Heiden Family Homes in Isabella County</a> - Heiden Family of Monroe County, Michigan- Includes Rambow, Milhan, Roggerman, Getty, Knaack and Laas Families

It is about 150 miles from Dundee, Michigan in Monroe County north to Shepherd, Michigan in Isabella County. One of August and Rika (Knaack) Heiden's children, their youngest son, Herman, was the only child who moved away from Monroe County. Herman's daughter, Bertha Mae Heiden Drake explained the move as follows:

"Herman and Fredareka Heiden, my parents, lived on a farm near Dundee, Michigan, where they had been born and grew up. My mother had severe hay fever and asthma. So, the doctor advised them to move north for her health. After deciding to explore this idea, they bought tickets on the Ann Arbor Railroad to Farwell, Michigan in early spring 1915. When they arrived, only trees and lumber mills were there. People told them to go back to Shepherd, where there was farmland.

They took the "Motor" that ran on the tracks back to Shepherd where they stayed in a rooming house overnight. The next morning they rented a horse and buggy from the livery stable. By word of mouth, they learned that Frank Meyers (Spikehorn Meyers) needed someone on his farm which was north of Shepherd on Millbrook Road. They rented this farm. Incidentally, the house is still there.

My parents went back on the Ann Arbor to Dundee. In the spring of 1915, they moved from Dundee to Shepherd using the train. They loaded the furniture and farm machinery, their cows, horses, buggy and wagon all in box cars. My father and brother Lewis rode the box cars with the animals to make sure they were calm and safe. My mother and sister Nellie (left who later married Chester Ayris) rode in the passenger car.

In February of 1918 my parents and sister went to Dundee for my grandfather's funeral. My brother was already there visiting cousins. While at the funeral, the big snowstorm of 1918 hit. The first train back to Shepherd was packed with travelers with many people standing. The train engine and wheels ground through the snow, slowly moving ahead. My mother was pregnant (I was born in March) and the conductor was very concerned that she had a seat. My dad was anxious to get back since neighbors were pitching in and helping with farm chores.

My parents moved from the Meyers farm to the Viegenberg farm where I was born in March of 1918. As a child, my parents took many trips from Shepherd to Dundee on the railroad, since my grandparents and aunts and uncles lived there. I can remember taking many trips on the train. Mother had a special basket of food on the trip. My dad would buy vanilla creme sandwich cookies for me to eat on the train. That was the only time I would get store-bought cookies, so it was a special treat.

When we would come to the train, a lot of the horses were afraid of the train because of the noise. They would rear up and sometimes would run away. We would wait on the platform and the big engine would come in roaring loudly with huge wheels grinding. I was scared but when the conductor yelled "All aboard", we got on. Then he would yell "Tickets! Have your tickets ready!", and he would take them. Before each station he would yell out the name of the city for the next stop. I was amazed at the green plush seats that could be turned to face one another. When we arrived in Dundee station, Aunt Lena and Uncle John Koster picked us up in their buggy.

My parents soon moved to the Zagameirer farm, also known as the Ruckel place. Here my younger brother Richard was born in 1926. This farm is the one I remember most. In the summer, my two cousins Alice and Helma Laas, came on the train to visit us on the farm in the country for their vacation.

They worked in the office of a wheelbarrow factory in Toledo, Ohio. They shipped a beautiful metal wheelbarrow to my dad on the train as a special gift. My dad really appreciated it and used it in the barn. About this time, people started using cars for long trips instead of the train. My parents lived in the Shepherd area for the rest of their lives.