Christmas Decoration Hand-Me-Downs

 

My house is decorated for Christmas (as much as it's going to be). Several of the decorations I have came to me from my Grandma Doris Menke. She's been gone 6 years now, I can't help but think of her when I hang these things.

She made some of these tree ornaments, others may have been made by other relatives or she bought them at craft fairs. The most memorable decorations she used on her tree were gold ball ornaments and a gold garland that my sister has now.

Grandma made the Christmas goose and Grandpa made the reindeer. I think Grandpa made several deer, I'm likely not the only grandkid to have one. But I'm pretty sure this goose is the only one.

Ordinary Christmas decorations to anyone else, but through these I can still smell the food my Aunts are getting ready in the kitchen. I can hear the men laughing and cussing as they sit around card tables playing pitch. I can hear my cousins (mostly boys) getting rough with each other and getting told to settle down by someone. No opening gifts until the dishes were done! The cards being passed out (with money in them) were the highlight of the day for everyone over the age of about 12. All joking with each other about how much they got (when each generation got the same amount). 

Very often, one or more of Grandma's sisters would stop by to see us all while we were there. In my very young years, we would go to Grandma's parents where many, many people were gathered in a 2 bedroom house. My memories of that are only vague.

Grandma's Snow Village - pieces to it were a great Christmas gift! I don't have any of the them, but whoever does should check on their value before getting rid of them! 

 

Those really were the good old days.

May you have a memorable Christmas!

Centenarian Eliza Menke

Eliza (Knapp) Menke

A few months ago, I notice this photo of Eliza Menke posted on Family Search by Laura Quimby. It was possibly taken at her 100th birthday party, but I can't say that for sure. I want to share this great picture with my Menke relatives. Below is an article I wrote for the Nebraska State Genealogical Society's quarterly publication, "Nebraska Ancestree" (Vol 44-1, 2021)

A Century of Eliza

Born near Wurttemburg, Germany in 1841, she left with her family before the revolution of 1848. She died in Nebraska in 1944 while members of her family were fighting a war against her home country. In between, she "led a life of feverish activity."¹

Heinrich & Caroline (Schukky or Schocke) Knapp welcomed Elizabeth, their first baby girl on May 15, 1841. Their two sons, Frederick and Lewis were still toddlers, and another son, Heinrich Ernst, was born a few years later. Because of the economic hardship and political unrest in Germany, Heinrich & Caroline made the decision to take their family to America. Eliza was just 4 years old when she spent eleven weeks sailing at sea in 1845. They passed port inspections in New York City, and traveled on to Scioto County, Ohio, where father "Henry" got work in the mines. Four more children were born in Ohio between 1848 and 1857 - Mary, Hannah, August and George. 

On January 13, 1867 in Scioto County, Eliza became the wife of 34 year-old widower Henry Menke, as well as mother to his four children. At that time, Mary Ellen "Emma" was 9, John Frederich was 6, Henry Jr 3 and "Lizzie" was 1. Their own children started filling their home in 1868 with a daughter Ann Caroline. In 1869 a son, John, was born and died. A string of daughters started in 1870 with Mary, in 1872 Mathilde, 1874 Katharine, 1877 Eliza and in January of 1879, Rosa.

In 1878, Henry took a tour of western states and made the decision to move his family to Nebraska in the spring of 1879. Eliza's parents may have seen her for the last time that spring. Traveling by boat down the Ohio river to Cincinnati, then they boarded a train bound for Atchison, Kansas. From there likely by wagon, they headed northwest to Gage County. The family, minus the oldest daugher Emma who stayed with relatives in Ohio, settled on a farm two miles south and one mile west of Clatonia, in Section 33. 

A son, George Edward, was the first to be born in Nebraska in 1881, followed by daughter Nettie in 1883, son Lewis who was born and died in 1885. At age 45, Eliza gave birth to her eleventh and final child, Charles Albert in 1886.

A lifelong Christian, Eliza had a pious upbringing in the United Brethren church with her parents. Her husband Henry was also devoutly religious and occasionally served as a local preacher. Prior to his death in 1915, Henry arranged his own funeral text and songs himself. "Together, they established a church in the home, where services were held." ² They were members of the German Methodist Church and later Eliza united with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Clatonia where she still held membership at her death.

