66. Most Important People

Recently, Nancy and I realized that in our sixty-five posts about growing up in Gettysburg in the Forties, we have said very little about the people who were a part of our lives, i.e., parents, siblings, teachers and friends, so let us begin to correct that omission by describing the most important people in our lives when we were fifteen, our parents.

In the Forties, Nancy lived with her mother, dad and older brother, Bill, at the base of Baltimore Street hill in a white two story, four bedroom house that existed during the Battle of Gettysburg.  Often, Nancy’s home was also opened to loved ones who were no longer able to live alone.

Nancy’s mother (Grace Hartman) was a teacher who graduated from Gettysburg Academy to prepare for Shippensburg State Teachers College where she was certified after just two years. Her first teaching assignment was in a one-room schoolhouse in East Berlin.

She and Nancy’s father were married in 1924, and after the service, they moved directly  to a home on Liberty Street which was already paid for. Her Dad was a banker, and in 1924, he believed you didn’t buy anything until you had the money to pay for it.

Grace Hartman Ogden was beloved by family and friends. She was known for her fried oysters, pot pie with homemade noodles, crab cakes and hog-maw. She had a deep committed faith in her God, and she was faithful to her family who she served unselfishly throughout her like. She lived a life that is celebrated and admired by her family and friends.