SUZANNE SLAYMAKER FROST

I grew up very aware of my ancestry, and now that I am the only Slaymaker left in the county, I sense a responsibility to preserve the memory of these people who were such an important part of the settling of Iowa. My fraternal grandfather, O.M. Slaymaker, was an attorney, known far and wide for his knowledge and application of the law. I have a picture of him as a child, shown with his parents Jacob and Alice. In the Slaymaker Family History section there is a picture of him in his library. My grandmother was the only one living as I was growing up, and I affectionately called her "More-mama." She was very much a part of my life.

More-momma had a pretty good life. She had servants and all that good stuff. Grandpa even offered to buy the Gregg mansion and she said, "No! I have enough house-keeping." They lived on South Fillmore where Evelyn's Guest Home is. She was a very stylish, determined lady. I remember there came a time when Dad felt it necessary to take away her car. She was really mad about that, but it didn't keep her at home. She went wherever she needed to go — in high heels! Downtown in high heels!

I considered her a very wise woman. She didn't talk much but she used to say things like "Rome wasn't built in a day." She said to me, "I thought you would marry the first man that came along," and I said, "Well, none of them seemed to be very interested in God." She said, "Why don't you marry a minister?" I said, "I don't know any." One day Dad was talking. She listened awhile and then said, "You've got to get out of your rut." That was a lesson that stayed with me. "Get out of your rut!" She died in 1962, about a year after my son was born.

I will not forget a day when cousin Scampy from Oklahoma, my sister Julie and I were there going through More-mama's things. It was icy and Mom called to say, "The President has been shot." It was John F. Kennedy. That will stick in my mind forever.

My parents were D.D. and Helen Ramsay Slaymaker. Mom was born in Albia in 1909, but her family lived at Bidwell, a coal mining town about eight miles west of Ottumwa. The town is no longer in existence. Her father was superintendent of a mine. There were several outstanding events she told me about her childhood: She had scarlet fever and her father brought icicles off the roof to lower her temperature. One day he came home and discovered their kerosene stove had caught fire. He picked up the whole stove and callied it out of the house. It saved their lives. She went to a country school and had to hike across a field to get there. She wore rubber boots so the children called her "Boots."

Her mother's name was Laura, and her sister was born 10 years later than Helen. They wanted a boy, so they named her Johneta and called her "Johnnie " They moved to Adel, where Mom graduated in class of 24. They later moved to Oskaloosa, and I believe her dad left the coal mining business and went into insurance.

Dad grew up in Osceola. The family lived kitty-corner from Jim Wade, who lived where Clayton and Rose Scott lived, 310 South Fillmore. It was during the time they were building the Presbyterian Church. When they were small children, father threw a brick and it hit his sister's nose. My dad was so full of energy that they sent him off to Kemper military school.

Mom and Dad met through my mother's first cousin. She was engaged to Verde David at Drake University. He was my dad's roommate, while he was attending Law School. I found my

a week before, and Johneta went to live with their great-aunt. Johnnie went to a girl's school in Columbia, Missouri.

Mom's and Dad's first home was in Osceola, Iowa on Sunrise Knoll. Longtime residents of Osceola would remember "Jones' Hill" on Adam's Street, a very popular hill for sledding in the winter months. At the bottom of the hill, just beyond Washington Street, on the west side of the street, was a row of houses owned by Dr. Harken. They were very similar in structure and Mom and Dad identified theirs as the "one with the pump."

They had two daughters. My sister Julie was born in November, 1939, and I was born 18 months later in March 1938. Julie was named after Queen Julianna, who was a Dutch Queen. Julie married Lawrence Gillespie, a massage therapist, and they live in West Columbia, South Carolina. They have a daughter Kelly (Moore) and she, her husband Tom, and their children live in a near-by suburb. Julie was here in 2008, for the reunion of her class of 1958.

Our family moved from Sunrise Knoll to Jefferson street, and my first memory was from that location. I was either three or four years old. A house on East Cass Street burned to the ground and the very next day Dad bought the lot, where we lived from then on, and where I still live, Ann Diehl's story (Volume 12 of Recipes for Living) tells a lot about our childhood, because her grandmother lived across the street south of us in a fascinating old house. Their grandmother was also a fascinating lady, who I recall whistled a lot and had canaries.

Ann's sister, Linda Stansell Ruble, and I played together. I vividly remember sitting on the carpet in the grandmother's parlor, playing the phonograph. We only had one record which we played over and over — "Donkey Serenade." I don't even remember what was on the other side. We also played marbles, jacks, and Pick-up-Sticks. I think there was a tree-house where we went from time to time. We'd pick gooseberries off their bush, and go up there to eat goose-berries. There was a trumpet vine and we'd pick the flowers. There were poppies — beautiful sights. It was fun to go around the lawn to swing in the hammock on their big porch. It was wonderful to spend time there with our friends and classmates.
In our high school days Linda became a cheerleader — I really wasn't interested. My interests were more academic. My parents' education had a big influence on me. They both had to study other languages — Latin and Spanish, and we couldn't get any foreign languages here. When I had to study French in college, it was very difficult because I had no background for it. I took what they offered, which was typing, wasn't a real whiz in it, and I haven't continued in that arena. I took general science, which included physics. I found out later that I had aced physics and asked, "What is physics?"

