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The Hirschy Gathering was a meaningful event for those who were able to attend. Several persons took advantage of the tour possibilities. Those who visited the John Hirschy home learned that this home was the location of the first prayer meeting that led to the beginning of the Missionary Church. A very significant event indeed. If you wondered who attended, here are names of persons who came from a distance: Jeanne 4.5.5.2 and Carl Crouthamel, Green Valley, Az; Esther 4.5.5.4 and Paul Sauder, Northridge, CA; Ethel L. Snell 3.1.4.1, Birmingham, AL; Joyce 3.6.3.1 and Edward de Rosset, Evans City, PA; Betsy 4.5.7.2.3 and Jim Edgar, Gran Lake, MI; Virginia 2.8.2.1 and Arthur Deutscher, Climax, MI; Robert Hirschy 3.8.3.2 Richland Center, WI; Joyce Giles 4.6.3.3.3, Vallejo, CA; Philip 3.6.3.6 and Fae Hirschy, Evans City, PA; Kae 3.6.3,6.4 and Dwight Kirkwood, Evans City, PA; Ora Lee Rea 4.6.2.6, N. Little Rock, AR; Delores 4.6.2.6.1 and Keith Wall, Owasso, OK; Stephen Del Rea 4.6.2.6.2 . N. Little Rock, AR; Bill Snell 3.1.4.10, Cleveland, TN; Jacqueline Kay Weber 6.1.3.5.3, Honolulu, HI; Gerald Weber 6.1.3.5.1, Wauseon, OH; Lois 3.6.3.4 and Ted Langdon, Winter Haven, FL; Joy Langdon 3.6.3.4.4., Wheaton, IL; Byron Snell 3.1.4.1, Birmingham, AL; John 3.2.2.4.1 and Sandy Entner, Xenia, OH; Mildred Bisseett 3.4.2.4 and daughter Lana Bassett 3.4.2.4.3 of Butler, PA, and grandchildren Karis 3.4.2.4.2.1 and Jordan 3.4.2.4.2.2 Bassett of Kettering, OH; Joan Weber 6.1.3.5 , Wauseon, OH; Beth 3.6.3.6.2 and Jim Britton, Maitland, FL; Tim 3.2.2.4.2.1 and Janet Entner and children Elizabeth and Matthew Entner, WPAFB, OH. Matthew was probably the youngest child present. He was born after the genealogy was printed. Then there were all those of you who came from Indiana. Altogether there were 115 persons who registered for this Gathering. A special word of thanks goes to all those who took responsibility for the planning and for doing the work that made |
this event possible. Your efforts were appreciated by all in attendance. Joan Gayfield 3.1.4.4.2 of Thurmont, MD "Hello and God bless! We are very sorry to again miss the most interesting Reunion. My oldest daughter, Esther Naomi, is to go with the church youth) group on an outreach to Mexico July 10-18. It is to help a missionary family in Mexico. My oldest son, Joshua is working at a grocery store as well as participating in the Civil Air Patrol. My other boys are involved in the Church Royal Ranger program for boys. Melody Joy is almost 11 years old and a very sweet helper. The children do grow quickly! I have been working part time at night for, a catalog Co. typing phone orders into their computer and I have also been working as a substitute rural mail carries. The post office job may not last though as I am on probation, and I may not be fast enough. Take care and thank you for your hard work! God bless you! Grace Wilson 4.6.13.8 of Winnipeg, Manitoba. "I received the recent Hirschy Newsletter and it was interesting to note that Mom's brothers family will be at the "9,7 reunion. We do not plan to go but it would have been wonderful to meet them." Rachel Gray 4.5.5.2.1 of Glendora, CA. "I just wanted to update you on our family changes and additions. John married Elias Marie Wilbur on June 18, 1994. Kathryn Elisabeth was born to them on Dec. 13, 1996. Robert is marrying Kara Ane Olsen on June 14, 1997 at Grace Baptist. Elias's birthday is June 7, 1970 Pasadena, CA., and Kara's is November 25, 1976 Salt Lake City lit. Janel and Robert only have 2 1/2 weeks left of the school semester, then Janel will go on tour with the Bel Canto Choir for 2 weeks and Robert plans to have an apartment by then and will be moving out. Life is moving so quickly! Hope things |
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are going well for you. Diane 4.5.5.5.2 and David Bjork 5 Impasse Racine, 21800 Chevigny Saint Sauveur, France. Diane and David were serving in France under The Missionary Church. In May they wrote, "In January, a committee of the Western District of the Missionary Cliureli recommended that the Missionary Church approve our return to France under Servant of Servants Foundation. Just a few weeks ago the World Partners Board and the General Board of the Missionary Church accepted that proposal. We are thankful for the many years that we were able to minister under the Missionary Church and look forward to many more years of fruitful collaboration. "Please pray for our transition back into life in France. There are many adjustments that we will have to make in the up-coming weeks as we move into a new home in a new community. Pray that God would go ahead of us to open the hearts of those people we will be meeting for the first time." Persons interested in learning about and supporting