Transcript
Toggle Index/Transcript View Switch.
Index
Search this Index
X
00:00:03 - Introduction 00:00:52 - Location of older barns, one was directly north of the present barn, plus another one further west. 00:01:58 - Location of granary: was first to the west of the driveway, then moved to the present site, torn down and rebuilt, again. 00:02:48 - Location of brickyard: closer to the county road on the north of the property. Ponds were next to the drive, where the clay was extracted, then hauled on a trolley track to frames for bricks. Then, clay was mixed with sand. Sheds were also there for the drying of the formed bricks. Process of racking off the "mud". Dried in air till hard. 00:06:42 - Then, the bricks were restacked in pyramids, hollow in the middle so that there was a space for a wood fire. They used hard wood from 40 acres near Champion. Bricks were hardest closest to the fire. As you moved furthest from the fire they became softer. 00:07:58 - Hired help for firing the bricks, one was an alcoholic who caused quite a few lost bricks, but generally had 8-10 men. 00:08:38 - Feeding and housing the men. Five meals a day: beer, green onions and cottage cheese in spring. 00:09:32 - House addition was in 1872. The first half was completed in 1867. The first house was in the northwest corner. The present house is located so far back from the road because it was up on a sandy hill. Then the buildings were arranged European style. Once the gate was closed no neighbors could see in. 00:11:09 - Relatives' support of Napoleon resulted in a great loss because of his defeat. 00:12:12 - Money was in the Bank of Venice. The organization of European banks. All countries' banks were arranged around one square. 00:12:52 - Grandma Ausloos' bitterness with Europe resulted from this loss, which encouraged her to come to America. She was born in 1847, and arrived in U.S. in 1855. Grandpa Ausloos was born in 1839, so was 17 when he left Europe, one year later than his future wife. 00:14:24 - The location of some original buildings. A butternut tree grew right next to the original log house, with asparagus, and hops along the fence for the beer. They made beer regularly every three weeks. 00:15:50 - Location of other asparagus beds around the house, some under the present granary. 00:16:11 - Moving the granary, 1907, about the same time their father died. Never had a foundation built, so it rotted away. Frank then rebuilt it on a solid foundation. He used the same virgin white pine planks for the present building. 00:18:05 - Beams in the basement. Story about Frank's worst experience in carpentry work in Green Bay. White oak beams meant really wide spacing, built in 1866. 00:19:54 - The first house was probably hewn logs. Technique for building log structures: chinking between cracks - with lime and sand. 00:21:49 - Seemed like every farmer had their own specialty. Dupont's, in the house where Pigeons live today, had a lumber mill, stallion, store, photography, farm, apple orchard, assemblyman, town chairman, etc. 00:22:41 - Brunners, Lamar's fiddler, threshing machine, he had one of the first radios. Story about Bastens from New Franken playing over the radio from the Aragon ballroom in Chicago. 00:24:19 - Fred Van Driese, of Van Driese motors, bought De Champ's farm. Three brothers have all been trying to find farms in the area. They're all educated, etc., and yet desire the farm - for it's their happiest time. 00:25:30 - Location of ponds and track for brickyard in northwest corner. 00:26:02 - Transplanting the cottonwood which stands next to the house now - about six feet in diameter. 00:26:36 - Strong wind storm bent that big cottonwood to the ground, but bounced back. Sleet storm with ice coated branches and sent them crashing down. 00:27:46 - Three ponds, filled from roadway drainage.