Soon after getting settled in Clatonia, Eliza started planting flowers and vegetable gardens. Over the years, she became known for her beautiful gardens. She took a serious interest in their orchard, and she taught herself how to develop different species of fruits from seeds. Her fondness of birds and love of nature in general were a characteristic to be admired in her.

Eliza Menke is credited with having one of the first mechanical chick-incubators and brooders in her part of the country.³  Articles in several Nebraska newspapers in February of 1897 are touting the "latest thing in the chicken business is the electric incubator".⁴ The 1885 agriculture census shows Eliza had 110 chickens and 200 dozen eggs were produced in 1884. Those numbers likely increased around 1900. Eliza was also one of the earliest people in the area to operate a sorghum mill. She was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word, and as matriarch of the family was likely an inspiring roll model.

Education, science and religion were topics that were held in high regard in the Menke household. Henry Menke, Jr graduated from the Peru Normal and later the University of Chicago. He designed and patented a revolving fan in 1885. He also became an ordained Minister of the Gospel and preached in Iowa, Missouri and Michigan. Eliza's other step-son John Frederich ran a successful grocery business for over 30 years after he moved back to Portsmouth, Ohio. Eliza's son George Edward also became a U.S. Patent holder in 1912 for a railroad loading device, and later invented a corn sheller he called a "Little GEM" (his initials). Daughter Mathidle was a switchboard operator for the telephone company she and her husband ran.

With Eliza's large family, many big family reunions were held at her home. She was known for her hospitality and visitors were always well entertained. Besides her own children, she had many nieces and nephews in Nebraska, some nearby and others out west. Her sister Mary became Mrs John Boggs and they raised their family near Tobias. Another sister Hannah and her husband Conrad Smith were residents in Garden County. In 1988, 72 descendants of these three sisters gathered for a reunion in Firth.

The Menke farm in Section 33 was home to Eliza until after her 90^th birthday and she celebrated her 100^th birthday at the place she helped build and knew for 62 years. She was able to live by herself until after that milestone. In her final year and a half on earth, as her health began to fail, the Anna Rohe Nursing home in Lincoln became her home. Her strong heart kept going for 102 years, 8 months and 17 days, then beat for the last time on February 2, 1944.

Descendants of Eliza & Henry Menke are: Ann Caroline "Carrie" & Louis Kloepper; Mathilde & WilliamH Daubendiek; Katharine & John Henry Wayman; Eliza Jane & Richard Kiene; Rosa & Lewis Wayman; George E & Kathryn (Detmer) Menke; Nettie & Franklin Steinmeyer; Charles Albert & Charlotte "Lottie" (Roscoe) Menke and their many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a continuing line of generations to come. Eliza had outlived her husband, all of her siblings, her four step-children, five of her own children and eight grandchildren. The Menke farm was sold at auction on August 5, 1944 sixty-five plus years after Henry & Eliza first set foot on the land.

1“Obituary, Eliza Knapp Menke”, The Beatrice Times for Women, February 16, 1944 pg 1

2Ibid.

3“Obituary, Eliza Knapp Menke”, The Beatrice Times for Women, February 16, 1944 pg 1

4“Something New in Incubators”, Seward Weekly Reporter, February 18, 1897, pg 1

December Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

and December trees are brown

December

Bell family ancestors

15th - Benjamin Franklin Spann died 1901, age 74

29th - John Silas Bell died 1878, age 64

McGrath family ancestors

7th - Josiah Foster Negley born 1846 (son of John & Ruth Negley)

8th  - John Negley died 1884 age 76

27th - Ruth (Foster) Negley died 1895, age 87 

31st - Charles Lee died 1861, age about 41

Menke family ancestors

4th - Henry Menke born 1832 

11th - Mary Crosby Fero born 1836 

17th - Caroline Schukky born 1813 

25th - Heinrich Knapp born 1805

Mann family ancestors

20th - Anna (Rich) Gaisford died 1882, age 64 

22nd - John Potter Smith died 1903, age 78

Mattingly family ancestors

Boone family ancestors

 Tunk Spalding family ancestors

27th - Mary Louisa (Abell) Spalding died 1900, age 68

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

2nd - Cora Lula Spalding born 1889 

3rd - Mary Jane Abell born 1817

18th - Ann Melvina (Simms) Spalding died 1911, age 80

November Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

When November's leaves fall faster...