their vision of ministry may write to Servant of Servants Foundation, P.O. Box 130 Agoura, CA 91376-0130. Betty 1.11.5.1 and Leon Schanely of Waxhaw, NC work with Wyeliffe Bible Translators. Their recent letter told of the completion of two translations. One was for the San Blas people in Panama and the printing of another. "Getting a New Testament back from the printers and to the people for whom it is intended often becomes an ADVENTURE. In our last letter, we wrote about the completing of the Sharanahua New Testament of Peru. It was sent to Korea for printing. However, there were problems with getting the printed Scriptures back into Peru. The dedication ceremony started with only one (airmailed) copy in hand. In the midst of the event four boxes were surprisingly delivered -- after being reexported to Waxhaw, air freighted to Miami, taken to Lima as excess baggage by an airline hostess on standby (allowed to board three minutes before flight time), flown to Pucallpa, Peru just in time to make the celebration complete! Give thanks with us.!" Norman Runyon 4.8.3.4.1, Sturgis, MI |
contacts me by E-mail and on June 28 sent this message: "Just got back from a reunion of the descendants of my grandparents Harry and Martha (Hirschy) Runyon." He' then sent quite a bit of up- dated information on the Runyon family. Elizabeth A. Oldenburg 3.4.4.1.1.1 I have been looking through the old photographs left to me by my grandmother (a real treasure trove!) I found an original picture exactly like the one of Philip and Mary Hirschy that you have reprinted in the genealogy. Reading your description of the house and property gave the photo much more meaning! I regret that I was unable to attend the Hirschy reunion this year. If I am able to make it to a future reunion, I will be sure to bring some of the photographs with me." Photos brought to the reunion were appreciated and some unidentified ones were named. DLH died February 14, 1997 in the James A. Hale V.C. Hospital, Tampa, Florida. He graduated from central High, Fort Wayne, IN and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD. He served in the National Guard 1938- 1941, and the U.S. Army 1941-1961, in W.A. 11 European Theater and later in Korea. He retired from Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD., as a Major, and worked there for 20 years., retiring in 1983. His survivors are wife Rose, sons Ronald and Luther, Jr., daughters Judith, Patricia and Julia, 11 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, sister Constance Zollars, Fort Wayne and brother, Richard, Florida. Shirley Mae Hirschy 1.11.5.4. died April 2, 1997, age 64, born July 26, 1932. Her sister Betty Schanely wrote, "On April 2 we received a phone call to tell us that Shirley had died. She has had health problems for a number of years. Shirley was a school teacher in the elementary school system for 36 years and she loved her work. Leon and I made the trip to New Haven, IN for the viewing and the funeral. The burial was in the MRE Cemetery near Berne, IN. I am now the last of my immediate family." |
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Sharon K. DeBolt 3.9.4.1.1 rural Ohio City, OH, a former Decatur resident, died June 9, 1997 in the Van Wert County Hospital at Van Wert, Ohio after a long illness. Among survivors are her parents, Donavin L. "Donnie" and Geraldine Roughia Sprunger of Decatur; her husband, Harold DeBolt; three daughters, Teresa Leppel of Kendalville, IN; Kristina K. Rider of Ohio City, OH, and Kelli Joan. Funeral services were held in Calvary Evangelical Church, Van Wert, and her burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Ohio City, OH, Thanks to Alma Hirschy 1.11.7 for sending information on two of the above deaths. She wrote, "I don't have very much news this past year. My eyes are not very good, so it is hard for me to do much reading. I will send what I have." When the Genealogy was published the story of his coming to Adams County by floating down the Wabash River on a raft in 1841 was reported. Now we have new information on John Runyon 1792-1895. In researching land purchases in Adams County I came across information that John had come to Indiana from Champaign Co., Ohio four years earlier, in 1837, to purchase land. On May 23 he bought 80 acres of section 12 (NW NW) of Township 25N Range 13E. This land is in Hartford Township a mile east of Lain Grove. The Wabash River cuts through section 12 so John must have known that he would arrive very close to his land when he floated down the river. Might he have noted some land mark or did he make one, to know where to land? At $2.00 an acre, John would have paid $160.00 for those 80 acres. His receipt is numbered 019746. This indicates how many purchases had been made through the Fort Wayne Land Office prior to his purchase. Land was being sold by the Fort Wayne Land Office from the Michigan border to as far south as Adams County. Some 75 purchases of land had been made in Adams County by Mennonites and Amisb prior to John Runyon's purchase. They had come from Starke, Wayne and Butler counties in Ohio. Many of those who bought land never settled in Adams County. They must have bought the land as an investment and then resold it when prices rose in subsequent years. |
