Joseph Peter Hirt (1886-1967)

    Joseph Peter Hirt was the second child of 14 born to Andrew and Mary Ann Hirt on September 3, 1886.  He spent his youth helping on the family farm a few miles west of Medford, WI in Hammel township.  In 1905, when he was 19, he headed west to Wyoming where he worked the oil fields as a driller for W.W. Wright who eventually became vice president of the Black Hills Petroleum Company.  My grandfather Louis Hirt, would have only been around one year old when Joe left for Wyoming.  It's quite possible that he did not really know his own brother.  I don't recall ever hearing about him and only learned about him through genealogical research.

A 1930s oil derrick erected by the Black Hills Petroleum Company, W.W. Wright, Vice President.  
This derrick is likely similar to those worked on by Joe Hirt.

    Joe Hirt's 1917 World War I draft card lists him as living in Hat Creek, Wyoming north of the town of Lusk.  Hat Creek was seemingly little more than a stage coach stop in Niobrara County not far from the state boundaries of Nebraska and South Dakota. This area of Wyoming was first settled in the 1880s, only 30-40 years before Joe migrated there.  It was still very much the wild west at the time of his arrival.  According to this website, "In 1875 soldiers went from Fort Laramie to establish an outpost on Hat Creek in Nebraska. Confused, they built a fort of logs on Sage Creek in Wyoming [about 10 miles north of Lusk]. The gold rush to the Black Hills started the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Route in 1876.  Bullwhackers freighting salt pork and whiskey to Deadwood, armored coaches hauling gold bricks and passengers to Cheyenne, Indians, and road agents brought adventure to Hat Creek Stage station. A two story log structure was built near the fort for a telegraph station, post office, blacksmith shop, hotel and store."

Map from Wyoming State Library website.

The website Lusk Photos from Wyoming Trails and Tails will give you a sense of what the area looked like around the time Joe lived in Hat Creek north of Lusk.

    On July 11, 1918 he was called up to serve in World War I through postings in the local papers. Joe was told to report to Fort Logan, Colorado. In the paper, he was listed as living in Edgemont, which is located in the southwest corner of South Dakota just south of the Black Hills and about one hour northeast of Hat Creek, WY.  

    From Fort Logan, he was transported to Camp MacArthur in Waco, TX where he attended infantry camp.  Thereafter, Private Hirt was assigned to Medical Unit #44 and deployed to Evacuation Hospital No. 15 operated by the American Expeditionary Forces in Verdon, France. We don't know in what capacity he served.  He could have been a cook, an orderly, or served in some other roll.  Amazingly, a few years after the war a service member wrote a detailed history of Evacuation Hospital No. 15 down to what servicemen were served for Christmas dinner.  It's well worth perusing.  Click on the link below to download it.  It also contains the sole picture I've found of Joseph Peter Hirt.  The Hirt family resemblance is quite strong.

• Souvenir roster and history of Evacuation Hospital no. 15:
  with the story of Verdun and the Argonne drive

Joseph Peter Hirt during WWI.

Evacuation Hospital #15 in Verdun, France.

    Joe served for less than a year and was discharged on July 2, 1919.  I've not been able to find out why he was discharged after such a short period of time.  Presumably he returned to oil drilling but that is not clear.  According to his obituary, he moved to Casper, WY in 1925 and entered the home construction business with Edward Mass in 1930.  Then Hirt and Mass purchased the Radio Bar and then later built the LaVita Club outside Casper.  I assume this was in the 1930s. It doesn't appear that these establishments survived to today.  

    His obituary cites that Hirt retired in early 1940s making his home at 173 South Ash in Casper - today a vacant lot in a commercial/industrial section of town.  The 1940 U.S. Census lists him as living in a motel and unable to work.  He would have only been 53 years of age.  Did he have to leave military service early and retire early due to an injury suffered during the war?  It's unclear at this point, but having to retire so early seems unusual for this time period and given his seeming modest means.  

