A TALE BY GEORGE FRANK

Title

A TALE BY GEORGE FRANK

Creator

GEORGE FRANK

Coverage

TOWNSHIP 137N RANGE 96 W

Text

A TALE BY GEORGE FRANK
On Ground Hog Day 1939, I made my entry into the world at 2:35 p.m. in the home of my parents. Mr. and Mrs. Nick Frank. Our home is located in Sec. 26, R. 96, T. 137 and is the place I presently reside at. I was the fifth of nine children who were raised to adulthood by my parents. There were three sisters and a brother older than myself and three sisters and a brother younger. That kind of put me right in the middle of things.

Family members older than myself are: Jean Marie, born Dec. 19, 1929, married to Walter Kostelecky and residing in Galesburg, Ill. They have five children, four boys and one girl, Rodney. Kerwin. Terrance, Mark and Kimberly. Nick Jr. was born Dec. 8, 1932, married Hilda Sigl and is living in Billings, Mont. They have six children, four boys and two girls, Robert, Danny, Brenda, Tommy, Lori and Brian. Rosaline was bom Dec. 17, 1934. She married Marion Coleman and they have a home outside of Laurel, Mont. They have four children, Bradley, Nanette, Lisa and Tammy. They also took a foster child into, their home in his later years, whose name was Robert. Loretta was born Nov. 19, 1936. She is a member of the Maryknoll Sisters in New York and has been doing missionary work in Japan since 1963.
Family members younger than myself are: Nancy, born Feb. 19, 1941. married to Jack Ender of LaCrosse, Wis., where they live. They have three girls: Judy, Ellen and Pamella. Roger was born April 30, 1943,and is employed by Burlington Northern. He lives in Minneapolis, Minn. Anita was born Oct. 24, 1945. She also lives in Minneapolis and is employed by Honeywell Inc. Regina was born Jan. 26, 1949, and is employed by Western Films Inc., Billings, Mont. The three youngest are unmarried.
My brothers and sisters all received their grade school education at St. Pius School, Sheffield, the older ones boarding at the school all year, coming home every weekend, and the younger ones only boarding when the weather and roads got bad.

1961, I decided to spend some time with Uncle Sam's troops and left for basic training at Fort Riley, Kan., on Feb. 20 of that year. March 27, my mother passed away unexpectedly. After taking a week leave to attend the funeral, I returned to Fort Riley to complete my basic training. From there I went to Fort Hood, Texas, and spent two months there for advanced training, leaving for Germany until February 1964, taking in some of the sites of Europe while there. I travelled through England, France Italy, Austria and Switzerland, enjoying the Isle of Capri the most. Immediately upon returning from Germany, I was discharged from active duty at Fort Dix, N.J. I returned home to start farming with my dad, until such time that I purchased the farm.

September 1970, 1 entered into marriage with Earlene Sargeant of Galesburg, Ill. We now have three children Richard Thomas born July 8, 1972. Sherry Ann born June 2, 1974 and Sheila Marie born July 22, 1976. 1 am presently engaged in farming on the farm I purchased from my dad in 1968. My father had purchased this farm, i934, from his mother, the former Mrs. Michael Frank Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Frank Jr. were married Nov. 7, 1904. Spring of 1906 they took up a homestead on Section 26-137-96. Their first home was built of prairie rock with a dirt roof. A few years later they put on wooden shingles as the dirt roof leaked too much, 1916, they built a two-story wood-frame house which is still being used today by my family.

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Frank Jr. had nine children. Nick, who is my dad, was born Oct. 23, 1905; Joseph was born July 29. 1907; Ottilia, wife of Frank Mack, was born Dec. 17, 1909; Marian, wife of Anton Weber was born Feb. 28, 1913; Clementine, wife of Joseph Weiler was born Feb. 21. 1915; Edward was born Dec. 30, 1916 and died Jan. 4. 1917; Veronica, wife of Joseph Barth and later of Fred Kern, was bom Feb. 28 1918; Pauline, wife of Andrew Heiser, was born April 22, 1920; George was born Aug. 27, 1922 and died in 1930. My grandfather Frank died October 1928. January 1936 my grandmother married a widower, Stephen Heiser.

My father, Nick Frank, married Genevieve Laufer in Dickinson. 1929. My mother was born in Dickinson. March 21, 1909. to Joseph and Catherine Laufer. Her parents came to the U.S. in 1899. They lived in Dickinson but had 120 acres of land which they farmed nine miles southwest of Dickinson. She had two brothers and four sisters: John and Adam, now both deceased; Anne and Susan, also deceased. Two sisters still survive. Rose, wife of Leo Peace of Calistoga, Calif., and Sister Paulette, OSB, of St. Cloud, Minn.

My wife's mother was born in Stark Co., Aug. 26, 1918 She was the oldest of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel Kostelecky, being raised in the Versippi community. Eleanor Kostelecky married Earl J Sargeant in California in 1941. In 1942 they returned to Galesburg, Ill., Mr. Sargeant's home town. They had two children, William Wenzel, born May 24, 1943 and Earlene Martha, born May 12, 1947. Prior to our marriage Earlene worked as a secretary at Carl Sandburg Junior College, Galesburg.