Notes for Madeleine Payette: The reason mom doesn't have a middle name... Her name was to be Genevieve Frances (after both parents) but on the way to the church to be baptized grandpa thought of Madeleine for the middle name instead of Frances because he really wanted to save that name for a boy. Grandma didn't go to the baptism because she was still recovering...so on his own grandpa had announced mom's new name that he was so proud of thinking of. But when he got home and told grandma about it, she cried. But then it became confusing to have them both with the same name so mom just became Madeleine. For a while she used her confirmation name of Therese as her middle name but when she got married she started used Payette as her official middle name.
From "GRANDMA'S STORY" to Brian Levine
Grandma, were you born around here? "No, across the U.S.A. in Seattle, Washington."
Grandma, was that a long time ago? "March 1, 1915. 76 years ago - a good time to be born but yours is better. Yes!"
Grandma, how big were you? "Big enough"
Grandma, when did you walk and talk? "Soon enough"
Grandma, any other facts? "Smart enough (like you)"
Grandma, what was you whole name? Who did they name you after? Why? "At first: `Genevieve Frances Payette' for Mom and Dad. But Dad thought of `Madeleine" so he renamed me. Two `Genevieves' became confusing so it became `Madeleine'".
Grandma, anything special happen? "I was the oldest of my generation and all the adults doted on me. I thought the whole world was invented for my pleasure. But then I began to learn..."
Grandma, did you have a baby nickname? "I had an imaginary playmate I called "Too Coo" and mom had to set a plate for her every meal. She disappeared when my brother was born."
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL Grandma, did you ever get spankings? What for? "Oh yes, for lying. I drew elephants with sloping backs and when one appeared on the toilet seat I was too embarrassed to admit I'd drawn it. Then too stubborn to admit I'd lied."
Grandma, could you roller skate? "Oh yes" Ice skate? "No, not enough ice where we lived."
Grandma, what kind of games did you play? "Oley Oley Olsen Free, Tag, Hide and Seek, and lots of outdoor games."
Grandma, did you have a tooth fairy? "Yes, but she only left a penny."
Grandma, what kind of birthday parites did you have? "Wonderful - with relatives and neighborhood kids."
Grandma, what were your favorite toys? "A toy typewriter and a printing set."
Grandma, did you have a bicycle? "Yes, we'd bike miles to rivers and lakes to swim and ride horses in farmers' fields - bareback. Itchy!"
Grandma, did you get to stay up to watch television? Or listen to your transistor radio? "No! Not invented yet. Some people had crystal radios but they were weak. But when I was maybe 8 or 10 Dad bought a radio with vacuum tubes invented by DeForest, the first in our town. He had it covered with Florentine leather and had it mounted on a stand with spiral wood legs - in our living room. People came from blocks around to hear it. Sometimes my parents woke me at 2 a.m. so I could hear stations in France, Japan - all around the world (United States stations were silent at night)."
Grandma, did you have your own pet? "We had a succession of dogs - all wonderfu. Coming home from school the big collie ran to greet me and I'd have to brace myself against a tree to keep from being knocked down."
Grandma, did the boys tease you? "Oh yes, and I hope I was polite and did not tease them?"
Grandma, did you ever run away and hide? "Yes, I was 5 or 6 and mad at Mom. I hid behind the garbage. When Dada sked me why I was there, I told him I'd run away so he said `O.K.' Soon he called me in for dinner - so I returned home.
Grandma, who was your best friend? "Roberta Miller, my age, lived across the street. She's still a best friend."
Grandma, did you have secrets? What? "We were really princesses stolen by gypsies from a faraway castle."
Grandma, were there trains and automobiles? Did you ride streetcars? Buses? "Yes, Mom was one of the first women who learned to drive (about 1913). Seattle had many steep hills and she thought going up a hill was hard for a car so she'd zig-zag up."
Grandma, did you have ice-cream? What could you buy for a penny? A nickel? "The best ice cream was Wednesday afternoon at the Sweet Shop near school. They'd be just making ice cream and it wasn't frozen yet. It was a wonderful rich soft ice cream."
Grandma, did you go swimming? Where? Who with? "In nearby lakes and rivers, and in the Pacific Ocean - Oregon and Washington beaches. My family and friends."
Grandma, did you ever have stitches or broken bones? "No, not 'til I was about 65 and fell from the roof here and broke a foot. What a shock! I'd always thought I was unbreakable."
