The day began in crystalline sunlight and endlessly blue skies, but soon whipsawed into a decade of war, economic meltdown and deep political division.
Ruth was born on Sept. 29, 1911, to Hubert Langdon and Nora Langdon in Portal, ND. She moved to California with her parents and only brother, Edward, as a small child. She often told the story about her and her mother coming into town by horse and buggy to shop. This was in the town of Hollister, CA, where the family settled.