Excerpt from the 1940 U.S. Census.

    What did Joe do to keep occupied between the time he retired and his passing in 1967?  This is also not clear, but his obituary did say he was a member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church so presumably he spent his Sunday mornings there.  We do know that his last days were spent at the Valley Manor Nursing Home in Casper where he died on February 22, 1967 at the age of 80.  He died from a bladder infection that evolved into bladder cancer that eventually metastasized through the body.  Senility with arteriosclerosis was cited as a secondary factor on his death certificate. He is buried at the Highland Cemetery, 1860 E. 12th Street  Casper, Wyoming; Sec. 132, Lot: 3, Plot: 5. 

    From the pioneer days in north-central Wisconsin, to the last of the stagecoach days of Wyoming and up until the era of post WWII modern conveniences and the space race, Joe saw the culture of where he lived in Wyoming and the nation change a lot during his life.  It's interesting to think about all the changes he witnessed and all that each of us witness in our lifetimes.

    If anyone has any pictures or remembrances of Joseph Peter Hirt, I'd like to hear from you.  Email me at jimoehler3@gmail.com.

Sister M. Adele Hirt (1894 - 1992)

Like Sister Gratiana, Sister Adele is the great aunt of my generation; the sister of our grandfather Louis Hirt, and daughter of Mary Ann and Andrew Hirt.  Following is an extended obituary written by her friend and colleague, Sister M. Bona Ney with links to informational websites and pictures added by Jim Oehler.

-------------------------------------------------------

    Friday, March 13, 1992, was a happy day in the life of Sister M. Adele Hirt.  On that day she was released from her sufferings and went home to God after a long life approaching 98 years.  The time of her departure was 6:05 am, and the place was St. Clare Convent, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

    Applicable to her were the words from Psalm 100, which the Sister prayed soon after in their Morning Prayer:

                    Ant.: Let us go into God's presence singing for joy.

                            Cry out with joy to the Lord....
                            Come before him, singing for joy.

                            Know that he, the Lord, is God,
                            He made us, we belong to him,
                            We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

                            Go within his gates, giving thanks,
                            Enter his courts with songs of praise.
                            Give thanks to him and bless his name.

    Sister M. Adele was born in Medford, Wisconsin, on July 9, 1894.  She was the seventh child of Andrew and Mary Anne (Brost) Hirt, homesteaders in Taylor County, Wisconsin.  They were the parents of fourteen children--eight daughters and six sons, all of whom reached adulthood.  They gave their seventh child the name Gertrude Marcella when she was baptized.

Gertrude (later Sister Adele; seated), Helen Hirt (standing left),
and Elizabeth Hirt approximately 1910.

    With her brothers and sisters, Gertrude attended the district elementary school and grew up on their parents' dairy farm.  Her sister Frances (later Sister M. Gratiana), who was the fifth child, three years older than Gertrude, entered the Community of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Marshfield, Wisconsin, in 1908, when she was seventeen, and Gertrude followed her into religious life on September 18, 1911, also at the age of seventeen.  In an interview for a newspaper in 1989, she stated that she was encouraged by her parents, who were of German descent, to serve the Lord.  "My parents," she said, "were anxious to have their girls become Sisters, to bring blessing to the family." She was received into the novitiate in Marshfield as Mary Adele of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on September 29, 1912, and took her first vows on October 4, 1914.  Meanwhile she attended St. Mary's Convent High School in Marshfield, from which she graduated in 1915. She then attended the summer session at Stevens Point Normal. In August 1915 she was sent to teach at St. Joseph's Orphanage in Wabasha, Minnesota.  This was the first of her 75 years of teaching.  She wrote, "When I started out teaching, only a high school diploma and a county examination were needed to teach elementary schools.  But every summer we were obliged to take courses in normal schools or teachers' colleges to continue our educational studies." She earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Wichita, in Wichita, Kansas, in 1937, and after that continued to keep updated with summer courses and much reading.  She kept up on civic and world affairs as well, and wherever she was missioned she registered so as to be able to vote when the time came for it.