I think my knowledge of the subject came from the teaching of Theodosia Gripp, who used to do experiments in the classroom. She used a tub of water and a glass to make vacuums and what not. I think that must have had a bearing. So in high school I aced the test. Whitey Kuhlman, the science teacher, told me I didn't even have to take the test because I had already "A"-ed the course. I didn't do quite as well in chemistry because we went to Oklahoma City to see Dad's sister's family. The test came up and I wasn't prepared, so I didn't do so well.

I had one job in high school, working for Jack Fisher in his dairy bar named Meadowsweet Dairy near the hatchery and post office. That was a learning experience for me.

By the time I had finished high school, I was glad to be out of here, glad to go to college. Marcia Myers and I were roommates at the University of Iowa for the first semester. We were in a dorm room — two rooms, four girls. I had joined a sorority but we had to have a certain grade point average and mine didn't come up to it. I moved out into a room by myself. I was able to raise my grades because I was able to study. I rented a typewriter, typed up my notes, and raised my grades so I could be initiated into a sorority. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.

After college, Marcia Myers and I then went to Dallas, Texas to look for jobs. She found a secretarial position, but I didn't find anything, so I went back to the University for another year and earned my teachers' certificate.

My first job was teaching junior high art in Eau Clare, Wisconsin. Those were the years of unwed mothers, and I became an unwed mother of a baby boy, born September 3, 1962. I adopted him out through the Lutheran Social Services of Duluth, Minnesota. His name is Kenneth Edward Olson. He found me through the Lutheran Agency after I married Jack Frost — around 1998. I saw an Oprah show when she had young people who had been adopted and wanted to meet their birth parents. I prayed about it. I asked that my son would want to meet me, so I let him find me and he did.

He lives in Minneapolis and works for Boston Scientific, a computer company. I had a nice letter and photograph of my son. He sort of wanted to ease into a relationship, but his wife, Jackie, called right away. My husband answered and they talked for about an hour. I think she couldn't wait. My husband was an evangelist, so we traveled a lot between the Gulf and Minnesota, and we went to their home. I became an instant grandmother of Adam and Arianna. I am so grateful for them because I didn't marry until I was 58 years old.

That is getting ahead of my story. After Eau Clare, I came back to Iowa in the fall and went to work in Fort Dodge as an Elementary Art Supervisor. I had to do some more work at the University of Denver, when I finally realized because of my size (I am about five feet tall and weigh about 95 pounds) I really worked better with little children. I went to work with five-year-olds but I had to have more schooling, so I went to Denver University for about a year. I specialized in kindergarten where I had to be able to play my own piano, do my own art, and take training with another kindergarten teacher for a semester — if not a year — to be certified in that area. I taught kindergarten for 11 years in the Denver public schools. That was an experience in its own right.

The most important thing that happened to me in Colorado was that I became what the Bible calls a "born again Christian," in John chapter three, where Christ said, "You must be born again." I started preaching to my father, saying, "You had better get Christ in your heart." I got saved in November 1975, and it took him until about 1984. Mom was another ten years later.

Dad died in 1991, and I came here at that time. He died on Memorial Day weekend and Mom had major intestinal surgery that fall. She was in her late 80s at that time and when I came here in December of that year, I didn't realize she needed care. She had been through a lot. She wasn't paying the bills so I said, "Mom, we've got to eat." I took her to HyVee to get her to eat. "Mom, you've got to sign these checks so we can pay our bills for the farm business." We still owned the farm Grandpa bought in 1914. I lived with her for five years at that time.

I married late in life and I married suddenly. I became acquainted with Jack because I attended a church in Indianola. He came to Des Moines to speak. He asked me to visit him in Alabama, where he lived in his wonderful really, really old homestead. I told him that where I came from, the man went to see the woman. So he came and stayed in our guest room for about a week. That was a wild event. We had a fire. He wanted a deodorizer for the bathroom. I didn't have a spray so I gave him a candle and we had a fire that night. Butch Black was a fireman at that time, so he got to witness that. Mom and Jack and I had to start using the basement' and upstairs' bathrooms. That was kind of fun. But it got fixed and Jack and I commuted to Iowa about twice a year, from where we lived in his home-place in Alabama. I was so glad Mom got to meet Jack. We were married in 1996. She passed away in 2001 and he in March of 2002.

