Friday, January 09, 2004
THREE PLUS FOUR
Uncle Sophus was to be the last child born in the 1800’s. By now there were three sons ahead of him; Louie, Alfred and Emil. Farmer’s always wanted sons to carry on with the work and later, the land. Grandma would not miss her turn at milking even after delivering a baby the day before. It was expected by my grandfather and she never refused. Sophus was delivered by a mid-wife from a near-by farm. Women didn’t have the luxury of painless child-bearing or going to a doctor miles away. Farms were isolated tract’s of land closed in by fences and the mind-set of the owner.
One of the brother’s was holding Sophus when he was very young and dropped him. He was never taken to the doctor and was never quite “right” after the fall. As children we knew uncle Sophus was different and when I was old enough to ask about him I was told he had water on the brain. I’m sure it was a supposition by the family and never pursued. Sophus had the intelligence of a 10 or 12-year old. He always liked children and felt comfortable around them. We liked him a lot because he was always smiling and pleasant. He was a hard-worker and produced without resentment or question. All he ever knew was hard work in those days. He loved the animals and spent a lot of time with them.
Uncle Ted came along in April, 1900. It was always easy to remember how old he was because “he went with the years” as my Dad said. He joined the other sons working on the farm. There was little time for fun and frivolity in those days and chores were expected at a young age. However harsh the demands of the parents and the land the boys did find time for pranks on each other and at times, the animals. As Grandpa turned more work over to them and was absent from the farm more, the fun increased. Of course not at the expense of the work which was ever present. Uncle Ted was a very handsome man and seemed to be more inward than the other brothers.
My Dad, Francis Bonick (middle name taken from Grandma’s maiden name of Bonicksen) was the sixth of seven sons. He was born October 18, 1903. By now life was essentially prosperous for my grandparents and the younger boys were sent to school rather than kept home to work. They were becoming more “American” all the time and so school was a vehicle to that end. Grandma no longer allowed them to speak their native language at home. Dad said later it was like trying to tame a pack of dogs. He and his brothers were without a clue as to social requirements.
The youngest brother was Robert. He was always sickly and excused from the hard outside work. Naturally the other boys took exception to this but had no recourse. Since he was the last child, the older children had faced hardships and harsh elements he knew nothing about. Grandma always favored Sophus and Robert and I’m sure it was because they needed her more. They both stayed at home with grandma and grandpa as long as they lived.
During the time the children were born and growing up my grandparents moved from their first settlement at Nacora, to the Nickerson farm and finally to Fontanelle. The land was rich but unyeilding and was slowly conquered by men from all over Europe with their fine teams of horses. We called them neighbors.
Tomorrow we begin to follow each brother through his journey.
Essentially Esther
One of the brother’s was holding Sophus when he was very young and dropped him. He was never taken to the doctor and was never quite “right” after the fall. As children we knew uncle Sophus was different and when I was old enough to ask about him I was told he had water on the brain. I’m sure it was a supposition by the family and never pursued. Sophus had the intelligence of a 10 or 12-year old. He always liked children and felt comfortable around them. We liked him a lot because he was always smiling and pleasant. He was a hard-worker and produced without resentment or question. All he ever knew was hard work in those days. He loved the animals and spent a lot of time with them.
Uncle Ted came along in April, 1900. It was always easy to remember how old he was because “he went with the years” as my Dad said. He joined the other sons working on the farm. There was little time for fun and frivolity in those days and chores were expected at a young age. However harsh the demands of the parents and the land the boys did find time for pranks on each other and at times, the animals. As Grandpa turned more work over to them and was absent from the farm more, the fun increased. Of course not at the expense of the work which was ever present. Uncle Ted was a very handsome man and seemed to be more inward than the other brothers.
My Dad, Francis Bonick (middle name taken from Grandma’s maiden name of Bonicksen) was the sixth of seven sons. He was born October 18, 1903. By now life was essentially prosperous for my grandparents and the younger boys were sent to school rather than kept home to work. They were becoming more “American” all the time and so school was a vehicle to that end. Grandma no longer allowed them to speak their native language at home. Dad said later it was like trying to tame a pack of dogs. He and his brothers were without a clue as to social requirements.
The youngest brother was Robert. He was always sickly and excused from the hard outside work. Naturally the other boys took exception to this but had no recourse. Since he was the last child, the older children had faced hardships and harsh elements he knew nothing about. Grandma always favored Sophus and Robert and I’m sure it was because they needed her more. They both stayed at home with grandma and grandpa as long as they lived.
During the time the children were born and growing up my grandparents moved from their first settlement at Nacora, to the Nickerson farm and finally to Fontanelle. The land was rich but unyeilding and was slowly conquered by men from all over Europe with their fine teams of horses. We called them neighbors.
Tomorrow we begin to follow each brother through his journey.
Essentially Esther
