lLSE MUELLER

I was born in Germany, in Lower Saxon Timber House, the third of six children. The house was built of timber, straw, and mud. The house had four bedrooms, running water, electricity, but not a modem bathroom. It was a comfortable, pleasant place. In the Lower Saxon House design, the living quarters are on one side and animal quarters on the other side — all under one roof. The second level was for grain storage and the third level for hay and straw. We had milking cows, pigs, horses and chickens. The crops were small grain like barley, oats, peas, rye, cow beet, potato, Fava beans, and hay from alfalfa. The place was in the village, the school and church were close by, also the grocery store, bakery and postoffice. The post or mail came in a minibus. It was also used for public transportation. Only a few people owned cars.

The cows had to be herded through town to the pastures. The stalls were cleaned once a day and a new bedding of straw made them comfortable. The owner of the place was required to sweep the street. This was done on Saturday afternoon.

The school was only one room. Half of the building was the teacher's living quarters. School started at 8:00. Early grades were home by 11:00. The upper grades were home by 1:00. School started with a song — A Song of Season. There are a number of them still in my head. The German culture is very rich in music and its lyrics. Every village has a glee club. The church youth have a brass band playing hymns for senior birthdays and wedding anniversaries. It is very festive. There was always a sense of community.

Then things turned to a different atmosphere. In 1939, the war started. I was six years old. Instead of the old customs, they were replaced with patriotic speeches and music. We kids heard all of the Nazi indoctrination. We were told we were the best. It was mandatory to belong to the Hitler youth. They wore handsome uniforms. My dad refused us kids to wear them. I could not go to the meetings. He told us, "You do better helping your mother." He was a pacifist. He served in WWI, was wounded, and had mental problems like our men coming from the Middle East.

As the war went on, cities being bombed, we took in relatives who lost their homes. We had three babies under two and four persons over 75. One was my grandmother who was suffering from cancer. I never had a bed to myself. I slept with my grandmother.

As the war was coming to an end, the Americans occupied our region. One day a jeep drove in front of our house, big brass military men knocked on our door. My mother let them in our living room. They wanted to visit with my father. Now there was a change in government. They appointed my dad Burgemeister (Mayor) and Justice of the Peace of the region. This would be a simple position in normal times. But times were not normal.

The population doubled. People were fleeing from the east, along with all the bombed-out people. These people needed shelter and food. My father had the awesome responsible task to provide food and shelter. Most people were kind to house people and feed them. We had a lot of people at our table to feed. I learned to peel potatoes — lots of potatoes! My grandfather, in his upper 80s, said never had he seen times like this.

We took in an old gentleman from Slovakia and a boy from Romania. There was a culture problem. Grandfather in the upper 80s, a staunch Protestant, and Mr. Gottstein a Catholic. It worked out OK. They respected each other, but never held a conversation. There were many hardships. Mr. Gottstein had no idea what happened to his daughter. One day he received a letter from her and she is coming to visit. She is a nun. Poor Grandpa. My mom fixed a nice meal and they ate alone in the living room without all the people in the household. They would not have a chance to visit.

Autumn came. Along most of the country roads are apple trees — all kinds of apple trees, some very early, many were very tasty. The money went to the country treasuries. In later years, we had our own orchard. Those trees are not there anymore. Autumn meant harvest vacation from school in order for the kids to help harvest potatoes and cow beets. The machine pulled by two horses dug them out. They were picked by kids into a willow basket, then emptied into burlap sacks. The beets mainly pulled out in rows, the foliage removed by a cleaver, then thro»vn into a wagon and stored in a cellar. Cows and pigs liked them to eat. The potatoes were stored likewise. When all was done, all the sacks were washed, dried and put away for next year's use.

