Mary Jane ANDREW ^{1 2}

   Another name for Mary was Mimi.

   General Notes:

SOURCE
Genealogy Questionnaire Jun 1999 and Dec 1999 MJA.

EDUCATION
ES- DeSmet Elementary School, Florissant MO K-6 (now a retirement home)
HS- McCluer North High School 1978
Attended University of Missouri Columbia x2 1/2 yrs.
Training to be medical transcriptionist 1999-2000.

MARRIAGE
Met from personal ad in "Riverfront Times" newspaper, Grieg placed ad, I responded, Feb 1985.

PROFESSIONAL
Various secretarial.
Stayed home when Faith born in 1989 to present (1999).
Training to be medical transcriptionist.

HOBBIES
Reading, writing, computer (internet), collectibles (kitchen- old handmade aprons). Have a journal that I began in early 1980s to present. Much is typed, some handwritten in notebooks.

MEMORIES
Grandparents- I remember meeting Grandpa Andrew one time. I was very young (under 5?), and I sat on his lap. I remember him smiling at me. He had on a blue work shirt and had a few days' beard growth. I liked him.

Grandma Andrew- I remember going to her house for Christmas through the years. She had a tiny brick house on Eichelberger in St Louis City. We could tell her house apart from the others on the street because she had a little squirrel statue on her porch. The squirrel was holding a nut in its' paws. We were always on the lookout for that squirrel once we pulled onto her street. Her house was immaculate. Talk about your "scrubby Dutch!" Even the basement was spotless. You could have eaten off the floor in that basement. Speaking of the basement, she had some sort of torpedo in her basement! Holiday meals were a big deal at Grandma's because we got to eat REAL BUTTER! Grandma loved Dr. Pepper soda and I hated it. We had to drink Dr. Pepper at Grandma's.

I remember Aunt Tootie's long-haired cats. Tootie hid Hostess Twinkies all over the house so she could keep them in the house, but Grandma would find them and eat them. She would pull us aside and tell us about the hidden Twinkies and then laugh and laugh. You know, come to think of it, she never even gave us one!

Tootie had a gorgeous dressing table and china figurines in her bedroom. She would take us in her room and let us look at the dressing table and figurines. I was fascinated with her cosmetics and toiletries because she bought them at Famous-Barr. I thought that was very glamorous, very ritzy.

I remember seeing knit caps in our coat closet that Grandma had made for the older siblings. They were knit from 100% wool yarn. Grandma died when I was 14 yo. My maternal grandparents died before I was born.

Parents- Mom gave us our love of art, reading, and music. She would sometimes play the piano for Lisa and me after we went to bed (in Florissant MO). We always begged her to play "The Fairy Wedding Waltz." Whe would also give us cheese and apple slices, and read to us before bed. Julie still can't get over this because she never got any precious cheese and apple slices before bed. We had a raspberry bush in the backyard and we would pick them in the morning to eat for breakfast.

In Ohio, I remember going down in the basement with Nana while she did the laundry. I would ride my red rocking horse while she did the laundry ( it was made of wood and was on springs; bounced up and down on it). I also remember going outside with her to pick Japanese beetles of the rose bushes. Then we would take the bucket of beetles in the house and put them down the garbage disposal. Good childhood memory (?)

Of course, I remember that all my life people marveled and commented over how much I look like Nana. Nana called Lisa and me "Snow White" and "Rose Red". I think I was Snow White (with my dark hair and dark eyes; Lisa has always had white-blond hair, blue eyes).

I remember Dad would giving me his iced tea glass from dinner to drink out of in Ohio to keep me occupied while he swept the floor. Seemed like the circumference of that glass was about three feet around. Guess I liked the "tea" because all the sugar sank to the bottom, and I was really drinking sugar water. But, to this day, I drink tea (unsweetened, though) year-round.

We used to go grocery shopping once a week with Pop (in Florissant) at the IGA Pop's cousin owned (Aunt Ann's - Grandma's sister's - Son-in-law). Jeff later worked at this IGA. Pop would buy us each a bottle of Mountain Dew to drink while we shopped. We always opened the pickle barrel and smelled the pickles. It was a big deal. Then, when we went to the parking lot to leave, we picked out a sparkly rock from the islands in the parking lot.

Siblings- Didn't see (much older) brothers much. Adair gave me a teddy bear once. At the time, it seemed like it was six feet tall. I could barely get my arms around it. In real life, it was about a foot tall. I sort of remember Adair and Marti's wedding. During college, I went camping with Adair and Marti (and others). I woke in the middle of the night; I was hot and miserable. I wandered around the campsite and found Marti awake in her VW van. She said she had awakened to find a "giant" deer peering in the van window at her. I think we stayed awake the rest of the night, afraid of the "giant" deer we though was stalking us.

