Maymie Rebecca Katherine Crissman was born in St.Joseph, MO. April 10, 1907. Her father was a
minster there but moved shortly after she was born to Iowa. One of the areas she lived was St. Louis,
Mo. Someone who came to visit the family called her Sally and she really liked that and continued to be
called by that name the rest of her life. She went to High School in the St. Louis area and then the family
moved to Kansas City. That was where the family lived the rest of her life.
Her first year of college was at Smith College in Columbia, Missouri. After that she attended Baker University in Ballwin, Kansas. She studied to become a teacher and became one after her graduation. Baker University is where she met her future husband and my father, Elwin Shinkle. Both of them taught in a small town in Kansas until they had saved enough money to start a grocery business.
That is when they moved to Wellsville, Kansas and opened a grocery store. They lived in that area
during the Great Depression and the Second World War. We never went out to eat. Mother always
cooked our meals and because of sugar rationing we only had dessert once a week. In the evening she
would read to us and we would sing as she played the piano. She continued to do this until all the girls
were old enough to read on their own, but we still continued to sing.
They were very helpful to those in need and she allowed a young lady high school student to come live with us during the week since she lived out of town and gas was rationed then. The girl spent each night in my bedroom and later in life when she had a baby girl she named her Joanna. Mother took care of the financial business of the grocery store while Dad ran it in the other ways. Those who were too poor to pay for groceries were allowed to have some from the store. In the mid 1940s they sold their business and started the John Deere dealership in Liberty, Mo. Many in Wellsville were sad to see them leave and many paid what they had owed for years.
They bought a home in Kansas City, MO. very close to where her father lived. They paid cash for it. Bryant Grade School where I started had more students than the whole population of Wellsville. This was a great shock for me, because many of the students in my class came from very wealthy families. One of the girl’s father was head of the big airline, TWA. I did finally make a couple of friends there but most of them were very uppity.
We started attending the Country Club Methodist Church which was close by because her father was a retired Methodist minister. She sang in the church choir, taught Sunday school and also played the piano for the children and adults to sing.
She was friendly to our neighbors and took them goodies at Christmas time, even though one of them was Jewish. She joined PEO there and was very active and involved until she died. We continued to eat all our meals at home and on Sundays we ate in the formal dining room area. While in high school I took a class about good eating and shared some of these ideas with mom. She started to cook lots more vegetables and other healthy foods for our family and continued to do so.
After I graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City the family moved to Liberty to be closer to where my Dad’s John Deere dealership was. Both of my sisters graduated from Liberty High School. It was not nearly as highly ranked as the one in K.C.
After their graduation and my father’s death she moved back to the Kansas City area on the Kansas side. She remarried two times. The first one lasted a very short time because he as a real jerk. She then married Don Day and they were married many years before he died. Don’s wife and mother of his children had died about a year earlier.
After Don’s death mother sold their home in Prairie Village, KS. and moved to a retirement home where she lived until her death. Before the dinner hour she sat at the piano outside the dining room and played. People would come early to listen to her playing many old familiar songs.
Her first year of college was at Smith College in Columbia, Missouri. After that she attended Baker University in Ballwin, Kansas. She studied to become a teacher and became one after her graduation. Baker University is where she met her future husband and my father, Elwin Shinkle. Both of them taught in a small town in Kansas until they had saved enough money to start a grocery business.
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| School where Elwin and Sally taught. |
They were very helpful to those in need and she allowed a young lady high school student to come live with us during the week since she lived out of town and gas was rationed then. The girl spent each night in my bedroom and later in life when she had a baby girl she named her Joanna. Mother took care of the financial business of the grocery store while Dad ran it in the other ways. Those who were too poor to pay for groceries were allowed to have some from the store. In the mid 1940s they sold their business and started the John Deere dealership in Liberty, Mo. Many in Wellsville were sad to see them leave and many paid what they had owed for years.
