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Grandson,
Herman D. Heiden,
son of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
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My folks
and all the kids went up frequently on the weekends to
see Grandma and Grandpa. We enjoyed that when we were
little kids.
When I was
15 or 16, I worked and earned the money for a bicycle
except for six dollars that my Dad paid. I rode that
bicycle all the way from Fowler to Shepherd in order to
plow up the oat field. Then I rode it all the way back.
When I got home, I was really sick with chicken pox for
a week.
 I remember
staying up there all summer. Grandpa had a daily ritual
of going to the outhouse before he started the chores. I
went with Grandpa and a team of horses to go thrashing
at different places. Then on Saturday night, we would go
to Shepherd for the free shows.
I remember
my Grandmother making the best potato pancakes I ever
ate. She was a good cook. Then after Grandma died and we
were married, we stopped in Shepherd to see Grandpa. We
always had to play a couple or more games of rummy
before we would go back home to Lansing. |
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Grandson,
Ivan F. Ayris,
son of
Nellie (Heiden) and
Chester Ayris |
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The sour
cream pancakes that Grandma made were delicious. She had
a big blue granite coffee pot to make coffee on the wood
stove. She would fill a two quart jar with coffee and
fill a basket with cookies for Grandpa to set at the end
of the field where he was working. When the horses were
resting, he would drink some coffee and have a cookie.
He would move the basket along the field as he worked.
 When I
would stay overnight,
Uncle Richard would crawl along
the hall
and growl like a bear to scare me. One time, a
bunch of kids and I were swinging in the barn on a rope
from one mow across the barn to the other mow. One kid
used a rope that let him down too fast. He hit the side
wall and knocked the wind out of him. He was O.K. but we
were scared that Grandpa would find out so we ran.
We dammed
the creek to make a swimming hole. Grandpa didn't like
it because he had to get his feet wet. He told us to
move it upstream a way. Every rain would wash the dam
out. We never could swim but we sure had fun wading and
splashing in the creek to build it.
 In the fall
he would trap muskrats down by the creek. Then he would
skin
them and put the hides on a board to dry. He sold
the hides for three to four dollars apiece. Sparrow
heads were worth two cents apiece. The money would be
used for Christmas treats and gifts.
The Christmas tree
had real candles on it. While
Aunt Bertha Mae lighted
them, we would have to stay back and watch. We would all
enjoy the glow of the lighted candles on the tree. Then
all the candles had to be blown out and checked to make
sure they were all out. At Christmas we would have
special treats such as nuts, oranges, bananas, Jello,
and popcorn balls. The little orange stake truck that
had been given to Grandpa for Christmas was kept in the
cabinet. When I asked Grandma to play with it, she would
tell me to ask Grandpa. If he said yes, she would get it
out for me.
Grandma and
Grandpa could dance well together and were light on
their feet.
In June, 1948 I was home
from Navy boot camp. When I went to see Grandma, I stuck
my hand out for a handshake. She just grabbed me and
gave me the biggest bear hug. I thought that she would
squeeze me to death. |
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Granddaughter
Althea Irene Heiden,
daughter of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
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Here are a
few of the special memories I have of Grandma and
 Grandpa. One is a vision that I still have of them. It
is a very sweet and beautiful scene that caused our
parlor to be so still. It took place when I was a little
girl living in Fowler. Grandma and Grandpa had come down
for a visit. After supper we went into the parlor. My
folks put their record of "Put your little foot out" on
their Victrola. My Grandpa took my Grandma's hand. They
got up and danced so gracefully for us. Both of them had
such pretty smiles. At the end, Grandpa bowed and kissed
her hand.
Then, of
course, there always is the memory of Grandma cooking a
big meal for us when we came to visit. She would cook
the chicken or
 potatoes in a pressure cooker or kettle.
Laura and I loved to watch and hear the valve jump up
and down. We would just take in all the sweet smells
such as the applesauce with cinnamon sprinkled on top. I
can still see her with her apron on going from the
table, stove and sink. Oh! What a meal she could
prepare. Then it was time to gather around this big
table in the dining room with my aunts, uncles and
cousins. Oh, what fun that was- the sharing, laughter,
and the great food.
Every time we came to
see Grandpa, he would take Laura's and my hands. He
would say, "Come on. We got chores to do." Then he would
hold our hands all the way to the barn. After the chores
were done, we
 would head up to the house, stopping at
the hen house to gather the eggs to take in to Grandma.
