Jessie Vonelm Hill

My dearest memories are those of my childhood, and thus, I will begin there.

I was born September 19, 1910 on a 320 acre farm in Laketon Township, Brookings County, SD. I had one sister, Blanche, 18 months older.

I attended a one room school for grades 1-8. The school was situated ½ mile east of the home farm. We said pledge of allegiance and sang church hymnals along with patriotic songs before class. We were proud of our country.

I excelled at spelling and penmanship. I wish I would have paid more attention to history and geography. We learned math including addition, subtraction, multiplying and division. These are skills that are so useful and have helped me down through the years.

School was from 9 to 4 and lasted from September thru May. Blanche and I couldn’t wait for the school year to end so we could cultivate corn. I had a one row cultivator with 2 old horses, while Blanche had a more “sophisticated” two row cultivator and 4 lively horses. My other chores included cleaning the cream separator and churning butter.

We originally used kerosene lamps, but Dad eventually got a generator for lights in the house and the barn. It was my job to run down in the cellar and turn off the generator at night. That job made me feel very important. Of course I didn’t realize no else wanted to do it.

After a big rain, Mother had us watch for rainbows east of the farm. Blanche and I would stare at those rainbows for a long time. This reminded me later in life that no matter how bad the storm there was always a rainbow to be found.

One April morning I woke to a baby crying. The doctor told me I had a baby brother, Alvin. I was so excited to see those little hands and feet (they got a lot bigger over the years). Blanche was not quite so excited because he was born on her 10th birthday. I didn’t go to school that day, I was too excited. However, a few years later he was more of an annoyance, as it was my job to push him around in a buggy or baby sit him while other interesting stuff was going on.

We always had good food on the farm. We had lots of livestock and a big garden. We would pull carrots out of the ground, wipe them on our dresses and proceed to eat them. Mother could take one look at us and knew when we had been in the garden. Mother’s Mom, Grandma Wade, lived with us some of the time and would fry up bread or cake dough. Blanche noted one looked like a pig ear and from then on that delicacy was known as pig ears.

Mother told me that I was getting too old for dolls, but I wanted one in the worst way. I wrote to Grandma Westensee that I wanted a doll for Christmas. When the packages arrived I saw a long box that I was sure was a doll. Mother put the packages under the bed and I snuck in the room, laid down and started picking at that box until I could make out a doll’s shoe. Sure enough, I got that doll and it was one of the most beautiful dolls I had ever seen.

Every year we got new Easter hats in Brookings. Mother had already gotten me a navy blue dress so she suggested a navy blue or white hat. I found a brown straw hat with orange straw underneath the brim. Both mother and Blanche tried to talk me out of that hat, but I loved that hat. When Dad came in the store to pay for the hats, he sided with me and also liked the brown hat. So that spring and summer I wore my brown hat with my navy blue dress.

We also got to chose poultry from a catalog every year. Mother had an incubator in the chicken house and we would decide the type of eggs we wanted. My favorite was the Brahmas chicken which was a large chicken with feathers on the legs. My mother would choose her favorite variety of chickens. Blanche would make some unusual choices like ducks, geese, and guineas. We had guineas around for years. The geese were mean and scared me—we got rid of those.

Some of the lambs needed additional nourishment and we would feed them milk from a bottle. They would follow us around and we grew quite attached to them. One of Blanche’s lambs died and she wanted a funeral. The hired man helped her bury the lamb and she went to get Mother for the funeral. Mother sat on a rock and we sang Yankee Doodle.

We were a healthy family. Our biggest health scare was the Spanish Flu that killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people world wide in 1918. We lost a number of neighbors to that flu. Both Blanche and I had very high fevers and the doctor paid us a house call. The doctor told Dad the only thing he could do was give us hot water with whiskey and sugar to try and break the fever. Dad told the doctor to go ahead and we subsequently both passed out. When we woke up, we were soaking wet, but the fever was broken.

A warm and secure memory was sitting around the kitchen table in the evenings. Blanche would often go into the cellar and get 4 apples. By the light of a kerosene lamp and later an electric lamp, we would eat our apples. Dad would read his farm papers, the Argus Leader or Arlington Sun. We would be reading, embroidering or crocheting, but we were together as a family.

I graduated from Arlington High School. Blanche and I stayed with a lady in Arlington and Dad paid for our room and board.

I then graduated from Nettleton Commercial College. I initially worked for a law firm and then Sexaur elevator in Brookings. I moved to Sioux Falls and worked for Pfeiffer insurance and finance. During WWII, I went to work for the War Production Board.

It was here that I met Ross Hill. His brother wanted to buy two typewriters for work, but because of military rationing, I turned him down twice. Ross showed up and fully explained why they needed the typewriters and I Okayed the purchase. One night after work, Ross happened to be driving by in his car and offered to drive me home. Although I only lived two blocks away, I said OK. I later met his folks and they were very nice people. Ross tried to get into the army, but they turned him down because of his heart. We got married in 1943. We moved to San Diego in 1960 because of Ross’s health. Given his health, he was unable to find work, but I starting working as a real estate agent. Ross passed away in 1971.

Another memory highlight was a 3 week trip to the holy land with a church group when I lived in San Diego. We saw all the holy sites, but accommodations were not the best. I also took 5 cruises to the Caribbean area with my nephew. That was like living in a 5 star hotel.

I have much to be thankful for in my life. Everyday I thank my sister, Blanche for leaving me the means to live a comfortable and full life. My final resting place will be Greenwood Cemetery at the Westensee family plot in Brookings, SD. All my family has passed on—Mother in 1952, Father in 1955, Blanche in 1987 and Alvin in 2009. We started out together and we will all be together again.

Jessie’s Prayer

My favorite bible verse is Psalms 23 and my favorite song is How Great Thou Art.

My simple prayer incorporates elements of these two favorites.

The Lord is my Sheppard—God is always available for guidance

I shall not want—God will provide

He leadeth me beside still waters—The peace of Holy Spirit

He restoreth my soul—Jesus and the resurrection

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever—The promise of eternal life

How does a human heart give praise and thanks for such precious gifts?--Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How Great Thou Art, How Great Thou Art

Amen--

Arrangements under the direction of Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home, Austin, Texas.