Mary Elizabeth McGrath, Heckman, Jessen
Father Lawrence E McGrath
Mother Sophia Dieter McGrath
Grandmother Sophia Rief Dieter
Grandfather Joe Dieter
Grandmother Elizabeth Kasel (Cary) McGrath
Grandfather Thomas Harold McGrath

Mary was born 4-22-1925 in Madison Neb, the house was known then as the Sourdale house, from lumber yard corner and Bob and Bills service (then) 4 blocks south on the corner. Mary was a happy smiley baby and walked at nine months, her folks then moved 1 block North and 1 block West of the Madison Library, Mary's great-grandmother, Maria joe Conrad Rief lived across from the library and she would visit quite frequently by herself, in those days there was no worry of a child walking 2 blocks . Her grandmother Sophia Rief or (Mau) as she was called, lived with her folks, as her husband had died. Santa Claus always came at Christmas to grandma (mem) Riefs. Great uncle Joe Fief liked to scare all the little kids. Joe Rief was Sophia Rief Dieters younger brother; he was not married at that time, teased the children and fed them black liquorice so they got dirty. They moved from there to a farm house 1 mile west, 1 south and a half west, Dad had broken his leg firing a horst auto Ray Dover’s farm. Dad was a paper hanger and painter then, now they call them interior decorators, he had a putty knife is his white overall and fell on it. He went to Omaha to University hospital to have it set, at the farm house we made home brew, Nebraska was a dry state for a while that's where we visited the tony and Minnie Wieland and children, a tree fell across the little stream that bordered our land the Wieland kids and wed cross on the log and go up the corn row to visit. They had an ice house and many times Minnie would make homemade ice cream. They farmed, had chickens where we lived and a large garden. We had a model T ford 1929 then, and my mother’s sister, Mary and Albert Amerin lived 6 miles west and 2 and half south of Madison on my grandpa (Joe Dieters) farm. My great grandpa John Kieter had built a house of red brick across the road. We would drive over there, many times but I remember the butchering, and we would cut up the lard the next day, it was mostly done in the fall and the fat would get hard and they would render it and sometimes my aunt Mary made homemade lye soap, in one of those large kettles out in the trees north of their house. They farmed 60 acres with the team of horses and had milk cows, chickens and pigs. It took a house and more in those days to drive 6 and half miles to town.
In 1930 we moved to a little house 1 block west of the public school (old grade school) I went to kindergarten and had to stay in the second night because I hit another child. Charlie Streets lived next door north, then I went to catholic school with Eva Sbiel, she was 2 grades ahead of me. We had chicken pox, mumps, and whooping cough when we lived here, Jean O'Shead lived across the street south, now she’s Mrs. tom Malone and lives in Colorado, Granny Mac an elderly lady lived next to Osheass we used to do errands for her. Then we moved to a house 3 blocks west and half south of main street, Tom Farrell’s lived to the south, he was the depot agent at the time, this is when I stared some of my tap dancing, by this time we had Marge, Helen, Konna and tom . My grandma dieter (mau) or Sophia died and we missed going out to the farm, my grandmother kept house for Irvon Fry a bachelor who lived on my great grandpa’s dieter’s farm, where my great grandpa built the brick house and his son Joe, my grandfather had the farm across the road. We used to spend time on both farms. The butchered at the Amerin (Joe Dieter farm across from baus. I always had hives there because I got into grandma strawberries , by grandma made her own dried beef cheese(yellow) and cottage cheese, butter and good jellies, the house had a brick basement and an indoor and outside door to the basement.
Then we moved out to Grandpa Joes farm it was vacant, my uncle Al and Mary had a farm sale and moved to Atchison, Kansas where his sister, Clara Rowlater had a creamery and ice cream parlor. They worked for her some years and then went to a larger creamery. We lived there at the farm about seven months and then moved back to Madison to a house 3 blocks from the high school, 2 west and 1 south. Bill Weiland owned the house across the street south of where we lived, finished seventh and eighth grade at St. Leonard’s and freshman year in Madison high school, and then we moved to Norfolk.
