DONALD B. HUIZENGA

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I was born on a farm located the first mile south and approximately 2 1/2 miles east of Danforth, Illinois. Then go back north on a quite long lane. The buildings are now all gone. The house was moved to the place closer to the road and I guess all the other buildings are rotted away and nothing is left. Even the flowing well (artesian) is capped or the pipe pulled. This was known as the Chapman farm.

One of the first recollections I had of this place that I can still remember is the flowing well that ran into a cement tank where mother kept the milk in syrup pails and butter in crocks set on bricks. I can still see home grown muskmelons and watermelons slowly turning and cooling in this tank. Water was always a constant temperature summer or winter. We had no electricity or refrigeration, so this was our means of keeping our perishables.

The house was quite old and was heated with a hard coal stove and a cook stove in the winter. There was a "summer" kitchen attached where the cooking in summer took place so that the rest of the house didn't get too hot during the summer. The house was poorly put together and I can remember waking up in the winter with snow on the covers. Elmer and I had a north east bedroom and the windows didn't fit too good. Dad would put bales of straw and hay around the foundation to help keep the wind from going completely under the house. It had no basement. It got so cold that the potty would freeze under the bed!

Another early recollection I had of this place was the time I was playing on a cob pile and a rooster decided I didn't belong there and proceeded to attack me. I yelled bloody murder and Elmer came and "rescued" me by chasing the rooster away. It was trying to get at my eyes. We had a chicken dinner shortly after that

Another time I recall that we had a shed built onto the corn crib where we would store the grain elevator when it was not in use. We had a chicken that would lay eggs between the flights of the elevator and I would get inside the elevator and walk up to get the eggs. One time when I turned around to come down, I lost my balance and over I went and fell seven or eight feet right on my back and neck. This knocked all the wind out of me and I lay there gasping for air and thought for sure I was a goner. What really compounded the problem was that our hired man, Mennie Wiltjer, saw it all happen and he just stood there and laughed. If I would have been any older than the four or five, I would have tried to kill him! I really never forgave him for laughing at me when I thought I was dying.

One Sunday morning we came home early from church for some reason and we heard a noise in the crib. Dad and Elmer went to investigate and found our landlord, who lived part of the time in the house close to the road, up in the crib on our side tossing ears of corn one at a time to his side. All the corn was weighed and my Dad was the kind of a farmer who would give the landlord a half a load of corn rather than cheat anyone. That's the last time the landlord had a chance to do that as we moved shortly after that.

I remember also one time when we went to church that while going along the mud road, as that is all the country roads were except the narrow slab which was fairly new at this time, that Dad hit a rut with our 1914 Ford and the car jerked sideways and I got tossed around and hit my forehead on the door. You know how boxers butt their heads and a gash opens up and they bleed like a stuck hog. That's what happened to me and if you look real close, I still have that scar even though I was only about 3 or 4 at the time. It's right in one of the wrinkles above my right eye, so its not that noticeable.

When I was about 5 1/2 years old I got the whooping cough. Up to this time I was a chunky sort of a kid, but when I got the whooping cough I really had it bad. I had it for almost 3 months and I wasn't expected to live. I was so frail that when mom would carefully roll me over to change the bed clothes or my clothes that sometime if everything didn't go right my skin would break and bleed. Uncle Clarence Bensema was studying to be a doctor and one time he came home on a vacation or leave, and he visited us and he took one look at me and he tore off back to Danforth and Dr. Whitsitt and told him that if he didn't change my medicine that I wouldn't last a week. Dr. Whitsitt came and changed my treatment and from that point on I improved. I really never gained what I had lost until between the 3rd and 4th grades in school. I was 20 pounds underweight when I got out of school from the 3rd grade and was 10 pounds overweight when I started the 4th. I did have a tonsil and adenoid operation that summer which was the main reason for the gain.

I started my schooling by going to the Lenz School which was on the corner to the west of us. I remember during bad weather that we would go by Klondike which was a buggy that was enclosed with glass on all sides. It really looked like what you would picture as an old-fashioned truck cab. There were two slots under the front window for the reins to enter into the compartment.   This was a pretty classy buggy for its time. It still was colder than you can imagine but it sure beat walking. We had blankets and sometimes if we went to church in it we would have hot bricks wrapped in wool to help keep our feet warm.

The Lenz School was a typical country school with the stile in the fence and the outside toilets and the stove in the middle of the back of the school room. If your desk was close to the stove you were lucky. Usually with this type of pot belly stove you roasted on the side close to the stove and were freezing on the side away from the stove. All grades were in one room. There were 3 in the first grade. Merle Decker, who was about 2 years older than I was and his brother who was my age. Merle had diphtheria when he was very young and completely lost his hearing so he could not speak or hear. All he could do was grunt. He was far from dumb but back in those days they didn't have the facilities to train this type of handicap. This school had 2 wide desks. Something I never saw since. I didn't share my desk. I enjoyed country school as I could learn the same thing the higher grades were being taught by just listening to them and the teacher. I only went there part of the year until March when we moved to the place my Dad bought west of Danforth on the narrow slab 1 1/2 miles from town. I told everyone I was going to high school as the school housed both the grade and high schools.

About a half year before we moved, it so happened that during Halloween the Chapmans happened to be living for a week or so at their house close to the road. They only lived there on weekends or vacations, etc. Spapherd Chapman was a writer for some Chicago paper so had time when he would be down in Danforth. It seems as though his two sons and daughter were not aware of the pranks pulled at Halloween time by the locals. Harry Schroeder and several of his buddies decided to put a tick tack on their window. A tick tack was made out of an empty spool of thread when the rim or edge were notched to make it rough. This was mounted on a window so that the edges would hit the glass part when a string had been wound around the spool was pulled. This made a very vibrating noise and the Chapmans were really alarmed. They had no phone but we did, so they came running to call the sheriff at our place. Dad told them to take it easy and that it was just Halloween. They no sooner got back when Harry and his buddies activated the tick tack again and then took off in their Model T Ford. The Chapmans took after them in their Model T Ford and chased them until they got to a T in the road east of their place. Harry knew about this but the Chapmans didn't. Harry made the corner, but the Chapmans didn't. Results were wrecked Model T front end! We never found out it was Harry and his buddies until several years later!