The stores were empty. Part of the reason was the money had no value. Now we had all those people to feed and house. It was not uncommon to have dozens of people begging for food. All the fat was put into the daily diet. There was no soap or detergent to buy. At first we made soap out of lard or lye. How were we going to wash our laundry with three babies and an aging grandfather? We put wood ashes into a big kettle with water and heated the solution, let the ashes settle and washed with that solution. It cleaned but left the laundry gray. It was put on the grass and sprinkled with water. The sun bleached it. Then it had to be rinsed again and hung on the line.

What to do when there is no clothing to buy? For a few years there was nothing to buy and with growing kids, that is a problem. We had three sheep in stalls. They were sheared, the wool was washed and carded or combed. My mom learned to spin beautiful yam to be knitted into beautiful sweaters. It kept us warm. Also socked were knitted. It was a self-help deal.

No Sugar: Two acres of sugar beet were planted. It took much hoeing and weeding. They were pulled manually — very hard work. The roots are long and deep. The sugar beets were washed, scraped and chopped, put into a press, the juice was boiled into a syrup. It took much time to reduce it to thick syrup which they called "Black Honey." After all this, the house needed to be scrubbed because everything was sticky.

No Meat because we were classified by the government as "Self providers." All the meat which was consumed in this household had to be raised and butchered on our farm. We were not allowed to buy anything. Only the city people had ration cards. We butchered one day and the next it was worked up into ham, sausage and roast. It had to be inspected by a man who came with a microscope to test the meat for trichinosis. We could eat the cured ham and bacon raw or uncooked. The hams were put into a brine for a few weeks, then washed and peppered, dried and then smoked. Nothing was thrown away. Pigs feet were cooked with pea soup, ears with bean soup. It must be good nutrition because I was never sick.

In 1950, I was 17 years old. Company from Iowa in America, was coming — Uncle Henry who emigrated to Iowa in 1922. A kind, tall, good-looking man. I took a liking to him. He asked me, "Are you ever thinking of going to the U.S.A.?" We had so many pictures from the U.S.A. and I always was curious what it would be like to go there. Then the future looked bleak.

We contacted the American Consulate to get my papers. My brother-in-law drove me to Frankfurt. We had to travel there twice. They gave me a physical and mental test, looked into if I had a criminal record. It took a year to get this done. My mom and dad were saddened and they lost a big helper. Uncle Henry sponsored for me. That means he is responsible if I become a welfare case.

I took the boat from Hamburg to New York. The voyage took about five days. We saw nothing but gray and the sea was rough at times. We landed in New York July 3, 1951. It was very hot and humid. I took the train to Newton, Iowa, and had to change trains in Chicago. I was sitting there all alone. A nice old gentleman approached me and said in German, "Are you German?" I said, "How can you tell?" He said, "I can tell."

I arrived in Newton on a hot summer eve. The train took two days. Uncle Henry and family greeted me. All of a sudden reality set in. Nobody spoke German and I could not speak English. I spent eight months on the farm and going to high school, trying to learn English. I gained weight, all my clothes did not fit. I was not used to the American diet and being physically inactive. I felt isolated.

There was no transportation. I had felt very free in Germany. I got around with bus and train. I was not used to the dress code. I had to walk to the school bus. Winter in Iowa is very frigid. One was not allowed to wear slacks. In Germany one could wear ski-pants all winter. Here it was bobby sox and dress.

The English Language: How hard it is to learn a language! One should learn that in the formative years. I can never deny my German heritage. The accent will always be with me. My Aunt Vera was very helpful. She dug up her son's old first grade school book. There I learned the words very fast. The book had the pictures of the object and the word that went to it. To pronounce the words was another matter. I had painful facial cramps trying to speak English.

I made a few friends in school. One was Ellen Maytag. She was the heiress of the Maytag Washing Machine factory. She was very nice. We had things in common. Her ancestors were German. Another thing was the local kids wanted nothing to do with her. She was the richest kid and I was the poorest of the poor. She took me to her home. Her grandma was friendly and spoke German. What a nice sound!

