Locals in the Limelight; Wilma Schmidt

I arrived at the home of Wilma Schmidt, to interview her on the eve of her 86th birthday. I was a little intimidated, because she is the mother of our esteemed editor. She was so welcoming, and I immediately felt comfortable in her charming, quaint home. Noticeably on the kitchen table, was a huge piece of unrolled paper, probably 10 feet long and 3 feet wide, with a painstakingly detailed family tree of the maternal (Walter) side of her family. I saw many familiar names of people in our community.

Wilma Lenhart Schmidt was born to Fred and Katie Lenhart on April 30, 1928. Her mother was from Frank, Russia (a German village), and came here aboard a ship with her parents at the age of two in 1903. Her mother's baby brother (Conrad, Jr.) died on the ship from measles and was buried at sea. Katie also had measles, which affected her eyesight for the remainder of her life. In spite of it, she did beautiful needlework. Fred's family was also from Frank, and his father George eventually homesteaded in Lincoln County. Up until the last few years, Wilma has been very active in the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR).

Wilma's siblings (all deceased), were older sisters Loretta and Laverna, and younger brother, Wayne. They grew up on the family farm about 11 miles east of Odessa. When asked what she enjoyed doing in her youth, she replied "we invented things to do." Her best friend was her younger brother, Wayne, and they were often mischievous, doing dangerous things such as crawling up onto the hay rods at the top of the barn roof and dropping down into the loose hay below. "We used to think we were being so sneaky, and then found out that our kids were doing the same stuff when we moved back there years later."

Wilma graduated from Odessa High School in 1946 and got a job at the local telephone office as a switchboard operator. She still remembers saying "Number, please?" Her recall is amazing, she recited the number for their residence, which was 24F23. She met and married local boy, Bill Schmidt, in 1948, who worked for Odessa Trading Company . They rented a house on First Avenue (the present George Rodeck residence), and their daughters Terrie and Debbie were born. Wilma's father retired from farming and her brother did not want to take it over, so they packed up and moved the family back out to her family homestead, so that Bill could farm. Daughter, Dori, and son, Kim, were born while they lived there. Bill would work off season for A.J. Weber and Odessa Trading Company. Wilma says her kids are close but her daughters often mention that it is nothing short of a miracle that their little brother Kim even likes them because they teased him relentlessly.

Life was good on the farm; Wilma and Bill enjoyed dances in town, pinochle parties with friends and watching the kids do the same sneaky, mischievous things they had done as kids. "They were smarter than us though, they didn't get caught as much." Wilma stated. "When they wanted to jump off the chicken house roof, they would sneak around behind the barn to the backside of the chicken house, so we couldn't see them!" Wilma joined the Oom Pa's and Ma's the second year of Deutschesfest and played piano for six years with them. She had taken lessons in Ritzville for a couple of summers in junior high, and then worked on her own. Piano would become a huge part of her life.

In 1986, after the kids were gone, and Bill had retired, they moved back to town, and bought the lovely, meticulously maintained home she still occupies. In 1992, her husband Bill died at home after a series of mini strokes. She is still grateful to her neighbor Sue Roller "her angel," who immediately ran over to the house, and stayed by her side through the whole ordeal. Wilma told me that now there are four generations proudly carrying the name of her deceased husband. Her son, a grandson and great-grandson bear the middle name William in honor of Bill Schmidt.

Wilma continued playing piano and organ at Heritage Church, and taught Sunday School for over 40 years. Sharon Iverson approached Wilma about teaching piano to her kids. Wilma resisted, telling me "I wasn't qualified to teach when I started." Sharon persisted, having complete faith that Wilma could do it, and so began a side career of teaching piano lessons for 30 years. During that time, her lessons were held at the church, so she was often there three to four days a week. Her husband used to joke "we might as well get you a bed to put down there." I asked Wilma if she could recall any memorable students who stuck out in her mind? One was Emily Whitaker who could sit down and play a beautiful song that she would make up as she went. Another was Larissa Zeiler, who she said had long, slender fingers, and a beautiful touch on the keys. She thought it noteworthy, also, that she taught Ellen Holman, and then another generation when she instructed Ellen's children.

