| Honored by: | Edna Wiser |
| Brick location: | D:3 map |
1889-1975 My mother, Mary Harriett Scheerer (known as "Hattie"), was born in Nebraska in 1889 and grew up in Fort Dodge, IA. Times were hard and she was unable to finish high school. After the ninth grade, she took a Normal Training Course and taught for a few years in a country school. In 1910 she married my father, Don Lester Price. They moved to Redstone, MT, to homestead on the wind-swept, barren land.
It was a very hard life for this young couple. They could barely scratch out a living for themselves and the three daughters and one son who were born there. They moved back to Jefferson, Iowa, where other relatives lived. Dad worked in a store and Mom had plenty to do keeping the house and tending the children. Two of those sisters died in 1920 -- within three weeks of each other -- a very hard time for all. In 1921, Mom had twin girls but lost one at birth, then later two more girls. I was one of those.
I grew up in a family of four girls and one boy. Mom was a gentle, kind, soft-spoken and gracious woman. She worked diligently to teach all of us practical lessons in life. She did it with determination, courage and a strong Christian faith.
She encouraged all her children to continue learning and to go to college. She made sure we did our studying, took our music lessons, and learned practical things such as cooking, sewing, gardening etc. In every way she could, she helped us grow up feeling very good about ourselves. People like my folks were very hard-working people with few frills in life. They gave our family good, strong moral values and love for family, friends, God and country.
During Mom's lifetime, she witnessed history go from horse and buggy days to watching the moon walk. Hattie had ties with Iowa State; I her daughter Edna worked at Iowa State for over 20 years and her grandsons Don Wiser, Tim Wiser and his wife Kim Wiser; her granddaughter Pam Wiser Millen and husband Ted Millen are all ISU graduates. Hattie was a very special person. We are pleased to be able to place a brick in her honor in the Plaza of Heroines.
7/1/96