Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, Wallus Earl Kolp and Carl Seymour Kolp. She married Virgil Cecil Hogge on February 14, 1924 at the Kolp home near Paulina, Iowa. Irene and Vergil later moved to Stanfield Oregon where they had a farm and four children. During WWII, Irene drove a forklift at the Umatilla Ordinance Depot. She was a bowler, was in the Rebeccas and other women's organizations, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans.
She married her dance partner, Woody Barber in Winnemucca,Nevada on February 5, 1954 after the death of Vergil, but she divorced him in Umatilla County, Oregon on July 17, 1956. She lived in a tiny home near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield...small but filled with wonderful cacti in the entry, knick knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets.
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Bio written by Phyllis Irene Porter Zegers, 2011
Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, one older and one younger. Wallis "Earl" Kolp was born in 1901 in Iowa. In 1907 Carl Seymour was born in Brewster, Minnesota.
In the first several years of their marriage Charley and Lizzie were unsettled. Shortly after their wedding they moved to Terril, Iowa about 200 miles from their hometown of Traer, Iowa. A couple years later, in1903, they moved to a farm a few miles west of Brewster, Noble County, Minnesota. Irene was born there in 1904. They farmed 240 acres there for 7 years before they moved to Vega, Panhandle County, Texas (40 miles from Amarillo) for 1 year. While in Texas the family lived in a dugout with a cover over it and dirt on top. One day the roof caved in but luckily everyone got out in the nick of time. They moved back to Iowa in 1911. Some family members speculated that they did not return to Traer because they had not been successful in their various endeavors. Instead Charley rented property in Paullina, Iowa and farmed it.
In Paullina the children went to school in a one-room schoolhouse about 1/4 mile from their house. Eight to twelve children attended the elementary school at one time. For many years Charley was on the school board. Because the Kolps lived close to the school the teacher boarded with the Kolp family. Irene was close to the teachers and at one time aspired to become a teacher herself. She said she would like to have "been a teacher or a hired man," but did not want to be a nurse as her parents had hoped. She described herself as a tomboy.
On January 14, 1913, at the age of 12, Irene's older brother, Earl, was killed in an accident when he fell or jumped off a buggy. He had been riding on the step of the buggy for a few yards as his friends were leaving for the evening. His neck was broken when the buggy rolled over him and he died shortly after Charley carried him to the house.
The Kolps were members of the Paullina Presbyterian Church since 7-5-1914 and Irene went to Sunday school. She also took piano lesson, but did not practice and didn't feel she played well. She read a lot but loved riding horses most of all. She started riding at the age of three. As a child it was her job to get on her horse and bring the cows in from the pasture everyday. She also broke horses so they could be ridden and sold. She did this bareback. She was said to have been in love with her double cousin, Lawrence Childs. They were double cousins because her dad, Charley, and his sister married siblings, Lizzie and Fredrick Childs.
Vergil Hogge lived in the same town. He had served in the Navy during WWI for a year. He asked Irene to go to a show in the spring of 1923 and they "just kept going together after that." In 1923 Irene graduated from Paullina High School along with 13 other students. Irene married Vergil on Valentine's Day in 1924 in the Kolp's home near Paullina. Vergil's sister, Helen and Irene's brother, Carl, were witnesses to the marriage performed by Minister Arthur C. Evans, a Presbyterian minister. It was the 24th anniversary of Irene's parents' wedding so Lizzie wore her wedding dress that day.
Two weeks later Irene and Vergil were headed off to live in Brookings, South Dakota. During that 2 weeks Vergil sold his mother's farm animals and moved her into town because she could not manage the rented farm without him.
Irene and Vergil then lived in Brookings on Charley's farm for six years. They raised corn, oats and pasture. Six years later they had to sell everything to pay off a debt to Charley. Irene stated that she liked her father and they got along until she married Vergil. Charley and Vergil didn't get along so Irene said she was "on the outs" after that.
In 1929 back in Iowa, Irene's mother had been confined to bed for 10 days prior to a hospital visit. She went to the hospital in Sioux City for exploratory surgery. She had stomach cancer and it was inoperable. Three days later while still in the hospital she died of what the doctor called "a sudden attack of blood clot to the lung."
In Brookings, Elaine Margaret and James Earl were born in 1926 and 1927 in a hospital. Irene recalled gratefully that ether was used. From Brookings they moved to Bonesteel, South Dakota around 1930 although Irene didn't know why Vergil chose Bonesteel. There they raised sheep and cattle. They also got a monthly relief check from the government. Forrest Wendell was born in Bonesteel at home in 1931. While in Bonesteel Irene had a miscarriage.
