FAMILY STORIES

Don and Bonnie Arney

   Don and I decided to move to Los Angeles, California to seek better employment. My sister, Bettye, was living there, and Don's three brothers and several friends were living on the West Coast.

   We purchased a house and decided to put our roots down. We had another daughter, Laurie, join our family.

   We spent many a weekend sight-seeing -- taking in Disney Land, Knott's Berry Farm, San Juan Capistrano, San Diego Zoo, Tijuana, Mexico, and an occasional trip to the beach to take a dip into the Pacific Ocean.

   But we missed both our parents, sisters, brothers, and all the cousins, uncles and aunts. We decided to sell our home and return to Wahoo, Nebraska.

   Don found employment with the State Roads Department and we purchased a home on South Elm in Wahoo.

   Three additional sons, Don Jr., Michael, and Jamie joined our family, making a total of eight wonderful children.

   Diane married Marvin Ourada and they have a daughter, Lisa.

   Kathy married Randy Abbott and they have two sons and one daughter, Randy Jr., Shawn and Saundra Lynn.

   Laurie married James Slosser and they have two daughters, Michelle and Shandie.

   Our son, John, took District honors in wrestling during his high school years.

   Don Sr. is really an outdoor sportsman, as he loved to trap muskrat and mink along the Wahoo creek. We spent many a holiday weekend fishing at some lake. During the deer season you'll find him in some blind, waiting for a deer with his bow and arrow.

   As an indoor sport, we bowl on various bowling teams.

   I belong to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary of Wahoo and work full time at Fairview Cafe. Submitted by Bonita Arney

   I, Allen D. Arp, was born the son of Frederick and Leora Arp of Yutan, Nebr. March 11, 1939. I was baptized a member of St. John's Lutheran Church at Yutan and attended grade school at District #8 south of Yutan. I graduated from Yutan High School in 1956. I farmed until 1961 and then worked at different jobs. I have been a meat inspector for fifteen years for the USDA and hold this position at the time of this writing, and also farm my father's farm south of Yutan.

   In 1963 I married Mary Catherine Friede from Nebraska City. Mary was born August 27, 1942, to Edwin and Catherine Friede of Nebraska City, Nebraska. She was baptized a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Nebraska City. She attended grade school at District #30 west of Nebraska City and high school at Lourdes Central Catholic High School in Nebraska City. After graduating in 1960, Mary attended Personnel Training Institute in Omaha for three months. She then went to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for almost a year.

   Mary returned to Omaha and worked for Sidles Company before marriage to Allen Arp on June 22, 1963. To this marriage four children were born. Phillip, 18, is now attending Milford Technical School. Julie, 17, is a junior at Yutan High School. Michael, 12, is in the 6th grade and Melissa, 9, is a third grade student at Yutan Elementary School. Our family belongs to the St. James Catholic Church in Mead, Nebr. We have been involved in many community projects through different organizations. Our home and community will always be filled with a lot of love.

   I, Frederick Arp, son of Peter and Mary Arp, was born in 1905 near Malmo Nebr. My parents' family consisted of two sons and six daughters. My father immigrated to America at the age of sixteen from Slesvig-Holstein, Germany and worked for an uncle in Malmo. He was able to bring his parents to America and also two younger brothers.

   My mother's maiden name was Freese. She was born near Malmo.

   I was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church and have remained a Lutheran. In 1933, I married Leora Compton of Waterloo, Nebr., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur (Date) Compton.

   We are the parents of three children: Phillip, who died in infancy; and LaVonne Parkhurst of Lincoln who has a son, Mark. Her ambition was to be a beauty operator when she grew up, so following high school she attended the Lincoln School of Cosmetology and now has her own shop and keeps very busy curling hair. Our son, Allen, wanted to be a garbage hauler after he grew up, but later changed his mind and is now a USDA meat inspector at Hormel's Packing Co. in Fremont, Nebr. He also farms our 160-acre farm. He and his wife, Mary Kay, have four children.