by Barbara Hirschy Habegger (4.5.5) Written in 1973. Part III Our Life Among The Cheyenne Indians The General Conference Mennonite Mission Board scheduled us to go to India. but because my health was poor after Marden was born, we were asked to go to the Northern Cheyenne Indians living on the Tongue River Indian Reservation in southeast Montana. We accepted the offer. I was told this would be a difficult assignment with primitive conditions, In this hinterland of the United States. I made up my maid that I would accept the people and the living conditions. If at all possible, I would change what I didn't like, and would not complain if things were not to my liking. This attitude was helpful. Missionaries were servants of the Indians, that was their purpose in being with them. This covered many aspects of their lives: visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, and giving instructions whenever advice was asked. On may 19, 1918 we were ordained as missionaries in our home church [They were the 2nd and 3rd persons to be ordained for mission work in the First Mennonite Church of Berne, Indiana. The first one was Martha Burkhalter who was ordained the previous year.] Since my sister, Helena, was seriously ill with pneumonia, we delayed our going. Helena died the morning of the 23rd. A week later, May 30th, we departed. The 30th was Decoration (Memorial) Day. My family took their dinner to the park, but mother could not eat. She lost a daughter by death a week before and felt bereft of us three who moved far away to Montana. My mother walked with us during the night to the local train station and helped carry our baggage. [At this time her father was in California, having left home without letting anyone know where he was going. He left May 13, 1916, thus he had been gone for two years.] By nine o'clock in the morning, May 31, 1917, we arrived by train at Crow Agency, Montana. The G.A. Linscheid family met us. They did shopping at the grocery store before we started for Bushy. The road was only a wagon trail winding through the hills. It took three hours to |
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travel 30 miles. It was midnight before we arrived at the Bushy mission station. The next morning, June 1, we awoke and I looked out the window. We saw a strange looking box standing on four wooden legs. Later we learned this was a weather station which was used to record the daily weather and reports were sent monthly to Helena, Montana, the state capitol. Alfred recorded the weather for 30 years, free of charge to the state. [Recorded was the high and low temperature of the past 24 hours, the temperature at the time the record was made, usually around 5 p.m., and the amount of rain or snowfall, the depth of the snow, and the direction of the wind.] We moved into the vacant log house, near Linscheid's house, as soon as our order for furniture arrived from Montgomery Ward in Chicago. The log house originally had been built for Miss. Agnes Williams. She left Bushy because of health reasons. The Rev. Linschied was our language teacher, giving us daily instructions. We needed to make our own copy our own copy of the Cheyenne grammar. Since we could not type, we ordered a course in typing. It took us many months to make this copy, and our eyesight became impaired. In 1919 we were assigned to the Birney Mission station, as we were the only couple available. The Rev. and Mrs. P.A. Kliewer left Birney for health reasons, We moved to Birney in July 1919 and stayed un@@il September 1920. This year of mission work proved to be very difficult for a number of reasons. Supplies of food were short, and we almost starved. We did have two sacks of potatoes bought from an Indian, 100 pounds of flower, dried fruit sent to us from the churches of Oregon, and a barrel of canned fruit from our home church in Berne. The Kliewers gave us two cows so we had a good supply of milk, butter, and cheese. [The butter and cheese were home made.) The chickens we brought along from Bushy died for lack of feed, therefore we had no eggs. Birney village store was located eight miles away, across the near by river. The river could not be crossed until it was frozen. That winter was severely cold with deep snow. Consequently many cattle perished because hay could not be brought to them. The deep snow prevented us from going to |
