Mama's Little House on the Prairie

By Mary Margaret Kruger

It was a dream come true for Connie to marry a farmer and have her little house on the prairie. Being a city girl, she could only imagine how peaceful country life would be.
But no sooner than the wedding bells stopped ringing, did the alarms of fear begin to toll. Why did life suddenly seem so brutal? Was this mans anger and violent behavior because of something she did? Why did it take her so many years to escape? Had she failed her fourteen children by not leaving sooner?
Read this womans journey to find your own peace and forgiveness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 10, 2009
• ISBN: 9781465325525

Mary Margaret Kruger

Mary Margaret Kruger is the mother of nine children and grandmother of eleven. She was born and raised on a farm in central Illinois along with her thirteen siblings and now resides in North Carolina. Mary has written and published “The Proof is in the Pudding”, “Mama’s Little House on the Prairie” and children’s book “My Grandma is an Alien”. She is also human interest columnist “The Overall Mom”. As author and public speaker Mary Margaret enjoys motivating, inspiring and educating her audiences with stories from her life experiences. Mary has been honored by the Illinois State Medical Society, the University of St. Francis formerly the College of St. Francis, and Woman’s day Magazine.

Book preview

Mama’s Little House

on the Prairie

Mary Margaret Kruger

Cover Art by Connie A. (Wheeler) Denault, 1947

Copyright © 2009 by Mary Margaret Kruger.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without

permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

56764

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One

Escape from Concentration Farm

Chapter Two

The Circle of Life

Chapter Three

Tears of Truth

Chapter Four

The Price of Love

Chapter Five

Letters to Encourage

Chapter Six

A New Day

Chapter Seven

The Journey Begins

Chapter Eight

Why It Takes Two Hands to Iron a Shirt

Chapter Nine

The Things Angela Doesn’t Remember Are the Most Important Ones

Chapter Ten

Laughter and Watching Over Mama

Chapter Eleven

Farming and Mama’s Boys

Chapter Twelve

Christmas Year-round

Chapter Thirteen

Creative Moments

Chapter Fourteen

Ma Helped Betty Pack so She could Run Away

Chapter Fifteen

Faith and Forgiveness

Chapter Sixteen

Mother to Many

Chapter Seventeen

A Neighbor’s Voice Heard

Chapter Eighteen

Grandma Connie’s Irreplaceable Hugs

Chapter Nineteen

Family Traditions

Chapter Twenty

Picture on a Cover by Connie Denault

Chapter Twenty–One

Quilt of Many Holes contributed by your daughter Monica

Epilogue

Recipes from the Kitchen of Ma Connie

Connie’s Art Gallery

Mom—When You Thought I wasn’t Looking

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

DOREEN (DENAULT) BELAND

Aunt Doreen was a beautiful, caring woman.

She was unable to have children of her own, so

she shared her love with her nieces and nephews.

Because of her generous heart,

my dream of writing became a reality.

God bless, Aunt Doreen!

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Doreen (Denault) Beland

Mama’s Little House on the Prairie

has been written for

Ma Connie

Denault

(Constance Anne Wheeler)

We may not always tell you how much we care

or how much you mean to us, but we truly love you, Mama—

with all fourteen of our hearts!

—Your children

Levern, Wanda, Mary, Peter, Damian,

Grace, Rebecca, Monica, Angela, Ralph,

Frieda, Lyle, Elizabeth, and Mark

Hold on to what is good

even if it is a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe

even if it is a tree

that stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do

even if it is

a long way from here . . .

Hold on to my hand

even when I have gone away

from you.

—Nancy Wood, Many Winters

Acknowledgments

One picture expresses a thousand words while one memory—one solitary moment in life—captures thousands of unforgettable heart-shots that we carry with us throughout eternity.

Recapturing the many special moments of Ma Connie’s life would not have been possible without the help of my thirteen siblings, their spouses, children, and a few other very special people that have been a part of Ma’s life over the years.

