Vaina Lee Cole is my mother. She had thick black hair, dark brown eyes, and skin so soft and smooth with a blush of tan. As an adult, Vania Lee was 5'4" and weighed 130 lbs. after having her five daughters. She inherited her hour-glass figure from her mother and her black hair & eyes from her father.
Vaina Lee was born in Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas July 25, 1914. The only natural child of Alvin Porter Cole and Tracie Elizabeth Seymour. They lived on a farm and her father worked for Mel Kelsey. Her parents later adopted a 3 day old baby boy named Meryl Wayne, who drowned at the age of eleven.
The Cole family moved east to Osgood, Ripley, Indiana, in 1921. Vaina Lee went to school at Osgood, graduating from Osgood School at age 16, the tenth grade. The graduation was held at the County Fair Grounds and the Class of 1930 photo shows her back row, left of center. The photo was taken in front of the fairground stadium.
Vaina Lee's best friend was Mildred (later married to Bob Eadler). She and Mildred had a lifetime of memories they shared over the next 70 years. She and Mildred were together the day Vaina Lee met her soon to be husband, Russell Heiderman, born May 26, 1914, in Versailles, Indiana. Russell is the first son of Clifford H. Heiderman and Ethel Ricketts.
Vaina Lee and Russell were both 16 years old the night of the well remembered dance. Russell says it was love at first sight. He said she was little, pretty and had the blackest eyes. He ask her to dance. It was while they were dancing that Russell was bumped and fell forward into Vaina Lee, banging his teeth hard enough into her forehead to break the skin. Vaina Lee always said she could still see the scar (I couldn't though). Russell spent the rest of the evening apologizing and falling in love.
At the age of 17 years, Vaina Lee Cole and Russell Heiderman were married January 30, 1931, by a minister in Versailles. An annoucement was carried in the Osgood Journal. They drove to Topeka, Kansas for their honeymoon. Russell was two months older than Vaina Lee and always told her that he was boss for two out of twelve months every year. That seem to suit them both.
There are two stories that were told to us as we grew older about that honeymoon. I will relate them to the best of my ability.
The first story:
When Russell ask Vaina Lee to marry him, he promised he'd take her to Topeka for their honeymoon, because it was her dream to return to the place of her youngest memories.
We were told that Vaina Lee had "relatives" there and she wanted to share this exciting time of her life with them. It would seem that the "relatives" were American Indian. I know they stayed with the "relatives" and there was a celebration of the marriage...( There was, also, a story they told that Russell was disowned by his mother, because he had married a "half-breed". I didn't ask enough questions at the time, so I have not been able to find out the truth of this claim.)
The second story:
It was in February when Russell and Vaina Lee set forth on the journey home to Indiana. Russell said it was a very difficult and hazardous to drive. He saw a very large mound, which he assumed was a snow drift. He pulled the car into the leeward side of the drift, hoping to find a safe harbor from the storm. Night fell upon them, they bundled up in the back seat with everything they could use around them to keep themselves warm. Russell said he'd never known such cold. He spent the night holding Vaina Lee and trying to keep her warm. When daylight came, Russell said the blizzard had blown over, leaving the car almost entirely buried. He dugged a way out and told Vaina Lee to stay there in the car and try to stay warm, while he investigated the situation to find the best way out. ... As Russell plowed through the deep snow, rounding the huge mound, the sun light fell upon the front of a small church. He hurried back to inform Vaina Lee of what he had found and to tell her to stay there until he checked it out. Once he had managed to enter the church, he found a small wood burning stove and a stack of firewood laid out beside it. Russell hurriedly built a fire and went to get his bride to bring her into the warmth of this safe haven. ... They were there about an hour or so, when suddenly there were loud footsteps on the steps of the church. A gentleman, who farmed the land on which the church was built, entered and introduced himself. He indicated that he'd seen the smoke coming from the chimney and came to investigate. He said he was glad that they'd been able to survive the blizzard. He took them back to his farm, fed them and saw them on their way the next day. ... Russell said the was sure that there was an almighty power watching over them and continued to the rest of their days.
of Vaina Lee Cole will be added hopefully soon.
Those women in our family who were quilters are too numerous to mention by names. I sat at the feet of my grandmother, Tracie Cole, as she and her friends quilted on their projects. Vaina Lee Cole Heiderman, my mother, also, spent much of her time quilting the much used quilts that covered each of our beds. Most of our family quilts (and I am proud to own four generations of quilts), were made as 'utility' quilts. They were meant to be used and meant to be laundered....and they were!