An Accident and a Friendship

One day in 1939, my father was driving the curving roads through Broadford, Virginia, probably on his way to work at his gas station. Suddenly, a little boy darted into the road in front of his car. He braked hard and swerved to avoid the child but to his horror, another boy chasing after the first one appeared in his path. The sound of screeching tires and a thud from the impact of the soft body stung the air. Filled with dread, Verne jerked open the car door and raced around the car to find the child lying beside the road, crying out in pain from injuries to a leg bent at an odd angle. Others came running. Relief that the boy was alive flooded Verne’s mind, but agony over the boy’s painful injury filled his heart.

Ambulances may not have been available in the small valley town, so the boy’s parents or neighbors may have driven him to the Saltville hospital where Dr. C. C. Hatfield set his leg. Then again, Dr. Hatfield may even come to the scene as his home was not far away, and doctors made house calls in those days. Whatever the case, he boy was in the hospital for a few days after his surgery. Unfortunately, the leg never healed properly, so the boy had a slight limp the rest of his life. 

Dr. C. C. Hatfield and John Whitely, c. 1939.

 The boy's name was John Campbell Whitely, nine-year-old son of Allen and Mary Whitely.[1] Verne continued a friendship with John for many years and even offered to send him to college, but the boy chose not to go. 

Verne Troutman and John Whitely, c. 1939.

A few years ago when I was in Virginia, perhaps for my mother’s funeral, a man approached me and introduced himself. “I’m John Whitely,” he said. “I was the boy your father hit with his car.” He went on to tell me how much my father meant to him, how he had befriended him and his family after the accident and had done many thoughtful things for him over the years.” I told him that Dad had occasionally talked about the accident and I knew that he had agonized over it. Dad kept pictures of the boy and would sometimes tell us the story of the accident.

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[1] 1940 U. S. census, Rich Valley, Smyth County, Virginia, population schedule, enumeration district 87-14, sheet 3-B, visit no. 42, Allen R. Whitely household; digital image Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com ; accessed 16 November 2016); NARA microfilm publication T-627, roll 4295.

Cars, Cars, Cars

Like many young men, my dad loved cars. Maybe his passion for a snazzy car waned as he grew older, for I don't really remember him saying much about cars while I was growing up. I didn't realize how much he liked cars until I started this research. Reading his answers to questions about his life, I found a list he made of cars he had owned. How could he remember all that if he wasn't interested in cars?

Here's his list:

"1932 Chevy coupe [his first car], 1936 Chevy 2 door, 1937 Chevy 4 door, 1939 Plymouth coupe, 1941 Oldsmobile, 1949 Chevy, 1952 Chevy, 1956 Ford, 1961 Chevy."

In going through his old photos, I found numerous pictures of cars. They seemed to make nice props for photos. Maybe you can help identify the make and year of the cars because, unless it was written on the back of the photo, I have no clue. Enjoy!

Clint Troutman family, Mary at the wheel with their Model T.

This is the 1932 Chevy coupe; it's written on back.

These first three photos were taken in Nebraska.

Verne behind the wheel of '32 Chevy coupe.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Susie, Frances, and car in Virginia, c. 1930-32.

Kenneth DeBord and car in Virginia, c. 1938.

Cousins, Kenneth DeBord & Olivene Pratt, Virginia.

This one is much later, but I think it's one of the cars listed above, maybe the 1949 Chevy. Based on the size of my baby sister peeking out the window, I'd say that's about the time this photo was taken--in Nebraska, again.

Verne and daughter on farm, Wayne County, Ne.

Dad loved to drive. Some of my favorite memories with him are Sunday afternoon drives and cross country vacations. Although I didn't get his interest in car makes and models--I cannot list the cars I've had, only their color--I did get his love of driving.

The Rock House Service Station

Whatever drew Verne back to Smyth County, Virginia, he certainly looked into business opportunities. At age 23 in 1937, he chose to open a service station with his cousin Charles DeBord, grandson of Verne's father Clint’s oldest brother, John W. “Bud” Troutman.