Circa 1915.  Vintage postcard that was posted for sale on Ebay. 

    Sister M. Adele taught at the following schools during her 75 years "out on the mission":

        St. Joseph's Orphanage, Wabasha, Minnesota, 1915-1916
        Public school in Villanueva, New Mexico, 1916-1928
        Public school in Ribera, New Mexico, 1928-1930
        St. Mary's School, Tomahawk, Wisconsin, 1930-1933
        St. Rose School, Mt Vernon, Kansas, 1933-1939
        St. Louis School, Waterloo, Kansas, 1939-1942
        Mother of Perpetual Help School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1942-1945
        (She was the first principal at this school.)
        St. Rose School, Mt. Vernon, Kansas, 1945-1947
        Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Wichita, Kansas, 1947-1953
        St. Mary's School, Tomahawk, Wisconsin, 1953-1956
        Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Wichita, Kansas, 1956-1964
        Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Wichita, Kansas, 1964-1965
        St. Mary's School, Auburn, Iowa, 1965-1969
        Santa Nino Catechetical School, Aragon, New Mexico, 1969-1970
        St. Ann's School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 1970-1972
        Sacred Heart Cathedral School, Gallup, New Mexico, 1972-1979 (While at this place,
        she traveled to Ft. Wingate every Wednesday night to give religious instructions to
        Navajo Indians.)
        San Rafael Mission, San Rafael, New Mexico, 1979-1986 (CCD and parish work)
        Holy Trinity Parish, Flora Vista, New Mexico, 1986-July 1990 (parish work and
        CCD)

[This equates to 15 different schools in six different states in 75 years of teaching.]

    Sister M. Adele taught in all the grades, the first through the eighth.  In the interview mentioned above, she said, "Teaching was so much easier in my day [her earlier years].  Discipline just wasn't a problem.  If we had a problem, we took care of it in the classroom."  Much of her discipline, she said, was implemented by joining the students' activities.  If she had playground duty, she was always sure to become a member of one of the teams involved in a game of baseball or marbles.  Because of her direct involvement and good rapport with the children, they did as was expected of them.  One of her students when she taught in Waterloo, Kansas (1939-1942), was the present Bishop Eugene Gerber of Wichita.  In a letter that he wrote to her a few years ago he reminded her of those days.  Another former student of hers when she taught in Mt. Vernon, Kansas, is our Sister M. Loretta Jacobs.  Sister Adele was the principal and superior and taught the upper grades from about 1933-1970.  In 1983, when she was almost 90 years old, she wrote, "Since my health is good, I do not see any reason for retiring at this time."  During these latter years, from about 1970 on, she did remedial work, taught CCD, prepared children for First Communion, and helped in the parish and in the convent.

Sister Adele, Joe Ziehlke (brother-in-law), and Martha Hirt Ziehlke (sister) in 1981.

Sister Adele in 1984 during a family visit to Wisconsin.  Specific location unknown.

    When her sister, Sister Gratiana, died in June 1987, Sister M. Adele wrote the obituary report.  Like her sister, she loved to collect rocks in the hills and mountains in New Mexico.  These she polished and made into jewelry--necklaces and bracelets.

    In the summer of 1989 she lost most of her hearing in her good ear, as the result of an infection, and decided that it was time for her to retire at the end of the 1989-1990 term. 

    She came to Our Lady of Sorrows Convent in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to retire on July 31, 1990.  But she continued to be very active, when she was not spending time in prayer.  She made many rosaries, did much reading, and took walks on the convent grounds.  In October of that year she began to experience severe abdominal pains. She was admitted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa for tests, which indicated that she had an inoperable malignant tumor.  She was discharged to St. Clare Convent on November 8, and remained at St. Clare's during the time that she was undergoing treatments for the cancer.  By May 14, 1991, she felt well enough to move back to her room at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent.  She busied herself as before with praying, reading, and visiting the ducks at the pond on the grounds of Fanciscan Villa.  She also spent time reading to the visually impaired Sisters at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent and St. Clare Convent. 

