Episode 23- Life before hot water

In conclusion: a blessing from Iris

We're finishing this podcast series with a blessing from Iris. Thank you for listening!

Episode 24 - Dick's final years

In our final episode, Iris shares her last years with Dick.

Episode 23- Life before hot water

Iris describes the washhouse and how they took baths without access to hot water. She also describes how life-changing the REA (Rural Electrification Administration) was. Here is some information on this from the NREA website: "In the 1930s, rural leaders took on the enormous task of building the electric utility infrastructure in Nebraska that would provide themselves and their neighbors with reliable and affordable electricity. The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was created by executive order of President Roosevelt on May 11, 1935 and NREA was formed in October of that year to help these early leaders deal with problems of standardizing line construction and obtaining wholesale power supplies.  The Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA) is the private non-profit trade association for 34 rural electric systems that provide electric service to consumers in most of the rural areas and many of the small towns in the great State of Nebraska. Together, the more than 1,000 dedicated employees of our member-systems serve over 249,000 meters across more than 87,700 miles of line. "

Episode 22 - Party lines, a pet pigeon, and a typical dinner on the farm

Iris shares how the telephone system worked on the farm and how they handled emergency situations without a local fire department. She also talks about all the pets they had and describes what a typical dinner was like.

Episode 21 - Catching the seven year itch, washing cloth diapers, and crazy Chris

Iris shares some funny stories, including about the neighbor who thought he ordered a mail-order bride, taking care of a  newborn as a 10-year-old, and a kooky farm doctor who claimed Iris had two hearts.