Erma Bombeck - Early Life

Early Life

Erma Fiste was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, to a working-class family, and was raised in Dayton. Her father, Cassius Fiste, was the city crane operator; her mother's name was also Erma. Young Erma lived with her elder paternal half-sister, Thelma. She began elementary school one year earlier than usual for her age, in 1932, and became an excellent student and an avid reader. She particularly enjoyed the popular humor writers of the time. After Erma's father died in 1936, she moved, with her mother, into her grandmother's home. In 1938 her mother remarried, to Albert Harris (a moving van owner). Erma practiced tap dance and singing, and was hired by a local radio for a children's revue for eight years.