George Raymond Schmidt (myself) was born on January 14, 1938 in Spokane, Washington to Benjamin Gustav Schmidt and Alma Bertha Schmidt. The delivery took place in the front bedroom of Grandmother Bertha Rich's home on 12th Avenue in Spokane. Home birth was not uncommon in that time frame, and the doctor came to the house both to save expense, and to ensure that someone would be present to help in case the delivery came when Ben was away at work.
I started grade school at the Veradale Grade School in the Spokane Valley. I was most anxious to start school since when Bob and Helen went off to school, I was home alone. I watched them walk down the railway tracks next to our home, wishing to join them. Instead, I sometimes got to talk to the railway workers that came by on a hand pumped work car. My parents found out about a kindergarten school that had started up in the church basement next to the grade school. I was able to attend for one day, before it was determined that it would be too expensive for the family budget.
By the time I graduated from the sixth grade, there was a new junior high school that opened up in Opportunity. I joined the first seventh grade class in the school, and was in the first class to complete the full three years there. When it came time to transfer my school records I was asked if I wanted to change my last name from Smith to Schmidt. I quickly agreed to the change, because I knew that was my real name. I had been originally enrolled as George Smith, since that was during World War II, and there was concern that the German name would cause me problems.
At Central Valley Junior High School, I became involved in the agriculture class, that was part of the Future Farmers of America. Since our family had the farming background, this seemed like a natural thing to do. I started with a ewe that had already been bred. (Columbia-Ramboulet breed). She later had twins that were very entertaining watching the lambs bouncing around, and climbing on top of her to get a better view of their surroundings. I later added a steer that Ben bought at the stock yards in Spokane. That was the first of two that I raised, along with fitting and showing at the County Fair. Eventually I was loaned two Sears Roebuck Foundation ewes, that had also been previously bred. One bore twins, the other had a still born lamb. One of the twins I "castrated" and raised for the County Fair. It earned the Reserve Champion of Breed (second place), and a Blue Ribbon for fitting and showing.
I graduated from Central Valley High School in 1956 as the Salutatorian, not quite matching my goal of Valedictorian. I played football in Junior High School and High School and earned letters each year. I also played basketball until Sophomore year when the coach suggested that I go out for track and field instead. I started out with the "broad jump", low and high hurdles, and the 440 and 880 yard dash. The best year involved our team winning the 440 yard low hurdles in first, second, and third place at the District Meet, advancing to the Tri-District. (I was third after the winning Senior, and a classmate that was clearly the best athlete in our class.) At the Tri-District meet I suffered from the effects of a Tetanus shot, and was running a fever--I could not get over even the first hurdle.
I had been given the Tetanus shot in preparation for attending the All State Boys State convention. Noone suggested that the shot would have that kind of effect. Needless to say, the track coach was very upset, as I was.
When it came time for college, Helen was already at the University of Washington, so it seemed natural that I would also go there. My high school classmates split between Washington State College (referred to derogatorially as the "cow-college", now Washington State University). Since I had done well in math and science classes, engineering was my first choice, but I also considered Pharmacy, since that had at least some potential of owning my own business eventually. I visited the Pharmacy Department, and told the interviewer that I was also considering Engineering. He suggested that I go ahead and visit the Engineering Department. So, I went over there, and in the end enrolled at the College of Engineering in Chemical Engineering.
In my freshman year, I stayed in the college dormitory, but got the opportunity to stay as a "house boy" at the Baptist-Disciple Student Center earning my keep by doing cleaning and yard work, and setting up and clearing up afterwards for meetings at the center. I was responsible for my own meals, but had access to the kitchen. That helped considerably with costs, since I was on a very limited budget. My parents had contributed $1,000 toward my college education, and I almost stretched that out for the four years, by being frugal, and finding what work I could during the summers in Spokane. Unfortunately, that was a period of recession in Spokane that lasted for several years, and few summer jobs were available.
During high school, I had a job with the Water District as a "ditch walker", scheduling irrigation for Spokane Valley farmers, and routing the water to their farms by starting up the pumps and opening and closing valves to get the water into the right lines. This meant being on the job 24 hours a day while the weekly run was in progress. Some neighboring farmers made the valve switches to take over water from their neighbors, but major switches always involved going out to the fields at all hours to make the line changes.
Unfortunately for my income situation, the irrigation schedule started before the school year ended, and they would not keep the job open for me. So I took whatever jobs I could find, including jobs with the railroad that Ben lined up for me. Some of that involved cleaning railroad cars, between shipments shoveling and sweeping out the debris, and rotten fruit in the refrigerator cars, then washing them down with a hose. Other jobs involved work at the ice plant, taking 100 pound ice blocks out of the freezer, and moving them into storage. Later, we would take the blocks out of storage and put them on a conveyer to the loading rack, and put the ice into the ice area at the ends of the cars. For me this was back-breaking work for several house followed by short breaks when I would rest in my car before the next train came in.
There were more even more menial jobs as a "red-cap" cleaning spitoons (since I was the lowest on the totem pole), and helping get luggage to the trains. That job didn't pan out very well, since the railroad decided I was too young, and I didn't even get paid for my work. I also worked as a mail handler, loading and unloading mail and freight as trains came in. For a while I also worked as an ice inspector, checking the refrigerator cars for ice, and making sure the drains were not plugged or frozen.
One summer, I spent more time looking for work that actually working. I wound up taking a job for about a month driving a wheat truck for $1 and hour. I was only paid for the time after we got to the field, not including travel time in the farmer's truck, and then the farmer did not even want to pay his part of the social security, and I had to fight to get that paid.
One summer, I was hired to work for the electrician my dad used, as an assistant electrician. During that time I wound up installing the wall switch boxes in brother Bob's house that he was building. After about a month of this, I was layed off, since business was poor, and the electrician didn't think he could afford to keep me on.
Eventually, graduation approached, and the interview process started with potential employers. I did multiple interviews, including Standard Oil Company of California (now Chevron Oil), Texaco, DuPont, and Proctor and Gamble. The process included a trip to DuPont in Delaware. That was my first flight on a commercial air-liner. Proctor and Gamble in the San Diego area offered a month working in their soap manufacturing plant, which I took advantage of. All made offers, and I decided on Standard Oil in San Francisco for $515 per month.
Starting work with Standard Oil involved an understanding that I would need to put in my three years in the Air Force to fulfill my obligation from Reserve Officers Training (ROTC). So, I went down to San Francisco in June 1960 and worked for two to three weeks before taking off to Sacramento, California at McClellan Air Force Base. I was there for one year working as a Nuclear Research Officer, before being transferred to Yokota Air Force Base in Japan, just north of Tokyo. While there I had short assignments in Alaska, and Tripoli in Libya.
I kept in touch with Standard Oil and let them know that I was sticking with my plans to come back to Chevron, and letting them know what my schedule was. I eventually asked for an increase in pay since I had three years of "experience". I was given a raise to $600 per month. I returned to Standard Oil in mid-year 1963 credited with three years of service with Standard Oil. I found an apartment in Oakland, California and commuted by bus to San Francisco. I started out as an Instrument Engineer, then worked on Piping and Instrument Diagrams, and piping design.
In 1966 after three years, I was transferred to El Paso, Texas at the 25,000 barrel per day refinery that Standard Oil operated as Standard Oil Company of Texas. I was a refinery engineer, working on small design and construction projects in the refinery.
Before the transfer to El Paso, I had been dating Sandra Susan Pearson, who had the apartment next door to me in Oakland. We were married in June, 1966 before the move, and completed our Spokane and Canada honeymoon by moving to El Paso. Our son Dave was born there.
