Editor's note: The following narrative recounts the THOMAS Family's life after settling in Nebraska. It tells a lot about what life was like for this immigrant family.

It was summer, between mid-June and early July 1893, when Fred and Agnes THOMAS arrived in Norfolk, Madison County, Nebraska with their two children, Herman and Adolph, and with Agnes' mother, Maria Magdalena Schneck. Norfolk, founded in 1881 and so named because it was on the North Fork of the Elkhorn River, was a young and bustling town. Agnes' sister and brother-in-law, Anna and Franz DOLLERSCHELL, had purchased a home in Norfolk on January 29, 1892 from Herman and Minne Ninow on "Lot #15" in the Ninow's addition to Norfolk. After such a long and journey they were tired and probably penniless. Agnes was expecting her third child, and being where Agnes' sister Anna lived, it was quite natural for them to plant their roots in the town of Norfolk. But they would not stay in one place very long. Fred always had an eye for greener pastures.

While in Norfolk the THOMAS family lived in seven or eight different houses. Erna THOMAS STEINER remembers living on 5th St., the Dressor House, the Blank House, and then in a home close by Aunt Anna DOLLERSCHELL. Erna says this was the best house. Herman remembered living in some of the other places. At times it was so bad that the rats and mice ran over you while you tried to sleep. By 1895 Fred was eyeing a piece of property he wanted to buy in Norfolk for his family to live. But, Fred was not an American citizen. It seems in those years, an immigrant could not purchase any property unless he became an American citizen or at least intended to become a citizen. It is also possible that the law of the land required all immigrants to the US to sign a "Declaration of Intention" to become an American citizen. [Ed. Note: It was not a requirement for immigrants to sign a Declaration of Intention.] In any case Fred Thomas signed such a document stating that he intended to become an American citizen. The document reads:

I, Ferd. Thomas, do declare on oath, that it is bona fide my intention to become a citizen of the United States, and do renounce and abjure forever all allegiance and fidelity to all and any foreign Prince, Potentate, State and Sovereignty whatever, and particularly to the Emperor of Germany of whom I was a subject,

(signed) Fred Thomas

Sworn before me at my office in Madison, Madison County, this 11th day of September A.D. 1895.

It was not six weeks later after signing this "Declaration of Intention" that Fred Thomas purchased "Lot six (6), Block two (2) of the Pasewalk's Fourth (4th) addition to Norfolk according to the duly recorded plot thereof" from a George and Hattie Hahn for $100.00. Probably Franz and Anna DOLLERSCHELL helped Fred buy this property. It is said that Grandpa Fred always had a big head and bought what he couldn't afford. Grandma would get so mad at him for that. In any case, it wasn't long after this that Fred had to mortgage the property to a William Kiesau. He was released from that mortgage on February 16, 1900 as recorded in Madison County, Nebraska. Erna also states that Franz DOLLERSCHELL and Grandpa Fred bought an acre of land together. One side of the land was good, the other side was bad. They drew lots for the good side. Franz DOLLERSCHELL got the good side. After that Grandpa Fred never owned any more land, he always rented.

By trade Grandpa Fred was a bricklayer. Yet, in Norfolk he worked at many different jobs. He is reported to have worked on the railroad, worked in the sugar-beet factory, and tried to raise potatoes and beets for sale. He didn't do very well at raising beets, but he was known for his ability to darn socks better than any woman.

Sometime in 1908 Grandpa Fred heard of a farmer named Wieser living near St. Mary's, Humphrey, who needed help on his farm. Grandpa sent Adolph and Helmuth, who were about 16 and 15 at the time, to help this farmer. This Wieser had another farm which he was renting out to some other tenants, who didn't keep the cockleburs down. Grandpa saw new pastures, so this Wieser rented this other farm to him. The farm was about eleven to fourteen miles from St. Mary's Catholic Church. By the following March of 1909 the place was clear of cockleburs. But then, Wieser's son, Johnny, got married and wanted the farm. So Grandpa Fred moved to another Wieser farm. Their next move was to the Mary Eisenmeger place at Humphrey across from the Mark Eisenmeger farm. It was during this time between 1909 to 1916 that Margaret got very sick with pneumonia. She almost died. They had to have a nurse stay with them for a week or two to take care of Margaret. It took Margaret several months to recuperate from that. Rose also remembers it was about this time that Grandma Agnes needed to have surgery. Grandma needed to have the surgery done in Columbus, so Rose got to go with her by train to Columbus and the rest of the kids had to stay home.

