Cecelia Gertrude Maurer was born May 23, 1927 at the old Leila Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. She was the youngest of nine siblings. Her mother, Mary Louise O’Toole Maurer, was 45 when Cecelia was born. She called her little daughter “Precious.” Charles John Maurer, Cecelia’s father, worked the family farm near St. Mary’s Lake in Pennfield, north of Battle Creek.
The Maurers were pretty isolated on the farm. The children attended Hicks School a mile down the road. Cecelia once got permission to use the school outhouse. Instead of returning to school, she walked home. She had had enough. When the entire student body posed for a group photo, she was so excited she put her boots on the wrong feet. Except for church Sundays at St. Philip Catholic in downtown Battle Creek, the family rarely left rural Pennfield. A small market was the only nearby business. Little Cecelia called it “the biggest store in the world.” Sometimes she got to hit the Michigan or Bijou Theatres for a Shirley Temple movie. For years, she was mystified by the farmhouse’s giant radio. She was convinced it held little people talking and playing instruments. One of her favorites was Bob Hope, whom she would enjoy years later at Kellogg Arena.
During the Depression, times were tough and the Maurer farm wasn’t much of a money maker. Charles took a job in Battle Creek with the New York Central Railroad. Soon Cecelia was in town every day for school at St. Philip. One of her teachers was her older sister Katherine, whom she irritated by calling by her first name. After school, Cecelia and her sister Betty waited for a ride home at Willard Library. The family eventually moved to a home on Penn Street in Battle Creek, a short walk from the railroad and St. Philip.
While in high school, Cecelia worked in the downtown Grand Leader department store. Then she got a job in the Treasurer’s Department at City Hall. One of her jobs was to relieve the switchboard operator during her breaks. For a long time, she couldn’t figure out how to connect calls. Her solution? She told everybody, “I’m sorry. That line is busy.” She graduated from St. Philip in 1944.
Cecelia met Donald Knapp, a student at Battle Creek Central. After his service in the Navy during World War II, they were married in the sacristy at St. Philip. For a year, they lived with her parents, then moved to a small new home on Glendale Avenue. He was a blacksmith at Grand Trunk Western. For several years, Cecelia stayed home to take care of their children – Ron, Janet and Steve.
In 1957, just before Steve was born, the family moved into a bigger house at 38 Janoah Avenue. Cecelia was a member of the Roosevelt School PTA. She was a volunteer room mother and an assistant Cub Scout den leader. When her children were older, she went back to work at Michigan Employment Security Commission and then back to the City Hall where she collected water bills from 1961 to 1977. In 1976, Cecelia and Donald moved to 222 E. Kingman Avenue.
She enjoyed playing bingo with her sister Mary and reading Harlequin Romance novels. The Knapp family took many summer trips to visit Don’s parents in Florida. She and Don made regular excursions to Las Vegas where she once won $700 on a slot machine. Sunday afternoons were reserved for family rides in the country. Don usually made sure they zipped over the humpy “Big Bridge” on Raymond Road. After the ride, Cecelia enjoyed a nap in her easy chair. She enjoyed puzzles and making hook rugs.
She was famous for her chicken dinners with dumplings. Every supper featured mashed potatoes and gravy. Her children fought for the middle frosted cinnamon roll and a shot at scraping the pot where her fudge was boiled. Sunday supper was a light meal with cupcakes and jello. Saturday night usually featured steak cooked outside on the grill. Thin pork chops appeared on the menu every couple days. A Friday night staple was tunafish casserole. The Knapps called it “goof.” A special treat was chocolate milk made with a spoonful of Hershey’s powder and two of sugar. Cecelia liked McRibs at McDonalds, but her favorite restaurant was Bill Knapp’s (no relation). She always ordered ham croquettes. That’s where birthdays were celebrated. Bing Crosby always sang “Happy Birthday.”
When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Battle Creek in 1940, Mary Maurer took 12-year-old Cecelia to see the First Lady at the railroad depot. Twenty years later Cecelia let her son Ron skip school so they could see John F. Kennedy speak near the same spot. In 1984, she accompanied Ron and his son, Bill, to Michigan State University to cheer for Geraldine Ferarro, the first major party vice presidential candidate.
Cecelia hated TV shows about drugs. When Joe Friday arrested a young punk junkie on Dragnet, she left the room. Sad stories about lost Cartwright wives on Bonanza reduced her to tears.
Cecelia lived long enough to meet all her grandchildren – Tim, Kelly, Kerry, Bill, Frank and Chris. She intervened when young Bill had been barred by his father from watching Saturday morning cartoons. The last thing she bought was a bike for newly-adopted Chris.