Kathryn Daniels

A BRIEF HISTORY OF KATHRYN “BUNDY” DANIELS’ LIFE

By Evelyn Kelly

Our Mom “Bundy” was born on March 3, 1921 in Masontown, PA and passed away, at home, in Seffner, FL on January 31, 2010 at the age of 88.  She passed very peacefully, while sitting in her recliner – her favorite chair, surrounded by many family members who loved her.  She lived a fully and happy life for her first 66 years and then came the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.  I’m not so sure that these past 23 years were very good for her, but Mama was loved, cared for, comfortable and seemingly content at home in her surroundings.  I called it “Bundy’s World.” 

Kathryn Daniels “Bundy” (Maiden Name – Bodnar) was the daughter of William Bodnar and Katherine Bodnar (Maiden Name – Evancheck).  Mom’s Father, William Bodnar, was a Polish immigrant, born in Poland in 1895 and died in 1959.  Her Mother, Katherine Bodnar (Evancheck) was Polish/Hungarian born in Budapest, Hungary in 1905 and died in 1964.  I do not know the details of their immigration to the United States or even how old they were when they arrived here.  What I do know is their families came to the United States to find work and settled in Masontown, PA a coal mining community in southwestern Pennsylvania. My Grandparents met, married and had four daughters – Kathryn (Mom), Agnes, Ethel and Evelyn.  Grandpap made a living as coal miner.  He also served in World War I.  Grandma was a homemaker extraordinaire.

Mom grew up in Masontown, PA along with her three sisters . . . during some of the most difficult times in our Nation’s history.  I remember Mom telling me stories about how “Things” were when she was growing up.  One story, which I experienced first hand when I was a little girl, was that they did not have a bathroom inside, so they had to use the outhouse located at the end of their back yard.  When they were older, if they had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, one sister would wake another sister and they would go outside together – the weather was not always the best.  To take baths, they had to boil water in a large tub, in the basement, and then transfer it into another tub to bathe.  Well, when I saw the tub of water sitting on the stove, heating for our baths, I thought for sure they were going to cook us – like in the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.”  They also washed their clothes in the tubs on a washboard and hung them outside to dry in warm weather and in the basement in cold weather.

Mom’s family was close-knit.  Mom and her sister Aggie, being the oldest daughters, had to help their Grandparents.  They cleaned house, washed clothes, worked in the garden and did whatever chores needed to be done.  And . . . that was after school, on weekends and after they had finished their own chores at home.  They also helped take care of Ethel and Evelyn their younger sisters. 

Grandma and Grandpap had a huge vegetable garden – I even worked in it when we visited in the summertime.  This must be where I learned to love vegetables so much!  Anyway, they grew much of their food and also had fruit trees in the yard.  They canned vegetables and fruit and even baked their own bread and kalachie rolls (more on those later).  Grandma was a fine seamstress and sewed all of the girl’s clothes – beautiful!  In old pictures you can see her handy work.  Grandma was so talented that she could take your measurements, design and sew you a new outfit overnight!  I wish you could see some of the Halloween costumes she made – awesome!  Grandma even sewed clothes for the girl’s friends.  I believe that this is how Mom and her sisters learned to sew so well!  Mom and her sisters went to dances and Grandma would sew them a new dress.  If they liked a hairstyle they saw on an actress at the movies, Grandma would cut and style their hair the same way.

Even though Mom and her family lived during difficult times, including the Great Depression, I really never heard any of them complain.  I always got the impression that they were happy people.  I know growing up when we visited with family it was always a joyous time – even if someone had died!  It was a celebration!  And . . . I believed all of our families have continued this tradition – Thank God!  Instead of being sad, we sit around and tell stories about our loved ones who have passed. Most of the stories are funny and we laugh and laugh and laugh!  Don’t get me wrong – we do miss them and love them, but we’re just happier for them than we are sad! 

After Mom graduated from high school, she married her first husband Richard John.  They had a daughter – my sister Bonnie.  Mom divorced her first husband and had to find work to support herself and Bonnie, so she left for Pittsburgh, PA to find work.  Bonnie stayed in Masontown with Grandma – Bonnie called her Mommy and Grandpap.  Leaving Bonnie behind was a difficult decision for Mom to make.  I saw Mom cry many times when Bonnie wanted to continue to live with her Mother (Grandma), but she wanted Bonnie to be happy, so she sacrificed her own happiness.  Bonnie was very fortunate, because she had two Moms. who loved her very much.  Mom worked in Pittsburgh, PA for a while and then found work, as a secretary, at the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C.  This is where my Mom met my Dad – Honey, in 1944, most likely at a dance.  Dad was in the US Army Air Corp at the time and in 1949 joined the US Air Force.  Dad also had a child from his previous marriage – my brother Jan.  Mom and Dad were married on May 13, 1945 in Rockville, Maryland.  Next came my brother Hank in June 1946 and then Susan and I (the twins) in December 1948.

