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Biographical Information:

Born in Wakefield, Clay, KS on March 16th, 1903. Attended Timbercreek Rural School. Ethel was married to Lester Cleveland Babst in Hiawatha, Brown, Kansas on October 19th, 1921 in a double wedding ceremony with her sister Annie Peach Budden who married August Howard Wiese. Their children were born on a farm called the "Weaver Place"¹. The children were:

1. Donna Jean Babst - 1923 to (living)
2. Darlene Mae Babst - 1926 to 1996

Before working for the railroad, her husband used to walk out a mile into the country to pick corn, she had to make him a new pair of gloves every day. When Lester was working for the Union Pacific Railroad, they likely lived in the 500 block of West 3rd St. next to a doctor named Schwartz. From there they moved to the Webking farm south of Junction City, Kansas just off old Highway 40, a little to the south of where the bridge and Logan's Grove were. They lived in a small white house set fairly close to the river. They had two Shetland ponies there, Dolly and Danny.

Later they moved to the Wennerstein Farm north of Ogden, Kansas just a few miles. There was a big, white farmhouse, chicken house, barn to milk cows, a pig pen and some small buildings. They also had fruit trees and planted a big garden. Donna's 3rd grade teacher Anita Brooks used to come to dinner. Lester was allowed one hog to butcher and Ethel would can the meat. One of the cows managed to fall in to the big stone water tank and she held it's head out of the water to keep it from drowning while help was on the way.

The kids used to have lots of programs at school and Ethel would make the costumes for them, a few of which were little cat and mouse costumes. Around this time is when they almost lost Donna to the winter weather. Ethel told Lester he better harness the horses to the wagon and take the kids to school because it was so cold, but he didn't think they needed to do that, so he walked with them about a mile to the school. When they arrived, the school was locked and the teacher hadn't made it there. Lester had the girls kick the walls of the schoolhouse to keep circulation. They started home and he had to start stripping off his own clothes to cover the girls from the cold. About a block and a half from the house, where their haystack was, he wanted to set it ablaze with Darlene in it but was afraid it would burn too fast. Donna had collapsed by this point. He picked her up and told Darlene to start running. As they got closer, Ethel heard the commotion and came out to meet them. They took the girls in and started rubbing Donna's hands, arms and legs. Darlene just needed a blanket wrapped around her and they sat her near the potbellied stove. After they finished rubbing down Donna, she also was placed near the stove.

A few years later they moved to the 500 block of West 2nd St. in Junction City and shortly after to the east side of Salina, Kansas on Des Moines. Ethel and Lester both went to work for Clint Miller. Lester was a butcher and Ethel did the cash register. Sometime later they moved a few blocks to a house on East Iron. In the heat of the summer, everyone would sleep in their back yards on cots. They moved again, this time to the west side of town on State St, then to a big two-story house on Park St. Ethel quit working at Clint Miller's and moved uptown where she worked for the Parisian, a fancy woman's clothing store. Another move brought them to Junction City again, this time to the 400 block of West 2nd. The house has since been torn down as Franklin School sits on that block and they needed more room.

After Donna came home once from being out with a boy (Herbert Eugene Yenser, whom she later married), Ethel asked her how it went and Donna replied "That is the man I am going to marry!" She laughed and told her "You better finish school first". About 1941, Ethel was working on the second floor of the Cole's store as a Manager of the Lingerie Department. She worked there 16 years.

Ethel passed away in Chapman, Dickinson, Kansas on June 11th, 2008 at 105 years old. She was buried in Highland Cemetery in Junction City, Geary, Kansas.

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