Lenore was born April 29,1930, in Beulah to Oran Ralph Abbey and Alice Francis Herman Abbey. She was the third oldest of nine children and spent her youth on a farm south of Beulah.
On August 13,1949, she married Harry Donald Wetzel of Zap, in Beulah. She remained in Beulah all of her life. Most of Lenore's time was spent taking care of her household and raising her family. When she found the time, she used her God given talents to enrich her home and families' lives by sewing, knitting, painting, ceramics and stitched the most intricate cross stitch patterns.
She enjoyed bowling, participating in a league for many years. Later in life when family time allowed, she began golfing and also joined the golf league. She was a good cook and spent many of her days feeding family and relatives.
She was as hard a worker as her husband. She took on mowing the yard the way she thought it should be done. She was a crocheter, knitter, seamstress, quilter. She sewed many of her children's clothes when they were little. She was very detail-oriented. If it was not perfect, she'd rip out stitches. In later years she did counted cross-stitch and ceramics. Her counted cross-stitch was perfect and far more detail at 18 stitches per inch. She cross-stitched the "Lord's Supper" in perfect detail. She loved painting the ceramics and had an eye for it.
Sometimes, she had other ideas. Like one time, Mom wanted one hallway wall taken out. Dad came home to find Mom had taken out the wall with a sledge hammer. Dad had no choice but to build her a bookcase on the other side of the hall. Now Mom had more space. Then she tackled a new couch and chair she wanted. She and Dad made the framework and springs. Mom upholstered both. That couch and chair, built back in 1967, still exists and in perfect condition because of the materials they used. In fact, the renter in Dad's house asked if she could buy the "retro couch" because she loved it.
She also decided what the new house would look like. She took out some freezer wrapper paper and then drew it out. Though the outside was a rectangle, she did some layouts different than most. Actually, it worked out good, for the youngest family members who ended up in the basement bedrooms, for any laundry room noise, pantry and for Dad coming in from the garden. The house was very well built with 2x6 walls. Dad did the insulating, plumbing and electrical. Mom did all the taping and paint walls. She stained and finished all the doors and trim. It still looks good today. She was really proud of that house. Because they were so industrious, they paid cash for the house, which was good at that time, some 42 years ago.
Mom was quite a joker, just like her mother. What else do large families do but pull pranks on each other? Her two year old little daughter hit her one time. So Mom pretended she was crying and got some ketchup on her leg and showed it to the little girl. It didn't have any impact on little girl though.
She and her friends would dress up for Halloween but that was part of their bowling team. She was very athletic - she bowled and she golfed. She was both a very good golfer and a bowler. Those were part of her outlets from taking care of us her children. She was an excellent cook. The family never starved. Actually the family had to have eaten better than most. The family had a quarter beef every year. There were chickens, where Don chopped the heads off and Lenore defeathered them, then singed the rest of it off.
There were always cookies in the freezer . Everyone had a sweet tooth, probably because of Lenore. She baked fruit pies (juneberry being a favorite) and Kuchen. And the family all loved her Fleischkeukle, which was a lot of work, made from dough shaped into half-crescents - filled with onion, hamburger, egg and then fried. Served simply with ketchup and a side of her home made coleslaw. (Her brother Jim came one time and she fooled him real good. His Fleischkeukle contained shredded newspaper. Everyone had a good laugh out of it, including Uncle Jim. She knew there would be pay back, but not sure when or where.)
Mom was much quieter than Dad, except for laughing at the kids. She did talk but not half as much as Dad did. She loved having children and was so proud of us all. It was very important to her that we all went to college, probably because she didn't go. Lenore was also very religious. She got it from my Grandma Alice Herman Abbey and her grandmother Frances Tavis Herman. The entire family went to the Catholic church, for sure.
It was a nice thing that developed when the kids were all adults out of the house and Mom and Dad would invite the local priest and another couple for a dinner and to play cards on a cold winter North Dakota night.
Lenore was such a card player, probably because it was one of the things she and her siblings could do together. The Abbey siblings would stay up and play until 2 in the morning. This was when one or more of the Abbey sisters or brothers (who no longer lived in Beulah) would come home for the summer. Oh, and they had time to catch up with their sister or brother into those wee hours. One morning we saw my mother, Lenore and Aunt June coming up from our big garden. It was morning. They had been up all night and were now admiring the garden.
