Hans In Luck: Part 1

Dear Friends,
I hope this post finds you all well. I know I should have posted sooner. But, to tell the truth, I have not been in the mood to sit down at the computer and write. Not to say I don't have anything to say. Just not in the mood. Maybe it's the coming holidays. Maybe it's just other things in life getting in the way. Maybe I'm just procrastinating about getting somethings done. Oh well, I'm here now.
It's finally looking like the Decembers I remember from my childhood.

This was taken Thanksgiving at my parents house. There is more snow on the ground now.
Anyway, here is the first part of the next story from The Riverside Literature Series:

HANS IN LUCK
1.
The Silver, The Horse, The Cow, and The Pig

Hans had served his master seven years, and
at last said to him:--
"Master, my time is up; I should like to go
home and see my mother; so give me my
wages." And the Master said:--
"You have been a good and faithful servant,
so your pay shall be handsome." Then he gave
him a piece of silver as big as his head.
Hans took out his handkerchief, put the piece
of silver into it, hung it over his shoulder, and
jogged off homeward. As he went lazily on,
dragging one foot after the other, a man came
 in sight, trotting along gayly on a capital horse.
"Ah!" said Hans aloud, "what a fine thing
it is to ride on horseback! there he sits as if he
were at home in his chair; he trips against no
stones, spares, his shoes, and gets on he hardly
knows how." The Horseman heard this, and
said:_-

"Well, Hans, why do you go on foot then?"
"Ah," said he, "I have this load to carry;
to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I
cannot hold up my head, and it hurts my
shoulder sadly."
"What do you say to changing?" asked the
Horseman. "I will give you my horse, and you
shall give me your silver."
"With all my heart," said Hans. "But I
will tell you one thing-- you will have a weary
task to drag it along." The Horseman got off,
took the silver, helped Hans up, put the bridle
into his hand, and said:--
"When you want to go very fast, you must
smack your lips, and cry 'Jip.'"
Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse and
rode merrily on. After a time he thought he
should like to go a little faster, so he smacked
his lips and cried"Jip." Away went the horse
full gallop; Hans held on tightly, but soon he
was thrown off, and lay in a ditch by the road-
side. His horse would have run away, if a Cow-
hers had not stopped it. Hans soon came to
himself, and got upon his legs again. He was
greatly vexed, and said to the Cowherd:--
"This riding is no joke when a man gets on
a beast like this, that stumbles ans flings him off
now once for all. I like your cow a great deal

better. I could walk along at my ease behind
her, and have milk, butter, and cheese every day
into the bargain. What would I give to have
such a cow!"
"Well," said the Cowherd," if you are so
fond of her, I will change my cow for your
horse."
"Done!" said Hans merrily. The Cowherd
jumped upon the horse and away he rode.
Hans drove his cow quietly, and thought his
bargain a very lucky one.
"If I have only a piece of bread-- and I cer-
tainly shall be able to get that-- I can eat my
butter and cheese with it. When I am thirsty I
can milk my cow and drink the milk. What can
I wish for more?"
Now he came to an inn; he halted, and gave
away his last penny for a piece of bread, and ate
it. Then he drove his cow toward the village
where his mother lived. The heat grew greater
as noon came on, till at last he found himself on
a wide plain; it would take him more than an
hour to cross the plain. He began to be so hot
and parched that his tongue cleaved to the roof
of his mouth.
"I can find a cure for this," Thought he;
"now I will milk my cow and quench my thirst."
So he tied her to the stump of a tree, and held
his leathern cap to milk into it; but not a drop
was to be had.

While he was trying his luck and doing very
ill, the uneasy beast gave him a kick on the
head; the kick knocked him down, and there he
lay a long time senseless. Luckily a Butcher
soon came by, wheeling a pig in a wheelbarrow.
"What is the matter with you?" asked the
Butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told him
what had happened, and the Butcher gave him
some water.
"There, drink and refresh yourself. Your
cow will give you no milk; she is an old beast,
fit only to be killed and eaten."
"Alas, alas!" If I kill her, what would she
be good for? I hate cow-beef; it is not tender
enough for me. If it were a pig now, I could
do something with it; it would at any rate make
some sausages."
"Well," said the Butcher," to please you, I
will change, and give you the pig for the cow."
"Heaven reward you for your kindness!" said
Hans, as he gave the Butcher the cow. He
took the pig off the wheelbarrow, and drove it
along, holding it by the string that was tied to
its leg.

