Ethel Lucile Grove was born in Coalgate, Oklahoma on November the 18, 1894. Ethel, or “Sister” as she was known to her family and friends, was the second oldest of the surviving Grove children, and graduated from Coalgate High School in Coalgate, OK in 1913. Her diploma is in the possession of her daughter, Marna.
Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1907
After graduation she attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK where she received a degree in education to teach high school English and Latin. She told her daughter Marna that it took her five years to complete her studies because she had to work her way through college. She would have graduated in 1918.
Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1914
Upon graduation from college, Ethel joined the faculty of Coalgate High School as an English teacher. She was now teaching in the very school she graduated from. She only stayed on at Coalgate for 4 years, before she felt the need to move on. It may have been a lack of opportunities in Oklahoma or just a desire to travel that took Ethel to Fruita, Colorado, but in either case, that is where she went, and it gave her an opportunity to visit her cousin Wynema and her husband Fred Earl Eidson, who lived in Fruita. Wynema was the daughter of Cynthia McCaslin and Cynthia was Sarah Melvina’s sister and Ethel’s Aunt.
Ethel Lucile Grove, ca. 1918
Tragically, Wynema died that same year after catching typhoid fever from a child she helped care for while she was visiting a friend in the hospital. The child was ill with typhoid and Wynema tried to help and came down with the illness herself.
Wynema died in August of 1923 leaving her husband, Fred Earl Eidson, with two young children, Marshall (10) and Thomas (12). Wynema’s sister, Rachel, and her husband took the children and raised them. It is interesting to note that when Wynema’s mother Cynthia died in 1902, she left a husband and 6 children, the oldest of which was Wynema who was, also, only twelve. Coincidentally, both mother and daughter died in their early thirties.
It appears that Ethel may have stayed and helped with the Eidson children, and must have taught school there for one year then went to Hayden and taught there for another year before she and Howard Erwin met and married on June 17, 1924.
Ethel Lucile and Howard Erwin, ca. 1924
In the words of Howard and Ethel’s daughter Marna:
“They may have met at a local dance. Dances were quite popular at that time and were often held on Saturday evenings. Some rode horses from a distance to attend, others came by horse and buggy. According to the account of Mother and Dad's marriage in the local paper, they gave a free dance on a Wednesday night for the community and refreshments were served. This was probably a custom of the times.
After a short attempt at homesteading on their own, Ethel and Howard made their home in Hayden, Colorado, on the ranch where Howard grew up. They lived with Howard’s parents, William and Julia and that is where Ethel gave birth to their three children. Marna Lois was the first and was born on March 20th, 1925. Bennie Grove came next and he was born on September 3rd, 1926. The youngest, Charlene Ethel was born on May 26th, 1928. A few months after Charlene’s birth, the family made a trip to Coalgate, OK to visit Ethel’s parents, Thomas and Sarah Grove. Tragically, while they were visiting in Oklahoma, Charlene became ill and died at the age of 13 months and 14 days. The following are the remembrances of Ethel’s daughter, Marna:
Mother had gone with Bennie, Charlene and me to visit her family in Oklahoma the summer of 1929. While we were there Charlene became ill and died. Her obituary in the Coalgate paper says she had bowel trouble. I always thought it was a type of summer flu and in those days they didn't know how to treat it. I never asked mother what the specific cause was and I regret that.
She was taken by train back to Colorado and buried in the Hayden, CO cemetery where my mother and dad are buried. Yes, it is true she was only 13 months old at the time of her death. I can remember wanting to pick Charlene up while she was sick and they wouldn't let me, but I didn't know why. I can also remember Mother sitting on Dad's lap after she got home from Oklahoma and crying.
After the death of Howard’s father William Joshua Erwin in 1929, Howard’s mother, Julia Dennie Erwin, went to California to live with her two daughters, Vivian and Mabel who were both married and living in San Diego. Julia was not there very long before she became ill with appendicitis, underwent surgery, and died in November of 1930. They brought her back to Hayden, Colorado for burial. The 1929/1930 season was not a happy one for the Erwins. In that short period of time, Howard and Ethel lost a daughter, and both of Howard’s parents.
Howard and Ethel took over the family ranch after Julia’s death and according to their daughter Marna, they remained on the ranch until their retirement at about age 65, whereupon they sold the ranch, and moved into town. “It was very difficult for them to do this but their health compelled them to do so. Mother would have stayed on the farm until she died if Dad hadn't made her move to town.”
