Climbing the Mountain page 6 Reminiscences of Margaret Wuerflein Klammer (1891-1985) Written in 1976, her 85th year Go to Beginning Go to Ending Return to Home page

Things became a little confused at this point...everybody talking English. After going through customs a young guide who spoke a very broken German took us to the train station and put us on the train for Chicago. I never forgot what a time he had trying to make us understand that he was supposed to be paid for his job...It seemed ages since we had left home, and I tell you, it is quite a shock to step off a German ship into New York harbor, not knowing any English. We did see the Statue of Liberty as we passed by. Now we were tired and on the way to Chicago. I don't know where we got food, but we slept in the seat as good as we could, and it took us a night and a day. When we got to Chicago the train that was to take us to Kiester, Minn. had left so we had to wait till the next evening and spent all day Sunday at the depot there. That is where I ate my first banana that I liked very much. Next morning we arrived at Mason City, Iowa. There the train stopped for breakfast and we could buy a big tin cup of coffee and two doughnuts for five cents, tin cup included. Today you would pay at least fifty cents. Arriving at Kiester my brothers were there to greet us and took us to the home of my sister where we stayed; at least, my mother stayed there, but I soon had to go to work and from then on it was one place after another to help out longer or shorter periods, at first for fifty cents a week. I worked in this way for eight years and the highest pay I ever got was $5.00 a week. Nowadays young people wouldn't even look at that. Once I told one of my grandchildren about this and she said, "Grandma, why were you so dumb?" At first I worked a couple of weeks for a farmer across the hill from my sister's place and I was so homesick I climbed the 90 foot windmill to look over to my sister's place. For years I was so very homesick but life went on and by and by I learned the language, also to read and write and so was more able to get around. My brother George gave me much good advice. The years passed by, some good, some bad, and I went down into Iowa to help out at my sister-in-law's brother...Spirit Lake...what memories I have of you: I spent a hectic year there. Blessed be the memory of a Mrs. Stillwell, who took a stranger in and was very kind: I also met young people but due to my broken English, I couldn't enjoy it so much. I did go to the Lutheran Church, but it seemed they were all old people, mostly farmers...a small congregation...and just going to church about every three weeks I did not get to know them much. The minister had two other congregations to serve, Estherville and Grattinger. Through a friend I got a job in Estherville with a lawyer's family by the name of Alfred Rhodes. I still love to think of her, as she got me to read good books and allowed me to read her magazines. So my poor speech improved and I learned a lot. Later folks who didn't know I had come from Germany couldn't believe I had learned a perfect English! I stayed there two years and then my brother Hans wanted me to come to Montana, so I went up to Kiester to tell my mother and brother Henry. Of course, my mother wouldn't hear of it. Henry who had been out there once told me of conditions there, so I listened to him and stayed, but now I had to find another job.