Monday, February 21, 2011

Aunt Juanita

JUANITA CLARA SMITH POTTGEN
Date of Birth: October 14, 1912
Date of Marriage: Dec. 3, 1932
Date of Death: October 16, 2002

Aunt Juanita was the second child of Lawrence and Lula Smith. Uncle Anderson nicknamed almost all the “kids” and his nickname for her was “Deeder.” I didn’t realize her real name was Juanita until I was a teenager, because my mom always called her Deeder. Since she was older, the younger siblings I have spoken to did not remember much about her because she left home when she was in her early teens, to work in St. Louis. It was in St. Louis that she met her husband, Albert Pottgen.

My mother (Gertrude) told about a time when she got mad at one of her employers and took the bus to Aunt Juanita and Uncle Al’s. She got to their house after dark and because she was so shy and didn’t want to disturb them, she climbed into their basement and fell asleep on some rags. The next morning she knocked on their door and Aunt Juanita brought her in out of the cold. Mama never told her she slept in her basement that night..

Aunt Juanita and Uncle Al had two children: Gerald and Geraldine. Evidently, Aunt Juanita liked the name “Gerald” so much, when their daughter was born 22 months after Gerald was born, she named her Geraldine. Geraldine isn’t very fond of her name so she was happy when the nickname “Jeri” stuck. Uncle Al and Aunt Juanita always called Gerald “Buddy” and Geraldine “Sis.”

Aunt Juanita was a hard working woman and a wonderful Christian. She loved to cook (and was a fabulous cook, at that) and she loved to entertain. Uncle Al had a softball team and the teammates and their families would often go to their house for barbeques. Mama always said she made the very best ribs in the world and in the back of my mind, I remember that too. The Pottgens often went to the Gasconade River where there would be lots of food, fun and laughter.

Jeri said Aunt Juanita loved to garden. As a child, I remember their beautiful yard that was next to the “woods.” I loved to play back there. What always fascinated me was the wishing well she had in her back yard. There were always flowers and green plants and I always thought her yard looked like something out of House Beautiful.

She was a great housekeeper and I don’t think I ever remember anything messy when I was there. She was never afraid of hard work. After the Depression I heard that a salesman came to the house and tried to sell her a cookbook. She told him she didn’t have time to cook because she had to dig a basement. She dug the entire basement in Webster Groves with a shovel and a little bucket. It was a great way for her to get rid of tension although digging a hole never relieved any of my tension...just the opposite!

Boy did those Smith sisters love to sing. That seems to be one of the fondest memories we all (the cousins) remember; the Smith sisters with songbooks in their hands, singing the hymns they learned from their “Poppy” down in the hills. Anytime they got together in Kirkwood at Aunt Juanita’s, they sang those gospel songs. “Farther Along” was one of her favorite songs and after she went to the nursing home, Jeri sang it to her every time she went to see her mother.
Uncle Al had a fourth generation plumbing business and Aunt Juanita helped in the business. She would keep the books and try to keep the customers happy. Even through the stressful times, she would work hard at keeping their business going.

Jeri mentioned the fact that evidently Aunt Juanita loved her cars. She remembered that around 1951, Uncle Al bought her a Hudson convertible. It had big white wall tires and was turquoise with maroon leather seats. (I imagined it looked kind of like this.) It had a lot of mechanical problems and never ran much, but she loved her Hudson. She drove fast and I remember she would take that traffic like a pro. She scared me to death because when she had a opening, she would hit the gas and then hit her brakes. After I moved to Los Angeles, I figured out she just knew how to drive in a big city because EVERYBODY in LA drove the same way! I think one of my favorite stories Jeri told me was the Kirkwood police would stop her every once in awhile and say “Mrs. Pottgen, you have to slow down.” One day she got stopped with her grandkids in the car and she told the cop “I’m in a hurry. I’ve got to get these children to Sunday School.” I wonder if she was cited for speeding.