During my Dad’s military service, Mom was a faithful military wife.  She made every place we lived a comfortable and loving home.  We have a lot of special memories of each place we lived – like . . . pouring Mom’s CHANEL NO. 5 all over ourselves (the twins) and Susan getting red nail polish in her eye in Washington, D.C. (we were just babies at the time).  And . . . to this day CHANEL NO. 5 is our favorite perfume.  We saw tumbleweeds and ate pine nuts in Nebraska and Mom taught us songs and read us lots of stories.  We went on picnics on Pike’s Peak and saw snow for the first time in Colorado.  Our Grandparents (Mom’s parents) lived with us in New Jersey the first time we lived there. We were very young, about to start kindergarten, and Mom taught us to say the Lords Prayer. What a precious gift she gave to us. Mom also taught us manners, to respect others and ourselves.  We all got brand new bicycles for Christmas that year too.  And . . . I remember our birthday cakes with the Christmas trees on top!  The next time we lived in New Jersey, our Grandparents lived near us, so we had a lot of family dinners and holidays together.  In Georgia we picked blackberries and pecans and Mom made delicious pies. We saw the chain gangs in Georgia – very frightening as I recall.  When Mom and Dad went out dancing on occasion, Mom would make us a special treat – fudge was my favorite!   In California, Mom hiked in the mountains with us, rode bikes, and on occasion picked plums (prunes) with us.  Also while California, when my Dad was away in Okinawa, Mom hired a driver to take us to the beaches, as she didn’t drive.  In Texas we went to Forest Park Zoo, Six Flags Park and did a lot of fishing and swimming.  Mom let Hank keep lots of turtles that he caught.  In South Dakota we moved three times.  We lived in our first house one month, then we moved to base housing and about a year or so later we moved to a brand new house on the base.  Mom never complained, she just packed everything and we moved – we all got quite good at this.  Mom started sewing in South Dakota, as we were teenagers and fairly self-sufficient.  She made clothes for herself and us, sometimes sewing through the night just to finish an outfit for us. And . . . I remember how worried she was when she found out that Hank had sneaked out of the house to go and fight the forest fires, but she was also very proud of him – Hank was her favorite!  When Dad and Hank caught fish or shot a deer, Mom would cook them for our meal.

When Dad retired and we moved to New Jersey, again, I believe they had the best time.  Mom and Dad traveled and spent time with family and friends.  They went out to concerts and did a lot of dancing. Looking back, I’m so glad they did.  Mom gave a surprise party for my Dad’s 50^th birthday – it was a big family affair!  During this era, Mom would make pizza dough on Friday afternoon and when Dad came home from work he would make pizza. The whole family would stop at our house on Friday evenings and eat pizza and drink beer.  This tradition continued for many years.  Another tradition Mom started was the nut cracking parties!  I promised I would tell you more about the kalachie rolls – didn’t I!  Well, we have a family tradition of making nut rolls, poppy seed rolls or cinnamon rolls (kalachie) for Christmas.  This family tradition must be100 years old – probably more!  Mom would announce that we had to crack nuts, so she could bake nut rolls.  Several weeks before Christmas, everyone in the family, would get together at my parents house, and crack open walnuts.  Of course newcomers would always be invited to join in!  We would tell our boy friends or significant others we could not go out on Saturday evening for the next few weeks, but invited them to our nut cracking party.  They would ask, “What’s a nut cracking party?”  Out of curiosity, they would show up, and we would hand them a nutcracker and the party would begin!  Of course, food and drinks were served, we had a great time and everyone received nut rolls when they were baked – Oh such wonderful memories!  Besides the nut rolls, Mom had a lot of recipes that are family favorites – Pepper Sauce, Beets and Horseradish, Sauerkraut and Pork, Creamed Cucumbers, Chicken and Dumplings, Stuffed Cabbage, Kielbasa and Cabbage, Chili, Butter Cake, Macaroons, Meat and Potatoes, and the best soups ever to name a few.  Mom and Dad were very good cooks.

The times Mom spent with family were her favorite times.  Mom loved family, especially her grandchildren.  She spoiled them all!  Mom babysat, cooked their favorite dishes, sewed them clothes and costumes, took them on outings, and trips, read them stories and sang and danced with them.  Mom loved her sisters, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law and they all loved her. She and Dad always had a good time when they were all together – they knew how important family is!  When Mom’s Mother was very sick, she stayed with her and helped take care of her until she died.

When Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 66, she began to change and we lost a little more of her each year!  Now all we have are the BEST MEMORIES anyone could ever hope for!  When I came to Florida to help Dad with Mama, she could still walk, talk, feed, bathe and dress herself with a minimum of help.  I remember helping her get ready and taking her out every Saturday while I ran my errands. After a while, she would say to me “Are you hungry?”   I would say yes, and take her to lunch at Cracker Barrel.  The people at Cracker Barrel saw us there often and were always very kind to Mama and me.  I always tried to make Mama laugh – she loved to laugh and have a good time.  I also took her to the mall to walk around, as she liked to walk – a lot.   I took her on little outings, so Dad could have some time to himself.  On Saturday night we would have pizza for dinner and Mom and Dad would watch the Lawrence Welk Show and hold hands – just thinking about it makes me cry.  Practically every song I here reminds me of them.  And . . .  When Mama couldn’t walk any more, I became her feet.  When she couldn’t talk any more, I became her voice.  When she couldn’t feed herself, I became her hands. Every day when I bathed her, I sang three songs to her:  “You Are My Sunshine,”  “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” and “The Pennsylvania Polka.”  In the morning, when she woke up, she would gibber, gabber to get my attention. When I went into her bedroom to help her up, she would give me the most beautiful, happy smile and a little laugh – so grateful that I was there!  And . . . at the end everyone who could, came to say good-bye.  Mom’s niece, Karen and her husband, Jim, drove more than 24 hours in a snowstorm to come and see Mama before she passed.  Now her chair is empty and I miss her very much and so does everyone else, because when they come into the house, the first place they all look, out of habit, is to see Mama in her chair!  And . . . now it’s come full circle, because Mom and Honey met in Washington, D.C. and will finally be laid to rest together there.

 God Bless you Mama!

Mama, I Love You and Miss You With All My Heart!

Evelyn