Hofmeister House

The Farm House.
                 Helen Speed's house.
                                    Lobaugh's house.

This is the way of small towns.  The collective memory might go back 50 years.  In some cases more. Folks refer to a certain house or farm as the "Old Vaughan Place". 

You know that curve northwest of Creston on Hwy 25?  Kessler's Curve?  How long has it been since a Kessler lived there?  And over to Afton there is a hill called Simpson Hill.  It was called that when I was a kid 60 years ago.  I never, ever knew the Simpsons that lived on that hill.  The only Simpsons I knew lived down to Shannon City. 

Then, my folks used to say they went the way of Robin Hood's barn to get someplace.  What?  What does that mean?  They knew Robin Hood?  Where did he live?  How did he get to Iowa?

Anyway, back to the story at hand.

We have photos of 1503 Rebecca.

We have a photo of our house in Hubbard, Ne.  (We had at PO Box here -- no street address).

We have a pic of the Grocery Store.

There is no photo of the farm house west of Orient.  Dad and I drove by about a year ago and the house was gone.  Bull dozed.  zip, zero, zilch.  There is a short drive way but even the barn or hog shed and outbuildings are gone. 

Helen Speed's House:  I think I have a photo here . . . if I can find it.  Well, here, I have a photo of the side yard with the neighbor children . . . Kathy?  Martha?  and ???  playing with Kristy, Erica and Craig. 

I have photos of  Lobaugh's House

 

 

or of the front porch, anyway. 

The Klinkenfus House - okay, this is the front yard and you should all recognize it as we took several "First Day of School" pics by this magnolia tree.  But I haven't found a pic of the house yet -- but you know which one it is.  The yellow house! 

















oh, are they all so cute? 

Then, the other day I was telling Craig something about the "Klinkenfus House" and he said "no - call it The Hofmeister House".  And I totally agreed.  We should call the house by the Orient School  the "Hofmeister House". 

But Wait.  After thinking about that conversation and After 20 years, maybe the Klinkenfus House should now be the "David's House"?  Oh what is Renee's last name now?  The Stephens' House? 

And when you stop and think about it this, really, is the Hofmeister House.

Isn't it pretty? the house and the grounds? 

 

The Hofmeister House. 

And for those inquiring minds about the origin of "Robin Hood's Barn" . . .

Robin Hood's house was Sherwood Forest; its roof the leaves and branches. His dinner was the king's deer; his wealth the purses of hapless travelers. What need had he of a barn, and how was it laid out if to go around it means, as the use of the phrase implies, a rambling roundabout course? The explanation is simple. He had no barn. His granary, when he had need of one, was the cornfields of the neighborhood. To go around his barn was to make a circuitous route around the neighborhood fields."

Who Did This?

to their favorite Nana? 

Family, Travels and Spirits and Such

 

Himself and I got up in our own time this morning.  We'd had grandchildren all week and now they were back home with their parents and we didn't really have an agenda but we did.  The plan in the back of our minds was to go for a day trip.  Only me, tho, only Nana, may have had an agenda.  It was only half baked but I did have a plan -- and Himself was along for the ride. 

 

So, we got up, watched some news and weather, had a couple of eggs and potato patties with The Pioneer Woman and then loaded up in the car and headed north.  First order of business was to drive to Greenfield. 

 

We had a little side trip through the Orient Campground first.  When we came to Orient in 1978, the campground was brand new.  The lake was new, the campsites too and there was not a full-grown tree on the park grounds.  Now, 35 years later, there are wonderful shade trees and beautiful evergreens for wind breaks.  Now, please tell me how can it be 35 years later?

 

On to Greenfield!  I just happened to know of a cute little consignment shop on the west edge of town.  Himself sat in the car.  That was okay.  He's happy and I'm happy. 

 

After touring the Greenfield square and looking around the town, we drove east across Hwy 92and then north towards Earlham.  I had read of a new 'junk shop" south of Earlham and my Mama had lived near and gone to school in Earlham so this was our next destination.  However, due to an addled GPS, a lack-a-daisial sign and some general vague directions printed out of Craig's List, we took the route around Robin Hood's barn to find Bissell Springs junk shop.  Find it we did after back tracking about 8 miles, it looked interesting but the owners were gone.  Not home.  Out to Lunch. 

