I am starting to feel like an archaeologist now. I am starting to really make a dent in the canning room, it makes me feel so accomplished and happy to see something being done.
Yesterday (Saturday) I found the first 3 feet of the shelves on the south wall. And a bit of the wall. I say a bit of the wall because I have since covered it back up with stuff that I can not get rid of yet or just do not know what to do with them. I can see a stack of apple baskets, but have not gotten them out yet, still have a layer to go to get them out. I can almost see the entire length of the freezer (which I am not opening until someone else is there to pick me back up when I pass out because of the smell. I am hoping that whatever is in there is now petrified and will no longer smell (fingers crossed!!). So I am leaving that for at least next week when my mom (Karen, Sophia's daughter) and Uncle Tom and Aunt Sara (Sophia's son and daughter-in-law) come up. Maybe while I am at work, they can have that done.
Another thing I found while sorting recycable papers with burn-papers, I came across an envelope with pictures of Uncle John in it. They are professinoal pictures, and I do not know why he had them taken, but the envelope had not been opened. I will try to get a copy to post on here. It made me smile to see him smiling again.
I recently got a puppy. His name is Duke and he is a Lab X. I know that animal therapy is growing in popularity because it has been proven that people are happier when they are near animals, and that happiness spreads into their health, therefore, they are healthier. I decided to put that to use. I now take Duke to visit Uncle John and he is a hit! Uncle John really enjoys him, as do the other residents. Duke apparently reminds Uncle John about a dog they had at the farm in the past. He told me that that dog just showed up and did not ever have a name. He was good about being where you wanted him, and knowing when to stay out of the way. He never even tried to go inside the house. Uncle John laughingly told me about a time that he was on the tractor plowing or planting or harvesting something and that dog followed him for a couple of laps then laid down and waited for John to finish. Uncle John said that that was one smart dog, because he knew when to work and when to relax and let someone else do the work. I will have to agree with him, that must have been one smart dog. He never told me what happened to the dog, but I have a feeling that might come out in another conversation.
Uncle John has been in high spirits here recently. He now remembers me (I do not think he remembers my name, but he does recognise me). It makes me happy to be able to make a difference in the happiness of someone else's life. He has been laughing and smiling a lot more in the last two weeks than he has in the last 2 1/2 months. Although, he has started talking more about going home. I do not think he is going to be able to especially since he can no longer take care of himself to guarantee he is eating and taking his medicines properly.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Shawnee Farms
I have started reducing the clutter in the canning room at the farm. I would say cleaning, but I feel as though I do not make much headway on that front. There is still dust and dirt everywhere, even after I sweep and dust. While I do not feel much accomplishment about cleaning, I do feel as though I have de-cluttered a lot!
With in the first few feet of the canning room, I found an old show sign for "Shawnee Farms." At first I found hats/caps that advertised for Shawnee Farms in Newark, Ohio. I figured it was a
friend of Uncle Frank's or Uncle John's who owned that farm, then I found the sign that gave the address to the farm too. I knew that when they sold the dairy cows, Uncle Frank got some beef cows, but I did not realize that he raised Limousin club/show calves. I do not know how good the calves were, or how popular his farm was with in the show circuit, but I was still happy to see it. The sign is definitely one of the things that is not going to be thrown away.
In that room I also found two pairs of roller skates. They are kind of cool. The leather of one pair is very dry and brittle, but the other pair is not that bad. The imaginative side of me wants to know the story behind them. Like who did they belong to? When was the last time they were used? One amazing story behind them, more like a memory for the skates. Where did they go to use the skates?
With in the first few feet of the canning room, I found an old show sign for "Shawnee Farms." At first I found hats/caps that advertised for Shawnee Farms in Newark, Ohio. I figured it was a
friend of Uncle Frank's or Uncle John's who owned that farm, then I found the sign that gave the address to the farm too. I knew that when they sold the dairy cows, Uncle Frank got some beef cows, but I did not realize that he raised Limousin club/show calves. I do not know how good the calves were, or how popular his farm was with in the show circuit, but I was still happy to see it. The sign is definitely one of the things that is not going to be thrown away.In that room I also found two pairs of roller skates. They are kind of cool. The leather of one pair is very dry and brittle, but the other pair is not that bad. The imaginative side of me wants to know the story behind them. Like who did they belong to? When was the last time they were used? One amazing story behind them, more like a memory for the skates. Where did they go to use the skates?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tomi Simco
As part of this blog, I want to add as many memories from as many people as possible. Some might overlap, and some might sound familiar, but it will still be something to remember in the future. I will try to connect everybody who inputs back to the Haluczik family so that as you are reading the stories, you will be able to visualize how you are related to the narrator of the story.
