Little Anna
I must have been six years old, visiting Grosmom Siemens. I could hear the murmur in Plautdeitch of my parents and Grosmom. It was evening and sleep would soon claim me. I laid on the floor and looked at the four walls of Grosmom’s living room. My eyes found this picture of a little girl. I watched and wondered about her. I looked at her slippers and the way she stood. Her eyes intrigued me…what was she thinking. How old was she?
I wondered why I had never noticed her before. I wished she would come down from her frame on the wall and play with me. I knew we would have fun. What happened to her?
Later I asked my Dad who this little girl could be. He told me her name was Anna, his little sister. He used to rock her when Annaka (little Anna) cried. When I checked on the genealogical information Dad was 10 years old when his little sister died of meningitis when she was only 14 months old. The next time we went to Grosmom’s house, I looked at her picture and wondered if she knew what was going to happen to her. I wondered if she liked Heaven.
I tried to imagine how it was for my grandparents when Annaka was born in 1911. Jacob and Emilie moved to Washita County in western Oklahoma. to homestead a farm with their four children, Elizabeth, Jake, Dietrich and Herman. Both Jacob and Emilie were used to travel. Jacob traveled as a traveling evangelist for the Mennonite Church. Emilie traveled to United States from Saratov, Russia, when she was 16. On the homestead, hunger was always a constant visitor.
Dad told me once that Grandpa Siemens hooked the horse to the wagon to go to town for supplies. Grosmom asked him, could there be some oil cloth I can make bibs for the children. Grandpa counted his money….shook his head no and declared, “If we do not have money for oil cloth, then I will not go to town.”
Pictured – front row: Jacob Siemens, John, Emilie.
Second row: Herman, Elizabeth, Jacob, Dietrich.
Then John E joined them in 1907. Imagine the joy of Jacob and Anna when Annaka joined them in 1911. Elizabeth was 15, Jake was 14, Dietrich was 12, Herman was 9 and John was 5 years old. What a blessing of a little sister to join the rollicking family. The laughter was stilled when Annaka became ill. Nothing helped Annaka.
I can imagine Grosmom’s brown eyes filled with tears when Annaka died. But she would only grieve in private. Grosmom was a strong lady – a practical lady. Her love was easily given to those in need. Her jet black hair, parted in the middle, and combed back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. I often wondered what her life was like between 1876 and 1892 when she lived in Russia. During her time as a mother between 1897 – 1913, what inventions would make her life easier? Many, such as toilet paper (1880), the zipper (1893), first tractor (1890), crayons (1903), Cornflakes (1906), and none of these things made her life easier. (I remember the catalog in the outhouse) When Grosmom came to live with us, we washed dishes one day. She picked up the eggbeater and began turning the handle. Soon the suds in the dishwater threatened to escape the dish pan. I watched the delight in her eyes. To protect her, I informed her that Mom did not allow playing while washing the dishes.
Dad told about the woman who was his mother, so softhearted – crying behind the wood stove. She had struck a baby pig with the tines of the pitchfork in the hay when feeding the cows. When her husband’s health broke, and he was struck with progressing paralysis, she did not complain. The petite woman insisted that she was the one who cared for her dear Jacob. Grandpa Jacob died in 1930, and I can see her yet, sitting on the front porch rocking in a chair to the time of the hymn. “Shall We Gather At the River.” Was she longing for heaven to hold her Annaka again? Was she longing for her dear Jacob?
When I pray and read God’s Word – I know that I am following in the footsteps of Jacob and Emilie. Just when life gets difficult, I remember how my grandparents had faith and believed – and that gave them strength from the same God that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed to and loved. I wonder which verses meant the most to them.
Were they my favorite verses or did other verses give them hope and strength?
John 14:1-4 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Comments? eacombs@eacombs@cox.net