November

Bell family ancestors

3rd - Martha Eveline Bell born 1842

4th - Martha Eveline Bell died 1928, age 86

McGrath family ancestors

24th - Rachel Jane Simmons born 1841 

26th - Susannah (Case) Lee born 1822 

Menke family ancestors

2nd - Ole Jorgenson & Caroline Magrethe Peterson married 1866

7th - Charles Albert Menke born 1886

19th - Kenneth Charles Menke & Doris Darle Mann married 1938 

28th - Kenneth Charles Menke born 1917 

Mann family ancestors

Mattingly family ancestors

20th - Joseph Hamilton "Ham" Mattingly & Harriet Elizabeth "Lib" Spalding married 1934 

Boone family ancestors

2nd - John G Ballard & Elizabeth Nally married 1814 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

7th - Joseph T Spalding & Harriett Elizabeth "Bettie" Thomas married 1879

9th - Joseph Abner Abell II & Martha Nancy Mills married 1819 

13th - Robert S Thomas born 1803 

20th - Harriet Elizabeth "Lib" (Spalding) Mattingly born 1911 

26th - Harriett Elizabeth "Bettie" (Thomas) Spalding died 1896, age 37 

? - Mark Theodore Thomas born 1834

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

28th - Elizabeth (Beaven) Luckett died 1850, age 65 

24th - John Hudson "Hutt" Spalding & Mary Susan Isabelle "Belle" Luckett married 1874 

October Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

for October's golden crown...

October

Bell family ancestors

18th - Benjamin Franklin Spann born 1827 

20th - James Stanley Bell died 1970, age 63

29th - Abner Decker & Mary "Polly" Garner married 1816 

McGrath family ancestors

8th - Arthur Levi McGrath & Sadie Ellen Negley married 1908 

11th - Sarah Maria Matilda (Lee) Negley died 1927, age 78

17th - Arthur Levi McGrath born 1876

25th - Ruth Marie (Smith)(Simmons) Webb died 1863, age about 44 

31st - Charles Lee born 1820 (possibly 1813) 

Menke family ancestors

3rd - Lena M (Jorgenson) Roscoe died 1949, age 91 

18th - Charles Albert Menke & Charlotte Isabelle "Lottie" Roscoe married 1906 

Mann family ancestors

3rd - James Gaisford born 1820 

18th - Clarence Lemuel Mann died 1968, age 90

Mattingly family ancestors

14th - Joseph Hamilton "Ham" Mattingly died 1990, age 81 

Boone family ancestors

2nd - Christopher Boone & Ann Rhodes married 1824 

9th - Walter Boone & Mildred Edelin married 1783

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

10th - Joseph Abner Abell II born 1795

18th - William Thomas "Tunk" Spalding born 1818 

21st - Mary (Fenwick) Abell died 1886 or 1888, age 74 or 76

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

September Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

When September finds the aster...

September

Bell family ancestors

24th - James Stanley Bell & Violet Jennivee McGrath married 1938

26th - Mary "Hiley" Ann (Decker) Spann born 1836 

McGrath family ancestors

15th - John Negley & Ruth Foster married 1836

19th - Violet Jennivee (McGrath) Bell born 1917 

28th - Sadie Ellen (Negley) McGrath died 1958, age 78 

Menke family ancestors

2nd - William Harlow Roscoe died 1947, age 88

4th - Caroline (Schukky) Knapp died 1895, age 81

16th - Charles Albert Menke died 1965, age 78 

17th - Caroline Magrethe (Peterson) Jorgenson died 1910, age 63 

20th - Henry Menke died 1915, age 82

20th - Charlotte Isabelle (Roscoe) Menke born 1887 

29th - Ole Jorgenson died 1908, age 71

Mann family ancestors

3rd - Henrietta Abigail (Smith) Gaisford born 1848 

14th - William Mann & Nancy Jane Climie married 1861 

18th - Doris Darle (Mann) Menke died 2017, age 97

Mattingly family ancestors

Boone family ancestors

 1st - Elizabeth (Nally) Ballard born 1785

28th - Mary Frances Charlotte "Lottie" Boone died 1962, age 84 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

7th - Richard Augustine Spalding died 1850, age 73

15th - Martha Nancy (Mills) Abell born 1798 

22nd - Marcus Thomas Spalding born 1886 

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

Richard Augustine Spalding is the common ancestor of the "Tunk" and "Hutt" Spalding lines.

June Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

When June shows leafy ways...

June

Bell family ancestors

29th - Cicero Bell born 1869 

McGrath family ancestors

14th - Rachel Jane (Simmons) McGrath died 1896, age 54

16th - Charles Lee & Susannah Case married 1845 

18th - Violet Jennivee (McGrath) Bell died 1991, age 73 

19th - Arthur Levi McGrath died 1965, age 88 

24th - John McGrath born 1831? 

Menke family ancestors

Mann family ancestors

2nd - Mary Abigail (Bliss) Smith died 1866, age 36 

8th - Doris Daryle (Mann) Menke born 1920 

18th - Clarence Lemuel Mann born 1878 

Mattingly family ancestors

15th - Gabriel Mattingly born 1777 

Boone family ancestors

 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

7th - Mary (Fenwick) Abell born 1812

9th - Henrietta (Thompson) Spalding died 1826, age 40

28th - Anna Louisa (Abell) Thomas died 1893, age 55

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

11th - Mary Jane (Abell) Luckett died 1871, age 53 

17th - Henry Luckett & Elizabeth Beaven married 1805 

24th - John Hudson "Hutt" Spalding born 1852 

30th - Mary Elizabeth (Wathen) Simms died 1876, age 74

Henrietta (Thompson) Spalding is the common ancestor of both the "Tunk" and "Hutt" Spalding lines. 

May Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

When May sets blossoms blowing...

May

Bell family ancestors

3rd  - John Silas Bell & Rutha Simpson married 1838

5th - Benjamin Franklin Spann & Mary "Hiley" Ann Decker married 1852

19th - Allie Lucinda (Spann) Bell born 1871

McGrath family ancestors

Menke family ancestors

4th - William H Roscoe & Lena M Jogenson married 1882 

13th - David A Roscoe died 1884, age 60

14th - Caroline M (Peterson) Jorgenson born 1847 (wife of Ole, step-mother of Lena) 

15th - Elizabeth (Knapp) Menke born 1841 

16th - Ole Jorgenson born 1837 

Mann family ancestors

23rd - Charles Gaisford & Henrietta Smith married 1867

23rd - Henrietta (Smith) Gaisford died, age 83

29th - Mary Jane (Hull) Climie (Jones) died 1854, age 37 

Mattingly family ancestors

? - John Baptist Mattingly died in 1817, age 87

Boone family ancestors

 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

15th - Aloysius Abell born 1801 

24th - Matilda (Spalding) Thomas died 1838, age 32 (mother of Marcus Thomas) 

30th - Marcus Thomas "Markie Tunk" Spalding died 1950, age 63

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

1st - Ann Melvina (Simms) Spalding born 1831

2nd - Cora Lulu (Spalding) Spalding died 1970, age 80

13th - Elizabeth (Beaven) Luckett born 1785

26th - John Austin Spalding died 1913, age 86

27th - John Austin Spalding born 1826 

27th - John Austin Spalding & Ann Melvina Simms married 1851 

March Anniversaries in the Family Tree

When March blows up her breezes...

 March

Bell family ancestors

17th - Cicero Bell & Allie Spann married 1901  (Cicero also married his first wife Mittie Ramsey on March 17, 1891 and his son with Allie, Edward Bell, was born on March 17, 1905) 

McGrath family ancestors

3rd - Sadie Ellen (Negley) McGrath born 1880 

5th - Sarah Maria Matilda (Lee) Negley born 1849

5th - Josiah Foster Negley & Sarah Maria Matilda Lee married 1871 

Menke family ancestors

6th - William Harlow Roscoe born 1859 

8th - Heinrich Knapp & Caroline Schukky married 1839 

15th - Mary Crosby (Fero) Roscoe died 1923 age 86

24th - Charlotte Isabelle (Roscoe) Menke died 1975 age 87

26th - Kenneth Charles Menke died 2003 age 85

Mann family ancestors

18th - Nancy Jane (Climie) Mann born 1938 

28th - James Gaisford & Anna Rich married 1838 

Mattingly family ancestors

27th - William Alfred Bryant Mattingly born 1850 

Boone family ancestors

 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

2nd - Robert S Thomas died 1886 age 82

6th - William Thomas "Tunk" Spalding died 1881 age 59

14th - Joseph T Spalding born 1858 

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

19th - Lewis Austin Luckett died 1886 age 77

February Anniversaries in the Family Tree

 

When February thaws...