Some other things I recall from that period while attending the Lenz school was going to a "box social." The box social was held to raise money for the operation of the school such as coal and to pay the teacher. It operated this way -- the young girls of dating age would decorate a box real fancy like with ribbons, etc., and then fill it with goodies. Usually a complete meal. These were then auctioned off. No one knew for sure who made the box or contents so then the young bucks would bid on it hoping it was the girl they had in mind. The winner would then get to eat with the girl who made it. The school would also have a short program and a raffle. I remember Dad winning a blanket (Indian) at this affair. They still had the blanket when they moved to town. I really don't remember ever hearing of another box social since that time but then it was quite popular and boys would come for miles around to bid on these boxes and meet new girl friends this way.

While we were living on the Chapman place. Dad raised quite a few hogs. They were fed on a platform made out of railroad ties. After several years with the grain spilling in between the ties it attracted quite a few rats. Dad decided to move the ties and reset them and try to get rid of the rats. We had a rat terrier dog and also had a large Airedale dog that appeared to be a full blood that had come to our door on its own. Really a nice looking dog. Mom fed it and it stayed around. The men tied their pant legs shut and started to move the ties. Each time rats would come out from under the ties and the two dogs would go after them and kill them. The Airedale got bit several times and after several days died. We sure hated that. When they got done moving and killing rats there were enough killed rats to have about a foot and one half in the bottom of a 50 gallon drum. Even I took a whack at the rats but I was pretty scared.

Another time I remember the hired man had a runaway with a team of mules (Dad had 12 head of mules at one time). The hired man steered the mules so that they were headed directly at a four section harrow that was in the yard. The mules came up to the harrow and stopped. Mules won't hurt themselves. I saw them coming down the lane and I ran for the yard fence and got inside. I'm no dummy!

In the spring of 1927 we moved to our own place west of Danforth on the narrow slab. We didn't have to worry about the mud roads then. We lived there for nine years and then moved to the south edge of Danforth. We lost the farm because of the depression and because of a bad drought for a year. We weren't alone. Quite a few other farmers were in the same predicament as we were. Kind of reminds me of the present time. Only now it's the farmers who bought not only high priced land but all the high priced machinery. Then it was high priced land (Dad bought it for $350.00 and acre) and the drought.

Grandpa and Grandma Bensema had passed away and Mom had received a little money and the folks had used it to remodel the house and they lost it also.

Because of the hard road even though it was narrow seemed to attract a lot of traffic including gypsies. I can recall that at least 3 or 4 times a year that a caravan of gypsies going by with the fancy wagons and fancy harnesses on their horses. Also they had some riding horses as well. When we saw them coming down the road we made sure our dog was in the house yard and usually we made sure he was barking real good to discourage them from coming to the house. I can recall only once when someone came wanting to tell your fortune for 50 cents. Dad chased them off. Usually the kids were out near the chicken house if you didn't chase them away as well.

While going to school was further away, it was also easier because of the narrow slab, but if it snowed and drifted it was probably a lot worse because at that time the farmers had a lot of hedge fence rows. That stopped the snow right on the slab. I recall drifts a height as 6 feet high. The township would try to move it with big caterpillar tractors but it was too deep. So we went out with shovels and started scooping. All the farmers did the same so that they could get to town for groceries, doctors and mail. Sometimes it was several days before the mail could go through again. During one of those times our school had a real important exam and I wanted to take it to get it out of the way. Elmer saddled up Prince our hackney horse and he took me to school on horseback going through and around drifts of snow. It was so cold and windy that in spite of being bundled up, I had the left side of my face frozen when I got to school. It was just a chunk of solid frozen meat! The teacher rubbed snow on it and that was the favorite remedy then. Finally I went to the rest room and washed my face in warm water and massaged it until it was no longer a chunk of frozen meat! Then the fun began. My face burned and itched and peeled and for quite some time I couldn't go outside as it would hurt unless it was protected some way. That lasted for several years that it was sensitive to the cold.

We had no electricity here either and had outside toilets as well -- fun and games! You didn't stay out there in the winter very long. Always had to take a lantern with you at night. For the summer they were not too bad although again you didn't stay too long as it was always smelly. I wonder if that isn't where my hemorrhoids were developed!

Not very many eventful happenings on this place. We worked like fools to help save the farm yet we still lost it! Dad and Mom then moved to the Wilken place just south of Danforth on the edge of town. Then I could walk to school all the way on the sidewalk right from our back door. Too bad that I only could do that for a short period as I had to finish high school in Gilman. Danforth at that time had 3 years of high school and we finished in Gilman. This is the first time I met your mother. We had shorthand and typing classes together. She sat in front of me so we got quite well acquainted that way. What really got us together was when we were practicing for a cantata. Mom was in the chorus and I had a singing part. When practice was over it was raining quite hard and she was standing at the door as if waiting for someone. I asked her if she had a way home. I knew she had a steady boy friend but didn't know that they just had a fight so she went home with me (to her home). After that time we went more or less steady. It rained every time we went together for our first 4 or 5 dates.

Your Mother had gone to the free movies in Danforth and so did I, but we never did see each other until we were in school that either one of us recalls. We lived 4 miles apart for at least 10 years and never knew each other until we went to school as seniors.