1968
MEJ Plucker’s Diary – His last year
Died: October 19, 1968
Jan 1 Watched Cotton Bowl & Rose Bowl parade
& games.
At Dots for spechen & dicken.
[It was another cold winter. The pipes kept freezing
and the furnace fuel line also needed thawing.]
Jan 8 Annual Cong. Meeting.
Elders: Martin
Camp, Ed Heibult – Deacon: Dick W.
Plucker – Trustees: Hank Albers, Vernon
Bossman. Pastor’s salary: $6,000.00, Car Expense: $500, Bonus: $200.
Jan 15 Ordered Newsweek for 43 weeks. Also renewed
Saturday Evening Post for 2-1/2 years.
[Dad was an avid reader and loved his magazines.]
Jan 16 Bought chair from Sears - $39.14.
Claus Buseman died.
Went to Anthony Otten for supper.
Feb 15 Went to Buehlers to sort Library books.
Gene’s arrive for a 2-day visit. [In 1968 we lived at
Colfax Center Church in Iowa – a scant five-hour drive from Lennox.]
Feb 16 Gene & Jeanie, Dots & Eddie, Cindy
& Faye went to BB game at Scotland (SD).
Nola, Sandy, Gene & Jeanie here overnight.
Feb 17 First lamb born. Gene’s left for home.
Mar 15 Drove to Luverne, Minn. To investigate Blue
Mound restaurant. [I’m sure it was a “scientific” investigation to determine
what effect a turkey dinner would have on their digestion process.]
Mar 29 Mrs. Buehler’s birthday.
Mom went to breakfast at Tea Lutheran church
Went to Brandon with dots & Eddie to hear
combined vocal concert.
Mar 30 Bought riding mower at K Mart. Mom to Faye to
Marion for treatment. [The treatment must have been chiropractic.]
Apr 4 Martin Luther King shot & killed at 6
PM in Memphis.
Apr 30 Shot a skunk at 2:30 AM. [Many times I was
woken up – frightened – to hear the “boom” of the shot gun.]
May 13 Took a trip to the Little Brown Church.
Jun 10 Dale leaves for Chicago.
Bob’s family arrived from Seattle.
Dots & Eddie here for ice cream.
Jun
24 Eave trough replaced. Truck shed wall
repaired. T.V. tower at Rowena down.
Gene’s arrived at Straatmeyers
in Lennox.
Jun
25 Went fishing to Lake Vermillion.
Caught two bullheads.
Jun
26 Bob & family moved to Everett
from Seattle.
June
27 Sunday school picnic.
Straatmeyers & Gene’s went
to Lake Poinsett for overnight.
Jun
28 Gene’s & S’s back from Lake
Poinsett.
We went to see Lily for a little
while.
Eugene Thaden married. Address:
Kansas City.
Jun 30 Gene’s here for morning service, left for
Denver, Colo. At 2 PM. [Gene was taking a summer course at Iliff School of
Theology in Denver. We stayed in Student housing.]
Jul 4 Uncle Geo Buus here for Tea.
Jul 7 We visited John & Lena in PM.
Jul 8 Got bull back from Lawrence Weeldreyer.
Jul 9 Dale back from Europe Tour. Brought a
musical candy plate from Switzerland.
Jul 10 Dale got a job at Sioux Steel, night work.
Hank wormed all the sheep and gave rabies shot to the dog.
Jul 11 Bull got out again. At Laurence’s.
Jul 12 Took bull back to Canton. Built door in
Eddie’s barn.
Jul 15 Gene’s back from Denver.
Jul 16 Home made ice cream at Eddie’s.
Jul 17 Mom & Jean cleaned 7 roosters for Mrs.
S. Had supper at Truck Haven, S.F. with Gene & Jean & Dots & Eddie.
Jul 18 Gene & Jean & Mike visit to Don
Hentjes.
Jul 19 Eddie baled the second cutting of alfalfa.
Gene, Jean, Mike & Sandy went to Ray Smits. [Instead of Ray, this must have been Bob
Smit’s.]
Jul 20 Saw slides that Dale took in Europe &
that Gene took in Denver.
Jul 21 Gene preached in Lennox – morning and
evening. Picnic at park in Lennox PM. We went to Lennox Ebenezer in the
evening.
Jul 22 Cows returned to small pasture. Gene’s left
for home. Buehler’s left on vacation.
Bull delivered from Canton Livestock.
Jul 23 Made root beer here and at Eddie’s. [This
was the BEST tasting root beer ever! But it took weeks for it to be ready to drink.]
Jul 24 Sprayed for grasshoppers in garden.
Aug 4 Joe & Lydia arrived at 4 PM.
Aug 7 Joe & Lydia left for Mpls.
Aug 14 God ready to go to Washington. Mom had a
permanent at Parker.
Faye here overnight.
[Here begins 12 days of their last vacation trip to
visit Bob and Barbara in Everett, Washington.]
Aug 15 76984 mileage at home.
Bought sun glasses at Kadoka ($1.23).
Stopped at Bad Lands for short time. Out at 11:00.
