JOSEPHINE MARGARET CUSHING was born Nov. 22, 1905 in a homestead dugout northwest of Gordon, Nebraska in Sheridan County. She was the youngest daughter. Johanna Pfisterer was the midwife at her birth. She was also sponsor at her baptism. After her father's death, her mother boaught a house in the eastern part of Gordon. The children had to take thier lunch and walk to school (a long way uphill, as Jo remembered it). She made sucha fuss when she had to start kindergarten that Lois, who had gone to kindergarten in Clinton, stayed back and went again with her.
Everytime Lois got anything new, Jo just had to have one too. Lois got a new coat and they couldn't find one in Gordon for Jo, so she and her mother got on the train and went to Rushville to get her a coat. She found one she just had to have. It was black with little yellow checks and a big collar. Her mother tried to talk her outof that one, but didn't succeed. She got home and showed it to Lois. Children being children, Lois looked for something negative to say about it and then Jo refused to wear it because it didn't have pockets like Lois' coat. Her mother finally had to overhaul the collar so she would have some material to make pockets. Jo wore the redesigned coat.
A couple of years before they got out of grade school, their mother bought a smaller house across the street and down at the end of the same block as the school, and they would go home for lunch. When Lois and Jo were ready for High School, they moved to Rushville to go to St. Mary's Lois graduated from there, and when they decided to go to nurse's training, Jo quit school. The two girls went down to Long Pine, Nebraska and stayed with sister Alice & her husband Harold. They got jobs to make money for the training, but Lois met Herber Bond and they married. Jo went on to Chadron Normal and got a teaching certificate. She stayed with brother Tom & his wife Ruth, southwest of Gordon and taught school for two years.
By this time, Jo's mother had gone out to the (Creighton) Mission Ranch to work as housekeeper. Jo spent her summers there, helping. She met Herbert H. Clarke at a Literary dance held at the ranch. They were married Novemeber 14, 1927 at the little chapel at the ranch. They rented a couple of farms before getting their own place near the ranch. JoAnn was born Sept. 4, 1928. Pat arrived on Oct 4, 1929, and Jeanne on Dec 26, 1930.
The Depression came along and they lost the farm. They movedto Clinton, Nebraska in 1937. Bert went to work for the W.P.A. and then as a guard at the Ammunition Depot at Provo, S.D.
Jo, her mother and her three kids moved to Hay Springs in August of 1942. Jo went to work at the restaurant for sister Lois & husband (until tey sold it). Then she went to work for the Hay Springs News, where she worked for more than 40 years, doing every kind of work except type-setting and running the press! After her retirement, Jo spet her time traveling, working in her yard, visiting her descendants...3 children, 15 grandchildren, 36 great grand and as many as 5 great-great grands at the time of her death) and her favorite passtime, reading. So celebrated her 90th birthday with a big party in Denver in November, 1995.
Jo attended the most recent family reunion, held in Denver in the summer of 1999. She was the last surviving member of the original family. Jo has since died and gone to rejoin that family.
