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Mildred Ruth Adams, daughter of Russell and Ruth (VanDyke) Adams, was born on April 21, 1930, in the farm home eight miles northeast of Broken Bow, in Garfield Township, Custer County, Nebraska. Mildred attended the Senate Valley School. Since the school was only a quarter mile from her house, she was able to go home for lunch.
Mildred helped the family by doing her chores after school including milking cows, feeding bucket calves, feeding chickens, gathering eggs, carrying water from the windmill for drinking and filling the reservoir on the cook-stove, and picking up cobs in the pig pen, which were used as fuel in the family cook-stove. She also took her turn at washing and drying supper dishes.
In 1943, Mildred's father rented the Frank Rogers farm, also known as the Cole Ranch, just east of Broken Bow. There were two houses on this place, and the family moved into the smaller one as the former renters, Mrs. Cole and her family, were given permission to occupy the other house until their new home was completed on their ranch near Milburn, Nebraska.
Mildred attended Jr. and Sr. High in Broken Bow, helping with the milking before and after the 2-mile walk to school. This was during World War II. There were no buses, and fuel was rationed. Mildred wanted to be a teacher, as both her older sisters were, so she took a Normal Training course the last two years of high school, passing the exams to receive a teaching certificate with which she could teach right out of high school.
After graduation in 1947, Mildred signed a contract to teach at Sunflower School west of Merna on Cliff Table. There were 11 pupils in seven grades. The Saturday before school was to begin, Mildred's dad took her to Clyde and Rema Jared's, where she would be boarding. That evening, she accompanied them to Merna when they took their cream and eggs to Graybeals Store. It was there that Rema reintroduced Mildred to their neighbor, Harold Coleman, who had served in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II and was home again farming. Two weeks, later, Harold asked Mildred for a date, thus beginning a lasting romance.
Harold and Mildred were married in May 1948. Their first home had no electricity, so they used kerosene lamps. They did have water though, via a pitcher pump in the kitchen. In 1949, Harold and Mildred moved to a house on the George Milligan farm. This house had no modern conveniences. All the water for the household was carried from a well about 50 yards away. Electricity finally reached their home in July 1951, and new milking machines and electric separator made their chores much easier. In 1954, they moved with their two young sons, Gail and Dean, to the farm where Harold had been born, where they continued to farm, ranch, and raise their family.
Harold and Mildred had four children:
| Gail William Coleman | Born December 24, 1948. Gail married Karen Karlberg, and they live in Greeley, Colorado. Gail and Karen had 3 children: Tracy, Heath and Andrea. |
| Dean Harold Coleman | Born April 9, 1943. Dean married Melody Warren. Dean and Melody have 3 children: a daughter, Natalie, and two sons, Matthew and Aaron. They live near Arnold, Nebraska. |
| Greg Michael Coleman | Born May 6, 1956. Greg married LeAnne Fox. Greg and LeAneed had 4 children: Stephanie, Michaela, Chad and Lindsey. They live in Halsey, Nebraska. |
| Neil Alan Coleman | Born March 8, 1959. Neil married ??? and they had 3 daughters: Christina Ann, Candi Sue, and Kerri Lynn. Neil later remarried to Diana Mary Williams, and her 3 children Nathan Aguallo, Casey Derr, and Thomas Derr joined the family. |
In her Reminiscing, included in a book on family history published by her mother Ruth, Mildred documents some of the more memorable events of her life.