Laura Ely Kerns (Gene Ely's mother, born 1883) was the second of thirteen children of James W. and Alice Crowley Kerns. She had a sister, Tessa, born in 1889 who died of diphtheria in 1892, when Laura was 9. When she was 16, her next sister, dear Aunt Alice, was born. And shortly thereafter, three more little girls came along, Kathryn, Emily, and Mercedes.
Many of you may remember visiting Aunt Alice who was at the Good Samaritan Home in Auburn in the 1980s. Although she had physical limitations in her later years, her mind was sharp. Alice and Marge Ely were close friends and spent many hours chatting, laughing, and enjoying each other.
Alice Francis Kerns Flack graduated from Auburn High School in 1918. At the time of her graduation, her brothers were going to war (World War I) and J.W. wanted Alice to take a leadership role in the lumber yard. She did, of course, and proved herself to be quite capable. She was a fixture among business people in Auburn for many decades.
Alice remembered much from the early days of Auburn. She recalled the bricking of Courthouse Avenue since her father ordered all the materials. Such an improvement was a major event for the community. The boulevard was completed about 1910 and has withstood the traffic (including parades) for over 100 years!
Be sure to enlarge the 1912 photo to see the beautiful detail on the girls' dresses. We know that their mother did much crocheting, and perhaps she did some of the handwork on the dresses. They have lovely jewelry on too.
 |
| The Kerns Sisters in 1912: Top clockwise: Laura, Kathryn, Mercedes, Emily, and Alice |
Here they are together in 1955 in the Ely house. Emily lived in Omaha while the others spent their lives in Auburn.
 |
| Kathryn Codington, Emily Guthman, Alice Flack, Laura Ely, and Mercedes Sanders. |
 |
| 1976 Gene, Kathryn, Buzz, Alice, Edith |
The Kerns aunts doted upon the Ely nephews throughout their lives.
***
A future post will focus on the J.W. Kerns Lumber Company.
No comments:
Post a Comment