After the first move to El Paso, we returned to San Francisco, and bought our first home in Pleasant Hill on Maureen Lane. That lasted until our second move to El Paso for a one year assignment for a design and construction project. That was followed by a return to San Francisco.
The next move was to Pascagoula, Mississippi for a refinery expansion project for about another three years. We lived in Mobile, Alabama, and I commuted daily to Pascagoula. Our daughter Christine Marie was born there. Then another move back to San Francisco, moving back into our Pleasant Hill home.
A short assignment followed in Burnaby, British Columbia in Canada, without the family.
Next move: Feluy, Belgium for a refinery expansion. We lived in Waterloo, and I commuted daily to Feluy. Dave started elementary school there. Sandy took classes at the American School of Brussels, and became fluid in French. We managed to do a fair bit of travelling around Europe while there, including a Greece land tour plus Greek Island cruise. After about 2-1/2 years, we came back to San Francisco.
These "foreign" assignments were mixed in with assignments at the Richmond Refinery, including a project to reconstruct the TKC-TKN facility (Heavy Crude Oil Processing Plants) that had been destroyed by fire. I also an assignment without family to construct the Gaviota Crude Processing Plant near Santa Barbara.
While on the Gaviota project our marriage fell apart after Sandra became involved with our pastor. I had been living in Santa Barbara or Gaviota, and returning every other weekend for about 1-1/2 years. Divorce followed without my knowing what the issue was, since she refused to discuss it.
After a few years, I bought four apartment buildings in Santa Cruz, a fourplex, two triplexes and a duplex for a total of twelve apartments. I held that property for about ten years and then sold the property.
After the divorce, Chevron wanted me to take an assignment in Port Arthur, Texas for refinery design and construction work. I declined since I needed to be available to manage the apartment buildings, plus I didn't want to move out of the area so soon after the divorce and be unable to keep in contact with Dave and Christy. Later, they again asked me to go to the same project and I again declined. With threats of how this was going to affect my career, I elected to take retirement and left Chevron.
I later was employment with Jacobs Engineering on projects at the Exxon Refinery in Benicia, California, and after that with Chemical Design Company in the Richmond Refinery, plus work on an offshore former Chevron platform. The last two jobs were as a Contracts Engineer with Pipeline Systems Incorporated (PSI), a pipeline company specializing in slurry pipelines for mining projects, and then Golder Associates doing work on natural gas pipelines for PG&E.
I met Jane Eller Gauthier and we were married on November 27, 1999. I had purchased our home in Concord, California previously. We have now been happily married for 20 years. In recent years we have taken several European land trips, and cruises. Our favorite has been Viking River Cruises, which we took on three tours. Others were with Holland America, and a Hawaii cruise with Princess Cruise Line.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Sister Helen Marie Schmidt
Sister Helen Marie Schmidt
Helen Marie Schmidt was born on November 16, 1936 to Benjamin Gustav Schmidt and Alma Bertha Rich in Spokane, Washington.
Helen and Bob started grade school in Spokane while Ben and Alma were living in Spokane. Then the family moved to the Spokane Valley, where she attended Veradale Grade School, then the Central Valley Junior High School (in the first class to graduate from the new Junior High School). She then graduated from Central Valley High School.
Her University life started at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington as the first member of our family to graduate from college. Her next step was to the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for her Medical Degree. She then went on to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle for her Residency in Surgery.
After completing her Residency, she went to Alaska to fill in for a doctor with a practice providing medical care to the fishermen and local residents in Alaska. The doctor had gone back to Seattle for medical care himself that was unavailable to him in Alaska. While there, the doctor she was replacing unexpectedly passed away. Helen then purchased the practice, and stayed there for several years.
She then went on to the next step in her life plan, to serve as a surgeon and Medical Missionary in Cameroon, Africa. She served there for 34 years.
Bob, Helen and I had been going to church summer camps for several years as teenagers, and were exposed to medical missionaries, nurses and doctors, who were serving in Cameroon, and other foreign missionary fields. These contacts inspired Helen to follow in their steps,which she did.
Helen's education and training were a costly and difficult process, since Ben and Alma were not wealthy by any means. Our parents provided most of the costs. Some minimal financial help did come from the North American Baptist Convention to cover part of her medical school costs.
At the time when Helen started her service in Cameroon, there was little in the way of modern medical care in the area. In fact, many depended on the local witch doctors for care when they became ill, and would only come to the American hospital after all other options were not successful. In many cases, they came after it was already too late for proper care and healing. The Bamenda Hospital may have had up to 100 beds when she arrived. Over the years this expanded to several times the number of beds, with additional doctors and nurses added. Additional hospitals have been added, and there is now a Catholic hospital in Bamenda as well.
Jane and I went over to Cameroon along with our mother Alma for the 50th anniversary of the hospital. Jane had worked as an office manager for a group of doctors, so she has been exposed to modern medical practices. We were curious as to what the wooden peg boards in the outer courtyard of the hospital were used for. We found out that they wash the rubber gloves, and put them out on the pegs to dry. Many things are reused that are being thrown away here. Clothes and towels were draped over bushes to dry. The patients have their families come with them to the hospital, and do their laundry, and provide their meals. Most of the equipment used in the hospital come from donations from US hospitals and medical practices, as the Americans get new equipment and donate the used equipment for use in the Cameroon missionary hospitals.
At the 50th anniversary celebration, Cameroonian government officials came to honor Helen and one of the nurses that had been serving at the hospital for decades.
After Helen retired from her work in Cameroon, she became the Doctor of Record for a home health care organization that provides home medical services for the elderly who cannot readily get in to a doctor's office. At the age of 83, she is still providing needed medical services for those in need.
Helen Marie Schmidt was born on November 16, 1936 to Benjamin Gustav Schmidt and Alma Bertha Rich in Spokane, Washington.
Helen and Bob started grade school in Spokane while Ben and Alma were living in Spokane. Then the family moved to the Spokane Valley, where she attended Veradale Grade School, then the Central Valley Junior High School (in the first class to graduate from the new Junior High School). She then graduated from Central Valley High School.
Her University life started at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington as the first member of our family to graduate from college. Her next step was to the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for her Medical Degree. She then went on to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle for her Residency in Surgery.
After completing her Residency, she went to Alaska to fill in for a doctor with a practice providing medical care to the fishermen and local residents in Alaska. The doctor had gone back to Seattle for medical care himself that was unavailable to him in Alaska. While there, the doctor she was replacing unexpectedly passed away. Helen then purchased the practice, and stayed there for several years.
She then went on to the next step in her life plan, to serve as a surgeon and Medical Missionary in Cameroon, Africa. She served there for 34 years.
Bob, Helen and I had been going to church summer camps for several years as teenagers, and were exposed to medical missionaries, nurses and doctors, who were serving in Cameroon, and other foreign missionary fields. These contacts inspired Helen to follow in their steps,which she did.
Helen's education and training were a costly and difficult process, since Ben and Alma were not wealthy by any means. Our parents provided most of the costs. Some minimal financial help did come from the North American Baptist Convention to cover part of her medical school costs.
At the time when Helen started her service in Cameroon, there was little in the way of modern medical care in the area. In fact, many depended on the local witch doctors for care when they became ill, and would only come to the American hospital after all other options were not successful. In many cases, they came after it was already too late for proper care and healing. The Bamenda Hospital may have had up to 100 beds when she arrived. Over the years this expanded to several times the number of beds, with additional doctors and nurses added. Additional hospitals have been added, and there is now a Catholic hospital in Bamenda as well.
