Susan began her “Leffler In My Blood” project over 2 decades ago as a collection of images and stories related to our grandfather John Leffler, his descendants and extended family. Originally published on the now long defunct “MSN Pages”, then moved to Tumblr when MSN Pages was discontinued, and finally moved to the Photo Sharing Platform Flickr. Over the years Susan had collected much more material than she had put up on this Flickr page. Wayne has kindly provided as much of this as he can find (and it’s a lot).
I created this web site to continue Susan’s vision. Over time I hope to organize and post her collection. I have also added an ancestry database which was another of Susan’s interests.
I remember in childhood, Susan saying that her ambition was to be a librarian. Her passion for collecting and preserving information began early. She also loved her extended family dearly, so it makes complete sense to me why she spent time collecting family pictures, letters, anything she could get. I hope to be able to bring it to you on this website in a way that Susan would approve.
John and I were talking one day at his home in Graham, Washington. He stated while living in Colorado during the depression he went to the General store one day. After he completed his shopping, he was about to depart. He then he noticed a vat of old prunes that the store was selling in the back garbage area. The prunes went bad and John stated they were molding.
He asked the store owner if he could have them and he said yes but bring back the empty vat later. This was during prohibition and no alcohol was available. John took these prunes home and made a still. After he obtained a quantity of alcohol from the old prunes via his still, he gave some to Grandma Leffler. John said she acted very strange and took off her clothes and started running around the house yelling.
During this story telling, Grandma Leffler heard him and came into the room with her hands on her hips. She told him she didn’t mind him telling stories, but that he should tell the truth.
Your grandpa laughed and told her she was upset because he was telling the truth. Your grandma stomped out out the room upset.
Winifred was teaching in a two-room school at Cairo Junction, Oregon.
The schoolhouse
During the Second World War, besides teaching she had the job of rationing out sugar stamps to the folks there. Now this is really where the story begins, for that is where Don’s mother shows up to get her sugar stamps. Now for some reason she was very impressed with her, so when she left there, she went home and wrote her son Don that she had found the girl for him, so I think this was really on Don’s mother’s shoulders. In the mean-time Don had written me asking for Winifred’s address so he could write to her. (Going back farther, Don and I had worked together in cleaning out an irrigation ditch before Pearl Harbor. This was our connection. This was also when Winifred was in college getting her teachers degree). Anyway, Don and I hit it off quite some time before he knew of Winifred. We had corresponded some after I had left for Washington. I did write him and sent Winifred’s address to him. He and Winifred corresponded back and forth while he was stationed in Europe. They wrote back and forth without ever seeing one another, so she was keeping up the morale of a soldier, and that was the thing to do at that time. They shared many letters together.
By the time Don came home on furlough Winifred had changed to a school in Ontario, Oregon. At that time Wanda, her sister, came to live with her so she could finish her schooling there. They had a small house that they were living in. Lo and behold who should show up on her doorstep, none other than our friend Don, home on furlough. They did have some time to get acquainted before he had to go back to his unit.
After teaching in Ontario she moved to Tacoma where her folks lived. She then went to school in Ellensburg where she received her teacher’s certificate, so she could get a school in Washington.
After the war, Don remained in Ontario so there were a few years before they got together. They did correspond quite a bit. Then Winifred went to Caldwell, Idaho where she was visiting her cousin. While there, she wrote to Don and asked him to meet her there. This is all it took. They then got together at his sister’s home and that was in November of 1950. The inevitable happened, they were engaged.
The marriage took place in Tacoma at the Lincoln Park Christian Church. Her flower girls were twins, her cousin’s children & two of Don’s sister’s girls, with the youngest, Barbara, being the ring bearer.
After the wedding Don & Winifred took their honeymoon trip around the loop to Port Angeles.
They then made their first home in Fife. Later on they built a home on Fruitland Ave., Puyallup, where they lived for many years. There they raised two children.
Now here is the rest of the story and this is on Don. While we were with them and the rest of the family gathering at Christmas, and later after dinner we had our dessert, we were gathered in the living room in kind of a circle, having a cherry pie with ice cream on it when Don was called to do something he got up and place his pie on his chair, and what do you think he did when he came back? You guessed it; he sat on his pie and ice cream, and what surprised look came on his face, and the pie was totally ruined. There’s a lot more memories I could tell but the time is short, and I wish to end this by congratulating you and Don on your being together for 50 years.
