The Michael Hammes, Jr, family comes to America

Michael Hammes, Jr, and his ten children (Nicholaus-22; Peter-20; Anna Marie-18; Jacob-16; Margareta-13; Frank-11; John-9; Michael-7; Anna Maria-5; Susanna-3) emigrated from Germany to the United States in November of 1872. They arrived in New York on the S.S. Rhein out of Bremen. This trip had been carefully planned for some time. Unfortunately, Michael's wife (and the children's mother), Margaretha Hammen, died of smallpox earlier in the year of their departure.

Michael Hammes, Jr. was born in Perl, Germany, and the family had land near there, which he sold in 1852. His children were born in Feyen, near Trier, and I believe they had purchased land there which they sold before leaving Germany. The occupation of Michael and his two oldest sons is listed on the ship's manifest as farmer.

In 1869, the oldest son, Nicholaus, travelled to Iowa by himself. He is listed as a passenger arriving on 27 February at New York from Hamburg & Havre on the S.S. Hammonia. It is unknown how or why he travelled from New York to Iowa. However, I believe this was probably a scouting trip for the family and that he chose Iowa based on letters home from neighbors who had previously emigrated to Iowa.

Nicholaus must have returned to the familial home in Germany to make his report and help with plans to leave, since he is also listed on the Rhein's manifest. It is conjectured that one reason Nicholaus wanted to leave was to escape being drafted into the Prussian army. Many of the states were advertising for immigrants, which may have also influenced the family in making the decisions for where they would settle.

Once their journey was begun, Michael and the ten children would have had to travel about 300 miles from their home near Trier to Bremen, the Rhein's departure port. The steerage fare from Bremen to New York was $40. Assuming they traveled steerage (also called between decks), total fare for Michael Jr. and his 10 children would have been $440. Upon arrival in New York, the family still had to get to Iowa. At that time, there were specially designated immigrant trains to take the immigrants to the American midwest. They could have purchased passage on the train separately or as a package deal which combined the ship/train fare. Perhaps they purchased a copy of Crofutt's Trans-Continental Tourist Guide to peruse on the train journey.

One possible clue on how the family decided upon Iowa is contained in the Berg family written by Michael Kohnen. According to this history, the family that actually started it all off in 1844 was the Besser family from the same place in Germany where Michael Hammes Jr and his kids came from later. The written memories of Nicholas Besser give a good picture of these times. After settling in Keokuk County, the Bessers wrote home to Germany and painted such a good picture that 4 more families (Berg, Horras, Peiffer, Hammes) came all together in 1847 on the ship Charlemagne from Antwerp to New Orleans and from there by riverboat up the Mississippi River, landing in Burlington. Since they came from the same area as Michael Jr and the kids, I cannot believe this earlier Hammes family was not related to them -- possibly an uncle. This would also explain how Michael Jr selected Keokuk County as his destination in 1872. Another interesting book descrbing these times is History of Keokuk County, published in 1880.

For more details about Michael Hammes, Jr, his children and their ancestors, go to the website dedicated to their ancestry and history.
 

ARTICLE

[The following is a summary of an oral family history given by Ralph Vogel in the early 1990s to his son-in-law Terence J. Werdel]

RALPH PETER VOGEL

Ralph Peter Vogel was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada on June 20, 1914, to Jacob and Anna Vogel. He was the second of six brothers. The other brothers were Alvin, Vernon, James, Bernard and Louis.

Iowa

In 1917, Jacob and Anna, and their two sons, Alvin and Ralph, moved from Wetaskiwin to a farm near Derby, Iowa. In 1920, Jacob moved the family to a farm he purchased south of Chariton, Iowa, which became the Vogel family farm.

The Vogel farm was rather sparse and underdeveloped. Material comforts were rudimentary. All energies were directed toward developing the farm and its crops. They never had running water in the house or indoor plumbing.

The Vogels had to be self-reliant; they raised or made everything they needed to live, except coffee and sugar. Hospitals and doctors were scarce. Illness and child birth could be deadly. Ralph’s life on the family farm ended in 1931, when his father came down with an infected big toe and three days later died of tetanus. In the depths of the Depression, the loss of the head of the family meant the loss of the Vogel farm.

Work on the farm was dictated by the weather and the season of the year. In the Winter, the men butchered livestock, mended fences, repaired equipment and chopped wood. In the Spring, they planted their crops, primarily corn and hay. In the Summer, they were haying and threshing. In the Fall, they harvested the corn. In the Winter, the women spun yarn, sewed and mended clothing. In the Spring they had to hatch and care for the chickens, plant and care for the vegetable garden and did the Spring housecleaning. During the Summer and Fall, the women harvested and canned large amounts of vegetables and fruits. Foods like apples, potatoes and sweet corn were stored for the winter. Throughout the year, the women prepared three meals per day, did all the washing with water heated over a fire, cared for the children, managed the household, fed and watered the chickens, produced most
of the family’s food supply in the vegetable garden and gave birth to numerous children.

Layout of the farm

The center of the farm was the house. Below the kitchen was the “cellar,” where vegetables, fruits, milk, cheese, butter and meats were stored. They also had a “cave” which was similar to a cellar but was dug about 50 feet from the house. Both were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The cellar was also the place where the family stayed in extremely bad weather. Mrs. Vogel kept ice in the cellar during the summer. Ralph remembered one day hauling in some ice while his mother held the door to the cellar open and Ralph tripped over the door and fell down the cellar stairs.