The following story was sent to me by Tomi Lynn Simco. Tomi is the only daughter of Philip, who is Sophia and John "Junior" Simco's oldest son. She is going to send me some pictures of the farm and family that she has. I will try to add some pictures I have also.
"I always wanted to hear some of these stories, but the only people that really thought I needed to hear some of them were grandpa (John Simco) and Uncle Paul. I don't remember being thought of as anymore than a small child asking silly questions. I always wanted to be able to see all the stuff in the house, but was never allowed. I was able to look through the barns somewhat, but I think I was too young to remember anything learned out there. [Karen]has told me a lot of the history, but I am gonna try to think of some stories for you. I do have good memories of being there in the summertime watching fireworks from the field across the street and catching fireflies! I also drove my first tractor there (on the hilly road, and I must say that was a little scary). The summer when my dad went up to help with the siding on the house, I was able to follow my dad through some of the barns and I also was able to go up to the attic at the house for the first time ever (I think I was 11 or 12), the only thing that really caught my eye up there was the old record player, (I can't think of what its called right now). We also went out past the creek, where I had never been allowed to go. While out in areas I had never been, my dad set up cans on a fence line for target practice."
The following story was sent to me by Tomi Lynn Simco. Tomi is the only daughter of Philip, who is Sophia and John "Junior" Simco's oldest son. She is going to send me some pictures of the farm and family that she has. I will try to add some pictures I have also.
"I always wanted to hear some of these stories, but the only people that really thought I needed to hear some of them were grandpa (John Simco) and Uncle Paul. I don't remember being thought of as anymore than a small child asking silly questions. I always wanted to be able to see all the stuff in the house, but was never allowed. I was able to look through the barns somewhat, but I think I was too young to remember anything learned out there. [Karen]has told me a lot of the history, but I am gonna try to think of some stories for you. I do have good memories of being there in the summertime watching fireworks from the field across the street and catching fireflies! I also drove my first tractor there (on the hilly road, and I must say that was a little scary). The summer when my dad went up to help with the siding on the house, I was able to follow my dad through some of the barns and I also was able to go up to the attic at the house for the first time ever (I think I was 11 or 12), the only thing that really caught my eye up there was the old record player, (I can't think of what its called right now). We also went out past the creek, where I had never been allowed to go. While out in areas I had never been, my dad set up cans on a fence line for target practice."
Monday, April 19, 2010
Making Hay
I spent this past Easter with Aunt Jenny, Jerry and his family. While there, we got to discussing old family stories.
Jerry is Aunt Katie's second oldest step child, yet still part of the family. Terry, Jerry's son, was telling me about his memory of the house.
Terry has the memory of helping with baling hay during the summer. When i told him that we were trying to help Aunt Jenny with the cleaning of the farmhouse, he mentioned that he had never been past the kitchen in the house. He said that Buscha (Polish for Grandmother) would feed them lunch, then shoo them out of the house. And in his 50 years, he had never been upstairs.
Apparently, every summer, as many family members came up to help with hay and general farm work. My Uncle Philip (Sophia's eldest son) told my mom a story about him getting a tractor stuck while going from one side of the property to the other.
The farm had an artisan well they used as a milk house. It was directly behind the house and was tiled in and drained east of the house and into the creek. There was a tile drainage pipeline that went from the end of the milk house under the driveway, along the north side of the tractor shed, and through the pasture until it reached the creek. Over time, that tile pipeline has broken and many sink-hole-like holes have formed. The loamy soil type of Central Ohio when mixed with water becomes very slick and sticky.
One summer, Uncle Philip was running a tractor in the north field above the barn. Before he started, either Uncle Frank, or Uncle John, told him to not cross over the stream from the spring to get to the south side of the farm or else he would get stuck. Well, Uncle Philip thought he would give it a try because otherwise, he would have to go back out the gate, around the barn, past the tractor shed, and back through another gate. As could be imagined, he got stuck. He had to walk back up to the house, tell the uncles that he had got the tractor stuck, and they told him he had to figure out a way to get it unstuck. He did get it out of the mud, but it was a lesson learned.
