Lawrence, having been to Tulsa and later serving in the Army, had a yen to go to dances and enjoying the finer things of life. His good friends at Okarche were the Wiewel boys. They were Truby, Ray, Art and Ottmer. It was through them that he ended up in Okarche, where he met Nellie Schaefer. The farm life had been rough on Nellie, but her spirit was undaunted and hard work had left her a lean and good-looking lass of twenty years. Lawrence, likewise, was lean and a good-looking man of twenty eight years. He was the sole support of his mother, who had lost her husband, in a tragic accident, on September 24, 1923. Wanting the latest luxuries, Robert and Mary had installed a Carbide gas system, to have gas lamps in the house. While Robert was mixing the carbide, the plant exploded, killing him instantly. Lawrence found him, on returning home, with the turkeys picking at his body. In spite of the accident, the courtship continued, and Lawrence and Nellie were married in January of 1924. They both looked young and elegant on their wedding picture, seemingly ready to conquer the world. Lawrence bought Nellie a fox stole, which she wore at the wedding. They went to Enid, Oklahoma for their honeymoon. They made their home with Mary Higdon, at Calumet, starting their married life together.
I think it was difficult for Nellie to adjust to living with her mother-in-law. Mary Higdon was a stern woman, and quite demanding. After all, she had married her only son and was taking up residence in her house. Nellie talked about baking bread, and thinking she had fouled it up, took it out and buried it in the garden. The sun came out and the heat caused it to rise from the dead. She survived this ordeal and went on living and learning about her new environment.
She soon learned that she was to be a mother. Their first-born child was a girl, Mildred Marie, born in December of 1924. Robert Lawrence was born in April 1926. It was sometime in this period, that Mary retired, and moved to Okarche. Nellie, at last, was the mistress of the house.
Lawrence still had notions of being single, since he was single for 28 years. He went off to the Twelve Mile Point, on a fishing trip, leaving Nellie with 2 kids and all the chores to do. After 2 days the party was over. Nellie took the two kids and retrieved Lawrence from the fishing hole. She read the riot act to him. I think at that point, my dad accepted the responsibility he had taken on. It was after that, when another event took place, that affected both parties. Nellie, pregnant again, contracted small pox. Lawrence stayed by her and nursed her through this terrible ordeal. Nellie’s complexion was diseased and covered with sores. She lost all her hair, and the baby was still born. The infant was buried in the pasture west of the house. This all happened on the farm. A quarantine was placed on the farm. They survived this ordeal. Lawrence had received small pox vaccination, while in the military. Nellie was pregnant again, and delivered Charles Joseph in May 1929. Lois was born June 8th 1931. James Matthew was born January 12, l934, on Nellie’s birthday. He was premature and weighed 4 lbs. Nellie delivered John Peter, next , on September 24, l935. Grandpa Schaefer said he wanted a namesake, so my second name was Peter.
The last child born at the Calumet farm was Fred Allen, April 13, l939. It was the crash of the stock market, in 1929, that rocked the world. Things had been good through the 1920 and commodities were marketable. After the crash, things were surviving day to day. We were lucky living on the farm. At least , we could enjoy the fruits of the land, without standing in a soup line. It was probably 1939 that I started remembering an existence on this earth. I was jealous of Fred Allen being born, and I would not go in to see him as I was no longer the baby.