February

Bell family ancestors

McGrath family ancestors

Menke family ancestors

2nd - Elizabeth (Knapp) Menke died  1944 age 102

Mann family ancestors

4th - Cora Mabel (Gaisford) Mann  born 1882 

11th - Nancy Jane (Climie) Mann died 1894 age 55

12th - William Mann born 1830

Mattingly family ancestors

Boone family ancestors

2nd - John G Ballard died  1836 age 50

3rd - Robert I Boone & Elizabeth Johnson married 1874 

10th - Robert I Boone died  1900 age 62

26th - Mary Frances Charlotte "Lottie" (Boone) Mattingly born 1878 (daughter of Robert I & Elizabeth Boone) 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

3rd - Matilda (Spalding) Spalding born 1806 

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

2nd - Henry Luckett died  1864 age 86

14th - Mary Elizabeth (Wathen) Simms born 1802 

16th - Mary Susan Isabelle "Belle" (Luckett) Spalding born 1857 

24th - John Hudson "Hutt" Spalding died 1915 age 62 

January Anniversaries in the Family Tree

"When January freezes..."

January

Bell family ancestors

19th - Allie Lucinda (Spann) Bell died 1959 age 87

McGrath family ancestors

23rd - John Negley born 1808

Menke family ancestors

13th - Elizabeth "Eliza" Knapp & Henry Menke married 1867

15th - Heinrich Knapp died 1892 age 86 

Mann family ancestors

17th - John Potter Smith & Mary Abigail Smith married 1847

25th - Charles Gaisford died 1920 one day short of his 78th birthday

26th - Charles Gaisford born 1842

Mattingly family ancestors

26th - James Raymond Mattingly born 1814

26th - Julia Ann (Mattingly) Mattingly died 1889 age 77 (wife of James Raymond)

? - William Alfred Bryant Mattingly died 1910 age 59

Boone family ancestors

13th - Charlotte "Lottie" Ballard & James Matthew Johnson  married 1844

15th - James Matthew Johnson died 1901 age 76

17th - Elizabeth (Johnson) Boone died 1933 age 78 (daughter of James Matthew & Lottie Johnson) 

Tunk Spalding family ancestors

6th - Joseph T Spalding died 1945 age 86

10th - Marcus Thomas Spalding & Cora Lula Spalding married 1910 

11th - Aloysius Abell & Mary Fenwick married 1829 

20th - Richard Augustine Spalding & Henrietta Thompson married 1817

24th - Robert S Thomas & Matilda Spalding married 1824 

31st - John Simms born 1807 

Hutt Spalding family ancestors

Cora Lula Spalding is in the "Hutt" Spalding line

Richard Augustine Spalding & Henrietta Thompson are the common ancestors of the "Tunk" and "Hutt" Spalding lines

Imagining Christmas 1890

I can only imagine what my ancestors' Christmas was like in 1890. Most of my Great Grandparents were still children living with their parents, all but two of them in Nebraska. Before the end of their lifetimes, a few of them would be a part of my Christmas celebrations. 

Christmas in 1890 was on Thursday. Historic newspapers indicate that while in Nebraska the weather was nice that year, a heavy snow storm was causing a lot of problems nearly everywhere from Chicago to the East Coast. The price of a postage stamp to mail a Christmas card was .02 cents. Believe it or not, that is right in line with today's price of .58 cents. I can't say for sure whether any of my ancestors traveled, or sent Christmas cards or baked cookies, or decorated their homes. But from what I do know, I can come up with some brief scenarios of what their Christmas might have been like in 1890.

Albert Menke, youngest son of Henry & Eliza Menke, was 4 years old living in Clatonia with his siblings Matilde, Katharina, Eliza, Rosa, George and Nettie. Living nearby, his oldest sister Caroline was married with a baby boy. Henry & Eliza were both born in Germany and likely there were some German Christmas traditions carried out in their home. Albert's maternal Grandparents Henry & Caroline Knapp lived in Portsmouth, Ohio along with other extended family he may not have known. He had cousins he could play with in Tobias, where his mothers sister Mary Boggs lived with her family. Another sister of Eliza, Hannah Smith, was out in western Nebraska.