THE HOUSE WHERE I GREW UP Grandma, what kind of house did you grow up in? "Nice - roomy, with a wide front porch. Mom was a good interior decorator so our house was always beautiful. People came from all over to see it. When Grandpa Hewitt lived with us, he worked all day, every day, in the garden and Ithought he was silly. It was so beautiful there was nothing to do! Years later, here at the lake, I learned that that's why the place looked so good then. There's always lots to do to TRY to keep it looking good."
Grandma, did you have a secret hiding place? "Our play room had been the previous owners seance room. But we never saw even one ghost. "A hollow in a big oak tree was Roberta's and my throne. No one but us two could sit in it."
Grandma, did you have a fireplace to keep you warm? "No, but we had a grand piano made of Circassian walnut wood, a beautiful curly grain - very rare."
Grandma, did you have your own bathroom? "One, shared with everyone." Did you have your own bedroom? "I shared a bedroom with my sister. As a teenager I painted murals on many walls in our house. In the bathroom it was an underwater scene with tropical fish, coral, kelp with waves and bubbles. Painted with quick-drying lacquer - beautiful brilliant shiny colors."
Grandma, how did you keep your soda cold? "No sodas - but we made our own root beer. We had a machine for capping the bottles. I loved that job. The ice man came with his horse-drawn wagon. He'd chip off a big piece for our ice box - loaded it through a door on our back porch. We kids ate the ice pieces from his wagon lid."
Grandma, what kind of lights did you have? "We had electricty (except kerosene lanterns at some summer cottages). But when my parents were young, they had gas lamps."
Grandma, did you have lots of jobs to do around the house? "Lots - being oldest: cooking, cleaning, baking, cleaning house, washing clothes, ironing. We were lucky - had an electric washing machine but it had a hand wringer, and there were two wash tubs for rinses. "Every year we canned hundreds of cans of things we grew and harvested: corn, carrots, peas, beans, spinach, cabbage, pears, plums, cherries, apples and strawberries, rasberries, logan berries - and we'd catch or buy salmon off the fishing boats at the ocean. And find crabs in the tidal pools, dig clams at low tide, buy oysters at an oyster farm. "We had a root cellar off the basement where we stored potatos, onions, etc. We ate very well, but we also used the food for others. 1929 and on was the Great Depression. From the time I was 14-15 we all knew that when anyone came to the back door, we fed them: heated meat or fish, potatoes, two vegetables, fruit, dessert, bread, butter, coffee or root beer. On a clean plate, with a napkin, knife, fork and spoon. They ate at the tables, with chairs, on our big back porch. Our town was a junction for trains to Seattle or Tacoma from the East and there were homeless men, women and children who "rode the rails", usually in empty box cars, from town to town, looking for work. They had to leave the train at the rail yard and Dad put up a sign saying they could eat at our house. Mom and Dad never said it was charity; it was just something that we did."
Grandma, who lived with you? "My Grandma and Grandpa Hewitt - from the time I as about ten until I was sixteen. When they died I took it very hard. Grandma was crippled but smart. She helped us with homework and played lots of games with us."
Grandma, did firemen or police ever come to your house? "Only firemen - once. The night before I left for Chicago, we had a little roof fire from chimney sparks. Firemen ran into our house, told us to run out. But I stopped in the kitchen for another piece of cake. The firemen were shocked but my family laughed and still tease me about eating cake while the house burned."
HOLIDAYS I REMEMBER Grandma, do you remember your first Christmas? "No, but I came to love them."
Grandma, did you hang stockings and decorate the tree? "Oh yes"
Grandma, did you bake cookies and make candy? "Yes, every Saturday was bake day. Cookies, candy, bread, cakes, pies for all week for us and everybody."
Grandma, did Santa give you what you asked for? "When I was ten years old I saw an artist's oil set in a Sears catalogue. Asked for it. Got it, but then didn't know how to use it. I examined oil paintings - painted on nubby fabrics so I washed gunny sacks and spread them on an easel Dad made for me. "My Grandpa sat for many portraits and it was fun. He had a beard and mustacheand I could pull out the fibers to make good hair, then smooth the oil pain with my finger to give it a nice smooth-skin look. Later someone said that artists paint on canvas so I went to Penneys and ordered two yards canvas. They asked "for pants or boat sails?" I decided "pants" and painted on it for several years."
Grandma, did you have snow, go sleigh riding or go skating? "Rarely snow so we didn't ice skate, but by high school - college we'd take the train to Stampede, the Seattle Ski Club Lodge, for good skiing, cross country, down hill, slalom, but I was never good at jumping. But every year we'd go to Pasco to see giant ski jump competitions - people from Sweden, Norway, etc, were excellent. We had no ski lifts then. We herring boned up the mountains.