Their memories and participation helped bring these treasured letters together, creating a very unique memoir of one extremely beautiful woman—Ma Connie Denault. Utilizing a format of personal letters was the only way to develop a story of a woman who has dedicated her entire life to writing letters of hope and encouragement to people around the world.

Tremendous appreciation goes out to my husband, David, for his unconditional love, support, and patience throughout my roller-coaster ride of memories and emotions in preparing this book for print. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, my greatest supporter.

A very special thank-you to my dear, sweet sister-in-law Vicki Denault, whom I was constantly calling on for dates, photos, and information. Vicki, you are a one-in-a-million angel. I could not have done this without you.

To my sister Wanda for the hours we spent icing cookies at her Nana’s Cakery while talking and laughing about old times with Ma, thank you! It was great seeing Ma laugh as we created new memories (as well as messes).

To my sister Grace for all she has done over the years to keep a close eye on Ma—the moves, the doctor’s appointments, the power outages, you name it—Grace was there. God bless you! Thank-you seems so inadequate.

To my little sisters Rebecca (Becky), Monica, Angela, Frieda, and Elizabeth (Betty), your memories were paramount. They were the icing on the cake—or cookies if you will. Your letters to Ma are the heart and soul of this book. Thank you so much!

As one of the little kids, Betty was given some additional time to spend alone with Ma after we all left the nest. It was then that Ma began her transition toward better days. Thanks for being there, Betty, and for sharing your many treasured pieces of Ma’s artwork with us. You are a very talented artist just like she is.

Frieda, thank you for your e-mails, especially the ones trying to get your sisters and your mother together all at one time. Wow! What a hilarious journey that was! I didn’t know we had so many comedians in the family! Thanks also to you and Grace for getting Ma to the Holland, Michigan, Tulip Festival. I heard you had to rent a U-Haul to get all her wooden shoes home. Ha! Just kidding! But she did lose a wheel off her wheelchair. Was that before or after she picked up all her souvenirs?

To my brothers Levern (Vern), Peter, Damian, Ralph, Lyle, and Mark, I love you all; and I realize how difficult it was for you to come up with positive memories of your childhood—but that’s okay. Those were difficult times. You guys had a lot of outside chores and responsibilities that didn’t allow you the time to spend inside the house with Ma like us girls had. But once you read through these pages, you will get to know your mother all over again as I did. She is quite a phenomenal woman. We are so blessed because of her.

Mark, my dear little brother, you have been through so much and I am very sorry about that. I hope you are able to see how much your mother loves you. It wasn’t your fault she had to leave the farm.

Her heart broke into a million little pieces when she found out Dad had you believing it was your fault Ma left. I can’t imagine how that must have hurt you. I hope you realize now that it wasn’t because of you that she had to get out of there. Ma loves you very much, Mark. You are her baby and always will be.

This book may have been written for and about Ma Connie, but it is also about the millions of men and women in the world today who have been or are being used and abused. It’s important that we listen to our loved ones with an open heart and recognize their cry for help.

Life is a precious gift from God. Nobody deserves to live life feeling as though they failed, especially a parent who has given so much of their life for the sake of their children as Ma did.

I am very proud to be a part of Mama’s family. She made enormous sacrifices for her children and is my hero. God bless you, Mama.

Anyone wanting to send Ma a note or message is welcome to do so by writing her at the following address. I will see to it Ma gets every piece of her mail.

Connie A. Denault

c/o Mary Kruger

PO Box 52

Rantoul, IL 61866

Introduction

And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.

—Rom. 8:28

Reading stories about the saints as a young Catholic girl was fascinating for me. I was amazed by the extreme sacrifices each had made. The challenges they endured for their God or a loved one was phenomenal.

Learning how the saints lived made me want to be a better person, but I could not imagine anyone willing to endure such extreme forces. That is, of course, until my mother.

Ma was born and raised a city girl.

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Connie in her younger years

She was college bound with her remarkable artistic talents when she met my dad, a Central Illinois farm boy.

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