My Early Travels Seeing Nebraska
by George Washington Lederer (1888-1985)
They say I saw Nebraska in the fall of 1888. They also say that slough grass was one of the main fuels used in early days by some people to keep the house warm, it would be soaked in a tub of water near the stove, one would take a handful of the hay and twist it to wring the water out, let it dry some, then put it in the stove. This came to my mind. I never saw anyone do this, but I did not know how to start this.
It was two years later, 1890, that I was able to get outside to hear the birds sing, but time works wonders. I had to get out of the crib so they could put Walter in. They told me that he was the seventh, so that I had six brothers. I was not the only one with six Brothers, my six Bro's each had six Bro's. A few years later we each had a Sister, but the had seven Bro's.
I started to school about that time. Bro Louie was the teacher. Time seems to take a big step now. Charley Carlson who bought the Wilgaske place came after me to heard his cattle in part of the corn field while he was picking in another field, did not stay long as it was too far from home, about two miles. I remember my next job was to stay at Bill Fix home while he was in the field, they were expecting the stork. My job was to run for help if need be. Bill was quite a hand to play an accordion. He would bring it up to our place once in a while in the evening to play for us. He would try to keep his pipe lit at the same time. that was something to watch. Later I worked for Frank Senavick driving a team hitched to a sled-like cultivator weeding corn. I slept with the other hired man. After we got in bed, Frank would let two dogs in the house. They would get up on our bed to sleep. In the night they would start barking. We would get up and put them outside. If they started to bark [again] Frank would get up and let them in. The horses were turned out in the pasture at night. I would walk after them early in the morning while the dew was on the grass. I would get my feet wet. "What an odd way to start"
But did enjoy hearing the Prairie Chickens with their booming, the Meadowlarks with their own tune, Quail saying Bob-White, but too early for the Orioles, they would fly up in the air in a ways to do their song. The Coyote with their double voice were heard mostly in the evening. Grass fires were very bad in the spring. Before the land was all broke, there was a lot of grass. When there would be a fire at night Mother would g et us younger ones up to see the fire while the older boys were out helping to keep it from jumping the fire guards. Sometimes the cow chips would burn a while then the wind would rill them over the plowed strip and start a new fire. This was when we were still on the Clough place, two and a half miles northwest of the Pleasant Valley school house. That is the school we went to. One of the things I remember about school was carrying drinking water. The teacher would send two pupils after a pail of water. We would go up to Fred Patts place (earlier it was [the] Dick Harvey place).
Sometimes we would go west to George Littell's place. We all would drink out of the one dipper. The Retbauff place was North. Coleson and Love families were also going to this school. A little later the Frey & Cotteral families attended this school. Some of the others I remember were Jake Beeler who had a way with willows and made very nice baskets. Jake Kollmer who went south to the land of the big red apple but did not stay many years. The Apful boys that came over as well as the Davis's. That brings to my mind of Oscar Carlson losing an arm in a corn sheller accident, also Elmer Davis in the same kind of an accident, he lost part of his arm. Several years later Oscar would hitch up four horses and drive them without any help. Elmer and his brother Sid and Ida Harvey, Sids's wife, moved to Washington. Bro. Joe said Elmer was with a circus riding bucking horses and was quite an attraction. Those days they had to get on alone out in the arena. They didn't have a box chute to hold the bronks.
Speaking of prairie fires, I remember the story about Dick Harvey having to run to his cave root cellar to get out of the way of one fire. The door started to burn. he had a barrel of Sour Kraut stored there so he used that to keep it from burning. True or not, it was a good story. This was before my time. I do remember helping to back a wagon up to our house so if the fire got close to the buildings we could take things out of the house. The fire got within 40 rods (a quarter mile) before the men got it turned. So it missed the buildings. Louie and Charley rented the John Campbell place (now the Leo Frey). A half mile north of the Pleasant valley School house, also Mrs. Cambell's brothers 160 that joined. They were batching. After the Cambell place w as sold, Louie went to work in the Court House in Peirce. Charley rented the Sugaret 160. It had 100 acres new breaking. Noah (brother Joe) worked for Charley for a while. Joe had a young horse that got crushed by a straw stack tipping on it. A few years after this Father bought the Walker 320, sawed down some trees that made pretty good saw logs. Had Joe Rowback bring his outfit over and saw them in to lumber. There was enough to use in building most all of the frame work of all the buildings as he put up all new farm buildings. Had sold the clough 160 the year before, so moved as soon as the house was ready. Father had rented the Cap Brown 160 for a good many years. It was about this time we had a grave yard on it for our animals that died. The roan pony Queen was put there after she fell with me and broke her ankle. We put up a lot of hay there most every year.
Father had made an overshot stacker. While stacking one afternoon John and Walter rode up on it; part way up the rope broke. John jumped on the stack, but Walter came back with it to do a backward flip flop. Did not break any bones but was pretty much shook up. Later Father sold 80 acres to Charley and he built on it, then another 40 acres. Cleo must of went to work for Andrew Durland about this time, 1906 or 1907.
We still had out two teams Pete and Tim, gray in color, and Mage and B[l]anch, the bay team. Father had paid $100 for the grays and $200 for the other, the two Jims, and Bally the pony with silver mane and tail. We also had a lap robe we called Dick. We had good crops there most every year while I was still there. We also had plowed up a lot of land. The year of 1909 Walter and I picked 4,000 bushels corn at home besides shooting a few ducks trapping some muskrats. After Christmas I went to help Joe Zimmer pick corn. I picked for him about six weeks or so, and took a liking to Nellie, asked Joe for her. He said yes, so I gave him my note for $110. (This was his horse, not his daughter.) We broke her to drive single with Joe's buggy, took a fast ride but did not break the buggy. Went to work for Brother John spring of 1910. Father and Cleo made a trip to Montana to see Brother Joe. That was a very dry year in Nebraska as well as Montana. Spring of 1911 I took the advice of H. Greely who said go west young man.
This is some of the things that came to my mind. There were so many happenings but these are a part of them while I was seeing Nebraska, in my first 23 years.
George Lederer
[retyped in 1997 by Helen Lederer]
Updated May 11, 1997