Sixteen months younger than Verne, Charles lived with his parents Reese and Eula (Troutman) DeBord at Chatham Hill. Eula was the second child of Bud and Jenny (Totten) Troutman. Widowed, Jenny left Smyth County and took her other children to Nebraska in 1915, but Eula and a young man named Reese DeBord were smitten with each other. Although Eula was only fifteen and Reese was eighteen, they married, perhaps so that Eula wouldn’t have to leave the state with her mother, but also Eula was expecting their first child, Charles.[1] Eula and Reese eventually had four children: Charles, Kenneth, Mildred, and Phyllis, in that order. When Verne went to Virginia, Reese and Eula lived “up on the Ridge” at Chatham Hill. He visited there often.

Mildred (17) and Eula (37) at the DeBord home, Chatham Hill, VA.

Verne at the DeBord home, c. 1937.

Verne’s and Charles’ business was called Rock House Service Station. Like today’s gas stations, he carried a few groceries and even served light lunches, his specialty being a fried egg sandwich. Of course, a cooler with a Coke Cola logo stocked with ice-cold soft drinks in glass bottles with metal caps stood inside the door. The board floors smelled of oil.

Verne (l.) and Charles in front of the Rock House Service Station, c. 1938.

 Rock House Service Station, c. 1938.

Located at Broad Ford, the Rock House Service Station stood to the south side Highway 91 just before it crossed the bridge over the North Fork of the Holston River. In the photo below, Verne and Charles are facing their service station.

This photo, though blurry, shows the old Broad Ford Bridge.

Business wasn't the only thing on Verne's mind.  His social life was lively. Years later, if you were driving the roads snaking through the countryside with him, he might point out to you a home or two where he had been invited to a party. And he might tell you the name of the pretty daughter of the homeowner.  At one of those parties in Saltville while playing a game called Snap-a-Partner, he came face-to-face with a dark haired, dark eyed beauty who was destined to become his wife.

 _______________
[1]  Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2013, Charles Holmes DeBord, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2016). Death record includes birth date, 24 August 1915 and names of parents.

Verne Finds His Roots

Exactly when my father returned to Smyth County, Virginia after the horse sale trip in November 1936, I’m not sure, but return he did, and soon. The green hills and the cool summer nights may be part of what drew him back. Maybe he saw a business opportunity. Maybe he liked the looks of the pretty young ladies he met. Maybe it was a sense of belonging, to nearly 190 years of his maternal ancestors’ rootedness in those hills.

For certain, he liked his Uncle Jim. He liked Jim's folksy, outspoken speech. A favorite saying of Jim's that Verne liked to quote was, "I'd rather wear out than rust out." Verne lived with him and Aunt Susie and their teenage daughter Frances in Marion for a while. In August of 1938, Uncle Jim took Verne for the first time to Troutman, North Carolina, where they attended the annual family reunion in the hometown where Jim’s father, Daniel A. Troutman, had been born and raised.

Uncle Jim and Verne in front of the depot, Troutman, NC.

Verne drew arrows to point out himself and Uncle Jim, on right.

At the reunion, Verne met some of his grandfather’s cousins. He sent pictures and wrote home to his father, Clint, about his experience:

“Marion, Va.

“August 20, 1938

“Dear Dad,

“We just got back from the Troutman reunion. I sure wish that you and mom and all could have been here. We left here Friday morning about 7 o’clock and got down there about 11 o’clock. It was 131 miles from Marion. We went by the mouth of Wilson, Independence, Sparta and Elkins. When we got at the meeting place. It is an old building in an old school house, used for only this purpose. We were greeted of course by Chal. The first thing we did, was to go into the building and they had a program especially suited for the meeting. Several talks were given by Troutmans. A violin solo by Sarah Troutman, in fact all was by Troutmans except one preacher who gave a short talk. He was not a Troutman but was a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Troutman North Carolina.

“There were two Lutheran Preachers who gave talks, one of them was in charge of the program. They were both Troutmans. One is a son of El. Troutman, your first cousin. And we stayed there all night last night. He lives about five miles from Troutman. El looks like a german and is a brother of Chal. His son is pastor of the Lutheran church of Boone North C. He sure is a good preacher. He made a talk on ‘Time.’

