Children Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glenny, Laura, Ben and Emil.
Frank Witt
Frank Witt was born on April 13, 1875, ten years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.
At the age of twenty five, in November 1900, Frank married Mary Friday. She was seventeen and his married sister, Anna Friday's, sister-in-law. Frank knew the German and Polish language but spoke just a little English. Together they learned the English as Mary could speak only Polish when they married.
Frank received a German printed newspaper for many years along with a local newspaper from Monett. They had seven sons and two daughters. Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glen, Laura, Ben and Emil. Elizabeth died at the age of fifteen due to heart failure. Albert, her brother, told his children when they
were growing up, she had died in his arms. Glen never married, had fallen from a tree at an early age and displaced his leg. His mom and family members traveled to Kansas City for his treatment but without success.
Frank and Mary owned one hundred sixty acres of land, down the road, due south of Frank's homeplace. In 1914, when Frank was thirty nine years old he lost his twenty six year old brother Ben, due to a tragic accident, on the road near the front of his house. In less than a month, his other brother, John, age thirty one, died of pneumonia. Laura, who would not be born for two years says she remembered her dad gradually losing his hearing until it was a total loss and believed it had been due to the stress from losing his brothers. Another stressful event happened a few years later which was the burning of their barn one night. She recalls Ed ran barefooted to the barn to free the frightened horses as burning coals were falling from the barn loft. Everything was lost including all of the summer and fall harvest. Relatives, friends and many of their Lutheran neighbors, some, whose land adjoined theirs, came to help build another. The barn still stands today.
Laura tells of her dad always having worn a mustache. In the days before rural free delivery everyone had to travel to the Pierce City post office to obtain their mail. One time he shaved off his mustache and not thinking anything of it went to the post office. The postmaster refused to give him the mail that day because he did not recognize him.
Frank had a blacksmith shop and a large vineyard. Both kept him busy. He made a barrel of wine each fall made with his own grape press. The wine was kept in the cellar under the kitchen. On Sunday afternoon's Frank and Mary always had many visitors. The men folk played horseshoes and the
women folk traded recipes and gossiped. Older women would speak in their native tongue when they didn't want anyone to hear their conversations. In the evening many of the men would play cards or checkers.
The boys in the family had been given the gift of music inspired by their mom who played a "French Harp" or as we now call a "harmonica". Ed, the oldest, played the fiddle. Everyone has memories of him playing "The Orange Blossom Special" and "Listen to the Mockingbird". Albert played the harmonica,
mandolin, and organ. They owned a pump organ and had it in one of the back rooms in the house where the music was played. John played fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Laura said when Johnny was young and at home, he would run down the stairs in the morning and start playing the fiddle, as new music was in his head and he didn't want to lose it. Glen played the guitar. Emil played, fiddle, guitar and banjo. He and some others played music on the Monett radio station on Saturday mornings for a time. Joe was a caller at "Square Dances" as well as Ben. Ben also played harmonica. People had dances in their homes usually on Sunday nights. They just moved the furniture to another room in the house, played music and danced. It was a place where neighbors and friends gathered and some romances began.
With the boys at home, there was always laughter in the house and plenty of "Witt" wit to go around. The boys always told the story, "Their sister Laura had seven brothers but the "Wolf" got her". There was plenty of hard work to go around outside of farming, raising cattle and milking. They made apple
butter, soap, dried fruit as well as canned, made feather beds, pillows from goose down, and butchered in the fall. Their smoke house cured many sausages, hams and bacon.
Then came the war. Three of the boys were called to serve their country during WW II. John, Ben and Emil were all in the service at the same time. John served in Germany, Ben in France and Emil in the South Pacific.
Ben married in 1946 after returning home from the war. Two weeks before the wedding his brother, Ed, lost his home to fire. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter was to be in the wedding. With the house in flames and all the family fleeing, Ed's wife, Millie, ran into the bedroom and retrieved the gown she had made for Elizabeth for the wedding.
Frank and Mary Bieszk were part of Frank and Mary's summers. They traveled together each year from Chicago by train to spend time on the farm with the family. Mary Bieszk was Frank's cousin and the daughter of August Ptach, Frank's uncle. The summertime brought other relatives from Chicago who spent time with other cousins and family members in the area. Frank and Mary had twenty eight grandchildren
Frank Witt
Frank Witt was born on April 13, 1875, ten years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.