Marna further describes their home life as:
“A typical ranching operation. Dad had about 40 head of Shorthorn cattle, they all had calves in the spring and the calves were shipped to Denver, CO in the fall where they were bought for feeder cattle. He also had some wheat ground, I don't remember how many acres, and pasture ground for the cattle to summer on. He had 80 acres of hay in the valley where we lived. The hay was stacked in the summer and fed to the cattle in the winter. He usually kept about 7 milk cows. He and mother loved the ranch and although work was hard they never complained.
Our ranch was about a mile from town, so Bennie and I could walk to school. There were no busses at that time. If the weather were very bad in the winter, Dad would take us to school on a sled pulled by a team of horses, but the majority of the time we walked even in winter. We didn't ride horseback to school, but there were many children in the valley that did.
Dad did most of the outside work, milking cows night and morning, tending to the cattle, etc. Most of mothers work was in the house. Yes, she was a very good cook, could fry chicken to perfection and made the most delicious biscuits every morning for breakfast. She also took care of the chickens, feeding them and gathering the eggs. Dad did most of the hard work tending the garden. We had a very large garden with lots of fresh vegetables. Mother did the canning. I don't remember us ever being hungry or doing without anything. In fact, I can remember them sharing some of their produce with other people who didn't have much. I don't think we had much cash, but managed somehow.
Mother talked some about her parents and family, but I don't remember a lot of it. I do remember her sending some of mine and Bennie's clothing to Aunt Flora for her children. As far as I know she had a good relationship with all of her family.
Marna and Bennie grew up in a rural atmosphere. Their home was about a mile out of Hayden Colorado, and they walked that distance each day to attend school. After school, and on weekends, they helped out with the never-ending chores of running a ranch. When Marna was very young, she helped her mom in the kitchen but as she grew older, tending the chickens, collecting eggs, and bottle-feeding lambs became part of her responsibility. She much preferred working outdoors, and eventually helped with the haying operations and drove teams of horses that pulled the hay wagons.
Marna kept busy with a myriad of school activities and joined the 4H club where she learned how to sew. She developed asthma when she was 12 years old and that kept her out of sports, but that did not slow her down. She was in many of the school plays, played clarinet in the school band, and sang in the choir and glee club. She liked to sing, and performed many solos at her school functions. She even sang a solo at her own graduation ceremonies.
In those days (1943) there were three major career paths for girls, nursing, teaching, and clerical activities. Marna chose to enter the business world and “after graduation from high school, [she and some of her high school classmates] went to Denver, CO, [and] attended Barnes Business College for nine months.” Initially they all stayed at the YWCA, but eventually found an apartment that they shared. After graduation she “found employment at The Albany Hotel in the accounting department. She “worked there for 2 1/2 years before getting married.” The following is Marna’s account of how she met her husband, Denver Strait:
At the time I lived in Denver, World War II was going on and because there were two army bases located in Denver, there were plenty of service men looking for dates. I joined the United Service Organization (USO) and spent many nice times entertaining the service men with dancing, etc. I also spent time at a local roller skating rink, as it was a favorite pastime of mine. It was there I met Denver Strait. He asked me to skate with him; we became acquainted and had many nice times together until he was shipped overseas. We got married in July 1946 after his discharge from the army and the war was over. His home was in Bryan, OH and he had a job to come to in Bryan after the war, so we came to Ohio to live. I have been here since 1946 and it is home to me.
After Ethel’s son Bennie graduated from high school he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid (CVS-11). The Intrepid, also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during the war and was only just commissioned in 1943 before Bennie became part of her crew. Bennie was an eyewitness to the Japanese use of suicide bombers toward the end of the war when the Intrepid was hit by Kamikazes and badly damaged. The ship had to return to port for repairs. Fortunately, Bennie was not injured but some of the men aboard were killed. The Intrepid has now been made into a museum and lies at anchor in New York harbor. Bennie is very proud of his time in the service and has a great deal of war memorabilia in his home.
After the war Bennie attended an agricultural and engineering college in Ft. Collins, CO. He received a degree in veterinary medicine and had a practice in Encampment, Wyoming for many years. He gave up his practice eventually and moved to Urbana, IL and studied at the University of Illinois. He was awarded a PHD in veterinary medicine and taught at the University for a number of years before moving to Shawnee, Kansas.
Ethel would be proud of the legacy she left behind. She was a young girl from a small rural town in Coal County Oklahoma who worked her way through college during the depression era and then ventured out on her own and found happiness. Rising above the tragedy of losing a child, she raised a fine family and lived a long life. Her husband Howard passed away on the 22nd of May, 1976 after a marriage that lasted almost 52 years. Ethel Lucile lived another five years after losing Howard, and passed away on April 2nd, 1981. Ethel and Howard are with their young daughter Charlene in the Hayden Cemetery in Hayden, Colorado.
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