A word about the early schooling we all received. Starting at the Ottawa School, and later at the Ovens School, all our grade school education was in one room schools. Imagine one teacher and one room for all eight grades. A recitation bench was located in the front of the room. Each class was called forward to respond in each given subject. There were definite disadvantages, but one thing is sure, we learned. There were no frills of art, swimming, athletic programs, and all the many other present day programs which fill in a daily schedule. I feel inclined to think that much was lost when the old country schools were closed and students were transported to consolidated larger city schools.

We walked to school every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. The distance was one and one half miles one way. Once in a while, if the weather was too severe, we would be picked up by car or sleigh. Well remembered are the snow drifts and deep snow. On a couple of occasions I wore ice skates to school. The ice was so thick on the road that we could skate over it. There was nothing smooth about it, but getting a few strokes of skating was possible occasionally.

A Christmas program was put on each year for the parents. This was before the day when parents objected to anything religious in the schools. The program was always well attended, no gifts were exchanged, but the school board gave each student an orange for the occasion.

It was the responsibility of one of the students to get to school early to light a fire in the stove located in the back of the room. At best, by school time the frigid inside temperature was improved to an uncomfortable chill. The front of the room was always cold. I donÕt remember our teacher wearing Òlong johnsÓbut how they survived IÕll never know.

One highlight of school life was inviting our teacher for supper. We thought that was great, and never thought of apologizing for conditions at home. All I remember is the thrill of having her at our house, and the delicious meals mother always prepared.

We carried our own lunch pails. What a sad state of affairs that today children have to be served breakfast besides lunch at noon. How ridiculous, in a land of plenty, and during times of prosperity, some people feel the necessity to provide balanced meals at government expense (our expense). Our whole education system has gone to pot. What really amazes me is how our generation survived. Our dinner pails were not stocked with fresh fruit, bakery items, and cold cuts. Our sandwiches were cold, but only due to the temperatures. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the order of the day. Well remembered is one family who came regularly with homemade bread (stale) and lard as a spread. Those were hard times, but we made do with what we had. There were no government handouts, and our parents wouldnÕt have accepted them had they been available. Today there is a frenzied effort to get something for nothing. We hear the cry Òchildren come to school hungry.Ó What shame! Where are the mothers? Why arenÕt they in the home providing for them? Undoubtedly they are off to work, or sleeping so they can go to work to provide a standard of living which contributes to all the chaotic problems in our society today. Much more could be said, but trying to solve todayÕs problems is not the intent of this material.

Recreational activities at school were simple. Everyone was expected to go outside during noon hour and recess. In good weather we played ball with balls and bats taken from home. Another game was Òstick in the holeÓ and many others which I forget what we called them. We even had competitive sports. Occasionally our ball team would play the team from another school. Recalled is the rivalry which existed between certain students. There were the Zimonich boys, John, Mart, and Charlie. They were big guys, then there was a spindly little guy named Henry VerLee. He was always getting into a fight with one of the Zimonichs. I can still see them fighting on top of the ash pile and seeing Henry being dragged right through the ashes. Can you imagine what a sight he was? And the feud went on.

Conclusion

This is my life as recalled for the period of time covered, and this is my family as they were known then. As stated before, we didnÕt have much in terms of this worldÕs goods, but we had each other. We were poor, but we didnÕt know it. Our younger years were lived during the Great Depression. There were no handouts. Dad and Mom wouldnÕt have accepted any if there had been. They believed in working for their daily bread. There was dignity in labor no matter what that work might be. Recalled are the various W.P.A. projects which provided employment for those unable to find any kind of job. One of those projects was digging ditches, and one of the ditches ran along side of the road past our house. I can still see those men with boots and shovels slowly on digging their way along until the project was finally finished. It wasnÕt much of a job, but it was something, and gave a person a sense of pride in having earned his daily bread. Somehow we have deviated from that way of life, and from those standards, and our society today is in a bad way on account of it.

