Week 15 2026 - Unexpected - Porter

Phyllis Maxine (Porter) Drummond was my dad's older sister. She was born February 20, 1915, in Manning, Carroll County, Iowa the oldest child of Harry Edward and Nellie (Dillingham) Porter. Many of my memories of her are not always complimentary. She could be sharp spoken; always had to dominate the conversation and many times she would make comments that would hurt your feelings. But I think she loved her family, especially her two younger brothers. She told many stories about their years living in South Dakota and Iowa, but those are for another missive.

                                                                              
                      Harry, Bill, Phyllis ca1919                                           Bill, Phyllis, Harry 1950

She attended school in both Flandreau, South Dakota and Sioux City, Iowa. At the age of 17, she married James Sheldon 'Shell' Drummond in a small, simple ceremony May 31, 1932, in Sioux City, Iowa. Sheldon was the son of William and Ida (Shipper) Drummond and was a dairyman at the time of their marriage.

When on their honeymoon, Uncle Shell bought Aunt Phyllis a small glass slipper as a souvenir. That one 'slipper' was the start of a lifelong collection. About 1945, they moved to Bay City, Michigan where Sheldon was a milkman and then worked at Westover-Kamm as a woodworking and millwright operator.

Phyllis and Sheldon Drummond

Over the years that we were out of state, back in the snail-mail times, I would stay in contact with Aunt Phyllis. Not often, but a few times a year.

My husband and I moved back to Michigan in 1998, and I realized that we only lived about 35 miles from where she was living with her son Bill and his family. So, when my mom would come to visit us and also at other times, I would drive over and see her. It was fun listening to her stories, especially when it included my dad. 

On one of my visits after my mom had passed (2006) Aunt Phyllis gave me a totally unexpected gift. When she had moved back to Michigan from Florida after Uncle Shell had died in 1992, she had sold or given away a lot of her slipper collection. But she had kept many of her favorites and she gifted me the rest of her collection - minus her first one, which she kept. 


Aunt Phyllis died June 21, 2008 in Allegan, Michigan and is buried with Uncle Shell in Bradenton, Florida.

I have added a couple of glass slippers to the collection, but it is mainly all hers. I'm so glad she felt that I would take care of them just like she did.

Barbie



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