At the age of twenty five, in November 1900, Frank married Mary Friday. She was seventeen and his married sister, Anna Friday's, sister-in-law. Frank knew the German and Polish language but spoke just a little English. Together they learned the English as Mary could speak only Polish when they married.
Frank received a German printed newspaper for many years along with a local newspaper from Monett. They had seven sons and two daughters. Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glen, Laura, Ben and Emil. Elizabeth died at the age of fifteen due to heart failure. Albert, her brother, told his children when they
were growing up, she had died in his arms. Glen never married, had fallen from a tree at an early age and displaced his leg. His mom and family members traveled to Kansas City for his treatment but without success.
Frank and Mary owned one hundred sixty acres of land, down the road, due south of Frank's homeplace. In 1914, when Frank was thirty nine years old he lost his twenty six year old brother Ben, due to a tragic accident, on the road near the front of his house. In less than a month, his other brother, John, age thirty one, died of pneumonia. Laura, who would not be born for two years says she remembered her dad gradually losing his hearing until it was a total loss and believed it had been due to the stress from losing his brothers. Another stressful event happened a few years later which was the burning of their barn one night. She recalls Ed ran barefooted to the barn to free the frightened horses as burning coals were falling from the barn loft. Everything was lost including all of the summer and fall harvest. Relatives, friends and many of their Lutheran neighbors, some, whose land adjoined theirs, came to help build another. The barn still stands today.
Laura tells of her dad always having worn a mustache. In the days before rural free delivery everyone had to travel to the Pierce City post office to obtain their mail. One time he shaved off his mustache and not thinking anything of it went to the post office. The postmaster refused to give him the mail that day because he did not recognize him.
Frank had a blacksmith shop and a large vineyard. Both kept him busy. He made a barrel of wine each fall made with his own grape press. The wine was kept in the cellar under the kitchen. On Sunday afternoon's Frank and Mary always had many visitors. The men folk played horseshoes and the
women folk traded recipes and gossiped. Older women would speak in their native tongue when they didn't want anyone to hear their conversations. In the evening many of the men would play cards or checkers.
The boys in the family had been given the gift of music inspired by their mom who played a "French Harp" or as we now call a "harmonica". Ed, the oldest, played the fiddle. Everyone has memories of him playing "The Orange Blossom Special" and "Listen to the Mockingbird". Albert played the harmonica,
mandolin, and organ. They owned a pump organ and had it in one of the back rooms in the house where the music was played. John played fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Laura said when Johnny was young and at home, he would run down the stairs in the morning and start playing the fiddle, as new music was in his head and he didn't want to lose it. Glen played the guitar. Emil played, fiddle, guitar and banjo. He and some others played music on the Monett radio station on Saturday mornings for a time. Joe was a caller at "Square Dances" as well as Ben. Ben also played harmonica. People had dances in their homes usually on Sunday nights. They just moved the furniture to another room in the house, played music and danced. It was a place where neighbors and friends gathered and some romances began.
With the boys at home, there was always laughter in the house and plenty of "Witt" wit to go around. The boys always told the story, "Their sister Laura had seven brothers but the "Wolf" got her". There was plenty of hard work to go around outside of farming, raising cattle and milking. They made apple
butter, soap, dried fruit as well as canned, made feather beds, pillows from goose down, and butchered in the fall. Their smoke house cured many sausages, hams and bacon.
Then came the war. Three of the boys were called to serve their country during WW II. John, Ben and Emil were all in the service at the same time. John served in Germany, Ben in France and Emil in the South Pacific.
Ben married in 1946 after returning home from the war. Two weeks before the wedding his brother, Ed, lost his home to fire. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter was to be in the wedding. With the house in flames and all the family fleeing, Ed's wife, Millie, ran into the bedroom and retrieved the gown she had made for Elizabeth for the wedding.
Frank and Mary Bieszk were part of Frank and Mary's summers. They traveled together each year from Chicago by train to spend time on the farm with the family. Mary Bieszk was Frank's cousin and the daughter of August Ptach, Frank's uncle. The summertime brought other relatives from Chicago who spent time with other cousins and family members in the area. Frank and Mary had twenty eight grandchildren
Children Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glenny, Laura, Ben and Emil.