On August 13,1949, she married Harry Donald Wetzel of Zap, in Beulah. She remained in Beulah all of her life. Most of Lenore's time was spent taking care of her household and raising her family. When she found the time, she used her God given talents to enrich her home and families' lives by sewing, knitting, painting, ceramics and stitched the most intricate cross stitch patterns.
She enjoyed bowling, participating in a league for many years. Later in life when family time allowed, she began golfing and also joined the golf league. She was a good cook and spent many of her days feeding family and relatives.
She was as hard a worker as her husband. She took on mowing the yard the way she thought it should be done. She was a crocheter, knitter, seamstress, quilter. She sewed many of her children's clothes when they were little. She was very detail-oriented. If it was not perfect, she'd rip out stitches. In later years she did counted cross-stitch and ceramics. Her counted cross-stitch was perfect and far more detail at 18 stitches per inch. She cross-stitched the "Lord's Supper" in perfect detail. She loved painting the ceramics and had an eye for it.
Sometimes, she had other ideas. Like one time, Mom wanted one hallway wall taken out. Dad came home to find Mom had taken out the wall with a sledge hammer. Dad had no choice but to build her a bookcase on the other side of the hall. Now Mom had more space. Then she tackled a new couch and chair she wanted. She and Dad made the framework and springs. Mom upholstered both. That couch and chair, built back in 1967, still exists and in perfect condition because of the materials they used. In fact, the renter in Dad's house asked if she could buy the "retro couch" because she loved it.
She also decided what the new house would look like. She took out some freezer wrapper paper and then drew it out. Though the outside was a rectangle, she did some layouts different than most. Actually, it worked out good, for the youngest family members who ended up in the basement bedrooms, for any laundry room noise, pantry and for Dad coming in from the garden. The house was very well built with 2x6 walls. Dad did the insulating, plumbing and electrical. Mom did all the taping and paint walls. She stained and finished all the doors and trim. It still looks good today. She was really proud of that house. Because they were so industrious, they paid cash for the house, which was good at that time, some 42 years ago.
Mom was quite a joker, just like her mother. What else do large families do but pull pranks on each other? Her two year old little daughter hit her one time. So Mom pretended she was crying and got some ketchup on her leg and showed it to the little girl. It didn't have any impact on little girl though.
She and her friends would dress up for Halloween but that was part of their bowling team. She was very athletic - she bowled and she golfed. She was both a very good golfer and a bowler. Those were part of her outlets from taking care of us her children. She was an excellent cook. The family never starved. Actually the family had to have eaten better than most. The family had a quarter beef every year. There were chickens, where Don chopped the heads off and Lenore defeathered them, then singed the rest of it off.
There were always cookies in the freezer . Everyone had a sweet tooth, probably because of Lenore. She baked fruit pies (juneberry being a favorite) and Kuchen. And the family all loved her Fleischkeukle, which was a lot of work, made from dough shaped into half-crescents - filled with onion, hamburger, egg and then fried. Served simply with ketchup and a side of her home made coleslaw. (Her brother Jim came one time and she fooled him real good. His Fleischkeukle contained shredded newspaper. Everyone had a good laugh out of it, including Uncle Jim. She knew there would be pay back, but not sure when or where.)
Mom was much quieter than Dad, except for laughing at the kids. She did talk but not half as much as Dad did. She loved having children and was so proud of us all. It was very important to her that we all went to college, probably because she didn't go. Lenore was also very religious. She got it from my Grandma Alice Herman Abbey and her grandmother Frances Tavis Herman. The entire family went to the Catholic church, for sure.
It was a nice thing that developed when the kids were all adults out of the house and Mom and Dad would invite the local priest and another couple for a dinner and to play cards on a cold winter North Dakota night.
Lenore was such a card player, probably because it was one of the things she and her siblings could do together. The Abbey siblings would stay up and play until 2 in the morning. This was when one or more of the Abbey sisters or brothers (who no longer lived in Beulah) would come home for the summer. Oh, and they had time to catch up with their sister or brother into those wee hours. One morning we saw my mother, Lenore and Aunt June coming up from our big garden. It was morning. They had been up all night and were now admiring the garden.
