By Eilene Lyon
Charlotte Mabel Halse Frydendall (1918–2007)
I remember grandaunt Charlotte from childhood visits to the Frydendall cabin at Seal Rock, Oregon. They enlarged it when her husband, Cecil, retired and they could live there full-time. Charlotte grew up with her ten siblings in Codington County, South Dakota.
Her brother, Al, worked with Cecil Frydendall in Corvallis, Oregon, and introduced him to Charlotte. They married in 1938. Charlotte was somewhat shy and timid. She was a homemaker and mother of two. She finally obtained her driver’s license at age 50.
Because she suffered allergies while living inland at Albany, Oregon, she much preferred the coastal air. She and Cecil belonged to the Waldport Baptist Church and she read her Bible daily.
For their 50th anniversary, their children gifted them a dream trip on an Alaskan cruise. Charlotte lost Cecil (a firefighter and fisherman) in 1998. Charlotte lived her later years in a Yachats, Oregon, assisted living facility.
Charlotte Mabel Halse on Ancestry
Charlotte M. Frydendall at Find a Grave
Myricopia 
Your family’s history is so different from mine that I find it fascinating! Although I had distant cousins who ended up in rural places, most of my direct ancestors (of those who came to the US) ended up living in cities. And few lived outside of the Northeast.
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I come from a long line of people who moved every generation. Many were farmers up into the early 20th century. Not much in the way of city dwellers!
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I like the term Grandaunt. It’s more elegant than Great Aunt. I might start insisting my great niece and nephew call me Grandaunt Heather!! Have you tried any of their recipes?
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In genealogy the grandaunt term is more correct, as they are siblings of your grandparent. Tried the recipes?! I just found them yesterday.🙂 I’ll pass on the goop.
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I learned something new! Ya, the goop seems a heavy dish.
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I may try the cookie recipe though!
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She looks serene. I’m not surprised you put inverted commas round Cecil’s “recipe”!
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It does lack instructions, and I suppose it’s a good indication of fireman cooking.
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That “goop” sounds vaguely familiar.
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Is it in your monthly menu rotation?
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No, I must have encountered soemthing similar during my growing-up years.
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And did not seek to replicate, I take it.
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In a word, no!
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😁
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A lovely memorial to your grandaunt…love the inclusion of the recipes!!
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That’s the fun part of doing a little newspaper research—finding gems like that.
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A lovely tribute to your grandaunt, Eilene. I love seeing old photos; they’re such poignant reminders are a long life lived. The recipes were a wonderful touch too. ❤
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Thanks for stopping by, Diana! I’m really big on old photos myself. Finding the recipes was a real bonus.
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🙂
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I love anything that begins with “start with gallon pan”. Years ago In Saint Paul, communities would have a Booya – which was a gathering to make stone soup of sorts, cooked in thirty gallon cauldrons. Lots of veggies and sausage. Very good.
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I like the idea of a communal soup pot gathering. Lots of veggies sounds a bit more appetizing than Cecil’s goop. But firemen need lots of protein, I imagine.
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I love how you can share so much of your family history. So lovely, Eilene!
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I’m fortunate that relatives have shared information with me. I barely recall the visit or two out to Seal Rock. I was probably in second grade – just a little while ago!
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Yes, you are. A “few” years ago 😉
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😊
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Eilene, that is a wonderful tribute to your aunt. I too love old photos and recipes.
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Thank you, Suzanne. I do wish I’d known my parents aunts, uncles and cousins when I was growing up. But we just moved around and rarely met any of them.
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I may have to try that cookie recipe!
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It does sound good. I love oatmeal raisin. Have not heard of grinding the raisins, though.
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All that AND some goop? You’ve done it again, Eilene.
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It’s funny how the recipes I found really made this one relatable.
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Nice.
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How nice their children gifted them a trip to Alaska for their 50th anniversary. It looks like they both liked to cook. I wonder if Cecil was the cook for the duration of time he was on duty – sometimes the others are happy to hand over that duty. I often see our local firemen shopping at Meijer grocery store for their food for the fire station. They usually shop in pairs to be efficient and park their rig in front of Meijer to be ready to go on an emergency trip if need be. They seem to enjoy this part of their job. Cecil’s recipe looks like “Cowboy Casserole” which I often see on crockpot recipe sites.
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I don’t know much about Cecil’s career as a fireman, but I did see a news item when he was injured in the job at a fire.
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That’s unfortunate – it is a rigorous and dangerous job, even in a small town venue.
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Very much. In Durango they still recall firefighters killed back in the 1970s.
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That’s good they remember your firefighters all these years later. Like all first responders, they should never be forgotten.
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Fireman’s Goop! Oh. my. goodness. Not my kind of food, but then I’m not a fireman [or firewoman]. That recipe is a treasure.
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Or you could feed an army on that, I suppose. I don’t object to the ingredients per se, just not keen on “goop”!
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She looks like the kind of lady who would give you a hug and feed you a cookie.
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No doubt she did just that when we visited!
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I miss having elders like that!
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It kinda goes with childhood.
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