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From: Joe Mollner

      The picture of grandma and grandpa's house brought back many memories. Some things I remember about that house are the rose bushes. I think there were rose bushes around the porch. The other thing I remember is the garden near the alley. I also remember sitting in a wash tub and my mom and grandma told me it was a swimming pool. I remember the house smelling good with grandma's rolls and breads. I also remember that we could not go down to the basement because I was told there were a lot of bugs. I do remember grandpa taking me down there and showing me all the bugs. I remember him telling me that they were "democrat" bugs. I asked why they were called that and he told me because they were everywhere and they were always under foot, I don't know what he meant by that..............



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.......Speaking of getting wet,one of my favorite memories is going to the city pool at Hebron on a hot afternoon and swimming. Did any of my cousins ever do that?



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From Lorene:



     Bob Maher loved baseball....When TV became available, he watched every game. Believe his favorite team was the St. Louis Cardinals....Marvin can verify that one time he and Wayne took Dad to a World Series game. I believe is was in St. Louis.



     I have no recollection of my Dad being dedicated to a political party. I do know he thought Herbert Hoover got a raw deal.



     Did Bob and Marie ever go out, like to dances or parties??? Not that I remember. The most social thing they did was sit on the porch in the summer evenings and invite the neighbors over. We did have reunions with relatives, but the only time they dressed up was for church. I like to think that when they met in 1912 and married in 1913, they must have had a few years (before the children arrived), when they kicked up their heels, did all kind of fun things, maybe some that were frowned on by their parents. I hope so.



     Dad laid his glasses on the toilet seat while he shaved, then sat on them.



     Mom told the story of how Dad reached over her in bed to turn off the alarm, and hit her smack in the face. (This happened when they were first married. Must have taken a saint to perservere.)



     When we were living in Lawrence Nebraska and the depression was not just a word, but a fact of daily living, and one day at dinner, we children were being obnoxious, Dad's patience snapped. He slapped Lola who was sitting next to him, when it really was Marilyn at the other end of the table who he was aimimg for (I think I got that right. Notice I absolved myself from all blame.) (Editor's Note)- Marilyn denies that Bob Maher meant to slap her because (she says) that she never did anything wrong......



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     One day we were on a country road, and the tire went flat and Dad, fed up with our antics, got out of the car to check the tire, slammed the door as he exited, and the window glass desintegrated. Believe me that shut us all up.



     This one Mom told me when I was old enough to understand. She said on her wedding night, as she and Dad prepared to climb in bed, they were confronted with sheets that somebody had pulled from a washing machine and failed to wring out. I often wondered if they spent their wedding night on the floor?



     With the World Series in Baseball about to begin, I am reminded of how as kids, we played in any old lot with any kind of ball or bases made of feed sacks.



     I was about 12 and determined even at that age, that women were as good as men and could do anything they wanted to do, so I organized a girl's team and we practiced.



     One day, everything was going fine until one of the neighbor girls got mad about something my sister Lola did and proeeded to beat up on her.



     Usually a placid person, I can't explain it, but I wasn't going to let anybody hurt my sister and I came to her rescue. I pulled the neighbor girl off Lola, pinned her to the ground and pummeled her like I was never going to stop. Everybody was shocked and gave me plenty of room.



     So, Lola, now you know how much you meant to me. Sisters are forever, right?



    I was walking across town (about a mile) in Deshler, Nebraska to meet my girlfriend. About halfway there, my brother Marvin drove up beside me in this car. With the motor running and a sly look on his face, he asked with a seeming concern, "Are you tired of walking?" Immediatly I thought what a wonderful brother I had, offering me a ride. But my baloon burst when he leaned out the window and suggested, "Run awhile", and drove off.



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From Annette:



     I remember Grandma Maher as a kind, gentle person, who always welcomed you into her warm kitchen. There was always something tasty either cooking or ready to eat. She seemed to love cooking so much, a trait I didn't acquire, I'm sad to say. I'd love to be able to eat a home cooked meal at her table right now. Beats TV dinner hands down.



     I remember it was always great to get a hug from her. Her hugs were always soft, warm, and cushioned, and I definitely felt loved. I have missed her all these years. I often wonder if she watches me from heaven above, and if she forgives me for mistakes I have made in life as well as applauds my successes.