When I was older (Jr. High?) we went to the beach in North Carolina. I was desperate to find some good shells. I got up one morning and walked along the beach- I was surprised to find a path of perfect shells that followed the shoreline. Later learned that Cliff had gotten up very early, hunted down the shells for me and laid them out for me to "find".

I remember Kat and Jeff fighting like they were going to kill each other. Once, Jeff was off hitchhiking somewhere and he sent Nana the words to Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Jeff liked to play with people's minds like that.

Julie, as she will tell you, was very quiet. Her nickname was "Slim". She was always very tall and slim (took after Pop).

Looked up to Val. When she was in high school, I would (for some reason) go in her room and clean it from top to bottom. She was "organizationally challenged." I remember Val hauling me around to fabric stores when she was in high school. Guess I was just looking to get out of the house. Val was (is) a very talented seamstress. There was just nothing she couldn't sew. She made these incredible stuffed animals; made niece Mary an elephant and made nephew Jacob a platypus- with a real leather bill. She made the dress she wore in Kat and Gar's wedding (she played the flute at the wedding); made it from cinnamon-colored silk that Jeff brought her from India. I was in awe of her sewing talent.

Closest to Lisa. We loved to play "school" when we were little. We had a big blackboard in the family room for the "teacher" to write on.

Childhood Memories- In Ohio, I remember waking up from my nap and being extremely happy that I was going to put my yellow pinafore on. I must have really liked that yellow pinafore.

In Ohio, I was in Sunday school and I didn't want to be there. The Sunday school teacher was showing a movie and she told me if I didn't want to watch it, I didn't have to (said it kind of snotty-like, too). Seem to remember it was a nature show that had earthworms in it! I sat behind the movie screen and sobbed and sobbed. Mrs. Walters rescued me (think she was the church secretary). She took me in the church office and I sat on her lap and ate graham crackers.

I know there are a million more memories, but many are intertwined with the above categories.

Family Traditions- Every Christmas, Nana would get out her collection of lead soldiers and we'd display them on the baby-grand piano. We'd also hang up an ornament Cliff made when he was very young- a big rubber milk ring covered with aluminum foil. Someone (one of the boys?) had also made a "bell" ornament- a Styrofoam cup covered with aluminum foil with a small round ornament inside the cup, attached with a pipe cleaner as the "ringer".

Elementary school- Had lots of friends, Secretary of Student Council.

High School- Wore overalls every day. Pretty low key. Had small circle of friends.

College- Aimless and unmotivated. Bad. Probably suffering from undiagnosed depression.

Young Adult Memories- I was at Mizzou (University of Missouri at Columbia) at the same time Val and Julie were there (for part of the time). I remember getting together with them and having a blast just hanging out. Val taught me how to drive a stick shift by taking me out to drive on deserted farm roads where it didn't matter if I let up on the clutch too soon and killed the engine.

After Val finished her Masters in Agronomy, she moved to Portageville MO (in the MO "boot heel"). I'd drive back with her after she visited St Louis or I'd take the bus down to see her (in the summer). When I drove down with her, she would quiz me over the farm fields as we passed them- were they cotton or soybeans? We always, always, had the best time. We'd listen to Bonnie Rait, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand By Your Man" (we howled with laughter at that last one). Val made a special brew of spiced iced tea (you know I loved that). She lived in this teeny, rented, one-bedroom house tat was on the edge of a cornfield.

A few times, we drove down to Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. Marveled at the huge Cyprus trees in the lake. We'd eat at this restaurant that served the meals family style (they'd put bowls and bowls of food on our table: fried catfish, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, biscuits, and on and on). And the kudzu? Yuck! Really bad in that part of the state. Looked like some giant laid monstrous blankets of this ivy-like weed over everything. Trees, phone poles, electrical wires. Really bizarre.

I also used to visit Julie at the farm out in Schulersberg, where she and Michael lived. Julie used to rent videos (videos and VCRs were a new invention back then) and she and I would stay up all night watching them. If we thought some part of the movie was funny, we'd rewind it over and over and watch it again and again. (I still do that; Faith and Thomas hate it).

Lisa's wedding July 1986- I was the Maid of Honor. Lisa's mother-in-law, Ellie Horning, made Lisa's wedding dress, my dress and all the bridesmaid dresses. Our dresses were red watermark satin. Very beautiful.