Jane and I went over to Cameroon along with our mother Alma for the 50th anniversary of the hospital. Jane had worked as an office manager for a group of doctors, so she has been exposed to modern medical practices. We were curious as to what the wooden peg boards in the outer courtyard of the hospital were used for. We found out that they wash the rubber gloves, and put them out on the pegs to dry. Many things are reused that are being thrown away here. Clothes and towels were draped over bushes to dry. The patients have their families come with them to the hospital, and do their laundry, and provide their meals. Most of the equipment used in the hospital come from donations from US hospitals and medical practices, as the Americans get new equipment and donate the used equipment for use in the Cameroon missionary hospitals.
At the 50th anniversary celebration, Cameroonian government officials came to honor Helen and one of the nurses that had been serving at the hospital for decades.
After Helen retired from her work in Cameroon, she became the Doctor of Record for a home health care organization that provides home medical services for the elderly who cannot readily get in to a doctor's office. At the age of 83, she is still providing needed medical services for those in need.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Father Benjamin Schmidt and Alma Rich
Benjamin Gustav Schmidt was born in Winnipeg, Canada on May 11, 1913. to Herman Schmidt and Mary Tobert. Both Herman and Mary had emigrated from Europe in the area of Volhynia, Russia, now Ukraine. Herman was born in Shitomir (or Zhytomir) and Mary was born in Lodz, Poland. They both eventually lived for a time in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where they were married and had their first two children, Benjamin Gustav, and Esther.
Herman and Mary and their family left their homestead in Birch Lake, Saskatchewan, and lived in Biggar, Saskatchewan for a time, before moving to Spokane Washington, where Herman farmed vegetables and fruit crops for the Spokane markets.
Alma Bertha Schmidt was born in Ritzville, Washington on May 26, 1933 to Reinhold Reich and Bertha Kison. Reinhold had immigrated to America from Bessarabia, Russia (now Ukraine) to Ritzville, where he met Bertha Kison, and later moved to Spokane, Washington. They were married in Ritzville, but set up their home in Spokane where Alma Bertha was born, along with a brother Elmer and Rose Marie.
Reinhold changed his name to Rich to Americanize the name and avoid discrimination against Germans during the period of World War I.
Both Ben and Alma attended business schools after high school. Alma graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, then went to a business college (Spokane Business College?). Both of them were smart enough for college, and would have loved to attend, but the economy was such that this was not possible.
Ben started school in the Spokane Valley at Veradale Grade School. He knew no English, since only German was spoken at home (except when Herman and Mary spoke Polish so they could speak privately. Ben was forbidden to speak English at home, which complicated the language learning process. He was interested in playing basketball at school after classes, but Herman insisted that he come right home after school to help out with farming chores. He graduated from Central Valley High School. Bob, Helen and I all attended Veradale Grade School, and Central Valley High School also.
Both the Schmidt and Rich families attended the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street, where they met and married on May 26, 1933. They had three children by the time Ben was 23 years old, Robert Ben, Helen Marie, and George Raymond.
Ben farmed and raised vegetables and fruit, like his father before him, but also worked at the Early Dawn Dairy to support the family. Later, he went to work for the Northern Pacific Railway as a railway clerk. Along with his railroad work, he built homes as a side job. He would build a home, move into it, then start another, before repeating the process. Sometimes the new homes would not be completely finished before needing to move out after the current home was sold. That meant a lot of moving, but fortunately all in the same Central Valley school district so school changes were never needed.
Some of the early home sales meant innovative living arrangements, such as the summer he rented a cabin at Newman Lake, where we all had the enjoyment of living in a lake cabin, swimming, fishing and boating while Ben was a work, both for the railroad, and working on getting our new home ready to move into. On one such move, he bought a home in Spokane that was across the street from Grandma Rich (Siewert). We moved back into the Spokane Valley in time for the start of high school in the fall.
Ben would work on his home building in the morning before going to work, put in his full day, then come home for dinner, and go out again to work on the new homes. When neighbors complained about the noise in the evenings, he had to cut his evenings short. Bob and I would work with him after school, cleaning up scrap and sweeping sawdust, and would also be out there with him on weekends, with only Sunday's off.
Most of Ben's railroad years were spent working in a set of caboose cars that were set up on a siding above the tracks outside the Kaiser Aluminum Rolling Mill in Trentwood, Washington. However, at times he would be "bumped" by another railroad employee, a person who had himself been bumped, and was thus given the priviledge of bumping into another person's job where he had more "seniority". After a time, sometimes a few years, Ben would bump back into the same job in Trentwood.
Ben had heart issues, and had an aorta heart valve replaced with a "pig valve". During the surgery, the original valve that was to be used was found to be the wrong size, and that meant that he was under anesthesia longer than normal, while another suitable valve was found. As a result, he developed memory issues that worsened as he got older. The symptoms were like Altzheimers, but was not officially called that. The heart issue contributed to his death. It is of interest to note that Esther, Ruth and Robert, and possibly also Bill had Altzheimers type symptoms near the end of their lives.
The heart surgery happened shortly after he retired from the railroad, and after working hard all his life, doing essentially two plus jobs, and deserving good retirement years, he was denied the experience of a long healthy retirement. This also put a heavy load on Alma who was determined not to put him into a nursing home. In the later years, she would take him part of a day to a day care facility, so she could have a break, do grocery shopping etc.
Alma cared for him at home as long as she was able, but the issues grew to the point where she could no longer keep it up, and for a short time, he was in a nursing facility, until his death.
Alma continued to live in the duplex they had built for themselves and Grandma Siewert, until after Grandma Siewert passed away. Helen later had a home built for them, and Alma lived there while Helen was in the mission field in Cameroon. Alma passed away during the last year of Helen's time in Cameroon, just before they would have been able to enjoy the final years together.
Herman and Mary and their family left their homestead in Birch Lake, Saskatchewan, and lived in Biggar, Saskatchewan for a time, before moving to Spokane Washington, where Herman farmed vegetables and fruit crops for the Spokane markets.
Alma Bertha Schmidt was born in Ritzville, Washington on May 26, 1933 to Reinhold Reich and Bertha Kison. Reinhold had immigrated to America from Bessarabia, Russia (now Ukraine) to Ritzville, where he met Bertha Kison, and later moved to Spokane, Washington. They were married in Ritzville, but set up their home in Spokane where Alma Bertha was born, along with a brother Elmer and Rose Marie.
Reinhold changed his name to Rich to Americanize the name and avoid discrimination against Germans during the period of World War I.
Both Ben and Alma attended business schools after high school. Alma graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, then went to a business college (Spokane Business College?). Both of them were smart enough for college, and would have loved to attend, but the economy was such that this was not possible.
Ben started school in the Spokane Valley at Veradale Grade School. He knew no English, since only German was spoken at home (except when Herman and Mary spoke Polish so they could speak privately. Ben was forbidden to speak English at home, which complicated the language learning process. He was interested in playing basketball at school after classes, but Herman insisted that he come right home after school to help out with farming chores. He graduated from Central Valley High School. Bob, Helen and I all attended Veradale Grade School, and Central Valley High School also.
Both the Schmidt and Rich families attended the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street, where they met and married on May 26, 1933. They had three children by the time Ben was 23 years old, Robert Ben, Helen Marie, and George Raymond.
Ben farmed and raised vegetables and fruit, like his father before him, but also worked at the Early Dawn Dairy to support the family. Later, he went to work for the Northern Pacific Railway as a railway clerk. Along with his railroad work, he built homes as a side job. He would build a home, move into it, then start another, before repeating the process. Sometimes the new homes would not be completely finished before needing to move out after the current home was sold. That meant a lot of moving, but fortunately all in the same Central Valley school district so school changes were never needed.
