CEDAR COUNTY, NEBRASKA - CRADLE THAT ROCKED SEVERAL ==================================================================== NEGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the NEGenWeb Archives by Carol Tramp Permission granted by: Rob Dump, Editor, Cedar County News ====================================================================== CEDAR COUNTY NEWS JUNE 20, 1929 CRADLE THAT ROCKED SEVERAL OF PRESENT LEADERS STILL IN COUNTY In the first brick house built in Cedar county is treasured the first cradle made in the county--a cradle from which has come several of the present day leaders in finance, agriculture, businesss, home-making, and the many overlapping activities. The historic cradle is now in the home of Ignatz Lammers who lives near St.Helena in the solid brick house which his father the late and much loved John Lammers built with brick made by himself in his kiln on his own farm. Today the cradle is relegated to the attic where it must be kept since recent improvements in the house made the opening in the stair steps too small to get it down. But out of sight as it is, the cradle is still a family pride; and when the grown-up men and women it once cuddled visit the old homestead, they often take a peek at this reminder of their other days. Rocked to sleep in the cradle have been the eleven youngest John Lammer children. Mrs. Peter Becker who passed away some years ago, was the first to be put in it and for her it was desighned. She was the first of the family to be born in Cedar county. Frank and Joe Lammers, now farming on an extensive scale, west of Hartington, were the next two who rolled about in its depths, cooing and kicking as babies ever will do. Mrs. Barney Becker, who died several years ago, was also brought up in the cradle. Following her in the possession of this important bit of furniture were A.K. Lammers, now a Hartington lumber man, Mrs. Peter Kaiser, of Milwaukee; Mrs. Frank Heine, Mrs. Carl Bruening, homemakers and Ignatz Lammers, who is a well known farmer near St. Helena, A.J. Lammers of Cedar county State bank fame, and last of all Alphonse, better known as "Tubby" Lammers who takes in the dollars at First National Bank at Hartington. Veronica Lammers, oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ignatz Lammers, is the only grandhild who has had the honor of being rocked in the cradle as a babe. Fashioned out of cottonwood boards, in a neat pattern, the rockers and sides of the cradle are still as capable as when it was first used 64 years ago. About four feet long and two feet wide, the cradle offers room for quantities of silky coverings which babies of today demand and give every assurance that it is good for another hundred years if only a chance was given. Significant as it is, the cradle is not the only relic of pioneer days left by John Lammers. From this first brick house in the county have spread other bits of reminiscent furniture. Two old-fashioned four-poster beds and semi-spool beds, one of which was a"rope" bed were also brought in a wagon, Mrs. Ignatz Lammers has three of these beds, now freshly painted so as to harmonize with the furnishing of her rooms and Mrs. A.J. Lammers has two of the old beds, which rejuvenated help carry out the period which her colonial home reflects. Bringing these valued beds, the spinning wheel, and a large old-time wardrobe, Mr. and Mrs. John Lammers came to the county in 1861. They had five children, a yoke of oxen, a wagon, some wheat seed and Mr. Lammers had 32 cents in his pocket. At the time of his death, his property totaled close to a million dollars. The five oldest children, who came with their parents to Cedar county, were John, now dead, Henry, on the ranch west of town, Mrs. Mary Thoene of Bow Valley, Will, now dead, and Mrs. Peter Schaefer of Fordyce. Mrs. Lammers passed away shortly after the family came to the county, and Mr. Lammers remarried in 1864. But the million dollars that Mr. Lammers accumulated did not come at once. In the early days, even the father and boys had to knit stockings in the winter evenings. They usually knit the leg of the stocking, the heel and toe always being left for the women who were more adept with the difficult parts, altho Mr. Lammers could complete his without aid. Always progressive, Mr. Lammers fattened the first carload of cattle shipped out of they county, brought into the county the first threshing machine and binder, accumulated large farms, owned the first brick kiln and later a lumber yard, and was president of the First National Bank at Hartington in his later years. Most outstanding of Mr.Lammers community service was his long tenure in the office of county commissioner, during which years he kept the county entirely out of debt. At one time he fought a bond issue which otherwise would have heavily encumbered the county. His statement at that time, "I do not want to live in a mortgaged county," spread all over the county. One of the biggest men of his time and of the county in all time, the influence which Mr. Lammers begain in the building of the old cradle has permeated much of Cedar County, and will continue to affect its destiny for years to come.