grammy'sblog: Grandma Dolly

Grandma Dolly

It's my maternal grandmother's turn--Nonnie's mother. She was named Dorothy Christina Danner, but called Dolly because of her big brown eyes. In the picture she's about 16.

Dolly was born in Lincoln, Illinois in 1884. Her father Christian "Henry" Danner was born in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois in 1840. His father Christian Danner was born in Wurtenburg, Germany in 1810. Christian and his brother Andrew came to this country in 1834. Christian went first to Pittsburgh where he worked in blacksmith shops and carriage works for six years. There he married Eva Smith. (She died in 1854 leaving four children: Andrew, Henry--Grandma's father, John, and Kate).  Christian moved his family to Mt. Pulaski and with his brother Andrew set up the first blacksmith shop in Mt Pulaski. In 1855, Christian married Dorothy Birkhardt who had come from Wurtemburg, Germany. (She died in 1873, leaving five children: Mary, Christena, Christian, George, and Gottleib.) The brothers built the first frame houses in the town. There were no roads or bridges in the county and prices for labor were low. A horse could be shoed for $1.50. At the close of the Mexican war, Christian went to St. Louis and bought a quantity of damaged iron. He then began manufacturing heavy wagons which he sold to the men who were going to California to mine for gold. He also made the first iron plows in Mt. Pulaski. He was undoubtedly the finest blacksmith in the area. Son Henry Danner became a farmer. He was also a goldsmith and eventually owned a jewelry store in Springfield, Illinois. His home backed up to the home of Abraham Lincoln. Rumor has it their dogs ran through a hole in the backyard fence.
   Henry had six children: Dorothy, Mary, Julius, Adolph, George, and Fred. I remember my mother speaking fondly of her Uncle Jewel. She said that after a family dinner, he went around the table to each of the children. He'd put his arms under their armpits and shake them up and down so they'd have plenty of room for dessert. I believe Uncle Adolph had a humped back and died quite young. Uncle George joined the Merchant Marine. He had what Grandpa called "the wanderlust." Once, in La Crosse, Wisconsin (I was about six), Mother and I were walking through a little park on our way home when Mother stopped. "Uncle George!" she called. A tall gray-haired man stopped and they chatted. I remember hearing her say he must come home with us. He said no, he'd come later. He never came. However, when he retired, he went to Pekin to be with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma said George and Grandpa sat on the porch and talked and talked until the day George died.
    Dolly's mother was Anna Marie Reinhardt, but I always heard her called Mary.

That's Mary Danner on the left. The girl squinting in back is my mother--Nonnie. I don't know who the other two people are.

Mother always spoke lovingly about Grandma Danner. (She is one of the "Marys" I named my Mary after. The other is my sister Mary Ann.) Mother said her grandmother Mary Danner had "healing hands." Every spring she came to the house with a tonic they all had to take. It was a horrible mixture that even included turpentine! She also had them wear what Mother called "an asaphidadee" (that a phonetic spelling as Mother never really knew what it was officially called). They wore it next to their skin. Mother says that when they were playing and got warm it had a strange smell. I'm sure there was garlic in it as even the smell of garlic was supposed to have a therapeutic effect.

Dolly married Ross Lee Montgomery. Here's their young family. Carl in the back. Mother is on the right (so sweet!!). Irene is on the left. Marlowe is seated on Grandma's lap. The picture was taken about 1910. (That would make Mother six.)

And there were more children....the two new little ones were Roscoe and Dorothy. Eventually Juantia (called Neetie) was born. One child died when she was two. Grandma told me she never got over the loss of that child and sometimes would find she had set a place at the table for her.

Here's the family at Grandma and Grandpa's fiftieth wedding anniversary. Back row: Marlowe, Irene, Marguerite, Dorothy, Roscoe. Front row: Juanita, Grandpa, Grandma, Carl (he was my favorite uncle). And as long as I've mentioned his name, I'll tell you a favorite story about him. It was the year I was a senior in college and World War II was still going on. In those days couples did not go "steady" and I was corresponding with a lot of boys who were in the war. One of them was Hadley, a very wealthy boy--a real southern gentleman my Mother was fond of. He was on leave so I was going to visit him and his family in Arkansas. But first, I went to Pekin where Mother was visiting with Carl and Ann. Uncle Carl had a marvelous garden (had learned from his mother who was the BEST gardener). Every evening, he and I went into the kitchen where he made us sandwiches of home made bread, thin slices of his Bermuda onions, and those long yellow peppers. We'd eat our onion sandwiches and talk. The last evening I was there, he asked me if I planned to take a ring from this young man (agree to marry). I said heavens no! He leaned forward and whispered, "Good. Now, you just take your time. There's no need to rush into marriage. You've got all the time in the world." Then he looked around. "Now don't you tell your mother I told you that. She asked me to talk to you because she thinks you're too fussy and will end up being an old maid." I loved that man!
My sister Mary Ann named Grandma Montgomery our "fat grandma." Grandma laughed and said, "Who do you love?" And we'd shout, "Our fat grandma." She never minded. By the time I knew her she was not a good cook--probably burned out from raising such a large family. She was not interested in housekeeping either. But she had a magnificent garden and made the most beautiful quilts. She made all of her granddaughters (and there were many) little quilts. Mary Ruth has the one she made for me. My mother's relationship with her mother was strained. I never knew why. I only know that when Mother got a letter from her mother, she was angry and cried. Grandma was not exactly a warm and fuzzy person. When Grandma died, my Mother wept and in those few moments, the relationship was healed.