 

Back in the car to wend our way to The North River Church between Norwalk and Indianola.  I had been here about 25 years ago with my folks.  Mom had ancestors in Warren County and we had found a distant cousin of Mom's whom she had never met but who was aware of Mom and her family connection.  So, with Gramps who was always willing to meet new family, we drove up one spring afternoon to meet Leola Bishop Brown.  Leola, a widow, with two sisters was fiercely interested in our shared Foust Family History and all of her other families.  She and her sisters and a nephew had researched and recorded all that they could find.  They had my Mama's name in the book, maybe even mine? and so that day, we connected the family history dots over coffee accompanied with a generous dose of down-home hospitality. 

 

 

 

We went home with new information.  After that visit Leola hand-copied a couple of hundred of pages of shared Family History and sent it to me.   We corresponded by mail for awhile but it wasn't long before Leola died and I lost track of the rest of her family.  I was always so pleased to have met her and so grateful that she had copied out the family history for me.  

 

Leola's family and Janice's Grandmother Coe grew up in this area of Spring Hill, Iowa.  My mom's Great Grandmother Foust came to Warren County along with other ancestors from Ohio and Illinois.  The Hoover's came early in Iowa Statehood and they built and operated mills.   

 

The ancestors lived out their lives here and many are buried in the North River Church cemetery.  A small country graveyard, there are at least three generations of my ancestors buried here.  We made acquaintance of one today.   

 

 

 I got out of the car and took a photo of the lovely church, above.

 

We walked over to the adjacent cemetery and found Jacob Foust's stone and his second wife, Delia.  I took out my camera and it wouldn't turn on.  I had to take the batteries out of the camera and put them back in to get a picture of Jacob and Delia's stone.

 

I was telling Himself the story of John Coe who I described as John Coe, the "ne'er do well" who married Elias Foust's daughter, Martha "Ella" (and Lewis Coe's mother).  Ella died in her 40s leaving 7 or 8 children and her husband didn't have the money for a gravestone.  When Ella's father, Elias Foust, died, he willed the money for a stone for his daughter's grave.  

 

So again, I tried to take a photo and again had to dump the batteries out and put them back to get a picture of Elias Foust's stone.  Darn, uncooperative camera. 

 

In writing this entry, I have tried 6+ times to get another photo in to this entry.  A photo of Martha Ella Foust Coe's stone.  Her husband John Coe is buried on this cemetery lot too.  I have so far, been unsuccessful in getting the photo uploaded.  Sigh . . .  

 

From North River Church, we drove into Indianola and found a great (and busy!) diner, Crouse's Diner.  Right off the east side of  the Indianola square.  We will go back again.  They make homemade pies : ) The food was good and as busy as it was, it didn't take too long.  I think I could be best friends with our waitress who loved my purse, told us of the history and ambience of the restaurant and is probably the friendliest waitress I have ever had wait on me. 

 

Another first today -- Himself went into a Goodwill Store.  Can you believe that?  He didn't stay long, wasn't impressed but didn't complain when I bought a brass lamp at 50% discount ($7.49 sale price) -- in fact, he almost encouraged me to buy it but now he keeps saying he doesn't think it is brass (it is :)

 

Then on to Winterset where we couldn't find the first shop I wanted to browse through but we both investigated the second consignment shop and where everything I was interested in was marked "SOLD".   

 

All in all, I spent $7.49 on used/new merchandise.  We used a half of tank of gas and saw five counties and 6 or 7 towns and drove probably 100 miles of rural roads.  Except for Great Granddad Coe trying to spoil my photo opportunities, it was a great day.

  

 

PS:  I did get that photo in here . . .

 

 

  

  

Now, who is that standing in the way and who messed with my camera --

                                           is that John?  or Ella?

Family Vacations

I have started a list.

I'm checking it twice.
 
And then again. 

I wrote up a list of all my vacations.  I did this for a couple of reasons. 

The first reason is that there have many so many vacations now for 44 + years that it is almost impossible to put a year on a certain trip.  The second reason is that sometimes I want a photo to use or to look at and if I can tie that photo to a vacation . . . tie it to a year, I can find the pic quicker as I have all my digital photographs and a lot of scanned photograhs saved to a "travel drive", saved by year and mostly saved by date.  Sometimes they are saved under more of a title.