   In this year of 1983 our economy is slowly recovering from a severe recession. Unemployment nationally stands at 10.8%. I very well remember the depression of the 1930's when the unemployment figure stood at 30%. Everyone was poor and, really, no one was too concerned. The Federal Government did create a few jobs such as W.P.A. We also had several dry hot summers which we called the dust bowl. The prices on what little grain we had raised were very low. I recall hauling two, fifty-bushel loads of ear corn to Yutan for which I received 12 cents per bushel just to get a few dollars to buy a few small items for our children's Christmas. To survive the depression we had chickens for eggs, milked some cows, and butchered and cured our own meat. We also had garden produce, much different than now when everything has to be purchased at the store at inflated prices.

   In the course of my life we have seen the transition from horse farming to tractor farming. In this area Harry Mumm owned the first row-crop tractor for cultivating corn. Many neighbors came to watch the machine work which it did quite well. Also it relieved the horses when the weather was quite hot. The combine has now replaced the binder and threshing machine. I never minded shocking the bundles of grain. We would put ten bundles in a shock. When they had dried sufficiently it was time to thresh and store the grain. I always looked forward to getting together with the neighbors to get the threshing done. In a normal day one man would load and unload eight large hayracks of bundles. Some days the temperature got as high as 112 degrees but threshing had to go on.

   I have enjoyed spending my life on the farm (60 years) on our home place. We have been very fortunate in having had wonderful neighbors such as Otto and Edgar Mumm, William C. Frahm, William Drews, Oscar and Luther Schulz, and Otto Trost and sons, Leonard and Harry.

   In conclusion I think Saunders County is a wonderful place to live. Respectfully submitted, Frederick Arp

   It had been our desire for many years to live in a rural area. We finally found a house 1½ miles south of Yutan that seemed to need our family.

Back Row: Terry, Sandy Asher; Front Row, L. to R.: Matt, Melissa, Kelly.

   We were particularly interested in Saunders County because Sandy's ancestors emigrated to the Yutan area from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany in the 1870's. The family tree included the surnames -- Lorenz, Stange, and Junjohahn.

   We moved from Millard in May, 1978, in a spring rain storm that lasted all through Memorial Day week-end. Soon, though, the mud dried and we were settled.

   Our four children: Mark, age 15; Kelly, age 14; Matthew, age 11; and Melissa, age 6, enjoyed exploring our five acres. They found all the climbing trees in a hurry. The boys began their tree house, and Melissa was glad to find playmates about her age just across the road.

   Terry and Sandy began renovating the farmhouse and planted a large garden. We searched the history of our house and talked to our neighbors about George Heldt, who had the house built around 1903, and their memories of the various families who had lived there. That project continues to this day.

   We have become involved in church, county groups, civic organizations, and school projects in Yutan. Sandy was elected to the Yutan School Board in 1982 and is active in the Saunders County Historical Society. Terry has served on committees at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. He works in Omaha and commutes the 22 miles daily. He is a Software Systems Engineer for Data General Corp. Sandy found employment at the Yutan Senior Citizen Center as manager, so works close to home.

   The children have been active in church and school activities; music, sports, fire cadets, Girl Scouts. Matthew will be confirmed at St. John's in 1984. Mark and Kelly were confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Millard.

   Since the grove of cottonwood trees, which were probably planted at the time the house was built, is aged and dying, we have planted a new wind break on the acreage. The pine trees were obtained through the Clark-McNary program from the Extension service. We also planted Nanking cherry bushes. We found elderberry, plum, and chokecherry bushes for some old-fashioned jelly, too.

   The garden has provided a lot of vegetables for our table and also for canning. In 1980, we joined a food co-op which is active in the county. We are learning to use more natural foods, organic products and grain protein in our diets. We are interested in alternate forms of energy and are building a solar greenhouse attachment to the house. In the future we hope to build solar collector panels to assist in heating also.

   We have had a variety of animals. Cats, dogs, pigs, and an Arabian horse share our acreage. We enjoy the birds, squirrels, raccoon, opossum, coyote, and fox we see on occasion.

   We look forward to spending many years in Saunders County and to becoming a part of its continuing history.