     I spent my birthday one hot summer in July at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We were on the front porch and a might storm came through. The party of kids was hustled into the sturdy white house, and we may have even gone into the basement, a concept foreign to a Houston kid.



     But the storm passed quickly as I recall, and I think the party went on as usual. It felt safe to be at Grandma's house. And I'm glad I got to know her for the time that I did.



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From Rich:



     I remember, once, Bob Maher telling Marie Maher, "Marie! You ain't no good. You can't light the fire or carry in the wood." He said this in fun, of course and everyone who knew Marie Grebe Maher, also knew that this was not true.



     I remember, she could not only light the fire and carry in the wood, she could butcher and dress a hen, make the family's soap, make downy feather pillows, bake the family bread and can the family's food. She was in fact, the butcher, the baker and the candlwstick maker for her family.



     I remember her pantry was always filled with baked goods of all kinds. My favorite was the ginger cookies with a hard spiced icing on top. The room would also house canned peaches' jellies, preserves, pickles and much more, including, at times, fresh tomatoes ripening in a paste board box.



     I remember, in her wash room, seeing wash tubs, lye, bluing, and remnants of soap that was to be recycled.



     I remember her back yard yeilding fresh corn, carrots, tomatos, potatos, green beans, sweet peas, and other fine vegetables that would be put to use in her culinary arts. It also provide a space for the healthy flock of chickens which were used for egg production, fryers, roasting hens, and soft pillows.



     I remember the spring bringing sounds of cheeping chicks from her basement, which was a source of fascination for me.



     I remember flour, sugar, salt and potato bins making up the lower cabinates of her kitchen. Large crockery bowls, wooden rolling pens, flour sifters, and many pans were part of her tools.



     I remember Marie shelling peas, snapping beans, and kneading dough. "A key for good bread", she would always say, "Is in the kneading".



     I remember Marie showing me how to make "May Day" baskets, and how to make a jar with holes in the lid to house my lightening bug harvest.



     I remember Marie taking me to weekday Mass, helping at bazars, and making alter cloths for Sacred Heart catholic church.



     I remember how Marie would scold Bob for slapping her on her rear.



     I remember Maries summer meals of cold cuts, corn on the cob, potato salad, sliced tomatos, home made pickles, home made bread, pickled beets, cold fruit salad, pies, cakes, iced tea and hot tea, steeped in a ceramic pot.



     I remember Marie makeing a pitcher of cool lemon ade on summer evenings after the day was done. Bob would say that it was "Lemon ade, made in the shade, made by a dirty ole maid." Then Marie would relax on the front porch swing and enjoy simple conversations with her family.



     I REMEMBER MARIE GREBE MAHER BEING MY GRANDMA!



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From: Patty(Maher) Lassen

     My memories center around our trips to Hebron from Houston, Most of the time we went there in the summer; but I remember one trip, perhaps at Thanksgiving, when it snowed. That was awesone for this Southern girl! But being a child then, the snow was the thing I remembered the most.
  
     Another thing I remember the most is when we would cross the Nebraska state line, my dad would say, "I can smell my mother's cooking from here!" and I would put my head by the window and I know I could smell it too -- mostly the cinnamon rolls and coffee cakes. I just couldn't wait to run to give Grandma & Grandpa hugs...it felt so good to see how happy they were to see us...I can still see their faces. Then I would run to the pantry and see the beautiful display of baked goods, so lovingly prepared by our Grandmother. I would go into each room and take in it's familiarity -- photographs, embroidered doiles...the general peace that I felt there. I would go outside and sit on the porch and run to the back to the garden and to the alley. I felt so happy there. I liked that my brother Mike and I could walk just about any place we wanted to -- to town, to the river, to the swimming pool, to the park, and of course, best of all -- to Grandpa's Broom Factory.
 
     I remember Grandpa playfully teasing Grandma about various things and if she got irritated, he would say, "Now Marie." He would say that, also, if she got too upset about whatever the adults were talking about (world problems and such). I thought they made a good couple.

      My last trip to Hebron was in 1961 when we went from Sacramento to Hebron to Houston for my marriage to David Lassen. Grandma and I corresponded for several years (for as long as she was able top). I wish we had taken one more trip there while they were alive; but I would always wish that.
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Last modified on Sunday, June 10, 2001