My husband was an administrator. I think he was almost like a book salesman. He was always on the phone to Riverside or some other place ordering more books. And the people who came to the meetings bought them. There were lots of books on missionaries and those that would appeal to modern day Bible students. He was like my grandpa in that both were both work-aholics. I am thankful for what I learned from him. He would rather "burn out" than "rust out," which he did. I drove him from one end of the country to the other because when I first met him he was able to drive, but I discovered he shouldn't have been driving. For five years I lived out of a suitcase. I kept it packed. I didn't unpack because he would say, "Let's go" and we went.

I am so thankful that I had been taking care of the family business so I had that continuity. I had to do it long distance, so that was a real learning experience. I'm thankful, also, that Marion Ashby moved his business, "Custom Craft," into that location. He passed away and his wife sold it to Mike Wills. When Grandpa died, my dad had the south part made into a store front. It is the same building but there was a wall,with an open arch between the two.: Dad had that sealed and another door put on the south. There are two addresses for the one building. That building is under the same roof as the other, and has been rented mostly as shoe stores.

I've had to learn to get a roofer. When I came, I had to put buckets under the leaking roof, dumping water three times a day. There came a time when I said, "That's enough." I allowed a timber company to come in and take a lot of timber to get some cash. But I got it fixed so I could continue in business. No one would have wanted to come in and empty buckets.

I joined Rotary because my family is all on the coast. I am the only one here. Irene and Adrian Fuller invited me. They kept saying, "Why don't you come to Rotary?" so I finally did. Since then Irene has passed away and Adrian quit. He had given his life's blood to that group. It has given me a good network. Some of the people, like Brian Diercks, sold my dad life insurance years ago. The Rotarians are missionaries, fighting polio. It was crossed off once before but it has reentered. So they are working on blotting out polio.

In Rotary files, I am called a property manager. I used to think maintenance was kind of a lowly position but if there isn't maintenance, everything is crumbling. Thank heaven, we have people working on the front of my building where O.M.'s office was. So my life consists of taking care of my inheritance — the farm and the buildings — which I've chosen not to sell. I have felt like a pioneer in my own right.

Larry Van Werden said at Rotary that Kilmar was the partner of O.M. (Slaymaker), and tried more cases at the Supreme Court than most people. Clara Benbow's husband said, "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Your grandpa kept the railroads honest for many, many years." I wouldn't have known that if he hadn't told me. So there are a lot of community people to thank. All these people have made our lives important. Remember the movie with Jimmy Stewart, "It's a Wonderful Life?" He wanted to commit suicide because he thought his life was worth nothing and the angel showed him how awful things would have been if he had never lived.

I have friends who are now long gone. The Bogens and Lochries, for instance. Lochrie was a good friend of O.M. and Bonnie Lochrie married Bogen, whom Dad knew from the university. Bogen and my dad were partners in the 50s. They now live in Emmetsburg and Mom and I went up and spent a night with them. They are wonderful friends.

I found an old card from Dad's sister's husband, Ward Shaffer, a dentist in Oklahoma City. He sent a Christmas card that said, "Keep on an even keel, now." People really help us with our lives to decide what we are going to do and how we are going to finish. I discover every day how much I owe to so many and how much I need to learn, and the way our country is going, we should be able to make our mark before it is too late. It becomes easier and more important all the time to sort out our priorities. For instance, I remember a quote from Mark Twain, "Those who do not read good books are no better off than those who cannot read." When I came back to Osceola after Mom and Dad died, I needed a stabilizer in my life, so I stayed up until 1:00 many mornings reading those old books that More-Mama had. Some were old mysteries but all were nourishing for me. Proverbs 15:15: "Pleasant words are as the honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bone; and he who has a merry heart has a continual feast."

I was 38 years old before I began to read my Bible and I thank God I've read it through more than once, because there is so much in there. Now I read two chapters of the Bible almost every day and memorizing, because Mom said, "Suzanne, you are like your father. He could memorize a lot." I treasure notes that I found, notes he took — hand written, in ink — from his college classes.

I am so grateful that I have been saved. It gives me such peace of mind that I want to tell others. One day at the Pizza Hut, I saw Evah Kerr Hagie and I asked, "Evah, are you born again? Are you ready to die?" She said, "I don't know." So I said, "Honey, I am going to send you material from Billy Graham on how to be born again and know for sure." I am thankful I did that.

I want to be in a joy-filled church. Even the Psalms say, "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh." There are those who say we are not to pray for wealth and I've thought, "You surely aren't praying for poverty. I hope not." I grew up in the Methodist Church and it seemed they were always telling me what I couldn't do until I began to wonder what I could do. I have been studying nutrition and health and of course, when my husband was an evangelist and Bible student, he preached this. Even before I met him I was learning about healing from the Bible because Mark 1:34 says Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. A lot of churches don't get into that. I wonder why.

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Last Revised October 11, 2014