In
the spring of 1871 we sold our spare horses and other belongings; and loaded a
Car for
Page 10
{In
the summer our Son Christian was born but died a few month later} here at
Lincoln I worked my two teams, excavating cellars and hauling freight,
from [
] City and other places:,, In the
fall of 1872., I drove my Mule team, to The Republican Valley; where I
homesteaded my farm in Section 35 – town 3 –Rang[r] 20 west 6th
Principal Meridian -- -- -- during the colder weather, I drove back to Lincoln,
and in The spring, took my wife and Baby’s along and arrived on our homestead,
on the 12th day April 1873. -- -- On the 13th day
of April, just after unloading our belongings, a most fearfull rain and
snowstorm set in; which lasted over Three days; and we had neither food nor
shelter for our poor teams – and fed them the husk out of our
strawticks;,, We ourselves found a
little protection, in an open Log [shant] without any roof on the same:” -- --
What your dear Mother, and Myself suffered, to keep our little Baby’s warm and
dry, you can not imagine – and my pen is too poor, to describe the same!! -- --
-- -- -- Our horses and mules, broke loose from cold and hunger, the second
night – and it was on the, 3rd day after the storm, that I
Tracked
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Them
to the mouth of the Sappa:”-- -- Soon after this, I found a couple of
homesteaders, hired them to help, put up our first Log Cabin in which our
daughter Elizabeth was born July 25th 1873. -- -- Now we went
to work with a good free will; digging a well, putting up a shed for the teams,
breaking a little of the Prairie sod, and put in a few acre of Corn, and the
rest of the time, I used the Armstrong machine; and put up as much Prairie hay
as possible. – Of course our harvest didn’t amount to much; for we planted so
little – but the pesky Grasshoppers, came along, anyhow; -- and looked over the
location; so as to be able to find it the following Year:” -- -- --
The
next year, we broke out about 15 Acres and would have had a nice bit of Corn;
but The hoppers Came, and saved me the trouble of husking it:,, -- -- -- --
Then came the Year 1875. and with it our Son Adolph, on April 21st.
-- -- -- Now we had on hand five hungry little ones == a part
of our happy
lives!! But they had to be
fed, and Clothed; and the measly hoppers took ever thing,
That we Expected to harvest:,,
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So
There were many heartaches, of what to do in The future!!:” We kept on a planting and sowing; but even
The Uear 1876; our entire crops were distroyed[sic], when we almost had a big Corn Crop in our reach == at times we were
much discouraged; but Yet we held on and struggled for our little Band:,, -- --
--
The
Year 1877. was a blessed one for all of us, besides an abundant Corn and Wheat
Crop;; we harvested a bouncing Baby girl, for on May 2nd our
Cathariene was born, -- to help us, to chase the hoppers = but she came to
late; for the Bugs must have got scared and They never bothered us afterwards!
-- -- --
From
now on, Time passed somewhat easier for The Children grew up like Sunflowers;
and were soon able to help a little here and there; {In the Year 1879, our
daughter Maggie was born but died a few mont later;,,}
{The
Year 1881 brought us our Son Henry who also died when but a few month old:}
So time passed with Sorrow – Grief --; and
happiness; for all of us:,, -- -- -- Excepting The Year 1880, we raised fair to
good Crops, and with The Childrens help; we got along pretty well:,, but yet we
needed
Page 13
Help,
for if one on the top of the list got married; it was nessessary [sic], that another took her place == == == == == So on
The 11th day of October 1882. our Son Nicolai was born; and
promised to take The burden off The old mans shoulders = but that still left
your Mother, to carry her big and heavy load: -- -- -- -- -- Therefore kind
providence was with us; and on The 15th day of August 1884
our daughter Dorothy was born;,, --
This
made it an even dozen; That the good Lord had given to us;,, and as we now
look back over the past; we must say:,, Father
in Heaven we Thank Thee:, Amen!!
In
the Year 1885, we sold off, our stock on hand; for I was too sickly; to do the
farm work any longer – we rented a house in Orleans ,
where we lived until The fall 1889, when we moved to our farm 12 ½ miles west
of Orleans
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While
here I was thrown down, on my sick bed, for a couple of month, suffering from
Neuralgia of The heart, and at the same time of Erysipelas over the whole
head:’- What I suffered, when near death door; nobody Knows but me – and
The almighty father in Heaven
From
The fall of 1889 untill the spring of 1910, we lived on our farm, west of town;
then we moved into one of our houses; which we had built in 1909. and where we
now live happy and contended[sic]== spending
our old age, in peacefull retirement, and will not go forth, to any other home,
until The good Lord says;,, Come!! -- --
Now
in conclusion, of This short;; and Yet long life == of your old parents == let
me say to you, our dear Children; That at all times, we never looked for trouble
in The future!! We always took
the bright side, of happenings, as They came to us; and were always trying to
face The Sun: So That we could’nt[sic] see any shadow!= And to you each and every one we
would say:
Always try and face the Sun!!
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Don’t hunt for trouble!
But look for success –-
You will find what you look for –-
Don’t look for distress -- --
If you see but your shadow
Remember I
pray
That The sun is still shining –
But you are in the way. –
Don’t grumble, don’t bluster
Don’t dream and don’t shirk –
Don’t Think of your worries;,,
But Think of your work;” –
The worries, wil vanish –
The work will be done -- -- --
For no one, sees his shadow –
Who
faces the Sun !!!—
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yours with Eternal Love;,, your
Mother and Father
Dorothy and August Sasse
October 15, 1911.
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Was it really only nine years ago this weekend that my sons and I drove the Buick to Nebraska to spend July 4th with my parents? That was the summer of the owl family living in the maple tree, now taken over by the 