Behind the house was his mother’s vegetable garden where she grew almost all the food the family ate during the year. Behind the garden were the apple orchard and the grape arbor. Across from the house were the barn, smokehouse, pig pens and chicken coops.

The water well was next to the house and the water was brown in color from all the minerals. The water was pumped by hand. They also had a cistern tank which collected rain water which ran off the roof of the house. In the early years, there were springs out on the surface of the land, but those played out due to the over use of water.

Later, wind-mills enabled water to be piped to different parts of the farm for the animals. The pipes had to be buried nine feet down to keep them from freezing in the winter. The trenches had to be dug by hand.

They used candles for lighting at night, which Mrs. Vogel made from bees wax. In the early 1900s, they started using carbide gas similar to those lanterns used by the miners.

Life on the farm

Ralph maintained that, “Life on the farm was all hard work and little fun.” He was up by 4:00 a.m., and helped his five brothers milk 25 cows. At 7:00 a.m., he would eat a big breakfast of eggs and fried potatoes. By 8:00 a.m., he would cultivate all day with horses until 5:00 p.m., when they would have to milk the cows again. In April of each year, the brothers did the plowing with four horses. Ralph would wear a fur coat with a hood to protect him from the cold wind. At 12:00 noon, the family would sit down
for dinner, which was the main meal of the day.

The Vogel farm had horses and mules, and the mules were much smarter. The mules always knew when it was time for the noon time meal and would stop and refuse to work further.

The horses were quite spirited and had to be placed in a halter whenever they were in the barn. Ralph would put oats in the feed box in each stall, and if the horses were not haltered, they would reach in an adjoining stall to eat the oats. One day Ralph broke his finger when he hit a horse in the head with his fist when the horse reached over the stall for more oats.

The Vegetable Garden

Mrs. Vogel controlled the house, the vegetable garden and the children. Because the vegetable garden supplied all of the fruits and vegetables for the family’s table, she got first claim on the labors of the boys. They dreaded their mother’s call for help. The work was usually longer and more intense in the garden. In the spring, they would plow the garden with the horses. They would then haul in manure and humus which had to be turned into the soil with a spade or hoe. In addition to the 5 acres of sweet corn, they had an acre each of potatoes, beans, squash and onions.

The apple orchard was huge and they stored many apples in the cave. Mr. Vogel would wrap each apple one “Monkey Ward” catalog page per apple. A certain amount of the apples would spoil which the family would eat. The good apples were only given to guests. Apples were stewed, baked or made into apple butter. Much of the apple production was made into cider by the boys running the apples through a press, and the juice was stored in jars in the cave. Vinegar was made by laying away a barrel of cider to sour. Vinegar was used for flavoring, cleaning and medicinal purposes. Home brew was made by adding malt to the cider.

In the grape arbor, they grew concord grapes. The grapes were eaten fresh or used to make grape jelly, but mostly they were used to make wine. Ralph maintained that his mother made the best wine he ever drank. The grapes were crushed in earthen jars. After adding water, the juice would ferment for about five weeks. The clear wine was then drained into new crocks and left to ripen in the cool cave for about six months.

Spending Money

Mrs. Vogel got her “spending money” by selling eggs, chickens, and apples. She raised about one thousand Polish chickens per year. They were for laying, selling and eating at dinner. The average hen would lay two eggs per day. The boys would collect the eggs each day, which were packed 24 to a tray and 500 to a crate. Each Saturday, she would sell two crates of eggs at the grocery store in Chariton.

Mrs. Vogel also managed the production and sale of the milk, cream and butter. The boys milked the cows first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. The milk was strained into crocks and stored in the cellar below the Kitchen. At night after the cream had separated, the boys would separate the cream from the milk by spooning the cream into other crocks. Some of the cream would be left to sour and later churned into butter. Buttermilk was a byproduct, then known as clabbermilk, which was used in pancakes. The milk was used for drinking, cooking and for feed for the livestock. The excess milk, cream and butter were sold every Saturday to the grocery store.

The brothers got some of their spending money by “gathering squab” at night from the old barns in the area. Most of the pigeons would roost in the rafters of the old barns. The brothers would hang a bright lantern on the outside of the upper part of the barn and then they banged on the walls. The startled pigeons would fly toward the light and knock themselves out when they hit the walls. The brothers would collect the stunned birds in gunny sacks and sell them to the country store.

Harvest Time

At harvest time, all the neighbors would come to help. When they harvested corn, they would load the corn by hand into a hayrack (wagon with high sides). There were no grain elevators on the farm, consequently, the boys would use scoop shovels to shovel all the corn from the field into the wagons. They would drive the hayracks to the storage bins near the barn and shovel the corn into the bins. They would have to sling the corn over their heads with the scoop shovels. Today the farmers shell the corn
(remove the kernels from the ear), dry the kernels with automatic dryers, and then lift the kernels with a cyclone into the elevators. On the Vogel farm, the ears were stored in a corn shed which had a solid floor but had walls made of slats which let the air in to dry the ears.

Shucking corn was one of the hardest jobs on the farm. “ Shucking” was the removal of the husk from the ear of corn. They would use a mitten and a hook to remove the husk by inserting the hook in the top of the ear and ripping down the husk. They had to use this process for every ear of corn harvested. During harvest time it rained a lot, and the corn stocks would be pounded to the ground or stuck in the snow. Most of the corn was field corn used for pig feed.

