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00:00:01 - Introduction

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00:00:35 - Grandparents immigrated 1856. Bought land in Lincoln. Land then cost $.50 per acre and each family was allowed 80 acres.

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00:01:36 - Bartering system. Hogs and flour were used instead of money to pay for school and religious education.

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00:02:25 - Schooling. Did not know English since everyone spoke Belgian at home and in the neighborhood. Learned English at school.

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00:03:33 - Layout of School House. School House was in one room with a stove used as the heater. Hours were in the afternoon, 1-4 p.m.

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00:04:06 - Reciting in front of class. Each class or grade would stand up to recite. Spell-downs were very popular.

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00:04:58 - Working in candy factory. Left school after 8th grade and worked in the candy factory 60 hours per week for a total of $4.00.

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00:05:38 - Overalls in winter.

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00:06:13 - Parochial vs. public records. Teachers were lay teachers in the country schools.

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00:06:33 - The churches would take a census, which then was invaluable since people could return to that church and locate a copy of their birth certificate. A copy of their birth certificate was necessary for employment.

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00:07:50 - Teachers. Some of the teachers were pre-med students. The teachers received a salary of $20 to $30 per month.

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00:08:30 - Lunch. Students took their lunch to school since it was too far to walk home at noon.

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00:08:39 - Folk medicine. Medical treatment for a gash in the leg was filling the wound with lard and tying a handkerchief over it. This was done by a person at the scene of the accident.

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00:10:00 - Walking to school. The distance to school was about 1.5 miles, so when there was lots of snow, they walked over the snow across fences to school.

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00:10:54 - Treating wet shoes. The children did not have overshoes or boots, but rather greased their shoes with lard to make them waterproof.

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00:11:22 - Wooden shoes. To help keep out the snow and mud his father had a sock made of denim up to his knee. He wore this with his wooden shoes.

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00:11:52 - Time off school for farm work. Children stayed at home and picked potatoes or helped during the harvest periods. This was expected of them.

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00:13:21 - Learning to speak English. His parents could speak English as well as Belgian.

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00:14:02 - Nuns were employed in some of the Eden schools, since the properties were adjoining. They received a salary of $1.00 per day.

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00:15:13 - First year at school.

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00:17:03 - Belgian band in Rosiere composed mostly of the Andrei family. They played waltzes and two-step dances.

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00:18:07 - Events where the band played. Dances were held about three times a year. The times were Pentecost, Easter and for three days at the fall Kermis.

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00:18:49 - Bread and pies were baked in the outdoor oven in preparation for the Kermis celebration.

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00:18:58 - In the place where the celebrations took place, the home and store were on the first floor, and the dances were held on the second floor.

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00:19:48 - Relatives came to the Kermis held at Rosiere, and the Noel family went to other towns at their Kermis celebration.

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00:20:53 - Many pies were made for the Kermis as each person was expecting to have a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.

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00:21:48 - Riding home from Kermis during the fire of 1871. The fire occurred at Kermis time. His grandfather was returning home from Rosiere when the fire came. They used milk cans full of water to douse themselves. The animals were set free to run to the swamps. The rains came and quenched the first fire. The fire burnt mostly Brussels and Rosiere and stopped before it reached the farm.

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00:23:49 - Fresh meat at Kermis. At Kermis time people ate and drank. It was the only time they had fresh meat.

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00:24:14 - His father was a cheese maker and later worked on the farm.

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00:24:57 - Hay was exported to upper Michigan to use in the logging camps for the horses. Kerosene lamps were used at home.

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00:26:19 - The type of meat used at Kermis was that of a freshly killed cow, which was divided into chunks for the family and relatives.

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00:26:50 - Farm prices today vs. early 1900's. Farms now cost $500 per acre as opposed to the original $.50 per acre.

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00:27:24 - Field work. Hay was bound and made into shocks. Shocks were also made of grain. There were 10 bundles in each shock. The work "decia" meant 10 bundles, the number for each shock.

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00:28:33 - Land was passed on to the sons. Boys were always favored. The parents lived on the farm with the son to whom it had been passed onto. He paid their expenses.

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00:30:15 - Buying land from those moving to the city. As people left the farms and moved to the city, their farms were left and sold, so people could then acquire more than the original 80 acres.

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00:31:20 - Children's work on the farm. All children on the farm worked as soon as they could walk.

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00:32:56 - Milk prices. Milk was $.40 a hundred weight. Milk was not picked up on Sundays, so it was kept in crocks and the cream was made into butter. Some butter was sold.

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00:33:37 - Butter making and selling. The price of butter was 11 cents and eggs 8 cents a dozen.

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