Mabel Halbert
My dad's mom, Mabel (Hutchings) Halbert — This photo was probably taken at her and Fritz's home at Quaker, Missouri, in the Harmony Township.
Mabel was a kind woman with a firm hand. She not only kept the children in line, but she made sure her husband Fritz "walked the straight and narrow." When Mabel died at age 36, Fritz lost his "beacon in the night." It was an especially dire loss for the children, as Mabel possessed 99 percent of the parenting skills and Fritz had 1 percent.