Grasshopper infestations and dust storms plagued Bonesteel. This was the period referred to as the Dust Bowl. The grasshoppers destroyed gardens and even ate the trees and killed them. Vergil sold the sheep to a man in Idaho and the man offered Vergil a job so the family packed up and went to Idaho. Vergil didn't like the job. They headed for Goldbar, Washington where Vergil's uncle lived. There were no jobs there so they headed to Emmett, Idaho. They picked apples and pruned apple trees for a while. Sometimes they lived in their truck and sometimes in shacks. In 1935 Irene was pregnant with Glenn so they moved on to Weston, Oregon where Vergil rented out his truck to a farmer. Irene worked in a cannery there. Glenn was born in 1936.
In 1938 Vergil and Irene bought a farm outside of Stanfield for $1,500. They used a $500 WWI military bonus check Vergil received and $500 Irene received when she and Vergil forced the sale of her maternal grandmother's farm after her death. The extended family was angry about the forced sale and Irene's father was upset that he didn't get any part of it. They borrowed another $500, which they paid off over 5 years. Irene said the farm was not large enough to support a family and after the children were old enough to tend the farm with their mother, Vergil would do the planting and then spend the summer working on WPA highway construction projects. They sold the farm in 1948 for $11,000 and bought a small house near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield for $4,500.
From 1942 to 1949 Irene worked at Umatilla Ordinance Ammunition Depot. She was on the general labor crew for two years sorting ammunition and painting and then drove a forklift for 5 years. On March 21, 1944 Irene was working in the west area of the depot at 9:30 at night when bombs exploded killing six workers. The explosion could be heard in all the neighboring towns for miles around. Irene was unhurt.
When the soldiers returned from WWII most of the women at Ordinance were laid off, but because she had the particular skill of driving a forklift and women were paid less, Irene continued to work longer than most women.
After eventually being laid off from Ordinance in 1949 she wrapped meat at the Stanfield grocery store for 5 years and later was a clerk at the Stanfield Irrigation District office for 7 years. Next she worked at a supermarket before retiring.
Irene voted for the first time about 1936 while living in Weston. She was in her early 30s. She was always a Democrat because her husband was a Democrat. She was a member of the Grange, and the Rebeccas. She joined the Eagles and often went dancing there. Vergil did not join any organizations. Although he was not a drinker he preferred spending his winter days playing pinochle in the local tavern for spending money. In 1953, Vergil died in the Walla Walla VA Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington from kidney failure related to Bright's disease.
Six to seven months after Vergil's death Irene married her dance partner, Woodrow "Woody" Barber. Once married he never wanted to go dancing again. She said that marrying Woody was one of the biggest regrets of her life. After a short time they were divorced and there were allegations of cruelty. She kept the name Barber. After her divorce she went on a long solo road trip to Idaho.
Irene was a bowler, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans. Her mother had taught her to crochet as a child and in 1949 after being laid off from Ordinance she started crocheting afghans. She kept wonderful cacti in the entry, knick-knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets. She loved to travel and frequently went on group tours to countries around the world. She was very independent and liked living in eastern Oregon.
Back in Iowa, Irene's brother Carl and his wife, Olive, took care of Charley in his later years. Carl would do anything for his father, but according to Olive, Carl did not like his father because he was demanding and critical. Charley died in 1961 and Carl was the executor of the will. In the will, Charley gave Irene a $1,000 and gave the remainder of the estate to Carl. Irene asked to know the value of Carl's portion. It was valued at $20,419. Irene asked for $5000, but Carl refused. She was bitter about this, but did not contest the will.
In the 1925 South Dakota census Irene indicated her religion was "presbyterian" and her ancestry was "yankee." Irene was not a particularly religious woman, but she was very social. She attended church in Stanfield regularly in her later years because she liked the people and enjoyed singing and visiting with them. On several occasions she would start a conversation by asking someone if they believed in God. It seemed she was genuinely interested in the conversation rather than wanting to evangelize. She seemed to be unsure of how she felt about the answer herself.
Irene had by-pass surgery in the mid-1980s and lived another 10 years. Toward the end of her life Irene lived in a nursing home (The Good Samaritan Center) in Hermiston, Oregon. She retained her quirky sense of humor even when hospitalized with a heart condition. When visitors would enter the room she'd ask, "Am I dead yet?" and smile. Because she died around Halloween the nursing home where her service was held was decorated with ghosts and skeletons. Initially the participants in the service thought this was inappropriate or unfortunate, but quickly realized Irene would have been the first to find it funny.
She died at the Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston, Oregon of congestive heart failure due to myocardio infarction. Irene's remains were cremated and buried to the left of Vergil's grave at the Echo Cemetery in Echo, Oregon near Stanfield.
Irene was probably given her middle name (Margaret) in honor of her maternal grandmother, but the name Irene does not appear anywhere else before Irene. Her first born granddaughter (me) was given the middle name Irene in her honor.
