BioA: Grap, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand (60th - 1959)

 

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

 

Surnames: Grap, Kalsow, Thrun, Hemp, Lowe, Klauer, Gall, Frank

 

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) October 15, 1959

 

Grap, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand (60th - 12 October 1959)

 

Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Grap, Weston’s oldest pioneer family, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last weekend in their log cabin in which they started housekeeping, one mile south of Globe corners.

 

John Ferdinand Grap was born in Germany August 6, 1873, to Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Grap and came to America when he was nine years of age, locating in the Town of Weston with his parents.  He had attended school in Germany and completed his education at the school now known as Fairview.

 

The Grap family arrived in Clark County in June, 1882, and rented a farm, known as the Gall farm, which was located one-half mile east of Globe. They remained there the first fall and winter.  In the spring of 1883 they purchased a 40-acre tract south of Globe and erected a log cabin, which stands to this day, siding having been added in recent years.

 

On October 12, 1899, John Ferdinand Grap was married to Martha Kalsow, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Kalsow, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Globe, with the Rev. F. W. A. Thrun, pastor, officiating.  Attending the couple were Frank Hemp, Mrs. Ole Lowe, Miss Annie Kalsow (Mrs. Henry Klauer), and Peter Kalsow.

 

The bride was born and raised one-half mile west of Globe store, on the farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Lebrecht Kalsow. She attended Fairview School. After her marriage she moved only a little over a mile to the farm where she has spent the last 60 years.

 

In 1901, the Graps built a new and larger house west of the log cabin, nearer the highway, and remained there while his parents occupied the log cabin. Through the years, the 40-acre farm grew in size. An 80-acre tract, a 50 and two 40’s were added.  Today, their son Frederick now works a farm of 250 acres.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Grap have five children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Their oldest son, Walter, now of Milwaukee, has a wife and three children, Beverly, Walter, and Jeanine.  Their second son, Paul, is married and lives with his wife in Milwaukee.  Frederick, the third son, lives on the home farm.  They have six children: Ronnie, June, Frederick, Jr., Joan, Lewis and Susan.  Their son, Carl, lives in Milwaukee with his wife and two children, Bonnie and Billy.  The youngest son, Marvin, is married and lives with his wife in Rockford, Ill.

 

"We have never experienced any fires, or serious tornadoes," said Mrs. Grap, "with the exception of wind blowing the roof off the barn many years ago."  But Mr. Grap experienced several very serious falls and accidents, starting when he was a boy of 12.  An ax slipped while he was cutting tag alders and he almost severed the big toe from his right foot."

 

When 14, while helping cut a crooked oak tree, Ferdinand was caught by a hanging tree which hit another tree and swung back, striking him on the forehead and knocking him unconscious.  His father picked him up for dead and as he was carrying Ferdinand to the house he slipped on the ice.  In the fall the youth regained consciousness and was able to run the rest of the way to the house.  His right collarbone was injured and protruded in front. A large scar on the left forehead still tells the story of this accident.

 

A few months later, while climbing in the milkhouse to reach a faucet for a beer keg, the youth fell again and hit the protruding collarbone and it was driven back in place without a doctor being called for assistance in any of the early injuries.

 

Although he had taken several spills, he was destined for several more.  While assisting with building the roof on the old log barn, Ferdinand slipped and fell to the driveway below, falling on his right hand, which as he recollects was "twisted inside out."

 

"Mother pulled on it," Ferdinand related, "and the hand turned back in place."

 

(Oh, we are missing some lines here)….severely that he spent many weeks in bed.  In later years, while assisting with a barn-raising on the Ernest Hemp farm west of Hoppa’s tavern, the scaffolding broke, the framework on the new barn broke in the center, injuring a half dozen men, including Mr. Grap.  This time a doctor was summoned from Neillsville.

 

Dr. J. H. Frank arrived on the scene and was asked to administer to Mr. Grap first, as he had been severely injured on head and neck.  Dr. Frank replied, "You just can’t kill that fellow, He’s too tough."

 

Mr. Grap’s last fall was taken at 81 years of age, when he slipped in the granary on fresh thrashings and fell on his head, seriously injuring the vertebrae of his neck.  Since this fall, he has found it difficult to move his head to either side. Two years ago he suffered a stroke which left him incapacitated.  He spends most of his time now in a chair or on a couch.

 

Raised in the out-of-doors, a lover of nature, of fishing and hunting, Mr. Grap now finds it difficult to rest and said, "I would be happy if I could just get down into the woods for a half hour."

 

Mr. Grap served several years as supervisor of the Town of Weston, served Immanuel Lutheran Church of Globe as treasurer for 15 years, and he and his wife have… (More of the story is missed here, and the whole list of family and friends who attended the big celebration of this couple’s 60th Anniversary).

 

 


© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

 

Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.

 

Become a Clark County History Buff

 

Report Broken Links

A site created and maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
and supported by your generous donations.

 

Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke,

Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,

Crystal Wendt & Al Wessel

 

CLARK CO. WI HISTORY HOME PAGE