Well what do you think of this story so far?  So far he started out with silver as large as his head, and now he has a pig. Do you think any of his trades were very smart or did all the others see a not so bright person?
Stay tuned  till next time for the conclusion of this tale.

Since it is winter time and Christmas is almost here I'll share with you once again a few pictures I posted before.

 A winter scene from the past that looks like it does today right now.

 A Christmas greeting from the past.

Me and my siblings at Christmas time.(I'm on the right).

Well that's all I have for you today.
I hope you have a good week.
Come back soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy

The Star-Gazer plus three more stories

Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you all well. As for me a couple of changes. I no longer have the dogs. Two other family members have taken them. I hope they will be well taken care of. The husband has now gone back to work. So I once again have most of my nights to myself.
The weather here is now turning colder. I'm not sure if I'm ready for winter. But there is nothing I can do to change what is heading our way.

Anyway, here are four short stories from the Riverside Literature Series:

THE STAR-GAZER.

A certain wise man wont to go out every
evening and gaze at the stars. Once his walk
took him outside of the town, and as he was
looking with all his eyes into the sky, and did
not see where he was going, he feel into a ditch.
He was in a sad plight, and set up a cry. A
man who was passing by heard him, and stopped
to see what was the matter.
"Ah, sir," said he, "when you are trying to
make out what is in the sky, you do not see
what is on earth."


THE BOY AND THE NETTLE.

A Boy playing in the fields was stung by a
 Nettle. He ran home to his Mother, and told
her that he had but touched the weed, and it
had stung him.
"It was just touching it that stung you,"
said she. "The next time you meddle with a
Nettle, grasp it boldly, and it will not hurt you."


THE DOG IN THE MANGER.

A Dog once made his bed in a manger. He
could not eat the grain there, and he would not
let the Ox eat it, who could.


THE BOY WHO STOLE APPLES.

An Old Man found a rude Boy up in one of
his trees, stealing apples, and bade him come
down. The young rogue told him plainly that
he would not.
"Won't you?" said the Old Man. "Then
I will fetch you down." So he pulled up some
tufts of grass and threw them at him; but this
only made the youngster laugh.
"Well, well," said the Old Man. If neither
words nor grass will do, I will try what virtue
there is in stones." With that he pelted the
Boy heartily with stones, which soon made him
clamber down from the tree and beg the Old
Man's pardon.

These are my brief summary of these stories.

Story number 1.
If this story was wrote today the person would not be looking at the stars, but at their phone.  Same result.

Story number 2.
If you have ever come upon nettle you will know that just lightly touching one will sting. I'm not sure about grasping some boldly will not hurt you. Never tried have you?

Story number 3.
Sounds like someone that will do what they want but not let someone else have what they need.

Story number 4.

The man gave the boy two chances to get out of the tree safely. It took something hard to really get his attention.


Here are a couple of newspaper clippings:

 I think this is someone grandma knew from Birnamwood.

This is a clipping from The Chicago Sunday Tribune July 18, 1954.

Here is a picture I might have shown you before:

Not sure who these girls are. There a number of pictures of them.

Well, that's all I have to share with you today.
I hope you will come back soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy

Ann: June 6, 1933; Gary Ind.

Dear Friends,
I hope you had a good week. Mine included, the husband having surgery, which went very well. The weather could have been a little warmer. Spring is trying to spring but winter still has a grip on things around here. If I could I would tell Winter "Just let it go, Please. You come back the middle of November". But I don't think it wants to listen, yet.
Anyway, here is the next letter from Ann:

As always, for those that find it hard to read, here is what I think it says:

                            June
                             1933
                             Gary Ind.
Dear Howard;
                I got your most welcome letter
was very glad to hear from you how are you?
I hope fine, I'm very sorry I couldn't write
sooner, I was working house work and they
Lady I took care of was sick she didn't eat
much and 2 weeks ago she died, as I felt bad
because I work 4 months there and was so
used to her anyway, you know I could be
busy not going home, but once and week,
and being with her, I didn't have much time
tell me what are you doing now there
have you been out enjoying yourself much?
Are you going yo the Worlds Fair, this June
or September? I wish you would, I know
I'll be there, I'm near it and won't miss it.
have you missed me much? I wonder, I wish I
were there, I haven't a chance to get there
no how. I wish i could find a way there.
have you heard from Helen Westberg or
Wm. She hasn't answered my last letter
when you see her tell her to answer
my letter, Gee I have been to a few
dances and movies lately but I'd much
rather be out in Wisconsin having

