Table Of Content'Jorever Yesterday,
We Were Young
By Mary Ann Englebert
•'
CONTENTS
Dedication
Preface
Seasons .................................................... 1
Smells Of Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Stewardship Of Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Ba-Ba Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool? ...................... 3
Is There A Baby In The House? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chicken Little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Time Out for Mom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Memories of Yesterday ....................................... 8
Stabbing In The Barn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rag Curls To Rag Dolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Straw Stack ........ 12
The Old Wood Stove ........................................ 13
Herd 'em Up -Move 'em Out! ................................ 14
Fumes In The Basement .................................... 15
The Beauty Of The Dandelion ............................... 16
Shine On Harvest Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7
The Radio And The Mouse .................................. 18
And To Dust We Shall Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Plates Of Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Frozen Sunshine ........................................... 21
He Walked With God ........................................ 21
Man In The Moon ............... ........................... 22
Weasel In The Hen House ................................... 23
Man And Beast ........... ........ .......... ......... ....... 24
Manna From Heaven ... .............................. ...... 25
Angel Of Mercy ............................................. 26
Games Of Old ................................ ........ ...... 27
A Theater In Brussels? .................... .................. 27
Apples By The Bushel ....................................... 29
Home Was His Happiness ............................ ....... 30
Blades Of Grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Baked Potatoes And Pumpkin Pie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Accident On The Brussels Hill ............................... 33
Measles At Fifty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Harvest Of Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
From Bundles Of Oats -To Bags Of Feed ..................... 37
Taste And See The Goodness Of The Lord ........... ..... .... 37
Bombers Overhead ....... ...................... ............ 39
Knock On My Door ......................................... 39
The Checkered Tablecloth .................................. 41
Love Letters In A Shoe Box .................................. 41
Address On An Egg Shell ..... ................. ............. 42
September Threshere ................................. ...... 43
The Willow That Whistled ................................... 44
The Cobbler ................................................ 45
The Eye Of The Cat ...... .................... ........... .... 45
Wall To Wall .. ............. ..................... ........ .... 46
Mother's Work Is Never Done ....................... ......... 64
The Bells That Rang For Us ................................. 65
One More Cigarette ........ ................................. 67
We Shared What The Lord Had Given Us ........... .. ..... ... 68
The Art Of Tunneling ...................... ............. ... . 69
The Three Belgians (Donald, Dick. and Darrel) .............. . 70
The Smell Of Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
The Room At The Top Of The Stairs ..................... .... 73
The Glacier Stopped Where? ................................ 74
St. Nick -Stick or Treat ... .............. ... ................ . 74
The Cow With The Crumpled Hom .......................... 75
Cherry Picking ........................................... .. 76
A Boy's Birthright .......................................... 78
Caramel Apples ... Horse Pulls .. .
Cotton Candy and Harness Racing ........................ 79
Our Own Al Capone ........................... ...... ....... 80
The Secret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Picnics At Delwiches ........................................ 81
The Baby And The BB Gun ................................. 83
Popcorn Ball And Santa Claus ...... .......... ...... ......... 83
Order In The Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Fallen Timbers ......................................... .... 86
'Wynken, Blynken. and Nod" ................................ 88
Second Wind ............................................... 88
One Last Mile To Travel ... ........ .......................... 90
The Gathering Of The Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Goodbye My Home Land ................ ....... ......... .... 64
Faith Of Our Fathers ....................................... 95
Who Cut The Horse·s Tail? .................. ................ 96
Generations .................... ............................ 97
The Belgian Dance In The Dust .......... ... ............ .... 99
The Shivaree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
From Log Cabin To Brick House ............................ 101
One. Two. Three, Heave! ................... ................. 101
The Strength Of The Pioneers .............................. 102
The Pierre-Virlee Company ................................. 104
Where Was Conish? ....................................... 106
Le eglish anon Alexis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
A Place Called Laduro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The Little Cemetery In The Sky .......... ................... 109
About The Author ......................................... 112
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Copyright ~ 1992 by Maiy Ann Englebert
All rights reserved. No reproduction of this book in whole or ln part. or
in any form. may be made without permission of the copyright owner.
VeJication
I dedicate this 6ook to tlie memory
of my loving fa tlzer and mother,
William and Jlnna Virlee, wlzo
have instilleJ in tlzeir cliilJren
the love of QoJ, tlzeir families,
and their fe llowma11. Our lives
lzave 6een enriclzed 6y tlzeir
love and their pas.sing 1vill 011/y
succeeJ in multiplyi119 our
memories of tl1ose happy years--
1vl1en 1ve were you119.
"9 Remem6er Pa-Pa"
It is with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes thatl begin to write.