Some of the early home sales meant innovative living arrangements, such as the summer he rented a cabin at Newman Lake, where we all had the enjoyment of living in a lake cabin, swimming, fishing and boating while Ben was a work, both for the railroad, and working on getting our new home ready to move into. On one such move, he bought a home in Spokane that was across the street from Grandma Rich (Siewert). We moved back into the Spokane Valley in time for the start of high school in the fall.
Ben would work on his home building in the morning before going to work, put in his full day, then come home for dinner, and go out again to work on the new homes. When neighbors complained about the noise in the evenings, he had to cut his evenings short. Bob and I would work with him after school, cleaning up scrap and sweeping sawdust, and would also be out there with him on weekends, with only Sunday's off.
Most of Ben's railroad years were spent working in a set of caboose cars that were set up on a siding above the tracks outside the Kaiser Aluminum Rolling Mill in Trentwood, Washington. However, at times he would be "bumped" by another railroad employee, a person who had himself been bumped, and was thus given the priviledge of bumping into another person's job where he had more "seniority". After a time, sometimes a few years, Ben would bump back into the same job in Trentwood.
Ben had heart issues, and had an aorta heart valve replaced with a "pig valve". During the surgery, the original valve that was to be used was found to be the wrong size, and that meant that he was under anesthesia longer than normal, while another suitable valve was found. As a result, he developed memory issues that worsened as he got older. The symptoms were like Altzheimers, but was not officially called that. The heart issue contributed to his death. It is of interest to note that Esther, Ruth and Robert, and possibly also Bill had Altzheimers type symptoms near the end of their lives.
The heart surgery happened shortly after he retired from the railroad, and after working hard all his life, doing essentially two plus jobs, and deserving good retirement years, he was denied the experience of a long healthy retirement. This also put a heavy load on Alma who was determined not to put him into a nursing home. In the later years, she would take him part of a day to a day care facility, so she could have a break, do grocery shopping etc.
Alma cared for him at home as long as she was able, but the issues grew to the point where she could no longer keep it up, and for a short time, he was in a nursing facility, until his death.
Alma continued to live in the duplex they had built for themselves and Grandma Siewert, until after Grandma Siewert passed away. Helen later had a home built for them, and Alma lived there while Helen was in the mission field in Cameroon. Alma passed away during the last year of Helen's time in Cameroon, just before they would have been able to enjoy the final years together.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Brother Robert Ben Schmidt
Robert Ben Schmidt History
Bob was born in Spokane, Washington to Benjamin Gustav Schmidt and Alma Bertha Rich. I believe that Bob was born in Grandma Rich's home on 12th Avenue in Spokane, as I was, with the doctor coming to her home for the delivery, since that was common at that time, and less costly than going to a hospital. Ben would have been working for the Northern Pacific Railway at that time, and with a home delivery, there was not the concern of him getting home in time to take Alma to the hospital.
Ben had been farming in the Spokane Valley, and had also worked at the Early Dawn Dairy. After that, he was hired on to the Northern Pacific Railway as a railway clerk. Most of his railroad career, he worked at a way station outside of the Kaiser Aluminum Rolling Mill in Trentwood. The office was a pair of cabooses that had been set on a siding above the railroad tracks. His job involved doing the "way bills" for the shipments that were coming out of the Kaiser plant, and making sure that the railroad cars had the proper documentation, and were headed for the correct place.
Bob and Helen and I got our first taste of work growing up
with a farming family. Our Dad always
had a family garden, in addition to acreage which he farmed at times, notably a
number of acres where he grew cucumbers to be used in making pickles. That turned out to be a disaster, when the
person that was supposed to make the pickles used the wrong kind of salt. He used “iodized salt” which is the salt used
for cooking and table use. The iodized
salt turned the pickles soft, and they all had to be dumped. Many family members had worked in the fields
to harvest the crop, including Mama. The work that the three of us did was the
weeding and picking in the family garden, which was extensive. That garden provided all of the vegetables for the year, much of which was canned for winter use.
Later on, when Daddy started building houses, Bob and I had
the job of picking up the scrap lumber, and sweeping up the sawdust. That later grew into driving nails, after he
had cut and fit the lumber in place.
Rocks needed to be raked up, since the ground was loaded with small
rocks that needed to be cleared where the lawn was to be planted. The rocks went into the driveway area, by
wheel barrow. I did a lot of painting
during junior high school, including the window frames and the screen frames.
In our teen years, Grandpa Schmidt hired Bob and I to carry
the corn out of the field in “gunny sacks”.
Actually, Bob did the carrying when we worked together, and I loaded the
sacks with corn. I was not big enough to
do the carrying at that time. We also
carried cantelopes from the field to the house where Grandpa packed them in the
cases to take to market. He paid us 50 cents an hour, which we considered good pay.
Daddy's home building meant that we moved at least once a year during our school years. We would live in one home while he was building the next one, then the first one would be sold, and we moved into the newly completed one. Sometimes, we needed to move before the new one was completely finished. That was the case for the house we moved into when I started school. We moved into the basement while the floor above was just the under layment, and the sawdust drifted down into the basement. Fortunately, all of the moves were within one school district, so we didn't have to change schools all the way from "grade school" (elementary school today), through junior high and high school.
While we lived at the “motel” on Sprague Avenue in Opportunity, Bob
and I sometimes were asked to work at the lumber yard next door. We were paid the “huge salary” of 50 cents an
hour, to do some relatively hard physical work, unloading presto logs, sheetrock,
and coal from the railroad cars near Dishman.
We unloaded it from the rail cars, and loaded it into a truck, which we
drove back to the lumber yard, then unloaded it into storage. Sometimes we even made deliveries to the
customers, loading the truck out of the storage yard, then unloading it for the customer at their home or worksite.
During junior high and high school, Bob had a job with a
local cabinet maker. Bob learned to use
the power tools, and some of the fine detail woodwork that went into building
cabinets. He had the additional benefit
of going fishing with his boss to local lakes in both Washington and
Idaho. That is where, I believe, he
started his love with boating and fishing.
We previously had a few fishing trips with Daddy, with only minimal success. We had also boated and fished when we had one
summer at Newman Lake while Daddy finished construction of our next house—and did his job at the railroad. I think that was the house at Fourth and
McDonald, which was only partially finished when we moved in. We lived in the
basement with sawdust drifting down on us, before it was actually completed.
When the time came for Bob to fill out his draft papers, it was determined that he had a heart murmur. That was good and bad. Bad for his future health, but not a particular concern at the time. Good because it meant that he was not considered healthy enough to be drafted, and did not have to serve in the armed forces during the Korean War.
One of the ministers at the North American Baptist Church on Arthur Street in Spokane which we "grew up in", was Walter Berkan who was married to Hermina Kramer. Hermina had a sister, Arlis, who came out from George, Iowa to spend a summer with Walter and Hermina. She later came back to Spokane to take nurses training. She and Bob were married and had three children, Terri, Kevin, and Brian.
After graduating from Central Valley High School, Bob got a
job at Appleway Chevrolet in Dishman.
That is where he learned the auto parts business. There was some difficulty with the management
there, with Bob passed over for promotions, and he left for a better situation.
I believe he was unemployed for a while after leaving
Appleway Chevrolet. That was when he
went back to Iowa to work for Arlis’ Dad, who was a professional house painter. Her Dad was a European trained painter, and
insisted that the only way to properly paint a house was with a brush, working
the paint into the wood thoroughly by hand.
That temporarily kept the family income going. Arlis was also working as a nurse in Spokane
(at Deconnes Hospital) during that time period.