Grandma, did you go to your Grandma's for Thanksgiving? "Yes, or to Aunt Emily's (Dad's older sister). Once we had the radio on for a football game and a player scored a touch down at the wrong goal! Sunday dining room dinners were interesting at our house with Dad leading discussions about world events. The Russians were having five-year plans then and invited engineers, etc. to live in Russia and teach their people. Should we move there? Dad used the opportunity to teach us the pros and cons of communism."
Grandma, how did you trick or treat on Halloween? "We notched the circle ends of empty thread spools (spools were made of wood then). We'd wrap the spool with string, slide it on a pencil. Hold the pencil, pull the string, with spool on hapless neighbor's window. A wonderful rackety sound!
Grandma, what did you do on the 4th of July? "Swimming - picnics. We had lady-finger firecrackers and sparklers. Sometimes we went to Seattle for the Fireworks Show."
Grandma, did boys send you cards or candy on Valentine's Day/ "Everyone in the class made Valentines for everyone - and we stuffed them into a big box on the teacher's desk. We girls made fancy ones with paper lace and ribbon trimming."
Grandma, what were your family traditions? "Mom and Dad excused us from chores if we had to study or do something creative. So you know that I did LOTS of studying AND creating."
SCHOOL DAYS Grandma, where did you go to school? "Auburn Grade School, Auburn High School, Northwest Academy of Art, Forest Ridge Junior College (A Sacred Heart College in Seattle). Then courses at Northwestern University (marketing, etc.), Chicago Art Institute Free Studio (anatomy). Lately: Loyola University - lots of Sacred Scripture and theology courses including a Hebrew Scripture course taught by a Rabbi. I'd wondered if same as one by a priest - and lucky I'd taken the previous course as the Rabbi went very fast - All were excellent courses. I'm much smarter now than when I was 60 years old. I finally took oil painting classes too at the College of Lake County."
Grandma, how did you get to school? "Walked in Auburn. The train daily to Seattle for art school. But Forest Ridge was a boarding school."
Grandma, did you like school? "Yes!"
Grandma, what classes didyou like? Hate? "I liked everything except Latin in High School. I sat between two football stars and I love them both. Very distracting - almost flunked."
Grandma, were your report cards good? "Mostly good."
Grandma, did you go out for any sports? "Tennis and archery mostly."
Grandma, were you a football fan? "Oh yes, I was a Green Pepper (cheer leader) in high school."
Grandma, were you given lots of homework? "Yes, weren't you?"
Grandma, did you ever play hooky from school? "No, but occasionally was tempted. Were you?"
MY VACATIONS Grandma, where did you go on vacations? "When I was young, mostly to the ocean, exploring beautiful places. Some times we'd take the ferry to Canada. We climbed Mount Ranier - loved the ice caves - sun shining thru fluted blue ice! But the crevasses were scary!"
Grandma, were you ever on a train trip? "Dad was a railroad engineer (like having a plane pilot Dad today) so we had `passes' and traveled a lot. In 1985, my sister Renee and I rode a pullman across China. It was like our old trains except Chinese embroidered the sheets and pillow cases so heavily that they dented our cheeks!"
Grandma, did you ever go fishing or camping? "Oh yes: often. I was 65 years old the last time - thought I was too old - but it was fun - camped different place nightly for two weeks. OK!"
Grandma, what was the longest trip you ever took? "Most were after your Mom and her siblings were raised. Then I took off for two or three weeks once or twice every year. To Mexico, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Egypt, Israel, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Hawaii, Canada and lots through the U.S.A."
Grandma, did you used to go to the fair or carnival? "The Puyallup Fair was our County Fair. An annual event. Some of my pants-canvas paintings were exhibited there."
Grandma, what was your favorite vacation? "Visiting my grandchildren when they were little, and then when they were bigger, and bigger."
Grandma, did you ever go to Disneyland or Six Flags? "Not invented yet when I was young. But did go to California's Disneyland when I was BIG."
SWEET SIXTEEN Grandma, how old were you before you could date? Who was your first date? "High school - a school dance. Keith Clark - nice - I liked him a lot."
Grandma, what were your slumber parties like? "Giggly"
Grandma, what's the latest you ever stayed up? "Maybe reading by flash light under my bedcovers - some really exciting mystery.'
Grandma, who was your favorite boyfriend? "Maybe Keith - or Carl. Ken was fun. Tom was good looking - and Chuck. ? I suspect I loved boys until they got serious - scared me off."