The boys would cut the hay with a mower, and then rake it into windrows. They would load the hay by hand into a hayrack, and then haul the hay to the barn. At the barn the hay was hauled up to the second floor by hand with a grapple and pulley. In later years, their father purchased a tractor which they used for all sorts of jobs. They connected a 20-foot long belt to the power take off hub on the tractor for thrashing, chopping corn, and to operate an elevator to move the corn into the silo.

Hogs

Although the farm was quite self-sufficient, each farmer still needed a cash crop to make land and crop payments and to pay the property taxes. The price of field corn was so low, that the farmers could not make a profit if they sold it on the market. The farmers would raise the corn and feed it to hogs, and then sell the hogs for a profit. The Vogels raised about 250 hogs a year. One of the jobs on the farm was mixing the feed for the hogs. First, they ground the corn into a powder. To this powder, they would add vitamins, tankage meal (ground up dried dead animals), oats, shoats (hulls from the wheat) and brand (used to make the hogs bowels “move”).

After the corn was harvested, the hogs would be turned lose in the fields to graze the stubble to the ground. At the same time, the hogs would fertilize the fields for the next year crop.

Slaughter Time

Another major event on the farm was “slaughter time.” The Vogels butchered hogs, beef and chicken. Mrs. Vogel had six brothers (the Hammes brothers) who each had farms of their own in the area, and who would join the Vogel family for slaughtering. They would butcher six to eight hogs per day. They would kill the hog by cutting its juggler vein and letting all the blood drain out into a vat. They would keep the tendon on each hind hoof to pull the hog up by attaching a single tree to the tendons and
having a horse pull the hog up with a pulley. The hog would be placed over a barrel of water which was sitting over a fire. They would bring the water to a boil and the hog would be dropped in the boiling water. The hog would be left in the boiling water for about three minutes which would make the hair soft and slick. The hog then would be raised and they would take sharp knives and scrape the hair off.

They would then cut out the back straps (filets), sides and hams. This meat would be hung high in the smoke house over a hickory wood fire with lots of ashes. Covering the hot fire with saw dust made the best smoke. They would smoke for a week. The cured hams would last for many months in the cave.

The balance of the hog would be cut up, with much of it going for sausage. The intestines would be removed, scraped clean and boiled; they would hang for five to six hours to cool. The sausage meat would be run through a grinder which would push the ground meat into the cleaned and boiled intestines to make link sausage. The blood was cooked and let stand until it cooled to a solid. The blood and sausage meat would then be mashed together with a flat plate to make “blood worst.”

The sausage would be stored in stone crocks. They would put in a layer of sausage, then a layer of lard, then a layer of sausage, then a layer of lard, all the way to the top of the crock. The sausage would keep all year in the cave.

Ralph said that when they butchered a hog, “they used everything but the squeak.” The steers were butchered at the same time, but, “were harder to work with because they weighed a thousand pounds.”

Whenever they butchered, they also made soap. The fat and meat residue went to the big soap kettle sitting on a fire. They would boil the tallow and then drain off the clear lard in another kettle. They would let the fire die out and then add lye to the clear lard. While it was still warm, they would pour the liquid out into long pools in deep trays and let it cool. After cooling, the long pools would be hard, and they would cut the pools into bars of brown “soap.”

Travel

The trip to town was always very slow. They would take the wagon drawn by two horses. The road always had two deep ruts which made the wagon swing back and forth as it went down the road. If it rained, the mud would cover everyone and everything.

Weather

During the harsh winter storms, the temperature could drop to 40 degrees below zero. The snow would cover all the fences. They would have to shovel out the road from the farm to the county road. The county would clear only one lane of the road which always made for an argument when people had to pass. The brothers would also have to shovel a channel to the barn, the outhouse, the chicken house
and the wash house. They hated it when it snowed. Ralph’s wife, Regina, remembered the snows on her family’s farm in Marengo, Iowa. It was so deep that they would travel to their neighbors by going cross country over the tops of the fence posts in a sleigh drawn by horses. Her father would put hot coals in an iron kettle and place it under the wooden seat in the sleigh. He would then bury the family under blankets. She remembered him standing up in the front driving the sleigh with the snow flying in his face.

The Vogel farm was in the cyclone (tornado) belt of the Midwest, but Ralph didn’t remember any hitting the Vogel farm. He remembered the family going into the cellar in bad weather and “praying that there would be no cyclone.” One cyclone did go through the farm next door, and showing the tornado’s peculiar nature, it lifted all of the water out of the neighbor’s water well and carried the water in a mass for a quarter of a mile and then dropped it all at once in one place.

School

Ralph’s father insisted that all the boys finish high school. The grammar school was a one room school house, one quarter mile from home. High school was five miles away in Chariton. During the school year, the boys would still have to milk the cows before they walked the five miles to school, and milk them again after they walked the five miles home.

After his father died unexpectedly in 1931, Ralph went to work on a neighbor’s farm as a farm hand and was paid $1.00 per day. Although he did not like farming, he worked at this job for two years.

Back to Canada

At 18, Ralph was told that he was going to be laid off. Another farmer in the area was a shirttail cousin who also was looking for employment. This cousin had built a home made airplane, but was so afraid of it that he would only fly it as high as the tops of the fences. This cousin answered an ad for a farm foreman in Canada, got the job, and moved to a farm near Winnipeg, Canada. Shortly after his arrival, he offered a job to Ralph. At age 18, Ralph was on the road alone.

Ralph started north working on farms to get to Winnipeg. He first stopped 50 miles north of home to stack hay. Next he moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked as a farm laborer. During his travel, he developed the“Barber’s itch,” was unable to shave, and began to look like a vagabond.