Lame Deer for our Cheyenne language lessons and from buying needed supplies of any kind. Because the rain water in the cistern was unclean we preferred to use river water. With a team of horses and wagon, and two barrels, we tried to keep on hand a supply of water. Once a barrel slipped from the wagon into the icy water. Alfred jumped into the river to rescue the much needed barrel. One day Marden asked for a drink of water. I said, "We have no water, but you can have a glass of milk." He answered, "But this time I want water!" To get our own drilled well, Alfred dug into the ground in the fall. When rock was struck operations ceased until the rock could be blasted. By spring, two sticks of dynamite were bought from a rancher. Alfred placed the dynamite on the rock, tied a long string to them and lit the string. He depended on two Indian helpers to bring him out of the excavation with a windlass. While I watched I held my breath until he safely came up. It turned out the water contained too many minerals, especially iron, to be used for drinking, but we used it for all other purposes. An Indian who traveled on horseback to the Birney post office, brought us our mail three times a week. We never got to Sheridan, Wyoming, 70 miles away, to do shopping that year. A village of Cheyennes lived near our mission. We had daily callers, and their response to our efforts was good, After the hardships and isolation we experienced at Birney, we were happy to move back to Bushy. [The Linscheid family moved to Oklahoma to the Southern Cheyenne.] For many years there was a large number of people spread over the countryside, those who lived on their allotments of land. Many of the employees who worked for the Tongue River Indian Boarding School in Bushy became our close friends. Various ones helped us in the mission work. Living conditions at Bushy were primitive also, there was only one small general store, a government farm agency, and the boarding school. the county seat, Hardin, was 50 miles away. Trips to town were once or twice a year, until we had improved roads in later years. Thus it became necessary in many ways to become self sufficient in meeting our own needs. |
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A good garden spot was selected on low ground where the wild rose bushes grew. By clearing this patch, we had virgin soil, very productive. We always had vegetables in abundance. Neither did we need to irrigate, the plants reached sub- irrigation. Part of the garden was seeded in alfalfa as feed for the cattle. When we were appointed as missionaries, the salary was not mentioned. The first check was two hundred dollars after tile first three months. A salary of eight hundred dollars a year was paid quarterly. We were forced to supplement our salary which was not sufficient to meet our needs. By having a cow to supply butter, milk, and cheese; chickens, turkey, and an occasional hog, we were well supplied with food. [When the Mission Board started sending out missionaries they asked other denominations how much salary was paid. The Mennonites decided their workers could serve for half the amount! An unfurnished house was provided.] As our family increased, hard times came during the Depression and World War 1. Sometimes salaries were not paid, or only partially. [One year only a third of the amount.] And we lost money when a bank failed. We had to look for additional income. We refused to leave mission work for mercenary reasons, so we asked permission from the Mission Board to earn additional income. They agreed. After considering various possibilities, we decided cattle raising would give the least hindrance to our mission service. We bought beef cattle and calves as they were offered to us for sale. With Alfred's good management, and the assistance of our children, the herd increased. Later we could sell cattle on the market and this brought us income. It was no problem to hire Indian cowboys for needed work to be done, nor to lease land from the Indians, In time we leased two large acreages, one for summer, and the other for winter pasture. Before the beef cattle increased substantially other means of income were sought. Eggs, milk, butter, and cottage cheese were sold to school employees and Indians. Washing and ironing, and furnishing meals or lunches for school employees brought us both money and social contacts. These hardships were not regrettable. None of us in the family chafed under the conditions. After the |