Drove to Spearfish, down Spearfish canyon to Mt.
Rushmore,, then to Custer. Stopped for groceries. On to Newcastle. Motel cost:
$12. Good supper: Hamburger, potatoes, lettuce, peach sauce. [Cooking in the
kitchenette of the cabin was what was done!]
Mileage at Newcastle: 77557. Miles driven today: 573.
Aug 16 Left Newcastle at 6:30. Went to Yellowstone by
way of Sheridan & Greybull & Cody.
Saw Old Faithful erupt at 6:15. Staying at West Yellowstone. Sherwood cabins:
$10.00. Drove 498 miles today. Drove through 6 tunnels between Cody &
Yellowstone.
Aug 17 Left West Yellowstone at 6:10. Breakfast at
Belgrade. Bought 15.7 gallons gas at Belgrade.
Drove mostly thru mountain country till we got near
Spokane. Spent that night in Wilbur, Washington. Two room cabin with 4 beds:
$6.00. Mileage at Wilbur; 78637.
Aug 18 Arrived at Everett at 11 AM. Not too much
trouble finding the place.
Went out for a site seeing ride after dinner.
Mileage on arrival in Everett: 78873.
Aug 19 Went to Mt. Vernon in AM & visited Mae
Harvey in PM. Saw the large plane building. [This must have been
the Boeing plant that is visible from the highway.]
Aug 20 Spent the morning at home. Left for Seattle at
9:30. Stopped at Barbara’s office. From there, to Seattle for hamburgers. Saw
the University campus and Bob’s former home.
Then to Seattle Center. Kids had rides. Bob & Mom went up in space
needle.
Aug 21 Left for the seashore at 8 AM by way of
Seattle, Tacoma and Aberdeen. Went up the coast as far as Pacific Beach. Spent
about an hour on the beach. Were home at Bob’s by near 6 PM. Drove 456 miles.
Aug 22 Took a ferry boat ride to Whidbey Island in
the forenoon.
Changed oil in the Chev PM.
Stayed home in the evening.
Aug 23 Shopped in White Front discount store in
Seattle AM. Bought coffee server.
Went to see Mae Harvey in the PM. Home in the
evening.
Aug 24 Left Everett at 10 to 7. Mileage when leaving:
79376.
Ate lunch at Spokane burger stand. Stopped at
Missoula, got a cabin. 1 block north of the cabin where we stayed in 1966.
Aug 25 Left Missoula at 8 AM. Mileage: 79922.
Went to Presbyterian church at Butte. Drove part way
to Lewis & Clark Caverns.
Had car heating trouble. Took thermostat out. Left
AAA route to go toward Sheridan. Stayed overnight at Wyola.
Aug 26 Left Wyola (Indian town) at 7:30. Breakfast at
Sheridan. Sandwich at New Castle, Malts at Martin. Decided to go home on route 18. Saw buffaloes at Buffalo Gap.
Were down to ¼ tank of gas at Parkston. Tied to buy
some but stations all closed at 9 M. Went on anyway, found we didn’t need more
gas!
Mileage at home: 81121. Total miles: 4,137.
[Although I know that he always kept track of mileage
on his cars, in this diary, he didn’t.]
Sep 7 Grandma Bossman’s sale. [This must be
Gene’s grandma.]
Sep 11 Dots & Eddie off on trip to Florida. Faye
& Nola – here.
Dug 2 bushels of potatoes.
Got Chev back from Tea. One valve: $32.99.
Dots called from Florida. Phone No.
there: Area Code 813-L.I.2 -2161 [Possibly in Florida at this time, they still
used names for the first three numbers, i.e., HArrison 7-8723
(427-8723).]
Sep 13 Jerry & Irma left for Ames at 9 AM. [Jerry was one of Mom’s brothers.]
Dots & Eddie back from Florida.
Lennox beat Elk Point in football.
Sep 17 Bought a Sunbeam razor in S.V. for $23.80.
Sep 18 Bought a Hoover washer and Hoover Vacuum
Cleaner.
Washer: $128.42
Vacuum: $58.94.
Bought new suit at E. W. Clothing: $81.89.
Mom bought Struller dress at Fantles: $16.00.
Mom hurt her back carrying washer. Went to Art DeVries
for treatment.
Took electric knife to Penny’s for repair.
Took lid of coffee pot to Farm & Home Supply.
Sep 19 Met with Committee on Pastor’s Salary. [Rev. Buehler must have needed a raise.]
Mom sprained her ankle.
Sep 20 Ordered mattress pad from Wards.
Nola here, the rest gone to football game.
Lennox lost 27 – 0!
Sep 22 Mission feast today.
Sep 24 Cattle returned from across the road.
Ann came from Mpls. We had supper at Dots.
Sep 25 Mom & Ann went to visit Tillie Buseman
& Lena Highstreet.
Went to Julius Schnoose at night.
Sep 26 Drove to Alpena with Ann. Had dinner the The
Plains in Huron. Took Ann to Tillie Poppens directly from Alpena. Dots &
Eddie left for the games toward evening.
Sep 27 Did chores at Eddie’s.