In 1916 our grandparents moved to the Maxwell farm near Creston. It was the year Adolph married Julie ZACH. It was also when Verona began boarding at St. Mary's School out in the country. The other kids went to the public school in Creston. Three of the girls boarded at St. Mary's, namely Verona, Rose, and Martha. The purpose was not so much to get an eighth grade education, this they could do this in the public schools. It was to give them a Catholic education, and prepare them for their First Holy Communion and for their Solemn Holy Communion a year later. Only from Verona down, did the children get an eighth grade education with the exception of Rudy, who only went through the fourth grade. Hilda attended grade school at St. Francis in Humphrey for two years and then finished through the eighth grade in Lindsay. Rose wanted so much to go through high school. She did go the first semester in Lindsay but had to quit and go to work. Joe started going to school in Creston, but not for long. Another kid in the school kicked his ankle so bad it broke. The doctor in Creston couldn't fix it. Finally the doctor said he would have to cut off Joe's foot. Grandpa wouldn't hear of it. He took Joe to another doctor in Columbus for a second opinion. The doctor in Columbus sent Joe immediately to a doctor in Omaha, and Joe remained there a long time in the hospital (maybe a year). The doctor in Omaha put maggots into the sore on Joe's leg. The maggots ate all the rotten flesh up to two inches from the knee. The doctor said Joe was young enough that the bone could grow back. It did. While Joe had a crooked foot, and it was hard for him to wear shoes, Joe got along fine in life. But he missed a whole year of school.

Boarding at St. Mary's wasn't always a picnic. In order for the girls to go there they had to pay their way by doing different jobs at the school, like cleaning, scrubbing steps, and household work. In addition Grandpa helped pay for their schooling by butchering beef, hogs, and chickens, and by giving the school vegetables out of their garden. Sister Eva was the cook. If some of the kids didn't like her soup, out the window it went. Normally there were four religious sisters there. Three were teachers, and one taught them music. They taught them English and High German in grades 1, 2, and 3; whereas they spoke low German at home. They learned how to write according to the Palmer method. Verona was especially good at this and got a diploma for it. One of the crosses for the children boarding at the school was getting permission to go outside to the toilet. Sometimes they needed to go and were refused permission. Once Rose asked for permission and didn't get it, so she jumped up from desk and dashed as fast as she could go to the toilet. When she got back, the Sister told her to put her hand out and then hit it with a ruler. Other times, when the Sister would not let the children go to the outside toilet, the children would leave a puddle on the floor and then they would cry. About this same time, Rudy played hooky from school and stayed out in the chicken shed all day. He tried to lie his way around it, but it didn't work. He ended up getting a licken from his dad.

It wasn't long before our grandparents again decided to move, this time to Humphrey. This must have been around 1917. World War I was being fought. The United States was at war with Germany. A person in Humphrey told our grandparents that they had better stop speaking German or they would be reported. It must have scared them, since they had not become American citizens as yet. To move out of Humphrey, which was located in Platte County, to Madison County, Grandpa was now obliged to obtain "An Alien Registration Card" from the Department of Justice of the US. He applied for it on February 4, 1918 through the US Postmaster and moved to the Weiland farm near Madison around March 4, 1918.

After moving to the Weiland farm near Madison another law was put into effect which obliged the wives of German aliens to register. This law was dated April 19, 1918. Grandma Agnes THOMAS was now obliged to apply for an "Alien Registration Card" as well. She applied and received her "Card" on July 11, 1918.

Did Grandpa Fred and Grandma Agnes Thomas ever become American citizens? It seems not. This should not surprise us. This was quite common. The irony of it all was that Ray was drafted. He wanted to go, but it practically broke Grandma's heart. She was beside herself. She depended on Ray so much. Ray tried to reason with her that the Armistice was soon to be signed anyway. She could not be comforted. Raymond was inducted into the military on November 10, 1918. The very next day the Armistice was signed, November 11, 1918. Raymond was sent to Omaha and returned home the next day.

Our grandparents did not like living on the Weiland farm near Madison. The owner was hard to get along with, and the morning glories were so bad there. In March 1919 they moved back to Humphrey on the Brockhaus place. In 1921 they moved to another Brockhaus place, the Fuchs farm. About this same time some major moves were taking place. The German people living around Humphrey were short on land to farm, so they looked elsewhere. They decided to homestead in another place, far to the north. The Wiesers, the Brockhauses, the Brauns, the Hamlings, and others moved north to Rosholt, South Dakota where the soil was rich and black. Helmuth, Grandpa and Grandma's son, with his wife, Elizabeth nee BROCKHAUS made their way north to Rosholt, South Dakota. For a number of years after that Helmuth's younger brothers and sisters would travel up to Rosholt to help out with the harvest. Ray started the venture. Rose remembered being in Rosholt when Helmuth's and Elizabeth's son Sylvester (Vessy) was born in 1926. Rudy went up in 1927 to help with the harvest. While there he met Lauretta Matteson, married her in 1928, and settled there.