She always thanked us with her sugar cookies with the
raisin in the middle. I guess that was one little way
she spoiled us. Grandpa had his little way with
Lifesavers. |
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Grandson,
Allen Albert Ayris,
son of
Nellie (Heiden) and
Chester Ayris |
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I remember
Grandma Heiden at the Cook farm on US 27 sitting outside
the east side of the kitchen by the pitcher pump over
the cistern. She scraped the pig intestines with a knife
in order to make the casing for homemade link sausage.
 She also
used to go to the talk radio show on WCEN on the second
floor in a building on Main Street in Mt. Pleasant. One
time she was the oldest person in the audience.
Grandpa
Heiden always had a roll of Lifesavers in his pocket so
he could give his grandkids one when they came. He also
had a full head of white hair.
Note
by Bertha Mae Heiden Drake
Reka was
able to use the knife to scrape the pig intestines and
leave just the desired lining without cutting holes in
it or leaving too unwanted stuff. These cleaned linings
were then used for casings for sausage. When the folks
got together with the Merillatts and Baughmans on
butchering day,
 she always got the scraping job. Meat
was cut into pieces and then put into the grinder. The
handle on the grinder was turned by hand in order to
grind the pork meat into sausage. The sausage was
seasoned and mixed in a big tub. In order to make link
sausage, the casing was stuffed with meat using the
sausage stuffer. A big black kettle was filled with
chunks of fat and heated over an open fire outdoors
until it melted to make lard. Then the lard was put
through the lard press and run into crocks. Cracklins
were left in the lard press after being separated from
the lard. |
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Granddaughter
Virginia Bell Davis,
daughter of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
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Grandma
Heiden was a big, hard worker. Later after I grew up, I
learned about her health and was amazed she was able to
do so much. I remember the good times. After the chores
were done and the evening meal was finished, she would
take off her apron. Then we would go out
 and sit on the
front porch. Being a kid I thought that swing had to
swing hard. We would sit out there many times. Neighbors
would stop by on their way home and chat. Sometimes
Grandpa would join us. Most of the time he would take a
nap on the couch in the dining room. I remember helping
Grandma clean the chicken coop and working in the
garden. Her flowerbed was the joy of her life. We always
took pictures out by her iris garden.
Saturday was
cleaning and dusting day as well as preparing for the
Sunday dinner. On Sunday, we scrubbed up and ate a big
dinner. Then we quietly spent the day resting. When
Grandma and Grandpa would go to Mt. Pleasant, they would
stop on the way home at a store and gas station and buy
Rainbow bread with a charm on a string inside. Grandma
would see that I got it. It was hard to wait for the
bread to be opened.
 Grandma's soap opera was "Ma
Perkins" and she would rest while listening to it on the
radio. She also liked to listen to Kate Smith sing
especially ''God Bless America". I was more of a tomboy
so it was harder for me to help her clean house. I would
rather be outdoors and still do.
Dora's
funeral was in our house in Fowler. I was the one who
rode in the backseat of Grandma and Grandpa's car with
the pine box for her grave in Salt River Cemetery near
Shepherd.
I saw
Grandpa Heiden as a jolly Santa Claus. When he went to
town, we got treated to Lifesavers when he got back. I
spent several summers up there helping out. Because of
asthma, Richard couldn't work in the
 granary when they
thrashed oats. So we would go in barefoot and shovel the
grain to the back in order to fill up the granary.
Cough! Cough! I helped Grandpa harness the horses and do
chores. He had at least one huge sow but he would not
let us kids go into pig barn alone. When he was out in
the field working or cutting weeds in the bean field, we
would take him his mid-morning or afternoon snack of
cold coffee and cold toast leftover from breakfast.
One day
Ivan, Ben and I dammed up Potter's Creek. Next morning
Grandpa was awful mad. The water went over his rubber
boots when he went to get the cows to milk. We had to go
tear it down. There went our
 big swimming hole. Near the
creek was a big mulberry tree. We would pick pails of
mulberries for pies and jam. On Saturday night, we went
to the free movies in Shepherd. Then we had to walk
home. Ben and I walked the railroad tracks. Scary! We
only did it one time. Of course Grandma was waiting for
us.
Grandpa
loved playing cards and singing. He enjoyed having the
relatives from Dundee come to visit. So much fun. After
we were working, Betty and I would take the bus up to
their place and got off in front. We visited with them
for the weekend.
