In Kathrina’s family the work was divided among the children. My sister Susan was not so strong, so she did more housework. Susan was very outgoing and talkative. Anna did a lot of sewing. She also was the only one to go on to school, attending Moody Bible Institute. Brothers Henry and Peter took care of the horses. I did more of the outdoor field work, chores, and worked in the fields, drove the horses, cut grass for hay, etc. Once when I was mowing, the sickle hit a rock and threw me off the seat of the mower. I landed on the tongue of the hitch, and the well-trained horses, knowing something was wrong, stopped where they were. If I had fallen near the sickle or if the horses had spooked, I would have been seriously hurt. I often shocked and pitched bundles during harvest, and also drove the horse and wagon to town with the grain to sell. A daily chore for me was to milk the sixteen cows, morning and night. I am quiet and didn’t talk as much as my sisters did.
We attended the Bethel church in Mt. Lake, Minnesota. Our Sunday School class was made up of girls my age, and we had a very good teacher. His name was Mr. John M. Franz, a brother to Peter M. Franz that used to live north of us in Montana. Mr. Franz was a very sincere teacher and explained the way of salvation.
Some of the girls decided to be baptized, and the pastor, Rev. Regier, started a class on Sunday evening to teach them about it. I heard it too. All week I thought about joining. I prayed about it and the Lord gave me grace to overcome. I was 16 years old at this time. On Sunday morning I told my Dad that I was saved and wanted to join the class. He took us children to church and then asked me to come with him to Rev. Regier’s home. There they prayed with me and read more scripture and explained the way of salvation, which really blessed my heart. After a week we were baptized by sprinkling and joined the church.
Once during the first world war strange men captured Mr. John M. Franz (near Bloomfield, Montana) when he received the German newspaper in the mail from Mountain Lake, and decided to hang him. Meanwhile the church was praying. The sheriff persuaded the men to delay their actions and put him in jail after Mr. Franz announced he was an American citizen and they would be murderers. Plans to hang him were canceled and he was released after he explained the beliefs of the Mennonites. During World War II many people were suspicious of those who had any German connections. One enemy came to beg forgiveness years later. He later became a pastor in the Bloomfield settlement in Montana. This whole story may be read in the book Coals of Fire by Bauman, from Herald Press.
I went to the Christian Day School in Mt. Lake for two winters, about six months each winter. We also got to know Mrs. C. K. Dick here.