Histories

I was born on July 26, 1884 at what they called the “Old Horras Place”.  (¼ of miles East of the John or Frank Schmidt Place, about 1½ mile North West of the Clear Creek , St. Peter & Paul Church).
When I was 2 or 3 yrs. old, John & Henry Glieden invited me to come over to eat plums. (There was no road over to the Glieden Place, across the field). So I ran away to get some plums...but some one came after me with a switch and ran me home! I went home but was missing for some time. Dad had just put a salt barrel, (laid on it’s side) by the shed. It was filled with straw bedding for the cats and dogs.  I crawled in with the cats and went to sleep, and that’s where they found me.

I had several good apple trees...
We left this place around 1890 to 1892 when Dad bought the Theo Goedner Place from Uncle Mike Hammes (who had married Theo’s daughter Aunt Bertha).
This was a stone house and it had a basement barn on the hillside. Dad added an addition to the south side, that also had a basement.

When I attended No. 4 school, there were no roads; we had to cross fields to get there.
I first started school with Antonette Mertz.  I wore my first leather shoes.
I recall some of the students who attended school with me, they were:  Andrew, Jake, Mike, Frank, Lizzie, and Lena Vogel, Ed Vogel, Vic Vogel, Maggie, Caroline, and Francis Vogel. Rosa, Lizzie, and Mary Klein.  Mattie, Mary and John Wehr. _________ Breiven (?SP). Lena, Nick, Constant, Peter, & Anna, Mattie Hammes. Jake Murtz, Frank Weackter (?SP).

Lena and Nick went to No. 4 School and took me along on the last day of school.  I remember one speech they taught me. It went like this:
Ladies and Gentleman!
I mean you no harm.
I speak you a tale as long as my arm!

I soon started the German Catholic School, No 13 School.  Some of the No. 4 students also came with me although I only attended the winter months.

The German School had quite a few students that were older, some over 21 years, (like Edwin, Herman, Richard, William, and Alvina Leurs).  This made for good competition and fun for the Spelling School Box Socials, and Literary Debates. These were all good lessons.
 The school was conducted by German teachers.  I remember Walter Healsher, Wm. Kech, and Ella Morgan. Some ruled with a stick and were sometimes was very rough.
The Sisters of St. Francis came the second year. [Sister Agedia (SP?) and Sister Frances].

Building the New Church-
I was in the last class in the old church in 1896, while the new church was being built.
The church was built of brick.  Dan & Nick, & Joe, & John Ludwig quarried the rock for the new church.  Some rock weighed a ___________ which they hauled one rock to a load. 
(Some rock weighed so much they could only haul one rock to a load.) A large amount of the brick was burnt in a kiln on the church grounds.
Monsignor Schulte from Iowa City gave the sermon, it was about “Laying the Corner Stone” to our new church and school.
Our classes were taught in German: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.   I got my Catechism all in German.
[I had to learn my religion in English].

Hunting and Fishing-
Nick and I were quite interested in hunting, and later in fishing.
When we went squirrel hunting I shot a Stevens 22 caliber rifle and Nick had a single barrel 12 gauge single shot.
Nick engineered {to plan, or to manage} that I was not to shoot a grey squirrel unless I told Nick to “Stand By”.
One day I ran across a grey squirrel in full view!  I shot him...and got him! When Nick came up he said, “That’s a grey.”  “Why? I got him,” I responded. “Yes,” he said, “But what if you missed?” He could shoot them on the run. Nick was a good shot...but I held him even sometimes!
Nick and me shot many squirrels, rabbit, quail, pheasants, coon, fox, and duck of all kinds.