She married her dance partner, Woody Barber in Winnemucca,Nevada on February 5, 1954 after the death of Vergil, but she divorced him in Umatilla County, Oregon on July 17, 1956. She lived in a tiny home near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield...small but filled with wonderful cacti in the entry, knick knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets.
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Bio written by Phyllis Irene Porter Zegers, 2011
Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, one older and one younger. Wallis "Earl" Kolp was born in 1901 in Iowa. In 1907 Carl Seymour was born in Brewster, Minnesota.
In the first several years of their marriage Charley and Lizzie were unsettled. Shortly after their wedding they moved to Terril, Iowa about 200 miles from their hometown of Traer, Iowa. A couple years later, in1903, they moved to a farm a few miles west of Brewster, Noble County, Minnesota. Irene was born there in 1904. They farmed 240 acres there for 7 years before they moved to Vega, Panhandle County, Texas (40 miles from Amarillo) for 1 year. While in Texas the family lived in a dugout with a cover over it and dirt on top. One day the roof caved in but luckily everyone got out in the nick of time. They moved back to Iowa in 1911. Some family members speculated that they did not return to Traer because they had not been successful in their various endeavors. Instead Charley rented property in Paullina, Iowa and farmed it.
In Paullina the children went to school in a one-room schoolhouse about 1/4 mile from their house. Eight to twelve children attended the elementary school at one time. For many years Charley was on the school board. Because the Kolps lived close to the school the teacher boarded with the Kolp family. Irene was close to the teachers and at one time aspired to become a teacher herself. She said she would like to have "been a teacher or a hired man," but did not want to be a nurse as her parents had hoped. She described herself as a tomboy.
On January 14, 1913, at the age of 12, Irene's older brother, Earl, was killed in an accident when he fell or jumped off a buggy. He had been riding on the step of the buggy for a few yards as his friends were leaving for the evening. His neck was broken when the buggy rolled over him and he died shortly after Charley carried him to the house.
The Kolps were members of the Paullina Presbyterian Church since 7-5-1914 and Irene went to Sunday school. She also took piano lesson, but did not practice and didn't feel she played well. She read a lot but loved riding horses most of all. She started riding at the age of three. As a child it was her job to get on her horse and bring the cows in from the pasture everyday. She also broke horses so they could be ridden and sold. She did this bareback. She was said to have been in love with her double cousin, Lawrence Childs. They were double cousins because her dad, Charley, and his sister married siblings, Lizzie and Fredrick Childs.
Vergil Hogge lived in the same town. He had served in the Navy during WWI for a year. He asked Irene to go to a show in the spring of 1923 and they "just kept going together after that." In 1923 Irene graduated from Paullina High School along with 13 other students. Irene married Vergil on Valentine's Day in 1924 in the Kolp's home near Paullina. Vergil's sister, Helen and Irene's brother, Carl, were witnesses to the marriage performed by Minister Arthur C. Evans, a Presbyterian minister. It was the 24th anniversary of Irene's parents' wedding so Lizzie wore her wedding dress that day.
Two weeks later Irene and Vergil were headed off to live in Brookings, South Dakota. During that 2 weeks Vergil sold his mother's farm animals and moved her into town because she could not manage the rented farm without him.
Irene and Vergil then lived in Brookings on Charley's farm for six years. They raised corn, oats and pasture. Six years later they had to sell everything to pay off a debt to Charley. Irene stated that she liked her father and they got along until she married Vergil. Charley and Vergil didn't get along so Irene said she was "on the outs" after that.
In 1929 back in Iowa, Irene's mother had been confined to bed for 10 days prior to a hospital visit. She went to the hospital in Sioux City for exploratory surgery. She had stomach cancer and it was inoperable. Three days later while still in the hospital she died of what the doctor called "a sudden attack of blood clot to the lung."
In Brookings, Elaine Margaret and James Earl were born in 1926 and 1927 in a hospital. Irene recalled gratefully that ether was used. From Brookings they moved to Bonesteel, South Dakota around 1930 although Irene didn't know why Vergil chose Bonesteel. There they raised sheep and cattle. They also got a monthly relief check from the government. Forrest Wendell was born in Bonesteel at home in 1931. While in Bonesteel Irene had a miscarriage.
Grasshopper infestations and dust storms plagued Bonesteel. This was the period referred to as the Dust Bowl. The grasshoppers destroyed gardens and even ate the trees and killed them. Vergil sold the sheep to a man in Idaho and the man offered Vergil a job so the family packed up and went to Idaho. Vergil didn't like the job. They headed for Goldbar, Washington where Vergil's uncle lived. There were no jobs there so they headed to Emmett, Idaho. They picked apples and pruned apple trees for a while. Sometimes they lived in their truck and sometimes in shacks. In 1935 Irene was pregnant with Glenn so they moved on to Weston, Oregon where Vergil rented out his truck to a farmer. Irene worked in a cannery there. Glenn was born in 1936.