As Ralph approached the Canadian border, many people were returning south saying that there was no work on the Canadian farms. Ralph continued on because his cousin had promised a job, and he arrived to find a job waiting. The farm was “near” Winnipeg, but was really 50 miles out in the prairie, with no roads, towns, or villages for miles around. The only transportation was the railroad. The
farmland was located on the old Winnipeg Lake bottom, which was mostly peat moss. The peat moss land was only worth about $3.00 per acre, and the farmers were trying to develop the land by growing hay. His employer would go for 10 miles in all directions to gather hay and bring it back to the farm for stacking. The farmer operated 15-20 International trucks.

Winnipeg was one of the coldest areas in Canada; however, Ralph arrived in the summer when is was quite warm. He worked as a water pumper, working a rocking paddle-arm pump. The bunkhouse was four walls to keep out the cold, and was built on wheels. Some of his fellow farm hands were Bohemians, known as ”Bo-hunks,” who were not liked by the locals.

After working for approximately six months, Ralph was injured and had to stop working. He broke several ribs in a fall from the top of a hay stacker when he slipped on the teeth and fell on a hay rake. A doctor in Winnipeg taped the ribs together, after a 50-mile bumpy ride over a road which was nothing more than a dirt track. Unable to work, Ralph looked for other travels.

Ralph decided to travel 1,000 miles to the west to his place of birth, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, and visit his aunt Helen Marie (Hammes) Greiner (Peter L. Greiner). Mrs. Greiner was the older sister of Ralph’s mother, Anna (Hammes) Vogel. Wetaskiwin is located 50 miles south of Edmonton, near the Ermineskin Indian Reserve.

With taped broken ribs, Ralph started traveling the rails in boxcars. It took him two weeks to get to his aunt’s farm. The only stops along the way were at railroad stations which were generally run by the Chinese. In the beginning, Ralph was “scared to death” of the Chinese and refused to go into the stations, and consequently, he went without any food for the first three days.

At night, the train would stop at a station, and Ralph would keep warm by building a fire on the floor of the boxcar. The boxcars were lined on the inside with paper and wooden slats, which he would tear off and use for the fire. At times, while the train was moving, the car would become so cold that he would build a fire in the moving boxcar and kick the fire out the door as the train approached a station. On one occasion, he slept one night in a stockyard.

During his two weeks of travel, Ralph could not take a bath, wash his clothes or shave. Consequently, when he arrived at the Greiner home, he looked like a tramp riding the rails, and his aunt would not let him in. He eventually convinced her that he was her nephew, and he stayed in their home in Wetaskiwin for six months. The house was three stories high and Ralph lived in a room in the basement. Ralph’s uncle, Peter Greiner had died in 1935, before Ralph arrived, and consequently, his aunt lived alone in one of the rooms, and other married family members lived on different floors of the house. While Ralph was there in November 1937, the Greiner daughter, Valburga Anna, married David Cramton.

When Ralph started home, the Canadian officials would not let him leave the country because he had been born in Canada and could not prove that his parents were not Canadian citizens. In order to get Ralph back into the United States, Anna had to go to the Lucas county seat, get proof of Jacob’s citizenship and send it to Ralph in Alberta.

Harper Community

Upon his return home to the Harper Community, Ralph again went to work on the farms for wages of $1.00. At night he would sell a new type of bow tie which fastened on the side, and didn’t require the tying of the bow, which most farmers disliked. Most of his sales were to his uncles. Another shirttail cousin, Cooney Conrad, was at that time selling for the Fuller Brush Company, and suggested to Ralph that they travel together while selling their wares. After one hour with Cooney, Ralph decided that he could make a killing selling for Fuller Brush.

Ralph asked Cooney to help him get a job with Fuller Brush, and Cooney offered to take him to the Fuller Brush field manager 20 miles away. As they left town in Cooney’s car, a black cat crossed the road ahead of the car and Cooney immediately turned around and refused to go that day. Ralph was so mad, he went on his own, unannounced, and convinced the manager to hire him. In 1938, at the age of 24, Ralph embarked on a 56-year relationship with Fuller Brush Co., which was interrupted only by WWII.

The manager gave Ralph the territory, which included Marengo, Iowa, and the Amana Colonies. The colonies had been closed to outsiders for decades, but immediately prior to Ralph’s hiring, the colonies broke-up, and strangers were permitted in. The closed society was craving the wares of the outside world, and Ralph arrived at just the right time. In his travels, he came across an Amana member who suggested that Ralph break the ice in the colonies by staying in one of their hotels and “working the streets.” The colonials loved Ralph and his wares; that year,“rookie” Ralph, at age 24, was the number one salesman in the Minneapolis District.

During the depression, the only work for young men was as a laborer on the farms where they were paid only a dollar a day. This was too little for the young men to marry. After one year of employment, Ralph was made a field manager, and for salesmen, he turned to the young farm workers and offered them $2.00 per day. This was a fortune to the young men and enabled them to marry. Ralph’s territory exploded. Ralph hired his two brothers, Vern and Jim, as his assistant managers.

Part of Ralph’s territory included, Fairfield, Iowa, where the Harper Brush Company Office was located. Harper manufactured an industrial line of brushes and brooms. Ralph sold Fuller products at the Harper Factory, and developed a relationship which continued until his death.

While selling in the Marengo, Iowa, area, Ralph would stay in a local boarding house. One of his customers suggested that he “take his meals” at the Steele boarding house which served the best food in town. Ralph did so, and was smitten with Mrs. Steele’s daughter, Regina. They were married in Marengo, on June 20, 1941.