“They made all the ones that come from quite a distance stand up, of course we had to stand. They all seemed to know Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie. There were several from out of State there. One man and his family from Washington. They ask Uncle Jim if he did not want to say a few words and he said he was a better listenor [sic] and talkor [sic]. But he said a few words and told them how glad he was to be there. They ask me if I didnt have something to say and I told them no. But Chal. told them I was a big Auctioneer and was from Nebraska and I just had to get up and say something. So I told them how glad I was to be there and sat down. I would have to go back as far as Grandpa and tell them I was a grandson of Daniel T. before they could get me placed.

“One woman told me she knew me when I first came in, because I looked exactly like a picture she has of you, when you were about my age. She was a nice looking lady. She looked quite a little like Aunt Stell looked in her younger days.

“All of them seemed to be nice sociable people. Some looked like they had money and some looked rather hard up. But as Uncle Jim says, I didn’t see a mean looking face in the bunch. I think there must have been over 200 there.

“They had a business meeting and elected committees for the coming year. This was the 35 annual Troutman reunion. The building has printed in big letters over the door ‘Troutman Historical Building Association.’

“There is a cemetery and nearly all the graves are Troutmans. I saw my Great, Great Grandfathers grave. It was so old you could hardly read the writing on it. He came over here from Germany and married a german girl and at one time owned 20,000 acres of land around Statesville. He bought it for 12 ½ cents per acre. I saw your great grandfathers grave. His name was Henry Troutman and he was at one time Sherriff of Iradell [sic] County, North Carolina. And he owned 32,00 [sic] of land at one time. I guess grandpa was a son of a rich man. Uncle Jim says that accounts for him not being much of a hustler.

“Uncle Jim, Aunt Susie, Francis, Chal and myself went out to the old place where grandpa was born and raised. There is one old building still standing. You can see where the house used to stand. It was a large one. There is one big walnut tree still standing right in front of where the house stood. There is a stump of a big old pine tree left where it had been burned. We took a picture of the place. This is the first time the Uncle Jim seen the place where his daddy was born and raised. He cried as he looked at it.

“They told me how Grandma told about her and grandpa going to N. C. after they were first married. From what they tell me they were greeted by a bunch of boys and girls on horses. And they rode their horses around and around the house. Grandpa took out after them in the buggy and she said two wheels were on the ground part of the time. She said Farewell Vain World, Here is where I get killed. As we looked the old place over I could just see the horses and buggy running around that place.

“Write soon

 Vern.”[1]

Sixty-nine years later, Verne had come full circle, back to the home place his paternal grandfather had left in 1869, the place the Troutmans had lived since about 1790. And for the same reason Verne had left Nebraska, his grandfather, had left North Carolina: to take horses to sell in Virginia.

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[1] Verne Troutman, Marion, Virginia, to Clint Troutman, letter, 20 August 1938, relates events of a 1938 family reunion in Troutman, North Carolina; Verne and Lois Troutman binder, privately held, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

 © Z. T. Noble

Making Cousin Connections

For as long as I can remember, my father, Verne Troutman, would go out of his way to connect with long lost family members. This penchant must have developed as he grew up with aunts, uncles, and cousins in Nebraska, hearing tales from the adults about their childhood in Virginia, enjoying annual picnics with the Virginians, and playing with his cousins. Perhaps his horse-trading trip to Virginia in the fall of 1936 intensified his itch to look up relatives he had not seen for about ten years, for on his way home from Virginia to Nebraska, he took a side trip to Oklahoma to visit cousins.

Verne’s paternal aunt Estelle and her husband Tell Worley and family had lived nearby to the Clint and Mary Troutman family in Missouri and in Nebraska until the late ‘20s. Estelle’s son Carl and his family had lived in Wayne where Carl was a shoe maker and owned a shoe shop.[1] By 1930, however, Carl had moved his family—wife Serena and five children: Verdena, Pauline, Carl, Jr., Captola, and Wilburna—to Miami, Oklahoma where Carl was making a living painting houses.[2] Verne and Verdena were about the same age, and the others were younger. Verne seems to have enjoyed his visit with his pretty cousins in Oklahoma.

Wilburna (15), Verne (22), & Captola (17), 1936.

Captola and Wilburna wrote letters to Verne soon after he had visited their family urging him to come for Christmas with their grandmother Estelle, and they sent him this photo.[3] He saved the photo and the letters. I don’t know whether he returned for Christmas, or not. Through the years, he liked to tell about this trip to Oklahoma. He said that his cousin Carl's wife Serena was Native American, but if she was, the records don't show it.

