The benefits of laughter aren’t as publicized as I think they should be. It’s cheap, easy, fun and great for your health and general well being. So, whenever I run into an article that helps publicize this idea I’ll do my best to share it with all of you reading this My Hyena Healing Power of Humor blog.
This article that I found in the Golden Triangle News tells the wonderful tale of a woman in her 80’s who was able to use humor to make her way through life’s ups and downs.
From the article: Corrine never minded the work on the farm, but she loved going to school. “I hate to tell you why I liked school. I enjoyed it because they had an indoor bathroom,” she laughed.
This woman gave birth to nine children, had her share of difficult times and even delivered newspapers until the age of 73. I hope you enjoy reading about her arduous, yet humorous journey as much as I did.
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By Linda Bruch
Thursday, March 1, 2007 9:26 AM MST
There are times in our lives that are a little tougher to get through than others. It might be due to money problems, health problems or personal issues. Whatever the struggle might be, we all deal with them in our own way. Sometimes the best defense is to have another sense, a sense of humor that is.
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| Corrine Merhar |
Corrine Merhar has an amazing sense of humor and has found the old saying, laughter is the best medicine, really is true. She’s put that sense of humor to work for her through all the difficult encounters she’s dealt with in her 80 plus years. It’s worked well for her, as she is still smiling today and telling wonderful stories of her life with her own humorous twist weaved into the details.
Corrine was born and raised in Shelby and was the youngest of nine children. Her parents came from Oklahoma in 1912 as homesteaders living on 320 acres six miles northeast of Shelby. “They were diversified farmers,” said Corrine. “They had wheat and livestock, that kind of stuff.”
Being the youngest in the family didn’t get Corrine out of doing chores on the farm. “We all worked on the farm. If your friends stayed over, they had to work too. It’s a wonder I had any friends,” she quipped.
Unfortunately, being the youngest made her the most vulnerable, a fact which her older brothers used to their advantage time and again. “My brother could get me to do anything because I was so stupid,” she said. Apparently they could convince her that the worst job was the easiest, leaving her to accomplish that while they found other ways to occupy their time.
In 1920 her parents bought a house in town so the kids could attend school in Shelby. “We couldn’t get to school otherwise,” Corrine said. For nine months they would live in town and go to school, returning to the farm on weekends and in the summer to complete their assigned chores. “My father believed in work. He always had something for us to do on the farm.”
Corrine never minded the work on the farm, but she loved going to school. “I hate to tell you why I liked school. I enjoyed it because they had an indoor bathroom,” she laughed. While that may have been partly true, Corrine really did like school. “I loved everything about school, all the learning I got to do.”
She graduated from Shelby High School and, two days following the graduation ceremony, Corrine started work as the office manager for the Montana-Dakota Utility Company. “It was a very interesting job with a very wonderful boss. He was the best boss I’ve ever had. He taught me so much,” she said. Corrine worked for MDU for eight years.
Corrine’s pride and joy in her life are the nine children she raised. “I raised all nine of my children by myself,” she said. “Even when my husband was around, he wasn’t working, so I did the job all alone.” The nine children are Don, Vicky, Joe, MaryAnn, Mike, John, Susan, Pat and Linda.
Corrine remembers vividly telling her brothers and sisters as she was growing up, “I’m never going to get married and never going to have children. I guess you should never make those kinds of promises.”
For most of her children’s young lives, Corrine stayed at home with them. “I started delivering papers at that point,” she stated. “I did everything I could to earn a dollar. Times were hard. There was little food and no dollars in your pocket.”
When her youngest turned four, Corrine stepped back into the working world, this time at the hospital in Shelby. “I worked in the business office in all capacities,” said Corrine.
She was also the county assessor working in the county courthouse for 10 years from 1983 to 1993. “The state took over the office in ’93 and I wouldn’t work for them, so I quit.”
Even while she worked for the hospital and the county, Corrine still continued to keep her paper route. “I delivered papers for 35 years. I finally quit my paper route when was 72 or 73,” she said. “I remember delivering my papers early in the morning and then running home to change my clothes so I could be the assessor for a while.”
Even though times were very tough, Corrine admitted her children were always the bright spot in her life. “I never had so much fun in my life as I did with my nine children. We had a great time,” she offered. “We all still remain just as close as when they were growing up. They have always been very loyal to one another.”
Corrine did an excellent job providing for her children in their early years and then made sure each of them went on to college. A fact she is very proud of. Her nine children have given her 18 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Another fact she is very proud of.
Raising that many kids should have been more than enough to keep Corrine busy, however, she also found time to get involved in several organizations. She is a member of the Shelby Methodist Church and taught Sunday school there for 27 years. She was a member of the Garden Club, Toast Mistresses and the Professional Women’s Business Organization.
In the summer, when she wasn’t volunteering or delivering her papers, Corrine spent her time in her garden or with her flowers. “We always had what we called a big garden with lots of corn and potatoes. My kids learned to eat corn as a snack. I liked gardening.”
There wasn’t a lot of time for traveling when you were a stay at home mom, but Corrine gets to make up for that now as her children are scattered around the United States. They often send her a plane ticket, requesting her to come for a visit. A trip Corrine never turns down.
She did make a longer trip in 1997, returning to the land of her mother’s heritage, Ireland. Corrine remarked that the trip was great and a time for her and her daughter Vicky to spend some quality time together. “We did kiss the Blarney Stone while we were there, but I won’t be doing that again.”
Corrine believes her sense of humor comes from her mother who always found a way to laugh, even when times were tough. It has definitely been Corrine’s saving grace as well and continues to serve her well to this day. Her smile is infectious and her life story is amazing.
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Read the original article here: http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/articles/2007/03/01/shelby_promoter/news/news2.txt
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