99. Susan Catherine Ferreira
was born on Aug 2 1959 in Shawano, Shawano County, Wisconsin. Susan was
born on a Sunday at Shawano Municipal Hospital. Her mother Helen wrote: "She
was named 'Susan' for her grandmother Katherine Marquis Huffstutler and we took
the middle name spelling of C-atherine for Don’s sister Catherine as well
as Don’s grandmother Catherine MacDonald." She was educated in 1972
in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. Susan attended Kimball Junior High School.
She was also very active in her church's Awana program. The following is from
an Elgin Daily Courier-News article reporting Susan's accomplishments:
"Awana Names Winners"
"Susan Ferreira and Warren Krup are the recipients of the Meritorious Award,
the highest honor given an Awana boy or girl.
Susan is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Don Ferreira of 760 Deborah St. and is
an eighth grade student at Kimball Junior High School. Warren is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Don Krup of rural Elgin and is a student at Central Junior High School.
Both winners attend Grace Evangelical Church.
To receive the award, the boy or girl has to have completed six books containing
hundreds of Bible verses that must be memorized, chapters they read and crafts
completed. The winner must have belonged to the organization at least six years
and must have a good club and Sunday school attendance record.
The awards were recently presented to the winners by Dave Jamerson, the Awana
missionary for Illinois. The club motto is "The other girl or boy for Christ."
Ninety girls and 50 boys from Elgin are members. Awana is national in scope
and has its headquarters in Rolling Meadows. "It's not only a spiritual
club, but also has a sports program climaxed by the Awana Olympics held once
a year with area clubs.
The clubs include students from third through eighth grade. The girls meet on
Monday evening at Grace Evangelical Church at 7pm; the boys meet at 7pm on Thursdays."
She was educated in 1981 in Indiana. Susan graduated from Butler University.
Susan once wrote a short essay for a college class on her recollections of her
grandmother's house in Elgin, Illinois. Her essay was published in a collection
of student manuscripts. Susan's essay entitled 'Oak Street' is reprinted here:
"As the days grew warmer and May slipped into June, I knew that soon it
would be time to go to Oak Street. When I was six or seven, I looked forward
to Oak Street as much as I anticipated my birthday or Christmas. To me, Oak
Street was more than just Grandma and her house Oak Street meant endless summer
days or playing with cousins, climbing trees, learning to sew, or just listening
to tales told by Gram or Aunt Della. As soon as school ended in June, Mother
shipped me off to Oak Street where I spent many summer weekends escaping from
Mattel and Mickey Mouse.
My memories of Oak Street are a collection of sultry July afternoons spent with
my cousins. Usually there were four or five of us together for a weekend at
Gram's, and every member of the group had a tan, knobby knees; at least three
Band-Aids, and a pink mustache from drinking Kool-aid. The only characteristics
that distinguished the girls from the boys were our bobbing pigtails and the
boys' stubby crewcuts. We were affectionately known to everyone on Oak Street
as 'Kate's Kids.'
There was no doubt that Gram's house and yard made an excellent playground. Sometimes
we'd spend hours as courageous explorers who thrashed through the lilac bushes
and evergreens with pretend machetes. We would brave all sorts of dangers such
as camouflaged thistles, 'prickers,' mosquitoes, and the old witch next door.
If one of us became wounded on an expedition Gram would act as our 'medic' and
calmly patch up the scratched knee or cut finger, kiss the wounded firmly on
the cheek anti send him back out into the wilds.
Another favorite pastime was collecting mulberries that fell from Gram's old
gnarled tree. We called them 'mayberries'' after Mrs. Mayberry a good friend
and neighbor of' Gram's. who was as rosy and plump as they were. Each one of
us would steal a Tupperware bowl from the kitchen and once we had a substantial
pile of berries, would sit on the front porch swinging our legs and mashing
the berries with a stick to
make 'Mayberry jam.'
The old house itself also gave us hours of pleasure. There were drafty walk-in
closets just right for hiding in, and secret doors which led you to the basement
to discover only Gram’s washer and dryer. On the second floor a long, graceful
staircase cascaded to the first level with a slick banister which was constantly
polished by our bottoms. But I must admit that my favorite part of the house
was the tiny attic off the second floor bathroom, where I would often go to be
alone. It was a magical place that smelled of lavender and old books, but with
a mere wish it could become the throne room of a Queen or a huge, grassy meadow
with a horsehair rocker as my stallion. Sometimes Cram would come in at night
and find me asleep on my steed after a long day. She would waken me gently and
I would curl up in her wide lap as she rocked in time to the crickets chirping.
We'd sit and talk about anything and everything until the moon slipped behind
the clouds, and then it was time for bed.
But the best part, the very best part about Oak Street was Story Time. On a hot
Sunday evening after al l the dishes were washed and put away, my cousins and
I would gather on the big front porch glider with our popsicles. In the hazy
twilight we'd hear Aunt Della's slippered footsteps as she'd shuffle over to
the glider and ease herself down next to us. We'd snuggle up to her soft bosom
and she'd say, 'All right now, what story would you like to hear first?'
...Aunt Della would adjust just her glasses and tip her head back so that her
nose was a shiny hook in the twilight. The glider would begin to swing back .
. . and forth, back . . . and forth, until it began to lull us to sleep with
the rhythmic chirping of the crickets. Aunt Della would start the story in a
soft, low voice, and as the tale grew and grew her voice built with it…
'Oh!' we'd all scream, and invariably someone would drop his popsicle in the
excitement. 'Tell us another,'' we'd beg Aunt Della. ''Tell us The Big Toe'
or 'The Crooked Mouth Family.' '
It was usually at this exact moment that Mother would drive up in the station
wagon to claim us. 'Hi kids!' she'd call. 'Ready to go now?' And suddenly the
magical spell was broken. We'd untangle ourselves from Aunt Della with a last
good-bye hug and kiss for her and Gram. And that was the end of a weekend at
Oak Street.
I'm sure that we all counted the days until we could go back to Oak Street. I
still go there today, but not half as often as I did during those summers when
I was six or seven. My cousins and I don't grab a popsicle from the freezer
anymore, or fight over who will sit by Aunt Della.
Now Gram and Aunt Della are old, like the house, and talk of leaving Oak Street
soon. I hope they don't, because I'd like my little girl to grow up spending
summers making 'Mayberry jam' and hearing stories on the front porch as she drips
popsicle juice and snuggles up to her favorite aunt on a warm summer's evening."
She was married to Lance R. Rodgers in Nov 1990. Married by Judge Barry Puklin.
This is both Susan and Lance's second marriage. Lance had a Son Kyle R. Rodgers
by his first wife. Family Group Record completed by Helen Huffstutler Ferreira.
Susan Catherine Ferreira and Lance R. Rodgers had the following children:
149 i.
Eloise Katherine Rodgers was born on May 30 1994. Her namesake "Katherine"
was for great grandmother Katherine Marquis Huffstutler. "Eloise"
was a precocious character in a favorite book from Susan's childhood which she
would read over and over. Family Group Record completed by Helen Huffstutler
Ferreira.
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