Monday, Oct. 17, 1932

Mr Jung egg man was here & told us about some roosters. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came up this afternoon. Today is Kenneth Kemp’s birthday. Skinny Petri is getting buried this afternoon at Waterloo. Papa fixed a brick wall for flowers all around the house. Clara Wagner & kids came over to see it. George is working out at Ed. Cortners, tomorrow he has to go to Belleville. Uncle Fred went up to see Louis Birkner he is down in bed with rinhmatism [sic – rheumatism].

Saturday, Jan. 16, 1932

Papa went up to the Farmers Telephone meeting at Griffins this afternoon. They elected Adolph Spalt pres. Kenneth Kemp vice presi. Purtle Sec. Ben Heyl Tres. We & Renneckers went over to Wagner’s & played cards, Steve had 1500 trump & missed 1000 aces, in one deal, didn’t see them. It broke up about even.

Friday, Nov. 13, 1931

It rained nearly all night. Uncle Adam come, Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary, we all went into Belleville to Jenny Kemp’s funeral, they took her from the Gundlach Chapel to St. George’s Episcopal Church, then to the Village cemetery of Hecker, Emil was one of the ballpearber, [sic-pallbearer] only one from around here. It wasn’t a very large funeral.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1931

Papa was up town, it rained last night. We washed, ironed, patched. Papa went up to Barthel’s this afternoon with the Whippet, got clycerine [sic – glycerine] put in the radiator. Today is Holiday in big cities. Fred Kern was buried at 3:30 this afternoon. Tonight is a dance in Weber’s barn given by Bill Herzog, also a dance in Smithon [sic] & a birthday dance at Brezzy [sic] Hill. This morning at 10 ‘oclock, Miss Jenny Kemp had a heart stroke & died. She had fell some time ago & broke her rib, & was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital at Belleville about 1 mo. ago where there she died now.

Saturday, Oct. 17, 1931

Rosalia & Bertille went out to Henry’s, to help cook apple butter, 15 gals.  Henry is sick, bad cold.  We where out there for dinner, lunch.  Mrs. Geodelle was also there.  Papa was at Red Bud at a Stock sale, 85 cattle, they had 2 sale auctioners.[sic]  We got the order from Chicago Mail Order.  Bertille shoes, & paps cap.  Today is Kenneth Kemp’s birthday, the bunch was talking about going there.

Wednesday, July 15, 1931

Leona & the kids where here for lunch this morning.  We heard that George Parker’s baby Virgil died, they had him at the hospital, had trouble with the teeth, they wouldn’t come through.  We cleaned the chicken house, papa is setting posts.  Henry went threshing today.  The machine was by Parker’s yesterday, but account of the baby died, they moved up to Kemp’s & are threshing there now, & from there to August Blackburns’s.  There was lady here this morning selling a bottle vanilla for 99¢ & a set sugar bowl & pitcher.  We washed the machine this afternoon & fixed the tire.  Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came up this evening, they told us about Pete Hoffman, from Mayestown, he was driving a wagon & fell off & broke his back, the horses ran away.  A man down by Red Bud, they didn’t know his name he was ground all to pieces through the seperator [sic].  Mr. Keonig from Columbia was here, he was the guy that was looking for the score book, ball games.  He took it along.  Henry had found that book by the school house some place.

Monday, June 30, 1930

Bertille went to church this morning.  It is also raining this morning again.  This afternoon the Gambach brothers are getting buried in one hole side by side.  Mrs. Gambach said they died together, they should stay together & be buried together.  We all went to the funeral this afternoon, it was the largest ever had in Hecker.  So many pretty flowers.  They had 2 florist wagons to haul the flowers to the cemetery.  It was an awful sad case.  Mrs. George Gambach and Mrs. Henry Gambach & Mildred Stiffler, they just hollered & cried something terrible.  The parents bought a big bouquet of flowers for each one.  Mrs. Hy. Gambach bought one with “My Dear Husband” written on it.  We all went to Freeburg this evening & got some steel posts.  We saw the graves as we went by.  It was just decorated all over with flowers.  Their coffins cost $700. a piece.  They was put in concrete vaults.  They took the picture of them coffins when they was in the undertaking wagon.  The Y.P.L. walked down in front of the hearsts all the way to the church.  And also the pall bearers walked along side of the hearsts.  The ball bearers for Henry were- Harry & Elmer Kammler, Mrs. Gambach’s brother, Louis & Fred Armstutz, & another fellow I didn’t know him.  For Willard was, Henry Spalt, Henry Siegand, Werner Kammler, Kenneth Kemp, Flossie Kammler’s brother, Henry Emery.

Monday, June 9, 1930

Papa & Rosalia went to Henry’s this morning.  They had dinner out there.  Uncle Fred, Aunt Mary, Bertille went to Red Bud to the school picnic.  Papa went to look for dewberries, but he said “there was none there.”  In the evening we all went out to Kenneth Kemp’s barn dance.  Ha!  Ha!  We sure did have fun.  Bertille was at church this morning.  This evening she took eggs to the store & got .17¢ a dozen, then she went up to Eichenseer’s to see if Mamie could go along to Kemps.  But she wasn’t allowed to go.

Saturday, June 7, 1930

Papa & Rosalia went up to Henry the morning to fix [the] fence.    There are dances all over tonight.  We have an invitation to Ronnenbergs and also have one to Ettlings, Marcella’s birthday.  There is one at Chas. Sensel’s barn dance, one at Oak Grove, Renault.  It rained a little this evening.  Papa, Rosalia & Bertille were at Ettlings this evening.  There sure were a lot of people there.  Marcella got all kinds of beautiful presents.  Those that were there were, Peter Reheis & family, John Reheis & family, Albert Cleveland & family, Robert Laut & family, Perry Klotz & family & Elmer Kammlers wife & Billy, August Blackburn & family, Nick Menths family, Ike Napier & family, George Boll & family.  The boys were: Henry Spalt, Clifford Stallebher, Elmer & Clement Parker, Odillo Eichenseer, Henry & Ralph Wiegand, Levi Ganley, Clarence Pabst, Karl Kammler & his girl, & Alfred Kammler & his girl, Ralph Rausch, Kenneth Kemp, Milton Wagner, & a good many others from St. Louis.  Cake, Beer, Lemonade were served.  We came home at 12:30.  Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary were at Ronnenbergs.  There was an awful big crowd there too.  Henry said it was crowded at Sensel’s too.  There were way many more people at Ettling then what I have mentioned.

Thursday, February 20, 1930

We got our telephone connected today.  Papa, Steve Rheinecker, Elmer Kummer, & Victor Eichenseer set up the pole, & connected the wire.  There was a fire out at Uncle Adam’s today.  Emil was burning hedge and it started to run away.  He call the neighbors for help, but they didn’t answer.  So Papa & Odilla Eichenseer & Kenneth Kemp, Clem Parker, Lester Gregson went out, but the wind went down, so it didn’t take long they had it out.  Rosalia took 4 dozen eggs to Eichenseer’s this morning, she got .24¢.  We found 23 eggs today.