My MOTHER'S Birthday

This date 1913, Mary Coletta Thompson was born. She and her twin brother, Wheelar were quite a surprise to their parents. Winifred Quinn Thompson had not seen a doctor until he was called to come and assist with the home birth. Winnie always laughed and said "Your first child takes all your time, so two can't take anymore!" Raised on small farms in Washington County, IA, Mary eventually graduated from Riverside Public High School. She attended the summer program for teachers at Cedar Falls, IA. She often spoke of how terribly homesick she was on this first time away from her home. She taught in local area rural schools for several years. The Quinns were of the Catholic faith and Winnie was married in the church and the twins were baptised, but circumstances intervened and they were not active participants. After she was grown, Mary took instructions and became an active Catholic. On January 2, 1936 she married Bernard Joseph Deatsch at St. Mary's in Riverside. They went to live at the Vernon Burr farm near Lone Tree, Ia, where Bernard was employed. The winter of 1936 was one of the worse weather seasons in Iowa history, followed by one of the hottest summers! Mary was an excellent cook and seamstress. In the 1950s, Mary survived a serious heart attack. In the 1960s and 70s, she would be diagnosed with maturity onset diabetes. In the mid 1970s, she suffered a stroke, which left her incapacitated, and at the same time she was loosing her vision to complications of the diabetes. Bernard took early retirement from his job at AMANA to care for her in their home in Parnell, IA. She died in September 1977 and is buried at St. Vincent's Cemetery, just west of Riverside.

Legacy

Many Deatschs have been gardeners. And in gardens all over Iowa and around the US grows a yellow bean called "Mollie beans". The seeds are dried and saved from year to year and handed down to other family members. Amelia and her parents were gardeners. They sold their excess produce. And from their garden came the beans we continue to raise to this day. Aunt Connie and Catherine Simon both shared Mollie beans with me. And my husband has planted them in his gardens and flower beds. When I attended the Mellecker reunions with my Father, there were dishes of cooked Mollie beans on the dinner table and there were sacks of them available for anyone to take home for later meals or to dry and use as seeds. Wouldn't the Brockmans be pleased to know that so many years after thir deaths this legacy would remain. Great Aunt Mollie is buried at St. Stanislaus Cemetery, (near Hills, IA) with her parents. Her sister Christina, was Josephine Birrer Deatsch's Mother.

Attic Files

From the ATTIC FILES
THE RIVERSIDE LEADER
Thursday, January 5, 1939

Bob and Connie Deatsch, Riverside's cowboy singers, will go to Des Moines on Saturday to make one of their appearances in the WHO Barn Dance Frolic broadcast.