Sep 28 Chores at Eddie’s. Turned buck.[Turning the Buck meant letting him run
with the sheep.] Can expect lambs Feb 25.
Sep 29 Dots & Eddie back from tournament. We got
Ann from Sioux Falls.
Sep 30 Went to Wm Poppens for dinner. Ann went to see
Tilly in the evening.
Oct 1 Took Ann to see Aunt Minnie in Lennox in the morning. She stayed
till 4 PM. We then took her to the airport to go back to St. Paul.
Oct 2 District Presbyterial meets at church today. Dick M. Plucker’s
sale.
Oct 3 First frost of season.
Electric fence set up in north field, cows turned on
plowed ground. Eddie helped.
Oct 4 Mom cleaned the bedroom. We dug 1-1/2 5-gal pails of late
potatoes.
Oct 5 Put anti-freeze in pickup.
Oct 6 Went to Geo Naatjes PM.
Oct 7 Today we cleaned out the garden & put on storm windows &
butchered 3 roosters. Eddie finished combining beans.
Oct 8 Buehler here – AM & PM. [I
can’t help wondering why...]
Oct 9 Dots came here to try Hoover washer. Funeral for Mrs. Harm E.
Straatmeyer.
Manure on garden.
Oct 10 We visited the Straatmeyers in the evening.
Oct 11 Mom’s U.P.W. group went to Good Samaritan Home
in the afternoon.
Oct 12 Went with Dots &
Eddie’s to S.F. College Varsity show.
Oct 13 Rev. Jerry DeLoof of Chancellor preached this
morn. We drove thru Newton Hills State park PM. We attended Turner Co. 1st
in the evening.
Oct 14 Took 5 roosters to Mrs. Musch to butcher and
took them to Buehlers. Mom’s group (UPW) met here to plan program for family
night.
Oct 15 Mom washed drapes in front room.
Oct 16 Harm’s & Ben’s here for dinner. [Harm & Ben Thaden were brothers of
Mom.] Electric knife returned from Penneys. Cows broke down gate.
Oct 17 Saw Dr. Sanderson for a checkup & flu shot.
Started to rain on Octo 15. Still raining on 17th.
Rained somewhere in neighborhood of 3 or 3-1/2 inches.
I went to meeting of I.C.A.
COMMENTS FROM JEAN, DOTS AND
BOB
Jean & Dots:
I never heard what Dr.
Sanderson said to him on that Thursday before he died. I saw no change in his
handwriting in the last couple of days.
What we know (after 45
years) is that on Saturday, the 19th, Mom and Dad went to Sioux
Falls to go Christmas shopping. One of the things they bought was a jumping
clown for Mike. (When Mom gave it to me, she said Dad was determined that Mike
should have that clown. We kept it safe in the top shelf of the closet for many
years and Mike even took it with him when he left home.)
In the afternoon that day,
they were walking along a sidewalk on a side street. They had been at Fantles
on Main St. and were heading for Phillips Avenue. All at once, he stopped, put
his hands up on the wall of the building next to them and said, “This is it.”
At that, he slowly slumped to the sidewalk.
Mother finally got help; he
was taken to the hospital and declared dead that evening. As it happened, Dots & Eddie had decided
to go to Sioux Falls that day, too, so Dale and Ken were home alone and Dale
was in the house when the phone rang. He jumped in his car, went to Sioux Falls
and miraculously found his folks on the street. Upon hearing the news, they all
went to the hospital to take care of Mom.
It was a hard day.
Bob:
Mom and Dad had come to Washington to see us the
summer of ‘68, and I remember thinking that he was feeling particularly good.
He was horrified at all the slugs and spent some time in the back yard of our
big Everett house snagging slugs and tossing them over the cliff into the gulch
below. He also made a minor repair to a back yard picnic table we had. But he
was chagrined to find that he had inadvertently sawed off a small piece of the
end of a seat.
There was some kind of a scandal going on in Seattle
city government at the time and we were reading about it in the paper. Dad said
he “sure wished he lived long enough to see how all that came out.”
When Dots phoned to tell us that Dad had died in Sioux
Falls, I had promised my friend Wally that I would take his choir Sunday
morning. The choir was at a church in north Seattle that I had had before
Barbara and I moved to Everett. The fact that Dad had died didn’t really hit
me, and so I went ahead and took the choir, never letting on that I was on the
verge of going to S. Dakota. When it did hit me was when we went to the
funeral home to see him with Eddie & Dots. Eddie said something about his
never cutting our hair anymore, and then he and I just fell apart on each
other’s shoulder.
Dad’s death was not really unexpected – just the suddenness of it was
hard to take. He had experienced two other heart attacks previous to this last
one. The first attack happened at home – I believe he was just coming in from
doing the chores – at first they thought it was a gall bladder attack which is
why he was taken to the hospital where the determination of a heart attack was
made. I think when the second attack happened, he knew what it was, so he was
taken to the hospital quickly.
MEJ was a good Dad – probably a bit easy on his “baby of the family,”
but all in all, taught me a lot and gave me a good foundation for my life.
Jean E. Straatmeyer
April, 2013