Back in Nebraska Grandpa was ready to move again. In 1923 they moved onto the Liglet place in Lindsay for one year. In 1924 they moved to the Kurtenbach farm near Lindsay. They stayed here for six years. It was during this time that Grandpa bought the kids an organ. It was also the time of the "Great Depression". The stock market crashed on October 24, 1929. Consequently foreign trade fell sharply, factories closed, there were long unemployment lines, mortgages were foreclosed upon, banks failed, and the prices of farm grain fell rapidly. There was a complete paralysis in the business world. It was cheaper to burn corn for fuel than it was to sell it. It was a time of being dirt poor, of eating corn mush cooked by buffalo chips. It was tough. To add to the situation the early 30's were the time of the great drought in the mid-west. It did not rain. Nothing grew. The earth was a dust bowl and the dust filtered through everything and into everything. By 1930 Grandpa was again ready to move. They moved to the Rawmacher farm near Lindsay for one year. In 1931 they moved to the Sweenie farm near Lindsay. It was here that Grandma Agnes THOMAS died on December 8, 1932 and was buried at Holy Family Cemetery, Lindsay, Nebraska. She was 60 years old, and had been in this country for 39 years. She died on the feast of the Immaculate Conception (the patron feast of this country). It is also worth noting that a number of births, happenings, and deaths in the family often fall on a feast day of the Blessed Mother.

In 1933 Grandpa and the children who still lived at home moved to the Regi farm near Creston. In 1934 they moved to Columbus, Nebraska onto the Mary Lachnit place at 8th St. and 14th Ave., which is on the north corner of the greenhouse. By 1936 Grandpa was alone in his home. Ray and Hilda had been gone sometime. Fritz was married. Because of their utter poverty, Verona went to work for a Weiser until she got married on September 7, 1937. So Grandpa gave up his home and went to live with his daughter Martha and her husband, Everett Jones. Grandpa lived with them for a number of years.

On the preceding pages we have focused primarily on the events that touched and transformed the lives of the Thomas family, but what about that inner pulse, that life-blood, which is found in the home? As the children were born, grew, and matured the home must have been a beehive humming with the heartfelt care of the Queen, their mother, Agnes SCHNECK THOMAS. In their mother the children found a loving and wonderful friend, one in whom they had confidence and greatly admired. With their Dad it was a totally different story. He was a staunch German, who was strict, ruled the roost, had a sharp tongue, and would lay the law down whenever he deemed it necessary. He didn't relate with the children much and expected them to obey him without question. Every night his tools had to be put back in their proper places. He was very particular with his clothes. He had a spittoon in the house. One time one of the kids hid it under a bed. There was h__l to pay over that. He was a good butcher and made the best homemade German sausage. He brewed their own home beer. When he could afford it, he liked to smoke a cigar or a pipe. He was a democrat. He could raise fabulous gardens, he had a beautiful yard, but he was no farmer. The only place he could farm well was at the local pub over a drink and while playing cards. He was known to be a card shark, and he did drink too much. When he did have too much to drink, especially while they lived in Lindsay, Grandpa would somehow get into the buggy, and the horse would bring him home. Then Grandma would say "now you got to be quiet when Dad comes home" and she would help him out of the buggy into the house. Yet, in his own way, Grandpa developed in his children a respect for others and the quality of being loyal to one's family.

Grandma Agnes preferred to stay home, except when it came to getting groceries which Grandpa couldn't handle. She never used harsh words. She was soft and tender. Dad would get upset with her sometimes because she would not enforce things. She was a hard-worker, thoughtful and kind. When Rudy and his wife, Lauretta (MATTESON) came down from Rosholt, South Dakota to visit his folks, Lauretta found her mother-in-law to be an exceptional person. Lauretta remembers, for example, how thoughtful grandma would be whenever they spoke German around her. Grandma would translate everything into English for Lauretta so that she would not think they were talking about her. When they were ready to drive back to South Dakota, their car was filled with fresh vegetables from her garden. Grandma would can as high as 300 to 400 quarts a year. They always raised good potatoes. It was a family tradition that the potatoes were planted on Good Friday, regardless of the weather. Adolph use to say "I plant potatoes in the ground, not by the moon". Often Adolph and Julie would visit on Sunday - Julie always said Grandma could put on one of the best Sunday dinners there was. Grandma was known to be a good cook, and an exceptional baker on her wood stove.

