Aunt Effie

PHOTO: Aunt Effie holding me

PHOTO: Bill Thomas and his sister Effie Thomas Wieland

Effie Wieland was the sister of my grandfather Bill Thomas. She was a favorite of mine (and I hers). She lived in a house on a quiet street that was on my way to school, so sometimes she would invite me to stop at her house and spend the afternoon with her. We played Parcheesi and ate fresh peaches with real cream. She had a box in her house that was full of variously shaped pieces of wood -- hand-made blocks. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I think that was probably a leftover from her younger days when she and uncle Harry (her husband) raised her nephew Allan Miller. Allan's mother died shortly after he was born, and Harry and Effie took him in and raised him. They didn't have any children of their own. (Effie's mother Nancy and Allan's grandmother Alice were sisters.)

PHOTO: Effie and Harry with Allan Miller

Aunt Effie went to the Methodist church in Bangor (Michigan). Bangor was such a small town that you could walk to just about anywhere you needed to go. (I miss small towns like that.) Aunt Effie walked to church, and her route took her right past our house, so once in a while she invited me to go to church with her. The main thing I remember about going to the Methodist church is that they always sang the Doxology at a particular point in the service. Every time I hear that song, I think of going to church with Aunt Effie.

One time when Mom was getting me ready to go to church with Aunt Effie, my hair was so tangled that my mother couldn't get a comb through it. My hair is very fine and thin, and it tangles very easily. She was trying to get the tangles out, and it was hurting my scalp, so I was crying. We were both frustrated and in a hurry. Finally Mom gave up on it and found a hat for me to wear. It was one of those furry Russian-looking hats that were popular for women at that time. I hated it and was so embarrassed to wear that thing to church. 

PHOTO: Rick (my brother), Me, Cindy (my cousin)

P.S. I'm pretty sure that was the day Mom decided to give me a pixie haircut.