Frank Witt
Frank Witt was born on April 13, 1875, ten years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.
At the age of twenty five, in November 1900, Frank married Mary Friday. She was seventeen and his married sister, Anna Friday's, sister-in-law. Frank knew the German and Polish language but spoke just a little English. Together they learned the English as Mary could speak only Polish when they married.
Frank received a German printed newspaper for many years along with a local newspaper from Monett. They had seven sons and two daughters. Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glen, Laura, Ben and Emil. Elizabeth died at the age of fifteen due to heart failure. Albert, her brother, told his children when they
were growing up, she had died in his arms. Glen never married, had fallen from a tree at an early age and displaced his leg. His mom and family members traveled to Kansas City for his treatment but without success.
Frank and Mary owned one hundred sixty acres of land, down the road, due south of Frank's homeplace. In 1914, when Frank was thirty nine years old he lost his twenty six year old brother Ben, due to a tragic accident, on the road near the front of his house. In less than a month, his other brother, John, age thirty one, died of pneumonia. Laura, who would not be born for two years says she remembered her dad gradually losing his hearing until it was a total loss and believed it had been due to the stress from losing his brothers. Another stressful event happened a few years later which was the burning of their barn one night. She recalls Ed ran barefooted to the barn to free the frightened horses as burning coals were falling from the barn loft. Everything was lost including all of the summer and fall harvest. Relatives, friends and many of their Lutheran neighbors, some, whose land adjoined theirs, came to help build another. The barn still stands today.
Laura tells of her dad always having worn a mustache. In the days before rural free delivery everyone had to travel to the Pierce City post office to obtain their mail. One time he shaved off his mustache and not thinking anything of it went to the post office. The postmaster refused to give him the mail that day because he did not recognize him.
Frank had a blacksmith shop and a large vineyard. Both kept him busy. He made a barrel of wine each fall made with his own grape press. The wine was kept in the cellar under the kitchen. On Sunday afternoon's Frank and Mary always had many visitors. The men folk played horseshoes and the
women folk traded recipes and gossiped. Older women would speak in their native tongue when they didn't want anyone to hear their conversations. In the evening many of the men would play cards or checkers.
The boys in the family had been given the gift of music inspired by their mom who played a "French Harp" or as we now call a "harmonica". Ed, the oldest, played the fiddle. Everyone has memories of him playing "The Orange Blossom Special" and "Listen to the Mockingbird". Albert played the harmonica,
mandolin, and organ. They owned a pump organ and had it in one of the back rooms in the house where the music was played. John played fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Laura said when Johnny was young and at home, he would run down the stairs in the morning and start playing the fiddle, as new music was in his head and he didn't want to lose it. Glen played the guitar. Emil played, fiddle, guitar and banjo. He and some others played music on the Monett radio station on Saturday mornings for a time. Joe was a caller at "Square Dances" as well as Ben. Ben also played harmonica. People had dances in their homes usually on Sunday nights. They just moved the furniture to another room in the house, played music and danced. It was a place where neighbors and friends gathered and some romances began.
With the boys at home, there was always laughter in the house and plenty of "Witt" wit to go around. The boys always told the story, "Their sister Laura had seven brothers but the "Wolf" got her". There was plenty of hard work to go around outside of farming, raising cattle and milking. They made apple
butter, soap, dried fruit as well as canned, made feather beds, pillows from goose down, and butchered in the fall. Their smoke house cured many sausages, hams and bacon.
Then came the war. Three of the boys were called to serve their country during WW II. John, Ben and Emil were all in the service at the same time. John served in Germany, Ben in France and Emil in the South Pacific.
Ben married in 1946 after returning home from the war. Two weeks before the wedding his brother, Ed, lost his home to fire. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter was to be in the wedding. With the house in flames and all the family fleeing, Ed's wife, Millie, ran into the bedroom and retrieved the gown she had made for Elizabeth for the wedding.
Frank and Mary Bieszk were part of Frank and Mary's summers. They traveled together each year from Chicago by train to spend time on the farm with the family. Mary Bieszk was Frank's cousin and the daughter of August Ptach, Frank's uncle. The summertime brought other relatives from Chicago who spent time with other cousins and family members in the area. Frank and Mary had twenty eight grandchildren
Frank Witt
Frank Witt was born on April 13, 1875, ten years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.
