Chapter 10

 

We began to settle down in  our home, and it was a cold winter. Lots of snow and cold weather. I only had a fifteen minute walk to work and it wasn’t so bad.

   In November Sena told me she was pregnant and we were going to have a baby. Tally Ho, We were just like other people and going to have a family. Her mother was happy for us and her Grand Parents had us over for lunch and coffee. they were happy for us also. Grandma Onstwedder would make a dish called buscho, Which was potatoes and cabbage cooked together with a large piece of metworst sausage. it was cooked up and then whipped like mashed potatoes blended with cabbage and was very good, along with metworst sausage.

This was an old Dutch dish and  Grandma would make it every Monday and Grandpa would would bring enough for our supper delivering it in his little 1931 Ford pickup truck. You could always tell when Grandpa was coming down the street, He never seemed to master the clutch in that truck and the engine would be racing when he changed gears. They were in their mid 70s when I met them and they always hung on to a little piece of their Dutch Heritage. When Sena and I would go over for a Sunday visit, Grandma always served us a cup of tea and a windmill cookie.

   Sena was very close to her Grandparents when she was a little girl and they maintained that relationship as long as they lived. We used to go to Miners farm for a visit. Miner and Anna his wife lived on a farm in Orleans, Mi. (that is near Belding.)

 

Miner, was the oldest son of Grandma and Grandpa, and he had a farm. He worked on the farm and probably that is why he did that kind of work as he was the one that lived out his life as an Alein and never was a naturalized citizen. A friend of mine and I, Denver Gillean used to go rabbit hunting on uncle Miners farm and it would be cold outside and after we came back to his house to get warm,

   He said, Do you fellows like hard cider? Yes was the answer, He said, I have a barrel in the cellar and there is a cup there , dip some out and bring it back into the kitchen. We would take a container and rake the fruit flys back and fill our container and go back to the kitchen. We would sit there and drink that cider and in a few minutes you would feel real warm. That stuff was potent. (It must have been the fruit flys.) Miner and Anna are buried in the Orleans Cemetary. Anna had a son when they got married, His name was Charles Onstwedder. Chuck as he was called and his wife Martha are still living at this time on Long Lake near Belding, Mi. He retired from the Ionia News, a newspaper in Ionia, Mi. They had one boy and a girl.. Butch and Nancy.  Miner never had any children of his own.

 

   Henrietta, was the next oldest and married Abe Jacobusse. Abe was a little man and worked delivering coal when I knew him. His family had money and he worked for them. We used to buy coal from him as we had a stoker and steam heat. He would deliver a ton of stoker coal and with a chute put it in our basement and collect his $20.00 and be on his way. They would earn a dime and a quarter and spend a penny and a nickel.get the message?.They had two daughters,  Margie and Connie. Margie is deceased but Connie is living at this time.

   Sadie, next married Marvin Armock. Marv was a good business man and worked in the large produce market that we had in Grand Rapids. He was a broker for the large produce companies and made a good living. They had five children, Donna, Nick who was a Doctor, Pat, Mary and Marvie.

 

   Next was Grace, she married John Noppert and had ten children. John was a truck driver and their childrens names were, Henry, John, Jack, Bob,Janet, Jerry, Sena,  Joyce, Ruthie and Barbara. They lived near Sena and me on Scribner ave. and we got to know them very well. Bro. Glen, Bob and Jerry Noppert used to hang around together.

 

   Next was Christine, she married Wilfred Clay, he was a truck driver and later a dispatcher for a truck line. They were divorced in 1947. They had four children, Sena, who was to become my wife and Archie, Lorraine an William Clay. ( Billy)

 

   John, next was a policeman in Grosse Point, Mi and his wife was named Vena. They had two children  Dorthea and John jr. John is deceased at this time but his wife Vena lives in Rogers City, Mi and Dorthea and John Jr.live in the Detroit area.

 

   Next was Sally the youngest. She was the only one  born in the in the United States. She married Cornileus Cnossen , We all called him Uncle Case. they had two sons, Casey and Jimmy.  Uncle Case worked for the Kelvinator Corp. for many years and then changed jobs , and worked until his retirement as a tool and die maker for Alofs Corp. in Grand Rapids. Casey was a salesman for metal working equipment and Jim is an executive for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

    As   I said  earlier Aunt Sally is living in Holland, Mi. at this time. We used to have some good times together. When some member of the family got married they had a Polish style wedding and there was a dinner and drinking and dancing to all hours of the night.

 

We were settled down as a married couple and I was working every day and Sena was taking care of her little brother (Billy) while her Mother worked. Since we lived downstairs from her it was convenient for all of us. She was going to a Doctor for her pre-natal care and was doing well. The doctor was Dr. Krupp and he had an office downtown. He said his fee for pre-natal care and delivery at the hospital was $75.00 which we paid up front and we were all set.

   Sena was due in July and she had to get through the hot summer carrying a baby. At work we closed down the first two weeks of July for vacation and we had planned to go to my folks in Ky. and spend some time.

 

Reader,

 

I am still writing this story. Sena and I had six children.

 

David, Born July 14,1951

Chris, Born December 5,1952

Margie, Born  March 17, 1954

Pat, Born October 11, 1955

Cevin, Born September 16, 1965

Cara, born april 24, 1970

 

All are married except Pat, I think she is like my Dad, She will marry late in life.

 I hope you enjoy my story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

I wanted to leave my children  something to remember of the History of their famili