Later after
I was married, we would stop in to see Grandma and
Grandpa. Our Linda was the oldest great granddaughter
and Jerry was the first great grandson. After Grandma
passed away, we would go see him. Lots of times Orvest
would shave him. Orvest even shaved him in the hospital
the day before he passed away. He always treated Orvest
like a grandson too. |
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Grandson
Benny Elroy Heiden,
son of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
I have
a lot of memories of my Grandpa and Grandma, because
from the age of 5 through the 12th grade I stayed
with them every summer. They were living on the
Miser farm then. When you are 5 you can't do too
much but I can remember helping Grandma getting the
eggs and go
 bring the cows in to be milked. Grandma
had a garden and it always had a lot of pigweed in
it so we helped pull this and feed it to the pigs.
When I got to be 10 or 12 I helped Uncle Richard and
Grandpa put hay up. Grandpa drove the horses and we
loaded the hay. The Miser Farm had a small creek
running through it so we would dam it up with sod
and stone to get it a little deeper and we could try
to get cooled off in it. It ran through the pasture
field so once in awhile it could be a little brown.
Back then there were no weed killers so Grandpa
would sharpen the com knives and hoes and we had to
go into the green fields and cut out all the
thistles and milk weed.
 Every
Wednesday night Shepherd had a free movie so we
always went to town then. Grandma did some shopping.
Grandpa always gave me a nickel so I could buy an
ice cream cone with it. Sure couldn't get much with
a nickel now-a-days. If Grandpa didn't go then I
could walk the railroad tracks to Shepherd and see
the movie.
Later
on they moved 2 miles west of Shepherd to the Cook
Farm. Both these farms had nice houses and barns on
them. Grandpa had a nice team of horses and I drove
them most all the time. Richard couldn't be near
them because he had asthma bad. I always had to wait
till after milking and he was in the house to clean
and brush them. I cut hay and raked, cultivated and
even went thrashing with them. One day when we were
thrashing it was time to go to eat so we went to eat
and the lady gave me a big glass of ice tea. I
didn't like ice tea so I drank it down real fast so
she came and filled it right up again. I can
remember Grandpa's side rake broke so we borrowed
Uncle Cecil's dump rake. Boy, that was a job to dump
the hay just right so you had a straight row of hay
to be able to pick it up with the hay loader.
 Richard bought a 8 N Ford tractor and we farmed the
Cook Farm which was 110 acres, our neighbors 40
acres and Uncle Cecil's 80 acres. Later Richard got
a job with a construction and I stayed with them all
year and graduated from Shepherd high School in
1948. Grandpa and I did the milking before I left
for school, 10 cows by hand.
Uncle
Richard always played catch with me and he taught me
how to throw a curve ball. So in the spring I tried
out for the Baseball team and made it so I pitched
for them in '48. Uncle Cecil always tried to make my
home games.
Grandma
was a real good cook, I always liked her macaroni
and tomatoes and pies. We had an apple orchard there
so we had apple pies.
It was
my job to take Grandma to Church every Sunday.
Grandma
liked her flowers especially Irises she had all
colors. There was a circle drive and she had them
all around it.
In the
fall of 1948 the Cook Farm got sold so I came back
to Lansing to get a job.
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Granddaughter,
Evelyn Lily Van Orden,
daughter of
Nellie (Heiden) and
Chester Ayris |
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I first
remember Grandpa and Grandma when they were living on
the Miser farm. When I picture that house in my mind, I
always see the hitching post with the horse's head; that
tree with the big, big leaves; and
 of course, the porch
swing on the front porch. We cracked nuts upstairs over
the back room and made a mess. On the back of the farm,
we had fun wading in the creek. I waved at the train
hoping that someone would wave back. Sometimes we were
lucky to find some of Grandpa's wintergreen candy on
the buffet, or if really lucky, Aunt Bertha Mae's fudge.
I loved looking at the girl in the picture on the wall.
Once in the parlor I got so tired standing and waiting
for Aunt Bertha Mae and Uncle Cecil to get married. I
was made to feel very special when I was in that house.
Then they
moved to the Cook farm on 27. Grandpa would come home
 from town with candy. Grandma always baked her big sugar
cookies with a raisin and sugar on top. Once when I
stayed all night, Uncle Richard had an asthma attack. I
thought he was dying. He was found to be very allergic
to horses. They still had horses. Not long after that
they got the Ford tractor. The porch swing was put out
in the front yard between two trees so we would swing
and watch the traffic on US 27. Grandma had a ladies aid
meeting at this house and of course, the "big" day was
the Golden Anniversary party. The grandkids got their
picture taken in the parlor. Ivan was in the Navy so his
picture was held up in the group picture.
