MAY, Bernard
MAY, HACKENMILLER, BISSEN
Posted By: K. L. Kittleson
Date: 8/15/2010 at 14:16:52
Bernard May was born on a farm near Meyer, Iowa, December 31, 1910 the oldest of eleven children born to Henry and Anna (Hackenmiller) May. His childhood years were spent on the family farm.
During the depression in the early 1930's jobs were hard to get. Through an ad in the "Catholic Daily Tribune", he got a job on a dairy farm near Buffalo, New York. After one and a half years he got homesick and hitch-hiked home. This took him two weeks as he visited New York City and other sites on the way.
After arriving home he worked as a hired hand at farms in the Stacyville and Meyer communities.
On November 15, 1938 he was united in marriage to Regina Bissen, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Schmitz) Bissen of rural Stacyville, Iowa at St. John's Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Minnesota. Regina was born on August 19, 1915 and went through 8th grade at St. John's parochial school at Johnsburg, Minnesota. She then attended Good Council Academy, a boarding school for girls at Mankato, Minnesota for two years.
After their marriage Bernard and Regina took over her parents farm which was on the state line in Union Township. Ten children were born to them, Robert, Rita, Carol, Ann, Gerard, Edward, Pamela, John, Mark and Catherine. John died an accidental death at age 17 on September 28, 1974. Of these family members, Robert, Carol, Gerard and Edward still rside in Mitchell County.
In 1977 they received the Century Farm Award. This award is given to families whose farms have remained in the same family for one hundred years or more.
In 1977 Bernard and Regina retired from farming and purchased a home in Stacyville, Iowa. Their oldest son Robert and wife Audrey moved to the farm making this the fourth generation to live on this land which was homesteaded by his great grandfather Peter Bissen in 1870.
On November 13, 1988, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with all their children and spouses and twenty grandchildren present.
By Mrs. Bernard May,
[MITCHELL COUNTY HISTORY, published 1989, P. 358]
Photo of his family - 1988
Mitchell Biographies maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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