HMC Family Association

What an example of godly perseverance.

When my mom was 12 years old she fell in a doorway on a milk (glass) bottle. This severed her nerves in her arm pit.  Her sister came to the rescue. This happened to her left arm, her writing hand was paralyzed.

I never, never heard her complain. She sure had reason to. When I was discouraged she pointed to 3 clay monkeys that covered their eyes, mouth and ears. See no evil, say no evil (speak) and hear no evil. Many times I think of this. Something I am trying to learn.

Mom was a stay at home mom; letting us build golf courses with tuna cans in our backyard. She watched our many plays in our make-shift stages. She made the popcorn and curtains for our funny, and informative plays.  She also watched in our street many of or parades. What a happy childhood she gave us 3 kids. She did many things to make our lives full.

She accomplished all this and more with a disabled hand.  God does work his miracles and he used my mom to show me compassion and perseverance. I love you for this mom. How she diapered us, it still amazes me to this day.

Rebecca Kneebone Keogh

Aug. 3, 2008

She used to say ”You can do anything you can if you put your mind to it.”

[Jasper Matheny>Ida Rose Matheny Cornwell>Mary Elizabeth Cornwell Wilkinson> Lesta Wilkinson Matheny Kneebone>Rebecca Kneebone Keogh]

Mary Elizabeth Cornwell Wilkinson daughter of Ida Rose Matheny Cornwell was born Jan. 7, 1889 in Mexico.  Her parents had gone there to work on a coffee plantation.

When they came back to the states, Ida Rose died leaving a 4 yr. old to be raised by her father, Job Cornwell.  In order for Job to make an income, my mother was left to be raised by a couple named Kirkpatrick in San Luis Obispo, Ca.

Sometime in Mother’s early life, the Kirkpatricks moved to Leliam, WA.  Mother enjoyed her life there with her many friends, the church, and the Rebbeca Lodge.

At some point in her early 20’s, she met my father, Jesse Wilkinson, whom she married in 1912. The Wilkinson’s then moved to Auburn, WA.  And then to Tacoma, WA, where I was born.  In 1921, this family of 4 (my sister Elva, I, Mother and Father) moved to Portland, Or., where they bought a grocery store on 24^th and Ankeny.

All was well until my father had a stroke when I was about 9.  Mother then had to take over the job of the grocery business as well as raising a family and nursing a sick husband.  Three years later I had a serious accident and needed a lot of care.  My dad finally died in 1946. By then the grocery store was sold and a variety store bought.  All these years, mother was the bread winner of our family.

She learned to drive in 1924 and in later years, drove to Alaska.  She carried the pioneer spirit to the day she died Oct. 6, 1973.  Lesta Kneebone 89 years old

[Jasper Matheny > Ida Rose Matheny Cornwell >
Mary Elizabeth Cornwell Wilkinson >
Lesta Wilkinson Matheny Kneebone]

Leeta Inez Hewitt Coats (1881-1969) was my (Elma Hewitt’s) aunt.  She was a very artistic lady.  I always remember the rugs she hooked.  In those days you didn’t go down to the local craft store and buy a kit to make a rug.   The one I remember her making was a dog.  She had to draw the design on a piece of burlap, which was about three feet by five feet.  Cut strips of fabric and if she didn’t have the color she wanted, she would dye the fabric.  Then cut the fabric into about half-inch srips and roll into balls.  With this done she was ready to hook the rug.  I can’t remember the rug ever being on the floor.  It was hung on the wall in the living room.

Another one of Aunt Leeta’s talents was crocheting.  She had the ability to examine someone else’s doilies and then go home and crochet one just like it.

I never liked to eat at Aunt Leeta’s house.  She made pie in earthenware pie dishes and we fed our chickens clabbered milk out of earthenware dishes. and I wasn’t going to eat out of anything a chicken ate out of.   Another thing I didn’t want to eat was anything with mayonnaise on it.   She made the mayonnaise from scratch and used brown eggs to make it.  I didn’t want to eat anything made with dirty eggs.  Even today I don’t want mayo on my sandwiches.

One thing she did make, that I really liked, was sauerkraut.   When Aunt Leeta lived on Baker Street in Albany, Oregon, she kept the crock of sauerkraut in the closet by the front door.  My cousin, her daughter, Elois and my sisters and I would sneak into the closet, take the rock off the board, peel back the grape leaves, and grab a handful of sauerkraut.  Then we were careful to put the grape leaves, the board, and the rock back on the sauerkraut, making sure Aunt Leeta would never know we had taken any out of the crock.