Frank Frederick Herman Pieper /

Clara Martha Louise Ehlers

Frank and Lydia

     Frank Frederick Herman Pieper was originally named Franz, but had his name legally changed to Frank.  He was born on 4 October 1877 in Clyman, Dodge County, Wisconsin, the fifth child born to the marriage of Carl and Albertine (Brehmer) Pieper.  He attended the Lutheran German School in Hustisford until he was confirmed.  At that time he was considered a man, and encouraged to work in a nearby cheese factory.  According to Frank, his wages were given to his parents and he received a small allowance from his earnings.  Frank learned to play the harmonica and concertina, dance and call square dances, which enhanced his  popularity at the many dances in the area.  

     Frank was 22 years old when his father and brother, August, along with August's father in-law decided to inspect land in Clark County with the intention of buying the cheaper land there.  As the group drove off, Frank said, "if it looks good, buy some for me too."  He was quite surprised when they returned and reported that he was now the owner of 80 acres of land in Clark County.  Frank had been dating Lydia Essmann, a neighborhood girl, and his father advised him to marry her and go homestead the land.

    The following spring, on 24 May 1900, Frank and Lydia were married and they went north to build their farm.  The land was covered with stumps that had been left behind after the timber barons had stripped the land of its lumber.  A small log cabin was hastily built and the long tedious job of clearing the land began.  The work was strenuous as many of the stumps were "jack pines" with roots that went down deep into the soil.  The young couple became discouraged many times, and at one point gave up and returned to Dodge County.  But they did return and they were gradually able to till the land, grow some crops, began building a herd of cattle, and buy some of the equipment necessary on their farm.

    Frank and Lydia were married over four years before the birth of their first child, Walter Phillip Julius, born on 5 August 1904.  Two brothers followed, Johannes Hermann August on 13 September 1908, Clarence Carl Hermann on 7 June 1910 and on 29 May 1915, their daughter, Verna Albertine Wilhelmine was born.

    The family's farm was finally producing and they were able to replace their log cabin with a nice large two story house with five bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, parlor and room to expand into two more bedrooms. The house was furnished with a furnace with a central register and by banking the basement with fertilizer, was cozy and warm.  Lighting was provided through the use of kerosene lamps in the house and lanterns in the barn.  

   Frank and Lydia were among the first in the area to own an automobile. The isolation of farm life was relieved through their membership in the Trinity Lutheran Church at Loyal, located six and a half miles from the farm, plus they continued to enjoy the neighborhood dances.  As the new barns were built, they were used as dance halls for a few years to help defray the costs of the building and to "break them in."  The dances were usually family affairs and the children were taken along, where they played or slept to the sound of the music while their parents danced and socialized with their neighbors. 

     In October 1918, after they had come home from one of these dances, Frank decided to return for more fun.  Lydia tried to convince him to stay home, but he was adamant about returning to the party.  He started up his car and Lydia tried to put a block of wood behind one of the wheels to stop him. However, her long skirt got caught in the spokes of the wheel as the car lurched back and she was thrown around, breaking her neck.  She suffered for several weeks in the Marshfield hospital; and died on 4 November 1918. 

     Frank was devastated with the loss of his partner and the mother of his four children.  Many housekeepers were hired over the next few years to care for the children, maintain the household and assist him on the farm..  But they didn't stay long, that is, until he hired Clara.  

Frank and Clara

     Clara Martha Louise Ehlers was the third child born to the marriage of Franz Ernst August Ehlers and Bertha Karoline Friederike Post.  The Ehlers family lived on an 80 acre farm southwest of Loyal and also attended Trinity Lutheran Church at Loyal.  

     Clara's half-brother, Charles Neumann, married Augusta Fabian, and had introduced the Fabian family of Walworth County to the Ehlers family.  The family had very little social life and the two families became good friends.  The Ehlers' oldest daughter, Ella, married Augusta's brother, Clarence Fabian, and when Clara was 18 years of age, on 16 November 1912, she married another brother, John Fabian.  

