DICKINSON — When Ethel Fraase was born in 1924, the number one song on the radio was "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin, and Calvin Coolidge was the president of the United States. A century later, as she prepares to celebrate her 100th birthday, Ethel reflects on a life that began on a 60-acre farm in Regal, Minnesota, without the modern conveniences of electricity and running water. Her journey from those early days through the Great Depression, World War II, and beyond, is a testament to her resilience and adaptability.
"I should have wrote a book," she shared with a sly smile. Ethel was born and raised in Regal, Minnesota, with her nine siblings. She grew up on a 60-acre farm about 10 miles out of town with no water and no electricity.
If water was needed, it had to be carried from a well. At about 10 years old, the family finally got a car, which Ethel praises as the most important invention in her lifetime. That and landlines, she recalls, "One short and two long was our ring!" Ethel exclaims with laughter.
From the Great Depression, Ethel explains how her mother would patch the kids' holed stockings together from other holed stockings just to make one usable stocking. During the Dust Bowl, no crops would grow and food was very scarce, and the only way they had fruit was because the government would have it sent to the schools. She explained how there would be a layer of silt on the window sills an inch thick or more at times.
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