California

Six months after their marriage, the USA entered WWII. Regina was violently opposed to Ralph joining the army; consequently, they decided to move to California where he could obtain a military exemption while building ships for the navy.

Ralph did not discuss the matter with his mother, but merely walked in one day and told her that he was moving to California, and then he and Regina, pregnant with Vicky, climbed into his new De Soto and left. The De Soto was his first “new” car for which he paid $900.00. Upon arrival in California, they stayed in Los Angeles with Regina’s brother and sister-in-law, Leo and Mary Steele.

Ralph was employed by the Consolidated Steel Corporation to build Liberty ships and L.S.T.’s (Landing Ship Transports, which would land on the beach bow first). He worked as a welder in Wilmington. He had gone to school in Newton, Iowa, to learn how to weld, and got his degree just before they left for California. The job started out as a Steam fitter’s helper. Most of the steam lines were in the bottom of the hull, and that was where he did most of his work. The steam fitter and Ralph would work on opposite sides of a bulkhead, and snake a pipe through a hole in the bulkhead. Once it was aligned and tack welded, Ralph would weld the pipe in place.

It was extremely difficult for the welders to work in the bottom the hull, due to the concentration of smoke from the welding and the gases from the galvanization. Each welder carried his own blower to suck the smoke out of the compartment, but many didn’t use it properly and were overcome by the smoke.

In the beginning, there were too many welders, and when the inspectors came around, the steam fitters would tell the welders who weren’t working to hide under the stacks of steel. Ralph didn’t believe in the practice, which caused problems between Ralph, the steam fitter and the foreman. Because of his “inability to get along,” on several occasions, he came close to being fired; which meant that he would lose his exemption and be drafted in the army.

Ralph worked his way up as a welder, and eventually worked as a “tack-welder” welding steel plate on the sides, decks and bulkheads. On the bottom of the ships, much of the plate was one and one-half inches thick and cut on the edges in a bevel, which created a “V” when two plates were joined together side by side. The welder had to fill the “V” with a bead without any slag, or the seam would leak or
break.

Not only were the ships used for carrying cargo, but many were designed for command ships which dropped anchor near a target island and directed the battle; other ships were designed as living quarters and office space to be used after the islands were captured. During the battle it was usual for everything above ground to be totally destroyed, and consequently, there would be nothing left standing for the victors to use as office or management space or officer’s living quarters. These ships were designed to fill those needs by anchoring off the island and providing those facilities. Building these types of ships were assigned the number one priority in the Wilmington shipyard.

Ralph sold his De Soto, and bought a used Chevrolet which had been stored on blocks in a garage. The only thing he had to do to it was to put on four tires. He drove it throughout the war, and it was still running perfectly when the war ended and he sold it. He normally rode to work with three or four other workers. Many of the workers were druggies or drinkers, and Regina did not like Ralph going out with them after work. The welders were men and women, and some of them would become friendly and would want to “play” in any one of the many hiding spots in the bottom of a ship. Ralph’s work shift was from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with one hour off for lunch. He arrived in Los Angeles over weight, consequently, he would normally eat only a cantaloupe for lunch.

When the war ended, Ralph again turned to Fuller Brush for employment. Before the war, Ralph had met Pete Peterson, the Western District Manager for Fuller, and Pete had treated Ralph royally. After the war, Pete introduced him to Harold Wright who was the field manager in the Los Angeles area. Ralph was hired and assigned to the Compton, California territory, where blue collar workers lived. Compton also had many dairies, which later relocated to Kern County when the dairy farms were subdivided for new homes. At this time, Ralph and Regina lived on 43rd Street near Broadway. On the first day, Ralph out sold his manager. After he worked for about three months, his manager told him that the district manager wanted to talk to him. The district manager told him that the manager in Fresno was retiring, and offered that territory to Ralph. The Fresno manager was Norman LaDell, who was leaving the
company to manage his father’s fig ranch.

At the time of the new job offer, Ralph and Regina were planning a trip to Iowa. They drove to Fresno, got the job, and then continued on to Iowa. While in Iowa, Ralph ran into his cousin, Homer Dumont, who had just been discharged from the military and was looking for a job. Once again, Ralph hired a relative to work for him as a dealer for Fuller Brush. Homer came to Fresno where he worked for about three years, before he was offered his own territory in Chico, California.

Ralph worked in Fresno from the end of 1945, through 1949. Historically, the Western District of Fuller was the most productive sales district in the company. Although the company believed that this was due to the quality of sales personnel in the west, the real reason was because the weather in the west permitted the salesmen to work every day of the year. The company started a campaign to move sales managers from the west to other parts of the country in hopes of spreading the “western magic.”

Cleveland, Ohio

In 1949, Ralph’s area manager, Al Hurley, offered Ralph a territory in Cleveland, Ohio, and offered to move the family at the company’s expense. Ralph accepted the new territory believing that the move would enhance his career. Once again, the family was moving across the country. Ralph and Regina found this move to be a great mistake. In the winter, the wind blew and the snow fell, and no one answered the door. In the summer, the humid heat also kept the doors closed. The stay in Cleveland lasted less than three years.

Back to California

In 1952, Ralph asked to be relocated to California, and he was given the Bakersfield, California, territory. When Ralph and Regina arrived in Bakersfield, Regina’s parents had just died, and Regina inherited $1,500.00, which they used as a down payment for the construction of their home on Sara Way. They lived in this home for the rest of their lives.