In 1938 Vergil and Irene bought a farm outside of Stanfield for $1,500. They used a $500 WWI military bonus check Vergil received and $500 Irene received when she and Vergil forced the sale of her maternal grandmother's farm after her death. The extended family was angry about the forced sale and Irene's father was upset that he didn't get any part of it. They borrowed another $500, which they paid off over 5 years. Irene said the farm was not large enough to support a family and after the children were old enough to tend the farm with their mother, Vergil would do the planting and then spend the summer working on WPA highway construction projects. They sold the farm in 1948 for $11,000 and bought a small house near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield for $4,500.
From 1942 to 1949 Irene worked at Umatilla Ordinance Ammunition Depot. She was on the general labor crew for two years sorting ammunition and painting and then drove a forklift for 5 years. On March 21, 1944 Irene was working in the west area of the depot at 9:30 at night when bombs exploded killing six workers. The explosion could be heard in all the neighboring towns for miles around. Irene was unhurt.
When the soldiers returned from WWII most of the women at Ordinance were laid off, but because she had the particular skill of driving a forklift and women were paid less, Irene continued to work longer than most women.
After eventually being laid off from Ordinance in 1949 she wrapped meat at the Stanfield grocery store for 5 years and later was a clerk at the Stanfield Irrigation District office for 7 years. Next she worked at a supermarket before retiring.
Irene voted for the first time about 1936 while living in Weston. She was in her early 30s. She was always a Democrat because her husband was a Democrat. She was a member of the Grange, and the Rebeccas. She joined the Eagles and often went dancing there. Vergil did not join any organizations. Although he was not a drinker he preferred spending his winter days playing pinochle in the local tavern for spending money. In 1953, Vergil died in the Walla Walla VA Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington from kidney failure related to Bright's disease.
Six to seven months after Vergil's death Irene married her dance partner, Woodrow "Woody" Barber. Once married he never wanted to go dancing again. She said that marrying Woody was one of the biggest regrets of her life. After a short time they were divorced and there were allegations of cruelty. She kept the name Barber. After her divorce she went on a long solo road trip to Idaho.
Irene was a bowler, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans. Her mother had taught her to crochet as a child and in 1949 after being laid off from Ordinance she started crocheting afghans. She kept wonderful cacti in the entry, knick-knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets. She loved to travel and frequently went on group tours to countries around the world. She was very independent and liked living in eastern Oregon.
Back in Iowa, Irene's brother Carl and his wife, Olive, took care of Charley in his later years. Carl would do anything for his father, but according to Olive, Carl did not like his father because he was demanding and critical. Charley died in 1961 and Carl was the executor of the will. In the will, Charley gave Irene a $1,000 and gave the remainder of the estate to Carl. Irene asked to know the value of Carl's portion. It was valued at $20,419. Irene asked for $5000, but Carl refused. She was bitter about this, but did not contest the will.
In the 1925 South Dakota census Irene indicated her religion was "presbyterian" and her ancestry was "yankee." Irene was not a particularly religious woman, but she was very social. She attended church in Stanfield regularly in her later years because she liked the people and enjoyed singing and visiting with them. On several occasions she would start a conversation by asking someone if they believed in God. It seemed she was genuinely interested in the conversation rather than wanting to evangelize. She seemed to be unsure of how she felt about the answer herself.
Irene had by-pass surgery in the mid-1980s and lived another 10 years. Toward the end of her life Irene lived in a nursing home (The Good Samaritan Center) in Hermiston, Oregon. She retained her quirky sense of humor even when hospitalized with a heart condition. When visitors would enter the room she'd ask, "Am I dead yet?" and smile. Because she died around Halloween the nursing home where her service was held was decorated with ghosts and skeletons. Initially the participants in the service thought this was inappropriate or unfortunate, but quickly realized Irene would have been the first to find it funny.
She died at the Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston, Oregon of congestive heart failure due to myocardio infarction. Irene's remains were cremated and buried to the left of Vergil's grave at the Echo Cemetery in Echo, Oregon near Stanfield.
Irene was probably given her middle name (Margaret) in honor of her maternal grandmother, but the name Irene does not appear anywhere else before Irene. Her first born granddaughter (me) was given the middle name Irene in her honor.
Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, Wallus Earl Kolp and Carl Seymour Kolp. She married Virgil Cecil Hogge on February 14, 1924 at the Kolp home near Paulina, Iowa. Irene and Vergil later moved to Stanfield Oregon where they had a farm and four children. During WWII, Irene drove a forklift at the Umatilla Ordinance Depot. She was a bowler, was in the Rebeccas and other women's organizations, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans.
She married her dance partner, Woody Barber in Winnemucca,Nevada on February 5, 1954 after the death of Vergil, but she divorced him in Umatilla County, Oregon on July 17, 1956. She lived in a tiny home near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield...small but filled with wonderful cacti in the entry, knick knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets.
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Bio written by Phyllis Irene Porter Zegers, 2011
Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, one older and one younger. Wallis "Earl" Kolp was born in 1901 in Iowa. In 1907 Carl Seymour was born in Brewster, Minnesota.
In the first several years of their marriage Charley and Lizzie were unsettled. Shortly after their wedding they moved to Terril, Iowa about 200 miles from their hometown of Traer, Iowa. A couple years later, in1903, they moved to a farm a few miles west of Brewster, Noble County, Minnesota. Irene was born there in 1904. They farmed 240 acres there for 7 years before they moved to Vega, Panhandle County, Texas (40 miles from Amarillo) for 1 year. While in Texas the family lived in a dugout with a cover over it and dirt on top. One day the roof caved in but luckily everyone got out in the nick of time. They moved back to Iowa in 1911. Some family members speculated that they did not return to Traer because they had not been successful in their various endeavors. Instead Charley rented property in Paullina, Iowa and farmed it.
In Paullina the children went to school in a one-room schoolhouse about 1/4 mile from their house. Eight to twelve children attended the elementary school at one time. For many years Charley was on the school board. Because the Kolps lived close to the school the teacher boarded with the Kolp family. Irene was close to the teachers and at one time aspired to become a teacher herself. She said she would like to have "been a teacher or a hired man," but did not want to be a nurse as her parents had hoped. She described herself as a tomboy.
On January 14, 1913, at the age of 12, Irene's older brother, Earl, was killed in an accident when he fell or jumped off a buggy. He had been riding on the step of the buggy for a few yards as his friends were leaving for the evening. His neck was broken when the buggy rolled over him and he died shortly after Charley carried him to the house.
The Kolps were members of the Paullina Presbyterian Church since 7-5-1914 and Irene went to Sunday school. She also took piano lesson, but did not practice and didn't feel she played well. She read a lot but loved riding horses most of all. She started riding at the age of three. As a child it was her job to get on her horse and bring the cows in from the pasture everyday. She also broke horses so they could be ridden and sold. She did this bareback. She was said to have been in love with her double cousin, Lawrence Childs. They were double cousins because her dad, Charley, and his sister married siblings, Lizzie and Fredrick Childs.
Vergil Hogge lived in the same town. He had served in the Navy during WWI for a year. He asked Irene to go to a show in the spring of 1923 and they "just kept going together after that." In 1923 Irene graduated from Paullina High School along with 13 other students. Irene married Vergil on Valentine's Day in 1924 in the Kolp's home near Paullina. Vergil's sister, Helen and Irene's brother, Carl, were witnesses to the marriage performed by Minister Arthur C. Evans, a Presbyterian minister. It was the 24th anniversary of Irene's parents' wedding so Lizzie wore her wedding dress that day.
Two weeks later Irene and Vergil were headed off to live in Brookings, South Dakota. During that 2 weeks Vergil sold his mother's farm animals and moved her into town because she could not manage the rented farm without him.
Irene and Vergil then lived in Brookings on Charley's farm for six years. They raised corn, oats and pasture. Six years later they had to sell everything to pay off a debt to Charley. Irene stated that she liked her father and they got along until she married Vergil. Charley and Vergil didn't get along so Irene said she was "on the outs" after that.
In 1929 back in Iowa, Irene's mother had been confined to bed for 10 days prior to a hospital visit. She went to the hospital in Sioux City for exploratory surgery. She had stomach cancer and it was inoperable. Three days later while still in the hospital she died of what the doctor called "a sudden attack of blood clot to the lung."
In Brookings, Elaine Margaret and James Earl were born in 1926 and 1927 in a hospital. Irene recalled gratefully that ether was used. From Brookings they moved to Bonesteel, South Dakota around 1930 although Irene didn't know why Vergil chose Bonesteel. There they raised sheep and cattle. They also got a monthly relief check from the government. Forrest Wendell was born in Bonesteel at home in 1931. While in Bonesteel Irene had a miscarriage.
Grasshopper infestations and dust storms plagued Bonesteel. This was the period referred to as the Dust Bowl. The grasshoppers destroyed gardens and even ate the trees and killed them. Vergil sold the sheep to a man in Idaho and the man offered Vergil a job so the family packed up and went to Idaho. Vergil didn't like the job. They headed for Goldbar, Washington where Vergil's uncle lived. There were no jobs there so they headed to Emmett, Idaho. They picked apples and pruned apple trees for a while. Sometimes they lived in their truck and sometimes in shacks. In 1935 Irene was pregnant with Glenn so they moved on to Weston, Oregon where Vergil rented out his truck to a farmer. Irene worked in a cannery there. Glenn was born in 1936.
In 1938 Vergil and Irene bought a farm outside of Stanfield for $1,500. They used a $500 WWI military bonus check Vergil received and $500 Irene received when she and Vergil forced the sale of her maternal grandmother's farm after her death. The extended family was angry about the forced sale and Irene's father was upset that he didn't get any part of it. They borrowed another $500, which they paid off over 5 years. Irene said the farm was not large enough to support a family and after the children were old enough to tend the farm with their mother, Vergil would do the planting and then spend the summer working on WPA highway construction projects. They sold the farm in 1948 for $11,000 and bought a small house near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield for $4,500.
From 1942 to 1949 Irene worked at Umatilla Ordinance Ammunition Depot. She was on the general labor crew for two years sorting ammunition and painting and then drove a forklift for 5 years. On March 21, 1944 Irene was working in the west area of the depot at 9:30 at night when bombs exploded killing six workers. The explosion could be heard in all the neighboring towns for miles around. Irene was unhurt.
When the soldiers returned from WWII most of the women at Ordinance were laid off, but because she had the particular skill of driving a forklift and women were paid less, Irene continued to work longer than most women.
After eventually being laid off from Ordinance in 1949 she wrapped meat at the Stanfield grocery store for 5 years and later was a clerk at the Stanfield Irrigation District office for 7 years. Next she worked at a supermarket before retiring.
Irene voted for the first time about 1936 while living in Weston. She was in her early 30s. She was always a Democrat because her husband was a Democrat. She was a member of the Grange, and the Rebeccas. She joined the Eagles and often went dancing there. Vergil did not join any organizations. Although he was not a drinker he preferred spending his winter days playing pinochle in the local tavern for spending money. In 1953, Vergil died in the Walla Walla VA Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington from kidney failure related to Bright's disease.
Six to seven months after Vergil's death Irene married her dance partner, Woodrow "Woody" Barber. Once married he never wanted to go dancing again. She said that marrying Woody was one of the biggest regrets of her life. After a short time they were divorced and there were allegations of cruelty. She kept the name Barber. After her divorce she went on a long solo road trip to Idaho.
Irene was a bowler, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans. Her mother had taught her to crochet as a child and in 1949 after being laid off from Ordinance she started crocheting afghans. She kept wonderful cacti in the entry, knick-knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets. She loved to travel and frequently went on group tours to countries around the world. She was very independent and liked living in eastern Oregon.
Back in Iowa, Irene's brother Carl and his wife, Olive, took care of Charley in his later years. Carl would do anything for his father, but according to Olive, Carl did not like his father because he was demanding and critical. Charley died in 1961 and Carl was the executor of the will. In the will, Charley gave Irene a $1,000 and gave the remainder of the estate to Carl. Irene asked to know the value of Carl's portion. It was valued at $20,419. Irene asked for $5000, but Carl refused. She was bitter about this, but did not contest the will.
In the 1925 South Dakota census Irene indicated her religion was "presbyterian" and her ancestry was "yankee." Irene was not a particularly religious woman, but she was very social. She attended church in Stanfield regularly in her later years because she liked the people and enjoyed singing and visiting with them. On several occasions she would start a conversation by asking someone if they believed in God. It seemed she was genuinely interested in the conversation rather than wanting to evangelize. She seemed to be unsure of how she felt about the answer herself.
Irene had by-pass surgery in the mid-1980s and lived another 10 years. Toward the end of her life Irene lived in a nursing home (The Good Samaritan Center) in Hermiston, Oregon. She retained her quirky sense of humor even when hospitalized with a heart condition. When visitors would enter the room she'd ask, "Am I dead yet?" and smile. Because she died around Halloween the nursing home where her service was held was decorated with ghosts and skeletons. Initially the participants in the service thought this was inappropriate or unfortunate, but quickly realized Irene would have been the first to find it funny.
She died at the Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston, Oregon of congestive heart failure due to myocardio infarction. Irene's remains were cremated and buried to the left of Vergil's grave at the Echo Cemetery in Echo, Oregon near Stanfield.
Irene was probably given her middle name (Margaret) in honor of her maternal grandmother, but the name Irene does not appear anywhere else before Irene. Her first born granddaughter (me) was given the middle name Irene in her honor.
She married her dance partner, Woody Barber in Winnemucca,Nevada on February 5, 1954 after the death of Vergil, but she divorced him in Umatilla County, Oregon on July 17, 1956. She lived in a tiny home near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield...small but filled with wonderful cacti in the entry, knick knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets.
∼
Bio written by Phyllis Irene Porter Zegers, 2011
Irene Margaret Kolp was the daughter of Charles Franklin Kolp and Elizabeth Lawson Childs of Iowa. Irene had two brothers, one older and one younger. Wallis "Earl" Kolp was born in 1901 in Iowa. In 1907 Carl Seymour was born in Brewster, Minnesota.
In the first several years of their marriage Charley and Lizzie were unsettled. Shortly after their wedding they moved to Terril, Iowa about 200 miles from their hometown of Traer, Iowa. A couple years later, in1903, they moved to a farm a few miles west of Brewster, Noble County, Minnesota. Irene was born there in 1904. They farmed 240 acres there for 7 years before they moved to Vega, Panhandle County, Texas (40 miles from Amarillo) for 1 year. While in Texas the family lived in a dugout with a cover over it and dirt on top. One day the roof caved in but luckily everyone got out in the nick of time. They moved back to Iowa in 1911. Some family members speculated that they did not return to Traer because they had not been successful in their various endeavors. Instead Charley rented property in Paullina, Iowa and farmed it.
In Paullina the children went to school in a one-room schoolhouse about 1/4 mile from their house. Eight to twelve children attended the elementary school at one time. For many years Charley was on the school board. Because the Kolps lived close to the school the teacher boarded with the Kolp family. Irene was close to the teachers and at one time aspired to become a teacher herself. She said she would like to have "been a teacher or a hired man," but did not want to be a nurse as her parents had hoped. She described herself as a tomboy.
On January 14, 1913, at the age of 12, Irene's older brother, Earl, was killed in an accident when he fell or jumped off a buggy. He had been riding on the step of the buggy for a few yards as his friends were leaving for the evening. His neck was broken when the buggy rolled over him and he died shortly after Charley carried him to the house.
The Kolps were members of the Paullina Presbyterian Church since 7-5-1914 and Irene went to Sunday school. She also took piano lesson, but did not practice and didn't feel she played well. She read a lot but loved riding horses most of all. She started riding at the age of three. As a child it was her job to get on her horse and bring the cows in from the pasture everyday. She also broke horses so they could be ridden and sold. She did this bareback. She was said to have been in love with her double cousin, Lawrence Childs. They were double cousins because her dad, Charley, and his sister married siblings, Lizzie and Fredrick Childs.
Vergil Hogge lived in the same town. He had served in the Navy during WWI for a year. He asked Irene to go to a show in the spring of 1923 and they "just kept going together after that." In 1923 Irene graduated from Paullina High School along with 13 other students. Irene married Vergil on Valentine's Day in 1924 in the Kolp's home near Paullina. Vergil's sister, Helen and Irene's brother, Carl, were witnesses to the marriage performed by Minister Arthur C. Evans, a Presbyterian minister. It was the 24th anniversary of Irene's parents' wedding so Lizzie wore her wedding dress that day.
Two weeks later Irene and Vergil were headed off to live in Brookings, South Dakota. During that 2 weeks Vergil sold his mother's farm animals and moved her into town because she could not manage the rented farm without him.
Irene and Vergil then lived in Brookings on Charley's farm for six years. They raised corn, oats and pasture. Six years later they had to sell everything to pay off a debt to Charley. Irene stated that she liked her father and they got along until she married Vergil. Charley and Vergil didn't get along so Irene said she was "on the outs" after that.
In 1929 back in Iowa, Irene's mother had been confined to bed for 10 days prior to a hospital visit. She went to the hospital in Sioux City for exploratory surgery. She had stomach cancer and it was inoperable. Three days later while still in the hospital she died of what the doctor called "a sudden attack of blood clot to the lung."
In Brookings, Elaine Margaret and James Earl were born in 1926 and 1927 in a hospital. Irene recalled gratefully that ether was used. From Brookings they moved to Bonesteel, South Dakota around 1930 although Irene didn't know why Vergil chose Bonesteel. There they raised sheep and cattle. They also got a monthly relief check from the government. Forrest Wendell was born in Bonesteel at home in 1931. While in Bonesteel Irene had a miscarriage.
Grasshopper infestations and dust storms plagued Bonesteel. This was the period referred to as the Dust Bowl. The grasshoppers destroyed gardens and even ate the trees and killed them. Vergil sold the sheep to a man in Idaho and the man offered Vergil a job so the family packed up and went to Idaho. Vergil didn't like the job. They headed for Goldbar, Washington where Vergil's uncle lived. There were no jobs there so they headed to Emmett, Idaho. They picked apples and pruned apple trees for a while. Sometimes they lived in their truck and sometimes in shacks. In 1935 Irene was pregnant with Glenn so they moved on to Weston, Oregon where Vergil rented out his truck to a farmer. Irene worked in a cannery there. Glenn was born in 1936.
In 1938 Vergil and Irene bought a farm outside of Stanfield for $1,500. They used a $500 WWI military bonus check Vergil received and $500 Irene received when she and Vergil forced the sale of her maternal grandmother's farm after her death. The extended family was angry about the forced sale and Irene's father was upset that he didn't get any part of it. They borrowed another $500, which they paid off over 5 years. Irene said the farm was not large enough to support a family and after the children were old enough to tend the farm with their mother, Vergil would do the planting and then spend the summer working on WPA highway construction projects. They sold the farm in 1948 for $11,000 and bought a small house near the irrigation ditch in Stanfield for $4,500.
From 1942 to 1949 Irene worked at Umatilla Ordinance Ammunition Depot. She was on the general labor crew for two years sorting ammunition and painting and then drove a forklift for 5 years. On March 21, 1944 Irene was working in the west area of the depot at 9:30 at night when bombs exploded killing six workers. The explosion could be heard in all the neighboring towns for miles around. Irene was unhurt.
When the soldiers returned from WWII most of the women at Ordinance were laid off, but because she had the particular skill of driving a forklift and women were paid less, Irene continued to work longer than most women.
After eventually being laid off from Ordinance in 1949 she wrapped meat at the Stanfield grocery store for 5 years and later was a clerk at the Stanfield Irrigation District office for 7 years. Next she worked at a supermarket before retiring.
Irene voted for the first time about 1936 while living in Weston. She was in her early 30s. She was always a Democrat because her husband was a Democrat. She was a member of the Grange, and the Rebeccas. She joined the Eagles and often went dancing there. Vergil did not join any organizations. Although he was not a drinker he preferred spending his winter days playing pinochle in the local tavern for spending money. In 1953, Vergil died in the Walla Walla VA Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington from kidney failure related to Bright's disease.
Six to seven months after Vergil's death Irene married her dance partner, Woodrow "Woody" Barber. Once married he never wanted to go dancing again. She said that marrying Woody was one of the biggest regrets of her life. After a short time they were divorced and there were allegations of cruelty. She kept the name Barber. After her divorce she went on a long solo road trip to Idaho.
Irene was a bowler, loved to play cards, and was an expert at crocheting afghans. Her mother had taught her to crochet as a child and in 1949 after being laid off from Ordinance she started crocheting afghans. She kept wonderful cacti in the entry, knick-knacks for kids to play with, old photos on the bureau, and zillions of colorful refrigerator magnets. She loved to travel and frequently went on group tours to countries around the world. She was very independent and liked living in eastern Oregon.
Back in Iowa, Irene's brother Carl and his wife, Olive, took care of Charley in his later years. Carl would do anything for his father, but according to Olive, Carl did not like his father because he was demanding and critical. Charley died in 1961 and Carl was the executor of the will. In the will, Charley gave Irene a $1,000 and gave the remainder of the estate to Carl. Irene asked to know the value of Carl's portion. It was valued at $20,419. Irene asked for $5000, but Carl refused. She was bitter about this, but did not contest the will.
In the 1925 South Dakota census Irene indicated her religion was "presbyterian" and her ancestry was "yankee." Irene was not a particularly religious woman, but she was very social. She attended church in Stanfield regularly in her later years because she liked the people and enjoyed singing and visiting with them. On several occasions she would start a conversation by asking someone if they believed in God. It seemed she was genuinely interested in the conversation rather than wanting to evangelize. She seemed to be unsure of how she felt about the answer herself.
Irene had by-pass surgery in the mid-1980s and lived another 10 years. Toward the end of her life Irene lived in a nursing home (The Good Samaritan Center) in Hermiston, Oregon. She retained her quirky sense of humor even when hospitalized with a heart condition. When visitors would enter the room she'd ask, "Am I dead yet?" and smile. Because she died around Halloween the nursing home where her service was held was decorated with ghosts and skeletons. Initially the participants in the service thought this was inappropriate or unfortunate, but quickly realized Irene would have been the first to find it funny.
She died at the Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston, Oregon of congestive heart failure due to myocardio infarction. Irene's remains were cremated and buried to the left of Vergil's grave at the Echo Cemetery in Echo, Oregon near Stanfield.
Irene was probably given her middle name (Margaret) in honor of her maternal grandmother, but the name Irene does not appear anywhere else before Irene. Her first born granddaughter (me) was given the middle name Irene in her honor.
Inscription
Loved to Crochet
Irene Hogg Barber
1061 1/2 Afghans
Jan. 23, 1904 - Oct. 26, 1995