Then they
moved to Shepherd. Grandpa used sit on the porch and
watch the people go by. I worked at IGA and gave the
sample Tums I was
 given to Grandpa. Of course it was in
this house that Grandma was so sick. She looked so bad
in her bed in the bedroom that later would be mine. I
bought her lotion and a housecoat, which wasn't much
after all she had done for me. She made me doll clothes.
She helped me with my vegetable basket for 4-H and we
won first place at the state fair. She always made me
feel loved.
In the fall
of 1966, Wayne and I bought the house at 210 W. Hall
Street from Uncle Richard. When we tore down the old
barn, we found lots of bottles tucked into little hiding
places. When we dug the hole for the deep end of the
swimming pool, we found some more. Wayne and I had a
great 36 years together in that house. It was a great
house to raise our family in, with a lot of good
memories of Grandpa and Grandma. |
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Granddaughter
Betty Lois Hubble,
daughter of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
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 I
remember Grandpa had a nickname for Virginia and me. He
called us Maggie and Matilda. Sometimes he would sing us
some German songs. He taught us to play cards at a young
age. He would take us to town. He would buy himself some
beer to take home and bought us kids candy. Then he told
us not to tell Grandma about the beer. We wouldn't dream
of telling on him. Grandpa was special.
 Grandma
was special too. She always had white sugar cookies and
molasses cookies when we came to visit. The time I had
yellow jaundice, I got to stay all summer with them. As
the folks and kids were pulling out of the drive,
Grandma put her arm around me and said, "Now you won't
have to work so hard." The potato pancakes and butternut
cakes she made were delicious. |
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Granddaughter
Sara Fredareka Ayris,
daughter of
Nellie (Heiden) and
Chester Ayris |
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My first memory of Grandma and Grandpa was on the Cook
farm. We would go in the west kitchen door and see
Grandma's big red apple cookie jar which always had some
sugar cookies with a raisin in the middle in it. They
were so good.
Grandpa had
a little gray Ford tractor. Grandpa would take us to the
barn and give us Black Jack chewing gum. I think that is
why I like black licorice today.
Grandma and
Grandpa's Golden Wedding Anniversary was a special day.
I got to have a bottle of orange pop all on my own.
 Grandma and
Grandpa also lived at 210 Hall St. in Shepherd. I got to
play
under her library table. I have her library table that I
got from Uncle Richard when he didn't want it anymore. I
still have some of the doll clothes and a child's quilt
that Grandma made for me. I can remember picking out the
yard goods for the back of the quilt. I slept under that
quilt a lot. Grandpa was always "saucering" his coffee
and sipping the cooled coffee from the saucer. Grandpa
would sit in his chair by the window and front door.
When I came in, he always called me "Fredareka".
My last
memory was when Grandma passed away. The visitation was
at home on Hall St. and not at the funeral home. My
mother took me in to see her.
Note from
Bertha Mae (Heiden) Drake
Fredareka
(my mother) died of breast cancer on Oct.5, 1954 in
Shepherd. Her visitation was at home to make it easier
for Herman. The funeral procession went from Hall St.
over to and down Leaton Rd. to the EUB Church where the
funeral was held. Then the procession went north to
Broomfield Rd. east and then south on Shepherd Road to
the Salt River Cemetery where she is buried.
Herman (my father) died
in Sparrow Hospital in Lansing on Dec. 11, 1957 from an
embolus causing a heart attack. He had chronic heart
failure, and peripheral vascular disease and blood
clots. He had been staying at Lewis' house for a couple
of weeks since he could no longer care for himself. He
went to Garber's Funeral Home for both the visitation
and the funeral. He is buried next to Fredareka in the
Salt River Cemetery. |
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Grandson
Harley Lee Ayris,
son of
Nellie (Heiden) and
Chester Ayris |
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 Grandpa always gave us
Black Jack gum. He would fill his cup of coffee and add
milk to overflowing into his saucer. He would drink his
coffee from his saucer. At noon, he would feed his
horses straw. He would drive the horses and Uncle
Richard would drive the Ford tractor. Uncle Richard was
very allergic to horses and caused severe asthma.
Sometimes I would go down the lane behind the barn and
bring the cows up for Grandpa to milk.
When I was very little
and stayed overnight, I thought there were monsters in
the big chest or trunk that was in the bedroom. I was
very scared. I don't know why. Maybe I had seen a
Halloween mask or something in there. Grandma, Mom and
Aunt Bertha Mae would hang wallpaper together. They
spread out long boards to put the paste on the
wallpaper. Then two of them would put it on the wall.