Ralph and Regina have two children, Victoria Regina Vogel born in Los Angeles on September 30, 1942, and James Ambrose Vogel, born in Fresno, California on January 8, 1947. Vicky married Terence J. Werdel on August 19, 1967, and Jim married Kathryn L. Conner on June 19, 1976.

Ralph continued to sell for Fuller Brush Company and Harper Brush Company for another 42 years. Regina died in Bakersfield on November 3, 1993 and Ralph died in Jim’s home in Port Angeles, Washington on December 6, 1994. They are both buried in Hillcrest Memorial Park in Bakersfield.

SOURCE: E-mailed to me by Terry June 14, 2005

NEWS ARTICLE

He’s a 50 Year Man

California Representative, Ralph Vogel, celebrates 50 years with Fuller Brush

There weren’t any jobs to be found in the late 1930’s when Ralph Vogel started his Fuller Brush career. But is only took one day of selling brushes for Ralph to realize he had stumbled into a gold mine of opportunity.

“My wife and I put our two children through college with Fuller Brush, and we’ve never wanted for much.” Ralph said with pride.

“I’ve learned through the years to sell and deliver at the same time. I just keep stock on hand and make regular rounds with established customers. I’ve got enough customers that I normally see themonce every three months. In the summer, I sell in the country and in the winter months I sell in the city. I’ve always enjoyed the freedom of being my own boss. The Company’s been good to me.”

Ralph’s advice for new Representatives:

“Just work hard and learn something about your products. Your customers will buy from you when you show them something that will help them. I tell my customers: “So many times you’ll pick something up at the grocery store only, only to get it home and find out it doesn’t do the job you had in mind. I can save you the aggravation and money by showing you the best product for your needs-right in the convenience of your home!”

Ralph’s Favorite Product

“I’ll demonstrate Spray Clean on their walls. If they’re interested, I tell them that most people buy this in the half gallon and the pint. The pint fits the hand well, and it has the convenient spray pump. The half gallon saves them money and they can simply refill the pint when it’s empty.

SOURCE: Fuller Brush Focus on Success, Campaign 10 and 11 Publication, 1989

NEWS ARTICLE

Vern Vogel • Jim Vogel • Lewis Vogel • Ralph Vogel

Three field managers and a dealer, all in one family, is the proud boast of the Vogel brothers, and an unusual one as Fuller family stories go. Ralph, one of the top men in Western District, is the leading field manager in Sacramento, California, Jim and Vern are field managers and doing right well in Dubuque, Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa, respectively. Lewis,the youngest brother, sold $6184 in seven periods this year with high periods of $1250 and $1001, in Sacramento.

Ralph, you will recall, authored the recent Brush-Off article on the use of the Catalog to increase sales.

SOURCE: Copied from one of the Fuller Brush newsletters published sometime in the late 40’s or early 50’s

Ralph Peter Vogel

Ralph was born in Canada and moved with his parents to Iowa at an early age, settling in Lucas County on a farm southwest of Chariton. Ralph graduated from Chariton High School in 1931.

In 1937 Ralph started in the Fuller Brush business. Ralph worked in the shipyards in Los Angeles, California during the war from 1942 until 1945.

After the war Ralph got back into the Fuller Brush business. He was in sales and management for Fuller for the rest of his working years.

COUPLE OBSERVES 65TH ANNIVERSARY

Mr. and Mrs. Constant Hammes of Sigourney celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Feb. 22 with a home Mass at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Francis E. Lollich officiating. All of their children were present for the day.

Constant Hammes and Lena Vogel were married Feb. 22, 1911 at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church in Clear Creek.

Family members present were Mr. and Mrs. Norbert Hammes and Mary of Fairfield, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Schneider of Oxford, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Goody and their children of Iowa City, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hammes, Randy, Danny and Terry of Keota, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Krier, Judy and Jim of Ollie, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hammes, David and Cheryl of Marion, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Webb, John, Tom and Janis of Sigourney, Jean Webb of Ottumwa, Ernie Birchmier of Cantril, Ron Collins of Keswick, Vic Barnhart and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Webb and son of Sigourney, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shepherd and family of Eddyville, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hammes and Russell of Delta, Mr. and Mrs. Ron Mefford, Robbie Hammes of Des Moines, Craig Hammes of Iowa City, Mr. and Mrs. Zeno Hammes and Mrs. and Mrs. Joe Vogel of Sigourney.

Mr. and Mrs. Hammes have 42 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

Mr. Hammes has been in Manor House Nursing Home in Sigourney since December and Mrs. Hammes has been living in their home.

CP HAMMES REUNION HELD AT ST. MARY'S HALL

The families of the late Constant and Lena Hammes held a reunion at St. Mary's Hall on Sun., June 26 with a potluck dinner. There were 75 present.

Those attending were Norbert and Marie Hammes, Jim and Rita Hammes, John, Rhonda Hammes and Trent and Gavin of Fairfield; Tony and Mary Webb and Darin of Batavia; Marcella and Francis Schneider of Oxford; Dorothy Goody of Iowa City; Paul and Marion Hammes, Ron and Christy Lyle, Angie and Eric of Keota; Doug and Bonnie Laux and children of Cedar Rapids; Anna Kathryn and Kenneth Krier, Jim, Mary, Pat and Jenny of Ollie; Larry and Sue Krier, Stephanie and Laura of Ottumwa; Charles Hammes and Sheryl, Karen and Marvin Shenefelt of Marion; Judy and Terry Book, Chelsi and Matt of Packwood.