fun, tell me all about yourself what sort
of a fellow are you? and what sort of a
girl can you like or fall in love with
must she be good looking or just plain
clean and wise or inocent and domb?
if you were ever married how would you
treat you wife? how would you want
her to be? Please write me a whole
lot about yourself and about the girl
you would marry some day I love to
get interesting long letters to read so
you know my weakness, I'll be writing
more often after this I'm not working
just staying home and Howard Please
send me a picture of yourself and of
your friends girls and boys both I love
to have my book full of snaps and all
kinds of pictures I'm sending a few small
pictures of my cousin, here she is with a girl
friend she's on the left and alone on the next
one here's one of my alone, answer soon
                 Your Pal forever
               all the luck in the world
                Howard        
                    "Ann"

Here are the pictures that were with this letter:

The top one is of her.
But I'm not sure if this was the right picture of her cousin because there is only one girl in the picture.

It looks like she was able to have a job for awhile since the last letter. To bad it didn't last longer.
I'm not sure if Grandpa went to this Worlds Fair or not. I did have some things from a Worlds Fair but I'm not sure if it was the same one.
I do wonder how Grandpa answered her questions about what he was looking for in a wife. Now that is one letter I would have loved to have read.
I did leave some of the miss spelling in just because of how wrote some of the words. Like "innocent and dumb" being misspelled.

Here is a picture from the scrap book:

Though old Mrs. Swanny,
Who lives in the Shoe,
Has babies galore--
She knows just what to do!

She bathes 'em with Swan,
From their heads to their heels,
The soap that is purer
Than finest castiles!

Now we know the name or the old lady in the shoe, finally!

Here is a joke from the joke book, "Bedtime Laughs" 1956:

I bet that's one little boy that will never what a bee again.

Since there were a couple of pictures included with the letter I decided not to pick a random picture.

Well that's all I have to share with you today.
I hope everyone has a very enjoyable Easter weekend.
Don't forget to drop by again real soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy

Harriet: Dec. 23, 1928 Chicago, Ill.

Dear Friends,
Well, it's good to see you again. I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was quiet. Not much happened here for me. It was a dreary one. Kind of rainy all weekend. I think it is time for us to start seeing more sun and warmer temps like today. I hope it is the beginning of sunny days.

Anyway, here is the next letter from Harriet:

As always, for those that find it hard to read, here is what it says:

                Chicago Ill.
                Monday Eve.
Dearest Sweetheart Howard
Received your sweet
letter and sure made me
happy to hear from you
again-
Well whats new up
around that part of the
Country. Nothing much I
suppose.
We're having horrible
weather down here raining
and snowing and every
thing imaginable.

          -2-
Was sick with the flue for a
 couple days last week. Just
stayed home from work one
day so wasn't to bad.
Yes honey I received the package
and want to thank you very
much. Just can't hardly wait
until Xmas so I can open
it-
It seems like the days just
drag by now until Xmas.
The Co. we work for is giving
 a party next Saturday for their
employees.
Hope we have a good time.
We went to a Swedish dance a
couple of weeks ago. Sure had a time
of my life. The fellows all talked
Swedish and some Norwegian of course.
We sure got a good kick out of it.
Well where are you going
to spend Xmas.
Don't know what we are going
to do or not do.-
Suppose the programs are
all on by now. Sure miss them

Have you seen Clarence lately
and how is the world treating him
He never answered my letter. That's
a brother for you eh.
Walter called me the other night and
sends his best regards to you
Well sweetheart there's nothing new
to write about. So all I can do is
to sign off until next time.
Will close with heaps of (love & Kisses)
                      Your
                  sweetheart-
                   Harriet
              (ISYIMDTN)

Just a nice letter just before Christmas. I hope I got the date right.The post mark for the day is hard to read. And she said it was Monday evening.
Walter is still in contact with her from time to time.

The meaning for the letters on the bottom is: I'll see you in my dreams to-night.
That was an easy one to figure out.