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[1] 1920 U. S. census, Wayne, Wayne County, Nebraska, population schedule, enumeration district [ED] 225, sheet 14-A, dwelling 161, family 169, Carl Worley; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 October 2016); NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1003.

[2] 1930 U. S. census, Miami, Ottowa County, Oklahoma, population schedule, p. 132 (stamped), enumeration district [ED] 58-15, sheet 8-A, dwelling 188, family 154, Carl D. Worley family; digital image Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 October 2016); NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1923.

[3] Wilburna Worley, Miami, Oklahoma, to Verne Troutman, letter, 23 Nov. 1936, inviting Verne to come for Christmas, Assorted Letters, Memorabilia, and Other Papers from the Collection of Verne and Lois Troutman, binder, privately held, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

© 2016, Z. T. Noble  

Speculating on Horses: An Adventure

Although my father, Verne Troutman, and his brother Jim had established an auction business in Wayne County, Nebraska, the two young men were still looking for business opportunities. It was the mid-1930s, after all, and the entire country was in the throes of a depression.

Not only that, but during the summer of 1936, dry weather and scorching winds whipped the country and temperatures rose to record levels. The hottest day in Nebraska history was 24 July 1936 when forty-two towns reported temperatures over 100° F, with Minden the highest at 118°.[1] In Lincoln, the night of July 25 never dropped below 91°, so people spread blankets on the lawn in front of the state capital and slept there.[2]  In fact it was the hottest summer on record for the entire country. Crops scorched and dried and the landscape turned brown, which  left farmers in dire financial straits.

In August, Verne received a letter from his father’s brother, James Henry Troutman, his “Uncle Jim,” in Virginia with a proposal that they bring horses to Smyth County to sell at a profit. By October, the two brothers had taken him up on it. They loaded horses on a train and traveled across the country. Verne remembered stopping, once in Pennsylvania, and unloading the horses to water and feed them.[3] In his letter, Uncle Jim's urged his brother Clint to come, too, which apparently paid off. Clint and Mary went together for a visit with family Mary hadn’t seen since 1909 (Clint had gone back about 1926 to bring his mother for a visit to Nebraska); they probably drove instead of riding the train.[4] The green hills and valleys and cool mountain nights of Virginia must have looked and felt refreshing to Clint, Mary, Verne, and Jim.

The horses were auctioned off on two dates, 31 October and 23 November. Sale bills Verne saved tell the story. 

Verne apparently went back home to Nebraska before the second sale, as his brother Jim mailed him a sale bill and wrote a letter on the back telling him how the sale went. 

“Monday Evening

“Hello Verne,

“Well we had the sale today and it didn’t go quite as good as the other. Looks like we might have a hundred apiece [about $1700.00 today] when everything is payed for.

“Had a Auctioneer hired up but he didn’t get here until late and I started the sale and sold the 1^st four head.

“I bid in about six head but got rid of them all after the sale except the mules had 285.OO bid on them and didn’t let them go. Going to try and get $300 or $325.

“The sucking colts made more than any thing. Good little bay mare brought $202.50 and the other all brought $75 or $76 except the little blue colt she brought $44. Ilers team brought $200. Grey 3 yr old mare brought $165. Spotted mare brought $149.00. Big Black 2 yr old  horse brought $170. 2 Bay 2 yr old mares brought $320. Sorrel mare brought $135.00[,] old Black horse brought $30, old Grey brought $75. Full bros. colts brought $127.50. 2 bay 2 yr old geldings brought $240.00 and mouse colored 2 yr old brought $121.00 they sold to [sic] cheap. Good black yearling filly brought 117.50 Bay one brought 77. Black one that was thin brought 90.

“It was a pretty good sale all thru [sic] some made[,] others lost[;] sucking colts is what saved us. There is about $285. our expenses not counting our personal expenses. And the money we will have to pay Ed. Kenney. Freight was $312.00. Don’t know when we will start for home some time the last of the week.

“Some of them were coughing a little more than the other bunch. Am going to try and get rid of the mules tomorrow.

“Guess that is about all to tell. I sure am glad they are sold.  -- Jim.

