A Lifetime of Memories

By Tillie Fields

This book is compiled of a collection of stories that I wrote during the course of my lifetime. Once in awhile I would try my hand at poetry. These poems are towards the end of the book. I wish to share these stories and poems with you, the reader, so you can learn how I lived my life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524613976

Tillie Fields

Thelma Fields (Tillie) at eighty-nine is living in the house where she and her late husband, Adrian, raised their seven children-all of which she states, “Turned out wonderful”! Tillie shared her good work ethics and Christianity mixed with humor and love while raising her children. She had great role models: her parents were German immigrants who came to America in 1912. They bought an eighty-acre dairy and crop farm northeast of Shiocton, Wisconsin in 1919. This is where Tillie grew up with eight siblings. Tillie was born in 1926: her dad delivered her at home. All summer long the children ran barefoot, but in the fall when school started each received a pair of shoes. In the morning before school Tillie milked cows while singing the “Top 10” musical hits with her siblings. Then they all walked two miles to Maple Lawn School, with their lunches, which sometimes consisted of radishes and salted lard sandwiches. During the Great Depression, Tillie’s Ma and Pa had to “make do” and be creative, in order to make ends meet. Tillie graduated from Shiocton High School in 1944, third in her class (Historian) of twenty-nine. She moved to Appleton, Wisconsin where she was employed at Wisconsin Michigan Power Company in the Customer Accounting Department. Later she was promoted to a dispatching position. A highlight during her working career was being on the company’s girl’s softball team called the Reddy Kilowatts. After her first child was born, she was a mom first, but also found time to pursue her many hobbies and interests: taking classes such as sewing and writing. Adrian and Tillie also had a side business, Fields Concessions, and the whole family helped during the summer months selling popcorn and cotton candy at Company Picnics and County Fairs. Tillie’s cherished memories will be passed down through her descendants and will delight readers for years to come through her book: A Lifetime of Memories.

Book preview

1

A Bet Leads to Marriage

One day a Power Company lineman walked into the office where I worked. He asked me to go to movie with him. I thought it strange, but it was a pleasant surprise and I said I would accept the invitation.

My diary recorded the account of our first date: Tuesday, March 9, 1950. Date with Adrian Fields - movie at Oshkosh, then to Terrace Gardens for a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich. No kiss, but I like him.

(I don’t remember the name of the movie, but he made an impression on me.)

A few days later he stopped by the office and plunked a half-dollar on my desk. I asked him, What is that for?

That’s for going out with me, he said and further explained. Arnie Brecklin made a bet with me and that’s why I took you out!

I gasped, tried to give the money back, but to no avail. Then I wrote a note, included the half dollar and taped it to his locker just down the stairway from where I worked.

The note read:

"Sorry, I don’t want this. Skip it! Tillie

When I didn’t hear from him at work and he didn’t look my way when I came through the Line Department, I wondered what I did. I felt I should find out. Later, after work, I called his home. (This was not good etiquette as girls were never supposed to call boys.)

I asked him, What was wrong, what did I do?

You hurt my feelings by not accepting the money, was his reply. He added, The note you wrote didn’t make me too happy, especially those last two words - Skip it.

Those two words ‘Skip it’ made him think I didn’t want any part of him. I explained, "I didn’t mean the note to be taken that way.

We continued dating. I found out later the reason why he took me all the way to Oshkosh to go to a movie. It seems he didn’t want his girlfriend to find out, as she was helping to sell popcorn at the Armory in Appleton with his parents the very same night that the ‘betting date’ took place.

Several months later I learned his true feelings which were evident (but not clear to me) all along … I captured the following in my diary on September 26, 1950. It was shortly after Adrian’s vacation (the first Tuesday after) when we had a date in which he asked me: Is there anything at all that you want? and I asked Why? Then he said, For Heaven’s sake, Tillie. You ought to know by now that I love you. It was then I knew for sure.

His birthday greeting to me read: (October 21, 1950) I love you night and daytime, I love you dusk until dawn. I love you when you’re with me and I love you when you’re gone. I love you when you’re happy and I love you when you’re sore. And I guess that oughta prove to you, I couldn’t love you more.

Then, my first Valentine from Adrian (Feb. 14, 1951) read: You’re nice and I like you - I have from the start And my Valentine says so - Right from my heart.

On September 6, 1951 Adrian surprised me with a diamond. His mother had pre-arranged a dinner for us with their immediate family that evening. That very evening we decided to get married soon.

We were married in an evening service on October 5, 1951.

We recently celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary. We have a beautiful family; two of them are married. And our two grandchildren add much joy.

All of this came about because of a BET.

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Tillie and Marion on Model A Truck

2

A Brand New Chevy Truck, Why?

Depression days are over. We had moved to the Hawe’s place from the old homestead in 1939. My sister Marion still walked through the woods to Riverside School, a one-room schoolroom next to Van Pattens. A bus came to pick me up at the corner of Newland Rd. and our road (now Spoehr Rd.), so I only had to walk a mile to get the school bus to go to Shiocton High School, (my first year). My brother Freddie chose to stay home after 8th grade to help my parents with the farm work.

