HARDER, Hilda

Hilda was born on the family homestead outside of Harrison, Nebraska on September 25, 1918. For seventeen years she was the baby of a family of five children. Harry was the oldest, followed by twin sisters Velma and Elma with Emery being born about one year before Hilda. Unbeknownst to all of them little brother Keith would be born seventeen years later. Growing up in western Nebraska was their Little House on the Prairie experience. Their Dad raised cattle and hay while their Mom was responsible for the garden along with tending the chickens. Mom often told how her father would read to them every evening. His favorites were Zane Grey novels of the “Old West” but he also read such classics as Little Women. Mom told the story of when her dad was reading Little Women, he came to the place in the story where Beth gets sick and dies. Mom could feel the tears beginning to well up and went to the other room and purposely shut the door on her finger so no one would think she was crying over a story. After dinner the girls would do the dishes. Velma and Elma would wash while mom dried. As they were doing this chore they would prop a book up above the sink and memorize poetry. In later years she would take up writing her own poetry. No matter what the occasion she could sit down and put something to verse. School was another adventure. They would travel either on foot or on horseback to a little one room country schoolhouse a little over 2 miles from home. That school building is still in use today. In 1932 Hilda graduated from grade school. Apparently AIMS testing is not something new. In order to graduate from grade school they were required by the state to go to the county courthouse and take a test that took 2 days to complete. Because of the distance and winter weather, kids attending high school had to board in Harrison. Also boarding with Mom was her brother Emery and 3 other students. She said it was like a dorm and lots of fun. After graduation Hilda headed for the big city…., Lusk, Wyoming where she landed a job as a waitress at the Excel Restaurant. This was to be a life changing experience. Soon after starting work at the restaurant, she would meet a wild young oil field worker, our Dad, “Boots” Harder. She said he was always dressed so nice and looked like the movie star Tyrone Power. Mom and Dad were married, June 5, 1937. Mom said the first year of marriage included 18 moves. They would pack up to follow the drilling rig to the next town. The men would go to work and the women would scout the town for a place to live and by the time the men returned from work dinner was on the table! Most of us would have thought this constant moving would be a burden. Not Mom, she said it was a real adventure. For the next fourteen years there were many more moves and many more adventures, as Dad followed the oil fields from one boom to the next. One of their first Christmases together, Mom and her friend Mary Cameron decided to fix a Christmas meal for the drill crews. They expected 8 guests but 14 people showed up. After scrambling for enough chairs they enjoyed dinner. Mom didn’t recognize two of the couples, but one had brought her a beautiful tablecloth and napkins as a gift. It was later they discovered no one knew who these mystery couples were. As a young wife she was already proving to be a natural hostess. During the first seven years of their marriage we three children were born; Darlene in Oklahoma and Jo and I in California. Mom took her role as a mother very seriously. We kids heard every nursery rhyme, Mother Goose and Grimm’s Fairy Tales to be found. Reading to us was a regular event. Later as we began to read on our own and would ask what a word meant, rather than just tell us she would make us look it up in the dictionary. We learned every adage, saying, proverb and truism you care to think of. We now know that a “Stitch in time saves nine, the early bird catches the worm, That’s no hill for a climber, You can catch more flys with honey than you can with vinegar, and I could go on from now til the cows come home. When I was in my “terrible twos” Mom decided a child psychology class was called for. The things she learned in that class would become invaluable when the teen years brought new challenges. We moved to Buckeye in 1952 and Dad left the oil fields and went into business drilling water wells with his best friend, Gordon Cameron. The family was finally able to put down roots. Mom took her turn as a Cub Scout den leader, a Blue Birds and Campfire Girls leader and she was active in the PTA. Mom and Dad joined a local Bridge group. Bridge was played every Saturday night. Mom made many lifelong friends within this group. Even after this early group disbanded, Mom continued to play the game she had learned to love for the rest of her life. Asking her to play almost any card game would bring a smile to her face, but Bridge was special. We joined the Buckeye Community Church where Mom was very active in the Women’s Group. She and Dad joined the Fortnighters Group and enjoyed many excursions with them over the years. Almost every function the Church had Mom was involved in some way. Her creativity would go into high gear as she designed table center pieces or crafts for the Church Bazaar. She joined the Buckeye Woman’s Club where she served as president as well as holding several other offices over the years. She also recently became a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution where she enjoyed delving into her family history. Mom and Dad took many and various trips inside and outside the country with family and friends. They joined a “Good Sam” camping group where they gained more good friends. When not traveling Mom did crafts, ceramics, wrote poetry and even created Teddy Bears out of an unfinished quilt left by our great-grandmother. Even with all of these activities, clubs and travels, Mom’s first love was her family, and family had a broad and liberal definition in her mind. Family gatherings typically would include extended family and friends. Her philosophy was, “The more the merrier.” It was not unusual to have 35 to 40 people on any given holiday. When the guest list became larger than room allowed Mom had the carport enclosed and it was used as a large dining room when needed. Many Christmases she would have us leave the carport area set up and she would host a New Years Eve party the following week. Mom thoroughly enjoyed her grandkids. It wasn’t uncommon for the grandchildren to spend weekends with Grandma. The grandkids loved all the attention Grandma gave them. Through her whole life, she loved a challenge. Whether it was the games she played or the crossword puzzles she worked. When she played games with us kids, grandkids or great grandkids she played to win. Mother relished her independence. For the last few years, this was possible because of the support from family, friends and neighbors.