The following is my life experience in Northern
California. Some accounts or history can be told in book
and magazines. My name is Audrey for purposes of
protecting my privacy and relaying this story to you.
This account has very few platforms in which it can be
told without causing a scandal and further embarrassment
for the families involved. However I am determined to
tell it before it is forgotten or I pass on.
I was a housewife very devoted to my family and my
beloved husband who passed away in the early 1990’ties.
I have four very beautiful and successful children three
boys and one girl. The oldest is surveyor, the second is
a manager for a large very well known hardware chain
store, the third is a civil engineer for a provincial
hydroelectric company in Canada, and my baby girl is
married to successful ophthalmologist and is a
schoolteacher in Santa Clara Valley. They all grew up in
a very caring household and looking back, I am grateful
that despite my mistakes, errors, and pain, they all grew
up good studious children. Why am I grateful and
thankful? Well let me tell you my story.
Moving to a small town in California in 1959 after
marrying Martin in Nebraska where our families hail from,
Martin obtained employment in a county Surveying
department. And we moved into an established
neighborhood. After a month of settling in another couple
moved in next door, a black couple at that, which cause
much discomfort in our neighborhood.
The couple “Glen” I will call him here and “Matilda” (to
protect their privacy) was very quiet and nice it seemed.
Matilda had an accident, which left her wheelchair bound
and suffered from advanced diabetes. After a while the
neighborhood calmed down and seemed to accept them. We
befriended them and had them over for backyard Barbecues
and card games, I guess to relieve our guilt and to
encourage Matilda in her suffering.
In late March of 1959 my Husband Martin went out with the
boys for pizza and beer after work. Martin had a little
too much to drink that evening and was stopped by the
Police and arrested and thrown in Jail on the DUI charge.
After his release he was fired from his Job at the County
after almost six months of employment. Martin tried to
keep busy with his duties as Pastor of a Small
congregational church of which we were members of since
childhood in Nebraska. Martin never believed in being a
burden on the congregation and always kept himself
employed. So you see the tangled web, Fired from his Job,
the DUI Charge, and being Pastor in our church.
After trying to obtain employment in his field Martin was
unsuccessful especially in this area. Glen then began to
help Martin find employment, I guess in return for us
helping him find services and facilities for his disabled
wife. Four Months passed by and the Mortgage Company sent
us a final letter that they were going to foreclose our
Mortgage for non-payment. To our surprise Glen came to
our rescue and loaned us the money to make the payment.
It was not blind charity that he was performing he was
already talking to his wife’s brother in law who was a
manager at a private surveying company in the adjoining
county south of here.
Martin then began working and got along just great with
the personnel, this was a great blessing for us it was
the job that would help us send the kids to college.
Grateful of his benevolent help we invited him and his
wife to dinner one night; we served roasted Turkey and
made a thanksgiving dinner out of the occasion. My
Husband then commented, “I don’t know how we can ever
repay you and your wife for what you have done for us.
The money I have repaid you is not enough in my view, we
would have lost our investment, our house, and probably
moved back to Nebraska in failure of our California
dream.”