Jerry is Aunt Katie's second oldest step child, yet still part of the family. Terry, Jerry's son, was telling me about his memory of the house.
Terry has the memory of helping with baling hay during the summer. When i told him that we were trying to help Aunt Jenny with the cleaning of the farmhouse, he mentioned that he had never been past the kitchen in the house. He said that Buscha (Polish for Grandmother) would feed them lunch, then shoo them out of the house. And in his 50 years, he had never been upstairs.
Apparently, every summer, as many family members came up to help with hay and general farm work. My Uncle Philip (Sophia's eldest son) told my mom a story about him getting a tractor stuck while going from one side of the property to the other.
The farm had an artisan well they used as a milk house. It was directly behind the house and was tiled in and drained east of the house and into the creek. There was a tile drainage pipeline that went from the end of the milk house under the driveway, along the north side of the tractor shed, and through the pasture until it reached the creek. Over time, that tile pipeline has broken and many sink-hole-like holes have formed. The loamy soil type of Central Ohio when mixed with water becomes very slick and sticky.
One summer, Uncle Philip was running a tractor in the north field above the barn. Before he started, either Uncle Frank, or Uncle John, told him to not cross over the stream from the spring to get to the south side of the farm or else he would get stuck. Well, Uncle Philip thought he would give it a try because otherwise, he would have to go back out the gate, around the barn, past the tractor shed, and back through another gate. As could be imagined, he got stuck. He had to walk back up to the house, tell the uncles that he had got the tractor stuck, and they told him he had to figure out a way to get it unstuck. He did get it out of the mud, but it was a lesson learned.
The Clean Out
My parents came up this past week to help with the cleaning and to get some of the more valuable items out of the house so that if someone decided to break in, they would not be able to steal anything of importance (not that they could find it in its current state). It was good to see them again. While they took some of the farm equipments and some of Uncle John’s wood work equipment, Mom and I found an old metal box that had the original deeds for the farm. It is an interesting read. It has a copy of the wills from every generation since William Hogg in 1836 when the original 300 acres were purchased from the Military Lands.
There were baptismal certificates, one birth certificate, and some property taxes from the 1930s and 40s.
I am starting to believe that Paul is the only one who got a Chauffeur's License. I found a few more of his licenses and 2 more pictures of him.
There is a letter written (I think in Mary’s, my great-grandmother, hand writing), really more of a note, not a letter, about Mike. It reads:
"Mother depends on registrant for the operation of the farm which she runs. The registrant with in 9 months old
fell on a broken crack (or crock) cutting the back of his head, and was injured so that he is not able to memorize; very slow to learn.
"Mike (Michael) Tony Haluczik fell when 9 months of age injuring skull resulting in pressure on base of brain.
"47 years
"Father dead. Mother owns farm upon which I worked, Mother receives income from farm and is dependent upon me to take care of it."
There is also an order number (380) I am not sure what it was for, but I did not know that he had any brain issues.
The following is the 10 questions that my great- grandmother (Mary) had to know (possibly for my great-grandfather (George) too, he applied for citizenship and naturalization also).
-By whom is the President elected? The people, through the presidential electors.
-Who was the first president of the
-Who makes the laws for the
-How many states in the
-Who makes the laws in the State?
-Where does legislature meet?
-Where do they make the laws for the State of
-Who is the highest officer in the city? The Mayor.
-To whom did this country belong before? to
-What are the colors of the American Flag?
There was also a recipe that I found that is for peppermint candy:
4 c water
4 Tbsp soda
2 level c of sugar
Boil until sugar is dissolved, let cool and add one ounce of essence of peppermint and one oz of essence of rhubarb.
For taxes (I am assuming here that it really was for tax purposes) there is a list of "Domestic animals, used in agriculture" and Farm Implements and their values. These are from 1936: 1 horse ($100), 4 cows ($110), 2 sows ($40), 4 shoats(? not sure what that is...), 100 chickens ($50), 4 turkeys ($10), 1 goat ($0.50, things haven’t changed much on the value of goats, hehehe), 4 calves ($25), 8 bees (?). The implements include 1 wagon, 2 plows, 1 corn planter, 1 disk harrow, 1 mowing machine, 1 drill machine. On another one from 1935 she had 6 ducks, 2 wagons, and 1 built-up tractor, but all the rest was the same. And with the list from 1935 is an add from the paper that has quotations on livestock, grain etc as of December 31, 1935.
Uncle Paul's letter of enrollment in the Army was in the box too.
