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THi; IMMIGRANTS, Till! CAMPS, AND (IRAN DP A WAR!-(ion t i nued
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Dad recalls that the old man was inactive and unhappy lor sometime after his arrival. lie expressed an interest in farming so grandfather cleared 100 acres and built a farm house and barn at RANSWIiCAR for that purpose. The farm was quite a success and crops were trucked to town for sale. The old man was quite a task master and outworked all hired hands. Keeping help was their greatest difficulty.
Grandpa Ware refused to ride in an automobile and Dad remembers his walking to and from the farm from their home. While facilities at the farm were most comfortable, he refused to sleep there and walked the one mile to the Firsching home after a hard days work. One evening while walking home he overheard a domestic quarrel at one of the camp homes. Attempting to stop a man from beating his wife, he was shocked to be attacked with a frying pan by the woman who was being beaten. lie forever swore off of intervention in domestic misunderstandings.
Great Grandfather Ware was proudest of his grape arbors. He made large amounts of fine wine (he could drink it by the pitcher) which he stored in one of the spare bedrooms of the farmhouse.
One day he was sampling his wines and offered my Dad samples also. As fate would have it, grandmother happened along and found her son somewhat inebriated as her father continued to pour "samples" That night she returned to the farm, took hundreds of bottles of wine outside and broke them all. Great Grandpa Ware slowly rebuilt his cache and swore my Dad to future secrecy.
One day grandfather was at work in his office when he heard the loud voices of a mob approaching the plant. lixiting the building, he realized that they were the rough camp people and that they were chanting his name - Firsching, Firsching, Firsching, as they came. They surrounded him, picked him up and tossed him into the air numerous times. Somewhat ruffled he was finally replaced on the grourrd and found himself tire proud recipient of a mantle clock--a gift from the grateful workers of Peerless.
Dad recalls few if any labor problems. Occasionally Sheriff Murder would ca1 I to report that a worker had drunk beyond his limit while in town. They were rarely jailed but rather were returned to their camp home with a severe scolding. These were relatively minor problems considering the large number of workers.
Grandfather was a firm disciplined man and displayed a business like exterior (I remember as a child, his arising in the morning, bathing, and dressing in a starched white shirt and tie only to remain indoors all day) although he harbored a hearty sense of humor. This firm no-nonsense approach must have proven successful because he commanded the respect of not only his employees, but his other- associates as well.


Firsching 043
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