The Fred C. Brooks Family
Seven Years On The Prairie
by Orpha Charlotte (Brooks) Lacy
(Transcribed by RB, with permission from the Mellette County Historical Society, from "Mellette County 1911-1986" published by the Mellette County Historical Society)
Fredrick Charles Brooks, born 1876 Lacon, Illinois, died 1966 Bates Co. after 19 years in a wheelchair,
caused by complications of an operation.
Nettie Laura (Mitchell) Brooks, born 1882 Harrison, Ks., died 1982 Cass Co. Mo. of heart failure, married
1902 Guide Rock, Nebraska. Children: Charles Frederick Brooks born 1903, Nebraska, died 1983 of diabetes, lived in Kansas City, Mo., married Leda Mae Lemon, no children.
Royal Clarence (Roy) born 1906 Nebraska, died 1981 of leukemia, in Kansas City, Mo., married Margaret
Hobbson 1944. Children: Margaret Mae, Carol Jean, Nancy Jane, Patty, Fredrick Chas.
Orpha Charlotte born 1911, Brunswick, Nebraska, lives in Adrian, Mo., married Robert Lee Lacy in 1932.
Child: Norma Lee.
Alice Emme, born 1918 South Dakota, lives in Greenwood, Mo., married Andrew Pedro. Children: Phyllis Jane and Frances June.
Rose Frances, born 1918, South Dakota, died 1921 of the flu at Lebanon, Mo..
Robert Norman, born Independence, Mo., died in 1945 in World War II.
The Brooks family, who were then only Fred, Nellie and children Charles, Roy, Lucille and Orpha, moved
from near Brunswick, Nebraska, to Mellette County near Cody, South Dakota. In 1914 my father built a little building that we called "the shack." He put it on the running gears of a wagon so it could be pulled by horses. They loaded it with the bare necessities to survive. There were bunk beds, a table, a few chairs, pots, pans and dishes so we could live in it on our trip to South Dakota to homestead on a 160 acre farm. Dad bought the farm from the government. It was filed in Gregory, South Dakota.
The trip was long and rough. The roads were bad and we had to cross creeks and rivers. The bridges were
old and rickety. I remember Dad telling about Lucille wanting to crawl across them because she was afraid.
Charles and Roy would walk along beside the shack on wheels, and would shoot wild game, mostly jack
rabbits, for us to eat for our next meal. We would try to find schoolhouse yards to camp in overnight. There
we could find good water to carry us over to the next stop.
We made it all right, with no sign of the Indians. They put the little shack down in a little valley on the
homestead. Dad and the boys dug a well and there was plenty of good water, which was hard to find close.
Not long after we settled down, the horses, which were tied to the shack, disappeared with not a sound;
someone stole them. My dad walked from daylight until dark trying to find them, but not a trace. The only
stock we had left was our cow, Nubbins.
We lived twenty-one miles from the nearest town. With no horses Dad had to walk those twenty-one miles
to get the supplies we had to have, and carry them home on his back.
As soon as he could get enough money, Dad bought three horses and some equipment that he needed to
put in a crop. A lot of the seed was dropped or broadcast by hand and stomped in by foot.
We had a rough time but we never went hungry or cold. Dad and the boys would go down on White River and cut wood. I can remember putting on our coats, caps and mittens in very cold cold weather, going out
to pick up cow chips to burn when the wood pile would get low.
Charles and Roy rode an old gray mare, named Sally, six miles to school. I remember once a blizzard was developing while they were at school. We were so afraid that the boys wouldn't find their way home. It was snowing so hard that they couldn't see or tell which way to go. They let go of the reins and Sally brought them home, safe but cold.
My parents began to plan for our new house and barn. They built it up on the hill. By this time, we had
several neighbors. They came from all around to help us move into the new house. They moved the shack
up and attached it to the new house. It was used for the kitchen. The new house was rather large and
comfortable.
By this time Lucille was old enough to go to school. A new school had been built about two miles from
home. It was called the Paleck School. I also attended this school and my teacher was Elmer Zickrick. When Alice and Rose were born, there was no doctor available. So Mrs. Emma Sorby, who was a midwife, came to help Mother. We named the baby Emma after her.
I remember my mother baking bread and those yummy cinnamon rolls. We always had a good garden,
plenty of canned food and plenty to eat. We would go to the White River and pick chokecherries and buffalo berries for jelly. Mother baked cakes and soft pies because there was no fruit. She made hominy from the
corn in the field. They took corn and wheat to the mill and had it made into flour and meal. We had no beef,
but we had canned salmon, salted codfish and chicken. Charles and Roy would go hunting for rabbits and
prairie chicken. Mother made such good meals.
Dad put in a teeter-totter that went almost to the top of the shack windows. We had a swing built in the shade of the house. The trees were growing but they weren't big enough for a swing yet.
At night we would sit by lamplight and Dad would read to us. I remember especially two books, "the Light in the Clearing" and "In His Steps." My mother took the "Home Comfort Magazine." She would read the stories and then tell them to us while she worked and did the sewing.
