Chapter 2 – “Teacher of Generational Blessings” – Mary Peiffer
By Sherrie Benes
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Acknowledgement: “I would dedicate my story to my mother, Ethel Warner. She was a strong woman all through her life, even the 17 years she had to be in the nursing home following her stroke.”
Introduction: In 1838 Abraham Hackett set out from Canada to a new land that was known as the Whitewater Wisconsin territory. For $1.25 an acre he purchased 176 acres of farmland from the government, 2 miles south of Whitewater. Through a lot of hardships and perseverance, he helped build up the community of Whitewater, which made Abraham known far and near as a man of integrity, an indulgent parent, a good neighbor and a true Christian. 95 years later, the same characteristics can be found in this chapter of one of his descendants, his great great granddaughter Mary (Hackett/Warner) Peiffer….enjoy!
On April 14, 1933, Ethel (Hackett) and George Warner were blessed with a beautiful daughter they named Mary. She would be known later as the middle child, but unfortunately, at the young age of two, she would experience a life without her father. “My grandparents and relatives helped my mother out after my father died, because that is just what you did. Shortly after his passing, my mother moved us from Lake Mills back to Whitewater, to a home just a few houses down from my grandparents on Cravath Street.”
Although Mary really never knew her father, she recalled a funny story that was told to her, that she chuckled at when sharing! (With myself being a retired postmaster, I had to laugh as well!)
“My father was a postman in Lake Mills in the early 1900’s. I was told how many horses and buggies he wore out from delivering the mail (along with later, many cars), because they didn’t have postal vehicles back then! It was said that many farm women would leave swatches of material in their mailboxes, so he could pick up thread in town to match it! Later, he would then go to the dry goods store, while mother waited in the car. She would wait 5 minutes, 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 minutes for my dad to pick up that thread! (He must’ve been a talker like me!) The next day, he would then deliver that thread in the mailboxes of these very appreciative farm women!
Growing up in the Depression era, she said “we were poor, but we didn’t know it! It was the Depression, so everyone was poor! But we had a lot of love and security, more so than many kids do now. You had grandparents that helped take care of you, along with a lot of relatives.”
“You could go anywhere! You weren’t afraid! We could do anything, so long as we reported back at mealtime to do whatever chores Grandma had assigned to us! Whether it was peeling potatoes, or whatever else she had us do! We had a lot of freedom back then and we only got our news by word of mouth, or radio. We didn’t have a television until I was in college!”
She then recalled the story her mother had told her when she was little, about her grandfather’s accident, which explained why he always dragged his left leg. “My grandfather was out in the field with his team of horses, when a bolt of lightning struck his horse! The lightning traveled up the reigns and got him! But he had galoshes on, that grounded the lightning. This left him crippled and in a coma for a while. That is when they sold their farm and moved into town, to their house on Cravath Street. He then started working for the city, pushing a cart and cleaning the streets of Whitewater. My grandfather worked at this job from 1919-1947, before drowning in the area lake, while dumping his cart.”
Mary then retold the memory of that tragic day…
“I remember the day he drowned, because we always came home from school at noon for lunch. We had an hour lunch, and in those days, you didn’t eat until everyone was there. This would include grandpa, who would come home for lunch to eat with us. But grandpa didn’t come…
Finally, grandma let us eat, while we all wondered where he was.”
Mary had gone back to school and wouldn’t hear anything about this tragic accident until later, when she got home from school. Her grandfather could not save himself after falling in the lake, due to the crippled left side of his body.
In the early years, Mary attended the East Side School (now known as Washington Elementary) and then went on to Whitewater City High.
In 1938, when Mary was five, her mother Ethel (whom she dedicates her story to) decided to run for the Whitewater City Treasurer position. “Back then, it was unusual for a woman to run against and beat a man, but she did!”
Ethel Warner held the city treasurer position for 33 years, until her retirement in 1971!
Mary met her future husband, Larry Peiffer, her senior year in band. He played the drums, while Mary played the clarinet. “Our first date was a blind date! We went to the basketball tournament where we were playing a rival town, Elkhorn! We went to prom together, but we didn’t go out a lot.”
After graduating, Larry went on to work with visions of being a plumber. Mary remained in Whitewater also, to attend the State Teachers College like her mother and her grandmother had done. “Back then, you had about two choices! Be a teacher, a nurse, or you get married! My family had always said I was going to be a teacher, so you just sort of did what you were told!”
In March of 1955, prior to her college graduation, she signed a contract with the Beloit school district. But in this contract, she said it stated, “if I got married, I would need approval from the school board to continue my contract!”
While she was still in college, Larry had been accepted at the Navy School of Music, and soon after joined the Navy. He was then selected to play the drums as part of the United States Navy band, aboard the USS Wisconsin. While on leave one time from the ship, he visited Mary and asked for her hand in marriage. On June 18, 1955, one week after her college graduation, they became husband and wife. (Apparently, the school board approved this!)
Shortly after their marriage, Larry got stationed at the Naval base in Memphis, Tennessee. After Mary had finished her contract with the Beloit school district, she then was free to join him. This is where she told a story that she said, “was a real eye-opener” …
“I went to an interview when arriving in Memphis with my credentials for a teaching job. This was when I found out that the schools in the south were still segregated! When the lady told me they had ‘black schools and white schools’ I thought, yea right lady! I couldn’t believe it! I told her in Wisconsin we were integrated, and I had taught in an integrated school! Then I said something that could have been the end of that interview! I directly said to her, “I thought the Civil War was over?!”
In August of 1957 Larry left the Navy. With his wife Mary, along with their 2-month-old daughter Carol, they made the journey back to Wisconsin, where he began his studies in college. It was soon decided that Mary would stay home to care for the children.
Then one day, when their youngest was four, Jean Triebold, the owner of the Little Red Schoolhouse, approached Mary and asked if she would be interested in helping her out at the nursery school. She told Mary that she just needed an afternoon teacher for the preschool age children, and she could even bring her youngest, Mary Jo along with her!
After 32 years of working at the Little Red Schoolhouse, Mary retired. She and her husband Larry went on to do a lot of traveling after their retirement and before his passing in September of 2020. She keeps a list of their travels written down on a sheet of paper that shows such places as Hawaii, Japan, Norway, Germany, Ireland, just to name a few! She was told that “if you don’t start traveling when you’re young, you’re not going to be able to carry your suitcase”!
“I feel blessed, having had all these opportunities in my life,” she said.
As I looked at all of her family history books and photos on the table spread out in front of her, I felt the memories with her, in her smile, in her laughter, and in the telling of her story….
“You can’t undo history,” she said, as she sat there reflecting. “But I wish kids could experience the way life used to be…”
Our thanks to Mary Peiffer for sharing her story for our feature, Chapter Story. If you know of anyone that would like to share their story, or your own, please contact me at: Sherbenes@gmail.com. Subject line: Chapter Story. I would love to meet you! Sherrie
Our thanks also to the sponsor of this Chapter Story:
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