I recall one of my best times duck hunting. 
Nick had a double barrel Remington and I had a Winchester. We found four duck on the river.  He said, “You take the ones that are sitting, I’ll take the others.”
We both killed our first duck that day.
I shot my second {duck}, Nick missed his second. I turned and got my third one. I felt pretty good getting three, to Nick’s one!
We shot wild timber pheasants and other game like mink, skunk, opossum, weasel, fox, raccoon, and muskrat.
In our younger days of boyhood (when we lived on the Creek), I made a special hit hunting mink with a good dog that I had then.  There were a good many times the dog chased them out of a drift or den. One year, I caught a mink that I had been trapping the year before. I caught him from under the ice on a pond...he was the largest around!
The biggest rabbit hunt was through hazel brush. We had a bunch of youngsters driving the rabbits through the brush. Three of us sat in trees ready to shoot. We got 154 rabbits.
We packed them in a barrel and shipped them by freight to Chicago, to a Commission House, that Nick had an understanding with. Nick did most of the shipping. He shipped quail, prairie chicken, and most any other game.

The Saint Louis World’s Fair-
It was 1904, and the World Fair was in Saint Louis. I wanted to go but I was only 20 years old.  I asked Dad if I could go and if I could borrow $50.00, he let me do both. So, a bunch of us got together for a try for St. Lewis. There was John and Jake Schmidt, Jake Vogel, Mathew Wehr, Joe Kantenberger, Nick Berg and myself. We knew of some people (that were from Keokuk Co.) that were selling cots to sleep on near the Fair. The cots cost 33 cents a night.

The Fair covered 1200 acres. The most expensive ticket to the fair was 50cents. {Each exhibit charged a fee}.
The largest exhibit was the {Palace} Agriculture Building. It was 20 acres long. {There were nine miles of booths in the Palace Agriculture Building}.
Machinery Hall covered 12 acres. 
The Boer War covered 20 acres. {Actual Battles were depicted}. There was a re-enactment of General De Wet’s escape on horseback, where he jumped off a ‘cliff and in to a river!
There were so many different exhibits that I cannot recall all.  All of the States had buildings.  I saw, and had my hand on the “Liberty Bell.”  I read it’s Proclamation and saw the crack in the Bell, (which was guarded day and night).
The Hagenbeck-Wallace Wild Animal Circus showed there all year at the same place.
The Forestry and Fishing exhibits were most interesting as they included all wild life. There were people of Africa, India, and Borneo, (for clothes they had a short leather belt around their middle). I saw my first educated Indian.

The Palace of Art and Music was so great that you wouldn’t believe it possible.
The Pike was all amusement and shows from all over that were 10cents to 50cents apiece.
The Farris Wheel was 240 ft. high. Cages hung on axels so they stayed straight, up and down. Each cage carried from 12-20 people and you could walk around inside the cage.

Jerusalem covered 15 acres that was enclosed with a wall of white rock that stood 9ft. high. {Replica of the Holy City [walled city]} The entrance ticket cost 50 cents.  They had the 14 Stations, and the Holy of Holies, and a scene of the Dead Sea.  Olive oil was sold for 50 cents, a half pint. They said you could use it for anything you had faith in. They said you could baptize your children with it if you had faith in it.
The world’s largest brass band was from Germany. They played in different parts of the Fair.
There were plaster pillars {??} 6ft.-8ft. in diameter and up to 80 ft. high all along this street about 20 feet apart.

We also visited the two Breweries: Anheiser Busch and Lenny {??}. Anheiser Busch had 12 prize winning Belgian horses. The Brewery of Busch had 124 acres. Lenny {?} took us 90 ft. down to natural caves, and showed Rip Van Winkle sleeping there.  {The cold caves were used to brew and store beer}.  There was an under ground stream that ran 90 ft. down that we crossed on a bridge. The Brewery and part of the city are drained locks ???. They made us wear extra rubber coats before they took us down, as it was about zero on some levels. “So come and make eyes with me under the Anheiser Busch.”

There are a lot of exhibits that I remember. Everything was BIG, as this was before the automobile. The mighty power from steam...We saw steam motors, that had fly wheels or balance wheels 40ft. high, ½ run {??} in a fit {??}.

I was at the Worlds Fair at Chicago, Lake Shore in 1934-1935. The Fair was not as interesting as the St. Louis Fair.  Instead the monster power in Chicago was large horsepower and was wrapped in a small package.  All the bigness of St. Louis was gone.  The largest exhibits now (in 1935) were so expensive to duplicate.
We went to the {Fair} on the Rock Island Railroad and bought a round trip ticket for $6.00.  Then towards the end, {the price went down} for $4.00 round trip.