Grandma, what did you and your best friend used to do? "Not phone! It was during the Great Depression so few people had phones. But we had lots of fun."
Grandma, did you have your own car? Ever go to drive-ins? "No and No"
Grandma, what was your nickname? "Mada - didn't much like it."
Grandma, what used to make you mad? "People who didn't play fair."
WHEN GRANDPA CAME A COURTING Grandma, how did you meet Grandpa. How old were you? Grandpa have any rivals? "I had my first Chicago job - as a copywriter in the advertising department of a big department store. I think I was 21 years old. Grandpa had graduated from Northwestern University and wanted a job as an accountant (remember : depressions = jobs scarce). He went to the personnel department and asked if they had an opening. The man's finger must have slipped down a line because he sent him to the advertising department - where your Grandpa said yes he could write and type - and he got the job...writing ads in the bulletins that were given out at the doors every day. "All the single men (about six, including your grandpa) in the ad department kept asking me for a date but I didn't think it was wise to date men I worked with. "But then Grandpa got a real accountant's job and we began to date. The (Shedd) Aquarium was one of the first places he worked."
Grandma, where did you go on your first date? Did you like him right away? "It was when he took me `back stage' at the Aquarium. We looked at all the fish tanks from above. He urged me to pat a big tortoise, knowing it would turn quickly and drench me! I thought it was funny. I must have been in love!
Grandma, what did your folks think of Grandpa? "They liked him. Mom and Dad and sometimes my brother and sisters would take the train to Chicago. Your Grandpa took us to nice restaurants and theatres."
Grandma, where and when did he ask you to marry him? "So many places, so many times that we lost count. Finally I surprised him and said `yes'."
Grandma, when did you get married? What was your wedding like? Who was in your wedding? "September 1938 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Grandpa had lots of relatives but mine lived in the far west so only Mom, Dad and sisters were there. But by then I worked as an artist and copywriter at an advertising agency on Michigan Avenue. And they closed the offices for the day so all could attend. Nice! The reception was in the ballroom of the Drake Hotel with huge windows overlooking Lake Michigan. The Drake management went all out (they liked my Dad) and even had ice sculptures!"
Grandma, where did you go on your honeymoon? "To the furnished apartment we'd rented on Morse Avenue. It was still the Great Depression - no honeymoon then.
Grandma, where was your first home? "Morse Avenue, near the lake, near the Sheridan Road bus route. Small but clean and pleasant. We lived there for a year, then moved to the apartment on Glenwood Avenue. lots more room but no furniture. We used to say `We populated the place before we furnished it' But we did have a table, chairs,sofa, bed, rug, a floor lamp, books and cribs."
Grandma, where were your babies born? Who were they named after? "Passavant Hospital, Chicago. Marie was our first, named for Mary, mother of Jesus. Then Nicole, Genevieve, and twins: Robert and Raymond."
RECIPE DAYS Grandma, how did you learn how to cook? "It wasn't easy. Am still learning!"
Grandma, what was the first thing that you cooked? "Maybe - eggs?"
Grandma, did you have help in the kitchen? "Grandpa helped, even cooked sometimes."
Grandma, do you remember any disasters? "Oh yes, I had my share of them."
Grandma, did you have a garden? Did you can? "No, not when we lived in Chicago, but sometimes we canned on when we lived on Glenwood Avenue"
Grandma, what was your favorite recipe? "I made lots of roasts, spaghetti, cakes, etc. etc. I was not a gourmet cook, but we had lots of vegetables and fruits, proteins, etc - nutritious foods."
Grandma, what was Grandpa's favorite? "Friday goop (tuna, peas, noodles, etc) and spaghetti."
THE MUSIC IN MY LIFE Grandma, did you have your own stereo and tapes? "When I was a kid - no stereos or tapes in those days. We had a Victrola in the living room - with a handle on the side to wind it up. We had lots of records of operas and concerts.
Grandma, what were your favorite songs? Singers? "Bing Crosby, Fred Waring, etc."
Grandma, did you have to take music lessons? My sisters and brother did (piano, violin, clarinet) but I chose art lessons given by the high school art teacher on Saturdays to five of us. But she couldn't teach oil painting, said she didn't know how."
Grandma, do certain songs bring back memories? "Oh sure. Nice memories, not weepy."
Grandma, do you remember your first dance? Who with? What dances? "At first, girls danced with girls. But later lots of dances with boys. Even tap dancing, polkas, schotishes. Then rumbas. When I was six years old I learned the Charleston - it was a 1920s craze."
