Ancestral Interview:
Maria Ursula Mauer Ereth/born in Bismark, North Dakota/born on April 27th, 1926 (6th oldest)
She was named after a Catholic nun at the hospital she was born: Maria Ursula
Father’s name: Peter Mauer/ born in Odessa Russia/Occupation: farmer (on the grain elevator) and railroad work
Mother’s name: Monica Fleck/ born in Odessa Russia/ Raised 11 kids (Maria’s brother passed away as a baby)
Her family always spoke German at home. Because there were so many kids and living in the country “we don’t do much go to neighbors and relatives, very seldom.” Maria was 12 when her family moved to town. She always knew she was expected to behave but she doesn’t remember ever being spanked. “I can’t remember as a kid, but we moved to town and some of these farm boys ride horses to town and walking to store and guy would want to talk to us. If dad ever found out, we’d get in trouble. My dad didn’t like cowboys!” Favorite memory with her dad is going into town in the wagon. Aside from that, she was closer to her mom than to her dad. Her mom would sit in the clean living room while her sister’s would scrub the floor. “I would follow her in there and massage her legs and comb her hair.” Her siblings would always say she was, “spoiled” and “mom’s favorite.”
Her parents argued a lot and yelled about relatives. “Mom’s brothers were all farmers. Well to-do. And my parents weren’t. And when they came to visit they would talk about cream and crops but never bring anything for my parents. Looked down on dad because he didn’t know how to farm as well cause he never had to as a kid. We were poor and so had they had arguments about money.”
She never met her grandparents from Russia, or her grandmother on her mother’s side but she saw her grandfather (mother’s side) about once or twice a year and we were “afraid of him, never talked to him. He didn’t hold us, hug us or kiss us. Just talked to parents.”
She grew up in a house with two bedrooms and 11 kids. “Some slept in living room. 2 kids in a bed. My sister Verby (two years older) and I shared a bed; she was really bossy and wasn’t nice to me. I never did anything right. Penmanship, and my clothes… even after I was married!”
Her mom would cook cookies and cake and a lot of German meals. Her favorite meal is shoup noodla and lram noodla. Mom started making lram noodla after her sister got married and the mother-in-law made lram noodla. “We didn’t go hungry but we didn’t waste, mom would can and have a garden. There was never a lot extra.”
Regarding an education, they were never home taught because “mom didn’t know much herself”. Maria explains, “school was very hard because we always talked german, was very hard to learn English”. “I graduated from 8th grade. Always regret it. I didn’t go because the german thing and we were different. I wish dad and mom would have made me. I’ve been so sorry. I took high school classes after I was married but never finished that either.” When asked about her parent’s education she replied, “Dad said he had college (don’t know for sure) but mom never went to high school. We should have asked more questions and we talk about it we should have asked more questions. Because we uh… it just wasn’t the thing honey, then. It’s too bad. It’s too late now. We regret it. There’s nothing we can do about it. Dad never told us much at all. Mom didn’t tell us much either.”
Married Janurary 2nd, 1946 .Her deceased husband, Bill: He had just gotten home deployment. Bill’s dad worked at the hospital (janitor at hospital) Bill was home discharged from army Verby and Maria went to a night club there was, “music, dancing, liquor we went her and I, to listen to music and Bill was there. A guy introduced us and we danced every dance together. The next day he left for California. I didn’t see him for a month or so. When he got back got married 2 months later.” “I was 19 years old. If I could do it again, I would get education, honey. I would have went to school, what I knew now. Never never never never. I wanted to be a nurse.”
When asked if there’s anything she would do different: “Better education, not get married so young, I wish I had maybe done more with the kids, wish I would have taught them how to cook (I did most of the work myself) wish I had them do more. Instead of cleaning and cooking wish I would have spent more time with them.”
When asked to define herself: “I’m a worrier. I pray for you every night, I worry about family and I’m very caring. I feel bad that I don’t call and write. We were married for 2 months shy of 64 yrs. I see couples, I hope they nice to each other I hope they stay together. It’s so hard to be alone when you lose your husband. Make the most of it. Marriage isn’t always easy. I don’t think there’s a couple in this world that doesn’t have its up and downs but work at it.”