Becoming a Carpenter-
In 1905 I got to be 21years old and I got an offer to help build a barn. I had books I studied and I tried to learn about the “steel square”.
The fall of 1905, I helped Joe Lesberg {?} build a barn for his brother, John.  We built a barn 36 x 48 x 18 ft. high. {The barn was} all mortared and it required a lot of boring {drilling} machine work.  A lot of this boring was already done, so I did not get on in at the very start. That fall we built an addition to Henry Bomie’s {?} house. We laid a rock foundation.
In 1906 we built a barn for John Greiner and one for Frank Schmidt, and an addition to Yedo Goldman’s house.
I studied books on the square as I had a lot to learn, but I was interested and took the square and drew out scales as I understood them. I got so I could get along, and I could draw out any part of these common buildings.

My trip to Canada and learning a trade-
The Greiners and Leo Hanfest had sold out {their farms} and had bought land in Alberta Canada.  
Mrs. P.L. Greiner was my sister, and they insisted that I go along to Canada. They said they would ship my books on the “Emigrant Car” so it would not cost any freight. I finally agreed to go along on the emigrating car, which was reduced fare on the railroad.
In our troop was George Greiner, Mary Greiner (George’s wife), Mrs. Rose Harfert, wife of John Harfert and their family, Mary Greiner, Mrs. Peter L Greiner, my sister and Walter Valburge, Alfred and Clarence, the whole George Greiner family. On the emigration car was John Harfert, Andrew and Jake Vogel, P.L. Greiner, and Jake & Anton {??}. 
They were to arrive in Western Alberta Canada the first part of April 1907.  But they found a lot of blocked roads, so they could not get out. Jake and Andrew Vogel were out nine miles, and Sunday they went as far as their place. The Greiner’s were out 15 miles and did not get out until a few days later. So it was a real task.  After coming from Iowa, we got there sometime {between} 7-9pm with plenty of ice and snow.  We went to the Driard {?} Hotel for the night. Not much to cheer about in sunny Alberta...
My sister had to be put under Doctor’s care and did not get to be on the first trip out to their new home.  P.L Greiner, my sister, Mrs. Peter L Greiner, George Greiner, Jake, May and Torry {??} {stayed} close together. South of Leslieville Alberta Canada there was still plenty of snow...and as the roads were but trails.  {CP Hammes’s writing looks like Louisville, but there is no Louisville in Alberta Canada. This is the city that matched best for spelling and area}.
The weather warmed up and things were more livable, but their new homes were not like {the ones} they had left.  {Iowa} land was practically cleared.

Jake Greiner’s farm was just about ¼ {mile} east.  He had a log barn 32 ft. square and had Tamarack poles there for rafters. I was to help build a new roof over this log barn. I cut and fitted all the poles to make a gable roof. Then sheathed and shingled {it} with wooden shingles.
The house was about 14ft.X32ft.X1-½ stories high. I took a straight stairs out and put it to come in from the {?} side, so May could have a place or bedroom. There was a small place outside that was covered, and the place for the cook stove.
I covered the stairs so it was out of the weather.  So me and Mrs. George Greiner, May and Jake could stay.

I had been to Wetaskiwin {Alberta Canada} to apply for a job.  A Mr. Nelson (a contractor) hired me.  I applied for lodging at the Alberta Hotel where most of the workers stayed. I got a room with an Englishman.
One bed was $16.00 a month and all meals were free.
{?}Eye ____in the morning.
I hired out for 20 cents an hour, 10 hours a day, 6 days a week.
I found out I had a lot to learn.
I worked in two brick buildings and learned how to build windows, frames, for brick buildings, barn or sheds for race horses and???  Ticket office got a lot of work on locks and keys. And how to duplicate molding.
???? We first ___ a Bell Tel. At Wetaskiwin Times??, 13/24/20 feet.
Two of us drove 100 lbs. (or a keg) of nails in less then 10hrs. on roof sheathing. I built all the _______ _______ for the building.
I learned by copying/watching, and several other kinds of construction. ???
I had charge of part of the crew for a while. I had to hurry to get the frames finished, as I wanted to go along on the hunting trip. One of my pals came and helped so I got them finished, as my boss did not want me to leave. But I just locked up and left.