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   My father, John Asmussen, son of Fredrick and Helena Asmussen, was born in Clinton, Iowa on August 31, 1892. After the third grade, no one could keep him in school. Why, I don't know. He learned to read newspapers, but didn't write well. His brother, Jacob, was the eldest of nine children. His sisters were Mary, Hannah, Anna, Lucy, Freda, Minnie and Magdalena. He came to Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska with his mother and several sisters when he was about ten. His father had passed away in Clinton. After they were here for some time, his mother married my maternal grandmother's brother. I wondered why my mother called him "Uncle" John (Franzen) but I had to call him "Grandpa".

   My dad lived with his mother and stepfather on forty acres, four miles west of District 60 school near Cedar Bluffs. When he was big enough to do farm work, he worked for a man that gave him his first job. That man was John Tawney. Dad never did forget him. John gave dad an old team and wagon for picking corn, but he could manage only one row at a time. Uncle Jake also picked corn for John. Dad worked for other farmers in the area, including Bill Ranslem.

   Dad and my mother, nee Ella Sukstorf, daughter of William and Mary Sukstorf, were married in Wahoo on January 8, 1913. I came along on August 29, 1915. I was their only child.

   When they were first married, they worked for Chris Krause northeast of Cedar Bluffs. Dad always had one theory he lived by -- "If you can't pay cash for it, you don't need it." However, when he bought eighty acres just before the crash of 1929, he didn't have quite enough cash to completely pay for it. It took almost four years before he could get the money to pay it off; one year he didn't even make the little interest he owed.

   Dad passed away March 8, 1968. My mother died on December 23, 1968.

   I married Mildred Kucera, daughter of Joseph and Emma Kucera, on February 20, 1939, in St. Mary's Catholic church, Cedar Bluffs. We have six children: L. Joane (Mrs. Robert Rux); Alyce (Mrs. James H. Allen); and Hall, all of Omaha; Gordyne Slipke, Spencer, Iowa; Janis (Mrs. Randy Siefkes), San Diego, California; and Tim, Fort Collins, Colorado; and six granddaughters and six grandsons. The youngest, Aaron Matthew Asmussen, Fort Collins, Colorado, is the only one (so far) that will carry on the Asmussen family name.

   We lived in Omaha from 1940 to 1946. I came back to farm near Cedar Bluffs in 1947 until 1959; later we moved to town. I was a machinist at Western Electric, Omaha, for twenty-one years. In August, 1972, we acquired three acres along Highway 77, a mile south of Wahoo. In May, 1973, we started building our brick home. By late fall, 1974, we were "at home" on our "77 Sunset Strip".

   I am now retired and enjoying it very much. Submitted by Harold Asmussen

   John Auch came to Saunders County to live as a boy when his parents, William and Dora (Harder) Auch, moved from Irvington, Nebr., Douglas County to a farm in Pohocco Precinct in the spring of 1930. His two younger sisters, Marian (Mrs. Wallace Anderson) and Lois (Mrs. Ray Steinbach), and brother, Robert, all attended School District #82, Carey High. Robert and wife, Shirley (Belter), still live in Pohocco Precinct.

   John enlisted in the Army Air Force April 3, 1943 at Ft. Crook, Nebraska, and served with 385 Air Service Group in the Pacific area. He was honorably discharged April 3, 1946, at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Edna, Kathleen, John Auch

   In 1949, he rented 240 acres from Victor Franson, Colon, Nebraska. It was located, from the first intersection south of Colon, one mile east on gravel road, turn right, and three-fourths mile south. He lived with his sister, Marian, and husband who farmed land located one mile west along Highway 109.

   John married Edna Korff, Hartington, Nebr., Cedar County, in the First Lutheran Church in Hartington, Febr. 26, 1951. They moved on the farm he rented. Victor and Tillie Franson moved to Los Angeles, California.

   John is a member of the Colon Volunteer Fire Department, American Legion Post 265, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Fremont, Nebraska, Mead Farmers Co-op, and Wahoo Farmers Co-op.

   As time progressed, John increased the rental of farm land from Victor to 320 acres. He bought the land in 1972 where the family continues to live.

