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Notes for Mary Harriet Prestidge:
[NancyFitch.FTW]
BIOGRAPHY: MEMORIES OF HATTIE [PRESTIDGE] SCOTT: WRITTEN BY HERGRANDDAUGHTER NANCY [SCOTT] FITCH IN 1988
Mary Harriet Prestidge was born 12 Feb 1873, at Rockford, Minnesota. She was the daughter of Thomas and Margaret [Halliday] Prestidge. She lived in the Rockford area all of her life.
When I sat down to write this history, I realized how little I knew of my Grandma Scott, even though I was born in the upstairs bedroom of her home, where my parents were living at the time. We lived close for the first five years, of my life, but when my father became ill, we moved some thirty miles away to Osseo, Minnesota. Because we had no car, we seldom went back to visit. Because of my lack of knowledge, I have scouted around and asked others what memories they have of her. This is a composite picture of Hattie.
When Hattie and Tom Scott Sr. were married, they lived at Robbinsdale for a period of time. Tom farmed there with his father, on land that is now part of down town Robbinsdale.
Right from the first, the Scott home became a gathering place for family on holidays and many Sunday afternoons. Hattie loved every minute of being with her loved ones. When the children would come to visit in the winter, they would spend the time sliding on the big hill in front of the house. In the summer, they would climb the windmill, roll on the hills, and swing in the wonderful two seated lawn swing, in the back yard. The grown ups loved the lawn swing as well as the children. They would squeeze as many adults on the swing as possible and the rest would sit on the ground around it, as they talked, laughed and visited. Not far from the lawn
swing was the grape arbor that Grandma took pride in. Grandma also took special pride in her Hollyhocks that grew beautifully on the North side of the house. Grandma loved to tease, and was known for taking her shoe off and throwing it at someone, as a joke. Helen [Batdorf] Kaiser took the last picture of her before she died, with her shoe in hand, ready to throw.
One day when Grandma's sisters were visiting, they caught Tom napping in a chair in the front yard. Hattie decided to play a trick on him and took the scissors and cut off one half of his handlebar mustache. They had a good laugh, but needless to say Tom was not a happy man..
In the corner cupboard where Grandpa kept his windup toys, Grandma had a couple of open shelves where she kept a large box of empty wooden thread spools. We could play with the spools whenever we wanted to. We used them like blocks to build things. We also strung them on a string for necklaces. The spools are one of my favorite memories of their home.
Christmas time at Hattie's always called for a steamed pudding with a caramel sauce over it. She had two favorite recipes. One of them called for suet, and I have misplaced that one. The other was made from raw carrots and potatoes, and was absolutely scrumptious. The recipe follows, in case you want to make it sometime.
GRANDMA SCOTT'S RAW CARROT PUDDING
1 heaping cup ground carrots
1 heaping cup ground potatoes
1 u cups raisins
1 cup sugar
u cup lard
1 large teaspoon soda, mixed in 1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 u cups flour
Mix well and steam for three hours; Top with either whipped cream or hot pudding sauce.
SAUCE
2 cups brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon flour
u cup butter
1/4-1/2 cup water
Cook until thick and serve hot
There were lots of fun times, at the home of Hattie and Tom Scott, but Hattie was best known for her hard work. She had a large family, with little money to care for them, and a husband who would rather fish than work. Hattie birthed babies, raised children, carried water, did laundry, baked, cooked, took care of a large vegetable garden, canned all her produce, worked in the fields, pitched hay, milked cows, went to the creamery, sewed all of the family's clothes and raised chickens in her spare time.
Every day Hattie milked cows and took the milk to the creamery. In later years the barn was equipped with carbide lights. These lights gave off a bright glow, as water dripped from an upper chamber onto the carbide in the lower chamber. These lights hung from the ceiling, and were safer than the kerosene lanterns.
Hattie baked pies several times a week, as Tom had to have a piece of pie, with every meal. The meals were often very skimpy. The children remember times, when food was so scarce, they would fry an egg and split it four ways for breakfast, before they went off to school. Many times the only breakfast would be a small chunk of fried bacon, divided between the family. Sunday nights they always had bread and milk, for the evening meal. That would finish off any stale bread, before baking day on Monday.