They put wallpaper
 on the living room in our farmhouse.
They also made toy monkeys out of socks. Grandma would
always listen to my high school football games on the
radio station WCEN even when she was sick on Hall St.
When I went to visit, she would tell me that she had
listened and would talk to me about the game. |
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Grandson,
Edward Merton Heiden,
son of
Lewis and Zina (Robinson) Heiden |
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When trying
to recollect something about Grandma and Grandpa I think
of all of us getting into Dad's old Chevy, taking the
back roads at about 25-30 MPH, and seemed like hours
getting there.
When
getting there all of us getting out and just running
from one thing to another, going to the woods, the
creek, the barn but usually always outside, only in the
house at meal time I really liked Grandma's cookies,
especially the sugar cookies. She was a good cook.
 Grandpa
loved playing cards with us kids and taught us many
games. He never let us cheat and had to pay attention to
playing cards, not fooling around. Grandpa usually had
lifesavers in his pockets for us kids.
I'm sure they looked
forward to the time for us to leave so they could have
some peace and quiet. |
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Granddaughter
Myrna (Drake) Bishop,
daughter of Bertha (Heiden) and Cecil Drake |
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When I was
in elementary school, my grandparents lived on the Cook
farm which was on US27 west of Shepherd about 3 miles.
Our farm was on Summerton Road about a mile away. So I
was fortunate in being able to visit my grandparents
frequently.
Grandpa had bright blue eyes that I wish I
had inherited. Grandpa wore bib overalls for farming. He
got up early to feed the animals and milk the cows. When
he came back in, a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, and
homemade sausage was served. He would eat leftover cold
toast for noon meal and enjoy it.
After eating, he would
have his "noonin"- a nap. We kids had to play quietly
until he woke up. Then in the winter, he would play
rummy or
 checkers with us. Sometimes I would get to go
to town with him in the 1929 Chevy. He would buy me an
ice cream cone or a candy bar and I would wait in the
car while he went into the bar to have a beer. Then on
the way home we would pretend to be on the radio even
though there was no radio in the car and sing all the
way back home.
Out in the
garage he had a big stone sharpening wheel that he would
spin by sitting to pedal it. All the farm tools were
kept very sharp. Grandpa had a gray Ford tractor that I
got to drive sometimes because it was smaller than my
Dad's.
Grandma and
Grandpa celebrated their 50th anniversary
while on the farm. Shortly afterward they moved to 210
West Hall Street in Shepherd.
 He always had a large
vegetable garden in back of the house. His reel mower
kept the grass short because he mowed about every other
day. When we came to visit, he would usually be sitting
in his big chair by the side window in front of the door
with the radio turned up to full volume. He liked to
wear a leather slipper/shoe with elastic sides called
Romeos. We had a hard time finding them to buy for his
Christmas present.
Grandma
wore an apron over her dress for her farm and housework.
Her cooking was great. She didn't use a recipe or
measuring cups or spoons but used a handful of this and
a dash or pinch of that. Homemade noodles, dumplings,
sugar cookies with a raisin in the center, cream pies
with high meringue, fruit pies with a fuce cut in the
crust, cracklin's, as well, meat, potatoes and
vegetables came out of her kitchen. The wood stove she
used had to be kept at the right temperature with just
the right addition of wood.
 Grandma
loved flowers and always had numerous flowerbeds. An
iris bed was inside the circle driveway. Snapdragons,
lily of the valley, zinnias, dahlias, etc. were some of
her flowers. She would take bouquets to the Isabella
County Fair and enter in the open class. She would win
ribbons and prize money every year.
With her
treadle Singer sewing machine she would sew dresses and
coats for the grandkids using the good material left in
adult clothes. How talented to not have a pattern and
only odd pieces of material and make clothes. She also
made a lot of doll clothes for us.
Grandma
went with our family on a trip to Paris, Michigan to see
the fish hatchery. We slept in a tent in a roadside
park. It was a big adventure and Grandma didn't want to
miss it.
Grandma
attended the Evangelical United Brethren Church as did
our family and Aunt Nellie's family. She would ride to
church with us on Sunday.
 Grandma
liked to read novels and I have four of her books. One
of her favorite authors was Grace Livingston Hill who
wrote Christian romances. We would borrow those books
from the Shepherd Public Library. She also liked to
listen to "Ma Perkins" on the radio which was sponsored
by Rinso soap - one of the original soap operas. |
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