Here is a picture from the scrap book:

The rotary SnowPlow in Action- this exclusive picture was taken near Jackson, Washington county, Wednesday afternoon after a North western train upon which 89 passengers were marooned had been hauled back to Jackson by a relief engine. Manual laborers, who shoveled snow off the track so that the relief locomotive could work, shoveled it back on the track so it could be scattered by the plow. Note that the snow is flying over the top of the nearly buried telephone posts.
Journal Staff Photo.

Here is a page from the joke book:

Enjoy the jokes.

No idea when this was taken. Or who is in the picture.

Well that's about all I have to say right now, except, I was looking out the window before and noticed an eagle flying around. Then there was another one. Then a third one came into view. After a little bit a fourth one joined in. They looked like they were having a rumble in the sky. They started climbing higher and higher. It was a very interesting thing to watch.
I hope you will drop by again real soon for more Fading History.
Till then.
Your friend,
Sandy

Theresa Lambert: Sept. 19, 1919, Chicago plus other pictures.

Dear Friends,
How are you? I'm doing okay. I've got a little scratchy throat, but still fine.
That next letter is once again from Theresa. She is now back in Chicago.
So here it is.

In case it's hard for you to read here is what is says:

Dear Friend,

We arrived in Chicago safely Tuesday evening.

I no sooner got cleaned up and went out to a girl friends

house when I was greatly surprised. All the boys and girls got together

and made a surprise party on me. We had a good time.

How did the pictures turn out. Rotten I sup-

pose. But after you have them developed send me some any way.

How is your sick cow getting along?

I hope you didn't kill her. Gee that's awful.

Well I am glad I am off of the farm any way. 

Send the best regards to your mother and father 

from my mother. Well I guess I will close.

Hoping you will send the pictures.

Your Friend

Theresa

Here is another of the pictures I think is of Kathryn, Theresa and her sisters and bother.

I'm still not sure who is who but maybe some day someone will be able to tell me.

I was looking through some of the pictures and finally decided it was time to start putting some of them out there.

The first one is of my grandpa and his brother Thomas.

Grandpa is the one standing. I did know Uncle Thomas. He never married. He died in 1970. So I was about 8 years old. I'm not sure how old they were in this picture but, they look to be in their teens.

This next picture is I think of a logging camp. I'm not sure where. I'm thinking maybe from up Ogema way.

This next picture is just one of many that I have no idea who it is.

The picture was taken in Appleton, Wis. If you know this woman I would like to know more about her.

This next article I found with some other articles. I thought it was interesting and with all the trouble with things now a days this might get people thinking.

Click on it to read what this old farmer had to say about things at the time.

Well that's all I have time for now. 

With my regards to all,

Your Friend,

Sandy

Welcome!

Welcome to Dear Howard, A Fading History.
I thought it was time to share with anyone who is interested in history that is slowly fading away.
The history I'll be sharing is from my grandparents time.
My Grandpa was born in 1900 and past away in 1984.
My Grandma was born in 1909 and past away in 1980.
The things I'll be sharing are pictures and old portraits.

A lot of the pictures my dad does not know who they are.

I also have a basket full of letters that were written to my Grandpa from about 1919 to the early 1930's.

The letters were from a number of different women and one male cousin. My hope here is to maybe find the families of the women and learn what happened to them. This was a time when my Grandpa was looking for a wife. The only letters I don't have are the ones from my Grandma. They were buried with her when she past.

Reading these letters are very interesting and sometimes challenging. The hand writing and spelling can be very hard to decipher. Some letters are very newsy. Some are just brief notes. And some are written on index size cards. I just wish I knew what he wrote them.They make it sound like he was very good at writing.  Sometimes they tell him not to be so mushy. Others tell he to burn the letter after reading.

I've learn things about him that I never knew or thought he would do. It's hard to believe your Grandparents as young people. It's surprising to learn they could be, how should a put this, risk takers in a way.

As time goes by I'll fill in things I do know about or comment on different things.

I hope to encourage other members of my family to share things they have and stories from what they knew growing up.

I do have one other thing I will be sharing from time to time.And that's things from a scrape book someone kept in the 1930's.

It was about the time when those 5 baby girls were born in Canada and some really bad snow troubles. There are a number of other things in it also.

Well that's the plan anyway.

I hope you will enjoy the history I'll be sharing and maybe someday encourage others to share their history before it all fades away, never to be seen or heard of again.

Well that's all for now.

Yours always,

Sandy