Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-05-24

and a half Of Mollie Bralligan.s'
F'TantZ Kunzelman had moved that
year with his family from West Mer-
rinac, to the John Cummings farm in
our neighb0rhood, and / soon became
acquainted with the children, as they
were my sch0olmates Peter, Charles
Jennie and little Billy were the only
ones living at home and many were the
happy days ] spent in their company.
1t was along in the fall, after l had
mastered the Heel and Toe, that
was invited to dance at Kunzelman's
together with my fiddle Now it SO
happened that this dance was on a
Sunday night, and it so happened also,
that Mrs Susan Bliyen, mother of my
sisters husband, Chas. T. Blivin, ar
rived from Loganville for a visit on
the same day. My old fiddle was in my
room upstairs, and I would have to
pass beneath the gaze of this estima-
lady who had recently got religion and
was preaching from the pulpit, with
my fiddle under my arm, in order to
gain the outside door / happily eyolv-
ed the idea of lowering the instrument
to the ground, from the back stair
window, by the aid Of a fish line, and
was passing out the gate, when the
Rev. Susan appeared at the door and
hailed me with: you had better give
us tune before, you CO." 1t is I'M
necessary to say I stood not on the
order of my going, but went at once.
On reaching Kunzelman's / found
the house filled with boys and girls
from over the river, all strangers to
me. I was escorted to raised plat
form in one corner of the room, and
invited to play a tune. Had been in
vited to dive head first down the old
cisteTn under the floor Of the room, it
would have suited me better. After
protesting my ability to play anything,
I finally launched into the Heel and
Toe and may be you think the crowd
didn't Heel and Toe it for all they
were worth. After the initial speile,
I was about-t0 slide down off my perch,
when I was pressed to play some more.
AS before, ] pleaded in vain that | had
played all knew how to play but was
told to repeat the performance already
rendered And so / repeated the Heel
and Toe and continued to repeat, the
Heel and Toe until daylight, the old
gentleman furnishing the accompani-
ment on an ancient coffee grinder for
a good share Of the time, in preparing
for the feast we had at midnight. To-
ward morning I was handed little
wad of Shin Plasters," which on be-
ing counted out showed to my delight
ed gaze the sum of seventy-fve cents.
After this no social event occurred
across the river without my being call
ed on to officiate with my old fiddle.
This gave me the opportunity OF be-
coming acquainted with as fine
bunch of boys as ever stood up in shoe
leather Billy and Charley Lesser,
Henry Weigand, Gust KuntZ, Johnnie
Knipscheild, Billy Frazier 81, Henry |
Rock, Dick Barry, Frank and Alex
Eshenbach, John Gowner, John Hahn. |
Charlie and Adolph Steidtman, Ned |
Bob Theile, John Weidman, George |
Schigner, Henry Waffensmith, Charlie
Fred and Bob, now Judge Siebecker, |
and others.
At this time Judge Siebecker saw
the state University at Mad
ison, but always came home for the |
holiday Publications, and many time |
Heel and Toe" to the strains of music
% from my old fiddle. Three years
ago, while was in Wisconsin, | had
the pleasure of brief visit with the
Judge, at his fine quarters in the new
capitol building, which resulted in an
exchange Of the photographs, and
"Bob's" picture now adOrns my center
table in the sitting room at Eureka
Springs, Ark, and he is smiling at me
as | write.
John Hahn was a great overgrown
boy, with pair of legs SO bowed that
they resembled a huge pair of ice
tongues. John, who has since then
developed into one of the most relia-
bic enginemen on the G. & N. W. Ry.
system, SO | am told. was even at that
early day, ineeulated with the railroad
fever microbe, and his chief delight
when not acting as prompter at a
dance, was to clatter his feet around
the room in a very realistic imitation
Of a heavy freight train pulling out
Of town, and at frequent intervals CIV
ing vent to ear-splitting t-o-o-t-s.
Where the highway running east
and west past the Siebecker home, and
strikes the river about mile below
kreuger's slough, perched high on the
summit of SINNERS Bluff at the riv-
sr's edge, stood little weather-beaten
in the window of which, on
he river side, a bright light burned
nightly, and was thus given by me
he title of "The Light House, and
many a dark summer night it guided
ne across the rapid currents and
among the ever-shifting sandbars OF
he treacherous stream, and in winter
across the still more treacherous ice,
% a place of safety upon the highway.
The. cottage was occupied by being
laving the semblance of a man who's
name was Wiedman. There was also
lis wife and son John, one of the best
hearted and most lovable boys ever |
net. One evening as several of my
friends and myself were passing the ]
cottage on our way to a dance, we
called in to secure Johns genial COM
,any for the occasion. However we
found him lying sick in bed, and on ex-
animation I, with my limited boyish
saw he was suffering from
/ raging fever and in urgent need OF
l- e. A..