When they became more prosperous, as the children were older, sometimes, they would have a round block of cheese, wrapped in cheese cloth, from which they would cut slices and then cut the slices into cubes. Everyone remembers how good those cheese cubes tasted, along with the bread and milk. Tom would eat hi bread and milk out of a huge Blue Willow Ware Cup, brought with him from England. Grandma and Tom would fill their tea cups to the very top, and then add cream, until it would overflow. They then proceeded to drink the tea from the saucer.
When daughter Mae, was small, she contacted an illness, described as Summer Complaint. She became very ill and ran a high fever. The fever left her with brain damage. She lived at home with her parents, until their deaths. She was constantly at her mother's side helping with the work.
In 1905 the entire family was stricken with Scarlet Fever. Margaret, the twin of Mae, developed complications and died of Meningitis. It took two hired women to replace the work that Hattie usually did alone. It was the only time when Tom had to hire help for her. They were quarantined, for six weeks. During that time the neighbors [Conzerts] brought fuel for them. They couldn't come in with it, so they handed it in on a stick. At the end of six weeks, the house had to be fumigated. They fumigated the upstairs, while the family took baths in a special solution downstairs. The family then rushed upstairs, and they sealed it off, while the fumigated the downstairs of the home.
When it came time for baby Tom Scott Jr. to be born, Tom Sr. went to Robbinsdale to visit his parents, and Hattie birthed her baby at home with just a neighbor to help her. Tom came home several days later.
When the children were all grown and married, Tom and Hattie would go to visit their daughter Lillian every Saturday. Lillian and her husband Earl happened to live on the shores of Lake Charolette, and Tom and Earl would fish, while Hattie would busy herself helping Lillian, with the cleaning and patching and baking. One day while at Lillian's, Hattie was unusually attentive to the house being clean. She was upset with Earl, because he wouldn't leave his shoes on. Before long, someone knocked at the door, and then more and more people kept coming. Hattie and Tom had stopped at every home on the way over, and invited them all to a wedding anniversary celebration for Lillian and Earl. The celebration was complete with a mock wedding. It was a gala affair.
My personal memories of Hattie, include a wardrobe of doll clothes she made for me. They were just wonderful, because, she made two of each item. The fabric was identical calico print, but one set was blue and one red. I remember playing I had twin dolls, for years. The lawn swing, the grape arbor, the flowers, are very deep in my memory bank. The thing I think I was most intrigued with though, was a table set with no spoons, next to the plates. The spoons were always kept in a spooner, only to be used if needed. Another deep-seated memory is a yard full of hissing honking geese, which acted as watch dogs. I was so afraid of those dreadful creatures, I would hurry to get into the house and stay there for the rest of the visit, or until they caged them up.. I would have nightmares about them for weeks, after a visit.
Some of the older grandchildren remember a pin cushion made out of a wish bone from a chicken breast; and catching Grandma in the bath tub in the middle of the kitchen. She would run to hide, behind the door, but her little behind, often stuck out, or if the guest would come in through the other door, they would catch her in all of her glory.
We all remember a good natured, hard working, Grandma, who was always moving, always doing something and always busy. But the best memory is the fact that she loved each of us.
HEALTH: She died from a cerebral vessel oclusion, due to arteriosclerosis.
DEATH: OBITUARY: MRS. HATTIE SCOTT RITES HELD SUNDAY
Funeral services for Mrs. Hattie Scott, 82 were held Sunday, May 22. Mrs. Scott, who had been living with her daughter, Florence Titus, at 9603 Bass Lake Road, passed away Thursday, May 19.
Until she moved into her daughter's home a year ago, Mrs. Scott had resided at Rockford, Minnesota.
She is survived by five daughters: Mrs. Earl Snodgrass, Miss Mae Scott, Mrs. Izella Batdorf, Mrs. Florence Titus and Mrs. Myrtle Schlifer and one son, Donald of Rockford. In addition she had 19 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
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FUNERAL BILL FROM E. PETERSON FUNERAL HOME BUFFALO;
Wilbert Burial Vault: complete charge $565.00 Cash advanced for burial fee, $25.00; flowers $20.00; telephone and telegraph $1.71: for a total of $611.71 with a discount of $17.71 for on time payment. Total bill paid $594.00
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I have a copy of her probated will on file.
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