Bevier, Mo is one place I remember. Anyway, Philip was being carried by our Mother. They would have had to travel by train as this was before they had a car. I have told some things before so will skip to Zookspur, Iowa where we went when I was around 7 or 8 years old. We lived in a company house. I don't suppose we had to pay rent as there were maybe 50 empty houses in the town. The mine was playing out.
The houses were all owned by the company as was the store. Everything was owned by the company except the schoolhouse and Catholic Church, which was across from our house. Most of the men never drew a pay check. They all owed the store money. If they had attempted to leave, they would have been arrested. I remember the kids could get a penny's worth of candy. I couldn't. We did not have an account there. This was in 1919 or 1920.
Our father bought a car - a 1917 Studebaker, 4 cylinder touring car. It was long with jump seats in the back - no heater, no glass, dirt roads, a lot of mud. I remember him driving around town with a lot of kids running around him. Very slow, only second car in town. He ran over the town pump which was in center of street. The other car was owned by Mitchel Baker, a 1916 Studebaker. We now had wheels which let us get around more. No more wagons and trains except to move furniture - remember - we had a piano which was moved every where we went. I don't know how he made a living as that was before he sold advertising.
I remember one boy in school in Zookspur. He was maybe 13 years old and he made my life miserable. He was much larger than me. We sat in school in a double desk. Same grade. He would copy all my papers, spelling, arithmetic, etc. I got to doing all my papers wrong and he would copy them, then I would change mine. He would have to stay after school but he was so dumb he never caught on. Years later, I learned he was killed in a mine accident. His name was Ralph Pinigar - (Italian) - a lot of Italians there. Our next move must have been to Muscatine, Iowa.
