Nancy Field

It is great to meet you. I do have a few pictures of Marie, however I don’t think I have any of George. I will check with Mike to see if he has any of George.

I added a new photo gallery for the Jindra family. You can click on Our Family Gallery and then Jindra Family Photos

http://linkingyourpast.com/jindra/our-family-gallery/jindra-family-photos/

Ruby was born October 7, 1924 and they were married July 14, 1945. We (Mom, Dad, my sister, and I) went to live in Florida in fall 1958. He shut the farm down for what was supposed to be only two years. We lived in Zephyrhills, where he worked for someone building a motel.

We went back to Wisconsin in summer and the next fall we lived in North Miami, Fl, where dad was a church custodian at a Lutheran Church. The pastor there was getting ready to build a 75 acre retirement village in the southern part of Miami (Cutler Ridge) and he offered Dad the job of maintenance superintendent. We moved there and built a new house in early 1961. During the time we were in North Miami, Wesly Conan worked the farm.

Dad sold the farm to him in spring 1962. Dad worked at East Ridge Retirement Village for several years, and while he was there he got his GED and took many courses at community colleges and universities; first in air conditioning and later in swimming pool maintenance and water treatment. After a few years he went to work for the city water department. He also had his own air conditioning repair business at the same time.

Some time around 1972 he and Mom moved to Silver Springs, just east of Ocala, FL. Dad worked as a treatment plant operator and ran his air conditioning business there. In 1976 they moved to Dunnellon, just west of Ocala. He continued working in the same jobs. Until their health started to fail, they went back to Wisconsin almost every summer. Before Dad retired he saved his vacation time and sick leave so he could take long vacations in summer.

They spent a lot of time traveling and camping through the western US including Alaska. When he was 76, he took his last camping trip, with another man, to Alaska. Some time around 1993 or 1994, Dad had a stroke and then Mom had a stroke a few months later. In 1995, they moved to Tallahasssee to be near my sister and her family (I live in Texas). They both died in Tallahassee.

Laura Esther Schmidt was born October 18, 1912 and died on May 2, 1928. Laura was a student at Washington High School in Two Rivers at the time of her death. Herbert said that she died of appendicitis. Bertha went into more detail. She told me that Laura had not been feeling well for several days and had been having abdominal pain, which was mistaken for cramps. One day, she passed out on the steps of the high school. She was taken to the hospital, where she died of a ruptured appendix.

Her obituary says she died following the surgery for appendicitis. I have never heard of her going to Minnesota to attend school or being in Chicago to have fat removed from her legs. I haven’t seen a death certificate, but I suspect she has been confused with someone else, or the story on the website is the product of gossip that is now taken as fact.

The pictures I have of her indicate she wasn’t overweight. When asked what Laura was like, Bertha told me, “Everyone said she was the pretty one.” One of the photos I will be sending stood on my grandmother’s dresser until Grandma’s death.

Laura’s funeral was at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Two Rivers on May 5, 1928 at 2:00 p.m., Rev. Haase officiated. She is buried in the family plot in Pioneer’s Rest cemetery, Two Rivers.

My grandfather was Henry W. Schmidt, and my father was Herbert Henry Schmidt. I lived on the family farm until I was 12, and I went back to Two Rivers and the Manitowoc Country court house about 10 years ago to do family research. I also have documents that were in my dad’s possession and numerous family photos. I would like to correct some of the inaccuracies, and share some of the information and photos I have.

The “cousin’s breakfast” began as a gathering mostly of the Zell family children and spouses, and in June 1994 expanded to any descendants/spouses (mostly retired) of George and Mary Jindra Jr. They originally met only for birthdays, but later went to monthly meetings, generally the second Monday, at various restaurants in Manitowoc County. As of 2008, attendance ranged from 12 to about 18.

We do welcome you to the site and hope someone stumbles across your entry and you find a connection!