Earline Madden Nicholds. (original) (raw)

Earline Madden was born in 1923, in the community of Pennington, TX, where she enjoyed the country environment in which to be raised, attend school, and get married. In her humor, she said that the family was "too poor" and couldn't afford to have given her a middle name! Her father was one who "ran everything", both inside and outside of the house. Earline, her three sisters, and their younger brother, were so glad to see Papa John get in the wagon to go to town, because they knew he would be gone all day.

Earline's chores on the farm included picking cotton; washing clothes on a wash board, hanging them to dry, and then ironing them; working in the garden; gathering eggs and milking the cows; feeding the animals; and, helping with cooking. Water was retrieved from a cistern/well. It's a wonder she still had time to do her homework assignments!

The country school that Earline attended had a graduating class consisting of about a dozen students. Her eldest daughter, Sharon, recalls hearing of one incident: Do not know the question, but, on one occasion, the school teacher was apparently impressed by her answer and said: "That knocked me right out of the Christmas Tree". To which Earline replied, "You shouldn't have been in the Christmas Tree at this time of the year, anyway". We can only guess that the teacher had a liberal sense of humor.

Sharon uncovered this poem written for a contest when her mother was in grade school:

"The Red Bird"
The Red Bird is my favorite one, With its coat of red home-spun He hops around from post to tree, And sings a sweet little song to me

Earline still gets excited when she sees the red birds come to the feeders to eat.

Martha, the second daughter, shared a story of either being frugal or just plain desperate: Earline recalls a time when they went to town, which wasn't often, and got ice cream cones as a treat. Coming out of the store, she dropped hers. Knowing that she wouldn't get another, she quickly picked it up and happily ate it. Apparently, the five-second rule applied back in the 1930's, as well!

Earline married Woodrow Nicholds and, after his being discharged from the Army, they relocated about thirty miles east of Houston. As an adolescent, grand-daughter Melanie remembers times visiting with "Granny Nicholds" at their home in Channelview. "She was always up very early, before anyone else. I would find her sitting in the kitchen, quietly, just listening to the birds chirping outside. And, she makes the best pies ever! Chocolate pie with meringue."

Another grand-daughter, Sashia, says: "When I was young, granny was always busy working in the yard or arranging for repairs to the apartments. She was always trying to feed us. One of my fondest memories is making brownies! Of course, in everything she did, if you were around, you got to help. In hindsight, it was her way of teaching us. I learned so much from her; she is a very strong and independent woman!"

Among singers of the era, Perry Como was Earline's all-time favorite.

In family life, the Nicholds were jokingly said to have raised three sets of children: Sharon & Don (born 1943 & 1945); Norman & Martha (born 1950 & 1952); and, Marilyn (born 1960). Norman died in 1990 and Don died in 2014. Earline was widowed in 1978 and continued to manage the apartments that Woodrow had built as supplemental income. She sold the home place several years ago.

Like other housewives of the era, Earline was devoted to caring for the children, attending to matters of the home, and being a support to her husband.