At the age of twenty five, in November 1900, Frank married Mary Friday. She was seventeen and his married sister, Anna Friday's, sister-in-law. Frank knew the German and Polish language but spoke just a little English. Together they learned the English as Mary could speak only Polish when they married.
Frank received a German printed newspaper for many years along with a local newspaper from Monett. They had seven sons and two daughters. Ed, Albert, Joe, Elizabeth, John, Glen, Laura, Ben and Emil. Elizabeth died at the age of fifteen due to heart failure. Albert, her brother, told his children when they
were growing up, she had died in his arms. Glen never married, had fallen from a tree at an early age and displaced his leg. His mom and family members traveled to Kansas City for his treatment but without success.
Frank and Mary owned one hundred sixty acres of land, down the road, due south of Frank's homeplace. In 1914, when Frank was thirty nine years old he lost his twenty six year old brother Ben, due to a tragic accident, on the road near the front of his house. In less than a month, his other brother, John, age thirty one, died of pneumonia. Laura, who would not be born for two years says she remembered her dad gradually losing his hearing until it was a total loss and believed it had been due to the stress from losing his brothers. Another stressful event happened a few years later which was the burning of their barn one night. She recalls Ed ran barefooted to the barn to free the frightened horses as burning coals were falling from the barn loft. Everything was lost including all of the summer and fall harvest. Relatives, friends and many of their Lutheran neighbors, some, whose land adjoined theirs, came to help build another. The barn still stands today.
Laura tells of her dad always having worn a mustache. In the days before rural free delivery everyone had to travel to the Pierce City post office to obtain their mail. One time he shaved off his mustache and not thinking anything of it went to the post office. The postmaster refused to give him the mail that day because he did not recognize him.
Frank had a blacksmith shop and a large vineyard. Both kept him busy. He made a barrel of wine each fall made with his own grape press. The wine was kept in the cellar under the kitchen. On Sunday afternoon's Frank and Mary always had many visitors. The men folk played horseshoes and the
women folk traded recipes and gossiped. Older women would speak in their native tongue when they didn't want anyone to hear their conversations. In the evening many of the men would play cards or checkers.
The boys in the family had been given the gift of music inspired by their mom who played a "French Harp" or as we now call a "harmonica". Ed, the oldest, played the fiddle. Everyone has memories of him playing "The Orange Blossom Special" and "Listen to the Mockingbird". Albert played the harmonica,
mandolin, and organ. They owned a pump organ and had it in one of the back rooms in the house where the music was played. John played fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Laura said when Johnny was young and at home, he would run down the stairs in the morning and start playing the fiddle, as new music was in his head and he didn't want to lose it. Glen played the guitar. Emil played, fiddle, guitar and banjo. He and some others played music on the Monett radio station on Saturday mornings for a time. Joe was a caller at "Square Dances" as well as Ben. Ben also played harmonica. People had dances in their homes usually on Sunday nights. They just moved the furniture to another room in the house, played music and danced. It was a place where neighbors and friends gathered and some romances began.
With the boys at home, there was always laughter in the house and plenty of "Witt" wit to go around. The boys always told the story, "Their sister Laura had seven brothers but the "Wolf" got her". There was plenty of hard work to go around outside of farming, raising cattle and milking. They made apple
butter, soap, dried fruit as well as canned, made feather beds, pillows from goose down, and butchered in the fall. Their smoke house cured many sausages, hams and bacon.
Then came the war. Three of the boys were called to serve their country during WW II. John, Ben and Emil were all in the service at the same time. John served in Germany, Ben in France and Emil in the South Pacific.
Ben married in 1946 after returning home from the war. Two weeks before the wedding his brother, Ed, lost his home to fire. Elizabeth, their oldest daughter was to be in the wedding. With the house in flames and all the family fleeing, Ed's wife, Millie, ran into the bedroom and retrieved the gown she had made for Elizabeth for the wedding.
Frank and Mary Bieszk were part of Frank and Mary's summers. They traveled together each year from Chicago by train to spend time on the farm with the family. Mary Bieszk was Frank's cousin and the daughter of August Ptach, Frank's uncle. The summertime brought other relatives from Chicago who spent time with other cousins and family members in the area. Frank and Mary had twenty eight grandchildren
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