Grace Rossow

(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of Eldon Harms.

Grace was the youngest of Theodore and Annie Rossow's children, born circa 1911 (1920 Census), on their Union Township farm, perhaps.

I am told that she had a spinal deformity — a rounded back — and the family story that has come down to us is that Annie and Theodore were out driving in their car one day, with Annie holding the infant Grace, when they saw another car heading straight toward them. In a panic, Annie threw the baby out of the car window, clear of the smash-up … but when the baby hit the ground, she suffered injuries that caused her rounded spine.

I don't know if the story is correct about the cause of Grace's back problems, but it's bad enough that Annie felt (or was deemed) responsible.