Early in the morning, around 6:30 A.M. Grandma would prepare breakfast. It might have been oatmeal, cream of wheat, homemade bread hot from the oven, pancakes, French toast, bread pudding, eggs, and/or milk toast. They did not have cereal as a rule. For lunch it would be her navy bean soup, chicken dumpling soup or maybe German potato pancakes--especially on Fridays, which were meatless days. One of Grandma's favorite ways of preparing potatoes was to boil them with their jackets on, peel them the next day and fry them. Doesn't it make your mouth water? They made their own sauerkraut. For dinner usually around 6 in the evening, there was always potatoes; may have roast beef with carrots and cabbage (one of Grandpa's favorites), liver sausage a lot, and good home baked apple pie.

Both outside and inside the house Grandma raised a lot of flowers, her favorite being the delicate little "forget-me-not". Grandma was noted for her singing and reading. When Grandpa got the family an organ around 1923, the house was filled in the evening with the voices of the children singing to their hearts' content. Maybe even driving Grandma almost batty at times. Other evenings Grandma saw to it that the children studied their lessons. They read a lot while laying across their beds. They had a favorite magazine called "Comfort", which they thought prepared them for marriage.

During most of these years, Grandma churned her own butter. She would form the butter into unique designs and then would sell the butter along with eggs for their other needs. She knew how to be very thrifty. One of her greatest talents was being able to sew. When the girls got old enough to make their own money and buy yarn and cloth for their own clothes, Grandma would make them a new dress. The girls would look into a Sear's catalog, find the dress they liked, give it to their mother, and within a day or two, without a pattern, Grandma would have the dress made. She was an excellent seamstress, and was fast at it. Hilda said she would sew a dress which was for good, and the rest of them were for school. She sewed clothes for the boys when they were younger. She even made a cap for Fritz. One time Grandma got some cloth to make something, and Rose spied it. Rose cut up part of the cloth to make dresses for her dolls. When they had no money to buy material, Grandma would go to the neighboring rummage sales, find some clothes, rip them apart, and remake them into what was needed. Grandma picked this talent up from her Dad who was a tailor by trade.
Picture to the right: Martha and Rose in dresses made by their Mother.

To her children and to all who knew her, they described Grandma Agnes Thomas best when they said "she was a saint". Agnes favored Verona because she was most like Grandma in her mannerisms and personality.

There are all kinds of remembrances about growing up at home. Experiences that they still cherish and talk about. There are memories about taking baths in the bathtub, about washing clothes by hand, which needed a lot of elbow grease. They would make a cyclone-shaped screen with beer at the small end of the funnel to catch pesky flies. Their furniture was strong. They played a lot of ball out in the pasture. During the time they lived near Humphrey, St. Mary's had a well known baseball team. Rudy was a pitcher for them until he threw his arm out. Rudy was always a big tease, full of the old Nick. He would like to scare everyone. Rudy had a habit of slapping one on the back of the head after you sat down to eat. So Hilda refused to sit until Rudy sat down. They remember the girls having their hair cut for the first time. Aunt Anna DOLLERSCHELL saw it and thought it was awful. Another time, Helmuth was out shelling corn and came into the house for a meal. After he sat down, something bit him. He reached down and grabbed it--it was a mouse. They remember being poorer than most, the children sometimes felt put down by others. They also had a home remedy. The home medicine was called "Alpenkrauger" which they stored in the basement of their house and took daily. The remedy was to make them stronger. Every night before bed, each child had to run to the outdoor biffy and back, no matter how cold it was. They slept two to a bed, and there were two beds in each room. They remember when Erna went out to help her Dad pick corn. When they came back into the yard, only the bottom of the wagon was filled with corn. The boys came in with their loads shortly after. They had big loads. In their later years at home the children enjoyed going to dances. They remember dancing to Lawrence Welk. Grandpa loved to dance the waltz. Often those of the family who were married, came by for a visit, especially on Sunday. Grandma loved that. It was one of her greatest joys. Yet, they weren't much for this lovey, dovey stuff. Oh, when you were sick or hurt, there were sometimes hugs and kisses, but otherwise there wasn't much sign of affection.