Needless to say then, for the last 4 or 5 days, I have relived a lot of memories and family vacations.  In order to validate my list, I have looked at digital photos and photo in photograph albums and for a few of the vacations, I even have a written journal.  Wow! the miles I've traveled and the memories I have revisited.  I have had a great ol' time! 

I think now I need to go back and reconstruct the vacations of my childhood.  Wish me luck!  and bon voyage! 

A Work in Progress

1969: January, Nancy used her last dollar to fly to Maryland to sister Linda’s, and back home again.
1969: August - Utah: Nancy with her folks to Linda’s to meet Mark, born this month
1970: July, with Lanny to Sioux City, Iowa to begin my new life
1972 Canada through International Falls, Manitoba and down thru Black Hills: L&N
1973 Colorado w/Lanny’s folks & Kent
1976 - 1978 Camped around Ia. K,E & C. @ War Eagle w/Linda‘s the year of the Great Float Trip.
1982 Lake of the Ozarks ? W/Dales and 4 children
1985 Nancy’s Trip to WV
1986 Washington DC - our first family vaca with 4 children : )
1987 Dillion, Co. Another big family vacation. Dale and LaRene were along too.
1987 Chicago, Sears Tower. A long weekend?
1988 Two Harbors, MN, Duluth w/Linda and Denny and on to Thunder Bay
1989 Red Wing, boat on the Mississippi, w/ the Folks, me, Craig & Johanna
1990 Arkansas ??
1991 KC WOW, Nancy
1995 WOW Lake of the Ozarks w/Kristy, Erica & Johanna
1995 25^th Anniv Trip to St. Louis, 6 of us
1995 Bought the Cabin?
1996 Mission, TX w/Kristy & Johanna?
1996 WOW Kansas City trip
1997 Mission - Lanny, Nancy, Erica and Johanna
1998 Mission Tx Greyhound Bus Trip
1998 Nancy to Indiana, via AMTRAK, thru Chicago’s Union Station
1999 Chadron, Ne w/Dale to see Eva
1999 Mission - Kristy?
2000 Mission with Johanna and Sonny
2001 Mission w/Traci & Craig
2001 Villisca Wow - Nancy, Kristy, Erica & Johanna
2002 Branson, Lanny and Nancy - LJ is this when we bought condo shares?
2002 Mont Rest on Mississippi
2002 Steamboat Springs, Bear Lake, Utah, Mesa Verde and Mt Zion National
2003 Smokey Mountain National - beautiful country
2004 Branson - Arkansas bridge hunt and Cruise on Lake of the Ozarks
2004 Sioux City - long weekend
2004 Lake of the Ozark
2004 San Antonio w/Erica
2004 Boone Valley w/Granny and Jack
2006 Urbana to see Kristy w/Johanna. We stayed in Galena one night
2007 Estes Park, Clay Co, Ne, Jim & JoAnn’s and Stanley Hotel
2008 Wisc Dells, Boscobel, WI, Sand Prairie Cem, Denny’s
2008 Galena Lanny andNancy
2009 Branson
2009 Hannibal, Springfield, IL and West Virginia. Stayed in cabins in WV State Parks.
2009 Urbana to see Kristy w/Johanna and Audri (or was this 2010?)
2010 Chicago w/Kristy & Tony
2010 New Orleans w/Kristy, Erica and Johanna
2011 Grand Lake, OK
2012 Mississippi River Boat cruise w/over night
2012 Pagosa Springs, Durango Train Ride, Royal Gorge, Rye, Co to see Vi
2013 Yellowstone

Kristy and Erica, what year did we meet up in Sioux City for the weekend?  Kristy was opening a Gordman's Store?

Earliest Austin bit

This is probably the earliest bit of documented history of the Austin line. 

"The Blue Rock Riflemen was the next organization, formed in 1835 and composed of fifty able bodied men.  Joseph Starrett was their first Captain; James Millhouse was First Lieutenant; Dr. Coverdale, Second Lieutenant.  Nlillhouse (sic -- Millhouse?) succeeded Starret as Captain.  Their uniform was a blue coat, white pants, felt hat, with white plume tipped with red, and green tassel on the hat.  They were not uniformed, however, until 1838.  The musicians were as follows:  Drummer, Roderic Oston -- also Drum Major . . ."   from old Ohio county history book. 

This photo is NOT Roderick but I think it is representative of the way Roderick would have been dressed.  He wouldn't have had a fancy uniform, the Austins were as poor as church mice and the US military was issuing uniforms to the band. 