   Edna Auch is a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Wahoo, Lutheran Church Women and Hope Circle #3, and the Colon American Legion Auxiliary Unit 265. She joined the Presbyterian Missionary Society in 1952 and continued membership until it dissolved in 1967 or 1968.

   A daughter, Kathleen Ann, was born Sept. 7, 1956, at Dodge Co. Memorial Hospital. She attended Lothair School District 55 for three years. When Dist. 55 joined Wahoo School Dist. 39, she attended North Ward School for the rest of her elementary years, and also West Ward Junior High and Wahoo High School, graduating May 20, 1974.

   During these years she belonged to the Colon American Legion Auxiliary, Junior Unit 265, joining as a tiny tot July 30, 1957. She was transferred to senior membership upon reaching her 18th birthday and is a continuous member. She was a member of the Colon Happy Horse and Halter, Kitchen Kuties, and 44 Sallies 4-H Clubs.

   Kathleen was baptized in the Wahoo Bethlehem Lutheran Church and attended Sunday School there. She was confirmed Oct. 25, 1970, and is still a member there. She attended the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture at Lincoln, Nebr., receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science Dec. 20, 1980. She is now employed at Central Veterinary Supply, Omaha, Nebr. Submitted by Mrs. John W. Auch

   Mr. and Mrs. Otis Martin Ballou are descendants of some of the first families who settled in this part of the county. They owned and operated an excellent farm and cattle raising business four miles northwest of Ashland in Clear Creek Precinct.

   Otis was born on April 20, 1907, the third and only survivor of three children of Emor Smith and Katherine Fletcher Ballou who were married in 1901.

   Emor was born in Saunders County and spent his lifetime here as a progressive farmer. His death occurred in 1947. He was the eldest of six children of Martin E. and Jessie Bissell Ballou, who also were prominent farmers north of Ashland. Martin's parents were Emor Smith and Susan Van Buren Ballou. Jessie's parents were James and Sarah Rumsey Bissell, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, who later settled in Indiana. James became a member of the Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army in the Civil War, acquiring the rank of Captain. He was killed in action, and his wife and family then came by covered wagon to Saunders County.

Mr. and Mrs. Otis M. Ballou

   Otis' mother, Katherine, one of eight children of Benjamin and Hattie La Follette Fletcher, was born in Indiana, and came with her family to Saunders County, where they purchased a farm in 1892. She died in 1930.

   In 1932, Otis was united in marriage to Marie Ruth Lohry, who was a teacher in the rural schools. The couple remained in the home with his father, continuing to operate the farm together.

   Marie was born on December 17, 1911, the second daughter of Fred H. and Nellie Wilson Lohry, who were married in 1905. They owned and operated a fine farm in Marble Precinct. Her father was the eldest son of eight children of Frank and Augusta Ziegenbein Lohry who came from Switzerland and Germany, respectively, and settled on a homestead near Memphis at an early age. One son, Frank, a veteran of World War I, survives. Marie's father died in 1949.

   Her mother was one of eleven children of Andrew and Lucinda Waggoner Wilson. Andrew, of Irish descent, was born in Virginia, and came to Indiana in 1832. There he met and married Lucinda, and, in 1870 they came to Saunders County. They purchased a farm in Marble Precinct, a part of which they later gave for the Village of Wann, which they named. Marie's mother died in 1974.

   Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ballou: Jeanine Marie, in 1934; and Earl Martin, in 1939.

   Jeanine became the wife of Lawrence Goodfellow, and moved to Arvada, Colorado. They were parents of three children: Michael M. now living in Atlanta, Georgia; Douglas D., Fort Collins, Colorado; and Kelley Sue, Colorado Springs. In 1979, Michael married Balinda Dunning of Arvada. Two children were born to them, Jessica Marie and Sarah Jeanine. Jeanine Goodfellow died in 1963.

   Earl was married to Suzanne Cook of Alvo, Nebraska and two children were born to them: Darlene Marie, now married to David Wilson, Lee's Summit, Missouri, and Jeanine Sue, attending school in Kansas City.

