This series arises from a February 2025 interview with two Willard sisters, Verlane and Lois, and a subsequent visit to their former country school. Lois passed away recently, so we dedicate this series to her memory, grateful for her and her sister’s generosity in sharing their early life with us.

Verlane (Willard) Ross was born to Bertha (Hendrickson) and William Vernon Willard in Tracy, Minnesota on March 14, 1939. Her younger sister, Lois (Willard) Giles, was born in Tracy on August 12, 1942. Verlane was the second and Lois the fourth of five daughters born to Bertha and William. The girls included Iva, Verlane, Fern, Lois, and Frances. The Willard’s and Grandma Willard lived on a 160-acre farm in Sodus Township.

Verlane and Lois explained their parents’ background.

(Verlane) “Dad (he went by Vern) grew up on the home farm in Sodus Township. Mom was born in the Staples area and worked near Cottonwood as a hired girl. (Lois) This was when she was 13 years old because her mom couldn’t afford to keep her home. She’d get the kids their breakfast and walk them to school. Then she’d come home; do the chores; and get supper for them. (Verlane) She did whatever a hired girl had to do, whether it was laundry or cooking for threshers. They were married when Mom was 29 and Dad was 32. Mom once told me they were in the (Marshall) Main Street Fairway store and Grandma was there. Dad was at the other end of the store when Mom asked Grandma if Vern was taken. (Verlane laughed) Grandma said, ‘No.’ Mom said that was pretty bold of her because she was pretty quiet.”

The girls described their childhood home in detail.

(Lois) “It had three bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. (Verlane) It was a Sears house. (Lois) They ordered it and had it shipped. Dad helped build it. (Verlane) He was thirteen when they built it. You went in through the front porch. (Lois) The front porch was where Mom did her washing. Our Aunt lived nearby and didn’t have a washer, so she’d come to wash clothes with Mom on Monday morning. Verlane and I would hang clothes outside. If it was winter, you’d take them out to the line and they’d freeze. Then you’d bring them in and hang them on lines. (Verlane) In the dining room. (Lois) The dining room was warm because there was an oil burner in there. (Verlane) It was a coal burner at first, though.”

They continued their house tour, entering the kitchen through the front porch and continuing through the downstairs.

(Lois) “They had this old cookstove that burned paper, cobs and wood. Mom had to learn how to cook with it and made lefse at Christmas time She’d clean the (cook surface) really well and lay it right on that stove. She knew the right heat. She baked seven loaves of bread, twice a week. (Verlane) There were five doors off the kitchen. There was the door off the front porch and then to your left was the little room where Grandma’s Christmas cacti were; the cistern and the pail with the dipper for our drinking water; and the sink where Dad washed up when he came in from chores. (Lois) He’d shave there, too. (Verlane) Across from that door was the door going upstairs. Then there was the pantry door on the other side and to the east was the one to the dining room. (Lois) The dining room had a huge table that sat eight people.”

The house was not wired for electricity until the mid-late 1940s.

(Verlane) “I remember the kerosene lamps on the kitchen table when I was little. (Lois) We were among the first ones in Lyon County to get electricity. (Verlane) Until we got electricity, we kept everything like eggs and butter in the cellar. (Verlane laughed) We had to go down in the winter to sprout potatoes because they’d start growing.”

The farmhouse relied on a cistern system that collected rainwater from the roof for its fresh water.

(Lois) “It was outside the house and we had a pump in the washroom off the kitchen. (Verlane) We’d take the cistern water and fill the reservoir in the stove. That was our warm water.”

But the cistern was not designed to support indoor plumbing.

(Lois) “There was an outhouse behind the chicken house. One night my sister, Fran and I went to the bathroom. You could hear branches cracking in the grove and you’d think somebody was out there. (Verlane) I kept thinking it was wolves or something. (Verlane laughed) When you’re kids, you imagine everything. (Lois) I said, ‘Fran, you wait for me.’ She said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be outside.’ But she ran right back to the house. I’ll never forget this. We were taught in Sunday School ‘Do not be afraid for the Lord is with you.’ I just said that verse over and over again in my head and made it back to the house just fine.”

The sisters continued their farm tour with the other outbuildings.

(Verlane) “We had a big barn. (Lois) Dad put in a silo for the corn. (Verlane) He had a big machine shed and on the other side was a big corn crib that was all in one building. The hog house was between the pump house and the machine shed.

The Willard girls all grew up on the farm. As with all kids, they enjoyed playing, but they also had farm responsibilities from an early age.

©2026 William D. Palmer.