Prior to being torn down in the 1960s, there was a general store on the northwest corner of Lewis Avenue and South Custer Road. During the late 1930s, Leo and Lucille (Smith) Heiden lived in an apartment at the back of the store. This is where their son, Roger was born in 1939. In 1946, they moved to their own home located to the east at 7758 South Custer Road.

I don't remember much before school but was told we lived several places because of the depression Dad worked for different farmers and didn't have steady work. When I was six we lived on the west side of Grandma and Grandpa's house on Dixon Road and lived there until William got married and needed the house because he worked the farm so we moved to S. Custer Road behind the grocery store.

The rooms were connected to the store with a door which was kept locked of course. I walked to Bridge School from there with Elizabeth Reber and Clyde Opfermann.

From there we moved to the Reber homestead on Dixon Road. We lived there until 1946 when my parents bought the house on 7758 S. Custer. Mother lived there until she died. I lived there until I married in 1949. After the depression Dad got a job at Consolidated Paper Company in Monroe and retired from there. It was a good place to work.