FRANKE, HENRY and EVA (MILLER)
Written by Henry & Eva FrankeI am Henry, one of nine children born to August and Anne (Gansman) Franke of Belleville, Illinois, U.S.A. I was six months old when we came to Canada in 1906. Our homestead was in the Krist School district three and a half miles west of Leipzig. I attended school there and later farmed with my Dad. In the thirties and into the forties, we had the depression and the war. Things seemed to improve after that. With the rains, things looked green again.
In 1935, I married Eva Miller. We did some farming until 1948 then moved to town (Leipzig). I worked on the section for two years. In 1950, I began work at the Co-op store until my retirement in 1974. In 1950, the curling rink was built, and I have been an ardent curler ever since. I have always liked sports. I am a member of the Knights of Columbus and the New Horizons Organization for Senior Citizens.
Hi! I am Eva, one of ten children born to Dominic and Magdalena(Schaffer) Miller. They were married in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and in 1905 came to Canada and homesteaded in the Pascal School District.
In 1912 Dad built the Hotel in Leipzig where I was born in 1915. After 77 years, the old hotel still looks good and does business on a come and go basis.
I went to school in Leipzig. McDonald was my first teacher. Later on, the sisters of Notre Dame came and built a beautiful convent which now stands empty but still holds a lot of good memories for a lot of people. They were wonderful teachers.
I remember the depression too, but call it the "dirty thirties" because day after day it was the same story. The wind blew and the dust flew. The summerfallow was on one side of the road and our hourse was on the other. Towards evening, the wind subsided. I guess it had to rest up for the next day, so when the wind calmed down, we got busy shaking out the curtains, dusting the window sills, and sweeping up a pile of dust. This was our daily chore. We were young then and still had fun.
Sunday mornings we would go to church then after dinner we would meet at the different schools to visit and have a good old ball game. In winter, we would have house parties. We were never short of fiddle players of which Henry was one, and they were always accompanied by guitarists. We always had music. The local talent was great.
I have been a member of the C.W.L since 1950 and also enjoyed culing for many years.
We have five children. Virgil was born in 1936, Wayne and Juanita (twins) in 1941, Sharon was born in 1947, and Karen in 1953.
Virgil married Arlee Shaw of Traynor, Saskatchewan in 1960. They have three children; Lori, Rick, and Kevin. Lori is married to Greg Jezowski, an electrician, and Lori is a hairdresser. They have three boys; Dallas, Derek, and Brody. They reside in Bonnyville, Alberta. Rick lives in Red Deer, Alberta. he works for an oil company. Kevin and Charlene and daughter, Raecine live in Lloydminster. Kevin is employed by Co-flex Coil tubing Services.
Virgil and Arlee and children lived in Landis, Saskatchewan for many years. They now make their home in Lloydminster. Virgil is employed by Fleming construction and Arlee works at the IGA. Virgil always liked sports and he still curls.
Wayne and Ardith and children Paula and Jason reside in Williston, North Dakota, U.S.A. Wayne is still in the oil business. He worked in Estevan for a number of years. Wayne likes and still curls in bonspiels. Wayne's son, Randy, makes his home in Estevan. Randy's pastime is motocross racing in Canada and the U.S.A.
Juanita and her husband, Len Perlinger reside in Saskatoon. They also lived in North Battleford for a number of years. Len is employed with Sask. Tel. They have six children. Wes and his wife, Brenda, Cindy, Rhonda and her husband, Mike Casey and son Bradley, and Jeff all reside and are employed in North Battleford. Brent and Coralee are taking their grade 12 and 11 at Evan Hardy in Saskatoon.
Sharon and her husband, Jerry Duchscher make their home in Tofield, Alberta. Jerry owns a Backhoe and does work by assignment. Sharon is employed at the Tofield Lodge. They have two children (teeagers), Darren and Candace. Candace takes figure skating and has won a few medals. They both are in high school.
Karen and her husband, Ray Ziegler and their two children make their home in Marshall, Saskatchewan. Ray owns his own semi truck and works out of Edmonton. Karen is a hairdresser and has her shop in the basement of her home. Raelene and Tyler enjoy school and are involved in sports.
We have sixteen grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
We are retired and have resided in Wilkie since 1974. We are enjoying our retirement.
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 12, 2002