Down the road in DeWitt, Lottie Roscoe was just 3 years old living with her parents, William and Lena, and her siblings Laura, Cleve and baby brother Frank. Her paternal Grandmother, Mary Roscoe, may have also lived with them. Lena's parents, Ole & Caroline Jorgenson, natives of Denmark, were living in Peotone, Illinois. The Roscoe family had been in America for several generations. Lottie had a few cousins close by to play with, but both her parents siblings were spread around the midwest. They may have gotten cards from relatives in Iowa, Illinois and Colorado.

Twelve year old Clarence Mann was living in Jefferson County with parents William and Nancy and siblings William, Horace, Oscar and Effie. Two older sisters were married with children near his age. His Grandparents were all deceased as far as I know. His mother had two brothers and some half-siblings living in Iowa. His cousins there were all older and I doubt he saw them very often. English, Irish and Scottish Christmas traditions may have influenced the celebrations in his family. 

Cora & Clarence Mann, Christmas, 1962

Cora Gaisford was 8 years old, living with her parents Charles and Henrietta in Jefferson County. Also in the household were her siblings Charles, Maime, Anna, Emma, Carrie, Nellie, William, Gertrude and baby sister Gladys. Cora's maternal Grandfather, John Potter Smith, lived in Massachusetts, I'm not sure if she ever met him or any of her mothers siblings. Her Grandfather James Gaisford was living in central Illinois. Cora had Aunts, Uncles and Cousins living in Illinois, Iowa and also nearby in Gage and Jefferson counties. Had they all been able to get together, it would have been a large crowd. Something Cora knew well when in her later years. I was among the crowd of some big celebrations with Clarence & Cora Mann's family.

In 1890 Art McGrath was 14, living in Dawson County with his parents John and Rachel McGrath. He never knew either set of his Grandparents. His two sisters, Becky and Minnie, were older and married with children all younger than him, but not by much. His nieces and nephews included Lizzie, Andrew, and Clara Smith, of Stockham in Clay County and Rebecca, Lenora, John Robert, Hayden, Marguerita and Daniel Patterson of Cozad in Dawson County. Art's mother's sister, Ruth Pettit and husband William were living with their eight children not far away near Callaway, Custer County, Nebraska. Great Grandpa McGrath and I may have celebrated a few Christmases together, but I have no memory of him.

Sadie Negley, 10-year-old daughter of Josiah and Sarah, was living in Eldorado with her 4 siblings, George, Alice, Will and Cal. Sadie's maternal Grandparents were both deceased, but her Uncle George W Lee, his wife Christine and 3 older cousins lived within traveling distance in Clay County at that time. Sadie's paternal Grandfather was also deceased, but Grandmother Ruth Negley was living in Decatur, Iowa. Several Aunts and Uncles and cousins lived in Iowa. I couldn't say if they did or not, but it wouldn't have been impossible for Josiah to take his family over the Missouri River and through southern Iowa to Grandmothers house for a visit.

Cicero Bell was at home in Wayne County, Kentucky, age 21. His Grandmother Rutha Bell was the matriarch of the family, his Grandfather John Silas was deceased. If Rutha had her entire family for Christmas dinner, there could have been Cicero, his mother Martha and his 2 younger siblings John and Laura; Rutha's son Ira Garner & wife Martha with 2 sons; Rutha's daughter Elizabeth Stringer, her husband John and 3 children; and possibly daughter Emily (I don't know her death date). Rutha's son Leish and wife Rebecca may have been in Texas by that time. Daughter Ursula had died in August leaving a husband and 3 children.

At 19, Allie Spann was living with her father Ben and step-mother Mattie in Wayne County, Kentucky. Her mother had died six years earlier. She had two siblings at home, Etta and Marrion, and two young step-brothers. Allie's other siblings were married with at least 15 children among them, most of them living in Kentucky. Her Grandparents were all deceased, but her extended family included Aunts, Uncles and cousins living in the area, too. She was likely acquainted with them, if not a part of their holiday celebrations.

Wishing everyone young and old, near and far, a very Merry Christmas!

