(You're all in for a real treat here! Aunt Grace wrote this post and sent it to me via email. I did some minor "tweaking," but the memory itself is all Aunt Grace!
I marvel at the things they went through and yet, find it to be very relatable.
Enjoy reading this as we all get our first dose of "a little Grace.")
Although I can’t remember it, I’ve been told many times
about the experiences that changed the lives of our family. My parents owned a farm on Plainfield Road between
Downers Grove & Lemont for a number of years when Dad had an opportunity to
sell it. I always told him how brave and
adventurous he was to branch out and leave the area that had been home to him
for 40+ years. His entire family
lived in the area!
Dad started working on a farm for a man named John Hardt (or
Hart) when he was a young man. Dad never
had the privilege of going to school beyond the 3rd grade; couldn’t really
read or write (other than sign his name), but when it came to math he could do
very well. He always said that Mr. Hardt helped him get started by letting him
buy one of his farms without even a down payment!
Back in 1926, the economy was very good and much of the area
where I was born was being bought up for subdivisions for people moving out of Chicago.
Dad accepted an offer for his farm just a year after having remodeled the home,
and searched for farm land to the west.
I’m not certain whether or not they had a car at that time, but much of
the move was done by horse & wagon! I can’t imagine moving all the
family belongings in early 1927 by horse & wagon!
Dad bought a 100-acre farm at the very edge of the village
of Oswego and had electricity brought to the buildings from where the lines for
the village ended. He was supposed to be reimbursed as new housing was built
between the places, but he never received a dollar. Growing up, as a child, I
was very thankful that we always had electricity! I marvel at Dad’s initiative,
as I have no idea how he located the farm in Oswego. Going to look at places had to be quite an
undertaking as he always had cows to milk twice a day. Shopping for real estate
25 – 30 miles from home could not have been an easy task. My 3 older siblings
(George 21, Henry 18 & Berdie 15) moved to Oswego to farm for a year, and
the rest of us stayed behind. Just imagine
giving 3 “teenagers“all that responsibility....
I remember when we’d make trips back to the old area in a
Model T Ford several years later, Dad would point out different farms that he
had considered. Since they were all “out in the country”, my sister, Marge, and
I were very thankful he had settled on Oswego. There, we were close to town and
went to town schools rather than a 1 room schoolhouse. The house on the farm
was considered very nice, and originally had gas lights, which were replaced
with the electric ones. In addition to
a nice house, we always had a bathroom rather than an outhouse!
In addition to coordinating a move, caring for the house and
the three younger children, my mother was pregnant at the time! Marge was born in July after the move, and
knowing Mother, I’m sure she had a large garden. To add insult to injury, on August 27th
we were driving from Oswego to Lemont to buy school supplies for my sister,
Helen, when we were involved in an auto accident on 95th
Street.
Prior to crossing a rural railroad track, Dad stopped, as an
open-air vehicle, carrying a railroad crew was approaching. The front bumper on
the Model T was just over the line and was hit by the “trolley.” We were all
injured. Dad suffered a broken collar
bone and Mom had severe cuts to her head. Helen’s face was cut the entire
length of her head and she had a horrible scar for the rest of her life. Ray
had minor cuts & bruises and I had a broken right hip. After my hospitalization, I was in a crib
flat on my back with various weights of sand in old syrup pails for traction. I
was told later that the doctors feared I’d never walk again; using traction was
a relatively new theory at that time. Marge was 4 weeks old at the time of the
accident and was thrown clear. Since we were all taken to Copley Hospital in
Aurora; Aunt Emma (Staffeldt) Witt took Marge.
I can’t imagine going through all that after having just
moved to a new area. I’m sure there must
have been times when everyone longed for the “old homestead.”
(Please share your thoughts or ask questions prompted through your reading in the comments section at the bottom of this blog page OR on our Facebook page "The Zielke Zone" so we can all share in your thoughts or gain the additional knowledge. I hope you've enjoyed reading Aunt Grace's first shared memory!)