Depressions years regular salaries were again paid with some increases. The filial salary fin 1956] was $2200.00 a year. The mission work at Busby was well established by G.A. and Anna (Hirschler) Linscheid. They worked there for 14 years. The Cheyenne Indians accepted the missionaries well, trusted and called upon them to meet their many needs, body, spirit, and soul. People came to the church services ill wagons. Often arriving late when they could not easily get their horses, or when they did not know the time of day for lack of clocks. [Often a resume of the sermon was given several times as the people arrived.] Later, as they could afford them, they came to church in cars. Students from the nearby government boarding school were brought to Sunday school by school employees. We taught the children at the school two evenings a week at first and later once a week. Study of the Cheyenne language was continued with Rev. Rodolphe Petter. This meant weekly trips to Lame Deer. Alfred studied the language diligently. He became quite proficient and also became adept at their sign language to communicate with the deaf. To become acquainted with each Indian family in their homes took much visitation. We took time to sit and become acquainted, then ministered to their needs. A bag of first aid supplies was kept in our car. As needed we dispensed medicine and bandages, etc., from our car or home. When we asked the Cheyenne if they wished to bear a portion of God's Word and to have prayer, they readily agreed. Only iii one instance was this refused, With my household and family duties, I could hardly find it possible to take a day off for visitation. Alfred always wished to have me accompany him. He offered to help me with tasks in the home to make this possible. Oil these trips we sometimes took lunch with us and shared it with the family we happened to visit at noontime. Women's meetings were held one afternoon a week to teach them sewing, embroidery, knitting, and Cheyenne Bible reading. We met either in the log house or the church. The women badly needed blankets and made comforter tops with the cut blocks which the churches sent to us. |
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Later they asked for remnants to make their own designs. The first pillow cases they embroidered they kept for themselves because they needed them. After they had a supply on hand they began to share with others who had none and those who could not come to the sewing meetings. Blankets and finished articles were kept in storage at the mission until there were enough artcles to make an exhibit. Some of these items were made for the elderly and sick and were given to them at Christmas. At each meeting a devotional was led by Alfred or myself, or by one of the women after they learned to read the Cheyenne scriptures. Special meetings were arranged at every opportunity on short notice. For a week, meetings were held morning and evening at Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. Pilgrim's Progress was read in the forenoon, and slides depicting the story were shown in the evening, with Christians explaining the picture by what they had heard in the morning. Prayer meetings were arranged whenever people were in the vicinity. We learned that an Indian does not need to be taught to pray. Theirs was a prayer life before building, hunting, planting, or ill illness. At the prayer meetings they responded well, taking time to adjust their blankets, smoothing their hair, and standing erect to gain composure. Prayers were long with detailed requests. It took one man fifteen minutes to pray. One woman talked and prayed, talked and prayed again in conversational prayer. Summer Bible School started in 1935. Miss. Edna Ramseyer, now Mrs. E.G. Kaufman, was one of the first volunteer teachers. Our building accommodations were limited, and the children filled these to capacity. Attendance by the children was irregular, but interest was good, and they learned well. When death occurred in any family we tried to be helpful. At first caskets could not be purchased, but were hand made by the grieving family. Sometimes we assisted in making the caskets. During the first years of our experience with them, the adults expressed their grief by slashing their arms and legs with a knife, cutting the skin till the blood flowed. Some of the hair of their head was cat off with a knife also. In certain cases the grief was well controlled, and it would |
not be possible to tell who were the nearest of kin. Instead of giving fresh flowers for the casket, relatives gave blankets. These were put in the casket in opened layers, the body placed on it, and wrapped up. Often the deceased's personal blankets with their clothing were put on top of the casket, just before covering with dirt. At the cemetery, after the funeral, the family gave gifts to those who had assisted them before and after the death. A herald called out the names of the ones who were to receive. the gifts. Once a horse of the deceased was shot at the cemetery. Horses were often given to friends. Sometimes we saw offerings of food placed on the grave to feed the spirit of the deceased. Couples who wished to get married got their license at the