|
Chris
worked on the railroad as a section hand
for a few years until he could buy a farm
near Sauk City, WI.,
near
Lodie's Mill Pond.
Later,
the farm buildings were completely destroyed
by fire during the night-time. The
family saved only the
clothing
in which they slept. Good neighbors took
the family in--a couple at each neighbor's
home. Mary was
taken
in by the Schoepester family. Ed Shoepester
was Mary's age and a childhood friend. He
later started
Schoep's
Ice Cream in a store he operated on LaFollette
Av. in Madison The Frautchi family
(later Frautchi
Funeral
Home and Furniture) was another of the benevolent
neighbors.
Eventually,
German friends in Nebraska heard of the
family's misfortune and made them aware
of 240 acres of
land
in Valley County, NE. They put themselves
and what belongings they had accumulated
since the fire
aboard
a freight car and headed for Nebraska.
They
bought the land, located about 10 miles
south of Ord, for $1,200. They built
a sod house and began
farming
and clearing the land. Mary said she
could remember seeing groups of Indians
traveling through the
area
which always frightened her but, as far
as she knew, no one was ever harmed.
They
built a frame house and the other buildings
that were necessary, further developed the
farm and sold it
about
1919, after WWI.
Chris
and Sena moved to Madison, WI and lived
at 1426 Jenifer Street. All the boys, except
Henry, had
returned
to Madison as soon as they were old enough
to leave the farm and make a living on their
own.
The
girls had all married and remained on farms
with their husbands.
Sena
had red, curly hair.
|