In 1997, Wilma's life would take a turn when she met her long time companion, Jack Birchard, from Spokane. He had once been the minister at the English Congregational Church in Odessa, but Wilma didn't remember him. Years before, they would discover they had even been at a funeral where he officiated and she played piano. Local, Fred Allington, was in contact with Jack's daughter Karen, and she was hoping to find a friend for her father who was somewhat lonely. Fred asked Wilma if she would be willing to meet him, she said yes, but then didn't hear anything for months. After shrugging it off, one Sunday, she was playing piano, and Jack and Karen were introduced in the crowd at church. Wilma laughed and said "I couldn't see him from where I was seated at the piano, I got really nervous and had to keep playing!" After service, she didn't see him at all and went home a little perplexed. Several hours later, after she had "kicked her shoes off," there was a knock at the door. There stood Karen, and her Dad, Jack, with a big smile on his face. They visited, and he invited her to go to lunch sometime . When they started dating, he asked her if she liked to travel, and she expressed that she would love to, but hadn't had much opportunity.

I asked Wilma if she was able to do that traveling after she met Jack? "Oh my goodness, yes!" she replied. "See those magnets on the fridge, those are all from our trips." I could see a good portion of one whole side was covered. She told me that she has hundreds of pictures, and way too many of pronghorn antelope (one of her favorites), which she took from too far away and so they all looked like unrecognizable, little dots in the pictures. I laughed, as I can certainly relate to the many photos I have attempted of deer from a distance, but they were so far away, I couldn't figure out why I had taken a picture of a field or whatever it was with nothing in it!

One of her most memorable stories was from a 12 state trip they took while attending a Germans from Russia conference in Iowa. They were in Colorado on a gondola ride, and met a woman who recommended a local motel. About 15 minutes after they checked in to their room, they heard a rustling sound of the lock being jostled, and in walked another patron, luggage in hand, with a very bewildered look on his face. Wilma stated that they were already there, and that was that, but it was somewhat unsettling that the front desk had issued two key cards to the same room. Later that evening, Wilma turned down the bed to discover hair on the sheets, a LOT of hair. "It wasn't human, it was definitely some type of animal," she explained, one who had obviously curled up to sleep there. She immediately called the front desk and it rang and rang. After several attempts, it was obvious they had gone home. Wilma did what she could, "I remember turning the sheets and pillowcases inside out and I didn't sleep very well!" The next day when they told the front desk gal, she adamantly denied it, saying she had cleaned that room herself. Wilma was exasperated, because there was no way that bedding had been washed. They did not even bother to mention the other guest who gained access to their room after check in. As they were leaving, the girl gave Wilma a box of tea bags and a rose. As I was thinking to myself how strange that offering was, Wilma said "it was the oddest parting gift."

In spite of both knee replacements, hip surgery and shoulder surgery, this is a lady showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to her artistic abilities and piano skills, Wilma is an avid reader of mysteries, history books, and loves doing crossword puzzles. She has crocheted afghans for all her grandchildren. Weekly bible study meetings for a group of widows, is something she really enjoys as well. A diehard Seattle Mariners fan, her living room contains some of her cherished sports memorabilia. Wilma was able to attend one game after the new Safeco field was built. She goes to visit Jack in Yakima when she can, (he turned 91 a couple weeks ago), but he has had health issues. He is not a sports fan like her, but proclaimed "I tolerate it."

Wilma enjoys time with her family - daughter Terrie is the editor of our paper. Married to Ed Crosby, they have a daughter Lauren who is attending college in Auburn for court reporting. Wilma's daughter, Debbie, who lives in Milton, Wash., is married to John Cutter and they have two daughters, Katie Porubek (husband Adam, son, Lucas) and Stacy Cutter. Daughter Dori, from Colville, is in the legal field and married to Larry Zahler , who is retired. They have a daughter, Rebecca, (daughter Bella) and a son Jeff. Son, Kim, lives in Odessa and works for Tom Evavold. He has a son, Gage, and a grandson, Derek, and recently married Marla Beth, a local caterer.

As I was getting ready to leave the inviting home of Wilma Schmidt, next to her front door, I couldn't help notice the beautiful, tall painting of a cross on a hillside. "Did you paint that?" I asked. "Yes, I did," she told me. She laughed and referred to it as her "20-year painting...my masterpiece." She showed me how each item in the painting was symbolic and told the life of Christ. It made me think about our lives, and what symbols and pictures we might feature in our own collage? Meeting with Wilma Schmidt, a classy, graceful woman...made me stop and breathe, reflect, and realize that just like her painting, it is collectively all the special, random moments that intertwine to make our own, beautiful life.

On a sad note, after my interview with Wilma, and before we went to press, her long time companion, Jack Birchard, passed away on May 3. Wilma conveyed how dearly he will be missed. A memorial service (date yet to be announced) will be held at the end of May. We hope that this article serves as a tribute to Jack and the scores of family and friends who loved him.