Eventually, he got a position at Clay and Gable Auto Parts,
and was very successful while there due to his knowledge of auto parts. In addition to selling the parts, Bob could
diagnose the car’s problems, and tell the customers what parts they needed, and
even how to install them. He
became the parts manager and was well regarded for his knowledge and people
skills.
I believe that the owners of Clay and Gable retired, and Bob
went on to a very successful career as an instructor at Spokane Community
College for parts marketing. He was
there for many years, and highly respected for his work. When he retired, he took his retirement as an
Annuity providing lifetime income. That
turned out to be an excellent decision financially.
After retirement, he had more time to spend with his growing
family, working on his favorite toy, the red 1968 Chevrolet Malibu convertible,
his boats, fishing, water skiing, and enjoying his children, grandchildren, and
great grandchildren.
Over the years, Bob developed heart issues beyond just a heart murmur and had two heart valve replacement surgeries. He recovered well after both surgeries, but eventually the valves began to fail and his health deteriorated. He passed away in July 2019.
Friday, March 6, 2020
Grandfather Herman Schmidt and Mary Tobert
Herman Schmidt was born on September 24, 1885 in Zhytomir, Volhynia, Russia to Ludwig Schmidt and Helene Mueller. Ludwig was 23, and Helene was 26.
Ludwig's father was Georg Schmidt and his mother Eleanor Kols. Ludwig's birth record shows his birth date and birthplace as Nataliendorf, which would now be part of the Ukraine, but then part of Russia. I suspect that Georg's father was also Georg, and he may have emigrated from Poland. There is a Georg Schmidt that was one of the early emigrants from Poland to Bessarabia. I have found documentation for Great Great Grandfather Georg Schmidt, but I haven't found good documentation for the earliest Georg.
Ludwig and Helene had three boys, Herman, Wilhelm, and August. Helene died at age 33 when the boys were very young. Herman was seven, Wilhelm was 4, and August was 3. Ludwig then remarried and had additional children with the second wife. I do not know her name or have any documentation for the marriage. I do have a picture that shows Ludwig, the three sons from Helene, the second wife and another adult female, plus a young boy standing next to her and a small girl on her lap.
The three older sons left for Canada as teenagers to avoid being drafted into the Russia Army, but also were probably tempted by information that Canada was welcoming the Germans to immigrate and settle there on homestead land. This was prior to WWI, but their was a lot of fighting going on in Russia to try to hold onto lands that had been under Russia domination. Many young Germans were forced into the Russian army, but not provided with much, if any training or equipment. They essentially became "gun fodder" for Russia's wars.
I have not found any information as to what happened to Ludwig and his new family after the sons left. They may have emigrated to Canada or America also, but without the name of Ludwig's second wife, I cannot determine that. A couple of Ludwig Schmidt's did emigrate to North Dakota and to Canada, but the birthdates do not exactly match and so there are doubts that they are the correct Ludwig. Herman and Mary did have communication with someone in the "Old Country" after WWII, sending packages with items that were scarce there. But, after requests came for luxury items like nylons, they concluded that the need for basic items was lessened. I remember some comments about a sister that was left behind, and she may have been married and not free to emigrate.
In Bessarabia, the three sons were sent to work on neighboring farms, picking berries and other crops to help support the family. Herman was only six years old when he started working with the neighbors. However as they grew older and old enough to be drafted into the Russian Army, it became imperative to get out of Russia. Herman was said to have tried to escape by train, only to be sent back when he was caught at the border. Later, he and August were given the passports of two German boys who were killed in the Russian Army. Using those as identification, they managed to get to the coastal port, probably Hamburg, and boarded ships for Canada. Herman had told the family that when they left they only brought a potato for food. Apparently Wilhelm left separately, also headed for Canada.
Herman spent several years in Winnipeg, where he met and married Mary Tobert on October 18, 1910. They had a son and a daughter born there, Benjamin Gustav and Esther. Later they moved to Birch Lake, Saskatchewan where they had a homestead and farmed. William was born there on the farm. Mary's brother also had an adjoining homestead. The farming was not particularly successful, since the land was poor and the growing season short, and Herman went to work as a boilermaker in a gas plant in Bigger, Saskatchewan.
The First World War brought the Germans under suspicion and discrimination. Herman was very proud of being German, and thought that Germany was the greatest country in the world. In expressing his opinion, he was a bit too outspoken, and wound up in a prison for those thought to be disloyal. While there, he built a "ship in a bottle" which has survived over the years and is probably now in the hands of his great grandson Kevin (Bob Schmidt's son).
Herman and his family moved to Spokane, Washington on 27 March 1920, on the Canadian Pacific Railway train, entering the country at Eastport, Idaho. While living in Spokane, in what is now, Spokane Valley, Washington, they had a daughter Ruth (6 March 1921) and son Robert Howard (29 October 1923).
Herman became a truck farmer, growing vegetables and fruit which he harvested, packed, and sold at the Farmer's Market in Spokane where the produce went to the grocery stores and restaurants. He later also started building homes, eventually working with Ben (my dad) building a number of homes that Ben and his family lived in, while building another, each time again moving into the new home while building another. Herman was his primary carpenter, and they worked well together. Herman continued to raise vegetables (corn and cantelopes) and fruit (raspberries and strawberries). My brother Bob and I helped in harvesting the crop as teenagers. Grandpa would pull the ears of corn and drop them in the rows, where Bob and I would load them into "gunny sacks" and haul them out of the field for packing. We also helped with the cantelopes in the same way.
Mary passed away on December 3, 1957 in Spokane at the age of 66. They had been married for 47 years. She was diabetic and also had heart issues.
Herman passed away on September 28, 1966 in Spokane at the age of 81. He had asthma, and heart issues.
Herman and Mary were buried at the Pines Cemetery in Spokane Valley, Washington.
Ludwig's father was Georg Schmidt and his mother Eleanor Kols. Ludwig's birth record shows his birth date and birthplace as Nataliendorf, which would now be part of the Ukraine, but then part of Russia. I suspect that Georg's father was also Georg, and he may have emigrated from Poland. There is a Georg Schmidt that was one of the early emigrants from Poland to Bessarabia. I have found documentation for Great Great Grandfather Georg Schmidt, but I haven't found good documentation for the earliest Georg.
Ludwig and Helene had three boys, Herman, Wilhelm, and August. Helene died at age 33 when the boys were very young. Herman was seven, Wilhelm was 4, and August was 3. Ludwig then remarried and had additional children with the second wife. I do not know her name or have any documentation for the marriage. I do have a picture that shows Ludwig, the three sons from Helene, the second wife and another adult female, plus a young boy standing next to her and a small girl on her lap.
The three older sons left for Canada as teenagers to avoid being drafted into the Russia Army, but also were probably tempted by information that Canada was welcoming the Germans to immigrate and settle there on homestead land. This was prior to WWI, but their was a lot of fighting going on in Russia to try to hold onto lands that had been under Russia domination. Many young Germans were forced into the Russian army, but not provided with much, if any training or equipment. They essentially became "gun fodder" for Russia's wars.
I have not found any information as to what happened to Ludwig and his new family after the sons left. They may have emigrated to Canada or America also, but without the name of Ludwig's second wife, I cannot determine that. A couple of Ludwig Schmidt's did emigrate to North Dakota and to Canada, but the birthdates do not exactly match and so there are doubts that they are the correct Ludwig. Herman and Mary did have communication with someone in the "Old Country" after WWII, sending packages with items that were scarce there. But, after requests came for luxury items like nylons, they concluded that the need for basic items was lessened. I remember some comments about a sister that was left behind, and she may have been married and not free to emigrate.