                                                           

“All the horses went to farmers right around here.”[5]

Jim and his parents soon went back home to Nebraska, but that was not the end of Virginia for Verne. Apparently, he was intrigued by possible business opportunities, for he was soon on his way back.

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[1] “July 24, 1936 – The Hottest Day in Nebraska History,” Real Science (https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/july-24-1936-the-hottest-day-in-nebraska-history : accessed 12 October 2016). Also, “Nebraska Annual Temperatures and Records,” CoolWeather.net (http://coolweather.net/statetemperature/

nebraska_temperature.htm : accessed 12 October 2016). Also, “Next to 1936, ’05 Is No Sweat,” The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/nyregion/next-to-1936-05-is-no-sweat.html?_r=0 : accessed 12 October 2016).

[2] “The Great Heat Wave of 1936: Hottest Summer in U. S. on Record,” WunderBlogâ, Weather Underground (https://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/the-great-heat-wave-of-1936-hottest-summer-in-us-on-record : accessed 12 October 2016).

[3] Verne Troutman, conversation with Zola Troutman Noble, date long forgotten.

[4] Captola Worley, Miami, Oklahoma, to Verne Troutman, letter, 23 November 1936, urges Verne to encourage his parents to visit her family in Oklahoma on their way home from Virginia, Assorted Letters, Memorabilia, and Other Papers from the Collection of Verne and Lois Troutman, binder, privately held, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana. Also, Wilburna Worley, Miami Oklahoma, to Verne Troutman, letter, 23 November 1936, explains the reason her grandmother did not go to Virginia with Verne’s parents, Assorted Letters.

[5] Jim Troutman, Saltville, Virginia, to Verne Troutman, letter, 23 November 1936, reporting the outcome of the horse auction that day, Assorted Letters.

© 2016, Z. T. Noble

Adventures in the Auction Business

During the 1930s, Clint and Mary Troutman's children were venturing out on their own. Carl married and started farming, Neville and Virginia became teachers, and James (Jim) worked in farming and an auctioneer business with Verne.

After Verne's study at the Reppert School of Auctioneering and his World’s Fair adventures in 1934, he went back home to the farm at Winside. In August, he received a letter from a Reppert classmate, W. H. Heldenbrand, an established business man from Wichita, Kansas, offering to advise and assist him in his auctioneer business and enclosing a contract to manage Heldenbrand’s furniture auction.1

A few months later, Verne received another offer in the mail. The agricultural agent at the University of Nebraska, College of Agriculture, S. H. Liggett, asked him to assist with the organization of Baby Beef clubs in Wayne County and offered him a “Wesleyan Scholarship of $37.50 per semester for four years” at the university. He adds, “This is ample to pay all tuition.”2 Verne  declined both offers. He had other ideas.

First, he and his Winside buddy, Ruben Strate, who went to Reppert with him, started a partnership auction business, two enterprising young 20-year-olds.

Note the small print below the owner's name.

Verne even called a few auctions on his own, and he saved lots of sale bills or parts of them. Maybe he wanted to remember the names of his clients.

Note the small print below the owner's name.

Later, he taught his brother Jim all that he had learned about auctioning, and they started an auction business together, Troutman Brothers Auctioneers. This receipt shows their earnings from a livestock auction in 1935.

Then in September of 1936 a letter arrived from their horse trader Uncle Jim in Virginia:

“J. H. Troutman

General Merchandise

Saltville, Virginia

“Sept 23 – 36

“Dear Verne

            “Rec your letter yesterday and will say to you[,] you all do what you think best of course horses will be much better here in spring and if you all send a load or bring a load rather do so as soon as you can before the snow begins to fall as you said if a man never risks nothing he never does nothing[. . . .] they will sell good if they are mares and it looks like the mare you spoke of cost you 117.00 would bring 200 here as Arthur Campbell one day this week bought a 2 year old Perchern [sic] mare wt. 1300 and paid 200.00 for her but he had a match for her.

“Verne there is stock pens at Marion where they have had some horse sales [. . .] no weekly sales there but there is weekly sales [. . .] at Wythville, 28 mi. east of Marion and at Abingdon 28 mi. west of Marion and if you all come we mite sell some privately or thought could have a sale any that did not do so good could hold them and get a truck and try the stock markets at Wytheville and Abingdon.