   Earl continued the farm operation with his father until 1970 when his parents retired and moved to Ashland. Earl and his family then moved to Lee's Summit, Missouri. In 1980 he bought a home in Omaha, where he is now residing. He has continued to work in ag-related interests.

   Mr. and Mrs. Ballou are members of the Congregational Church, and Mrs. Ballou is active in the Women's Fellowship group. She is a member of Chapter BD of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. In June of this year, many friends and relatives attended the celebration of their golden wedding anniversary.

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   Herman Baltz was born Febr. 22, 1856 and died May 27, 1917. Kathrine Backhaus Baltz was born Jan. 31, 1857 and died July 1, 1942. Herman and Kathrine were both born in Germany, came to America, and became citizens of the United States. They were married and settled in the Pohocco area in 1884.

   Mr. Baltz farmed in Saunders County for approximately eleven years and then, with his family, traveled by covered wagon to Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In 1897, the family, again traveling by covered wagon, returned to the Pohocco area. Herman and Kathrine purchased a farm in the Pohocco area around 1900.

   There were five children of this marriage. Anna H., Dec. 1, 1884-Febr. 26, 1973, was married on Sept. 10, 1908 to Ernest Schmidt, son of Ernst and Agusta Schmidt of Fremont. Harry H. was born Dec. 8, 1885 and died March 11, 1977. Otto, July 2, 1887-Dec. 13, 1977 was married on Aug. 20, 1919 to Nellie Nelson, daughter of Louis and Anna Nelson of the Woodcliff area.

   Emma, Febr. 21, 1889-Sept. 23, 1972, was married Nov. 2, 1921 to Ray Moller, son of Leopold and Katherine Moller of Fremont. Rose, Oct. 31, 1891-July 2, 1972, was married to Gus Sturmer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Justus Sturmer of Beatrice. Submitted by Alberta Martens

   Renald Barrett is the third generation of his family to own his family farm located 1¼ miles northwest of Mead on Highway #77. Grain and livestock are raised on the farm. It was acquired by his grandparents, Celander and Hulda Paulson Moline, in 1907. The Molines had three children, Ernest Leonard Moline, Mildred Moline Barrett, and Florence Moline, all deceased. They attended Mead Public Schools and were lifetime members of Alma Lutheran Church. All are buried in the Alma Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Mike, Renald, and Inez Barrett

   Mildred Moline married Henry Barrett on May 16, 1931. Henry Barrett now lives in Fremont, Nebraska. They had one son, Renald, who married Inez Grebe on August 15, 1954. They have one son, Michael, who will graduate from Mead High School in the Class of 1983.

   Renald attended Mead Public Schools and Midland Lutheran College. He was employed by Omaha Public Power for twenty years, 1953-1973. He now manages Simplot Soilbuilder, Mead, Nebr. He was a member of Naval Reserves, serving as a Communication Technician. He has served on the Mead School Board, Co-Leader of the Marietta 4-H Livestock Club, and is presently a council member of the Alma Lutheran Church.

   Inez Barrett is a teacher at Mead Elementary. She earned her degree from Midland Lutheran College, and has taught elementary school for twenty years, nine years at Mead.

   Michael Barrett has been involved in various school and community activities while enrolled in Mead High School. He has received numerous awards in 4-H and F.F.A. By Inez Barrett

   Paul Wellington Barrett, son of Samuel and Racheal Barrett, was born in his father's farm home near Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska, March 10, 1884. His mother and her brother, Bill Chritton, planted, in 1866, the black walnut seed on the farm and down the lane where he was born, which now divides the Boy Scout Camps that were formerly owned by Frank and Vida Barrett. Paul grew to manhood on this farm and attended District 25 School, also known as The Paul School. In 1943, Paul, his brother, Frank, and boyhood chum, Jim Flowers, visited the school and talked to the teacher and students.

Paul (Barrett) and Addielaide Freeman. Attendants at Louis Freeman Wedding Febr. 22, 1905.

   Stories told by Paul to his family about growing up on the farm were as follows. One 4th of July when Paul was about 15 years old, the friends and neighbors had a picnic in the grove of trees at Palmer's place across the road from Barrett's. Paul did not get to the picnic because the corn was growing so fast he had to stay home and cultivate. The corn couldn't wait. Everyone else got to go. He did get to eat supper with the others.

