursday, August 13, 1914

Had another nice rain this afternoon. Went to singing class this evening. Uncle John and Aunt Minnie were over too. 

Nora Spitznogle: Friday, August 13, 2021

Worked today, met friends at Indiana State Fair this evening, followed by beautiful chamber music at the Propylaeum with Kassie. 

I've been thinking about this all day and I'm almost positive that Grandma Nora's Aunt Minnie's real name is Philomena. That said, I have two different birth years in my Ancestry.com tree. I'll add it to the long list of things I want to research. 

I've also been thinking about how Nora has only mentioned her mom once in 7.5 months and hasn't mentioned her dad at all. I assume that Felix works a lot at the tavern, but I still think it's odd. Since so many of her Dad's family visit, I'm guessing they all get along. Anyway, those are my deep thoughts for the day. 

I had another fun-filled day. I went straight from work the Fairgrounds. I met up with a woman that I met at the last Fair (2019). Lisa was the judge for my cake that won a giant Best of Show ribbon. She found me on social media - with the name Nora Spitznogle, it's pretty hard to hide - and stopped me on opening day of the 2019 to introduce her self. 

Since she's not a judge this year, Lisa entered several things in the culinary open show and did quite well. I did do better than her in one category...ugly lamps! Her's got an honorable mention.

I walked out of the Agriculture-Horticulture building just in time for the parade and literally bumped in to Tammy - what a happy surprise!  We watched the parade and decided that we now officially had a State Fair Happy Hour tradition. 

Sun King brewed a special beer for the State Fair. The State Fair Funnel Cake beer was brewed with actual funnel cakes. I liked it, although I think I would enjoy it more as a winter beer - it didn't have that drinking in the hot sun vibe. 

Tammy and I solved all of the world's problems - again. 

I went home long enough to toss my fold-up chair in the car and headed back downtown to the Propylaeum to meet Kassie.  This edition of the summer porch series featured newly composted classic music pieces. It was a beautiful end to the evening. 

Two Noras: August 12, 1914 and August 12, 2021

Nora Bauer: Wednesday, August 12, 1914

Was down to Uncle John's tonight. Uncle John and Aunt Minnie are here. We played the spelling game. Had a real good time. 

Nora Spitznogle: Thursday, August 12, 2021

Worked this morning. Went to the State Fair with Kassie this afternoon. I entered the Heirloom Recipe Contest. Had a pineapple whip in Dad's honor. 

The time I spent in this entry! At least I had a breakthrough....Grandma Nora's Uncle John is her papa, Felix's brother. I was stumped about who Aunt Minnie was. Uncle John's wife, Anna Kunz, died in 1910. I thought that maybe John had remarried....then it dawned on me that another way Minnie could be Nora's aunt is if she was her dad's and John's sister. Bingo! And I suspect that Minnie is a nickname for Philomena. That said, I've found two different birthdates for Minnie and Philomena, both in 1872. It's clear that I need to dive deeper. 

In my defense, Great-Great-Grandpa Felix and his wife, Suzannah had NINETEEN (or twenty) children. You read that right. 19 (or 20). Even if I've miscounted, that's a boatload of kids. 

Actually, let's count....

1. 1855: Maria, lived two months. 
2. 1856: Twin A stillborn
3. 1856 Twin stillborn 
4. 1856: John Jacob (the Uncle John of this post)
5. 1859: Valentine
6. 1860: Elizabeth
7. 1862: Felix - twin (Nora's papa)
8. 1862 Suzannah - twin (I think it's funny that their parents gave the twins their first names)
9. 1864: Anna
10. 1865: Lana (who I suspect is really named Helena...therefore Aunt Lena!) 
11. 1867: Frank
12: 1868: Joseph - twin
13. 1868: Mary - twin (I giggled at Joseph and Mary as twin names)
14. 1869: Nicholas
15. 1872: Bernard - twin (died at birth)
16. 1872: Philomena - twin
? 1872: Minnie (born nine months after the twins, but I suspect IS one of the twins) 
17. 1874: Francis - twin (died at birth)
18. 1874: Adam - twin (died at birth)
19. 1876: Clara 

That's five sets of twins.
Six children that either died at birth or didn't live to be more than a year old. 
Thirteen (or fourteen) times being pregnant. 
Twenty-one years of pregnancy. 

God bless Suzanna Senior. 

I had a nice day at the Indiana State Fair. My favorite contest was today. The Heirloom Recipe contest sponsored by the Greater Midways Food Alliance, working to preserve family recipes.  The contest is judged 50% on the recipe and the rest is on the history and story. I got second place - with a recipe and story about the Gremelspacher side of the family in 2013. Here is my story and Irish Soda Bread recipe from 2014. 

Even if I didn't enter Dad really enjoyed the contest. I would press him for a favorite Spitznogle recipe, but he could never come up with one. He would always talk about what good cooks his sisters were, but not a favorite family family meal...and that always made me sad. I'm guessing that as the youngest of 10, not a lot of time was spent making food beyond the basics. 

I have an idea of what to enter next year, Mom found a recipe card with a recipe for ice cream written in Dad's hand - and we know how Grandma Nora felt about the frozen treat. 

Anyway, I wanted to enter something in Dad's honor, but I didn't have a lot of time and am still feeling pretty raw. I'll share the recipe and what I wrote another time...this post is getting pretty long. 

Kassie and I stopped for a Pineapple Whip on the way out. It was a State Fair must-have treat for Dad. It was my first one ever - it was delightful! 

Two Noras: August 11, 1914 and August 11, 2021

Nora Bauer: Tuesday, August 11, 1914

Gertrude & Clara went to a party on [at] Edith Yagers tonight. Anna went to the club. Mamie and I were doing fancy work. Paul called up a little while ago because we couldn't go to the dance. 

Nora Spitznogle: Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Worked today and headed straight to the Indiana State Fair. I had a lovely evening of wandering around and looking through the buildings. Of course I had to visit The Lamp. It was a lovely, relaxing evening. 

I like it when Grandma Nora throws in last names. Edith Yagers graduated with Gertrude (and Herman) in May. 

The reminds me that I still haven't figured out the name of Anna's club yet. Properly writing this blog could be a full time job. Wouldn't that be fun? 

I did a quick search to see if I could figure out what dance Grandpa Paul and Grandma Nora missed. I'm most curious about what fancy work Mamie and Nora were doing. 

I had a nice evening at the Fair, although I was missing Dad a whole bunch. 

These photos popped up today. 

I was trying to get Dad to "dot the I" in Fair. We laughed a lot - and went through two volunteer photographers. 

Every year Dad would stop and relive the night that he and Jake Richason sneaked out of the dorm through this door. The shenanigans included Dad driving around the track, stopping out the Grandstand to take a bow, and the case of beer in Dad's trunk.  

I sat at this bench enjoying my pork chop sandwich, thinking I was having a conversation with the guy behind me. I thought his answers and questions were a little odd, but I powered through it. As it turns out, he was on his phone. 

I'm pretty sure this was the moment I officially became a crazy old lady.