Goldie Frances Sumper

NOTES written by William Edward Warren in 1987 from his essay LEST WE FORGET , nephew of Goldie and son of Goldie's brother, Harry Earl Warren:

Goldie was the oldest of Bill and Arabell Warren’s children. Her early childhood was spent on her parent’s little fruit farm near Springfield, Iowa. Besides fruit trees, the family raised vegetables and kept a mild cow. An occasional pig was also purchased to be fattened and butchered. The family always had ample food, but few if any luxuries. Being the oldest of thirteen , Goldie was her mother’s chief helper. Bill Warren worked in a nearby brickyard so most of the farm chores were performed by Arabell and her offspring.

It was a relentless routine of work from early morning until dark. Simply keeping house in those days took up most of the waking hours. Besides the housework, there was a big garden to prepare, plant, cultivate, and harvest. There was a lot of canning to do also to prepare for the long, cold winter months. There was also a small orchard to tend from which the surplus fruit was sold. With all this industry and hard work, there was very little money to spend. It is said that Bill Warren was very tight with his money and his stock answers to a request for money was, “Make your own damn money.”

Goldie was small and pretty with auburn hair.. Her adult height was 5’2”. She had a pleasant personality and an engaging smile. Goldie went to school for about six years and she learned the basics or the three R’s. Of course in those days little emphasis was placed on educating girls as most of them married at fifteen or sixteen. Also in rural America in those days a big family was considered an asset because they provided cheap labor.

Goldie married at age fifteen to Andy Crawford who was in his early twenties. He was a coal miner who had to work hard for the money he earned. They had five children, beginning with Ruth who was born in 1904. Ruth was followed by Andrew Bill, Harry, Vivian and last Dick born in 1917. It was a hard life for Goldie with five children to cook, wash, land clean for. She was an immaculate housekeeper who would scrub floors on her hands and knees every day.

Things did not often go smoothly in the Crawford household. Goldie was a young girl who had never had the opportunity to enjoy a social life with fun and parties. Andrew liked strong drink too well and it brought out the worst in him. He could become quite abusive when drunk and to make it worse, he liked to gamble, Goldie not only had to endure an almost constant shortage of money, she often was battered and bruised.

Goldie stayed with Andrew in order to keep her family together and raise her children. She did not allow Andrew’s abuse to break her spirit, She retained her youthful vitality in spite of hardship. She never allowed her face to be exposed directly to the sun as she kept her face covered when outside and she always wore gloves. She kept her good looks and peaches and cream complexion despite the hard work and privation.

About 1930 she had had enough so she divorced Andrew and moved to Wyoming. Her youngest son, Dick, was fourteen and he stayed in Iowa with his dad. Goldie was free to start her life over again at age forty-two. She, however, had the body and vitality of a much younger woman. She got a job cooking for cowboys and hay hands at the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, about fifteen miles southeast of Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was an excellent cook and very great in her habits and appearance so along with her pleasing personality she became very popular with the hired men.

One or two of the men, especially a little Dutchman named Jack Schmeets became quite enamored with her. He even went so far to propose matrimony at one stage of the game. Goldie enjoyed this job and she especially enjoyed the attentions of the men. All in all, this was a happy four-year period in her life.

Later on Goldie met a restaurant cook named Joe Sumper and after a brief courtship, they were married. They had a fairly happy relationship and spent around fifteen years moving about the country working in cafes. They never accumulated much but they enjoyed life.

About 1950 Joe Sumper died and Goldie was once again on her own. She did housework for people in Cheyenne and occasionally worked in restaurants in Cheyenne. Finally, she wound up in Tucson, Arizona, looking after a couple houses for her brother Joe while he and his wife Milly were in South America. Goldie never had anything but menial work, but what she did she did very well.

During the 1960s she lived in Cheyenne until about 1977. She lived in a small house on property owned by her brother-in-law, Leland Burr. Goldie at this time was in her seventies but she still enjoyed going out dancing. She met a fellow named Bob who was about 30 years her junior, but they hit it off well. Bob had a drinking problem, but otherwise was very nice and attentive to Goldie.

It was during the 1960s that she lost three of her children. Harry who had become the well-to-do owner of a putty manufacturing plant in California died of emphysema. Vivian who was a housewife in Iowa died of cancer, and Andrew Bill, an ex-miner in Iowa, died of respiratory problems. These events devastated Goldie, but she managed to carry on with her life.

Goldie moved back to Iowa in 1967 to be near her oldest daughter Ruth and her youngest son, Dick. She rented an old house close to her daughter’s and set up housekeeping.

Goldie’s house in Iowa was small but had two floors. The bedroom was on the second floor and Goldie had to climb a steep stairway for bed and bath. The first floor had a kitchen and living room and there was no bathroom on this floor. Goldie had fallen and hurt her hip perhaps ten years before she moved back to Iowa, but she never sought medical help for it. As she got older, she became more crippled with the hip.

Bob joined her in Iowa about 1973 and moved into her upstairs bedroom. He was a great help to her because he provided some money as well as help in keeping house and running errands. It was more like a mother and son relationship than anything else.

During the sixties and seventies Goldie saw all but one of her brothers and sisters pass away. By 1978 the only living members of Bill land Arabell Warren’s family were Pauline and Goldie.

Goldie’s friend Bob passed away in 1983. He had been drinking and Goldie scolded him. He went to the extremely hot upstairs bedroom to sleep it off and never woke up. This was almost too much for Goldie to endure but she did.

It is now 1987 and Goldie will be 99 in May. She is very crippled up but she still lives alone and with some outside help. Her daughter Ruth lives two doors away but Ruth is confined to a wheelchair herself.