   At one time, there were two passenger trains and four freight trains a day between Fremont and Cedar Bluffs. A brother of John Lyman had arrived in Fremont with a trunk. He wanted to send the trunk to Cedar Bluffs by train. To buy an express ticket would have cost him $2. So he bought a passenger ticket for 30 cents and sent the trunk over with that. He rode home with someone who had met him at the depot in Fremont.

   When Paul was at home growing up, his father would bring in a bushel of dry beans and pour them onto the kitchen table. Then the four brothers and five sisters would sit around the table, looking over the beans so they would be ready for their mother to cook.

   Paul married Addielaide Freeman from Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska on April 13, 1913, moving to Mitchell, Nebraska in 1915. Later, they moved to Glenrock, Wyoming and then to Tacoma, Washington. They moved back to Mitchell in the spring of 1919. They lived most of their adult lives in the North Platte Valley where he spent most of his years farming, doing some carpenter work in his later years.

   They had two children, Vergel and Genevieve. Addie (Addielaide) died in August, 1951. Paul and Genevieve left the valley for ten years before returning to Scottsbluff, Nebraska where he lived until he passed away in April of 1970.

   Paul was remembered by many of his friends as he returned to visit his brother, Frank, and wife, Vida, many times through his later years. He and his daughter returned from El Paso, Texas to help celebrate Cedar Bluffs' 75th Anniversary in July, 1961.

   Whenever Paul and Frank were together in later years, they loved to talk about their old friends and good times of growing up on the farm, and to recite poems and songs. His last trip to his hometown was in 1968 or 1969. By Benevieve Barrett

   Samuel Wellington Barrett was born at Troy, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1853, to Lewis and Mary Elizabeth Monroe Barrett. He worked for a neighbor and his father collected all wages. Sam took his father's horse, sold it, and bought a railroad ticket to Nebraska. He then walked until he came to Enoch Chritton's home south of the Platte River near Fremont.

Samuel and Rachael Barrett, "Diamond" and "Ben"

   Sam stayed until he homesteaded in Madison County, Nebraska in 1869. Sam walked (80 miles) back to Saunders County several times to court Rachael Ellen Chritton. They married June 29, 1873. She was born September 9, 1854 at Keithsburg, Illinois, to Enoch Chritton and Salome Snyder. (See Enoch Chritton story)

   After the grasshoppers cleaned them out in 1873 and 1874, they moved back to Saunders County. Rachael told this story to her children, "I thought I would save a patch of beans by covering them with Mother's shawl. When I investigated that evening, I found the 'hoppers had eaten the shawl and the beans".

   In 1875, Sam bought 80 acres for $10.00 an acre. Their first home was a dugout, but they soon built a house. Here the rest of the children, 12 in all, were born by midwife. They were Musetta, 1874-1882; Mary, 1875-1953, married to Albert Palmer; Edwin, 1876-1918, married to Myrtle Crowshaw; Elvira, 1877-1885; LeRoy, 1879-1953, married to Mamie Carmichael; Daniel, 1880-1880; Cynthia, 1881-1972, married to Louis Freeman; Emma, 1882-1949, married to Charles Willis; Paul, 1884-1970, married to Addielaide Freeman; Frank, 1885-1968, married to Vida Loudon; Gwendolla, 1887-1955, married to John Welty; and Nell, 1890-1968, married to Ned Bruner.

   Sam worked at a brick yard several miles away for $1.00 a day, until the land was broken. Livestock and fruits and vegetables were raised.

   To store potatoes, he dug a trench, put a layer of straw, then potatoes, more straw, dirt and covered with manure. A square wooden ventilator prevented moisture. They had a cellar for potatoes used through winter. Evenings, the family sorted 2½ bushels of navy beans before bed. He butchered hogs and put meat in stone jars, covered with lard and cloth and put in the cellar. Sam was also a beekeeper.

   Rachael baked bread and made two gallons of pancake batter every morning. She did all the sewing and knitting for the family. They bought bolts of

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