Holbrook line: The remarkable Elizabeth Stannard 1884-1959

My mother thought she was a very interesting person.  My research shows this to be true.  I actually had the privilege of her acquaintance, although I was very young and she was very old (to me) when she passed away.  I remember the phone call, and I remember thinking I should cry, but mostly I remember thinking that now she wouldn't be able to tell us more of her stories.  Unfortunately, I don't remember her stories, but here is a little of her story.

Elizabeth was born to Louis Elwin and Mary Alice Hetrick Stanard on August 18, 1884, somewhere in Kansas-likely Harvey County but I've not found a record that gives a precise location.  She was the oldest of the three children, and was early a bit of a rebel as she spelled her name with two "n's" and her parents and grandparents, and probably two generations beyond that, had used one "n".  The story is that her ancestor changed the spelling of his name after a sign painter was able to only include 7 letters in a storefront sign he painted for one of the family back in New York.  Some of the descendants kept the shortened spelling and some did not, and Elizabeth and her sister, Etta, reverted to the longer version.

We know Louis and Mary Alice were in Ottawa, Kansas in 1900 and in 1905.  Shortly after that, about 1908, the family (Etta trailing by a few years) packed up and moved to Stevens County, Washington.  Louis and Mary Alice had a home there, and Elizabeth also homesteaded, receiving her patent in 1915.  She taught school to pay to have her land cleared, but she apparently built the "improvements" herself, including putting a roof on her barn.  She taught school in Stevens County for several years and in 1916, before women could vote in national elections, was elected superintendent of schools for Stevens County.  Although these were not large schools, there were many, and visiting schools, hiring teachers, overseeing curriculum, and other duties kept her so busy that she hired her father to be her assistant superintendent.  During this time, she was also assisting her father in setting up Sunday school classes (Baptist) all over the area.

She must have been a good hearted, family loving woman because there are several comments in the local newspaper that she was tending to this or that family suffering from the flu, presumably, due to the dates, that flu known as the "Spanish influenza" that hit the area hard.  Her sister-in-law, wife of Elwin Stanard, died of influenza in 1920., but I don't know that she was directly involved in her care. 

By 1920 Elizabeth was living in Spokane, Washington as a boarder, and teaching Latin at Lewis and Clark High school there.  Her father died in 1923 and soon Elizabeth bought a home and her mother came to live with her.  She helped raise her brother's three sons and possibly two daughters, especially when they were attending high school.  Interestingly, in 1930 she is the home owner and in 1940 the census shows her as the sister of the homeowner.  It's the same address, and she always owned the house so the census taker didn't get the straight goods on this.  She also helped raise the two sons of her sister, and it seems they all stayed with her when school was in session.

While she was helping raise her nephews and nieces, and watching after her sister who sometimes needed guidance, she continued her education.  An article about her retirement in 1949 states (and I haven't proven this) that her graduate work included studies at Columbia, Reed, University of Washington, Gonzaga, the University of Chicago, Washington State College and Eastern Washington College of Education.  She taught for 44 years, but she never stopped learning, and she did all this while caring for her extended family, and for her mother as she aged.

When she retired, she didn't sit around doing nothing, not our Bessie.  She was always active at Liberty Park Baptist Church, and in various civic organizations.  And she became a world traveler.  The family story is that some of the Stannard boys helped her go to Europe at least twice.  On the first trip, she sailed on the Queen Elizabeth and the trip included Egypt.  The second trip seems to have been more in the northern part of Europe, including Switzerland and Germany.  She brought back gifts for her nieces and nephews from Jerusalem, Denmark, England, Switzerland, and probably other places. (I still treasure a small volume of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales that she gave to me,)

Elizabeth Stannard died suddenly on July 8, 1959 in Spokane.  I hope I've told you enough about her that you, too, will smile when you think of her.  She was stern, funny, loving, giving, a strict disciplinarian and yes, remarkable.  I wish I'd heard more of her stories!