What kind of person was an immigrant pioneer who came to America and then crossed the country to the West to find a place he could call home? Fred Schindler, was a pioneer who settled for a time in the Herald area. Here is his story, as written by his family.
Fred Schindler was born in Kantonbern, Switzerland, May 28, 1868. As a young man he developed many interests, one was singing and yodeling at home gatherings. He attended country dances which were the polkas and waltzes. Once a month in the summer, but more often in the winter, public dances were regulated by the Government, there were no dancing during the Christmas season until after January 2nd, nor during holidays, Lent or Easter, but they could have on Sunday afternoons.
Market day was once a week in every village and a dance would be held in the evening. They would buy their fruits and farm products and meats, but most of the time they would spend the day eating and visiting with old friends. Fred would go on hiking parties in the Alps and stopped at some friends home for whip cream, bread, and cheese. One of his favorite sports was wrestling. They would hold wrestling matches in the various villages, which were usually four to six miles apart.
Fred’s Father was a farmer, had cows, goats, and calves. After he had fattened them he would sell them instead of selling milk, In the winter months they would grub stumps and plant a tree wherever one was cut down. The stump wood and brush were stacked in a way that would create a draft through the pile and it would smolder for a week…the results would be charcoal, then they would sell it to the near by manufactures. Fred’s uncles were all farmers…
Fred came to the United States in 1889, when he was nineteen. He first went to Indiana, being that he had relatives there, and went to work for them. From 1890, until 1893, he worked in Wisconsin as a logger in the winter, harvested fields in the summer in Minnesota and South Dakota. One winter he tried out his new English on some of the loggers, they began to howl with laughter as it didn’t sound like English but Swedish!
Fred Married Johanna Rogmans in 1893. They had a homestead in Minnesota, Canada, and Galt, California; lived there [Galt] between 1913 to 1917; he had a sister, Roseta Schindler Brand living in Santa Rosa, California. During these [homestead] years they had nine children. Elizabeth (Nadine [Yelding’s] mother) was born in Randall, Minnesota. She was very industrious and helpful, doing many outdoor chores, such as milking, working in the fields. She had a good disposition, easily managed, rather quiet, but happy. This description of Elizabeth was a direct quote from her father, Fred, when his Grandson, John Fredrick Alworth, wanted to know what type of a girl that his mother was as a child
Fred brought his family to Fallon, Nevada in 1917, to homestead, he was 49 years old. Even though he was in his early 50’s and had lost a leg from blood poisoning after having had stepped on a rusty nail, he managed to take this arid land and turn it into an oasis. He built their home, planted trees, and had a fruit orchard. Sowed acres of alfalfa, had a huge truck garden of every vegetable imaginable.
Raised pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, and mules, but mainly he was a Dairy Farmer, had many cows on his spread. He had a mean looking bull, which we appreciated, stayed far away.
This pioneer from Switzerland had lead a hard, vigorous life, but he always remained young in spirit. In his 80’s, he still was singing, yodeling, and playing the accordion of his youth, but sometimes a look would appear in his steel blue eyes of far away places, of lush green valleys lying snugly below the Swiss Alps and the old yearning would swell up within him to see his homeland once more. He never did as shortly on his return trip from deer hunting, he contacted pneumonia and passed away the 11th of December 1951.
The Galt Area Historical Society offers a book of our local history called Tapestry. Click here for more information.
Last edited 27 February, 2005
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