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As Floy said in the Haigler Happenings this week, "Our hearts reach out in sympathy to Laura Pearl and her wonderful family for their loss. The respect this community had for Richard and Laura Pearl and their family was expressed by the attendance at the memorial service, packing the church to capacity. "
Our hearts go out to the Wall family as they mourn the passing of Richard (Dick) Wall on Monday afternoon.
When I grew up we were poor.
I became shy and demure.
We seldom went anywhere.
We had no money to spare.
One day when in my mid teens,
(Before the days of blue jeans.)
My mom, older sister and I
Went to a big town near by.
Well, really forty miles or so
Which, for us seemed a long way to go.
It was during the second World War.
At the Airbase were soldiers galore.
We were in a variety store
When a soldier boy came through the door.
He came right on up close to me,
Pulled his pant leg up t’ward his knee
And asked, polite as you please,
“Do you have any socks like these?”
I didn’t know quite what to say
As I shyly said “no” - slinked away.
He immediately knew I was not
A store clerk whose help he had sought.
The soldier boy was amused, too.
A clerk soon came to our rescue
She kindly said, ”May I help you?”
But there was nothing that she could do,
There were no khaki socks she could shew.
Meanwhile-
My mother and sis tried in vain
Their giggles and smiles to restrain.
I feel the embarrassment yet.
My sis never let me forget.
She would say, in the air of a tease,
Do you have any socks like these?
It was very nice to see your entry about the "flying Haiglerites", Roger. You don't remember me, because we left Haigler in 1966 (maybe before you were even born). I am Sherri’s sister, and I remember your parents and Lorenzo. My mother,
My dad's favorite wintertime hobby was fixing and playing violins (he played very well). He was given a badly smashed violin by Mr. Douglass, who, I believe, was your grandfather. Dad put it all back together and it was just like new (had a very nice sound). I thought you might enjoy hearing that story.
-- Submitted by Leone (Gregory) Carlson
Hi,
As I was transcribing all the notes Mamma gave me in preparation of publishing a book about her life, I have run across a lot of information about one-room-schools in the
If you have pictures and stories you would like to include in this venture, please feel free to send them to me via email and share the idea with your family and friends.
Hope you enjoy the pictures. http://oneroomschools.blogspot.com/
BTW: Many of the pictures that go with the names listed for schools have not been uploaded yet. (I just started this project today!)
Hi,
The Lloyd that your Dad talked about was my Dad.
Doug, Lloyd “Little Lloyd”, and myself are his sons. We also have a sister Norma. Veda Douglass is Mom.
I remember when I was a little fellow, maybe eight or nine, your Dad let my Dad get some wood out your old farm house and Little Lloyd, Doug, and I were sent to get it. I found a plastic powder horn up-stairs and thought it was cool so I took it home. In my young mind it was a discard in an old house that was being torn down so finders keepers I figured. When Dad asked me where I got it and heard the story he made me return it along with a letter of apology. I was heart broken and very embarrassed.
Several years later, I think I was 15 or 16, I received a package in the mail from your Mom. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and inside was that old powder horn along with a note saying it was mine to keep! I wish I still had it.
In browsing through old Haigler Blogs I have stumbled across a picture of Dad standing by an old Oliver combine, submitted by Al Zuege, and a photo of the house we grew up in when it was new. I think it was submitted by Calvin. The old house is still there. Steve and Jody Crouse live in it now.
Thanks for the memories.
-- Submitted by Roger Douglass
Editor's Note: This story about our parents was just too good not to share. I wonder what kind of world we would live in today, if all parents were like ours!!
Note from Editor: Thanks for trying again. I found your email in my SPAM folder and had to rescue it. I hope people will try again if they don't see their notes on the blog, because sometimes I don't catch the things that get filtered out. I am trying to watch closer so we don't miss anyone's email.
100 Years Ago – 1905
“J. E. Uplinger put 21 men and eight teams to work on his ice Monday morning and succeeded in getting about 100 tons of fair ice in the house by Wednesday evening when he was obliged to stop for the present on account of the soft weather.” -- St. Francis Herald , 2005
I remember when neighbors got together to “put up ice.” The ice was cut in squares or maybe a more precise term would be “rectangular solids”. Workers with ice tongs would load it on wagons or trucks and haul it to the ice house on one farm. ( I don’t know how they decided on which farmer’s ice house was to be filled first.) They would work until they all had ice in their icehouses. They would eat dinner at whatever home they were delivering to that day. They would start early in the morning. The colder the weather, the better. If the ice started to thaw the least bit, their mittens or gloves and sleeves would get wet. Also, if it was put in the ice house melted the least little bit, it would freeze the blocks together in the ice house.