Lenore was born April 29,1930, in Beulah to Oran Ralph Abbey and Alice Francis Herman Abbey. She was the third oldest of nine children and spent her youth on a farm south of Beulah.
On August 13,1949, she married Harry Donald Wetzel of Zap, in Beulah. She remained in Beulah all of her life. Most of Lenore's time was spent taking care of her household and raising her family. When she found the time, she used her God given talents to enrich her home and families' lives by sewing, knitting, painting, ceramics and stitched the most intricate cross stitch patterns.
She enjoyed bowling, participating in a league for many years. Later in life when family time allowed, she began golfing and also joined the golf league. She was a good cook and spent many of her days feeding family and relatives.
She was as hard a worker as her husband. She took on mowing the yard the way she thought it should be done. She was a crocheter, knitter, seamstress, quilter. She sewed many of her children's clothes when they were little. She was very detail-oriented. If it was not perfect, she'd rip out stitches. In later years she did counted cross-stitch and ceramics. Her counted cross-stitch was perfect and far more detail at 18 stitches per inch. She cross-stitched the "Lord's Supper" in perfect detail. She loved painting the ceramics and had an eye for it.
Sometimes, she had other ideas. Like one time, Mom wanted one hallway wall taken out. Dad came home to find Mom had taken out the wall with a sledge hammer. Dad had no choice but to build her a bookcase on the other side of the hall. Now Mom had more space. Then she tackled a new couch and chair she wanted. She and Dad made the framework and springs. Mom upholstered both. That couch and chair, built back in 1967, still exists and in perfect condition because of the materials they used. In fact, the renter in Dad's house asked if she could buy the "retro couch" because she loved it.
She also decided what the new house would look like. She took out some freezer wrapper paper and then drew it out. Though the outside was a rectangle, she did some layouts different than most. Actually, it worked out good, for the youngest family members who ended up in the basement bedrooms, for any laundry room noise, pantry and for Dad coming in from the garden. The house was very well built with 2x6 walls. Dad did the insulating, plumbing and electrical. Mom did all the taping and paint walls. She stained and finished all the doors and trim. It still looks good today. She was really proud of that house. Because they were so industrious, they paid cash for the house, which was good at that time, some 42 years ago.
Mom was quite a joker, just like her mother. What else do large families do but pull pranks on each other? Her two year old little daughter hit her one time. So Mom pretended she was crying and got some ketchup on her leg and showed it to the little girl. It didn't have any impact on little girl though.
She and her friends would dress up for Halloween but that was part of their bowling team. She was very athletic - she bowled and she golfed. She was both a very good golfer and a bowler. Those were part of her outlets from taking care of us her children. She was an excellent cook. The family never starved. Actually the family had to have eaten better than most. The family had a quarter beef every year. There were chickens, where Don chopped the heads off and Lenore defeathered them, then singed the rest of it off.
There were always cookies in the freezer . Everyone had a sweet tooth, probably because of Lenore. She baked fruit pies (juneberry being a favorite) and Kuchen. And the family all loved her Fleischkeukle, which was a lot of work, made from dough shaped into half-crescents - filled with onion, hamburger, egg and then fried. Served simply with ketchup and a side of her home made coleslaw. (Her brother Jim came one time and she fooled him real good. His Fleischkeukle contained shredded newspaper. Everyone had a good laugh out of it, including Uncle Jim. She knew there would be pay back, but not sure when or where.)
Mom was much quieter than Dad, except for laughing at the kids. She did talk but not half as much as Dad did. She loved having children and was so proud of us all. It was very important to her that we all went to college, probably because she didn't go. Lenore was also very religious. She got it from my Grandma Alice Herman Abbey and her grandmother Frances Tavis Herman. The entire family went to the Catholic church, for sure.
It was a nice thing that developed when the kids were all adults out of the house and Mom and Dad would invite the local priest and another couple for a dinner and to play cards on a cold winter North Dakota night.
Lenore was such a card player, probably because it was one of the things she and her siblings could do together. The Abbey siblings would stay up and play until 2 in the morning. This was when one or more of the Abbey sisters or brothers (who no longer lived in Beulah) would come home for the summer. Oh, and they had time to catch up with their sister or brother into those wee hours. One morning we saw my mother, Lenore and Aunt June coming up from our big garden. It was morning. They had been up all night and were now admiring the garden.