Back to the family and early life. There may be repetition in what follows, but so let it be. Ours was a large family and supposedly each of us played a particular role. We had our differences and arguments, as every family has, but those things have faded in my memory. That which stands out so vividly is our interdependence on each other and our concern for each oneÕs welfare. When one suffered, we all suffered. Home was the center of activities. In fact, there were no activities apart from the home; except for school and church. Entertainment was simple and consisted of what we ourselves provided or devised. A small thing often meant a lot; such as a shared bicycle with little more than wheels and frame, or a worn out baseball glove to which we added our own padding. Even a hoople stick was a thing of pride. All it was was a stick with a cross piece on the bottom used to push a metal circular barrel hoop. These were homemade sticks, but a deluxe model was the envy of others, and depth of the grooves on the cross piece was an indication of extensive used and miles traveled. Then too, the hoops varied in widths and circumferences. The wide, thick ones were those most sought after. We pushed them everywhere and especially to school. Manipulating them on a rough road, through sand and tracks, became an art in itself. Those early years of dependence and concern are best remembered and treasured most highly. Then came a time when it seems that almost imperceptibly we tended to go our own ways. There was a change in thinking, feeling, ambitions, and goals. In effect, we began to Ògrow up:Ó and we began to go our separate ways. The oneness of the family faded somewhat in the establishment of separate identities. 

Looking back now upon the long way each of us has traveled, there is a return to those original concepts of dependency and concern. There is again the desire to, in a measure, bring back the closeness of relationships we once enjoyed. There is the feeling of hurt when another member of the family suffers. Maybe this is due in part to the fact we are all getting older, that our days are numbered, and that time is limited. Hopefully this is not true to a great degree, but rather may our present emotional reflections be a renewal of those precious dependency experiences of our youth.

Much remains to be said about experiences concerning the years following this period of time. It was not my intention to cover that period, but Sadie convinced me this should be done. There are so many experiences such as marriage, early married life, army days, return to civilian life, Jay living with us, employment, birth of our children, etc.. This remains for another day.

Postscript to Section 1

Following completion of the first section a couple of things came to mind which concern winter activities. The first is skiing. We had nothing fancy, no manufactured skis, only barrel staves. These were about four feet long and slightly curved. By sanding down one side and attaching a leather strap to the other side for foot placement, we were all set to go. We sometimes skied behind the sleigh, but the most fun of all was skiing behind the car. We would use a long rope and take to the open fields along the road. This was somewhat hazardous, because the skier had to be continually on the watch for fence posts, wire fences, and in some areas, telephone poles. The open fields were nice for skiing, because the snow was usually soft, level, and undisturbed by tracks. Well remembered is a cartoon which showed two tracks of skies approaching a telephone pole. Just beyond the pole the tracks continued. The caption simply read, ÒOuch!Ó The rest of the interpretation was left to the reader. This practice of skiing behind cars was permitted for a while, but it wasnÕt long before it became illegal.

Another form of winter entertainment was tobogganing. Someone, or a group of guys in Borculo, built a toboggan with about a five foot long board serving as the seat. This was mounted about twelve inches from the ground and attached to two runners in the back, and two in the front. The two in the back were stationary, but the front ones were movable. The passenger in front could control the direction of the toboggan somewhat by placing his feet on the front runners and pushing in the direction desired. As regarded now, this was a very hazardous sport. Every Tuesday night after catechism, whenever the weather was suitable, we would attach the rope of the toboggan to the back bumper of our car, and off we went. As many as the toboggan could hold climbed on. Sometimes we would go south of Borculo on 96th. The roads were not always completely covered with snow. Imagine the jerk and jolt the riders received when we hit a bare section of pavement. Well remembered were the sparks which would fly from the runners. One night going west on Port Sheldon, the driver suddenly put on the brakes and slowed up. This caused slack in the rope and the toboggan headed for the side of the road. We all landed on top of each other in the snowbank. I donÕt recall if anyone was injured, but Jeanette lost her glasses, and she was so dependent on them. Imagine looking for a pair of glasses at night in the snow. To the best of my knowledge they were found. Traffic was not as heavy on those roads in those days as it is now, but on occasion we would meet a car, or a car would come up from behind and finally pass us. It makes me shudder to think of what might have happened if the rope had broken, or the whole toboggan had collapsed, or if our toboggan had entered the oncoming land of traffic just when a car approached. We didnÕt think too much about those possibilities at the time, but I sure do now.