Also attending were Mary Webb, Tom and Vic Webb and Michelle and Eric of Sigourney; Jean and Ernie Birchmier and Mary Sue of Cantril; Mary Kay and Richard Shepherd,
Vicki, Bob and Lisa of Eddyville; Charles and Joyce Webb, Andrea, Adam and Jessica of Oskaloosa; Janis and Ron Collins, Jennifer, Kevin, Tammy and Mathew of What Cheer; John and Jona Webb, Stacia and Jeremy of Wellman; Bob and Marlene Hammes of Delta; Denise & Doug Morrell, Kristen and Kelly of Iowa City; Debbie Mefford and Elizabeth of Prairie City; Robbie and Joy Royce and Becky of Des Moines.

My Grandma Sondag

by Marlene Hammes

Grandma’s house was an old house in Harper. She lived with her son – my Uncle Joe. It was heated by a little pot bellied stove in the living room. No bathroom – we had to walk down a path along the garden to get to the “outhouse”. We slept upstairs, where there was no heat, in a bed that had a mattress made of corn husks. And we thought it was wonderful. We got our pajamas on downstairs, sitting behind the stove where it was warm.

Grandma got the fire going in the morning and we grabbed our clothes and ran downstairs and got dressed behind the stove. The door was closed to the kitchen so there was no heat out there. The water in the water pail was frozen. We went to school in Harper. Sometimes Grandma sewed dresses for me and I had to go there after school and stay so she could fit the dress for me.

Grandma always had a big garden and lots of flowers. I remember the lily of the valleys mostly. They smelled so good. And I remember her big strawberry patch. We had strawberries at every meal. She always had homemade bread and good strawberry jam to put on it.

She always came out to the farm on butchering day. The men would butcher several hogs and she helped cut them up. She also cleaned out the intestines that we used for casings for sausage. We had a smoke house and my dad made the best smoked sausage.

My uncle served in WW II. He worked at the booster station. There were houses there that the employees could live in. When he came home they moved to a house at the booster station. It had good heat and a bathroom so Grandma’s life was made much easier. I was happy for her but I never liked that house as well as the old one.

Another thing I remember about the old house. Several times Grandma locked herself out. There was a small window in the pantry. They would open it and I went through it and opened the door from the inside. Grandma was a hard working lady – raising seven children by herself. When Grandpa died she had six children and had another one shortly after his death. She took in washings and did sewing for people to raise her family. I never heard Grandma say one unkind word about anyone. She went to Mass every morning.

After I was married, Uncle Joe would bring her to see me and my family. She was interested in all her great grandchildren. And loved us all.

I had an old picture of Grandma with her seven children. One of the children is my mother. Craig took it home with him, scanned it, cleaned it up in Photoshop, made an enlargement, then made a beautiful frame for it. It is hanging in my living room – it is one of my most prized possessions. Thank you Craig.

OBITUARY

MRS. SONDAG FUNERAL HELD

Mrs. Jacob (Regina A.) Sondag, age 95, died Wednesday, February 13, at 7:30 a.m. at her home in Harper.

She was born June 19, 1878 in Clear Creek Township a daughter of Joseph and Theresa Lutz Peiffer. She married Jacob T. Sondag May 15, 1900 at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church at Clear Creek. He died in 1908. She was a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Harper and the Altar Society.

Survivors include four daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Stillman of St. Petersburg, Florida, Mrs. Richard (Margaret) Merz of Harper, Mrs. Marie Haring of St. Petersburg, Florida and Mrs. Leo (Erma) Junge of Tucson, Arizona; two sons, Joseph of Harper and Gerald of Hiawatha; 15 grandchildren; 48 great grandchildren; one great great
grandchild; three sisters, Sister Mechtildis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mrs. John (Elizabeth) Sondag of North English and Mrs. Will (Priscilla) Osweiler of Varina.

She was preceded in death by her husband; one son, Jacob John; five brothers, Paul, Charley, Joe, Lawrence and Frank Peiffer and three sisters, Lena Sondag, Marie Hammen and Sister M. Josephine.

Funeral services were held Saturday, February 16, at 10 a.m. at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church in Harper with the Rev. John W. Schmitz of St. Elizabeth's and the Rev. Wilbert Sondag of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in North English officiating.

Burial was in St. Elizabeth's cemetery at Harper. A parish rosary was held at Holm Funeral Home in Sigourney Friday at 8 p.m. followed by St. Elizabeth's Altar Society Rosary.

Casket bearers were grandsons. Holm Funeral Home of Sigourney was in charge of arrangements.

SOURCE: Newspaper clipping

OBITUARY

WALTER G. GREINER of Brandon, Manitoba, died suddenly on August 16, 1974, age 75 years. He was the son of Peter and Lena Hammes Greiner. The family moved to Wetaskiwin, Alberta, in 1907, where he lived till in later years moving to Brandon.

He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. H. R. Roulston of Westlock, Alberta; Gordon of Regina, Saskatchewan; and Bill of Brandon. There are ten grandchildren and one brother, LeRoy, of Calgary.

Walter was predeceased by his wife, Agnes, in 1957, his parents, two brothers and one sister. Funeral services were held Monday, August 19, in Brandon. Interment was in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

All of Michael and Margaretha's children were born at Feyen, Germany, near Trier (near the border with France and Luxembourg). Following Margaretha's death in March of 1872, Michael and the children emigrated to America in November 1872. The 10 childrens' ages at that time were 22 years to 3 years. They settled near Clear Creek, Keokuk County, Iowa in 1872.

