By Miles Patrick Yohnke
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
A cry, a scream,
A new life,
Her life,
This little life.
This world, now plus one,
This one, now in the world,
This little force, unique, determined,
This flower, this little life force, blooming -
Blooming with infinite possibilities.
The sign read: 'New York is big... but this is Biggar'.
She would become bigger in her homestead of Biggar.
The Big Apple, she was the apple to endless eyes.
A cry, a scream,
A new life,
Her life,
Now a mid-wife.
She experienced the Great Depression,
She would leave a great impression.
Before there was electricity,
She was eccentric, she was her own self,
She was creative, active -
Active in her community, active beyond,
Beyond a mid-wife - a painter, a sculptor.
She shaped many, many lives,
She cared to many, many lives,
She cared for many, many lives.
Imagine all the people living,
Living for today, no war?
Imagine all the people,
Living life in peace?
She experienced World War One, World War Two,
She brought one life into the world, two,
She brought in many, she was bigger than life itself,
She left a great, great impression.
She shaped many, many lives,
She cared to many, many lives,
She cared for many, many lives.
She had a dream.
In the 60s,
A cry, a scream,
She saw John F. Kennedy die,
She saw Martin Luther King Jr. die,
She saw her first son, my dad, Francis Lewis Yohnke die,
She saw another child, Neil Armstrong walk on the moon,
It left a great impression; she left a great impression.
In the 70s,
A cry, a scream,
A new life,
Her life,
Beyond a mid-wife - a musician.
She had a dream,
She lived her dreams,
A prolific painter, sculptor,
Her works could have filled The Big Apple.
In the 80s,
A cry, a scream,
An end of a life.
An end to another,
John Lennon - shot dead in New York.
The long and winding road,
That led many to her door,
At 81, in '82 -
She took her very last breath.
She shaped many, many lives,
She cared to many, many lives,
She cared for many, many lives,
She touched many, many lives.
Grandma Ida Yohnke left a great, great impression.
Back row: Grandpa Emil, Marjoria, Grandma Ida, Marie
Front row: Francis, William, Ida Lillian (Bunny)
Dear Verna Korkie,
WOW - what a beautiful surprise. I am just so grateful that you wrote. I would love to learn more about you. If you are interested in phoning me I'd love to listen to you. To learn more about your life. I can be reached at either 306.652.3898 or 306.227.6379 My email is miles[at}5-starproductions[dot]com
I hope to hear from you.
As always, love is the way,
Miles Patrick Yohnke
Hi Miles. What a coincidence that I am reading about you and Ida this morning. I say that because I was conceived in Biggar in 1946 and born to Margaret Hoppe. Adopted, I met Margaret when I was 52 (24 years ago) The identity of my father, William King, was not discovered until last year, through 23andMe DNA testing site. An amazing tale has since been provided to me by my new relatives, including a half brother and several cousins.
Your Grandma Ida must have been a fantastic person - a nurse, like me. Your tributes to her and newspaper clippings are heart warming.
The best to you.
Verna Korkie
Canmore, Alberta