William Hefflinger

William, or Bill as all his friends called him, was born December 1, 1873, in Harrison Township, Henry County, Ohio, to John and Columbia Riggs Hefflinger. He was the fifth child in a family of thirteen children.

He, like his brothers and sisters, worked hard on the farm and when time permitted attended Lemert School on Sand Ridge Road, which was mostly in the winter months. The family also attended the E.U.B. Sunday School and Church.

At the age of seventeen he worked at the Shunk Tile Mill, owned by Jim Fiser, later Dr. James Fiser. He got 50c a day handling hot tile bare-handed. One of the first things he got was a new bicycle and he rode it back and forth to work. Later he worked for Mr. Lighthiser and still later Mr. Spaford.

Then he and his brother, Joe, bought his father's farm for a few years until Joe's boys were bigger. Bill sold out to Joe and Bill went back and got a job as hired man for Charlie Crawford and worked there until he married.

On October 8, 1908, he married Margaret "Sis" Smith. He bought her father's farm on old McClure Road now County Road P and corner of state route 109, and he and her with her little girl, Luella, by a previous marriage who was three years old on October 5, started housekeeping there. Luella was just like his own daughter and he was her Dad. Then one year later on September 7, 1909, Bill and Sis got their second daughter, Helen, and after a few years had gone by still a third daughter on October 10, 1916, Maisie Columbia.

Bill farmed 100 acres of ground with three horses. He got up very early both summer and winter as there was always chores to do and everyone pitched in.

In winter he always had a big trap line and I know he got many, many furs. He always walked; then he would be ready to cut wood in the big woods at Charlie Crawford's and sometimes James would help when he wasn't in school. Dad got firewood then from Charlie.

When it was butchering time, he and Mom always exchanged help with his brothers and friends and late in the day Dad would render the lard. He was never too busy to help some one who needed help.

[Photo, p. 242b] Lemert School No. 8 on Sandridge Rd., Harrison Twp. - where the John Hefflinger children attended school 1894-1895.

Summertime was grain time and he along with a group called a threshing ring "owned shares" and a threshing machine and big steam engine. Then they would go from farm to farm threshing first the wheat and then the oats.

Bill and his brothers took their teams and wagons and hauled stone for the first stone roads being built, and he also did team grade work on the river road now state route 110.

Mom, besides doing house work, set her own incubator and raised her own chickens. First it was Barred Rocks, then later years she bought Brown Leghorn chickens. She was always busy doing things - baking cookies, pies, sewing for the girls, churning butter, and making part of our bread. She always did a lot of canning. When graintime came, she would go out and drive the horse on the binder for Dad and he would shock the grain. In the fall they all went out and husked the standing corn by hand, and I would sit in the corner of the wagon box. Once in a while they would find a red ear of corn and they would give that to me to play with.

In winter I can remember Dad playing Mumble Peg with the girls; all played Dominos, and I would sit on his lap. Mom would fix us pop-corn; Dad would bring in apples from the apple pit where they were stored in the ground under the straw and dirt so they didn't freeze. That's how he kept our potatoes as we had no cellar.

[Photo, p. 243] Bob Heft shaking Johnny Carson’s hand.

Those apples tasted good around a hard-coal stove, and the pop-corn did, too. Mom heated flat irons for wrapping-up to put in the beds to keep our feet warm.

In 1924 Dad and Mom decided to move to Napoleon, so Dad had a farm sale. He had had the same three horses all these years and he felt bad to part with them.

In Napoleon we stayed three and one-half years and back to the farm we came. But in that time sister Helen who was through one year of high school passed away before her seventeenth birthday on July 3, 1927.

Dad still worked a while in town and drove back and forth to the farm. Mom was sick and on January 4, 1930, Mom passed away.

Soon after Dad started working on the farm again as hired man for Charlie Bauman farming and feeding cattle and hogs. He worked there for several years until Charlie sold out and moved to Napoleon.

Dad got a job then with Melvin Bauman and still worked on the farm until ill health overtook him.

He always loved the woods and hunting, so he would take his two dogs and they would go to the woods and he would enjoy himself.

His door had always been open to his friends and relation. He raised a granddaughter Helen Jeanette until she was fourteen, then she passed away; there were many who came for long visits.

He was a member of Harrison Grange 151, and helped move the present building down from Malinta and put in the foundation blocks. He attended Sharon Sunday School and Church.

Dad passed away March 23, 1947, at the age of 73 years, and 4 months. My family and I always lived with him.

Submitted by Maisie Columbia Corwin