Grandma Minnie, and How I Was Christened Patricia Ann

Grandma Minnie, Dad and me

Me at six months

As a child I let it be known to my mother that I thought my name was rather plain and I didn’t like it. I was always called “Pat” and not “Patricia” or "Trish" or "Trisha." Why wasn’t I one of those lucky girls with a pretty name?

Mom was always great at handling my complaints. She told me how lucky I was to have my name. As she explained it to me, Dad was overseas in the Army and Grandma Minnie was at her bedside when I was born. Mom described Minnie as very persuasive, which I knew to be true.

Minnie was insisting that Mom name me in part for the Queen of Holland (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1890-1948) and wanted me named “Wilhelmina Henrietta Braaksma.”

Mom said that “Patricia Ann” was the first name that popped into her mind and at that critical moment, she said to Minnie, “I’m calling her “Patricia Ann.” End of story.

“Now aren’t you glad,” Mom said to me, sure she had done the right thing. However, after hearing that story, I was always wistful of the name that might have been, “Wilhelmina Henrietta Braaksma."

Mom, Dad and me, Madison, Wis.

Grandpa Dewey, Dad (John Dewey) and me, Madison, Wis.

Dime Store photo of mom and dad, dad on furlough and mom pregnant with me.

Family Lore: I learned to walk in Minnie and Dewey’s tavern, thanks to the floor-level stainless coolers. I would walk, grabbing the handles as I pulled myself along, handle to handle, starstruck by my reflection in the stainless doors.

Minnie and Dewey were amazing grandparents, but they fell short in the eyes of the Dutch Anglican church when they bought a tavern and were excommunicated from the church.

I was Minnie's second granddaughter and the daughter of John Dewey Braaksma Sr., Minnie's oldest son. The first granddaughter was Alice Faye, daughter of Sam and Ann (Braaksma) Meekma. Alice Faye, according to Mom’s Family Lore, was named after movie legend Alice Faye.

Alice Faye Meekma

Alice Faye was a year older than me and of course, I loved being her playmate. Alice was the cousin I spent the most time with because when I visited Uncle Sam and Aunt Ann summers on their farm in Randolph, WI, Aunt Ann gave Alice watch over me. I tagged along on her many farm chores – calling the cows, feeding the chickens, slopping the hogs, playing in the barn, milking the cows, shucking corn – oh, those were the days.

I love this photo of Alice wearing her gold locket and bracelet. Mom noted on this photo that Alice Faye was wearing my blue jumper, but I remember all of the dresses Aunt Ann had sewn for Alice and how I got to wear those dresses when I went to church with the Meekma's.
It's apparent as you look into her eyes that Alice Faye's confident nature made her a great playmate. She was brave and adventurous. She had piano lessons, played trumpet in the high school band.
She went on to graduate from college, married a wonderful man, raised a beautiful, young family and then suddenly, she had an aneurysm and was gone.  She died on my birthday in 1984. Just thinking back on that dreadful day when we heard the news, I was at a loss then and am at a loss now, sure we were meant to grow old together and missing my friend.