In Bessarabia, the three sons were sent to work on neighboring farms, picking berries and other crops to help support the family. Herman was only six years old when he started working with the neighbors. However as they grew older and old enough to be drafted into the Russian Army, it became imperative to get out of Russia. Herman was said to have tried to escape by train, only to be sent back when he was caught at the border. Later, he and August were given the passports of two German boys who were killed in the Russian Army. Using those as identification, they managed to get to the coastal port, probably Hamburg, and boarded ships for Canada. Herman had told the family that when they left they only brought a potato for food. Apparently Wilhelm left separately, also headed for Canada.
Herman spent several years in Winnipeg, where he met and married Mary Tobert on October 18, 1910. They had a son and a daughter born there, Benjamin Gustav and Esther. Later they moved to Birch Lake, Saskatchewan where they had a homestead and farmed. William was born there on the farm. Mary's brother also had an adjoining homestead. The farming was not particularly successful, since the land was poor and the growing season short, and Herman went to work as a boilermaker in a gas plant in Bigger, Saskatchewan.
The First World War brought the Germans under suspicion and discrimination. Herman was very proud of being German, and thought that Germany was the greatest country in the world. In expressing his opinion, he was a bit too outspoken, and wound up in a prison for those thought to be disloyal. While there, he built a "ship in a bottle" which has survived over the years and is probably now in the hands of his great grandson Kevin (Bob Schmidt's son).
Herman and his family moved to Spokane, Washington on 27 March 1920, on the Canadian Pacific Railway train, entering the country at Eastport, Idaho. While living in Spokane, in what is now, Spokane Valley, Washington, they had a daughter Ruth (6 March 1921) and son Robert Howard (29 October 1923).
Herman became a truck farmer, growing vegetables and fruit which he harvested, packed, and sold at the Farmer's Market in Spokane where the produce went to the grocery stores and restaurants. He later also started building homes, eventually working with Ben (my dad) building a number of homes that Ben and his family lived in, while building another, each time again moving into the new home while building another. Herman was his primary carpenter, and they worked well together. Herman continued to raise vegetables (corn and cantelopes) and fruit (raspberries and strawberries). My brother Bob and I helped in harvesting the crop as teenagers. Grandpa would pull the ears of corn and drop them in the rows, where Bob and I would load them into "gunny sacks" and haul them out of the field for packing. We also helped with the cantelopes in the same way.
Mary passed away on December 3, 1957 in Spokane at the age of 66. They had been married for 47 years. She was diabetic and also had heart issues.
Herman passed away on September 28, 1966 in Spokane at the age of 81. He had asthma, and heart issues.
Herman and Mary were buried at the Pines Cemetery in Spokane Valley, Washington.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Grandmother Bertha Kison
Bertha Kison was born in Ritzville, Washington on October 18, 1893 to Friederick Kison (age 32), and Rosina Radke.
The Kison family was one of the founding families in Eigenheim and came from Kulm, probably about 1861, the year when Eigenheim, Bessarabia was founded. They would have had a farm there since the Germans had moved there to take advantage of the land offered by the Russians to populate and develop to put the idle land to use. When they emigrated to Ritzville, Washington, they aquired land in Lind just south of Ritzville, and farmed, most likely growing wheat which the land was well suited for. It is still a major wheat growing area.
Growing up on the farm near Ritzville, Bertha did not have a full education, and had to learn a lot of her reading and writing skills on her own. An education for girls was not considered of much value, and she had plenty of duties at home, and those were the skills considered important for young farm girls who were expected to marry and stay in the home. This did not prepare her well for having to earn a living outside the home.
Bertha married Reinhold Reich in the Salem Church in Ralston, Washington (Just south of Ritzville). They moved to Spokane and had three children together, Alma Bertha (1913-2003), Elmer Reinhold (1914-1986), and Rose Marie (1918-?).
Note that Reinhold Reich changed his name to Rich before they were married, and all the children carried the name Rich. (Rich is the English translation of Reich.)
Bertha was widowed in 1939, and lived alone, supporting herself by working as a scullery maid at a restaurant (working in the kitchen cleaning pots and pans and dishes) and cleaning homes for the wealthy Spokane families. She married Emanuel G. Siewert (1897-1955) on July 18, 1946 in Spokane, and sold her house on 12th Avenue and moved into a large house that Emanuel had, along with his six children, Roy-25, Leona-22, Nora-21, Vera-17, Verna-?, Calvin-13. The youngest of the three, Lee Calvin Siewert, a son, tragically died at about 16 after drowning while swimming at Liberty Lake.
After Emanuel passed away, she sold the Siewert house and moved into a smaller home where she lived until Ben and Alma built a duplex in the Spokane Valley where she had her own home, just across the hallway from Ben and Alma. Living together that way, Ben and Alma were able to look after her, share evening meals, and drive to church together at the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street, which became a North American Baptist Church after the German name was changed. She lived in the duplex with Ben and Alma until her passing in 1991. Bertha died on February 12, 1991 in Spokane, Washington at the age of 97.
The Arthur Street Baptist Church was established for the area's Germans, and all services were in the German language. Later, there were services in both German and English, with the older German members having a service in the basement, while the English language services were in the upper floor. For several years Bertha's brother Simon preached the sermons for the German members. When the services were changed to English from German, this was a very traumatic period for the church. Many members left the church over the issue. Among those leaving was the Tobert family (Grandmother Schmidt's family) that moved their membership to a church in the Spokane Valley.
Bertha's oldest daughter Alma Bertha Rich (my mother) graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane. Alma later went to business school to learn secretarial skills. She had wanted to attend college, but that was out of reach financially at that time. She married my father Benjamin Gustav Schmidt, and they had three children, Robert Ben Schmidt, Helen Marie Schmidt, and George Raymond Schmidt (myself).
Bertha's son Elmer graduated from Lewis and Clark high school in Spokane, as did Alma and Rose Marie. Elmer joined the navy in WWII and spent some of his service time in Florida, where he met Caroline. They returned to Spokane after he left the service. Afterward, Elmer became the industrial arts teacher at Lewis and Clark for many years, teaching wood and metal working and drafting. He also took side work as a brick layer. One of the buildings for which he laid the brick was the new church that was built in Spokane for the North American Church, that replaced the old Arthur Street Baptist Church. My brother Bob and I spent some time helping him by hauling bricks and mortar to the scaffolding where Elmer was working.
Bertha's youngest daughter Rose Marie went to work for the War Production Board (WPB) during WWII in Washington, D.C. She married her boss Walter Barry, and they moved to Dallas, Texas. Walter managed a farm machinery business there as part of Minneapolis-Moline. Walt had a son from his previous marriage that lived with them. Rose Marie and Walt had two children, Wayne Paul Barry (WPB), and Beverly. Both still live in Texas.
The Kison family was one of the founding families in Eigenheim and came from Kulm, probably about 1861, the year when Eigenheim, Bessarabia was founded. They would have had a farm there since the Germans had moved there to take advantage of the land offered by the Russians to populate and develop to put the idle land to use. When they emigrated to Ritzville, Washington, they aquired land in Lind just south of Ritzville, and farmed, most likely growing wheat which the land was well suited for. It is still a major wheat growing area.
Growing up on the farm near Ritzville, Bertha did not have a full education, and had to learn a lot of her reading and writing skills on her own. An education for girls was not considered of much value, and she had plenty of duties at home, and those were the skills considered important for young farm girls who were expected to marry and stay in the home. This did not prepare her well for having to earn a living outside the home.