Our family drove to Iowa for the wedding in a caravan; I was driving by myself, but picked up Jeff somewhere along the line (he'd been riding with Pop, Nana, Hiroko and baby Ken). We arrived in Iowa City, having been cut off from the caravan, and immediately became hopelessly lost. Lisa's map was no good. It was full of "turn right, turn left." (What we need was "go north, go east." Sorry, Lisa, but honestly!) Besides that, the map eventually flew out the window and blew away! We got behind a car that seemed to have gotten some sort of fishing line or spider web from their open trunk entangled with our front bumper. As we both drove, the mysterious line got longer; as we both slowed, the line seemed to reel back into their trunk. Jeff kept saying, with a deadpan look on his face, "What? What? What IS that thing? What IS it?" I was laughing so hard I could barely keep the car on the road. I still don't know how we found Lisa's apartment!

I was so emotional about the wedding, I was sure I would get up there in the front of the church and bawl my head off. But, the moment arrived and I just beamed from ear to ear. The reception was at the local Moose Lodge and Lisa and I still laugh over the fact that every photo from her reception has a moose head in it.

When Kathie belonged to the Young Farmer's Wives organization, it was her responsibility to find out-of-county judges for the Montgomery County Fair baby contests. I was one of the judges each year for a few years (until Kathie became too old to qualify as a "young" wife! After all!) They held the baby contests in a livestock pavilion following the rabbit breeding competitions. There were all sorts of different categories (by age, by parent and child who looked most alike, etc). The fair had had to set a "diaper and T-shirt" guideline; that's all the contestants could wear as some parents had been dressing newborns like Las Vegas show girls in their zealous attempt to win.

After all the judging was completed, Kathie would fill me in on the background of who I'd picked. It was always interesting, like some behind-the-scenes Peyton Place.

Early marriage memories- Greg and I married in New Hampshire (He had moved there six months after we began dating; I moved there six months after he did). I told the bridesmaids they did not have to wear matching dresses, but they decided to make simple ones and have them match. At the last minute, I had to find another bridesmaid to match the number of groomsmen Greig wanted in the wedding. Lisa had purchased the material for all the bridesmaids (at a fabric store in Iowa) and, panicked, rushed back to the store to see if she could still buy the same material for an additional dress. She told me she'd had to drive there in a near tornado and that while she was there, the roof was almost blown off the "Fabric Warehouse."

We lived in an apartment in a house on the Saco River ("Sah-co"). Greig was working in construction and when he'd get home from work, he'd jump in the ice-cold river to cool off (it was more like a creek).

We loved to go antiquing/junking in NH. Every house had a permanent "Garage Sale" sign in the front yard. It's where I picked up my love of old (cheap!) collectibles.

We moved back to St Louis a few months after the wedding. (I know; you all love us for hauling you to NH for the wedding only to have us move back to MO anyway a few months later- but look at it this way: when would you ever have had the chance to see that part of the country otherwise?)

We lived in an apartment at the Martin's horse farm (the apartment was over the detached garage). I was stenciling the walls in the bathroom when the news came over the TV that the stock market took a huge, huge nosedive. (That was in October 1987, a big deal at the time).

I worked at a commercial door company and Greig joined the Carpenter's Union. I had moved to another company when I became pregnant with Faith; the owner was a tyrant, and I quit rather than be railed at all day by an ogre. I tried to get a job as a temporary, but couldn't get on with any one (I'd told the agencies I was pregnant). I finally wised up; went to Kelly Girl, did not tell them I was pregnant and was hired immediately. Worked for the same company as a temporary for months up until Faith was born. These people treated me like a queen gave me luncheons, threw me a baby shower, nominated me for "Kelly Girl of the Month" (and I won!) gave me a going away party.

I didn't know whether Faith was going to be a boy or a girl, but towards the end of my pregnancy, I had dreams every night that the baby was a girl. I was so happy when the doctor said, "It's a girl!" Faith Louis. A week late, but worth the wait.

Thomas was born in the fall after the flood of '93, the 500-year flood. Our home was not affected, but all the public roads in and out of town were flooded and a local orchard allowed the town to use their private road to get to the nearest state highway. The National Guard was called in and patrolled the floodwaters around the town and directed traffic on the one-lane orchard road.

That's it for now. If I think of anything else earth shattering, I'll get it to Cliffo.

Mimi (Mary Jane) ANDREW Martin 6-15-99.

   Events:

1. Occupation: Medical Transcriptionist, Jun 2000, Marthasville, , Missouri, USA.

   Marriage Information:

Mary married Greig Thomas MARTIN, son of Thomas Francis MARTIN and Lois Ann HENECKE, on 1 Aug 1987 in North Conway, Carroll, New Hampshire, USA. (Greig Thomas MARTIN was born on 11 Mar 1961 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, USA.)