When Aunt Alvena had surgery in Hermiston and stayed at my parents’ house to recuperate, Aunt Juanita flew out for a long weekend so she could be with Mama and Aunt Alvena for a couple of days. She was doing dishes and my friend came over in the afternoon, walked in and said “How are you Jerri?” (My mom’s nickname is also Jerri.) Some of those sisters looked so very much alike it was hard to tell them apart.

In 1968 when my first husband and I got married, we decided to move to Kirkwood because John Edwards (Aunt Juanita’s minister) had come to Hermiston a couple of times and held gospel meetings at our church. He was wonderful and Dave and I were rapidly losing interest in church because the church in Hermiston split and there was no minister to keep us interested. Mama felt if we could go to Kirkwood and have a good church environment, we would stay in church, so she and Aunt Juanita came up with the idea for us to get married early and move to Kirkwood and stay in Aunt Juanita’s and Uncle Al’s studio apartment. Mama and Daddy would pay our rent until I graduated from high school. Anyway, since we moved there in September, I had a full school year before I could graduate. Kirkwood High School would not let me go to their school because I was married. Aunt Juanita went before the school board and objected saying I had every right to finish my education; they paid school taxes; and I was a resident of Kirkwood. The school board voted in my favor, with the stipulation that if I got pregnant, I would not be able to complete the school year. No problem there, believe me. I wouldn’t get pregnant for two more years.

After Dave and I moved back to Hermiston, I didn’t see Aunt Juanita again until 1974, when she came back to see my parents. Dave and I were divorced and Steve and I were married by then. She met Steve and he absolutely loved her to pieces. The last time I saw her was in the summer of 1978. I was in Missouri with my children, Chad and Selah, and Mama. Uncle Al was very ill by that time with cancer. He looked like a different person and indeed because of his illness. Indeed he was a new person because he had given his life to our Lord and Savior, Jesus. He gave me a $100 bill and told me to take the kids to the Zoo and to Six Flags.

Aunt Juanita took care of both her mother-in-law and Grandma Smith when they got ill. She was a loving caregiver and never regretted taking care of them. She also took care of Uncle Al when he got cancer. I will never forget how she opened their home to us and took us under her wing. I loved them both dearly and think of them often.

Aunt Juanita and Uncle Al have 2 children; 7 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren and (at last count) 9 great great grandchildren.

6 comments:

Carolea said...

Thanks for the blog about Mom. So nice of you. Her date of death is wrong. She died on Oct. 16, 2002. Two days after her 90th birthday. Hard thing I had to do, is go pick out a pretty dress for her to be laid out in. She looked beautiful, but the best part she was with the Lord, and with my Dad again.
Thanks Cuz,
Will try and remember some things on the rest of family.
Love you, Jeri

Franklin Wood said...

I remember several things about my great grandma Juanita. All of my memories are from when she lived in St. James across the street from my other great grandma. When I was a little girl I remember her making pies. Of course I was very picky and would only eat cool whip. So, she would put cool whip on a plate for me :) When I was a little older I remember her being a cook at Little Prairie Bible Camp. One morning in particular I remember her cooking with rollers in her hair. She may have done this every morning...but for some reason this morning sticks out in my head. I was so proud to have my great grandma cooking for all of my camp friends :)
thank you for all of the pictures and info. It is fun to read about her.
Tracy

Tracy said...

I guess Franklin was signed in but it is me Tracy Wood writing :)

Carolea said...

I am so glad you are enjoying the blog Tracy. I loved your great grandmother dearly. She was one of the most precious women I have ever known. God bless you and your family, Tracy. Love Carolea

Carolea said...

Hey Jeri, Did you like the picture of the car I found online. Did it look like your mom's?

sis said...

You did a good job Carolea. Looked like our car except the shield above the windshield. I do not remember that shield. The car was beautiful. They showed it on tv, the dealership did before we could pick it up. The only problem was the car did not run good. Ha