Bertha married Reinhold Reich in the Salem Church in Ralston, Washington (Just south of Ritzville). They moved to Spokane and had three children together, Alma Bertha (1913-2003), Elmer Reinhold (1914-1986), and Rose Marie (1918-?).
Note that Reinhold Reich changed his name to Rich before they were married, and all the children carried the name Rich. (Rich is the English translation of Reich.)
Bertha was widowed in 1939, and lived alone, supporting herself by working as a scullery maid at a restaurant (working in the kitchen cleaning pots and pans and dishes) and cleaning homes for the wealthy Spokane families. She married Emanuel G. Siewert (1897-1955) on July 18, 1946 in Spokane, and sold her house on 12th Avenue and moved into a large house that Emanuel had, along with his six children, Roy-25, Leona-22, Nora-21, Vera-17, Verna-?, Calvin-13. The youngest of the three, Lee Calvin Siewert, a son, tragically died at about 16 after drowning while swimming at Liberty Lake.
After Emanuel passed away, she sold the Siewert house and moved into a smaller home where she lived until Ben and Alma built a duplex in the Spokane Valley where she had her own home, just across the hallway from Ben and Alma. Living together that way, Ben and Alma were able to look after her, share evening meals, and drive to church together at the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street, which became a North American Baptist Church after the German name was changed. She lived in the duplex with Ben and Alma until her passing in 1991. Bertha died on February 12, 1991 in Spokane, Washington at the age of 97.
The Arthur Street Baptist Church was established for the area's Germans, and all services were in the German language. Later, there were services in both German and English, with the older German members having a service in the basement, while the English language services were in the upper floor. For several years Bertha's brother Simon preached the sermons for the German members. When the services were changed to English from German, this was a very traumatic period for the church. Many members left the church over the issue. Among those leaving was the Tobert family (Grandmother Schmidt's family) that moved their membership to a church in the Spokane Valley.
Bertha's oldest daughter Alma Bertha Rich (my mother) graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane. Alma later went to business school to learn secretarial skills. She had wanted to attend college, but that was out of reach financially at that time. She married my father Benjamin Gustav Schmidt, and they had three children, Robert Ben Schmidt, Helen Marie Schmidt, and George Raymond Schmidt (myself).
Bertha's son Elmer graduated from Lewis and Clark high school in Spokane, as did Alma and Rose Marie. Elmer joined the navy in WWII and spent some of his service time in Florida, where he met Caroline. They returned to Spokane after he left the service. Afterward, Elmer became the industrial arts teacher at Lewis and Clark for many years, teaching wood and metal working and drafting. He also took side work as a brick layer. One of the buildings for which he laid the brick was the new church that was built in Spokane for the North American Church, that replaced the old Arthur Street Baptist Church. My brother Bob and I spent some time helping him by hauling bricks and mortar to the scaffolding where Elmer was working.
Bertha's youngest daughter Rose Marie went to work for the War Production Board (WPB) during WWII in Washington, D.C. She married her boss Walter Barry, and they moved to Dallas, Texas. Walter managed a farm machinery business there as part of Minneapolis-Moline. Walt had a son from his previous marriage that lived with them. Rose Marie and Walt had two children, Wayne Paul Barry (WPB), and Beverly. Both still live in Texas.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Grandfather Reinhold Reich
Grandfather Reinhold Reich
Reinhold Reich was born on November 16, 1883 in Elft, Bessarabia to Christian Reich age 37 and Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn age 32.
The Reich family was among the German settlers who came to Bessarabia when the Germans were invited to settle their and establish farms with the aid of the Russian government.
His father Christian (My Great Grandfather) was born in Alt Elft, Bessarabia on February 16, 1846 to Samuel Reich (age 38) and Christine Jaess (age 20). He married Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn and together they had seven children. After Maria's death he married Helene Kurz and had three more children. He died in July 1892 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.
Christian's father was Samuel Reich (My Second Great Grandfather) who was born in 1826 in Prussia to Gottlieb Reich (age 32) and Anna Maria Hamann (age 28). He married Christian Jaess on November 4, 1843. They had four children during their marriage.
My Third Great Grandfather Gottlieb Reich was born on February 16, 1794 in Tornowa, Poland. He married Anna Maria Hamann. They had two sons and three daughters. Anna Maria died in 1845 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia at the age of 47. Gottlieb also died in Alt Elft (date unknown).
My Grandfather Reinhold Reich married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911 in Ralston, Washington (near Ritzville, Washington). They had three children, Alma Bertha (my mother), Elmer Reinhold, and Rose Marie. Reinhold died at the age of 55 on September 18, 1939 in Spokane, Washington.
Reinhold left Eigenheim, Bessarabia and caught a ship named the S.S. Zeeland from Antwerp, Belgium at the age of 17. It departed Antwerp on October 12, 1901, and arrived on Oct. 22 in New York. His stated final destination was shown as Ritzville, Washington.
In a 1910 census document, he is shown as a boarder in Spokane, Ward 1. His employment is shown as "Express Wagon". I know that he owned a truck that he used in a moving business. My brother Bob remembers the truck, but I was too young to remember that since he passed away when I was one year old. In May 1917 he registered for the draft, and is shown as a Transfer Driver. He had already married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911.
He was Naturalized on February 20, 1919 while living at E. 1303 12th Avenue, Spokane, Washington. He is described as White, Dark Complexion, 5 ft.5 inches tall, and 165 pounds. Black hair, Grey Eyes. That home is where I was born on January 14, 1938, where a doctor came to the house for the delivery. The house still exists today.
Reinhold was interested in getting rich in the gold rush days, and acquired some gold mining equipment, and investing meager savings in gold stock. None of this ever showed any success, and was a draw on the family resources. His moving truck business was apparently not providing enough income to support the family. Bertha supplemented the income by working in a restaurant (as a scullery maid), and later cleaned houses for those who could afford to pay for housekeepers. The moving business was providing income until the large moving companies moved into the Spokane area, and he was basically forced out of the market for people who wanted moving services.
Out of his sense of failure and despair, he apparently took his own life by jumping off the Monroe Street bridge in Spokane. His body was recovered from the river. I have always had some suspicion that the employees of the large moving companies may have had something to do with his death, but that possibility was never pursued.
Reinhold Reich was born on November 16, 1883 in Elft, Bessarabia to Christian Reich age 37 and Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn age 32.
The Reich family was among the German settlers who came to Bessarabia when the Germans were invited to settle their and establish farms with the aid of the Russian government.
His father Christian (My Great Grandfather) was born in Alt Elft, Bessarabia on February 16, 1846 to Samuel Reich (age 38) and Christine Jaess (age 20). He married Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn and together they had seven children. After Maria's death he married Helene Kurz and had three more children. He died in July 1892 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.
Christian's father was Samuel Reich (My Second Great Grandfather) who was born in 1826 in Prussia to Gottlieb Reich (age 32) and Anna Maria Hamann (age 28). He married Christian Jaess on November 4, 1843. They had four children during their marriage.
My Third Great Grandfather Gottlieb Reich was born on February 16, 1794 in Tornowa, Poland. He married Anna Maria Hamann. They had two sons and three daughters. Anna Maria died in 1845 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia at the age of 47. Gottlieb also died in Alt Elft (date unknown).
My Grandfather Reinhold Reich married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911 in Ralston, Washington (near Ritzville, Washington). They had three children, Alma Bertha (my mother), Elmer Reinhold, and Rose Marie. Reinhold died at the age of 55 on September 18, 1939 in Spokane, Washington.