So there, there is my G.G.G. Grandfather Roderic Ransom Austin or Roderick Random Oston . . . however you spell it, he's the earliest Austin I can go back to.  And his DNA (offered up and DNA test paid for by Gary Lewis) matches other Austin lines. 

Roderick Ransom Austin was born in 1797, Connecticut or New York.  He lived later in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska.  He married Nancy Wear Austin and had 5 sons and 3 daughters.  Two of the boys served in the Civil War,  and one died in the War.  Another son, William, was father of R.B. Senior and grandfather to R. B. Junior and great grandfather to Forrest M Austin.  William was killed too young in Wisconsin in a logging accident. 

The elderly Roderick Austin lived with another son, Jonathon, who was homesteading in Clay County, Ne in the 1870s and 80s.  Jonathon was a widower and Roderick and Nancy Austins helped raise Jonathon's daughter, Nancy.
Nancy Wear Austin, Roderick's wife, died in 1879 and G.G.G. Granddad Roderick Austin died in 1905 in Clay County, Ne.  They are both buried in unmarked graves there. 

Nancy and Roderick don't lie here alone.  Their daughter Eliza Jane, her husband Joseph Bird and three little ones are buried here too.  Edith Bird died in 1891 at age 12, George Bird died in 1989 at age 16 and little Zoa Bird died in 1876 at two months.  They are all buried on Lot 47 with their father Joseph and beside their mother on Lot 46 and their grandparents Roderick and Nancy, both on Lot 48.  Times were tough and these folks were poor.  Although there is a nice large Grave Stone for Joseph and Eliza Jane Bird, there is no head stone for Roderick and Nancy. 

I think I should look into putting one there. 

Sorghum Days

 

Forrest and Janice Austin hosted Sorghum Days each fall from 1978 until 1985. Gramps grew sorghum on a patch of land at Shagbark, north of Afton. He and Granny invited the public to come watch the leaves being stripped, the canes put through the sorghum press and the cooking process done in a big flat tin and wood 'pan'. Some years 600 or 700 people would attend. All of the children helped when and how they could and the grandchildren pitched in on the fun jobs.  

 

Gary Lewis would display his Indian artifacts. Sheila, as she got older, played the Dulcimer.  Rob always had to help weed the Sorghum patch, sometimes right down on his hands and knees. 

Alan and Kathy had an apple cider press and made and sold cider.  They gave samples and sold it by the jug. Some years, folks brought their own apples and cider was made on the shares. Alan and Kathy pressed the apples for the apple owners but kept "a share" for their labor.

Gary Lewis, Steve, Dick and Marion helped Gramps cut, press and cook the sorghum. Chuck and Gary Lee made rope the old fashioned way. Linda helped "man" the General Store and sold macrame necklaces and other art.

 

I'm not sure what Erica and I were studying in this photo taken in the Cook Shack. 

 

Lanny and I made bean soup at home and then we'd keep it warm on the camp fire.  Beth and I ran the soup kitchen and I think Beth brought corn bread.  Of course, each year the festival evolved and roles were rearranged and re-defined. 

 

 

There was usually some kind of music making going on. 

Fiddles, guitars, dulcimers. 

Gramps loved the music making. 

 

 

We all dressed up in our old time clothes. 

Kristy, I just gave that skirt away! 

I didn't think it was ours.  Aunt Mary has it now. 

Did Patty Wilson make it?  Do you want it back? 

 

'Anna needed a little quiet time; probably needed her nap
 or the big kids were running away from her. 

Funny about names, when Johanna was little, a baby, I started calling her 'Anna.  Later, it was Ann.  Then back to Johanna.  Then Hannah.  Some- times in there, people called her Jo. and JoJo but I always said JoJo sounded like a trained monkey. Don't forget Johanna Banana and the Jo aniter.  

 

It was always a good day if a child could get a ride on a horse. 

Kate baked biscuits in the old wood stove and Virginia helped.  They also made sausage gravy for breakfast.  The biscuits and sorghum were the most popular . . . and they were free. 

Long-legged Gary Lewis is putting sorghum cane through the Press.   

 

And why wasn't Craig in any of these pictures? 

 

He was tearing thru 80 acres and swimming in the creek . . .

 

or in this case, trying his hand at sawing a log.