We were gone about a week.  We saw ducks young and old. How many we shot I don’t know, but the last day while coming to town, we shot 134.  We drove in the livery farm and then every body helped him self.
Coyotes were a plenty. I shot one of them from the wagon (full of oats) while coming to town on the last day.

Coming Home-
I left on the CRIP, Railroad and I was on the road for about three days. I got home in the middle of November. I brought 18 coyotes and some muskrats and what tools I did not sell. Two of us had to force down the trunk lid, then we rope and tied it with about 100 ft. of rope.

I was back in Iowa again. The corn was most picked, so I looked for some carpenter work, as I felt like a carpenter.
I soon ad an offer for a big barn all framed 48X50- 8X8 fasts, 20 ft. high for John Greiner.  It sat in 76 Center {??}, but I had to drive about 15 miles {to get there}.  We built a large corncrib while on this place.
I soon had enough work for the rest of the year.  We got a {contract for a} two story house by the end of the year, and worked there most all of the winter.  I got to be a Wood framer and was most always busy. But as I went along I found out what I had to learn (not what I knew). 

My Accident-
I drew plans of complete buildings that we scaled and lumber built, and everything was according to plan. I learned to build open stairs of all styles.  Otto SP? Hairman, an old  ____?, learned me stair work.
One spring, the 20th of March, I went to one of Nick Srikeons {?} farm to reroof his house. The weather was warm. The sheathing was all up an about 3 inches apart, so it was hard to blind nail for the scaffold.  We use stie?? Jacks, so used one good anchor nail, but I did not find a solid place to nail. As I had a good anchor under me, I decided to try it.
One of the boys took many planks out below. I was going to have to stay until I got done here, but I did not say anything. So there was no one but me to blame, as I was through.  I stood up to stretch when (on this steep roof) it slid me down at once. I hit some of our braces and knocked them with my feet.  I fell on scaffolding.  I went to touch my feet, but all I got was a lot of slivers/splinters{??} to my left hand.
I landed on my heels, and snapped together/ broke several ribs and two vertebras. The men took me to Sigourney and Doctor Doyle. He examined me and called for an ambulance to take me to Ottumwa Hospital for X-rays. They found my trouble and put me to bed.
The next day they put a cast of cement from under my arms to my hips. A day or two later they decided to let me come home on a hospital bed, on which I laid for over three months, with that cement cast around me.
 The first week was bad....
Not any other trouble ever was done to me...
Around July, the Doctor sawed the cast off and gave me relief as the cast was getting itchy.  Then he put on a steel brace, but this was not very comfortable.
My wife was my constant nurse. Later they learned me to walk but it went slow. I had someone call on me everyday.
I was  laid up and I was thankful that I was asked to build Albert Sieren’s house. So we decided that I would engineer the job from the wheel chair, which I did in August.  We boarded for meal at Keota, and came home at night. Sometime in October I got along fair and I started to do a little work. I laid the Starr Jacket of a chair on the trussels and done some cabinet work. The last weeks, I done regular work finishing this house. Albert Sieren’s house was one of the large buildings or homes we built. But we built many big homes and many a barn and corn crib. When his home was complete, we got more work. We were always busy.
We got to build all styles and sizes. Norbert helped build Albert Saren’s house, also Ted Dumont {?}, Joe Ludwig, Wm. Seif, Martin Wallerich, Wm Hammes, Mike Hammes, Ambrose Highberger, Sam Glabner, Frank Vogel, and Otto Nauernan helped.
Charles Kregers two ??story house the first and had a lot of help of my employees, Wm Leif, Joe Ludwig. {I’m not clear on what he is saying here}
Louis Benaman {?} helped build our house on the farm.
Rube Reed and the neighbors and friends cut all the timber for the frame, and delivered it to the mill.  They also helped dig the basement. The whole frame was native lumber. We hauled the sand from the river. We cut the logs and took them to the mill in two days.