      John and Clara's first child, Bertha Emma Frances Fabian, was born on 2 September 1913.  When Clara was pregnant with their second child the marriage ended when her husband deserted her.   Robert Ernest Clarence Fabian was born on 2 August 1915.

    The years following the separation and divorce were difficult for this young pregnant woman with a small child.  Clara lived part time with her parents and hired out as a farmer's helper.  Women had very little "rights" during this period of time. She often worked in compromising conditions and for very little wages.  Evelyn Lorraine Fabian, was born on 21 May 1921;  conceived by a hired man who had entered Clara's bed during one of these situations.

   One Sunday morning at church, Frank Pieper learned of Clara's plight.  He decided that she would make a good helper on his farm.  He had a big house and could make room for these additional children.  He picked up the family in his car, and since the children were dressed so shabbily, he stopped at the Picus' Store in Loyal and purchased new clothing for all three children before driving them out to his farm.  

     As a housekeeper, Clara helped Frank with the many farm chores, besides making the meals for the two merged families.  She soon became more than his helper and when it was obvious there was a baby on the way, Frank suggested they better get married.  They were married on 11 August 1922 and Edna Dorothy Frances Pieper was born on 17 November 1922.  The fact that she was not planned did not diminish the love that was showered on her by everyone in the household.  Ruben Bernard Orville Pieper was born a year and a half later, on 13 May 1924.  Then on 7 October 1931, Frank Delmore Donald Pieper was born.  The blended families included 10 children, the oldest being almost 27 years older than the youngest.  

    The merging of the two families often caused friction in the home, especially between the older boys and their step-mother and step-brother. The kids attended school at the Beaver Center School, a one-room school house for the first through eighth grades.  After graduating from eighth grade, their schooling was considered done and as each one neared 18 years of age, they left home to support themselves.  Walter went south to Dodge County, renewing his ties with his deceased mother's family.  He worked there for awhile, but then found better jobs in Sauk County as a cheese-maker.  While working in the cheese factory, he was badly scalded and returned home for his recovery. He then began working for farmers in the area. 

   The prohibition laws were in force and the country was in a deep depression.  Even on the farm, it cost money to clothe and feed all these children.   Although Walter and Clarence seemed to be resentful to their step-mother, John was always kind and respectful .  He later admitted that he  had difficulty adjusting to "leaving the nest."  Clarence had a knack for getting into trouble.  He once found Pa's whiskey in the granary and got so drunk that they were afraid he would die.  Aftr they had become independent, both John and Clarence came home periodically to visit.

    The entire family attended church every Sunday morning.  The routine began on Saturday night with preparing clothes and polishing shoes.  After farm chores were done and breakfast eaten, everyone dressed up in their best clothes, and drove the six and half miles to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Loyal.  The farm was one and a half miles from County Road K, which was the only road in the area that was cleared of the snow.  When the snow got too deep for the auto, the horses were hitched to the farm sleigh and with the family aboard, drove to County Road K where the car was parked in the neighbor's barn and they then continued to church by auto.  

   Frank and Clara went fishing often and occasionally, the whole family went along, such as on the 4th of July.  We were rewarded with a dollar and a day of fun if we got all the hay loaded into the barn by that time.  When they went alone, the kids were expected to take care of the farm chores.  They would leave very early in the morning and come home after dark in the evening  There was a small creek about a quarter mile from the farm where the kids would catch the minnows needed for fishing. An opened gunny sack made a square net and was used to scoop the minnows from the shallow water.  The garden's fertile soil provided the earthworms with just a few diggings with the farm fork.  These chores were almost as much fun as the fishing trip itself.

   Sometimes during Frank and Clara's fishing trips, the kids would declare a party.  Fudge was made and the player piano  provided the music for a dance in the parlor. The older kids taught the younger kids how to dance.  It sort of compensated for being left in charge of all the chores.