Reinhold left Eigenheim, Bessarabia and caught a ship named the S.S. Zeeland from Antwerp, Belgium at the age of 17. It departed Antwerp on October 12, 1901, and arrived on Oct. 22 in New York. His stated final destination was shown as Ritzville, Washington.
In a 1910 census document, he is shown as a boarder in Spokane, Ward 1. His employment is shown as "Express Wagon". I know that he owned a truck that he used in a moving business. My brother Bob remembers the truck, but I was too young to remember that since he passed away when I was one year old. In May 1917 he registered for the draft, and is shown as a Transfer Driver. He had already married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911.
He was Naturalized on February 20, 1919 while living at E. 1303 12th Avenue, Spokane, Washington. He is described as White, Dark Complexion, 5 ft.5 inches tall, and 165 pounds. Black hair, Grey Eyes. That home is where I was born on January 14, 1938, where a doctor came to the house for the delivery. The house still exists today.
Reinhold was interested in getting rich in the gold rush days, and acquired some gold mining equipment, and investing meager savings in gold stock. None of this ever showed any success, and was a draw on the family resources. His moving truck business was apparently not providing enough income to support the family. Bertha supplemented the income by working in a restaurant (as a scullery maid), and later cleaned houses for those who could afford to pay for housekeepers. The moving business was providing income until the large moving companies moved into the Spokane area, and he was basically forced out of the market for people who wanted moving services.
Out of his sense of failure and despair, he apparently took his own life by jumping off the Monroe Street bridge in Spokane. His body was recovered from the river. I have always had some suspicion that the employees of the large moving companies may have had something to do with his death, but that possibility was never pursued.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Great Uncle August Schmidt
Great Uncle August Schmidt
August Schmidt was born on April 13, 1889 in Shitomir, Volhynia, Ukraine (or Bessarabia) to Ludwig Schmidt and Helene Mueller. He was the third of three sons (Herman, Wilhelm, and August).
He left Bessarabia, probably with Herman, and the two managed to "escape" using the passports given to them by a woman who had lost two sons fighting in the Russian Army. The German immigrants had been promised that they would not have to fight in the Czar's army, along with other promises that were not kept. Herman had previously tried to escape but was caught and returned. The two were attempting to avoid having to serve in the Czar's army, and were finally successful.
They first probably went to Hamburg, and travelled by ship to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1911. They spent some time in Winnipeg, then moved to Birch Lake, Saskatchewan where Herman and his wife Mary Tobert acquired a homestead. One of Mary Tobert's brothers also had a nearby homestead.
At some point both Wilhelm (Bill) and August changed their last names to Smith. This was almost certainly to avoid the animosity of the Canadians toward the Germans during that time. Bill told of being harassed in line while getting his homestead, with others pushing ahead in line, and getting first choice of land available. He also told of having his hat pulled off and being called derogatory names. When he finally got to the head of the line, he gave his name as Smith.
After some kind of family dispute, August left Canada and settled in Michigan, where he met and married Mariana (Mary) Pagel. Mary had been married previously, and had children. August and Mary had one child, Virginia, together in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
His daughter Virginia Smith was born in 1926.
For many years after the family dispute, there was no contact between August and Herman. However, there was a family chest that was maintained which reportedly contained pictures from the "old country" and documents that were kept secret from Virginia. She was told to not get into that chest. However, she did after several years take a look inside, and found photographs and Christmas cards that had been sent by Herman or Mary for several years, but never opened. Virginia opened the cards and discovered that she had relatives in Spokane, Washington. She sent a letter which was received by Herman and Mary's daughter Ruth. Ruth and Virginia started a correspondence and became pen pals.
My parents, Ben and Alma went back to Glen Burnie by train for a visit, along with children Bob, Helen and George. I remember going by a one car trolley on a rail line from Baltimore to Glen Burnie where we met and spent several days with August and Family. Subsequently, Herman and Mary went back and had a reunion with August.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, in my view, the nature of the dispute was never discussed, except that I heard that there was some giggles behind hands over the mouth, which may suggest that August may have gone "over the fence" in Birch Lake and thus got into trouble with the Tobert's and Schmidt's.
How I wish that I could see the contents of that family chest. Mary also had one. Virginia apparently never went back to look inside the chest. After both August and Mary passed away, Virginia and her husband were preparing the home for sale, and temporarily place the two chests in an out-building. While there someone broke in and stole the chests--undoubtedly just for the value of the chests, and probably dumped the contents as trash. I contacted Virginia a few months after the chests were lost to see if she still had access to them and what might have been inside. I was crushed to find out that they were gone without revealing the nature of the secrets, or what was in them or why they were kept secret.
August died in 1983 at the age of 94. Both Virginia and her husband have also now passed away. Virginia had a least one son.
August Schmidt was born on April 13, 1889 in Shitomir, Volhynia, Ukraine (or Bessarabia) to Ludwig Schmidt and Helene Mueller. He was the third of three sons (Herman, Wilhelm, and August).
He left Bessarabia, probably with Herman, and the two managed to "escape" using the passports given to them by a woman who had lost two sons fighting in the Russian Army. The German immigrants had been promised that they would not have to fight in the Czar's army, along with other promises that were not kept. Herman had previously tried to escape but was caught and returned. The two were attempting to avoid having to serve in the Czar's army, and were finally successful.
They first probably went to Hamburg, and travelled by ship to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1911. They spent some time in Winnipeg, then moved to Birch Lake, Saskatchewan where Herman and his wife Mary Tobert acquired a homestead. One of Mary Tobert's brothers also had a nearby homestead.
At some point both Wilhelm (Bill) and August changed their last names to Smith. This was almost certainly to avoid the animosity of the Canadians toward the Germans during that time. Bill told of being harassed in line while getting his homestead, with others pushing ahead in line, and getting first choice of land available. He also told of having his hat pulled off and being called derogatory names. When he finally got to the head of the line, he gave his name as Smith.
After some kind of family dispute, August left Canada and settled in Michigan, where he met and married Mariana (Mary) Pagel. Mary had been married previously, and had children. August and Mary had one child, Virginia, together in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
His daughter Virginia Smith was born in 1926.
For many years after the family dispute, there was no contact between August and Herman. However, there was a family chest that was maintained which reportedly contained pictures from the "old country" and documents that were kept secret from Virginia. She was told to not get into that chest. However, she did after several years take a look inside, and found photographs and Christmas cards that had been sent by Herman or Mary for several years, but never opened. Virginia opened the cards and discovered that she had relatives in Spokane, Washington. She sent a letter which was received by Herman and Mary's daughter Ruth. Ruth and Virginia started a correspondence and became pen pals.
My parents, Ben and Alma went back to Glen Burnie by train for a visit, along with children Bob, Helen and George. I remember going by a one car trolley on a rail line from Baltimore to Glen Burnie where we met and spent several days with August and Family. Subsequently, Herman and Mary went back and had a reunion with August.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, in my view, the nature of the dispute was never discussed, except that I heard that there was some giggles behind hands over the mouth, which may suggest that August may have gone "over the fence" in Birch Lake and thus got into trouble with the Tobert's and Schmidt's.
How I wish that I could see the contents of that family chest. Mary also had one. Virginia apparently never went back to look inside the chest. After both August and Mary passed away, Virginia and her husband were preparing the home for sale, and temporarily place the two chests in an out-building. While there someone broke in and stole the chests--undoubtedly just for the value of the chests, and probably dumped the contents as trash. I contacted Virginia a few months after the chests were lost to see if she still had access to them and what might have been inside. I was crushed to find out that they were gone without revealing the nature of the secrets, or what was in them or why they were kept secret.
August died in 1983 at the age of 94. Both Virginia and her husband have also now passed away. Virginia had a least one son.
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