Another interesting find (and I am sure that you know this already), Mary sued the railroad company for the wrongful death of Geo (as he is referred to on almost all of these papers) and received $1,120.00 in a settlement from the railroad company. I think I remember you saying that she sued them but I didn't remember the outcome of the suit. I found the papers from the attorney that proves she hired him and the outcome of the settlement.
It is said that Geo death was not an accident. And if you actually looked into how the turn house that he worked in operates, it could not have been an accident. So we believe that the reason for the settlement is to ensure there would be no investigation into the death of Geo.
No Family
After Uncle Johns fourth week in the nursing home, I went to visit him. The previous few times, he has thought I was staff at the care center, so I figured I would use that to my advantage.
I decided to start with something that I would hope he could tell me about. He spoke very quietly and was laying down, so some of what I will repeat here might be incorrect because it was difficult to hear him at times and I will mark those times with [ ].
I asked him about his family and if he had any that came to visit him. His reply, “Nope. No none that visit me.” So I asked “No wife, or children?”
“No I never got married. Never found a woman [sly] enough to handle me. I never found the right one.”
“None close enough to being the right one?”
“No.”
The reason I had asked this was because Tina had found a letter from a Vera Bradley addressed to Uncle John that spoke gratitude for the flowers he had sent her on various occasions. I was hoping I could get some of the truth behind this, but no luck.
I continued my interview with a question about any siblings he had and his family.
“I have no family that comes to visit me.”
“No siblings? Brothers or sisters?”
“Well, I guess I have a sister. Jenny is her name.” He confirmed that he knew she lived in
When I asked how many siblings he had, he correctly said he had seven siblings. I did not want to force him too much and so decided to not ask what their names were.
He told me that he wasn’t too busy for family or women; he just never found the right one. So I asked him what he did for a living to use up his time. He said he didn’t work. He helped on the farm, and that way it saved him money because he did not have to hire anyone.
The Old House
When Uncle John was put into the hospital, Barb (Shannahan) brought Aunt Jenny down from Toledo to visit with him and to make sure all the paper work was in order. I had the pleasure of taking her back up to Toledo after my class on Monday. While we were riding I asked Aunt Jenny some questions about her childhood and family. The following is what she had to share with me at that time.
“When I was little, I lived a very different life than kids do today. These kids have a lot of toys and games and TV and the computer. I am just now starting to get the hang of the computer, and I am still not very good at it. Tina’s (Katie’s grandchild) girls can do so much on it that I can not. When I was a young girl, we didn’t have but one or two toys to play with inside and most of the time, mother kicked us outside to play. And when we were old enough to work on the farm, we did chores.
“I always remember that the view of families and marriages in particular, was the man was the strong one in the relationship. But my mother was a very strong woman. She took care of the family and the house while my father was alive. When he passed in 1932, I was only five years old and don’t remember much about him. But when he passed away, mother had to take care of the family, house, and now the farm too. She took care of the money and the labor when needed. Of course, we all helped out when we could. But we all had to finish high school. That is one thing that mom really wanted, for us all to finish high school. We could not afford college, but that was not as important to her as a high school education.
“She did not speak English very well. Some of the things she said made me giggle. (I can not remember what she said that was so funny to Aunt Jenny, but it made her giggle just thinking about it. That feeling of watching my 80+ year old aunt giggle was a very good emotion. So I am not sad to say that I was caught up in the feeling to be able to remember what she said.)
I then asked her about how 9 people (10 with her father) lived in the farm house. I am slowly exploring the farm house in my endeavor to help clean it up for Aunt Jenny because if she has to sell the house and land, it will have to be cleaned out eventually and as of now, it is not livable. She never really got to how so many people lived in this small 6 bedroom, 1 bath house. I know it doesn’t seem like such an impossible feat but when looking at the size of the rooms and I am amazed and awestruck. Granted, they did not have nor need the things we have today for storage.
“The house that is there now? Well, that was not the original house. That house was built after the boys came home from the war. The original one was further from the road that the one that is there now. It amazes me sometimes how lazy those boys were. Look at John. He was a carpenter. And he could not fix that house unless it was to the bare minimum,” said in disgust.
“He would only clean if I told him he had to. There were times when I would come down and call ahead of time to tell him to clean up so I could stay there and he told me I couldn’t stay there! I couldn’t stay in the house I grew up in because he didn’t want to clean it!!! That is when Barb and I started staying in hotels or with family. But I don’t like staying with family because I don’t want to burden them.”
