Frank Hiebsch was born in Tyssa, Austria on April 5, 1881. He
came to America when he was 12 (1893) settling in
Dorchester area. Frank married Ann McCoy (born April 15, 1885) in
1905. The couple lived in Westboro where he was employed.
They had two daughters, Ruth and Bertha Jeanne. Ann died in 1911.
Frank returned to Dorchester where he was made manager of the
Dorchester Cooperative.
After Ann died, Frank and his little girls lived above the Co-op.
His parents, Vincent and Veronika, left their farm and came to live with
Frank and help raise the girls. My Grandma (Bert) told us how her
Grandma (Veronika) would take her for a walk across Main Street to
the railroad tracks, where she would look North and she would softly
cry. My Grandma said she didn't understand at the time, but when
she was older she figured out that Veronika was looking toward the farm
they left behind.
Frank married Clara Schmitt (born March 28, 1887) on January 9, 1919.
He resigned his position at the cooperative in 1922 and became a
cashier at the Dorchester State Bank, later becoming president. He
served as bank director from 1915 to 1962. He was also treasurer of St.
Louis Church for 40 years.
My Grandma shared a story from her childhood about her father:
When he would come home from the bank in the evening, he would get a
beer mug and crack a raw egg into the bottom of the glass, pouring a
beer on top of it. Then he would take it out to the garden and
tend to his plants while he sipped his beer. My Grandma said she
and her sister and sometimes friends would quietly follow him, watching
him drink the beer. They really wanted to see him down the raw
egg. She said they never did catch the egg going down. They would lose interest and
glance back to find that the glass was empty.
When Frank was older he had to move into a nursing home for care.
Clara, who didn't need to be in a home, elected to move in as well so
they could stay together. She died first on September 25, 1969.
Frank died on February 16, 1972. They are buried at in the
Dorchester Cemetery. (Which is appropriate because I've seen some
records that Frank was on the board when they created that cemetery in
the 1920s.)
Eric Elfner
January 14, 2009 (90 years and 5 days after Frank and Clara were
married.)
The information on this page comes from family stories and a website
from the Clark County Library (http://wvls.lib.wi.us/ClarkCounty/mayville/families/JohnsonH.htm
- search for Hiebsch.)