Friday, June 26, 1936

Cleaned hen house. Bert baked bread & cookies. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary stopped, he took load wheat to Red Bud got 90¢. Hy Stahleber was here. Hy. Grosse of Waterloo bought. Jobrusch hand was in store, & Jobush is to be postmaster. Al. Schrieber is to be in Red Bud. Roy Gregson & Lucille Kaffai were married last Tues. morning, Alvin Kaffai & Lenora Ziebald attendants, it says in the messenger, also says that 800 men attended the Holy Name Conference here last Sun. afternoon. At 5 o clock this evening the temperature in 90 degrees. Rettinghouse came down & fixed the Whip. this morning couldn’t get it started.

Thursday, June 25, 1936

Today threshing begins Joe & Geo. Schilling & Joe Watchels; at E. Rettinghouse. Pap & Rose went to Belleville with 28 springs 59 lbs. @ 20¢. Pap put new screens on basement.

Thursday, Aug. 2, 1934

Billy’s [aka Willis] 1 yr. old. Mr. Rettinghouse buried year ago today. We went to Belleville this morning took 17 3/8 lbs. chicks along 15¢; got new hats 29¢. We went out to the birthday, Geodelle’s, Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary & Grover, were there, cake was served.

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 1933

We are cooking catsup, fixing fence. Robert Rettinghouse funeral is this afternoon, they have him at John Lipperts service at the house, then to the Hecker cemetery, papa & Bertille walked down to the cemetery & rode home with Uncle Fred; it was a very large funeral, singers at the grave; it took 10 mins till they all got through Hecker. He has 3 children Clarence 28, George 23, Viola 14. The pall bearers where all cousins, Elmer Rettinghouse, Louis Armstutz, Oscar & Rob Lippert, 2 Weber boys.

Sunday, Oct. 22, 1933

Mission Sun. Rally at Cakohia [sic – Cahokia] at Parks Air Port. Bob Rettinghouse got killed on the hard road last nite, he & his daughter where visiting at John Lipperts, neighbor & brother-in-law, on there way, home got he struck by a passing car, from Sparta; the car was damaged a little, they say the road, has blood, on & some of his brains, so it must of been terrible. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary where here for dinner. We went to Renneckers, Wagners where there too; played cards. Wagner held 1500 trump spades, Bertille had 500 in spades, & Pap had 1500 in clubs, & didn’t see it, some card player’s ha! ha!

Thursday, Aug. 3, 1933

Papa & Rosalia came out to Henry’s to see the little baby, Bertille went along home, again Mrs. Geodelle is there but, she is sick too, the baby has dark blue eyes, & black hair. We all went to Rettinghouse funeral, this afternoon, it was very large. It is awful cool tonite; need heavy blankets again.

Tuesday, August 1, 1933

Papa & Rosalia went to Belleville, papa got 2 pair shoes in the afternoon, papa got shipstuff at Red Bud. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came, they moved there furniture on the north side in there house now, getting ready for Mrs. Vogel & her daughter, school teacher, ate lunch at Aunt Mary’s. Mr. John Rettinghouse died will be buried Aug. 3, Hecker church & cemetery.

Sunday, July 30, 1933

Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary where here for dinner, lunch. It is rather warm again today. We went early to church, had a blow out coming home close to Chas Helfrichs, changed tires & came on. Fred Papenberg got a new chev & Oscar Birkners a used Ford, all close cars. There must be some thieves around Hecker, Hugo Probst got $10 stolen, Wagners got all the ripe & green plums stolen. Lester Gregson moved from the Gambach place to his own that he bought on East Main St. & Mr. & Mrs. Willie Gregson moved in Gambach property. We had our first roasting ears corn for dinner. The pallbearers from Aunt Lizzie where, Emil Brand, Ben Schilling, Hy Eichelman, Edwin & Willie Reheis, Fred Wiegand. The Heyl’s relatives have basket pinic [sic] at the Round Prairie Park, in honor of Mrs. Kessler from Alba. The threshing crew of Oscar Klotz’s have chicken bouilion, at Sam Krehers woods. It is in the paper that Lavern Koerber 23 & Irene Neff 21 where married at Red Bud by Rev. Stern in Catholic parsonage, Mary Havey & Paul Neff where attendats; last Wed. Roller skates & bicycle riding is the latest in Hecker at present. Mr. Rettinhouse is very bad expecting to live only couple days. We have 2 qts tomatoes canned so far, Mrs. John Reheis has 28 qts. & ain’t near finished yet.

Tuesday, June 27, 1933

Today is 3 anniversary of Gambach bros. Steve’s Renneker birthday, also Agnes Gregson. Rosalia & Bertille went out washing at Henry’s; had lunch there. We all went out to Uncle Fred’s to help with hay had supper. Mr. Rettinghouse is pretty bad.

Sunday, Oct. 2, 1932

Perry May has shooting match today. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came here awhile after church. Louis Armstutz & Elmer Rettinghouse came here to look at our cow. This afternoon we & Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary left about 1 o clock went to Red Bud, Ruma, Evansville, Ellis Grove, Springdale Park, Chester, drove to the Southern Illinois Penitrary [sic], but couldn’t go through it, only the restroom, see ferns & furs & such like, everything is so nice there. Papa was talking to Snitz Nollau. Then we went to what they call a Menard, where there are about 400 criminals there, walked up 165 steps & down again, to see them, they where out taking exercise & sun baths, seen there laundry, & there yards where the prisoners work; all the rocks got ready to crush; it sure is a beautiful scene. The Miss. River so close, especially went [sic-when] you are so high up you can see the river such a far distance, then we drove up around the river up the big hill,  then back into Chester again, then back home, it was sure a nice drive we covered about 70 miles was home again 5 o clock. We had supper at Uncle Freds. Henry & family came up we all went over by Aunt Marys, across the street. There is rosary devotion at Red Bud, but we couldn’t go, Henry was up they took a 3 gal. crock of bacon along home 38 lb. with crock. There was a bunch 19 from Hecker went over to Walter Deffabaugh in St. Louis on a visit in Clarence Wittenauers truck.