On August 13,1949, she married Harry Donald Wetzel of Zap, in Beulah. She remained in Beulah all of her life. Most of Lenore's time was spent taking care of her household and raising her family. When she found the time, she used her God given talents to enrich her home and families' lives by sewing, knitting, painting, ceramics and stitched the most intricate cross stitch patterns.
She enjoyed bowling, participating in a league for many years. Later in life when family time allowed, she began golfing and also joined the golf league. She was a good cook and spent many of her days feeding family and relatives.
She was as hard a worker as her husband. She took on mowing the yard the way she thought it should be done. She was a crocheter, knitter, seamstress, quilter. She sewed many of her children's clothes when they were little. She was very detail-oriented. If it was not perfect, she'd rip out stitches. In later years she did counted cross-stitch and ceramics. Her counted cross-stitch was perfect and far more detail at 18 stitches per inch. She cross-stitched the "Lord's Supper" in perfect detail. She loved painting the ceramics and had an eye for it.
Sometimes, she had other ideas. Like one time, Mom wanted one hallway wall taken out. Dad came home to find Mom had taken out the wall with a sledge hammer. Dad had no choice but to build her a bookcase on the other side of the hall. Now Mom had more space. Then she tackled a new couch and chair she wanted. She and Dad made the framework and springs. Mom upholstered both. That couch and chair, built back in 1967, still exists and in perfect condition because of the materials they used. In fact, the renter in Dad's house asked if she could buy the "retro couch" because she loved it.
She also decided what the new house would look like. She took out some freezer wrapper paper and then drew it out. Though the outside was a rectangle, she did some layouts different than most. Actually, it worked out good, for the youngest family members who ended up in the basement bedrooms, for any laundry room noise, pantry and for Dad coming in from the garden. The house was very well built with 2x6 walls. Dad did the insulating, plumbing and electrical. Mom did all the taping and paint walls. She stained and finished all the doors and trim. It still looks good today. She was really proud of that house. Because they were so industrious, they paid cash for the house, which was good at that time, some 42 years ago.
Mom was quite a joker, just like her mother. What else do large families do but pull pranks on each other? Her two year old little daughter hit her one time. So Mom pretended she was crying and got some ketchup on her leg and showed it to the little girl. It didn't have any impact on little girl though.
She and her friends would dress up for Halloween but that was part of their bowling team. She was very athletic - she bowled and she golfed. She was both a very good golfer and a bowler. Those were part of her outlets from taking care of us her children. She was an excellent cook. The family never starved. Actually the family had to have eaten better than most. The family had a quarter beef every year. There were chickens, where Don chopped the heads off and Lenore defeathered them, then singed the rest of it off.
There were always cookies in the freezer . Everyone had a sweet tooth, probably because of Lenore. She baked fruit pies (juneberry being a favorite) and Kuchen. And the family all loved her Fleischkeukle, which was a lot of work, made from dough shaped into half-crescents - filled with onion, hamburger, egg and then fried. Served simply with ketchup and a side of her home made coleslaw. (Her brother Jim came one time and she fooled him real good. His Fleischkeukle contained shredded newspaper. Everyone had a good laugh out of it, including Uncle Jim. She knew there would be pay back, but not sure when or where.)
Mom was much quieter than Dad, except for laughing at the kids. She did talk but not half as much as Dad did. She loved having children and was so proud of us all. It was very important to her that we all went to college, probably because she didn't go. Lenore was also very religious. She got it from my Grandma Alice Herman Abbey and her grandmother Frances Tavis Herman. The entire family went to the Catholic church, for sure.
It was a nice thing that developed when the kids were all adults out of the house and Mom and Dad would invite the local priest and another couple for a dinner and to play cards on a cold winter North Dakota night.
Lenore was such a card player, probably because it was one of the things she and her siblings could do together. The Abbey siblings would stay up and play until 2 in the morning. This was when one or more of the Abbey sisters or brothers (who no longer lived in Beulah) would come home for the summer. Oh, and they had time to catch up with their sister or brother into those wee hours. One morning we saw my mother, Lenore and Aunt June coming up from our big garden. It was morning. They had been up all night and were now admiring the garden.
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