They bought a home in Kansas City, MO. very close to where her father lived. They paid cash for it. Bryant Grade School where I started had more students than the whole population of Wellsville. This was a great shock for me, because many of the students in my class came from very wealthy families. One of the girl’s father was head of the big airline, TWA. I did finally make a couple of friends there but most of them were very uppity.
We started attending the Country Club Methodist Church which was close by because her father was a retired Methodist minister. She sang in the church choir, taught Sunday school and also played the piano for the children and adults to sing.
She was friendly to our neighbors and took them goodies at Christmas time, even though one of them was Jewish. She joined PEO there and was very active and involved until she died. We continued to eat all our meals at home and on Sundays we ate in the formal dining room area. While in high school I took a class about good eating and shared some of these ideas with mom. She started to cook lots more vegetables and other healthy foods for our family and continued to do so.
After I graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City the family moved to Liberty to be closer to where my Dad’s John Deere dealership was. Both of my sisters graduated from Liberty High School. It was not nearly as highly ranked as the one in K.C.
After their graduation and my father’s death she moved back to the Kansas City area on the Kansas side. She remarried two times. The first one lasted a very short time because he as a real jerk. She then married Don Day and they were married many years before he died. Don’s wife and mother of his children had died about a year earlier.
After Don’s death mother sold their home in Prairie Village, KS. and moved to a retirement home where she lived until her death. Before the dinner hour she sat at the piano outside the dining room and played. People would come early to listen to her playing many old familiar songs.
Her sister, Helen Crissman, went to college in St. Louis and then got her master’s degree in journalism
at Northwestern University. That was unusual for a woman born in 1900. She taught English in a local
high school in K.C. and later taught at the local university. She regularly wrote for the Kansas City Star
newspaper. She was also very talented at playing the piano and did so regularly. When the family lived
in St. Louis she played the organ on Saturday night for the silent movies and then played the organ at
church the next day. She lived with her father in Kansas City for many years and took care of him in his
old age.
Her brother, Willard F. Crissman, also graduated from Baker University in Ballwin, Ks. He became an executive in the advertising field. He was head of advertising for Kresge before they went out of business. He lived in Michigan most of his adult life and had a small cottage on a lake there in addition to his home near Detroit. In the summer we visited there regularly and even after Nick and I were married we went there with our children. He had a boat and water skis for the children to enjoy.
Nick and I had dated in high school and mom liked him. After a very mistaken marriage to a man at
my college I filed for divorce. Mom was very pleased I was leaving him and immediately sought out Nick
to tell him about the divorce. She was very hopeful that we would get back together and marry, and that
is exactly what happened. We are both grateful that she got us back in touch with each other. Nick was
in Kansas City working during her later years and spent lots of time with her. I would drive over there
regularly on the weekends.
I’m grateful she was my mom. She was always kind to me though not outwardly affectionate. She gave me a good life growing up. She came to our home here in Creve Coeur to celebrate her 90th birthday. All our family came for the celebration which meant a lot to her.
I so look forward to seeing her and my Dad together on the other side. Years ago I had them sealed as a couple in the St. Louis Temple.
Her brother, Willard F. Crissman, also graduated from Baker University in Ballwin, Ks. He became an executive in the advertising field. He was head of advertising for Kresge before they went out of business. He lived in Michigan most of his adult life and had a small cottage on a lake there in addition to his home near Detroit. In the summer we visited there regularly and even after Nick and I were married we went there with our children. He had a boat and water skis for the children to enjoy.
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| Helen Jo and Willard Crissman |
I’m grateful she was my mom. She was always kind to me though not outwardly affectionate. She gave me a good life growing up. She came to our home here in Creve Coeur to celebrate her 90th birthday. All our family came for the celebration which meant a lot to her.
I so look forward to seeing her and my Dad together on the other side. Years ago I had them sealed as a couple in the St. Louis Temple.
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| The Shinkle Family- Willard Elwin, Maymie Rebecca with daughters Joanna, Becky and Helen |
