Diediker shares 100 years of memories
LAUREL — Tom Brokaw popularized a phrase that fits Laurel’s Vera Diediker perfectly.
When Brokaw wrote, “The Greatest Generation.” he was referring to Americans born from 1901-1927. These citizens were born amidst a pandemic and lived in its aftermath, they lived through The Great Depression, and were the primary participants in World War II.
Some have lived to talk about it still today.
Much has changed since “The Greatest Generation” was born.
A century ago there weren’t fancy birth announcements sent in the mail or posted on social media. There weren’t endless resources on child rearing. Families lived off little money and lots of love. And, 100 years ago a sweet little girl named Vera was born in Westfield, Iowa. Even then, she had a contagious smile.
Life may have been difficult by today’s standards, she said, but her family got through the tough times just fine.
“My childhood was meager, but we never felt deprived. We were happy to have each other,” she said. “I loved helping my mom, whether it was gardening or housework. I helped my dad milk half a dozen or more cows in the evening.”
As she tapped her fingers on the table and bounced her leg, she recalled life in the Dirty 30s,
“During The Great Depression, we sewed our shirts and skirts. Dad had a huge garden,” she said. “We canned our own produce, butchered our own beef and hogs and never went hungry.”
She also remembers having to help out on the farm.
“I remember in the sixth grade, dad hooked up a disc cultivator to a team of horses so I could cultivate the corn. I also helped shocking grain,” she said. “My dad used a binder to cut the corn and us kids would stack it up like a teepee. Later, a thrasher would come through and separate the straw from the grain. It was quite the process.”
Diediker, the oldest of nine siblings, dreamt of being a teacher since she was a little girl.
“We used to play school growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher.” Her first teaching job was when she was 18 years old at Hilltop School, a country school in Plymouth County during World War II. She taught all seven grades there.
When she was 19 years old, her twin siblings were born. The doctor handed her the first one and said, “I think there’s another one.”
Don and Vera Diediker met in 1946 in Hinton, Iowa at a wedding. They were married Aug. 28, 1952 in Westfield, Iowa. The couple raised four children in the Ponca and Laurel area. As a family, they traveled frequently to Lake Benton, MN for fishing trips.
Diediker later taught lower elementary at Laurel-Concord School. After retirement, she continued to substitute teach and tutor.
In reference to some of her fondest memories throughout the years, “Christmas together with family growing up. I used to go to Chicago by train as a young girl with my Uncle Jack on my dad’s side and we would stay with Uncle Al on my mom’s side. It was hard to believe how big Chicago was.”
She continued, “When perms came out, they were very expensive. When they started selling home perms in catalogs, we four oldest girls would buy them. I would give my three sisters each a perm and then I’d give myself one, except my sister, Millie, would finish the back for me.”
Diediker recalls pivotal moments in history and how they affected her. “When President Kennedy was assassinated, I was a worry wart about what would happen to the country. I also read articles about Martin Luther King Jr. following his assassination because I wanted to know more about what he stood for.”
As a life-long teacher, Diediker values the gift of reading diverse selections of material. ‘We all need to do a lot of reading. Not just books but news articles to broaden your mind on world affairs. Read the Bible. Put your faith in Jesus. He is always there, you are never alone.”
Diediker now spends her days embroidering, sewing, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards, and reading the Bible. She is almost finished reading through the entire Bible. Diediker also loves to write letters to family and friends. She spoke of her special pen pal, Emma Sohler. “Emma and I write to each other and tell each other about our lives. I always enjoy hearing how active she is. She is a sweetie.”
Diediker’s family recently celebrated her milestone. While the celebration was extremely scaled back for the safety of Diediker and her family, it was full of reflection, smiles, laughter, and tears of joy. It was a day of celebrating one of the greatest.
Diediker and her late husband, Don have four children: Steve (Pam) of Hinton, IA, Dave of Wayne, Donnie (Erica) of Laurel, and Kari of Cedar Rapids, IA. They have 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
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