My Grandmother Brooks sent us ribbon and material for dresses and shirts. Dad and the boys wore store pants and overalls. We always liked to get her packages. One Easter she sent some little cotton chickens. I thought they were candy so I bit into one. What a surprise!
My brother Roy and I were always doing something that we shouldn't. Once we stuffed a magpie with mud.
We weren't sick much except when I had headaches in the summer. It seemed so good when my mother
would come to my bed, push my hair back and kiss my forehead. It always seemed to help. My parents were hard workers and were very busy but they always had time for us kids.
Charles and Roy had a coyote pup as a pet. Even though they kept him tied up, he did get one of the
geese. They finally had to turn him loose as he wouldn't tame.
One spring morning, we went to school in very deep snow. The sun came out and the snow began to melt.
The creek that ran between home and the school began to rise. We thought we weren't going to make it home. Then we saw Dad coming. He took the box off the wagon and used it as a boat. Dad crossed the creek,
we all climbed in, and back across the creek we went. I was so scared.
Christmas was always a happy time for us, but we did have one scary one. We children were in a Christmas program at school. My father was working in Murdo. The boys hitched up the team and we went to school. While we were at the program it had snowed. When we arrived home we saw footprints in the snow leading to the house. We were so frightened. Mother was afraid, too, but she tried not to show it. We huddled close to her as we walked to the house. She slowly opened the door. A happy surprise! There was Dad.
Dad bought a Model T Ford. That was our first car. We were so excited about it and really enjoyed it.
In 1921 the folks bought a place close to Lebanon, Mo.. All of us with all our belongings took a train to our new home. Everything was so strange.
In 1916, we lost Rosa in the flu epidemic. She is buried at Lebanon.
We lived seven years at Lebanon. Then we moved to Kansas City, Mo. Here Dad worked as a carpenter.
Charles and Roy soon found jobs. They both retired from the Cook Paint Company. Lucille and I went to
work as soon as we were old enough. While we were living close to Kansas City, we had a new addition to our family. A little baby brother, Robert Norman, was born in 1926. Charles and Lucille married and lived near Kansas City. In 1928 the folks moved to Bates County, about fifty miles from Kansas City. Here Alice and I married Bates County boys.
The folks and Bobby, as we called him, moved to Kingsville, Missouri, in 1940. They lived there until 1964 when they returned to Bates County.
We often talk about the good and bad times that we had in South Dakota. In 1982, I returned to South
Dakota to see the old home place. I could not find it at all. Of course, I was very young when we left. I did
find the Paleck school. It is still standing. I plan to go back soon.
Seven Years On The Prairie
by Orpha Charlotte (Brooks) Lacy
(Transcribed by RB, with permission from the Mellette County Historical Society, from "Mellette County 1911-1986" published by the Mellette County Historical Society)
Fredrick Charles Brooks, born 1876 Lacon, Illinois, died 1966 Bates Co. after 19 years in a wheelchair,
caused by complications of an operation.
Nettie Laura (Mitchell) Brooks, born 1882 Harrison, Ks., died 1982 Cass Co. Mo. of heart failure, married
1902 Guide Rock, Nebraska. Children: Charles Frederick Brooks born 1903, Nebraska, died 1983 of diabetes, lived in Kansas City, Mo., married Leda Mae Lemon, no children.
Royal Clarence (Roy) born 1906 Nebraska, died 1981 of leukemia, in Kansas City, Mo., married Margaret
Hobbson 1944. Children: Margaret Mae, Carol Jean, Nancy Jane, Patty, Fredrick Chas.
Orpha Charlotte born 1911, Brunswick, Nebraska, lives in Adrian, Mo., married Robert Lee Lacy in 1932.
Child: Norma Lee.
Alice Emme, born 1918 South Dakota, lives in Greenwood, Mo., married Andrew Pedro. Children: Phyllis Jane and Frances June.
Rose Frances, born 1918, South Dakota, died 1921 of the flu at Lebanon, Mo..
Robert Norman, born Independence, Mo., died in 1945 in World War II.
The Brooks family, who were then only Fred, Nellie and children Charles, Roy, Lucille and Orpha, moved
from near Brunswick, Nebraska, to Mellette County near Cody, South Dakota. In 1914 my father built a little building that we called "the shack." He put it on the running gears of a wagon so it could be pulled by horses. They loaded it with the bare necessities to survive. There were bunk beds, a table, a few chairs, pots, pans and dishes so we could live in it on our trip to South Dakota to homestead on a 160 acre farm. Dad bought the farm from the government. It was filed in Gregory, South Dakota.
The trip was long and rough. The roads were bad and we had to cross creeks and rivers. The bridges were
old and rickety. I remember Dad telling about Lucille wanting to crawl across them because she was afraid.
Charles and Roy would walk along beside the shack on wheels, and would shoot wild game, mostly jack
rabbits, for us to eat for our next meal. We would try to find schoolhouse yards to camp in overnight. There
we could find good water to carry us over to the next stop.
We made it all right, with no sign of the Indians. They put the little shack down in a little valley on the
homestead. Dad and the boys dug a well and there was plenty of good water, which was hard to find close.
