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- I was born August 3rd, 1915 on a farm 4 miles south of Deer Creek, Ottertail County, Minnesota. My parents, Orrin & Belle (Fletcher) Vargason, were two of the most loving and caring parents a girl could ever ask for. I was the 4th child of 7 (An older brother and younger sister died in infancy) leaving me the middle child of 5 girls.
I learned to milk cows at 8 years of age, and I also learned to hoe in the garden and how to load hay on a hayrack as I got older. I always liked to cook and bake, so I was Mom's right hand helper in the kitchen as I became a teen-ager.
The first devastating thing I can remember happening to our family was when I was 6 years old. My oldest sister, Myrtle, came down with polio. There were many anxious weeks when we didn't know if she would live, and many more months and years of therapy, but thanks to prayers and great care she survived to get married and raise a family of her own.
Dad bought Ilo and I a pony who we named Beauty. I loved to ride her, and one day a neighbor girl came by and wanted me to ride with her to Deer Creek. I had some chores I needed to finish, so Lois said "I'll saddle Beauty for you while you finish them". Soon we were off for Deer Creek, out on the highway at a fast trot, when I felt the saddle slipping. Somehow I had sense enough to throw myself off into the ditch, and the minute I left her back, the pony stopped. I received a stiff neck and was sore all over, but no broken bones. I tightened the under strap, and we went on into town and back.
One time I was loading hay on a full hay-rack. I was at the back reaching for the sling rope, when the horses started up unexpectedly. I went flying off the hay-rack and landed on my feet like a cat. Ilo and I used to hurry to get our work done, so we could walk the "4 mile square" for our recreation.
Once when I was older and had a date that evening, I was milking my usual cow. Dad had been to a sale and bought a new cow. He put her in the stantion next to the cow I was milking, but she stepped over and felt me there, promptly kicking me into the gutter. Was I mad?? Oh no - just so furious I vowed never to milk another cow as long as I lived - but of course I did.
The Christmas of 1934 I rode the train to Independence, Missouri to see my new little nephew, Stanley Eugene Whiting and my sister Ilo and her husband Julian. I stayed for 2 weeks and had such a wonderful time. I never seemed to be satisfied at home after that.
I came back to Independence in the fall of 1938, worked that winter, and returned home in April of 1939 to help Mom that summer. I returned to Independence in September of 1939. I had met Phil the first winter I was here. We started dating in 1938 and when I returned, we were married on October 15, 1939.
We have 3 beautiful daughters: Linda Lee born August 9, 1940, Carol Jean born April 5, 1945, and Kathy Arlene born February 9, 1947. All are married to fine young men and doing well. The girls all have families now and we have 8 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, including 8 step-grandchildren.
I worked 19 years for J.C. Penney Company and retired from there. Phil retired from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant after 27 years of service. We have been married for over 60 years now, and at this writing I am 84 years old.
Hazel (Vargason) Whiting
BIRTH: Also shown as Born Deer Creek, Otter Tail, Minnesota.
BIRTH: Also shown as Born Deer Creek, Otter Tail, Minnesota.
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1915 - 2014 (98 years)