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Farming With The Nietings

    Albert and I were married in June, 1920 and for three years we farmed near Fonda, Iowa. We had neighbors by the name of Woods who lived in a sod house. Albert was a lover of music and decided to buy a radio. One of our neighbors thought now we were able to hear them talk at home. It was quite a novelty to find new stations. We enjoyed good band and pipe organ music, but – since the radio had earphones, only one could listen at a time. It was Great!

     In January, 1923 we made preparations to move to the Lowden area. All our belongings were shipped in two rail cars, leaving Knoke, the evening of January 17 via of the Milwaukee lines, accompanied by Louis Nieting and a friend, Adolph Baedke. They milked the three cows and fed the milk to Lassie, our dog. Also on board were three horses, chickens, our machinery and our furniture which had been crated. We left Pomeroy by car at 7:30 on January 18th and arrived at my parents' farm (C.E. Kroemer,* where Leonard now lives) at 7:30 P.M., a trip of 250 miles, mostly on gravel and dirt roads. The same evening our train arrived in Massillon, and we settled on a farm northwest of Lowden, where Junior Sander** now lives.

     In February we started hauling some 50 loads of sand by horse and wagon from Massillon for building our new home. Loading and unloading was done by hand, with the good help of relatives and neighbors. It was finished before the heavy snows came in March. With the nice weather of April, the men folks started making the cement blocks. All lumber was hauled by horses and wagon – indeed a busy year. On Oct. 30th, after a snowfall, we moved into our not quite completed home.

     Butchering was a big day. My brothers, Art, Herb, and their wives came to help and everybody had his job making the various sausages. Water, used for scalding the hogs, was heated outside in a big iron kettle, refilled again and the meat cooked in it. Of course, you had to keep the fire going. One time when I went out to check the fire, the dog was barking away and I knew something was under the old trough. Thinking it was a rat, I helped him by lifting the trough. Wow! A civit cat! It didn't take me long to get back to the house.

     Oats cutting was done with a binder and bundles were set nine to a shock. Later came threshing with about a dozen farmers per ring – some hauling bundles by team and wagon, all bundles pitched by hand labor, and the grain was unloaded by scooping. Needless to say, it was hard work. Really felt sorry for the straw stacker – a very dusty and hot job. All this lead to good appetites. The good lunches and meals were well prepared by the ladies.

     For some time, a tree limb was bothering me so I decided to cut it off while Albert was working in the field. I put up a 16 foot ladder, climbed up and sawed away, and it fell. Lo and behold, I dare not let go of the tree, for the loss of the weight of the branch caused the rest of the limb to go up! Was I glad I had a little daughter to go and get her dad to help me down from my perch!

     For about 25 years we did all our corn picking by hand, taking about five to . . .

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. . . six weeks. Would get extra help the last few weeks. In the 1940's we decided to buy a single row picker, later a two row. Now we were able to pick 10 to 20 acres a day. What a comparison to hand picking when 18 rows, 90 rods long was a BIG day for two people.

     On April 11, 1965, Palm Sunday about 1 P.M., without warning, a tornado hit us, demolishing five buildings and damaging others. Our home suffered extensive damage. Another very busy year, which was our last on the farm, rebuilding, and in the meantime starting a new home in Lowden. After many happy years on the farm, we moved to town in May, 1966.

              Mrs Albert (Gertrude Kroemer) Nieting

     *C. E. Kroemer – farm located in NW ¼ of Sec. 28 of Massillon Twp.

     ** Junior Sander – farm located in SE ¼ of Sec. 22 in Massillon Twp.

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I REMEMBER WHEN -

. . . . I had my first train ride. It meant boarding the passenger train that stopped to pick up just one person and deposit her on the other side of the state in an empty depot in the wee hours of the morning.

              Mrs LeRoy (Esther Strackbein) Boettger

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GOING TO TOWN IN 1873

Picture Going to Town in 1873
    This picture was taken on what is now Main Street in Lowden, Iowa. To the left is the site of what today is Licht's Department Store, the center is now what is occupied by the law office of Norton and Freese, and to the right is now the site of the Lowden Ceramic Shop.