    She celebrated 80 years in our congregation on August 25 at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent.  For that occasion her sister Martha came from Ohio to spend a few days with her.  This was her fifth jubilee; she celebrated her silver jubilee in 1939, her golden in 1961, her diamond (60 years) in 1971, and her 75th in 1986.

    By the end of 1991 her health was visibly failing; she was experiencing much nausea.  In the beginning of January a Sister who had not seen her for a few months visited her and saw the change in her.  She expressed her concern about her health and encouraged her to become more active.  Sister M. Adele's response was that she would get back to making some rosaries again and would spend time preparing for death.  She spent much time in chapel, almost the whole time that the Blessed Sacrament was exposed during the forenoons, and was in chapel again in the afternoon.  It had been her practice to spend an hour in prayer every dah since she had made a retreat with Bishop Sheen in Gallup, New Mexico, and had been encouraged and inspired by him to make a holy hour daily.  

    Towards the end of January, 1992, she was coughing severely, as her lungs were filling with fluid.  She was anointed on February 4, 1992, and moved to St. Clare Convent that afternoon. Her condition continued to deteriorate, although when her niece, Ethel Kalmon of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, visited her about two weeks before her death, she told her niece that she thought she would be able to move back to Our Lady of Sorrows in about two weeks.  She did come back, but not as she had expected.

    Sister M. Corita Ortiz, who was very close to her, as they had spent the last eleven years of Sister's teaching years together in San Rafael and Flora Vista, New Mexico, came from Belen, New Mexico, to our Lady of Sorrows Convent on March 10 to be with her friend during her last days.  She spent the night of March 12-13 with her.  From 2:00 am on Sister M. Adele had no more pain, although earlier she had had to be given medication for pain every three hours.  She did not sleep after that, and Sister M. Corita prayed with her, reminisced about their mission days, and sang their favorite songs.  Although Sister M. Adele had an oxygen mask on, she was very alert and indicated that she was following along.  Her hearing, without her hearing aids, had become very acute during these last days.  A half hour before her death, she turned her head and looked around, as though seeing beyond this earthly veil, and her face became radiant.  She tried to tell Sister Corita something but could not make herself understood because of the oxygen mask.  She passed peacefully to the next world at 6:05 am, conscious to the end.

    The body was brought back from the mortuary in the afternoon of March 15, and the wake service was held in the chapel in the evening.

    The Funeral Mass was offered at 10:30 am in the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows Convent on March 16 with Bishop Eusebius Beltran as the main celebrant.  Concelebrating with him were Father Martin Morgan, pastor of St. Thomas More Parish, Tulsa; Father Patrick Schuller, S.J., convent chaplain; and Father Oliver Curran, pastor of Madre de Dios Parish in Winslow, Arizona.  Father Oliver had been pastor in San Rafael and Flora Vista, New Mexico, when Sister M. Adele was missioned in these parishes.

    In his homily, Bishop Beltran recalled his first meeting with Sister M. Adele more than a decade ago, when she was in her 80's and had introduced herself to him, telling him that she was still on mission.  At each subsequent meeting with him she had reminded him of her age and that she was still active.  She was proud of the fact that she had been able to be on mission until she was 95.  She believed in Jesus' words, "I am the resurrection and the life," and put everything in the hands of the Lord.  This mind-set gave her the strength to be on mission as long as God willed.

    Among family and friends present for the funeral, in addition to the Sisters, were Sister M. Adele's brother Anthony Hirt, 83, the youngest of the family of fourteen, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, his wife Eva, and his son-in-law, Roger Lecander of Crystal, Minnesota.  They were also present for the wake the evening before.  After the luncheon following the Mass, they accompanied the body, along with a number of Sisters and others to Calvary Cemetery in Tulsa for the graveside service, led by Father Oliver Curran.  Before leaving the cemetery they paid a visit to the grave of Sister M. Gratiana Hirt.  

