BioA: Meier, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph E. (Golden - 1958)

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 
 

Surnames: Meier, Dobes, Chapman, Zschernitz, Kurka, Meihak, Quast, Beyer, Seidelman, Genteman, Heikan, Neff, Wendel  
 

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) September 11, 1958 
 

Meier, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph (Golden - 14 September 1958) 
 

The marriage which took place in the Presbyterian Church, Neillsville, September 14, 1908, of Adolph E. Meier and Christina Dobes, will be observed Sunday. The Rev. W. Chapman officiated at the original wedding with the bride’s sister, Mathilda Dobes (now Mrs. Carl Zschernitz) and Joe Kurka, (now deceased) as attendants. 
 

Adolph Meier, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Meier, was born March 18, 1888, a mile south of Day’s corner, in Levis, and has been a resident of Levis all of his life.  Christine Dobes was the daughter of Frank Dobes, Sr., of Levis, and is a sister of Undersheriff Frank Dobes of Neillsville.  Mr. Meier was born on the 120-acre farm later owned by Henry Seidelman and now owned by William Genteman. 
 

After the marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Meier purchased the William Heikan farm (owned earlier by Dorr Neff, father of Charles Neff) and moved to the farm on Highway 73 in Levis in 1909.  Twelve children were born to the mar* (line missing) Frank C. of Salem, Ore.; Mrs. Albert (Ella) Meihak of Pine Valley; William H., of Neillsville; Arthur G. of Pine Valley; Mrs. Fred (Dorothy) Quast of Seif; Louis A., Levis; Mrs. Harold (Helen) Beyer, of Mineral Point; Charles C., of Owen; Clarence C., operating the home farm in Levis; and Raymond and Elsie, who died in infancy. (*Because of one line missing we are missing the one child’s name.) 
 

In addition to farming in southern Clark County, Mr. Meier served 12 years as school clerk of the Carlisle district, 12 years as road superintendent of Levis, and 12 years as a foreman of the Clark County Nursery. 
 

Reminiscing of pioneer days in Clark County recently, Mr. Meier said, "I remember when Dad cut the grain with a cradle, when mother tied it into bundles, and we threshed the grain with a flail on the barn floor.  On a windy day we poured the grain from one container to another to blow out some of the chaff.  
 

"I remember also the first reaper, a two wheel contraption with rakes that pushed the cut grain onto a platform, a man had to walk along and tie each bundle before it dropped off the platform. The first threshing machine, about 1893, was powered by horses, usually six, that walked ‘round and ‘round to furnish power.  In 1895, we saw the first steam powered threshing machine, operated by a belt, pulled from farm to farm by horses.  
 

"In those days all grain was stacked in a barn or in outdoor (part of the memories of Mr. Meier are missing). 
 

(More missing lines), room and board.  I milked 14 cows night and morning and did all of the farm work. 
 

"I remember selling eggs at six cents per dozen, homemade butter at eight cents per pound.  In those days stores would buy the farm produce with the understanding that it be traded out or a due bill would be accepted for later credit. 
 

"In 1910, two years after our marriage, the summer of the drought, we sold hay in the field for $20 per ton.  Very few farms in Clark County threshed any grain.  It didn’t grow tall enough to cut. The next year was the year of the flood, when harvested grain grew in the shock, too wet to get a machine in field and it all spoiled.  We sold cattle in 1915 for 75 cents per hundred and hogs at two cents per pound.  No one raised any veal calves.  The milk to raise them was of more value than the calf. The calf was destroyed immediately after birth. 
 

"When we purchased our farm in 1909 we paid $18 tax, and today the tax on the farm is $200. During the 12 years I served as school clerk I saw the teacher’s salary increase from $18 to $45 per month." 
 

In 1941 Mr. Meier took over duties as foreman at the county nursery in Hewett Township which had been started two years before.  "Each year, during the 11 succeeding years," said Mr. Meier, "we planted from 200,000 to 300,000 two-year-old trees in the nursery, and about the same number of four year transplants were planted in the reforestation program.  During the first years, we planted the fields of former farms in Dewhurst, Hewett, Mentor, and Foster.  In 1939, with WPA labor, 20 men were employed in planting in Sherwood with grub-hoe." 
 

Mrs. Meier has been confined to her home for the last 12 years. 
 

In addition to the children, Mr. Meier has a sister and two brothers, Mrs. Henry Seidelman of Neillsville, Henry of Chicago and Albert of Babcock.  In addition to Mr. Dobes, and Mrs. Carl Zschernitz, Mrs. Meier has another sister, Mrs. Frank Wendel of North Judson, Ind. 
 

Relatives and friends will gather at St. John’s Lutheran School Sunday for Open House in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Meier.