The Hughes
connection
Her name was Vera… When I met
her, she had just hours before, became a widow.
As my first meeting with most of the Hughes family was with at a funeral
in Minnesota. After a hair raising ride from Washington
state to Minnesota and back 4 days later… during one of the worse snow storms
that was going across the mid western states to the coast. I had met one sister
and one brother.. out of Washington
state where we all lived.. Marv and his
brother hunted quite a bit.. and that is how I met his brother.. The sister lived about 10 miles from us.. so
got to visit her as well.. The rest of the family lived in Minnesota.
Vera and her husband too, had 8 children.. 4 boys and 4 girls.
Vera was also an amazing
woman.. She became engaged to her
husband.. but before they got married.. he was injured in a dynamite accident
when he worked for the county… building roads.
Because of the losing his sight, he told Vera that they were NOT to be
married. That he was releasing her for a
normal life, and not be tied down to a blind man. Breaking her heart.. and his family moved to Iowa. With in a year, her to be father in law,
came to visit her and to ask how she was doing.. and found out that she missed
his son as much as his son was missing her. So the family agreed to let them
get married. It was a wonderful
marriage.. Full of unconditional love.
They ran a restaurant, he went hunting.. and learn to run any kind of equipment
.. even a band saw, (article in a paper about it) even tho he was blind. The
boys learn to drive a car from his lap… steering as he gave the gas and
brake. They learn to hunt as well,
pretty much the same way.. Being behind their dad, as he held the gun, and they
line up the gun. All 8 children grew up
to be wonderful adults. Inspite of
having a renegade son, that I would later marry. He was seen by his mother, riding a
motorcycle at full pore, laying crosswise on the seat. He also got drunk coming back from town from
cashing in his mother’s sugar rations tickets.. only to crash the car, and
ruining the sugar.. Word is.. it is
still called Sugar Hill… After her
husband passed away… Vera would go and visit each child and their families. She was a delight to be around. She so amazed me that she not only married a
blind man, but they prospered during those times, with 8 children.. Even in the hardest of times.(the depression
years) . As the county pension was a mere $25 a month. So garden and hunting and fishing were ever
so important. They never lost faith. I
think reading the bible after dinner each night, had a lot to do with
that. Also the girls playing piano and
father, the accordion… help with their attitude of life.
Vera was greatly loved and respected by all of her
grandchildren, great grandchildren and daughter in laws and son in laws. She was a great woman and a very strong
woman.. who dealt with what ever life sent her way, with a great deal of love. And brought the words in a the marriage
ceremony… IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH, UNTIL DEATH DO US PART
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