Pike Township Family Stories
GERTIE SMITH
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, page 301
By Alberta Metcalf KellyGertie Smith did wallpapering for three generations of Nichols families. She lived on a little acreage on the north edge of town, where she kept a horse, cow and pigs. She always wore a painter’s cap, cotton dress and big apron, or sometimes trousers, especially when she was papering a stair well and straddled the banister, even when she was over seventy years old.
One day she was tired at work because she had been up all night helping her pet sow deliver pigs in the barn.
Hub Elder presented Gertie with a trophy at the West Liberty fairgrounds for being the oldest person to ride her horse to a riding contest.
The daughter of a Scottish minister, she was well read, and neighbors enjoyed her interesting tales while visiting at mealtime during the days she spent beautifying their walls while papering.
GERTIE SMITH
Nichols, Iowa Centennial Book 1884-1984, page 337
By Alberta Metcalf KellyGertrude Williams came as a teen-ager from Iowa City to Nichols to help people in their homes. The daughter of a minister, she was a descendant of Blane, famous for his presidential primary race against Tilden.
Gertrude married James Smith. Many will remember her horse, “Spotty;” her vegetable cave; her ability to nurse people, to hang wall paper, to row a boat and help get cattle out of the water when the Cedar overflows.
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Page created December 18, 2010 by Lynn McCleary