March 1, 2021 – Grandpa Jacob B. Siemens, V
As I grew up, I learned about my Grandpa who died when I was a year old. Before he died, they placed me on his lap. That is the family member I would have wanted to know more. Especially from the sparse information I have been told. My Dad, Herman Bennie Siemens loved his Father. Herman in on the left top of the photo, taken in 1915, when Dad was twelve years old.
Jacob and Emilie’s children were born quickly after in 1897. Elizabeth – 1897, Jacob – 1898, Dietrich -1900, Herman – 1903, and baby Anna-1911 were the children born to Jacob B and Emilie Brunn Siemens. Jacob was born in Buhler, Kansas, while Emilie Brunn was born in Norka, South Russia. She came to this country in 1892. In 1897, these two were married on February 11th. It was in 1903, that Jacob and Emilie traveled from Buhler, Kansas to western Oklahoma on the ‘Run’ that began in 1889. They found a man south of Corn, Oklahoma, who sold his claim to them since he had lost interest in ‘proving’ up the land.
Jacob became a Christian in 1893, and Emilie accepted Christ Jesus as her Savior in 1895. Little did they know they would only have thirty-three years together or how their lives would matter to those who knew and loved them.
We often drove from Clinton to Corn, Oklahoma to visit Grosmom Emilie in her later years. We had 10 miles of paved road and ten miles of dirt road. After a rain, the dirt road was filled with ruts and our Model T lurched sideways, threatening to dump us in the deep ravine. I learned the fallacy of making deals with God. After one particular ‘lurch’, I knelt on the floor of the car, and prayed to God to get us to Grosmom’s (Great Mom) in one piece – and if He did, I would be good a whole day. After the fourth lurching prayer, I said, I would be good for a whole week. I knew that would be impossible. And yes, God answered my prayer.
I loved listening to my Dad and Mom visiting with Grosmom in Plautt Dietch (low German) with sprinkles of English words. I lay on the floor and talked to the picture of my Dad’s little sister and thought about her. She died before her second birthday.
Then came the time when I was old enough to spend a week with my Grosmom. The language barrier did not exist. We understood each other through the language of love. Her name was Emilie, too. Grosmom gave each of her grandchildren a huge twelve inch, nickel candy cane for Christmas each year. She gave hugs. Although she seemed stern in the picture above, she loved to laugh, and we often laughed together. She kept molasses cookies in her kitchen cupboard. I would be instructed to say Hai-Hoopa. When I repeated the phrase, Grosmom laughed and laughed, and opened the cookie drawer. I never knew what Hai-Hoopa meant, but if I got a molasses cookie, it was fine with me.
When Elizabeth, the oldest daughter, baked cookies as a girl – her brothers loved them. She saved some for her Dad. When Jacob tried to eat one, he said, “If I had a strong enough drill, I could make two holes and these cookies would make good overcoat buttons!” I always wondered what Aunt Liz thought about his comment. His sense of humor, alive and well, continued on with his sons.
When my Mother was little, Jacob B. Siemens traveled to Kansas to preach in their Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church. Jacob learned to preach, holding a Bible and striding back and forth behind the barn and down the rows of corn. He often left his Emilie at home with the children on the farm, to preach and to ‘cry’ an auction.
While in Hillsboro, Kansas, he preached at Tabor College. Afterward the students crowded around him to check their assignment to outline the sermon. They were to consult with Jacob B to see who outlined his sermon correctly.
My Dad often practiced telling the Bible Story that he would be telling in his Sunday School class for us on Saturday night. Each time the story reached a climax, his voice would grow quiet, and his eyes would grow large as we listened, and then suddenly his voice became strong again. This is what must have happened during the sermon my Mom heard Jacob B. preach. She said it woke her up from a nap. She didn’t appreciate being awakened. My Dad must have learned story-telling from his Dad. The Old Testament stories he told us as children, remain vividly in my memory. Jacob sons gained his sense of humor as well.
Jacob B loved his family, and just farming was not enough, so he traveled often to preach and preside over auctions to earn more money. His sons grew up working on the farm and helping their Mother, who had been born in Norka, Saratov, Russia. And yet God crossed their paths and teamed them in marriage for thirty-three years.
Jacob B traveled by train, and buggy and one day as he carried his satchel at the train depot, he suddenly realized it was no longer in his hand. He bought a ticket and traveled home. His arthritis had turned to paralysis. He sat in a wheelchair, and his wife Emilie began to take care of him, as the paralysis took hold. His sons managed to build a pulley above the bed, to make it easier for their mother to see to his care to the end of his life.
Jacob B was a man of compassion and love throughout his brief 54 years. He served God mightily. Once, he harnessed the horses to the wagon to travel to town for supplies. Grosmom had requested ‘oil cloth’. Jacob B. counted his money, and there wasn’t enough. He unharnessed the horses and stayed home. My Dad, Herman, was a young man of 27 years when his father died.
I often wonder just how Jacob B. must have longed to see his family, and those he left – Elizabeth, Jacob, Dietrich, Herman, and Johnnie on his trips. He must have treasured all the times his children met together at Christmas time and told stories of growing up as his sons.
They told about going to bed in the summer and standing their overalls overnight in one corner of the bedroom, stiff with watermelon juice. One summery day, I had my fill of watermelon. Grosmom knew I might need the outhouse. The trip meant a walk through the chicken yard on a board to the outhouse. She told me that I could ‘go’ in the back yard. Always thinking of others.
My Dad, Herman, loved to tell about Dietrich with his blonde curly hair being teased by classmates. One day on the way home from school, Dietrick saw some dark smudges along the road, and soon his hair was dark, and no longer blonde, until he washed it again.
Jacob, Herman and Dietrich had a donkey and decided to ride him, but there was no saddle. No problem for the boys, they tied three lengths of binder twine around the donkey’s belly, leaving the tine handing down each side. Loops were tied at the end for the big toes – as good as any saddle. The donkey must have been tired of the three ornery Siemens boys. The donkey made a quick turn, and all three boys landed in the sand burrs with stripped toes.
Herman liked to tell about one Saturday evening, when the boys planned to go to town. He carefully disconnected the ignition wire and instructed his brother Dietrich to crank the car to start it. This continued, until the celluloid collar on Dietrich’s shirt had crumpled with sweat. Then he re-attached the ignition and the car .
The first home for Jacob and Emilie was a chicken house. They scraped the dung with a hoe and scrubbed the floor with lye. Elizabeth was born nine months later. Then Jacob VI followed.
Jacob B. and Emilie’s tombstone in the Corn Mennonite Cemetery has this inscription: Selig Sind Die in Dem Herrn Sterben. Translated, Blessed are those who die in the Lord.
The gift my Dad, Herman, gave me when I was a teenager is this: I don’t have a lot to give you in this life, but I give you my good name. This good name began with the way my Grandfather lived for Christ Jesus. He was known for his honesty and integrity in all his dealings with others. This is my legacy from Grandpa Jacob B. Siemens the V.
The last six years that Emilie cared for Jacob B., took a toll on her strength. She spent her last six months living with Herman and Anna Siemens. Although I didn’t know much about Jacob B., I loved my Grosmom! She is a reflection of her Love, Jacob B, the Fifth.