county seat and brought it with them to the missionary. Often the couple did not know they needed witnesses, and time had to be taken to cal witnesses. Often no previous arrangements were made for the wedding, but they came when they were ready to be married. Sometimes this was not always convenient to our plans and work, especially when it was late at night. We knew of several families where there were two wives. The government regulations required them to leave one wife, which was difficult to do especially when both wives had children. A Cheyenne marriage was conducted long ago in this way: the relatives of the groom gave gifts and a feast to the relatives of the bride. The bride's relatives responded by doing the same at a later date. Later the government required the purchase of a marriage license and have the marriage ceremony performed by a minister or an officer of the law. A long trip to town to buy the license proved to be a burden to many couples. It even happened that the missionary was approached to borrow money for buying the license. Many couples preferred to be married by the missionary, he was never paid for his services. When a couple wished to get a divorce, they encountered problems. Lawyers asked for a large fee, which if it could not be paid immediately was paid in installments before they could get the divorce papers. Although the Mennonite church had a ruling not to marry divorced persons, this caused |
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disappointments to them. Our church had to change the ruling to meet the needs of the people. The drinking of alcoholic beverages became a real curse to the Cheyennes. Although there was a law that no liquor could be sold or brought onto the reservation, the Indians could buy the liquor just outside the reservation at Jimtown. A huge pile of empty cans beside the bar revealed the amount of consumption. Drunken driving of cars caused many accidents and untimely deaths. For many years there were no government salaried doctors in residence on the reservation. Later, if a doctor was appointed, he had an office only in Lame Deer. After the government built a hospital in Lame Deer, a doctor and nurses were supplied. The Indian mothers were accustomed to having a midwife attend them in childbirth. Many mothers hesitated going to the hospital for their babies because the doctor was always a man. Sometimes the women delayed telling their husbands that labor had started so that it would not be possible to go to the hospital. Twice mothers were brought to our home for the delivery. Many times mothers called ne for assistance in childbirth. Somehow they knew I has more knowledge about antiseptics than they did. Whenever I was called, I took along sterile scissors, umbilical cord tie, eye wash, oil, and a baby layette. I never saw expectant mothers prepared with clothes for their babies. They had a fear the child would die if preparations were made. En route to the home of an expectant mother, I would ask a midwife to go with me. usually that was Dora Littlehawk. She was experienced and capable. We worked in liarmony. she said, "Together we could take care of everything." Once we delivered twins in a tent with the mother lying on a pallet on the grass. With few exceptions, there were accessions to the church every year. Their response to the Christian message was commendable considering their past encounters with the white race. There was much bitterness and hatred toward the white mail for taking their land, destroying their means of livelihood, and causing massacres at various times. Within the church the Cheyennes in |
general were friendly and welcomed government employees, white people, and other Indian tribes. But it was difficult for them to assume responsibilities and expenses connected with the church program. For a long time the Mission Board assumed the full cost of expenses, and this the Indians wished to have continued. Cheyenne interpreters had been paid with the mission budget. The American Bible Society assumed the expense of printing the New Testament into the Cheyenne language. Gradually the Christians contributed toward the upkeep of the church and assumed responsibility in many ways, including elected officers. At present they are able to meet their church expenses and part of their minister's salary. Several lay pastors served the church well. These were Frank Littlewolf, Yellowfox, Ben Limpy, Oliver Eaglefeathers, and Milton Whiteman. Milton was the first Cheyenne to be ordained as a pastor with full elder responsibilities. When Alfred and I came to the reservation in 1918 we had one son, Marden, 15 months old. In 1920 we made our first trip back to Indiana, for Alfred's ordination as an Elder. this was urgent to enable him to perform marriage and communion services. I stayed in Berne, waiting