The Rooms Are All on Fire

 

As my Grandma took these pictures of her old house burning down, I wonder what memories came to her. It makes me sad to see these pictures, there were a lot of good times had here.

No one was living in the house in 1987, it was burned down for more farm ground by the farmer who bought all but a few acres of their property a few years earlier. My Grandparents built a new house and shed on the acreage they kept at the corner of two rural roads now called 711th Road and 582 Avenue on the Jefferson/Gage county line in southeast Nebraska. They moved from Aurora into this farmhouse in about 1965 when the youngest of their four children was finishing high school and then into their new home in 1981 about the time they each retired. Grandpa worked at Petersen Wrench in DeWitt and farmed. Grandma worked at the Beatrice State Home.

It was a two-hour drive for my family to my Grandparents' place. We probably made the trip three or four times a year, usually just for the day. Always at Christmas when my other cousins, Aunts and Uncles were also there. Our Christmas gatherings were often on a Sunday near Christmas Day, Grandma would work at the State Home on the holidays. One year at Christmas we went down the night before and there weren't enough beds for everyone. My Aunt Sondra and Uncle Dale and I spent the night at Grandma's sister and her husband Aunt Florence and Uncle Pearle's house a few miles away. I think I also remember once sleeping on the couch in the dining room with the back that folded down into a bed. During the years they lived in this house my siblings and I spent part of a week there without our parents at least once when we were young. My sister and I got the bigger of the two upstairs bedrooms, my two brothers the other one. My parents met them halfway in Friend, Nebraska either to drop us off or pick us up. It's strange that I don't remember anything we did while we were there.

My very rough sketch of the floor plan as I remember it, second floor bedrooms on the left.

Other buildings on the old place were also torn or burned down. My brothers and cousins played in and around those buildings, but I don't remember playing out there. I was the only girl for several years, I kept out of trouble unlike the boys. They have some stories to tell!  At the end of Grandpa and Grandma's short driveway on either side were "Husker footballs", white with red stripes on poles stuck in the ground (made from some kind of metal maybe, I don't know).  They moved those over to their new home.

The house faced south to the road. The small square window on the right in the first photo is the kitchen window. The back door where we always entered is to the right of that. Grandma's kitchen was long and narrow, not much wider than the opened oven door. The sink was at the south end of the room with a window looking out over the front yard. Right inside the door was their kitchen table with a chair for each of them at each end. The stove and refrigerator were on the west wall. If I remember right, she didn't have a dishwasher.

Through the arched doorway to the dining room, the table was to the right where we had our big family dinners of roast, ham or turkey, mashed potatoes and all other sorts of dishes. I had to be careful if there was scalloped corn, Grandma sometimes made it with oysters and I am not a fan. I'm sure when we were all there, some people ate at the kitchen table and some at TV trays in the living room. After dinner there were often games of 10 Point Pitch played. As a kid, you would start out sitting on an adult's lap to watch the game, sometimes getting to "play" a card. About the time you were big enough to hold your cards, you could fill in a hand or two while someone had to get up from the game for a little bit. It was a rite of passage when you could play a "real" game with the more patient adults. Often some of Grandma's family would visit while we were there and then the Pitch games got serious. 

In the second photo I can see the screen door burning on the front porch. There was a door to the front porch in the dining room, and also one around the corner in the living room. They might have been open in the summer, but I don't remember using those doors much. There was a big picture window in the living room which was decorated in the greens, golds and browns of the '70's. I remember the TV sat in the southwest corner of the room. Grandpa smoked a pipe and I remember his pipe stand and ash tray next to his recliner.  

At the bottom of the stairs there was a bookshelf that held various things including a set of encyclopedias. This story comes up often, and everyone has a slightly different memory of it. But my memory is that I was looking through an encyclopedia and found a twenty-dollar bill. (The amount of money found grows depending on who's telling the story.) I ran to show Grandma what I found and she made it clear this was not a "finders-keepers" situation. Several others took an interest in the encyclopedia's that day. I don't remember anyone else finding more money, others might remember they did. When the encyclopedia's were on their moving sale years later, I think we all wanted one last look through them.

Grandma and Grandpa slept in the downstairs bedroom which was open to the living room. It wasn't a place for us kids to be other than to get to the bathroom from the living room. Between their bedroom and the bathroom was their walk-through closet. That's where Grandpa's safe was. One of my cousins wrote the combination to the safe on a slip of paper and stuck it in the door frame of the closet in the south upstairs bedroom. I wonder if it burned in the fire.

