Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-05-08
MOTHER DIED OF
A broken HEART
Bert Hall Tells Narrowing Expert
ence of His Family on Ac-
count of War.

in this city Saturday to take the
federal oath, gave Freeman-Tri-
bune representative the particulars
of a narrowing war drama in which
he was one of the chief actors.
At Leer, located in the northwest
ern part of Germany, George Hall.
wife and seven children, were max
ing a good living and were one of
the happy families of the German
empire. In 1904 Mr.. Hall died and
from that time on there was less
happiness in the family home. None
of the children were grown, and it
began to look like a serious problem
for Mrs. Hall to keep her family to-
gether. However, they heard through
relatives of the possibilities of great
things in the United States, and the
mother finally decided she would use
her small savings to come to Amer
lea.
There was not sufficient funds to
transport the entire family at one
time and it was agreed that the two
elder sons should remain in their
native land until money could be
earned for their fares. In 1907 the
family was broken up and the moth
er, three sons and two daughters en-
igrated to America and located at
Conrad, Grundy county, this state.
However, ere enough money had
been raised to bring the two broth
ers, Renko and Dick, to America,
they had reached the age where mill
tary training had to be taken, and
before they had finished their period
of training, war had been declared;
and those two boys are yet. or We're
at last reports, fighting. at the front,
and the anxious family have had no
word from them for several months.
The mother and the FIVE other chill
dren leased a farm near Conrad and
were getting along nicely until the
war broke out in their native coun-
try, when Mrs. Hall began to worry
about her two sons who were in the
army and spent day after day crying
for her loved ones, and praying that
they would be restored to her. Two
years ago her nerves gave way and
she lost her eyesight, was blind for
six months, and just before the Ma
tional Guard troops We're called out
last spring she died of broken
heart
One of the boys who came here ten
years ago has purchased half sec
tion farm, the remaining two boys
are well-to-do farmers and the girls
we'll.
Bert Hall has just disposed of his
live stock and farm machinery at
Conrad and came here to take the
federal oath as above stated. He was
one of the dependable members OF
the supply company while on the
border and is very anxious to cross
the pond-not to fight against his
two brothers-if they are yet living.
but to help overthrow the govern
ment that is making slaves of her
working class. Besides the two bro
thers in the German lines, nine of
his cousins have been killed since
the beginning of the war.
Bert Hall is not pro-German. He
was born in Germany and lived there
until he was sixteen years of age.
He is now &c, has not the slightest
German accent in his vocabulary.
and does not claim to be fighter.
but he wants to help Uncle Sam
out that foreign tangle.p
In a communication to relatives in
this city.Mckinley Mccullough, who
a few days ago took examination in
Fort Dodge and Omaha preparatory
to going to Fort Logan, said he met
Professors E. Y. Sifert, NJ. l.. Nit
chell and Albert Nelson, formerly of
the high school, in Omaha and that
they were to be examined with the
next number of men after the fifty
Mckinley was with. The professors
were being examined for the same
military department, that of the
coast artillery, with headquarters at
Fort Logan, Colorado.
Arthur Dimmler of Luverne, en-
ployed in the Thompson, Mccullough
and Mission pool hall barber shops
in this city for nearly year, who
left here some three weeks ago and
Joined Company f of the Second Reg
iment, has been transferred to Com
pany F in the First Regiment, the
former company having surplus of
members.
Lloyd DeFrance is taking course
in piano training Of Prof. Carl Quist