Crops became more efficient due to adding fertilizer, getting better seeds and using improved farm machinery. Horses were no longer used as tractors took their place. Freddie helped with all of the farm work and helped improve the livestock herd and indoctrinated new methods to upgrade conditions on the farm. They were finally starting to ‘make money’.

Many times big cattle buyers would come out to the farm and buyers would just look at a calf and give them a price they felt would be right. My dad made a 2-wheel trailer out of an old car frame and so decided to take the calves to market with this hitched to the old 1931 Model A.

Usually in the springtime the bull calves were taken to market and sold to Tesch, the cattle buyer in Black Creek. The female calves were kept, especially those from good producing milk cows; these female heifers would become part of a bigger herd.

My older brother Freddie and my dad loaded seven calves onto this homemade trailer; with ropes they tied them down at the corners. They were off. Their weight shifted even before they were out of the driveway and one calf jumped off, rope and all. The rope must have loosened. Freddie hollered, A calf just jumped out!

My dad got excited, "Ach, har yeah - du Lieber Gott! (My dad was always so gentle with animals and this disturbed him.) The two of them got out of the car to get the calf back onto the trailer.

They re-adjusted them, got the calf back on and re-tied them all more securely. They were off again.

They drove with them to Black Creek, about 5 miles southeast of the farm. They drove to Tesch’s behind the water tower, weighed the calves, sold them and were surprised how much more money they got for the calves by taking them there.

Besides taking the calves to market, they loaded the car with oats and had that ground at the Lee Barth Feed Mill on Main Street. They put the ground oats on the back of the trailer.

Without mincing a word, my dad led Freddie over to the K and B garage. Here on the floor was the slickest looking maroon Chevy truck with a gold trim, a brand new 1941 truck. My dad inquired and found that it could be bought for $695. Then they checked at Sielaff’s in Shiocton where the price was slightly more - $710. They went back to the first place. My father said, What do you think Fredde - we buy it? What a quick decision! So they left the Model A with the trailer behind, right there and paid cash for the truck and drove off with the brand new truck.

Later they came back to pick up the car and the trailer.

Almost immediately my dad built a high-up rack on the back of it. Freddie and the rest of us knew why he had bought it. Never again did they have a problem of losing a calf from the back.

3

A Mistaken Identity

Once in awhile on a farm there are rainy days that you feel you are ‘free’ to do things other than general farm work. This day, however, happened to be a pleasant summer day.

Herbie and Freddie and Pa went to town to get grain ground and to get the groceries that Ma wrote down for them to buy.

The three of them hopped into the front of the 1941 Maroon Chevy truck and away they went - Freddie was driving.

After they got to Black Creek, they had their grain ground and got their groceries, they felt they had a little time yet to look around.

Pa said, Well, I will go to the butcher shop yet and you boys go where ever you want. Maybe you can check to see if the plow points are in, and get the bolt we’re missing on the grain drill! But then we’ll meet back here at the truck.

So they left. They checked and found the plow points were not in, but they were able to buy the bolt. Both boys were back early and then they sat and waited in the truck. They waited and waited, and waited. After about an hour Freddie said, Where is Pa? We’ve been here a long time!

Then they glanced around this way and that, when all of a sudden Freddie said, Hey, that sure looks like Pa in that dark green truck ahead of us!

Herbie exclaimed, Hey, that is Pa!

Herbie got out and walked over there. Then he said, Hey, Pa, you’re in the wrong truck!

Pa grabbed his package, put it under his arm, and felt somewhat foolish as he said, Ach, har yeah - ist das mochlich? (Is that possible?)

Sure enough Pa had been waiting all this while in this dark green Chevy truck parked right ahead. With Pa’s heavy thick-lensed glasses I’m sure this could happen - maybe he was even a bit color-blind.

4

And It Was Indian Summer

It was a sunny, but cold day in October, ‘Indian Summer’, when breezes still feel good! My Mom worked as usual to keep things in order for a large family, but for her this was a different sort of a day.

She heard Queenie, the shepherd dog, barking and couldn’t quite tell why! She saw chickens flying down from the shed and couldn’t understand what all the cackling was about! She thought she heard the old ‘Model T’ starting up, but put it back in her mind as something she just imagined!

Later, at suppertime, when Pa came home from the field, the kids came home from school, and we woke up from our naps, Mom decided to tell all of us the strange things that were going on in her mind.

Of course, Pa said, Ach, dot is all nonsense. Forget about it!

Several of the kids sided with Mom and questioned, But Pa, maybe there is someone here!

Well, it was time for chores to be done, cows fed, and my sister and I, too small to milk cows, held tails so the cows wouldn’t switch them. After milking was done, milk dishes cleaned and cows bedded down, we all went to bed - all except, of course, Mom, who stayed up as usual to patch and to mend socks.

It was 10 P.M. when she heard a ‘knock, knock!" on the woodshed door. A chill ran through her body as she thought, ‘Who is that?!!’ A few minutes more and a knock came again on the 2nd kitchen door [right next to her].

