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by Sue Orsen Ralph and Janet Olinger have been married over 60 years, but they’ve known each other more than 80 years. In fact, they were practically born together -- in the same year, in the same hospital, delivered by the same Dr Sanford, albeit six months apart. In many ways, their hearts beat as one almost from the beginning. As Jan says, “We’ve always known each other. Our parents were in the same card club. We both belonged to 4H clubs. We went to proms together.” Added Ralph, “We used to play as kids at the ballgames.” When they grew out of the kid stage, Ralph and Jan realized they were more than childhood friends. Stated Jan, “He had black curly hair and a ‘37 Chevy with a radio and a good heater. He was the pitcher and captain of the baseball team. We laughed a lot and had a lot of fun together.” Stated Ralph, “I thought she was nicer than the other girls. It was probably love at first sight. We went pretty steady.” The heart of the Olingers is further revealed in the story of their lives -- their work and play, their home and family. *** Ralph was born on June 16th, 1935, to John and Lucille Olinger at the hospital in Farmington, Minnesota. “We lived in Castle Rock, a little town of about 50 people,” said Ralph, the oldest of five siblings. “My mother died at age 96 and had her wits to the end.” What did his dad do for a living? “He worked his tail off for everybody,” replied the son. “He worked at a gas station. He worked in the peat slough. He drove a construction caterpillar and helped build roads. Anything to get a nickel. He worked for a lot of people. Everybody worked. Nobody went anywhere. We had no tires, no gas, no sugar. It was war time.” And there was also work for Ralph on the homefront. “Every morning I went outside to get a pail of water at the pump,” he said. “Only a few people in town had running water. Everybody else had outdoor biffies and a pump for water and a slop pail under the sink. When that pail got full, you carried it outside and dumped it.” The Olinger kids attended a country school called District #51, located at Castle Rock, which is in Dakota County. “We had two classrooms, one for grades one to four and the other for grades five to eight,” said Ralph. “There was also an auditorium but today you might not call it an auditorium. It was small. The school also had indoor plumbing and there were two kids in my grade.” Then it was off to Northfield High School. His favorite subjects? “I didn’t have a favorite subject,” he replied. “I went to school to play ball. While in high school I worked for a farmer.” After graduation in 1953, Ralph worked for a company that made cement blocks and he got 85 cents an hour. He also had a job loading semi trucks, then went to the city and worked in an office where he operated a Bruning copier. “It was an office where there were draftsmen, and copies had to be very particular,” he explained. “I made $1.10 an hour.” In January of 1953, before graduating from high school, Ralph had joined the Navy Reserves. Two years in the Reserves were followed by two years of active duty down near Pensacola, Florida, where he worked in the aviation log office. “I kept records of everybody’s assignments and locations,” he said. “I may have once or twice traded prime assignments for airplane rides.” One time when he was home on leave, he married the girl he’d known all his life. *** Janet was born at the hospital in Farmington on January 15th, 1935, to Otto and Elizabeth Fredrickson, the oldest of three siblings. Her parents were farmers at Northfield, by Castle Rock. “My mother was in the hospital for 13 days with me, that’s how it was in those days, and the bill was $125,” stated Jan. “My dad asked if they’d take $100 in cash tomorrow and they said yes. I guess cash was hard to come by, so he sold four good cows, good milk producers, for $100 to pay for it. And so I always say I was a bargain.”
THE REST OF THE STORY APPEARS IN THE PAPER EDITION. |
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February 2017 |