Maria Ursula Mauer Ereth/born in Bismark, North Dakota/born on April 27th, 1926 (6th oldest)
She was named after a Catholic nun at the hospital she was born: Maria Ursula
Father’s name: Peter Mauer/ born in Odessa Russia/Occupation: farmer (on the grain elevator) and railroad work
Mother’s name: Monica Fleck/ born in Odessa Russia/ Raised 11 kids (Maria’s brother passed away as a baby)
Her family always spoke German at home. Because there were so many kids and living in the country “we don’t do much go to neighbors and relatives, very seldom.” Maria was 12 when her family moved to town. She always knew she was expected to behave but she doesn’t remember ever being spanked. “I can’t remember as a kid, but we moved to town and some of these farm boys ride horses to town and walking to store and guy would want to talk to us. If dad ever found out, we’d get in trouble. My dad didn’t like cowboys!” Favorite memory with her dad is going into town in the wagon. Aside from that, she was closer to her mom than to her dad. Her mom would sit in the clean living room while her sister’s would scrub the floor. “I would follow her in there and massage her legs and comb her hair.” Her siblings would always say she was, “spoiled” and “mom’s favorite.”
Her parents argued a lot and yelled about relatives. “Mom’s brothers were all farmers. Well to-do. And my parents weren’t. And when they came to visit they would talk about cream and crops but never bring anything for my parents. Looked down on dad because he didn’t know how to farm as well cause he never had to as a kid. We were poor and so had they had arguments about money.”
She never met her grandparents from Russia, or her grandmother on her mother’s side but she saw her grandfather (mother’s side) about once or twice a year and we were “afraid of him, never talked to him. He didn’t hold us, hug us or kiss us. Just talked to parents.”
She grew up in a house with two bedrooms and 11 kids. “Some slept in living room. 2 kids in a bed. My sister Verby (two years older) and I shared a bed; she was really bossy and wasn’t nice to me. I never did anything right. Penmanship, and my clothes… even after I was married!”
Her mom would cook cookies and cake and a lot of German meals. Her favorite meal is shoup noodla and lram noodla. Mom started making lram noodla after her sister got married and the mother-in-law made lram noodla. “We didn’t go hungry but we didn’t waste, mom would can and have a garden. There was never a lot extra.”
Regarding an education, they were never home taught because “mom didn’t know much herself”. Maria explains, “school was very hard because we always talked german, was very hard to learn English”. “I graduated from 8th grade. Always regret it. I didn’t go because the german thing and we were different. I wish dad and mom would have made me. I’ve been so sorry. I took high school classes after I was married but never finished that either.” When asked about her parent’s education she replied, “Dad said he had college (don’t know for sure) but mom never went to high school. We should have asked more questions and we talk about it we should have asked more questions. Because we uh… it just wasn’t the thing honey, then. It’s too bad. It’s too late now. We regret it. There’s nothing we can do about it. Dad never told us much at all. Mom didn’t tell us much either.”
Married Janurary 2nd, 1946 .Her deceased husband, Bill: He had just gotten home deployment. Bill’s dad worked at the hospital (janitor at hospital) Bill was home discharged from army Verby and Maria went to a night club there was, “music, dancing, liquor we went her and I, to listen to music and Bill was there. A guy introduced us and we danced every dance together. The next day he left for California. I didn’t see him for a month or so. When he got back got married 2 months later.” “I was 19 years old. If I could do it again, I would get education, honey. I would have went to school, what I knew now. Never never never never. I wanted to be a nurse.”
When asked if there’s anything she would do different: “Better education, not get married so young, I wish I had maybe done more with the kids, wish I would have taught them how to cook (I did most of the work myself) wish I had them do more. Instead of cleaning and cooking wish I would have spent more time with them.”
When asked to define herself: “I’m a worrier. I pray for you every night, I worry about family and I’m very caring. I feel bad that I don’t call and write. We were married for 2 months shy of 64 yrs. I see couples, I hope they nice to each other I hope they stay together. It’s so hard to be alone when you lose your husband. Make the most of it. Marriage isn’t always easy. I don’t think there’s a couple in this world that doesn’t have its up and downs but work at it.”