The bathroom had a door on each end of the room. They didn’t latch well and would sometimes come open again when you closed the other door. Makes a little girl kinda nervous (maybe some big girls too). The laundry room was of course, not a place for kids, but we always had to peek in and look for some A & W bottles. If there was any chance of getting root beer floats, there was Root Beer in the laundry room. 

Out of the twelve of us grandkids, probably all but the last four of us can remember this house. No doubt, Grandma had a few of these memories I've shared and many others too, as she watched them all go up in flames. 

Kenneth Menke Farm Sale, 1955

Beatrice Daily Sun, December 9, 1955

Public Sale

Having decided to change farming operations, I will sell at Public Auction, at the place 3 miles east, 1/4 mile south of Harbine, Nebr., or 2 miles west and 2-1/4 miles south of Ellis, Nebr., on 

Thursday, Dec. 15

Commencing at 12 o'clock Sharp

[first column]

29 Head Cattle

9 Yr Old White Cow, milking now

8 Yr Old Spotted Cow, milking now

6 Yr Old White Cow, milking now

5 Yr Old Roan Cow, milking now

6 Yr Old Red Roan Cow, milking now

5 Yr Old Red Cow, just fresh

5 Yr Old Roan Cow, milking now

3 Yr Old Brockle Face Heifer, milking now

3 Black Angus Heifers, coming 2 yrs old to freshen in Spring

Black Heifer, 2 Yrs Old, Fresh in Spring

3 W-F Stock Cows, coming with 2 Calves

W-F Jersey, 1 Yr Old

Blue Roan Heifer, coming 2 Yrs Old

W-F Heifer, 6 Months Old 

2 Black Heifers, 4 Months Old

Holstein Heifer, 6 Months Old

5 Yr Old Black Cow, with Calf at side

5 Black Bucket Calves

Yearling Past Black Steer

Milking Equipment

Wilson 4 Can Milk Cooler

15 Gal. Santimatic Hot Water Heater

Santimatic Wash Vat

Can Rack  6 10-Gal Milk Cans

Radiant Electric Heater with Thermostat Control

Milk Strainers

Electric 600 Watt Heater

8 Head Hogs

8 Red Feeders, Av[g] Weight 183 lbs

Hay and Grain

100 Bu Nemaha Oats

25 Bu Barley

400 Bu Yellow Ear Corn

800 Bales Choice Alfalfa, all 3 

[second column]

cuttings wire tired

30 Bales Wheat Straw

Farm Machinery

1938 F-20 Farmall in good condition

2-14 IHC Tractor Plow

John Deere 2 Row Tractor Corn Disc

G I 15 Ft Disc

G I 1-Row Corn Picker with Cooks Husking Bed

1952 MM, 18x7 Grain Drill with Power Lift, Grass Seeder, Press Wheels

1950 Allis Chalmers Combine PTO, Extra good

Dearborn 2-Row Tractor Cultivator

44 Ft Kelley Ryan Grain Elevator with Power Take Off with Speed Jack

Wetmore Gluten Hammermill with PTO

1946 Case Hand Tie Baler, good shape

Two Wheel Trailer with Large Grain Bed

2 4-Wheel Rubber Tire Trailer with Flat Beds

Old Wagon

1953 MM Side Delivery Rake

7 Ft Mc Deering Mower

300 Gal. Fuel Tank on Stand, Double Compartment

Some old Machinery

Household Goods

2 Piece Living Room Suite

Some Miscellaneous Items

Miscellaneous

Tank Heater, Coal or Cob

Set of Harness.   Oil Heater

Oil brooder Stove     Used Lumber

30 Good Panels, Various Sizes

Open Shed, 22x10 Ft.

1930 Model A Ford

Some Old Iron

Miscellaneous Items

Lunch at noon by Ellis Methodist Ladies

Terms: Cash.   No goods to be removed from premises until settled for.

Kenneth Menke, Owner

Owner's Telephone No. 10803 Diller

First National Bank, Clerk

Beatrice

SIEGEL BROTHERS, Auctioneers

Hubert               Harold

1610 H St        613 12th St

Ph 1135 Fairbury    Phone 1365