With Neville, James, and Carl graduating
from high school in 1929, Verne in 1932 and Virginia in 1933, my paternal
grandparents Clint and Mary Troutman were experiencing a gradually emptying
nest. The first one to marry was Carl.
Following his high school graduation,
Carl probably worked as a farm hand for his father or for a neighbor. Farming
is what he knew. If he had another job, I’m not sure, but he did have a
girlfriend, dimpled, vivacious Dorothea Martha Fleer, daughter of Herman Fleer
and Wilhelmina (Winter) Fleer. Herman was one of two Fleer brothers who owned
the store that turned on the first electric lights in Winside (see Winside: the Place to Be).
This is Carl and Dorothy’s story in
their son Darrell’s words (footnotes and bracketed words are this blogger’s):
“Apparently my Dad was a pretty intelligent young man.
I base that statement on two things: He won a Nebraska State Mathematics
championship when he was in high school and somehow he was able to graduate
with Neville and Jim in 1929. He would have been 16 1/2 years old and
must have skipped at least one grade somewhere. I don’t know what he did
from 1929 to 1933 but one could safely assume that he worked as a hired
hand.
“My folks were married in early January
1933 in South Dakota.[1]
Obviously the choice of South Dakota was due to the shame and stigma of
that era related to my mother being very pregnant with Gary. My uncle,
Rev. Herman Hilpert [Dorothy’s brother-in-law], went along and took them to a
preacher friend across the border.
 |
| Carl and Dorothy, wedding photo. |
"After the wedding they farmed the
homestead of my great grandfather Redmer[2]
for a couple years. While there, a tornado caused significant damage to
the place. (As an aside, my mother kept a daily diary of their first 5 years of
married life, which I have.)
“They moved to a rental farm about 5
miles from Winside, coincidently in Brenna precinct,[3]
and their older children also attended District 81 [where Carl and his siblings had attended; see School Days]. He farmed initially
with horses, two teams, and acquired his first tractor in the early [19]40s.
I can remember picking corn by hand. He and the young team led the way
and Gary and I followed with the older docile team. I can also remember having
to milk all the cows by myself so he and Gary could do other things. I
would have been 6 to 9 years old, so he started us early [as did his father Clint before him].
 |
| Carl Troutman family, c. 1939-40. |
“One vivid memory that I have is [of
him] telling me on Dec.7, 1941 about the raid. Since he was of prime draft age
I’m sure he was concerned.
“A family memory is Gary and I playing with matches on a haystack, catching it on fire, and
trying to smother it by pushing more hay on it. My mother eventually came
running and saved the day.
 |
| Little farm boys, Gary and Darrell |
“Their move to Winside occurred in
1946. Mom’s father, Herman Fleer, died on September 1 of that year. The
Fleer family tried, with no success, to sell both [Herman’s] General Store
and the home he lived in. For reasons unknown to me, my parents made an
offer for both the store and house and it was accepted. The funds I
assume came from what they had saved in 13 years of marriage. Dad
obviously had no experience with this new profession, but he worked very hard
at it. I’m estimating about 80 hours each and every week. There
were three grocery stores in town when he started and when he retired 25 years
later, his was the only one. Dorothy and all the children also spent
lots of time there. My memories of time spent there are endless. He was a
generous man, extending credit to whoever asked, and unfortunately never
collecting on many of those debts after he retired. He seemed to prosper
in the store and after he died I discovered that he had
acted as a banker by loaning substantial funds to many friends and
acquaintances. (FYI, he even lent money to Verne on one occasion.)”[4]
Thanks, Darrell. I have many happy memories of family dinners at Carl and Dorothy Troutman's house in Winside, of the big shade trees along the walk to Uncle Carl's store a half block away, of entering by the side door next to the meat counter and smelling the fresh cuts, of browsing the aisles and, of course, buying candy. I remember Uncle Carl's teasing and Aunt Dorothy’s infectious laughter and her delicious fried chicken and cherry pie. They had plenty of children to play with, too, totaling seven by 1952, a special and very dear family. If children are a testament to their upbringing, Carl and Dorothy were a great success as parents, as all of their children have made or are making positive impacts on their world.
[1]
“South Dakota, Marriages, 1905-2013,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Sept. 2016),
entry for Carl Troutman and Dorothy Fleer, 5 Jan. 1933; citing Bon Homme
County.
[2]
Grandfather Redmer was Dorothy’s maternal
grandfather, Martin Redmer, born about 1838 in Prussia, who immigrated to the
United States in 1874 (U. S. and Canada Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1500s
to 1900s, database Ancestry.com,
citing Martin Rodmer, age 36.) He obtained his homestead certificate
on 20 Nov. 1884: Bureau of Land
Management (http://tinyurl.com/hj7k5jk : accessed
15 September 2016), certificate no. 4568, Martin Redmer, 20 Nov. 1884.
[3] 1940
U. S. census, Wayne County, Nebraska, population schedule, Brenna precinct, enumeration
district 7, sheet 4-A, visit no. 65, Carl Troutman household; digital image Ancestry.com
(http://ancestry.com ;
accessed 14 September 2016); NARA microfilm publication T-627, roll n/a.
Brenna precinct was the location of Clint and Mary's first farm in
Wayne County.
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