    Sister M. Adele's survivors in addition to her brother Anthony are two sisters and a brother: Mrs. Agatha Lawrence, Seattle, Washington; Mrs. Martha Ziehlke of Glenford, Ohio; and Louis Hirt, Medford, Wisconsin.  She is survived also by fifteen nieces, four nephews, and two cousins.

    Lord, may Sister M. Adele, who has died in your peace, give you everlasting glory in heaven, where we, too, hope to praise you for ever.

                                                                                            Sister M. Bona Ney

Sister Adele's gravestone in Calvary Cemetery, Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
Photo from the Find a Grave website.

For more information about Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and St. Clare's Convent, please visit the blog post for Sister M. Gratiana.

Sister M. Gratiana Hirt, S.S.M. (1891-1987)

February 16, 1891 - June 21, 1987

Sister Gratiana is the great aunt of my generation; the sister of our grandfather Louis Hirt, and daughter of Mary Ann and Andrew Hirt.  Following is an extended obituary written by her biological sister, Sister M. Adele Hirt, with links to informational websites, pictures and additional information added by Jim Oehler.

-----------------------------------------------------

    Sister M. Gratiana Hirt, who was 79 years in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, passed peacefully into eternity at St Clare Convent, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 4:30 pm on Sunday, June 21, 1987 at the age of 96.  She had been in declining health for some time, especially after her birthday in February when she became gradually weaker.

St Clare Convent, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  Date unknown.  Picture found on Pinterest.
Convent was torn down in 2015.

    In the latter part of February, Sister M. Adele, her sister, traveled from Flora Vista, New Mexico to spend a week with Sister.  At that time she was able to converse with Sister M Adele and seemed pleased to have her visit for she wanted someone there all the time.

    Sister M Gratiana was born in Medford, Wisconsin on February 16, 1891.  She was the fifth in the family of 14 children of Andrew Hirt II, and Mary Anne Brost.  She grew up on a farm and attended the district elementary school.

    Sister is survived by four sisters: Sister M. Adele, Helen Beck (Santa Rose, California), Martha Zielke (Glenford, Ohio), Agatha Lawrence (Seattle, Washington), and two brothers: Louis Hirt (Medford, Wisconsin), and Anthony Hirt (Eden Prairie, Minnesota).

    Sister M Gratiana's life story was one of struggle against illness.  At the age of 15 she suffered acute appendicitis and was taken to St Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield.  It was there she became acquainted with the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother with whom she spent 79 years of service.

    In 1908 she entered the Community of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.  After 16 months as a postulant [a candidate for a religious order], she received the habit on May 1, 1910 and received the name Mary Gratiana of St Mary Magdalena.

    Early in her novitiate [a novice, especially in a religious order] she contracted tuberculosis and was sent to St Mary's Hospital, Roswell, New Mexico.  Being at the point of death she professed her first vows privately.  Later on, in 1913, have recovered, she received special dispensation from Pope St Pius X to profess her first vows publicly even though she had not completed her novitiate.  Sister professed her final vows on August 15, 1919 in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

    In 1914 her first assignment was St Francis Hospital, Wichita, Kansas, where she spent two years as a pharmaceutical student and received the certificate as Registered Pharmacist in the state of Kansas on February 18, 1916.  Sister continued her studies and passed the state boards and became a Registered Nurse on May 27, 1920.  During her 13 year stay at St Francis, Sister M Gratiana served in various occupations.  Besides her work in the pharmacy she served for a short time as instructor and director of nurses.

    Sister left St Frances in 1927 due to a recurrence of tuberculosis at which time she returned to St Mary's, Roswell, for a treatment.

    After a two year recovery period, Sister went to St John's, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1929, where she pursued courses in medical technology at Monte Cassino Junior College and the University of Tulsa.  Sister became a certified Laboratory Technician on January 10, 1931.  For a while Sister worked as a Laboratory Technician and was in charge of Medical Records.  In 1933 she attended Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon her return to Tulsa she took the post of Director of the School of Nursing.