Who is it? she stammered, shivering, and in the same breath, Al, Joe - get the guns! which they always had propped in the corner of their bedroom, to be handy in need. They had just gone to bed in their bedroom, adjacent to this large, roomy old-fashioned kitchen, and were out in a flash.

Two older sisters came down from upstairs. On hearing the commotion, one yelled through the keyhole, If there’s any shooting going on, be careful!

By this time my mom had told the stranger to come in. He was a 6' dark Indian, and in stuttering half sentences, he blurted out his request, I, could I, I would just like a ri-ride to the Indian Reser-reser-vation in O-Oneida. Could you t-take me there?

Vel, Al, vat do you tink? she remarked, in her broken German accent. And Joe - vill you holt da gun?

Both of them said in unison, We’ll be okay, Ma.

Al added, Don’t worry!

The Indian again shivered and stuttered, I-I won’t hurt you. All I want is a ri-ride and I’ll pay you, see, see here! holding out a $5.00 bill.

Okay then, boys, go ahead!

Away they went. They took the Indian in the old Model T, Al driving and Joe in the back seat holding the gun.

Well, after they took him to the Indian Reservation, about twenty miles away, they found, in talking to him, that it was he who had tried to start the old Model T, and he had been at the farm all of that day.

When the boys came home about 2 A.M. and they told Mom about it, she was finally at peace, knowing she had found her answer for all of the questions that had been haunting her on that crisp October day.

5

A Prom Dress for a Princess

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Cari in Prom Dress

Carrie came to me to request my help at making her Prom Dress for the Hortonville Prom.

"Grams - remember how you used to make doll dresses for my American dolls by using newspapers for the pattern? I know you can do it.

Carrie did excellent preliminary work earlier by sketching exactly of just how it would turn out. She even thought about the ribbon that would crisscross the bodice and also the flouncy veil that would be attached at the shoulder to a make flowing appearance. (What an artist, I thought - so I just couldn’ refuse her.)

Her mom, (my daughter, Sandy), went with her to pick out the material, which happened to be a curtain remnant she bought for less than $6. She also bought a lovely cream-colored zipper for the back - it just matched the material to a t. As she bought the material Carrie spotted the wide fancy ribbon and bought that at the same time.

After their shopping trip they stopped by and just then and there Carrie decided to stay over at (Grams), as she calls me, and start the dress.

First, we made the newspaper pattern for the skirt and then another pattern for the top, which she wanted to be off-the-shoulder type - so we had to get this part just right.

We worked until late at night. The easier seams I gave to Carrie to sew on my sewing machine. There were many stitches that Carrie had to help me remove, as we had to make it to be a lot more closely fit under the arm.

She stayed yet another night. A lot of fitting had to be done to get it just right.

The following weekend she put aside her regular schedule also to finish her prom dress. One night it got to be after 12 Midnight. I knew she was getting extremely tired, but the hem had to be measured and the lining had to be sewn in place. She held out through all.

When my daughter, Sandy saw it on Carrie and how lovely it looked, she agreed to help fix the ribbon over the bodice of the dress. A friend of Carrie’s helped with the flowing flounce in the back.

Later, after she left I thought, ‘She’ll probably end up buying a brand new dress.’

How happy I was when my daughter came to me and said, Carrie wore the dress you helped her with!

Several days after the Prom Carrie called me and said, Grams - I wore the dress and one of my friends said I looked like a princess.

My daughter brought me the pictures of the night of the Prom and as I looked at the pictures of her I said to myself - Yes, she does look like a princess.

I felt so proud to have seen the project through and when I got a three-page thank you note from her later, including a concern for my health, I truly thought to myself - ‘She IS a very SPECIAL PRINCESS, plus she’s my oldest granddaughter.

My granddaughter, Carrie Jo Gadamus, is enrolled at the University of Madison, pursuing a degree in Textile Design.

6

Follow Me

At our Flag Day parade, (June 12th, 1993) we were selling popcorn and cotton candy out of our Popcorn Wagon. All of a sudden a customer came to the window and excitedly said to me, Hey, can I get the measurements of your popcorn wagon? Our family is interested in working a popcorn wagon and we like your layout. We sell soft-serves now!

My husband busily making cotton candy hollered over, Hey fella - stop at the back of our popcorn wagon.

Then I heard my husband say, Hey we want to sell this (of course, meaning the wagon) but come around at the end of the season and we’ll make you a deal! Then they exchanged cards.

I couldn’t believe my ears. My heart sank! We purchased this wagon almost twenty years ago and now he wants to sell it! I thought we’d always have it.

It was Adrian’s father who got interested in having a hobby. In between haircuts at his barbershop (on W. Wis. Ave) he’d always have ideas pop into his head. Adrian’s father started with one popcorn machine that he bought from a traveling salesman in about 1934. With friends in his Lodge and at the Wisconsin Wire Works, he built another one from scratch, a replica of the first. Heinie Breitenfeldt then helped him construct a double one. They (Adrian’s father and mother) started selling popcorn at the first