Very important to them was there Catholic religion. It was Grandma who instilled the Catholic faith into their very being. Each evening before bed Grandma would sit down in a chair and have the little children kneel down by her lap and say their prayers. The older kids would say theirs at the foot of their own bed. Fritz sometimes did not want to pray, so Grandma would fold his hands in hers so he would have to pray. She always had a saying that stuck in one's mind "If I don't see it, God does. You can't get by it." Their prayers consisted in saying everyday the "Angel of God", the "Act of Contrition", prayers for the Poor Souls, prayers to St. Joseph, prayers for family members, and meal prayers before and after each meal. Whenever a storm was a-brewing, or someone was real sick, they would light a candle, burn palms in a one pound coffee can and say the Rosary. Grandma had another saying: "every Saturday there will always be a little sunshine when the Blessed Mother has to wash the Lord's diapers". When Sunday morning came around, Church was a must. They always sat as close to the front as they could. Special attention was to be paid to the sermon, as they might be asked later what the preacher preached about. It never occurred to them to fall asleep. Their attitude in prayer was one of simplicity. They thanked God for all that they had and the good of the day. They didn't dwell on what went wrong, or what they were lacking, or what they were worrying about. What they had God gave to them, and were thankful they had that much. Grandpa always insisted the night before Sunday Mass that their shoes were all cleaned and shined, ready for Church.

When they lived in Lindsay, many times the kids had to walk three or four miles to school. When they got home, they were plenty hungry. Grandma Agnes would have two or three bowls of rice ready for them. During the summer months, the older kids worked in order to make some money, especially to buy school clothes. The girls did a lot of housework, cooking and cleaning, taking care of kids, besides milking cows. Rose remembers working at Herman and Elsie's, and with Adolph and Julie.

While on the Sweenie farm in Lindsay Grandma had a stroke, and a creeping paralysis set in leaving one hand paralyzed. She liked to play cards with Grandpa, so he made her a rack to hold her cards so that she could play easier. They liked Rummy a lot. By the time of her death on December 8, 1932, Grandma could not talk anymore. Rose, although married, was home when her mother, Agnes, breathed her last. Verona took care of her before her death as best she could. Verona was much like her mother in her character and personality. We have a letter written in German by Grandma to her children. It was dated sixteen days before her death. It may have been written by Verona as Grandma dictated it to her. It reads:

Lindsay, November 22, 1932

Dear Children:

Well, Margaret, how are things with you now? Do you already have corn? We finished with our corn last week on Wednesday. The boys and Herman and Martha are very happy that the corn is out, it was so cold the last weeks now. Fritz and Johann have started (cutting) wood. We have been burning corn for over a week. It heats very well. Johann says it seems as if it isn't right to burn corn.

Well, Margaret, the boys were already here. They got apples but no money for gas and oil. Saturday we shelled the pile that we had here in the yard. There were nine loads. We have sold only two loads. It is only 13 cents a load. One load we had to give forfeit. It is too bad, that one has to give everything for so little.

I surely thought that you or Rose would come last Sunday. We now have plenty of lard. The girls weren't paid for the work at Hardungs, so Martha took lard for it. I think there are almost six or seven gallons. That should be enough to keep us for a long time.

I think we already have to trade in the calves. We also want to shoot the cow and butcher in January, so that we get meat. There must be a way. It is sure hard for me to watch everything and not be able to help. I hope that will also be that I can help a little.

Herman's butchered and they brought us a hog's head and some small pieces of meat. Herman comes every two weeks. Raymond is now at Herman's picking corn. A week ago last Saturday they were finished at Johann Frisch.

I think that is enough for this time. I hope you will come soon.

Many greetings from us all and from your mother who loves you.

Uncle Franz and Aunt Anna (or is meant Franz daughter Anna) and Georg Schuhr were here last Saturday. It made me so happy that someone came.

With the Great Depression, the severe drought, and the death of his wife, Grandpa Fred and his daughter Verona decided to move to Columbus, Nebraska They were very poor. At times Verona had nothing whatever to cook. Finally Verona was forced to leave home and find work. She went to work for a Weiser. Fritz was already married. Hilda and Ray had already left to seek work. In 1936 Grandpa gave up his home in Columbus and moved in with Martha and Everett and their daughter, Charlotte. Martha and Everett took care of Martha's Dad for a number of years. During the last months of Fred's life, it was impossible for Martha and Everett to take care of him anymore. They were forced to put Grandpa into the Mory's Nursing Home, Columbus, Nebraska where he died at the age of 87 on September 25, 1954. Grandpa Fred THOMAS was buried next to his wife at Lindsay, Nebraska. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.