I can attest to the workmanship of the Haluczik boys. That house is amazingly built, and when I think more about how it was the family that built it, I am even more amazed. My mom, Sophia’s daughter, told me that the boys lived upstairs and the downstairs was for the girls and their mother. To give a little lay out of the house, the house is built into a hill. The basement is where the family area is; the kitchen, living room, furnace room, and canning room.
The next level is technically the first floor, and this floor has 3 bedrooms, a formal living area, and the bathroom.
And the second floor/attic has 3 rooms and some storage spaces under the rafters. This area was never completely finished. The drywall is not all the way up, and none of it is covered.
As we go through the house, we are finding more and more things that have their own stories. I really wish I could get some of the stories out of the furniture and walls. The show “If Walls Could Talk” seems more and more inviting and realistic.
There is still so much to do. We have started at the ground up and have only gotten a little over half way through the basement, and we have been at it for almost four weeks. No matter how hard it will be, I am actually looking forward to cleaning the rest of the house too. Pictures, papers, documents, clothes, books, it all has a story that is just waiting to be told.
“When I was little, I lived a very different life than kids do today. These kids have a lot of toys and games and TV and the computer. I am just now starting to get the hang of the computer, and I am still not very good at it. Tina’s (Katie’s grandchild) girls can do so much on it that I can not. When I was a young girl, we didn’t have but one or two toys to play with inside and most of the time, mother kicked us outside to play. And when we were old enough to work on the farm, we did chores.
“I always remember that the view of families and marriages in particular, was the man was the strong one in the relationship. But my mother was a very strong woman. She took care of the family and the house while my father was alive. When he passed in 1932, I was only five years old and don’t remember much about him. But when he passed away, mother had to take care of the family, house, and now the farm too. She took care of the money and the labor when needed. Of course, we all helped out when we could. But we all had to finish high school. That is one thing that mom really wanted, for us all to finish high school. We could not afford college, but that was not as important to her as a high school education.
“She did not speak English very well. Some of the things she said made me giggle. (I can not remember what she said that was so funny to Aunt Jenny, but it made her giggle just thinking about it. That feeling of watching my 80+ year old aunt giggle was a very good emotion. So I am not sad to say that I was caught up in the feeling to be able to remember what she said.)
I then asked her about how 9 people (10 with her father) lived in the farm house. I am slowly exploring the farm house in my endeavor to help clean it up for Aunt Jenny because if she has to sell the house and land, it will have to be cleaned out eventually and as of now, it is not livable. She never really got to how so many people lived in this small 6 bedroom, 1 bath house. I know it doesn’t seem like such an impossible feat but when looking at the size of the rooms and I am amazed and awestruck. Granted, they did not have nor need the things we have today for storage.
“The house that is there now? Well, that was not the original house. That house was built after the boys came home from the war. The original one was further from the road that the one that is there now. It amazes me sometimes how lazy those boys were. Look at John. He was a carpenter. And he could not fix that house unless it was to the bare minimum,” said in disgust.
“He would only clean if I told him he had to. There were times when I would come down and call ahead of time to tell him to clean up so I could stay there and he told me I couldn’t stay there! I couldn’t stay in the house I grew up in because he didn’t want to clean it!!! That is when Barb and I started staying in hotels or with family. But I don’t like staying with family because I don’t want to burden them.”
I can attest to the workmanship of the Haluczik boys. That house is amazingly built, and when I think more about how it was the family that built it, I am even more amazed. My mom, Sophia’s daughter, told me that the boys lived upstairs and the downstairs was for the girls and their mother. To give a little lay out of the house, the house is built into a hill. The basement is where the family area is; the kitchen, living room, furnace room, and canning room.
The next level is technically the first floor, and this floor has 3 bedrooms, a formal living area, and the bathroom.
And the second floor/attic has 3 rooms and some storage spaces under the rafters. This area was never completely finished. The drywall is not all the way up, and none of it is covered.
As we go through the house, we are finding more and more things that have their own stories. I really wish I could get some of the stories out of the furniture and walls. The show “If Walls Could Talk” seems more and more inviting and realistic.
There is still so much to do. We have started at the ground up and have only gotten a little over half way through the basement, and we have been at it for almost four weeks. No matter how hard it will be, I am actually looking forward to cleaning the rest of the house too. Pictures, papers, documents, clothes, books, it all has a story that is just waiting to be told.
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