The oldest of six siblings, Annie Ruth grew up with no running water, electricity, car or heat. While her father was away from home working as a pulp wood worker, her mother fed Annie Ruth and her siblings from the garden she grew, sewed quilts for warmth and made school clothes out of feed sacks. Looming large in Annie Ruth’s memory is the kindness and resilience of a mother who believed in working hard and raising her children to be loving and strong. She and her siblings are close today because her mother instilled the belief that family and love are essential for a life well lived, and, even, for survival.