PEARMAN, WILLIAM AND LENA (KERNS)

by Granddaughter Billie Garner

Entry F325 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

William (Prunes) and Lena Pearman early 1940's

Lena Leota Kerns was born June 10, 1891
at Hay Springs, Nebraska. At the turn of the
century she was just 9 years old. It was at this
time she became a Sandhill resident. Travel-
ing in a covered wagon from Rushville,
Nebraska with her parents, Alexander James
Kerns and Elnora Bell Kerns, brothers,
Elmer James and Stanton Oliver and sisters,
Alta MaeKerns (Cleavanger), Amanda Adel-
ine Kerns (Huddle) and Grace Bell Kerns
(Thompson) to their homestead Northeast of
Mullen in 1900.

The first year the Kerns family lived in a
tent. Winter snows would cover their beds.
The family raised small grain and as many as
800 bushels of potatoes a year. For cash
income they milked as many as 20 cows. In
the early days the food was preserved for
winter use by drying or putting it in a brine.
Canning was unknown to these early settlers.
They used homemade soap made out of lye
and pork lard because that's all they had.

Lena has many memories of the struggles
her parents had in establishing a home and
providing a living for the family. She remem-
bers digging the woody stems of the red root
for winter fuel, herding the cattle because
there were no fences, and if her father had not
been an excellent marksman there wouldn't
have been much meat on the table. They
raised a few hogs for their own pork and he
hunted prairie chickens and rabbits.

It seemed the winters were more severe
then, the summer rains more plentiful, and
prairie chickens according to her recollec-
tions. It was a great day when the family
could dig a well and not have to haul water
from their neighbor Steve James. When
cattle became more numerous there was an
added bonus - "Cow Chips" for fuel. Last
but not least she remembers going outside
when cold and snowy to the bathroom and
using the good old Sears-Roebuck catalog.

Lena married William Clarence Pearman
on September 29, 1910. William was born
April 6, 1888 at Ivanhoe, Virginia. He had a
brother Robert Ernest (Butch) Pearman,
three sisters, Belva Lockwood Pearman
(Spurlock), Sada Nevada Pearman (Kerns)
and Eula Mae Pearman (Edelman). They left
Virginia because of Mary Belle health. They
moved to Chandler, Oklahoma and lived
there one year, then came to the Sandhills of
Nebraska in 1903.

Lena and William, "Prunes" as most
people called him, took a homestead a few
miles from her parents. She knew many of the
early pioneer struggles in raising their own 7
children. Eunice Claribell Pearman (Wolfen-
den), born April 24, 1910, Woodrow Wilson
(Bink), born September 23, 1912, Cloyd
Alexander (Eck) born March 11, 1914, Elmer
James (Neak) born June 8, 1919, Evelyn
Pauline Pearman (Evans, Bradley, Brecken)
born 1922, Kathleen Ione Pearman
(Boyer) born 1924 and Elnore
Joan Pearman (Garner) born 1929.
She is Grandmother to 27, great-grandmoth-
er to 47 and great-great grandmother to 10.
They all call her "Granny Grunt".

The Pearmans moved into Mullen in 1946.
Lena started her town life working for several
years in the Mullen Cafe and "Prunes"
worked for the State of Nebraska. Lena lost
her husband of 42 years on May 9, 1952. All
of their children lived within a radius of 11
miles. She has lost two of her children Eunice
Wolfenden on December 22, 1985 and Elmer
(Neak) on January 21, 1986.

At an early age Lena learned the art of
braiding rugs and piecing quilts. In the
pioneer days it was a necessity and later she
could do it for fun. She enjoyed sewing for all
of her children and grandchildren. They have
enjoyed all the rugs, quilts and handcrafts
they have of hers to cherish forever.

She has been an active member of the
Assembly of God Church since 1949. Old in
years? Perhaps, but young in spirit and truly
a "Pioneer Of The Sandhills".