EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part two of the Herma Chafin Ogle story that began in Brown County on Jan. 6, 1881 — the year the president was inaugurated following the election of 1880. The first part of this story appeared in the May 11 Brown County Democrat. This biography was originally written by Dick Reed.
As for the “new” Nashville, Mrs. Ogle says “It don’t seem like the same town at all. I know very few of these new people. Once I knew most of them that lived here and I used to know about everybody in Van Buren Township. But now there’s so many new people. It’s not Nashville at all to me. But I believe if I were younger and could get out, I wouldn’t enjoy it like I used to.”
Mrs. Ogle says there are “too many things to do now” and not many she would care about. “Mostly I like people and like to visit with them.”
She was never a club woman although she always liked to mingle socially. “You’d never have to call to see if they were home or not” in the old days, Mrs. Ogle says.
During the last year she was able to get about — that was 1967 — Mrs. Ogle said she hardly ever saw anyone she knew in the stores. Now there is scarcely anyone else of her age to talk to. An exception is her cousin who lives just down the street from her.
Mrs. Ogle has been in a wheelchair for six years, having lost a leg due to a blood clot. But she says, “I get along just fine. I have an artificial limb, but I don’t use it. I told them when they were making it that it would be too heavy for me. And I never had another one made. I do so well in this chair. I have it right by me all the time.”
This was her only serious illness. She was in the hospital for 15 days. Her general health is good. She never had “regular checkups” by a doctor, but Warren and Wayne (her sons) keep close tabs. They called a doctor about five weeks ago because she had a lingering cough, she said. An antibiotic was prescribed for her, and she took two bottles of it. The cough disappeared.
Mrs. Ogle is checked on frequently by her sons. Wayne comes every day — morning and evening. Warren comes when he can and calls daily by phone.
How does she spend a typical day?
“Well, I bathe as soon as I get up, fix my breakfast and open the door for Wayne before I dress for the day. Wayne comes in and sits down of a morning before he goes to work and stops in again on his way home. I cook dinner for Wayne, sometimes. He has no family. I don’t get upstairs or in the basement. The boys are always doing something for me, sweeping and cleaning. And Warren’s wife does my washing,” she says.
The family gathers at Warren’s on special holidays, especially Christmas. Last year though the Warren Ogles went to Florida for the Christmas holidays and took Mrs. Ogle with them. They parked their camper in the Fort Meyers area for three months. Mrs. Ogle says, “I wouldn’t have gone if we’d known in advance they were going to stay so long. But I had a good time. I met an awful lot of nice people down there.”
She has Chafin relatives at Bloomington. Her brother’s family lives there. He had two sons who have provided Mrs. Ogle with four grand nephews. There are two grandchildren (Warren’s) and four great-grandchildren — all of whom she takes a lively interest.
Mrs. Ogle doesn’t get downtown much anymore, and never on a Sunday.
“People hardly go to town when it’s taken over by tourists. And there’s so much traffic; it’s a wonder there aren’t more wrecks,” she says.
She reads and sleeps to occupy her time at home. There is no television set, and she doesn’t want one. Her radio quit some time ago, and she hasn’t had it fixed. And she has no desire to visit the shops and store.
But Mrs. Ogle is concerned about the community and its people.
“I don’t believe in the way the young people are doing. Older folks are more to blame. They aren’t strict enough. For one thing, they’re not at home enough to advise the young youngsters,” she says.
“The kids need a parent at home when they come home from school.”
It’s been a long time since 1881. Herma Chafin Ogle has known five generations of her family. She has loved them and delighted in them. She has enjoyed a useful life and overcome a severe handicap with remarkable courage and good spirits.
She has helped make Brown County what it is today.
Long live the memory of Mrs. Herma Chafin Ogle.
Submitted by Pauline Hoover, Brown County Historical Society