Here we had a small orchard across the alley; Joe Kelmer was our neighbors to the north, now we had Mary, marge, Helen Donna tom and Larry. Neal was born in this house and then we moved to a house in northeast Norfolk. In Madison we had a goat or 2 when we lived there while the Amerins lived on the farm they stopped every Sunday sometimes for dinner and sometimes just to visit. We always went to the Madison co fair and took picnic lunch for a Sunday or Saturday.
They had the horse races at the fair times also sully races and horse shows, we had soft ball, out at the fairgrounds in the summer, Eva Steit and I and some other friends Reana Schmit and we all went to the ballgames. In the house 3 blocks from the high school I was in 8th grade and started babysitting our neighbors, you didn't get much money then but it sure helped with clothes. I remember when I was in 6th grade I helped Mrs. Knobler, she lived across the street and people came there to stay when they were sick, in her front room, and I helped clean on Saturday and I got 25 cents ever Saturday and saved up to 2 dollars to buy a Shirley temple dress for 1.95. We also had roller skates and a bicycle, and lots of kids didn't have these things. At the last house in Madison we had apple trees and we finally butchered the goats and ground them for hamburger, my dad loved to hunt and he always got jack rabbits and we ground the meat and mixed it with pork sausage, was that ever good in the winters for hamburgers. I used to go ice skating with my dad; he was very good on skates. We had a CYO at St. Leonard’s for high school and I went there my 90th in Madison high. In the summer in Madison we always had Chattaqua every summer, games and crafts during the day and music at night, sometimes talents or one act plays, a picnic the last day that was at the old park, now housing for the elderly.
In grade school at Madison we always had a Christmas pageant, I remember one year Bob Brockhouse was St. Joseph and his beard caught on fire from a candle, lots of excitement.
In Norfolk we lived at 401 East Prospect, the children we4nt to Jefferson grade school and then started catholic school. Helen graduated Norfolk St. high in 1947. Donna, Larry, Neal, Dick, and Bob from Norfolk catholic. Mom had Dick in Norfolk and was sick so I stayed home to help. I baby sat for the Bud Carrich family across the street. Our neighbors were Lida and Art Lou 2 boys, Carrich 1 boy 3 girls, Dillon’s 2 girls 1 boy, tars 2 boys to the north Thadens 2 boys, not much east of us then as far as houses. Then we moved to 105 n 10th now the drive in bank, this is when the children started catholic school, they had to go to 6th street east of our house I was babysitting for Elizabeth west now and stayed from Monday evening till Friday when her husband came home, he traveled for Moormans Feed Co., he was regional manager for 6 states. The Weise’s lived next door, the wests moved to Omaha and I stayed and went to beauty school, the war was on and nobody liked to rent to people with kids so we moved to 103 n 3rd street upstairs, I started night classes at the business college, typing short hand. I finished my beauty work and took my exam in Lincoln, Elizabeth West went with me she was my model, and I got my certificate in 1947 and worked at Vera Lees shop on south 11th street.
The folks moved to an apartment on Norfolk ave. and I got a room close to my work on south 11th. Gordon and Margaret cooper place, Vera sold her house and moved to North 8th street. I was dating Webb Heckman and found an apartment near my folks down town and we were married may 1949. For entertainment in the summer we had a roller rink in a tent and we went skating nearly every night in the summer, the rink was at three different places, first it was about 6th and east Norfolk ave. and didn't go there too much, then at the corner of 6th and Madison where Sheers auto supply is now, then it moved to 3rd and Brausch that was a vacant lot then. A garage was built there now a handicap work place. Webb and I were married about 2 years and he got a divorce, I was working at a beauty shop on 104 S 5th I worked for Bertha Lederer, Gerry Hodkinson and then when she sold it. I started my own shop at 3rd and Norfolk ave., next to Henning’s bakery and Packup cleaners, Mr. Hunta and Joe French had a barber shop on main floor and I was upstairs and had a small apartment behind the shop.
