Helen Marie Reidmann was born on November 20, 1924 at St. Joe’s hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Helen is my Dad’s mom who I call Grandma. She has two sisters, nine children, twenty-seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Let me tell you a little more about my Grandma.
     Growing up, Grandma lived in Omaha, Nebraska with her two sisters, Paula and Mary Kay, her mother, Jo, and her father, Louis. Paula was the oldest of all the children. Grandma was the second oldest.  Around the house, Helen had many chores. She had to clean the house every weekend and do the dishes every night. She didn’t have many dreams in her life, except for one. She said, “My only dream was to meet a very nice guy and get married someday.” Grandma went to grade school at Holy Angel’s. This school went from grade one to grade eight. She walked to school everyday. Her family only had one car, but that was used for her father to take to work everyday. The only other transportation her family used was a streetcar. Her mother would take the street car to the store every Sunday to go shopping for groceries.
     Helen’s favorite thing to do was going to the movie theater with her best friend Norma Sass. It only cost ten cents to get into the movie theater. Fashions in that time were dresses, hats, and gloves. She didn’t participate in any sports because they didn’t have sports for women in those days. She followed boys’ baseball and football. Her first big crush was on one of the baseball players. Her sister, Paula, knew some of the guys that she liked. In her teenage years, Grandma attended North High School and got her first job. To make money she worked at a dime store. She also did some baby-sitting and got paid 25 cents a night.
     After high school, Helen worked for the FBI as a clerk and moved to Denver where she was promoted to chief clerk. There she met a man named James Francis Griffin. They got married on May 21, 1949 in Denver. Helen was a busy mother, having nine children. Starting from oldest their names are Jim, Kathleen, Tina, John, Gail, Michael, Paula, Bill, and Tom. The oldest, Jim and Kathleen, are twins. Grandma says she can remember saying, “Jim, John, Mike, Bill, Tom, or whoever - come here,” when someone got in trouble.
     Recently, in her later years, Grandma has very few hobbies, but she enjoys them. One of these hobbies is cooking. I love the pies that she makes. When I walk into her house I can smell the scent of fresh baked something. Even my Dad agrees and says, “I think she’s a wonderful cook. I learned a lot from her.” Another one of her hobbies, which is the biggest one, is taking care of her grandchildren. As I said earlier, she has twenty-seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She enjoys being with her friends too. Some of her best friends are the Ritter’s and the Rosick’s.
     Grandma is a pretty healthy woman. She has only overcome one major obstacle in her life. That was when she had her knee operation. Other than that, she has been healthy all her life. Her only dream for the rest of her life is to enjoy her grandchildren and great-grandchild. Other than that, she said she will “Take what life gives her.”
     I have many memories with my Grandma, but one sticks out in my head. Every October, my Dad’s whole family has a camp-out in Grandma’s backyard. We have a campfire, cook food, and spend the night sleeping in tents.  That is my favorite memory with her. I also have one other memory that I would like to share. It is my favorite thing to do at her house. When I’m at her house, we always watch football. She is a big football fan. Those are some of my memories I have with my grandma. I enjoyed having this opportunity to get to know my Grandma better. She is a very special and unique lady.