for the arrival of our second child. Alfred returned alone to the mission field. Oct. 19, 1920 Jeanne was born in my parental home in Berne. A month later, Marden, Jeanne, and I took the train back to Montana. Eighteen months later our daughter Helen was born in the Forsyth, Montana hospital. Because the roads were bad in April we traveled by horse and baggy from bushy to Lame Deer. The next morning we made the trip to Forsyth on the mail truck, traveling 65 miles. Due to these hardships delivery was hastened and Helen was born the next morning. My doctor was attending another patient and he did not respond when the nurse called him. My purpose for going to the hospital to have a doctor attend me in childbirth failed. In another 18 months Esther was born at the Crow Agency Hospital at Crow Agency, Montana. It took a half a day by car to |
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travel the 30 miles. In twenty-four hours labor started. The doctor was present was born, but refused to touch anything until the only nurse on duty came to assist him. Still another 18 months later David was born in our home at Bushy. Due to a heavy rain the government doctor in Lame Deer said he would come if we could come for him. Time was short and I decided to stay home and had two government employees attend me. David cost us nothing. There was no prenatal nor postnatal care expense. While we were on our year's leave of absence, and were living in Berne, Indiana, Lois was born 15 months after David. Because of a car accident she was born two months premature and was permanently injured. She weighed only three pounds and four ounces at birth. Our last child, Bernard, was born at the Indian hospital at Lame Deer. I developed phlebitis and was hospitalized seven weeks. When I brought Bernard home, I did not know my other children at home were sick. It was impossible to get adequate hired help at that time. Five of us family members had pneumonia and were in the hospital at the same time. Bernard died at the age of two months. The two bedroom parsonage at Busby was hardly adequate for a family with six children. Some changes were made. A bedroom was prepared on the second floor and the back porch was enclosed and windows added. These changes added comfort and convenience. During the first years of living at Bushy, coal oil lamps, acetylene lamps, and a hand powered washing machine were used. In 1931 electricity became available from the Boarding School for several hours on Monday and Tuesday so we could wash and iron clothes. It was on iii the evenings from dusk until 10:00 P.M. In 1938 rural electrification became available. At first we had a dug well that provided insufficient water during the summer. We carried water in buckets for all our needs. Then in 1938 a drilled well, run with electricity, was made possible through the support of our home church in Berne. The Rev. and Mrs, Sukau saw the need in person and encouraged their church to raise the money. The well, with piped in water, met our house and irrigation needs. Finally, trees, |
flowers, bushes, and grass for a lawn were possible. Even with our limited facilities and conveniences, we were a happy family. We all had work to do but we took time for pleasure too. We had riding horses and rose them to explore the countryside. We always had pets of various kinds, cats and a dog. Marden made a collection of wild flowers, pressed and mounted, with identification and dates. Our children had playmates from the village and school. Some of their friends were invited to say in our home for single meals or for the weekends. By having our children attend the local government boarding school as day pupils, we had more time to put to our mission work. This gave our children contact with the Indian children and their culture. As a whole, our children were well accepted. We supplemented our children's education by enrolling them in the Calvert School correspondence course located in Chicago. This was necessary because at that time educational standards were rather low in the local school, and for years no local high school was available. The freshman year of high school was first available for David in 1939. From Marden to Lois each child by the age of 16 went to Berne for part of their high school education. They lived with grandparents, David and Mathilda Habegger. The Hirschy Newsletter is published four times a year. Cost is $5.00 for four issues. The editor is David L. Habegger, 6929 Hillsboro Ct., Fort Wayne, IN 46835-1818. If you have material you would like to submit for publication, send it to the editor. We have heard with our ears, 0 God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days long ago.... It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm and the light of your face, for you loved them. Psa. 44 1, 3. |