Another winter activity was sparrow hunting. On cold winter nights they would seek refuge along the eaves of buildings and especially inside bars along the beams and rafters. There was a time when a bounty was placed on sparrows. I donÕt think the sparrows were any more of a nuisance then than they are now, but apparently an effort was made to eliminate them. We could turn in our sparrows to Charles Bartels, who was the township clerk, and receive two cents a head. That was big money in those days. IsnÕt it interesting that Jesus in Matthew 10:28 makes mention of a similar practice. It reads, ÒAre not two sparrows sold for a farthing and not one of them falls to the ground without the will of the Father.Ó Just think of how insignificant a sparrow was, and yet our Heavenly Father cares for them and shows concern over them. The Psalms say, ÒEven the sparrow has found a nest for herself where she may lay her young.Ó

B-B guns were popular in our day, and armed with our guns, we went out at night to hunt sparrows. B-B guns varied considerably in quality and accuracy. It was the pride and joy of the owner to possess a good gun. Another important piece of equipment was a good flashlight. Owning a five cell was really something, and especially so if the lens could be adjusted for it to serve as a flood or spot light. With a powerful spot light, we could zero in on a sparrow at quite a distance. We would climb to the top of the hay mow across thick beams, and check along the roof board for spaces which would allow room for a sparrow to squeeze into. In areas that were accessible, we would catch the birds. Placing the neck of the bird between the fingers and with one quick snap the bird would be dead. We usually carried a bag into which we put the dead bird. Those we could not reach from our position were shot at. We would do a lot of shooting to get one bird. Imagine all those b-bÕs falling into the hay and then feeding it to the cows and horses. My dad never complained about it, so the practice continued. At school the next day following a hunt, records of catches were compared. The Hassevoorts were always successful, and talked about hunting in Mart ElenbaasÕ barn. So, one night we invaded their territory, and tried our hand at Mart Elenbaas. The results were not spectacular, so we never went back. We never kept the birds around very long because they could begin to smell after a time, and there was always the danger of cats finding our catch. Charley Bartels would usually take our word for the total. I canÕt blame him for not wanting to count each bird separately. We were told that he would take the birds behind the barn and throw them on a pile. An interesting story circulated about some boys who gathered up some birds from the pile and then sold them over again. We never engaged in that practice. Ours was strictly legitimate. But we did feel pretty good if we could unload a bag of 100 sparrows and go home with $2.00.

Section II - 1992

Introduction to Section II: Most of Section I was written around the year 1985. For a long period of time nothing further was done. Following inquiries by our family, it was decided one day to bring it to completion. The manuscript was not found in the usual compartment of my desk, and after repeated thorough searches, it was presumed to have been thrown away. A week of so ago (November, 1992) a little used filing cabinet located behind a refrigerator in the basement was checked to see if anything worthwhile remained in it. The drawers were emptied of old appliance warranties and operating instructions. In one compartment were a few manila envelopes and sure enough one of them contained the material. But by this time my eyesight had deteriorated to the point where I was unable to read what had been written and revised. We were able to determine what had been covered and where to begin the second part. I wanted badly to complete the story, but by now I was no longer able to see what I had written. Frustration and disappointment became very real. Luann offered to type it and to provide a Dictaphone, but after writing a letter and finding that Sadie could read it, we decided to proceed with writing. Not being able to review the last line or paragraph written makes it necessary to continually be aware of the last thought expressed. I used lined paper, but it was impossible to follow the line. My sentences were zig-zagging all over the page, and sometimes into the previous sentence. Many times I felt like giving up, but Sadie kept encouraging me, and hopefully it will be completed.

After graduating from grade school, I took a year of absence from school and studies. Not much is recalled about that year, but it is considered providential, because the following year 9th and 10th grades were offered in Borculo. Several students enrolled and some were in the same category of having been out of school for a year or more. Among them was a cute little girl named Sadie who caught my eye, and after five years or more of courtship, became my wife. So the year away from school was not wasted. It was a time for fitting into the eternal plan of God for our lives.

A word about the school. It was one room in the basement, one teacher - Dave Van Vliet. He was a great guy, and everyone respected him. He taught all the subjects including Latin. I often wondered if his knowledge of the subject was no more than his daily preparation. What he lacked in ability, he made up in personality. He was one of the gang. The closeness of relationship was unmatched in any other school.

Following graduation from Borculo High School, I entered Zeeland High for the 11th