But I know that the many memories of my father I loved so dearly. will
bringjoy and happiness to me during those times when I will miss him
so. Dad died July 7th. 1987. surrounded by his children whom he loved
and who loved him. No man could have asked for a more peaceful way to
go meet his Maker. I believe God truly blessed him for his !ife well spent. I
knew when Dad left us, that I had to write these memories down. His life
is a part of my heritage and so l write this for my children, and their
children. and their children's children. I want them to know my
memories of this loving man. These memories are the fabric of our lives.
Each memory woven of different colored threads. are the legacy left by
those who went before us. Oh, what beautiful patterns were woven in
our Jives, leaving us with this beautiful material to work with.
I was born the middle child, into a family of seven. and I have so many
memories of my loving father. Dad raised us on the wings oflove and we
shall never forget him. His whole !ife was spent living, loving. giving and
sharing with his wife and children. He was not a rich man in material
wealth. but he was rich in the love he shared with his family. Dad was a
man of deeds. not only of words, and his love made our world go round.
Dad often went without so his children could have things. I thank God
he didn't grab onto progress as fast as other men did. If he had, we
children would not have experienced the many things which have
become a part of our heritage. When I think of Dad. I want to remember
all the good times and the things we did. He would not want us to
remember him with tears. but only with smiles.
"S ,,
easons
To everything there is a season
A time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born. and a ttme to die;
A time to plant and a time to pluck up that
which iS planted.
A time to love and a time to hate,
A ttme qf war and a time qf peace.
He hath made everything beautiful
In HiS time ...
From Ecclesiastes 3
The following eulogy was prepared by Kenan and Jill Virlee for Dad's
funeral. I believe it summed up Dad's life.
"Sulogy"
In the satisfaction qf working with animals.
In the annual return qf the season,
Jn the hilarity qf youth,
In the strength andj1ush of manhood
In the grandeur and exquiSitness qf old age
In the superb vistas qf Death
wonderjul to depart
wondeiful to be here
'Witman"
Today we celebrate a life that truly reflected a faith in God. Although
his words were few, he spoke in kindness, humility and reason.
All of us have special memories of Bill today: perhaps it was the fact
that he was one of the last in the area to farm with horses. Beaut. Dolly,
Queen, and even old run away Prince kept him working with the soil he
loved so well.
The August shocking, September threshing, digging potatoes, cutting
firewood for winter, the long Door Countywinter spent with family, then
the spring planting and summer haying and back to August again.
The presention of the offertory gifts by Bill's grandchildren and great
grandchildren reflected his life. The plowshare with which he turned the
soil, the horseshoe to symbolize the animals with which he worked. The
wheat and grapes represent the elements of the mass and reflected Bill's
love of God and church and his devotion to the Holy Sacrament.
His legacy is the joy of faith he has given to his children and children's
children. Surely God has blessed him.
1
"Smells of Spring"
Spring rains came and soon melted the snow. Little rivers and
streams ran along the roads and in the ditches. Our rubbers splashed in
the water all the way home from school. Once the land dried up it was
time for the Spring planting. Dad was up early and in the barn to get the
chores done.After breakfast he'd hitch up the horses to the drag and he
was off to the field. lt was a dusty job and you walked behind the drag or
rode standing on the back. Those were long days but it was a great
feeling to see a patch all ready to be seeded. The next day Dad would
hitch up the horses to the seeder. The grain was poured from the burlap
bag Into the hopper and the horses were of[ Every couple of turns the
seeder had to be refilled with seed. After the grain was in. came the
seeding of hay seed. We would seed that with a hand seeder. I can still see
Dad walking down the field In a straight line swinging the seeder back
and forth in perfect rhythm. This was done till the patch was finished.
After seeding came the real muscle work. The manure from the barns
were wheeled out onto a pile all winter with a wheelbarrow. By Spring
the pile was quite large and it was all loaded by hand. The horses were
hitched to the manure spreader and pru·ked by the pile. Sometimes we
loaded at three or four people. It usually took a week or more to haul the
pile and it was nothing to haul twenty loads a day. This was a good way to
lose weight and make new muscles. Dad said it made new blood in the
Sprtng. Before l even started school, I always wanted to ride with my Dad
and he often let me. One day I was ridingwith him right after dinner and
I fell asleep. I fell off the side of the spreader. the front wheel barely
missing me. He stopped the horses just in time before the back wheel
ran me over. This was quite a scare for me and for Dad. When the kids
came home from school. they kept on asking me what happened because
ofmyscratchesonmychin. !still haveascaronmychin to this day. This
scar always reminds me of the way it used to be.
"Stewardship of Man"
The air was crisp on our breaths and the leaves were beginning to fall.
This was the time to tum the earth, and the memory of my dad walking
behind the horse and plow will stick with me always. When l was a little
girl. Dad used the walking plow, and later he had a sulky plow which he
rm
rode on. sure Dad often got knocked a.round, jerked at and even got
thrown down. He would tie the reins behind his back and then he held
onto the two handles. Once the plow was in the ground it turned the
furrow over nicely and the horses continued till the end of the row. Dad
2