There were family reunions. I did not know I had so many relatives in the U.S.A. They had been coming here since the Revolutionary War. I went to a youth meeting at my Aunt Vera's church. A Pastor Mohr told me to come to Marshalltown. He was the chaplain of the Deaconess Hospital and also had a congregation. They gave me a cleaning job along with washing dishes. In the elevator so many young people addressed me, "Why aren't you in school?" Also a doctor advised me to go to school.

One day I was mopping a patient's room. The lady showed an interest in me. She was from Gladbrook, Iowa. She spoke a Schleswig-Holstein Platt I understood. She told me of Mercy Hospital which had a two-year nursing school. She knew a German girl who graduated from there. I had nothing to wear, I had gained much weight. And having not much money, I bought a dress for $6. On a hot summer day I walked 20 blocks in this taffeta dress to Mercy Hospital.

I introduced myself to Sister Irene who was very nice and friendly. She wanted to know my previous education. I told her I had a wartime education. She told me to get some school papers and grades from Germany. "Let me test your English." She took me to the doctor's lounge, opened the American Medical Journal and said, "Read this article."

I had no confidence in myself and was so nervous I was shaking After that she gave me an I.Q. test and again I was nervous. I had to pull myself together not to shake. I met with Sister Irene the next day. To my surprise she said, "School will start September 7. You need $100 for school and $50 for books." I had some money but not that much. I asked Uncle Henry for a loan. He had no problem with that. So to school I went.

I lived in a house with all the other student nurses. I had a bed in the attic with eight girls. It did not cost me to eat or sleep. The food was good. The first six months were only classes. After that I started floor duty along with classes. The first few months were very difficult. I still had a language problem. I cried. The whole situation was depressing. Sister Florentine said to me, "What's wrong with you? If you have a complex, get over it."

After that I made up my mind, I will survive! I got better and gained confidence. I took my State Board in the summer of 1954. I should have gone on to school, but in the meantime I met Helmut. He was from Chicago and had a job in Des Moines for the Royal Globe Insurance Company. He was a lawyer and had a home in Des Moines. We were married in the fall of 1954. We lived there for six years. We had three children — Linda, Kurt and Helga.

We bought an old run-down house in Johnston. It had five acres, an old barn and chicken house. It was a lot of work. We did things as we had the money. It was a nice place — trees, a big garden, a blind cow, nutty pigs and chickens. Then we invested in rough land by Jester Park and planted 30,000 Christmas trees.

In 1970, the land was condemned by the government for Saylorville Dam. That is the reason we are here in Clarke County. We bought the old Bell Farm. This place I feel at home. It has hills and forest. Harry Kearney leased the farm from us in 1964, and retired in 1970. We moved to the farm and call it home. Slowly we built up a cattle herd. Charles, my son-in-law and Paul, my grandson, are doing a good job in husbandry and haying. All is well southeast of Osceola.

I am fortunate to have my family close by. Watching the grand- and great-grandchildren grow up is a joy. When help is needed, I can count on them. Chuck Graves, my son-in-law and his wife, Linda, my daughter, just live a mile from my place. Dave Offenburger, son-in-law, his wife, my daughter, Helga live 20 miles from here in Lucas County. All were kind and helpful when Helmut was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Helmut had been an Administrative Law Judge for the Iowa Industrial Commission.. He traveled all over the state, had been in 99 court houses, judging cases in which there had been injuries at the workplace. He died August 17, 2008. My son Kurt left us all too soon. He was diabetic and died of insulin shock on July 24, 2004, at the age of 48. We all miss him very much.

My grandchildren are Paul Graves, farmer and mechanic; Emmi Binning is a teacher. Hannah, 16, Nickolas 11 are being educated in the Chariton School District. Kaleb is two years old. Linda is working as the Clerk of Court in Osceola, Helga for the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) as a wildlife biologist. My great-grandchildren — Tyler, 5, Cole 3, and Remington Binning, 7 months, live south of Woodburn.

As I am writing this, my surrounding is a paradise; The grass is green, clematis, hostas, impatiens and phlox are blooming The humming birds take advantage of this smorgasbord.

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Last Revised December 8, 2014