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| Louis and Clara Hirt - Christmas 1969 |
I was only 12 years old when Grandma passed away of cancer in 1983. I remember her as a sweet woman who would take me for walks in her backyard during family visits, when I was bored by sitting around their house while the others were reading the National Enquirer (Grandma was an avid reader and it was the only opportunity my older brother and sisters had to read such a publication), or watching TV (the Brewers or 60 minutes if my Grandpa had anything to say about it).
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| Marriage photo - Oct 1927. Louis and Clara on left. Witnesses Henry Gruny (Clara's brother) and Anna Gruny Fleischman (Clara's sister) on right. |
We would visit them on many Sundays, making the trek from Withee to Medford, WI in our very large, blue, and fake wood paneled station wagon (a GM product of some sort purchased from my uncle on the Oehler side of the family). No one cared about seat belts back then and I loved sitting or sleeping in the way back, which these days is reserved for either groceries or the dog.
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| Grandma and Granpa Hirt's Old House in Medford, WI. |
We always had the same thing for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's - sloppy joes made with Campbell's chicken gumbo and tomato soup as main ingredients, one of the red Jellos with cut up bananas, and iceberg lettuce with Grandpa's french dressing. I don't remember ever having anything else.
I remember them having this great old van. As I look back on it now, it reminds me of a VW Vanagon, but I believe it was a Dodge. There was no way a VW product would be in a yard of a Midwesterner. Detroit reigned supreme back then. The back seats of the van were bench seats that ran along side the back windows rather than perpendicular to them. I remember someone saying that Grandma and Grandpa used to camp in the van when they went on fishing trips. I'm sorry I really didn't know them when they still took those trips. I would have loved to go along! I love to fish and camp!
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| The last place Grandpa worked, Handel Motor Company in downtown Medford. Interestingly, my second oldest sister Jane married into the Handel family and helps run the business - an auto repair and used car dealership. |
Grandpa had his favorite chair much like Archie Bunker, and no one was permitted to sit in it. If you did something that he didn't agree with or thought was a bit foolish, he'd call you a rummy, short for rum-dumb. He was rarely without a handheld transistor radio with an earphone stuck in his ear so he could listen to the Brewers if they weren't on TV. He loved to play cards (I think cribbage was a favorite), but I was too young to ever play with him. Being an auto mechanic most his adult life, he was a lifelong blue collar Democrat and loved to argue with my mother, who even though she was an independant, voted for Ronald Regean once or twice. Interestingly, Mom is now an ardent Democrat just like Grandpa!
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT GRANDMA AND GRANPA?
SHARE YOUR MEMORIES FOR OUR BENEFIT AND THE BENEFIT OF FUTURE GENERATIONS. POST A COMMENT AND TELL ME HOW TO CONTACT YOU TO GET YOUR STORIES.
I have been thinking about commenting for along time. My memories of Grandpa and Grandma are many and I didn't know where to begin. So, I will begin with these memories and add more at a later date.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I can remember, we would go to visit and we all slept upstairs. The three girls slept in one big bed. Grandpa and Grandma lived in an older home and there was no heat upstairs...just one floor vent that opened to the living room down below. It was so cold upstairs! I remember playing a game to see who would have to be the first one to jump into the big, huge bed and warm it up! The loser would be the one to get that unwanted job! You never wanted to be the person who had to do that! On those weekends when we would visit, Grandma was the one to make eggs for breakfast and for supper Grandpa would make chicken in his pressure cooker. Supper was usually after we all attended Saturday evening mass at Holy Rosary Church in downtown Medford. One afternoon Grandma made potato pancakes for lunch. Something happened and the pancakes got a little too done They were a little burned, but our grandparents were not ones to waste anything. I remember Laura asking my mom to "peal her pancake" so she could eat it. Grandma thought this was hilarious and laughed until she had tears coming out her eyes! That is the last time I remember having potato pancakes at Grandma's house.
During many of our visits, I remember going fishing and eating Velveeta Cheese sandwiches! That always seemed like such a treat. To keep us occupied, Grandma had saved many old containers and boxes (from cottage cheese, dish soap, cake mix, etc.) and we would line them up on the back steps and play grocery store for hours and hours. I am sure this was done to keep us out of the house so Grandpa and Dad could play cribbage and Schmier. I remember thinking that Grandpa had the coolest cribbage board - it was shaped like a bowling pin! I know that Grandpa enjoyed a few bottles of Miller (and Grandma enjoyed a little brandy) while playing cards and always told me that as long as I live, I would never be old enough to have a beer in his house. Now that I think back, I am pretty sure I never did have a beer in Grandpa's house.
One of my memories is Grandpa's chair! It always sat right by the kitchen door and no one but Grandpa dared to sit in it! Then when you would walk out of the kitchen, he would grab your hand and you never let go until he did! He was a man of few words, but you listened when he spoke! In fourth grade I was given an assignment to talk to someone about my heritage, I was sitting in the kitchen with Grandma and asked her about our heritage and she said, "We are German." Grandpa's voice came from the living room (I am sure he was sitting in HIS chair) and he said, "You tell that teacher that we are American! That's our heritage!"
Our weekend visit would always end with Grandma standing on the front porch waving goodbye until we went around the corner and we could no longer see her.
Hello, I tried to send an email to the address above but it bounced back to me.
ReplyDeleteToday I came across your Gruny - Hirt blog and thought I would drop you a note to say that we are distantly related.
My name is Bill Putt from Allegany, NY. Your Andrew Hirt, Jr (1854-1916) and my great-great grandmother, Frances Hirt (1847-1883) were siblings. Frances was married to Civil War veteran Conrad Bockmier. Frances was Conrad's 2nd wife. She actually died in Wisconsin and I believe that she is buried there somewhere. After her death, Conrad moved back to Allegany, NY where he remarried a 3rd time. All together, Conrad had 16 children, 3 of which were born to Frances in Wisconsin?
It appears that Conrad had a farm located in Taylor County, Wisc. at LandSection: 18; Meridian: 4th PM - 1831 MN/WI; Range: 1-E; RegistrationOffice: Eau Claire.
One of Conrad & Frances's children was Rose Ann Bockmier, born in Feb 1883. Rose's obituary in the Allegany newspaper says she was born in Allegany whereas info I recieved from another Bockmier relative (has since passed away) says she was born in Oshkosk, WI.
So, I have some 'grey' areas that I am currently trying to figure out. I am wondering if you have anything on that branch from the time they spent in Wisconsin.
I also have some limited info going back a few generations from Andrew, Sr. into Germany and his spouse Maria Anna SCHNITTER (that's the spelling of her name that I have found) going back into Alsace, France.
feel free to contact me at g11171@hotmail.com. Hope to hear back from you.