Then I started dating John Jessen and we were married Feb 13, 1960 I continued the shop for awhile and then moved to Lincoln. I had started bowling when i stayed at Elizabeth West's in Norfolk, her brother a WWII vet who was under Patton's command , worked at the bowling alley . This was Buckhalts, 9 alleys upstairs south 3rd and Madison ave, there was a Hinky Dinky store there, my brother Larry worked there and went on to manage Hinky Dinky store. Larry went on to manage a store in David City and Grand Island, then bought a store in Sargent, Nebraska. My brother Dick managed a grocery store at North Platte and then moved to Thornton, Colorado in North Denver, and worked for Kings supers and still does night manager in 1999.
I was bowling Queen in 1960, the banquet was at the Hotel Madison, corner of 4th and North Norfolk ave, now an apartment building. I have bowled in 32 National tournaments East coast to West and in between, over 50 state tournaments.
We lived in Norfolk after John and I got married and then moved to Lincoln. After he got a job in Omaha we moved from Lincoln to Omaha and lived in a trailor house around 73rd and Blondo st. pat was born at Clarkson hospital in Omaha. Patrick and I moved back to Norfolk and got an apartment above the bar between 3rd and 4th on south side of norfolk ave. Irwen Klawoon had the bar, and we had the back apartment. I went back to work part time at the Binholds Beauty shop and I took Pat to Donna's (my sisters home) to baby sit. They moved from fort dodge to a farm south and west of norfolk and Swede went to work for joyce lumber co 6th and norfolk ave and John went to work for Smeal in Snyder. He traveled most of the time and we bought a house in Madison close to grocery store by the creek. John built his own hoist at the B.C. Builders in Battle Creek. Pat was 2 and a half and it took him about a year to build what he thought the customers wanted, (Smeal wouldn't change his) then Mike and Roger came to live with us. I had tom in 1964 when he was 2 we bought an acreage just out of Battle Creek, Pat was in 2nd grade. I think we moved that summer we added on to the house and had to rewire and sink a new well. Pat started 3rd grade in Battle Creek, Mike and Roger went to school here until John bought the Oak Creek ranch by Neligh, they went up there to help and started school at Elgin Pope John. Mike graduated from there and then married Pam Dietz from Oakdale. When John sold that he bought a Ranch south of O'neil near Chambers and moved all the cattle up there. It had a small house and a one room cabin, with outdoor outhouse. He bought the Marrs farm south and east of Battle Creek and plotted along the road in 5 acre lots, my brother Neal and Kay bought 10 acres. John built hoists to set for well drillers, library book drops, and Irrigation systems. We built a Butler building near the house 1 block west to paint because there wasn't room in town, he had built a building between the shop and the city building on the corner.
He bought land in Oklahoma, when he was building workover rigs and pump jacks to sell in the oil fields 10 acres. Mike was divorced and he moved to Oklahoma and Roger did also. Mike died in a one car accident in 1982, he is buried in Crofton by the Meyers, his mothers folks.
Roger went back to school and got his GED and went to Oklahoma and got his Engineer degree, he married a Mary, who had 2 boys , they were divorced in not much time, as he had become a Morman and this didn't work too well with Mary.
Then he married Nancy, who had a boy and girl, they were married many years , Tony was the girl and i don't remember the boys name. Roger had gone to work for Seagate a computer co and traveled alot, we lost the Manufacturing co. when John started building pump jacks for the oil fields and had to file bankrupcy in 1981 or 82.
Pat never married but had a daughter and will be 11 in 2006, she lives with her mother in Rock Springs Wyoming we get to see her in the summers, Pat had back surgery and is on disability SS.
Tom married Jenny Viscellio and was married a few years and Jenny didn't want to be married anymore, Tom took this very hard, he moved to San Francisco the summer he graduated from Lincoln, University of Nebraska.
Then he married Amy Sova in Italy in 2001