Sally Ann Lighthall Stam

Claire Stam

1/11/11

Horton 7th hour

DedicationI would like to show sincere gratitude for my

Nana- Sally Ann Lighthall Stam. Without her helpful insight, humorous stories, and talkative personality, I would not have done very well on my biography. Throughout the fifty question interview, my Nana was extremely good-hearted about the lengthy process. She gave me some very interesting details, explaining why her life was unique. Thanks so much, Nana!

-Claire-

Early YearsAmidst the great depression, Sally Ann

Lighthall, my grandmother was born. The date was August 5th, 1931 and the US was experiencing great trial

Because her Parents could not provide enough for my Nana, she lived with other relatives for much of her childhood. Sally first resided with her Aunt Fanny and uncle George in Samon River, then moved in with her grandparents in Plattsburg, New York.

Early YearsCoping with the great depression was not at all hard for my Nana’s family. The home she grew

up in was very nice, especially her master bedroom. My Nana had great experiences as a young girl and she made friends quickly.

During the late 1930’s my Nana became best friends with Petie Logan, a girl her age who lived just a couple blocks away. Together, they would travel to the penny candy store, to the fields for picnics, and they even played tricks on Petie’s brother.

Early Years Even since grade school, my Nana enjoyed education and

was an A student. One day she was sharing answers with some students and a teacher slapped her on the hand as punishment.

Fancy clothes were only meat to be worn on Sundays at the Lighthall home. However, there came a time when, my Nana decided to disobey this rule. She was going to wear the “for good” skirt and blouse to school one

morning until her mother made her change out of it. She arrived at school late that morning, thinking the teacher o her side, when she explained her circumstance. Instead, the teacher made her sit out for 40 minutes. My Nana learned a very important lesson- do not question your parents decisions.

Early YearsGero’s was a favorite place to go to lunch

for my Nana as a child. For the noon meal, her Grandpa would treat her to restaurant food

often. My Nana developed a very good relationship with her Grandpa.

Hard times erupted for the US after the Pearl Harbor Attack. Although my Nana doesn’t

remember much about World War II, her Father enlisted I the army. He was rejected because of his poor eyesight.

Early YearsIn Junior High school, my Nana played tennis in the summer. There were no girls tennis teams at her

school, so she just played recreationally in the park. In High school, my Sally was the head cheerleader for three schools.

Just before bed, my Nana would read under the covers. Her favorite novels included, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolten, fairy tales and even the Ecyclopedia. Another hobby she enjoyed was the Clarinet. Once she got to play a solo titled “Mighty Like a Rose.”

Early YearsKnowing that puberty was a very

hard time for tweens ad teens, my Nana’s Father and Grandpa cut her lots of slack. However, her Mother often threatened to have her Dad “deal” with her.

Later on in the war, my Nana’s family was rationed with their food. They seemed to

never have enough meat or butter.

Early/Teen Years

Moving into the countryside was difficult for Sally. She went from having the

master bedroom in the house, to living in what she called a “box”. The thing she struggled with most of all was being lonesome. It was much different than city life

Normally, families didn’t have TV set in the early 1940’s, and Sally’s Family was no

exception. If she wanted to watch movies she would go out to the Cinema theater- the cost was only 15 cents. My Nana’s family owned a record player and Sally often listened to Judy Garland, Frank Sanatra and Andy Williams.

Teen YearsOften when Sally’s Grandfather went to the

night tavern for some drinks, Nana would come along too. The workers and other men there got to know she and her grandfather very well, as they were frequent visitors.

Petie and George were the names of Sally’s two Persian cats. Both had blue-grey stripes. George followed my Nana’s Father into the garden often. Also, when she needed to wake-up, her parents would send George to do the job. He would walk around her head and nip gently at her ear. If my Nana did not get up, her parents would send him I again.

Teen YearsQuite often, when Nana was a teen, she and her family would rent a cottage at Lake O’Wassa. Also, she swam I lake

Champlain which was nearest to her house.Real inspiration motivated my Nana to think about becoming a Dental Hygienist. She had always looked up to her own dentist -Edith

Serric. My Nana went to the University of Rochester to pursue her dream. For the 1st and 2nd year, she learned basic college. The 3rd and 4th years consisted of mainly of practicing on patients.

Adult YearsSally was first unsure whether she wanted to marry

my Grandpa when he proposed. After three years of dating, she didn’t know if he would ever settle down and go to

college. Then one day, Garrett left to go out west for two years. They wrote letters to each other until Garrett came back. But when he told all his friends that he didn’t want to date because he wanted to focus on college. This diminished all hopes that my Nana had of ever marrying my Grandpa.

Things changed when, my Grandpa’s car broke down and he needed a ride. My Nana was more than happy to

drive him to Calvin College every day. This gave her a chance to know him even better. Sally Ann Lighthall and Garrett John Stam were wedded on July 7, 1956 in a Methodist church.

Adult Years

Usually the Stam family mobile home was very quiet. That was until, my Nana became pregnant and gave birth to my

Dad. He was born at 5 pounds, 2 ounces on September 8th, 1960. Being premature, my Dad, Breese Willard, was brought home from the hospital after a week. My Dad was a very fussy and colicky baby, and cried a lot for one year.

Very typical for an infant, my Aunt Dele was born four years later on November 2nd, 1964. She, unlike my Dad, was born

full term at 7.7 lbs. My Nana can describe raising children in one word- hectic. But she also enjoyed it.

Adult/Later YearsWhen my grandpa built our cottage in

Peacock, MI, his family instantly fell in love with it. Breese and Dele often went motorcycling, canoeing, fishing, water skiing, and many other activities. On Big Bass Lake, the Stam family was well known, especially because of a crazy stunt called “disking”. This was what they called when being pulled behind the boat on a flat board, sitting on top of a bucket.

eXcept for the fact that she can’t see us, my Nana and Grandpa loved to spend time in Florida.

She was able to see my older brother when he was born. Her first thoughts when she first saw the tiny face amidst the blankets was, “This is my own Heritage!”

Later YearsYears had passed, and age was catching up with my Nana. She

retired from working as an Dental Hygienist at 65. However, 9 years ago, Grandpa died because of a disease called multiple myeloma which was incurable. My Nana says dealing with the disease was three years of hell. “He was so strong,” Nana remembers. “I’d done everything with him for 46 years. No one could even compare. I truly loved him very much.”

Zany could easily be used to describe my Nana. She loves to take my sister and I out to eat and on shopping sprees. She also loves to talk to us on the phone when she’s in Florida. When home, she comes over to visit often and hold our guinea-pig named Pecan. One thing that I found interesting about my nana’s experiences while interviewing her was that she had been at the exact airport on the exact day where the terrorists crashed the plane.