It is interesting to note that seven of the ten siblings subsequently moved further westward to the Portsmouth, Shelby County, Iowa vicinity and that five of them are buried there.

Frank Anton and Katherine [Conrad] Lutz immigrated to America in May of 1847 and settled in Pennsylvania. According to family stories, they lived at Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but we first find them in the 1850 census living in the Borough of Lebanon, Lebanon County, Penn. Frank Anton Lutz's occupation is given as a carpenter. In the same census, we also find Libourius and Rachel Conrad living in the Borough of Lebanon. By 1855, Frank Anton Lutz had moved to Peoria, Illinois, where they lived about 9 years.
On January 25, 1864, Frank Lutz purchased 140 acres of land in Sections 17 and 27, Twp. 75, Rge. 10 in Clear Creek Township, Keokuk County, Iowa from John Shockley for $1800.00. He purchased additional land at later dates. On December 29, 1898, Frank Lutz sold his farm, then consisting of 300 acres, to his son-in-law, Frank B. Vogel, but remained on the farm living with his daughter and son-in-law until his death in 1906. This farm land remained in the Vogel families until 1953, when part of it was sold to Dean Morris. This balance of the farm was sold in 1957 to James F. Greiner.
On February 25, 1875, F. A. Lutz purchased 160 acres described as NW 1/4 of Sec. 2, Twp. 75, Rge. 10, just south of where Highway 92 is now located. On April 22, 1879, he sold this land as follows: 40 acres to his son, Jacob; 40 acres to his son-in-law, George Greiner; and 80 acres to his son-in-law, Joseph Pfifer. An Additional 80 acres described as the W 1/2 SE 1/4 of Sec. 35, Twp. 76, Rge. 10 that F. A. Lutz purchased May 7, 1874 was sold to his son, Frances, on April 22, 1881.
In addition to farming, Frank Lutz was a carpenter and built his home of mostly walnut timber. He had a vineyard and made wine for the priests to use at Mass. He also had a large orchard and grafted his own trees and had a large blackberry patch.


The 1880 Agricultural Census of Keokuk County, Iowa, shows the following information concerning the Frank Anton Lutz farm:

106 acres tilled land 38 acres grass land mown165 swine
145 acres pasture or orchard 75 acres not mown1000 lbs butter in 1879
20 acres woodland 38 tons hay75 acres Indian corn - 2500 bu
174 acres unimproved 13 horses12 acres oats 360 bu
value of farm $7500 18 milk cows 18 acres wheat 275 bu
value of machinery $300 51 other cows3/4 acre potatoes 40 bu
value of livestock $3000 20 calves dropped2 acres 50 apple trees
amount paid for labor 3 cows purchased5 gal wine in 1879
for 52 weeks $225 17 cows sold 4 died


DEATH OF A PIONEER

Thursday A.M. at 2 o'clock occurred the death of Frank Lutz Sr. at the home of his son-in-law, Frank Vogel, at Clear Creek, Iowa. His demise caused by the infirmities of old age connected with kidney and bladder trouble of about a years duration. He came to America about 60 years ago, locating first in Pennsylvania there to continue his professional trade as a carpenter. From there he came to Iowa some 43 years ago settling down on the very place where he died. He was always very industrious and an upright and intelligent character loyal to his church and consequently highly respected by all who know him.
He with his brother in law Jacob Conrad who died 10 months ago were pioneer settlers in this country having done great deeds of admiration for the good of church and state. He is survived by 10 children who mourn his loss. Jacob in Kansas, Frank, Mrs. Geo. Greiner, Mrs. Peter Peiffer, Mrs. Jos. Peiffer all of Clear Creek Township, Mrs. Geo Vogel of Talleyrand, Mrs. Frank Vogel, Mrs. Nic Flander of Clear Creek, Henry Berg and John Lutz of Kansas.
[From Keota Eagle Thursday May 10, 1906]


A number of our citizens attended the funeral services of Franklin Lutz Saturday morning held at the Clear Creek Catholic Church. He was 83 years old and held in high esteem by all who knew him.
[From Keokuk County News, Sigourney, Iowa. Issue of Thursday, May 10, 1906]


At his home in Clear Creek township Thursday May 3, 1906 Mr. Frank Lutz passed away at an advanced age. Mr. Lutz was one of the pioneers of that section of the county and came to this county from Germany. Funeral services were held at the Clear Creek church Saturday.
[Clipping from Sigourney Reviews - Issue of May 9, 1906]

Gerald "Jerry" L. Sondag, 77, of 102 Blairs Ferry Rd., Hiawatha, died Saturday at St. Luke's Hospital following a long illness. He was a 31 year resident of Hiawatha. Born on April 23, 1908 in Harper, he married Evelyn Griggs on July 4, 1934 in Sigourney. Mr. Sondag, a carpenter, was a charter member of St. Pius X Catholic Church.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Dennis of Hiawatha and Steve of Houston; four sisters, Elizabeth Stillman and Marie Herring, both of St. Petersburg, Fla., Irma Junge of Tucson, Ariz. and Margaret Merz of Harper; a brother, Joe of Harper; and three grandchildren.
Services: 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Pius X Catholic Church with the Rev. Carl Ries. Inturnment: Elm Grove Cemetery, Washington, Iowa. There will be no public visitation. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Association of Iowa, 1321 Walnut St., Des Moines 50309. Arrangements by Cedar Memorial Funeral Home.
[Clipping dated June 23, 1985]