Amanuensis Monday - Grandma Hill's Poetry, week 22

Two little boys, whose last name was Hill,

had taken many and many a pill.

'Till along came Doctor Diethelm with tweezers and knives

And assured them he'd come to save their lives.

He stood looking wise, with hand in his pocket

And said "Well, boys, what's the first thing on docket?"

After thumping and sounding I find Science has proved

The very wisest thing is to have adenoids and tonsils removed.

And now, as we are done with our whittles

Next thing,  we will see to your vittles.

And after reading the menu through,

We'll see what cod liver oil will do.

This with milk, eggs, little meat and much spinach

Some spuds, tomatoes and beans just fill out our menage"

So with Mother, Anna, and Nurse Parker to talk and cajole

The little boys followed the good Doctor's role.

And have grown fat, hale and strong, but some lazy

'Till now they nearly drive their Dad nutty and crazy.

Note:   Although I'm not exactly sure who this poem was written to, it was probably 2 of her grandsons.  Grandma Hill had 4 Hill grandsons - they were Charles Victor Hill (1924-52), Edwin James "Wimp" Hill (1928- ), Lawrence Gerald Hill (1935-2013), and Donald Eugene Hill (1940 -  ).  They all grew up in Toledo, OH, where three generations of Dr. Diethelm's practiced as Family doctors.  Her Hill great-grandsons were either two young, or not in Toledo.   I have asked several older family members, and none knows who Anna was.  She was not the mother of any of these boys.

Nancy Jane Wiley Hill (1875-1960) was always writing something.  Many of those poems are now in the possession of her granddaughter Shirley Kern.  Shirley, with the help of her sister-in-law Ruth Ormsby, transcribed these poems in 1996 for a Hill-Ormsby-Kern family reunion.  I am going to post many of these poems so that they may be enjoyed by all.

These are copyright 1996 and reprinted with permission.