The house has been restored and although the address has changed it still stands on the same spot today, looking pretty much as it did when Grandmother and Grandfather bought it in the 1880s.

They were the second owners of the house actually. I remember her as a very slight woman --a 'Grandmother Moses' type. She hand-painted china plates --a skill she'd learned at 'normal school' back in Pennsylvania-- and I still have several exquisite examples of her work on display in my home.

In fact, she not only painted the china, she actually produced it herself, firing it in a kiln in the basement. I'm sure she could have made a good living from the china but in fact she never sold a single piece of it, choosing instead to give pieces as gifts or to keep them for her personal collection. She never worked outside the home but after her husband died she took in boarders in the upstairs part of the house. This was primarily for the purpose of putting her children (my mother and uncle) through college.

One thing I remember especially about Grandmother from my childhood was her birthday celebrations. Her birthday was on Christmas Day, and the rule of the house was that the family had to celebrate her birthday before anybody could celebrate Christmas. This was pretty difficult for me and my siblings, as you can imagine --since Grandmother was so well though of in Creston and would always receive so many birthday gifts. She'd admire and praise each of her birthday gifts as she opened it, generally taking a lot time over each one, while we kids sweated it out waiting for our turn to open presents. Grandmother wasn't doing this to tease us of course. She was just a very thoughtful person, someone who insisted on taking the time to recognize and appreciate the nice gestures her friends had made with their birthday gifts.

A couple of other things I remember about her: She always kept the sidewalk outside her house nice and tidy; it seemed to be a matter of pride with her. She was very spry until she broke her hip at 95, but even then she didn't want anybody doing anything for her. One time we came home to find a chair on top of the dining room table. It seems that while we were away she'd climbed up on it to change a lightbulb!

She was a very gentle and thoughtful soul (which may have come from her upbringing as a minister's daughter) and always wore her long hair up in a bun, just like in the photo. In my entire life I never saw her in pants.

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There was a "pet" name given to my Grandmother Wilson by her grandson Tom – Monty's oldest son – that stuck and was used by everyone in town. It was either "Mrs. Wilson" or "GaGa" to her many friends in town. Her birthday (Christmas Day) was quite an event, and we always did birthday before any present for Christmas was opened. As a child the wait to get to presents and Santa seemed very long, but she was very honored and love. The term GaGa resulted from Tom's inability to pronounce the full word "grandmother.". On the other hand, my father's mother was referred to by any other name than Grandmother Healey . . . the full name was used.