    Sister's achievements at St John's include helping to design the nurses' residence, a home and a program for the young women in training.  Library Science was one of Sister's favorite subjects so she was instrumental in making the library at the nurses' resident "a mine" of reference in all fields of nursing.  A woman ahead of her time, Sister advocated an 8 hour a day for nurses.  Having a special aptitude for landscaping and gardening she helped beautify the grounds with trees, shrubs and flowers.

[According to this history of St John's she, "set the standards and brought
the school to an acknowledged level of excellence" as the Director of Nursing.]

    Sister's apostalate as director was again interrupted by a short period of illness from 1936 to 1937 which she spent at St Mary's, Roswell.  In 1937 Sister returned to St John's and in all completed 25 years as Director of Nurses.  Approximately 800 nurses received their training during the tenure of Sister M Gratiana.  According to an article in the Southwest Courier, of July 26, 1959, Sister stated: "The 25 years as Director of the School of Nursing have been years of joy, of hope, of sadness, but replete with satisfaction in having the opportunity for helping those who needed help, guidance and counseling encouragement and sometimes material aid.  The reward has been more than ample in the loyalty and devotion which the gathering years have multiplied as the number of graduates have increased." Her nurses returned from time to time to Our Lady of Sorrows, Franciscan Villa and St Clare to visit with Sister and reminisce about the past  They did not cease to compliment and than Sister for her guidance, direction, and fairness.  During her tenure at St John's Sister M Gratiana celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1938.

    In 1958 Sister left St John's for a less strenuous apostolate at St Anne's Hospital, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where she was assigned to the pharmacy and record library.  In 1959 Sister celebrated her Golden Jubilee as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother and in 1968 she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee.

    

1950 photo of Sister M. Gratiana.

Below are a few pages from the 1958 St. John's School of Nursing year book.

July 1958 article about Sister Gratiana giving up her post of Director of Nursing
at St John's in Oklahoma and moving to St Anne's in New Mexico.

Another July 1958 article about Sister Gratiana moving on.
This article contains more detail about her achievements as Director of Nursing.

In 1973 Sister retired at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent, Broken Arrow, at the age of 80 years.  Here she spent her days praying, reading and just being quite and contented with her surroundings.  Severe arthritis had confined her to her wheel chair.  When the Franciscan Villa opened in 1979 Sister was moved to the Health Center to receive nursing and loving care around the clock.  

    In 1983 sister was still ab le to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee Extraordinary of 75 years in the Community from her wheel chair.  She moved to St Clare Convent in 1985 when it opened.  

Sister Gratiana in the mid to late 1970s.

Sister Gratiana in the 1980s.

    During the last few months of Sister's life, Sister was very confused and wished someone to be near her at all times.  The Sisters at both St Clare and Our Lady of Sorrows tried to be with her as much as they possibly could.  Many times one would pass by her room and the rosary was being prayed or songs were being sung.

    Rev Frederick Schuller, ,S.J. conduced the Wake Service on June 22, 1987 at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent.  During the service Father pointed out how when one has faithfully said "yes" to God throughout her life, then all work, prayer, and being is accepted as "yes" and cannot be measured by human standards.  The love of God overcomes all earthly recognition.  

    
    The Mass of Resurrection was celebrated on June 23, 1987 at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent.  The relatives that were able to attend were: her sister, Sister M Adele Hirt; her brother, Anthony Hirt; his wife, Eva Hirt; and their daughter , Joanne Lecander.  Bishop Beltran was the main celebrant.

                                                                                                Sister M. Adele Hirt

Sister M. Gratiana's headstone at Calvary Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
Courtesy  Find a Grave website. 

More information:

History of the Community of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother by Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother (1960). Includes history of the founding of the community, and its works including the development of hospitals in Wichita Kansas,  and several in Wisconsin.  Sister Gratiana worked at many of them.