Not long after we settled down, the horses, which were tied to the shack, disappeared with not a sound;
someone stole them. My dad walked from daylight until dark trying to find them, but not a trace. The only
stock we had left was our cow, Nubbins.
We lived twenty-one miles from the nearest town. With no horses Dad had to walk those twenty-one miles
to get the supplies we had to have, and carry them home on his back.
As soon as he could get enough money, Dad bought three horses and some equipment that he needed to
put in a crop. A lot of the seed was dropped or broadcast by hand and stomped in by foot.
We had a rough time but we never went hungry or cold. Dad and the boys would go down on White River and cut wood. I can remember putting on our coats, caps and mittens in very cold cold weather, going out
to pick up cow chips to burn when the wood pile would get low.
Charles and Roy rode an old gray mare, named Sally, six miles to school. I remember once a blizzard was developing while they were at school. We were so afraid that the boys wouldn't find their way home. It was snowing so hard that they couldn't see or tell which way to go. They let go of the reins and Sally brought them home, safe but cold.
My parents began to plan for our new house and barn. They built it up on the hill. By this time, we had
several neighbors. They came from all around to help us move into the new house. They moved the shack
up and attached it to the new house. It was used for the kitchen. The new house was rather large and
comfortable.
By this time Lucille was old enough to go to school. A new school had been built about two miles from
home. It was called the Paleck School. I also attended this school and my teacher was Elmer Zickrick. When Alice and Rose were born, there was no doctor available. So Mrs. Emma Sorby, who was a midwife, came to help Mother. We named the baby Emma after her.
I remember my mother baking bread and those yummy cinnamon rolls. We always had a good garden,
plenty of canned food and plenty to eat. We would go to the White River and pick chokecherries and buffalo berries for jelly. Mother baked cakes and soft pies because there was no fruit. She made hominy from the
corn in the field. They took corn and wheat to the mill and had it made into flour and meal. We had no beef,
but we had canned salmon, salted codfish and chicken. Charles and Roy would go hunting for rabbits and
prairie chicken. Mother made such good meals.
Dad put in a teeter-totter that went almost to the top of the shack windows. We had a swing built in the shade of the house. The trees were growing but they weren't big enough for a swing yet.
At night we would sit by lamplight and Dad would read to us. I remember especially two books, "the Light in the Clearing" and "In His Steps." My mother took the "Home Comfort Magazine." She would read the stories and then tell them to us while she worked and did the sewing.
My Grandmother Brooks sent us ribbon and material for dresses and shirts. Dad and the boys wore store pants and overalls. We always liked to get her packages. One Easter she sent some little cotton chickens. I thought they were candy so I bit into one. What a surprise!
My brother Roy and I were always doing something that we shouldn't. Once we stuffed a magpie with mud.
We weren't sick much except when I had headaches in the summer. It seemed so good when my mother
would come to my bed, push my hair back and kiss my forehead. It always seemed to help. My parents were hard workers and were very busy but they always had time for us kids.
Charles and Roy had a coyote pup as a pet. Even though they kept him tied up, he did get one of the
geese. They finally had to turn him loose as he wouldn't tame.
One spring morning, we went to school in very deep snow. The sun came out and the snow began to melt.
The creek that ran between home and the school began to rise. We thought we weren't going to make it home. Then we saw Dad coming. He took the box off the wagon and used it as a boat. Dad crossed the creek,
we all climbed in, and back across the creek we went. I was so scared.
Christmas was always a happy time for us, but we did have one scary one. We children were in a Christmas program at school. My father was working in Murdo. The boys hitched up the team and we went to school. While we were at the program it had snowed. When we arrived home we saw footprints in the snow leading to the house. We were so frightened. Mother was afraid, too, but she tried not to show it. We huddled close to her as we walked to the house. She slowly opened the door. A happy surprise! There was Dad.
Dad bought a Model T Ford. That was our first car. We were so excited about it and really enjoyed it.
In 1921 the folks bought a place close to Lebanon, Mo.. All of us with all our belongings took a train to our new home. Everything was so strange.
In 1916, we lost Rosa in the flu epidemic. She is buried at Lebanon.
We lived seven years at Lebanon. Then we moved to Kansas City, Mo. Here Dad worked as a carpenter.
Charles and Roy soon found jobs. They both retired from the Cook Paint Company. Lucille and I went to
work as soon as we were old enough. While we were living close to Kansas City, we had a new addition to our family. A little baby brother, Robert Norman, was born in 1926. Charles and Lucille married and lived near Kansas City. In 1928 the folks moved to Bates County, about fifty miles from Kansas City. Here Alice and I married Bates County boys.
The folks and Bobby, as we called him, moved to Kingsville, Missouri, in 1940. They lived there until 1964 when they returned to Bates County.
We often talk about the good and bad times that we had in South Dakota. In 1982, I returned to South
Dakota to see the old home place. I could not find it at all. Of course, I was very young when we left. I did
find the Paleck school. It is still standing. I plan to go back soon.
Mellette County, South Dakota
Family Histories & Biographies - Brooks Surname
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Brooks Surname
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