Grandma, did Grandpa sing or dance? "Some. He had a very good singing voice."
FAMILY TALES Grandma, what are some of the funny family stories? About 1970, I wrote 30 or 40 pages of funny things that happened when your Mom (Marie) was young - from notes that I'd made for my letters to my Mom and Dad. Your Mom has them somewhere."
Grandma, any skeletons in the closet? "When you come to visit, I'll tell you LOTS."
Grandma, how many different homes have you had? "This one at Sylvan Lake is my fifth - and I love it here. Please visit whenever you can!
Grandma, ever have any family reunions? "Lots of them!"
Grandma, where are all your older relatives living now? "Only Aunt Agnes Johnson, my Mom's sister, is living now. She'll be 98 on 11/20/1992. She lives alone in a nice trailer in Sequim, Washington. She tends her house, garden, and walks to shopping areas. Her son, Elmer Perrigone, or my sister Renee or friends take her to church. She no longer drives. I phone her and she's always happy to hear about all of you. My two sisters visited me for a week last year for my 76th birthday.
Grandma, did you ever work besides at home? "Oh yes. Mostly freelance art work. Marshall Fields was my main account for almost fifty years. I wanted to stay at home with Marie and the other children, but I had to work. But at least I loved the work and I loved working with creative good people. And our work helped to keep a lot of people employed - the factory workers, the distributors, the sales people. Our ads helped to keep the economy healthy all over the world. At least, thats what we hoped!
"Something we don't usually talk about, but as I've been writing about less important things on these pages, I've realized I should tell you the most important lesson that I've learned in life: that God really does answer prayers, and often in amazing ways. But it took a long time to convince me. Like, when my brother and I were lost in a blizzard for 12 hours on a ski trip in the Rockies. When we survived, I remember vaguely wondering if prayers helped. Then, a year later I was alone, attacked in a forest at night. Terrified, I screamed prayers and a "floodlight" turned on. In a forest? That time I really wondered if it was a miracle. "Then I was to graduate from college in two or three months but two banks closed (1935) and my parents had no money left, and told me I'd have to leave college. The Dean told me to make a flying novena (short prayers once an hour for nine hours). I thought she was naive, didn't know the real world. But as I left the chapel after the ninth prayer, she was running up the stairs calling, "A phone call for you. Must be the answer to your prayers." Impossible! But she was right. The caller asked if I could paint with quick-drying lacquer - pictures. Sure, I'd painted murals on walls at home with them. She said that there was a desperate need, that they'd tested every artist on WPA but none could paint with them. Well, I could, and did. Worked after classes and weekends and graduated after paying all the tuition, boarding, prom, etc. expenses. And I had 25 cents left. A miracle? I decided it was. "Then I went to Chicago, prayed like crazy, and you heard about the lady who eloped with the Kellogg heir? I got her job over hundreds of other applicants. "Then after Marie was born the doctor said we could have no more children. So we prayed hard. "And when (your aunt) Gen was four years old, in hospital with pneumonia, her weight dropped to 15 pounds, and they released her so she could at least die at home. "Well, in the 40 plus years since then there have been many more miracles. Lots of crises. Lots of praying. Lots of thanking God for all the help. "Your life won't always be smooth either but please take my advice: ask God for help when you need it, and THANK HIM when your prayers are answered. I pray for you every day. Please pray for me too.
To Brian: "I remember how good you were at baseball and skateboarding and performing magic tricks. You were a joy to watch. And now it will be interesting to see what you decided to do with the rest of your life. Here's hoping you can take time to smell the roses: enjoy your present and future family life, feel deep satisfaction from jobs well done and from generous help you'll give to others. Give joy / Get joy - Right? And here's hoping you'll visit WHENever you can! "It was so great of you to call me for my birthday! Thanks! And I'm so glad you had the fore-sight and fortitude to finish college - and now deciding what to do next. I'm proud of you dear Brian, and I know we'll all be proud of you in the future. Here's wishing YOU the Best Life Ever - now and forever, With lots of Love, Grandma Ferrara April 4, 1992.
More About Madeleine Payette: Occupation: Commercial Artist-and best mom in world!.
More About Madeleine Payette and Vincent Ernest Ferrara Jr.: Marriage: Sep 15, 1938, Chicago,IL at Holy Name Cathedral. None-Ending: 1971, Chicago,IL.
Children of Madeleine Payette and Vincent Ernest Ferrara Jr. are:
Madeleine Payette (b. Mar 1, 1915)
Notes for Madeleine Payette: