A Family of 13 Children raised in the Great Depression

Coming from a family of two children, I always wondered what it was like to come from a family of 13 children like my mother. I think the Railsbacks were a spirited bunch and they always seemed to have a lot of fun together. My mother was the youngest girl, and the 9th to be born. Imogene was very close in age, but older and the boys were younger. In this picture, from left to right are Dee, Kate (mom), Imogene, Donald and Loren standing in front of him. My mother is currently living in a time when her siblings are alive, yet she still knows me and I am in the present.  Its funny how the mind takes hold of certain memories and certain people.  I never knew Donald. I believe he died before I was born. My mother told me that Donald died in his twenties.  The year or so before he died, he had been in a  motorcycle accident and had not been wearing a helmet, and nearly died from that accident. He died of a gunshot wound.  My mother said they called it a suicide, but she did not believe it.  She thought he had been murdered although she never gave me any kind of theory about who she thought would have done such a thing. I guess we will never know.

This is my mom, and her oldest brother, Merl.  She admired him deeply although we didn't get to see a lot of him when I was growing up because he lived in California, and well, we lived all over the world. Merl was the educated one of the whole bunch.  He was the only child to graduate from college, and taught in the public school for many years.

Another family photo. This one was taken when Loren was the baby. From left to right in the back row are Mavis, Maxine, Dorothy, Ila, Merl, Grandma Leona holding Loren, Grandpa Lloyd, and in the front row are Dee, Kate, Imogene and Donald. My mom was big on writing on pictures so this is her handwriting. I love the shadows in the foreground. I wish she had identified who they were. :) I can't imagine what it was like raising 13 kids during the Dust Bowl Days. Some of the older children were "farmed out" to other relatives so they had the opportunity to go to school in town. My mother never lived with anyone else though.  She always lived at home with her mom and dad, Imogene, and the boys.