“I am geting [sic] my 2 year olds ready for the Fair tomorrow in 1 mi[.] of my store this will seem funny to Clint but we have a good Smyth Co. Community fair at Riverside each year and have had for several years I expect there will be around 100 horse there tomorrow moustly [sic] saddle horses I don’t like that kind.

“Now Verne if you come make Clint come to if he thinks he can stand it will be a hard trip here guess he can get off all ok as he has no corn and listen if you come get started soon as you can if not and can hold them until Mar. the 1^st come then you know how I feel I would like for you to come but don’t want to advise you or persuade you for fear you mite not be satisfied but if you all bring some good heavy kind of good colts and horses not branded I do think they will sell good so do as you want to and I’ll sure help you dispose of the horses as I am some horse trader to and sure can tell a old on from a young one.

“So if you come come at once as you C it will be 2 weeks or more from the time you leave until we can have a sale.

“Your Uncle Jim”[3]

This letter changed the course of Verne’s life.

First page of Uncle Jim's letter to Verne, 1936.

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1 W. H. Heldenbrand, Wichita, Kansas, to Verne C. Troutman, letter, 17 August 1934, offering assistance in Verne’s auction business ventures, Assorted Letters, Memorabilia, and Other Papers from the Collection of Verne and Lois Troutman, binder, privately held, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

2 S. H. Liggett, Wayne, Ne., to Verne Troutman, letter, 10 Dec. 1934, offering a job and a scholarship, Assorted Letters.

3 J. H. Troutman, Saltville, Va., to Verne Troutman, letter, 28 Sept. 1936, telling Verne about opportunities to sell horses in Virginia, Assorted Letters.

© 2016, Z. T. Noble

Verne Goes to the World's Fair

Despite drought that ravaged the prairie states and other hardships of the Depression years, the 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair, called A Century of Progress, drew huge crowds. It opened on 27 May 1933 and closed on 12 November. Its success was so great, that it also ran from May 26-Oct 31, 1934.[1] Its lure did not evade Clint and Mary Troutman’s children. Verne was not to be left out. Perhaps, Neville went with him, for she had expressed a desire to go to her mother, who conveyed the message to Verne away from home in Decatur, Indiana attending the Reppert School of Auctioneering.[2] A note in a postcard from Mary indicates that Verne made the trip in August 1934: “Be careful of your clothes and money at the fair that you don’t lose anything.”[3] It seems likely that Verne went with his new friends from Reppert, or perhaps, with, Ruben Strate, his buddy from Winside who accompanied him to Reppert.

He saved post cards from events at the Fair that impressed him and brought home a silver and black metal cane as a souvenir, which he kept in a black footlocker with all of his other memorabilia from high school and pre-marriage days. On occasion, he unfastened the big metal clasp of the footlocker, lifted the lid, and pulled out the 4-H and track ribbons, the yearbooks, letters, postcards and other treasures, and told the stories to his children. My brother doesn’t remember the stories of the World’s Fair. Maybe he wasn’t as curious about the footlocker as his sisters. My sister remembers the black cane. The only items left are the post cards.

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[1] “Century of Progress,” Wikipedia  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress : accessed 24 May 2016), “Success.”

[2] Troutman, Mary, Winside, Nebraska, to Verne Troutman, letter, 29 July 1934, news from home; “Assorted Letters, Memorabilia, and other Papers from the Collection of Verne and Lois Troutman,” binder; privately held, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] Anderson, Indiana.

[3] Troutman, Mary, Winside, NE, to Verne Troutman, postcard, 1 Aug. 1934, news from home; “Assorted Letters. . . .”

Getting Along in the World: Carl

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

“In addition to farming, [Dad] fattened cattle.  It would seem that he prospered at both. . . .  [M]y mother was never comfortable on the farm.  She would bribe the hired man to do such chores as gathering the chicken eggs or she would take sticks and lift up the chickens so she wouldn’t have to touch them. . . .  She belonged in the big town of Winside where she started. 

“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.

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[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.

[4] Darrell Troutman, Lincoln, Nebraska [E-ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE] to Zola Troutman Noble, e-mail, 30 May 2016, “Info request,” Darrell e-folder, privately held by Noble, [E-ADDRESS & STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Anderson, Indiana, 2016.