The  family also found enjoyment in "going to town" on Friday evenings. The children were treated to an ice cream cone and while the women shopped, the men gathered in the taverns, usually playing cards and drinking.  It was not unusual for Frank to come staggering out of the bar and become aggressively argumentive.  The drive home was often a nightmare for the family as he often insisted on driving the car and got very angry if Clara suggested otherwise.  There were several occasions when he drove off the road into the ditch and one time he even hit a bridge.  He never drove very fast, but it was enough to cause a lot of damage to the car and bruise the children. 

     While sleeping off a drunk, he often talked in his sleep about his first wife, Lydia, while Clara rocked in her rocking chair just outside his bedroom door, never saying a word,  just crocheting away.  Clara was especially talented in crocheting and made many beautiful embroidered and lacy items.  At one time she crocheted a large cloth for the church altar that had the Lord's prayer crocheted in the lace.  

    As the years went by Frank developed asthma and emphysema and he could do very little of the farm work, so it was up to Clara and the remaining children at home to carry on.  

In 1937, when Evelyn was 16 years old, she went to Chicago to work as a housekeeper, and in 1940, after graduating from high school, Edna went off to beauty school in Milwaukee.  Ruben was left to carry on the farm work with his mother and Frank Junior, who was only 9 years old at the time.  

    Evelyn came home in the fall of 1941 and reported that she had married a young soldier, Mitchell Hubbard, who had been sent overseas.  She was pregnant and her child, Mary Lee was born on 9 February 1942.  Evelyn had been on her own and independent for several years, and now was not willing to take orders from her step-father. Problems developed and after one of these altercations, she left Mary in care of a family in town, with the intention of picking her up after she got a job in  Milwaukee.  Clara was angry and distraught with the situation and insisted that Mary be brought  home.  From that time on, Mary became a member of the family.  She was loved and adored by her grandparents, and adopted siblings. 

     Robert had been sending money home to his mother to be set aside toward the purchase of the farm upon his return from the service. On 3 October 1945 everything changed when he was killed in a car accident upon his discharge. Frank and Clara had already purchased a house in Loyal where they planned to spend their retirement years. It was decided that Ruben would take over the farm and receive 50% of the farm profits.  He married Marjorie Martinson the following fall; at age 22 and the young couople took on the responsibility of running the farm.

    The agreement between father and son did not go well and within a few years,  Ruben just gave up, packed up his things.  He tried working at a couple of jobs in the neighboring villages, but then took off for Milwaukee. 

    Ruben found work in Milwaukee at a factory that produced the Nash automobile.  The work was sporadic; there were many layoffs.  Ruben used these layoffs and his week-ends to go fishing in his favorite lakes and rivers "back home."  On 23 October 1952, during  one of these fishing expeditions, he had a boating accident and drowned.  His death seemed to change Clara.  She no longer was dependent and she did not take orders anymore.  She seemed to have found her own mind and took charge of her own life.  

     Frank had been the manager of all financial matters, but it definitely was not one of his talents. Both Frank and Clara knew that the money from the sale of the farm would not be enough to sustain them. They purchased a restaurant, but this venture did not work out and except for the government  pension Clara received from Robert's death, they had no income.  They then took jobs at the Loyal Canning Company for income ang  "to get their quarters in," to qualify for Social Security benefits. After retirement, these small incomes sustained them for several years.

   Frank died on 16 October 1961 in the Marshfield Hospital where he had gone to have a cataract operation on his eyes.  He was 84 years of age.  His death report indicated he died from emphysema and asthma.  

   Mary had married Gerald Sternitzky just a few months prior to his death, and the young couple moved into the family home in Loyal. This arrangement did not work out. Mary's husband, Jerry, did a lot of drinking, which was something Clara had a very low tolerance for and there was friction in the household.

     In 1971, after suffering a stroke, Clara's short term memory was gone and it was obvious that she needed special  care and was placed in a nursing home in Racine.  The dementia increased and on 28 September 1975, at the age of 81 years, Clara died.   

     Frank, Lydia, Clara, Robert, and Ruben are buried in the family plot at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in Loyal, Wisconsin.