Ida Mae MacLennan

  General Notes:

Notes by Ken Miller, August, 1995 and later.
Mother was a highly energetic red-haired lady. She loved to go places, whether it was to the local grocery store or to the other end of the country.

Elaine remembers Mother as one of the original "womens-libbers". When her father died he left her a small inheritance, about $ 1,000. She used it to buy her own car, a Model T Ford. This was pretty unusual at that time, as most women did not drive, let alone have their own car.

Before she and Dad married, she worked for Burroughs in Flint, I think as a bookkeeper. Dad had to call on Burroughs on business, and the rest is history. As the family grew up, she would periodically decide to go back to work, and Mr. Burroughs would always take her back. She would hire a sitter for the kids, which was also rarely done in those days, and work until she tired of it, or until something changed at home.

She loved to go places, and if an opportunity came up she would be ready to go in about three minutes. House keeping was not high on her priority list, but my memory is that somehow things were in usually in pretty good order.

Dad became a 32nd degree Mason, and in later years Mother got involved in the Order of the Eastern Star, I think eventually as an officer. She was also a force in the community. One time I remember a not-too-prosperous family in the neighborhood got burned out, losing everything. It was winter, and there were young kids involved. Nobody really knew these folks, but when Mother heard about it, she got on the phone. Before sundown, the family had a house, a car, clothing, furniture, food, and money.

Of course, nobody thought of calling in the government. In those days people just fixed things themselves.

Some years after the family was raised. Mother fell ill, and spent the remainder of her life in various rest homes. She became a very different person from her old energetic upbeat self. Probably nowdays we would call it clinical depression. And probably nowadays we could cure it. But it was a sad way to end a great life.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Occupation: Housewife.

2. Religion: Methodist.

3. Picture: Ida MacLennan, Abt 1920. Ida is holding her son Claremont, and her daughter Elaine is looking up at her.

Ida married Clarence Fremont Miller, son of John Harvey Miller and Alice Paulina Leary, on 3 Jun 1914 in Garland Street Methodist Parsonage, Flint, Michigan. (Clarence Fremont Miller was born on 9 Apr 1893 in Liberty Township, Putnam County, Ohio, died on 24 Jun 1971 in McLaren Hospital, Flint, Michigan and was buried in Crestwood Cemetery, Genesee County, Michigan.)

  Marriage Notes:

Clarence Fremont Miller and his wife, Ida Mae MacLennan were married at the Garland Street Methodist Parsonage in Flint, Michigan by the Rev. Ryder.