Willis and I managed to pass our grades early on, but we had great difficulty in our sixth or seventh grades because we were required to stop going to our school (district #50) and start preparation for our confirmation in the Lutheran grade school in New Ulm. It was here in our religion class Reverend Hinenthaul told us that the Catholics were bad and we were not to associate with them. That did not set well with me because our best friends were our neighbors, the Mecklinburgs, who were Catholic. This was not my idea of what Christianity was about.  We had new classmates and teachers, and with our German accents it was not easy. It also meant that we had to live with an old aunt of my father whom we called "Mother Leitchen", who ruled her house with an iron hand. She kept telling us not to use more then two sheets of toilet paper when going to the bathroom. I think she may have been related to Hitler. In those days my father gave us an allowance of 25 cents a week and with this we bought "Necco Wafers" for a nickel. There were probably 25 or 30 wafers in a pack. I got into a fight with the son of the chief of police,  Chief Harmining. This guy was a little bigger than I and kept pushing me around to the point when I finally jumped up on and him put a "hammer lock" around his neck, and had him in the gutter where he "cried uncle". From then on we were left alone by the "bullies" in this school.After we were confirmed by the church we were sent back to our one room school around March or April. My father dropped out of school at fourth grade, and my mother went as far as sixth grade. They were not too keen on our going to school after we reached age twelve or thirteen, because they wanted us to work on the farm where we could be of great help, since we were both able to drive horses like full grown men, and do all kinds of farm work. Both Willis and I graduated from the Essig grade school; Willis did not go to high school, but I fought my father all the way and found my own way to New Ulm Public High School, which was four miles away.

I GO TO HIGH SCHOOL

No matter what happened,  I never lost my determination to go to school. There were no school busses in those days, so I hitched rides with other students, and once in a while I was able to get the family car. Our neighbors sent their children to high school, and I sometimes rode with them. Part of my senior year I stayed with my uncle who lived about twelve blocks from the school. My uncle had impressed upon me early on that I must take four years of math and two years of a language: German, of course.  I also had the good fortune to take typing, which was literally a life saver later in my life. I still had difficulty in my other courses, especially grammar and speech. because of my German-flavored English pronunciation and sentence structure, which drove the teachers crazy.  Fortunately my farm background resulted in my being in top physical condition, and I soon excelled in gymnastics. One year our team participated in the Class C Gymnastics competition at the University of Minnesota. Athletics helped me improve my self-image.  There was a time I could walk up and down two flights of stairs on my hands. I was still doing this at age 51 at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  In 1999, my ophthalmologist told me to stop doing handstands.

I GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL

After graduation I worked first in a hardware store, then as a carpenter's helper, and later in what was then known as a haberdashery.  I earned forty dollars a month, and my father paid my uncle for my keep with meat and produce from the farm. We were in the Great Depression and jobs and money were scarce.

BALLROOM DANCES

We had about a dozen ballrooms in the area where local musicians, as many as 18 to 20, would play good big band dance music. Usually the entrance fee was around $1.00. This all started in the mid 1930's and "jitterbugging" was the craze. Almost all dances were on the weekends and I recall Georges's Dance Hall in New Ulm, then there was the Gibbon Ballroom which had real good bands on Sunday nights. Then there was the New Ulm Ballroom, way out the country between New Ulm and Courtland. It was one of largest buildings built as a dance hall. I still remember some bands: "Al Menke", "Tiny Little", and "Guy Lombardo" to name a few. We all knew each other at the dances. The boys went as a group and met girls when we got there.  The bands were the Lawrence Welk variety, and dances were usually held on Sunday night. I had very little money, no car and no girlfriend. The Lutheran church had activities going on all the time, but I seldom participated. I belonged to the Turnverein, a gymnastics club which I had joined in high school. A bunch of us did a lot of fishing and target shooting. The greatest event was always the county fair. We looked forward to the automobile and horse races.  There was always a big stage show with dancers and acrobats.  When I had a little extra cash, I'd check out the sideshow. There was always a wrestler who challenged all the local boys. We spent some time at the livestock judging since we knew all the farmers who were showing.  

MORE LIFE ON THE FARM

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