Koeltzow Family in Grimes County (Part 4)
Otto Koeltzow’s auto-biography continues his German immigrant family’s toilsome life in Grimes County with this statement: “Money was scarce. It took us six years to own two yoke of oxen, one two-year old colt, one cow and calf, two wooden moldboard plows, two sweep stocks and a wagon.”
Yet, he tells how “school and church were of primary concern for the German immigrants in Texas and every German settlement of any size contained a Lutheran Church and parochial school. The first school he attended was at Anderson, some four miles from our farm. The walk to school was pleasant in the fall and spring, but during the winter I dreaded trudging that rutted, muddy Anderson road every day. On very bad days it took as much as two hours to cover the four miles. Sometimes I could catch a ride on an ox wagon, but these beasts walked so slowly, and no one liked to be late, for the teacher was very strict and you were likely to get a licking with a heavy rod.” “Pastor E. M. Eckhardt,
“Pastor E. M. Eckhardt, who served the Anderson congregation for 23 years, taught all the grades in the parochial school. In addition, he preached on Sunday and took care of the regular clerical chores.”
“When Pastor Eckhardt first came to Anderson, he was fresh out of college and very young. It is interesting the manner in which the congregation paid him. Besides $30 cash each month, Pastor Eckhardt received from each family in his parish once a year three bushels of corn, 25 bundles of fodder or three bales of hay, and two cords of wood. In addition, his wife and he received all the hams and fresh meat they could eat. Our people were generous, and his smoke-house was always full.”
“Pastor Eckhardt also received some salary from the school. Tuition costs varied, according to the number of children in each family. Parents were charged 75 cents a month for the oldest child enrolled, 50 cents for the second, 25 cents for the third, and the fourth plus any additional children were taught free. While the teachers and clergy received only a pittance, it was difficult for the parishioners to meet their obligations under any circumstances, especially if the crops failed.”
“It seemed children worked just as hard at school as they did at home. Even at recess we did chores around the school, including cutting firewood to stove length from the stack of poles the church members brought in. The boys cut the wood and the girls carried and stacked it in the log-walled woodshed.”
“Because father was ill most of the time, I was able to attend school only half a day since I was needed at home to help Paul with the farm work. But I passed the grades satisfactorily and in May 1890, at the age of fourteen, I was confirmed.”
“The year 1890 was a wet one, and although we were late in getting the cotton planted, we had a fair crop. As a matter of fact, enough extra was earned for father to purchase a third yoke of oxen. This team was mine. Since I had finished school, I could now work full time in the fields.
At Anderson we did not have enough land to keep three teams busy. Unable to rent additional land to keep three teams busy, we moved to White Hall, 16 miles from Anderson.”
(Next week Koeltzow tells us about their time at White Hall farming).
(Koeltzow Autobiography with Sandbar histories by Betty Dunn, Two Rivers Heritage Foundation. See www.tworiversheritage foundation.org for more info and membership).