On our Gregory farm, we put up ice, but soon Servel refrigerators came in and made the ice house and "ice boxes" obsolete. That summer, we got totally hailed out, but cut enough wheat to get a load of wheat on our rented place. Rich took it to Haigler and brought home a Servel (gas) refrigerator. The ice house ended up as a trash dump. I don’t know what happened to the roof. It was still deep enough to take refuge in during the summer that a tornado went past our farm and destroyed the Prairie Bell schoolhouse and our south windmill.
-- Alice (Crabtree) GregoryEditor's note: I ran across this clipping and note my mother wrote about collecting ICE back in "the old days" and thought you'd like to read what she remembered about it.
The Benkelman Post has a section where people can publish "Cards of Thanks". This week, there was one from Don Harford that I thought you'd like to read.
I was certainly surprised and pleased to receive so many cards, e-mails, phone calls and gifts from family, neighbors and friends. Each letter was opened with eager anticipation to see what the envelope contained. Some were humorous and some were serious with many handwritten notes that brought back memories of earlier years. It is a rather humbling experience for a worn-out “Old Coot” like me to be remembered by so many of you. There have been so many things happen and change since I was a kid – from a horse and buggy to 500 horsepower tractors. One of the most awesome to me is the thought of a man from Earth walking on the moon. Thanks for making this a special birthday for me.
Don Harford
Just found your site. Pretty neat. Some 70 years ago I use to visit relatives in Haigler. The old folks were John and Laura Roach, Charlie and Lottie Roach. They were early day citizens. My Mother was Mary Roach , born in a dugout on the hill south of Sanborn.
Later her folks lived just north of Colfer. Do you know where that was? About 3 or 4 miles east of Haigler. Just a short siding on the RR.
I don't think they were any relation to the Marlin Roach family you mention in your story.
The big thing to do in Haigler back then was to watch the morning train throw off the papers and the mail. I think the main line was a little closer to town then maybe a half block. best regards,
That's the way I felt Monday. We had company and didn't hear them come in.
My kitchen window must be magic because I never know what I'm going to see and never know how long a critter will be with us. As I was pouring my cup of coffee and watching the dawn, I thought I was seeing things in the field across our road. My first thought was, "Oh my gosh there must be a pack of coyotes in the field". As I watched, a little more light focused my eyes on Antelope, lots of Antelope. I was excited that it was not coyotes and twice as excited to watch the herd.
Our company was with us from dawn until dusk. For once, I kept finding things to do in the kitchen just so I could look out the window and watch these amazing things. I was so happy when they decided to lay down in early afternoon because that gave my legs a rest, along with my eyes. At first count there were 18, later on the number was 25 and the last count I took was just before dark and there were over 32 milling around. (Hard to count them because sometimes 2 would almost look like one).
I felt some what sad the next morning when I looked out my window and seen "nothing". Our company had left just as quiet as they had arrived.
-- submitted by Karen Lindell
It is believed that the first Haigler newpaper was the Haigler Reporter, started by Ed Watts in 1886. Other Haigler newspapers included the Haigler Republican, established in 1888 by George Goodwin and his son J. S., and two versions of the Haigler News. The first surfaced in 1892 and continued until the publisher Will J. Snyder, merged it with the Benkelman Bee in January 1895. The second Haigler News effort was launched in 1907 with A. L. Saffer and Harry Jones started a little plant with an Army press. Like so many of the early newspaper enterprises, it, too was sold and an owner named Wilson continued it until 1910.I encourage anyone who does not subscribe to The Benkelman Post & News Chronicle to do so. I certainly enjoy reading it each Thursday when it is in my mailbox when I come home from work.
The same year, C. L. Will and Z. H. Baxter obtained another press and revived The Haigler News. It continued for a number of years with l. M. Samplesis as the editor.
-- The Benkelman Post & News-Chronicle, Feb. 7, 2007, p.2
Good Morning to you.
Just wanted to share our temp reading with you. This morning at 5:00 the temp at our house said -17 (that means BELOW). Oh my gosh, I never will get out of my PJ's today. I know some of you have forgotten what those temps feel like, and so had we. We actually had to stick our nose out just to remember. One thing about it--Cold is Cold. Have a great day and think about us in the cold country. Ah, the wind chill was 29 below, almost forgot to tell you that.
-- Karen Lindell
The Schorzmans were one of the proprietors of the locker plant. A butcher shop was located in the plant and meat was cut and wrapped in white paper and labeled with black or red marking pens and held together with a paper glue sealed sticker. Whacking two packages sounded like smacking bricks together. Length of time in the frozen lockers seemed to be about 3 minute durations. This was a sure way to keep roasts, steaks, chicken, frozen cherries, etc. until time of use. Does anyone remember the temperature inside the plant??? 5 – 10 degrees?
--John Hubert- McCook Ne.