LONG, RUEBEN AND CALLIE (SMITH)

by Rueben Long

Entry F262 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Callie and Reuben Long

John Rueben is the second son of Charles
and Irene (Boyer) Long was born Febr. 1,
1898 in a sod house in South Cherry County.
There is ten children and Reuben has a twin
sister Ruth. They attended the Wells School
House in Cherry Co. He took exams for the
Army in 1919, but was never called.

Rueben married LeEtta Elliott, June 8,
1924 at Thedford, Nebr. To this union two
daughters were born, Juanita and Mary
Mandella. Mary Mandella died when she was
three weeks old, Dec. 1936. Later Rueben
married Callie Smith in 1944. Callie had the
City Cafe from 1911 to 1957. She said, "The
day's work for the pioneer women of the
Sandhills was hard work and long hours. I
had to be a miracle woman at the stove. The
art of making `57' tasty dishes out of corn was
probably the most important. Our table diet
consisted of hominy, cornbread, corn cakes,
corn pudding, corn dodgers and corn meal
mush - all corn dishes. Other duties, such
as making garden, manufacturing soap, sew-
ing clothes, canning supplies, carrying water,
washing clothes and other routine duties,
provided few idle moments for members of
the weaker sex," She passed away April 22,
1969.

Rueben worked for Ray Sexton driving
truck from 1934 to 1963. Also hauled feed for
Chester Johnson till 1969, when he retired.

Juanita married Fred Hollingworth, they
have two children Michael and Joy. Callie
had a daughter by her previous marriage
Alice, Alice married Joe Payne. They have
four children, Laura, Roy, Clint and Scotty.