Halbur Family Pictures

The family posing for a picture on the front lawn on the farm near Eden, WI. About 1937 or 1938 Back row, l to r: Bernard, Rita, Mary, Greg, Sidonie, Norbert. Front: Henry (arm around Connie), Monica, and Bernadette

Family photo, about 1942. Back row, l to r: Bernard, Mary, Greg, Rita, Norbert. Front row: Bernadette, Henry, Connie, Sidonie, Monica

Family photo, about 1960. Back row: Norbert, Rita, Greg, Mary, Bernard. Front: Bernadette (S. Nerissa), Sidonie, Connie (S. Salesia), Henry, Monica (S. Lucina)

1985. Back row: Lucina, Connie, Rita, Norbert, Mary (married Name: Peshman), Greg, Bernard, Bill Steinhilber (Rita’s husband). Front: Priscilla (Greg’s wife), Mary (Norbert’s wife), Bernadette, Katherine (Bernard’s wife) Taken about 1984-85

Rita, Bill Steinhilber, S. Lucina, S. Connie, Mary Peshman, Bernard, Katherine, and exchange student from Herzewinkel, a town not far from Beelen, Westfalen, Germany

On farm near Butte, Nebraska. Probably Rita on stump with dog.

Bernard sitting on the hood of the family car. Butte, NE

Sidonie holding Rita, near Butte, NE

Rita and Bernard, about 1923

Rita. What was so interesting about her right ear?

This could be on the farm near Butte. It is definitely not the farmhouse in Wisconsin. The boy is too tall to be Bernard, but it could have been Uncle Johnnie. (There were 2 Uncle Johnnies. The first one died as a small child, and is buried in Halbur, Iowa. The second one lived with Henry & Sidonie quite a bit. He died as a young adult.)

Garden in back of house Is this the house in Nebraska, or is it the “old house” on the farm near Eden? I believe it is the latter, because there is another snapshot showing what appears to be the same garden and house, and 4 children are on the picture, one being Greg. Since Greg was born in Wisconsin, this has to be the farm near Eden. (There was an extra house on the farm near Eden. Even though it was not as old as the house we lived in, it had not been kept up as a house, and we always referred to it as the “old house”. We used it as a granary and a brooder house for the baby chicks. I think this is that house.)

Mary, Bernard, and Rita, in yard at home in Wisconsin.

Bernard, Hired girl (name?) holding Mary, Rita

Aerial view of the farm near Eden. Taken some time after 1949.

The 5 oldest children of H & S, in front of house in rural Fond du Lac County, near Eden. L to R: Norbert, Greg, Mary, Rita, Bernard

The 6 oldest children of H & S, Henry in background, Sidonie holding Bernadette. Front, L to R: Norbert, Mary, Rita, Bernard, and Greg

All 8 of us children attended Hillcrest School. However, Monica & Connie, the only ones still in school in 1946, transferred to St. Mary’s in Fond du Lac that year. At Hillcrest, all 8 grades were in one room. The school is mostly hidden by the car in this picture. The woodshed and the outdoor toilets are not in the picture. Here some of the kids are on top of teacher’s car, about 1928 or 1929. We think the teacher was Lillian Drehmel. We think the following are from our family: The boy sitting on top of the car, on our right, with his legs hanging over the edge, looks like Bernard. Sitting on the runner, with her feet touching the ground is Mary (Peshman). We have assigned numbers for each child, and have tentatively identified some of the children. The next picture shows the numbers written by the respective child.

Identification of some of the children at Hillcrest School, about 1928-1930: 1. ?? 2. Rose Hahn 3. Jack Meier 4. ?? 5. Mary Halbur (Peshman). 6. Bernard Halbur 7. Ed Hahn. 8. ?? The school was on UU, across from Empire Cemetery. Actually, it’s still there, but it has been converted into a home, including adding a second floor. The tree where we used to have the swing is still there!.

The classroom at Hillcrest School (Empire District 2). Five or 6 of us have attempted to identify the children and teacher on this picture. In most cases, our results are tentative. One of the “detectives” was Mary McCrory, who is on the picture, and who later taught there. But she was as unsure as the rest of us! Look at the next picture to see what we came up with.

For a tentative list of teachers at Hillcrest School, see the end of this caption. 1. Ken Goebel 2. ?? 3. Harold Goebel 4. Jack McCrory 5. ??? 6. Greg Halbur 7. Lorraine Rosenbaum 8. Leonard Goebel 9. June Rosenbaum 10. Rita Halbur 11. ?? 12. Betty McCrory 13. Tony or Lawrence Penoske (spelling?) 14. Jack Meier 15. Eleanor Pinno 16. ?? 17. ____ Daley? 18. Bernard Halbur 19. Dorothy Rosenbaum 20 Rose Hahn 21. ? 22. Mary McCrory 23. Donald Goebel or Gene McCrory 24. Dwyer Fitzgerald 25. Dorothy Goebel 26. Robert Goebel There are other families we know to have been in school at that time, but we cannot identify their pictures. Some of our “detectives” came up with this tentative list of teachers during the years our family went to Hillcrest School. 1927-1928 Margaret O’Laughlin (Rita remembers having her in Grade 1.) ; 1928-1930 Lillian Drehmel; 1931-1933 My O’Brien; 1934-1936 Helen Hayden (Norbert remembers having her in 3rd & 4th grade); 1936-1941 Leo Murphy; 1941-1945 Mary McCrory; 1945-1946 Pearl Lopez; later: Lucille Burkhardt and Margie Schaefer.

Mary with Trixie

Bernadette, Monica, and Connie with family dog, probably Shep (Trixie’s son)

One of us in the horse barn doorway.

Norbert with crutches, and his friend Shep. At threshing time, when Norbert would be gone days at a time, Shep could not be consoled. He cried like a human. One year Norbert was conveniently laid up (broken leg, I believe) at threshing time! As long as he was laid up, he had his tonsils removed. A couch was placed in the dining room where he could lie in his misery, and not miss a thing. Anyone going from the kitchen to the parlor had to pass poor Norbert. Bernard was already gone from home, but he popped in occasionally. Once when he was going past Norbert, the latter in his weakened condition, managed to lift a crutch and crack Bernard across the chins!

Connie with Tippie

Family of George Henry Halbur & Sidonie Ertz, with company. Under the maple tree on a Sunday afternoon in summer.

Norbert, Greg, and Bernard as young men.

In front of the house in rural Eden, WI. Not sure who the child is.

Haying on the farm near Eden, WI

The farmyard on the farm near Eden, after the blizzard of 1947

Mary Birschbach Halbur (Norbert’s wife) and Rita Halbur Steinhilber, at a family get-together in Connie’s place on Fairview Ave., Milwaukee, about 1999.

Katherine Gindt Halbur, Bernard, and Mary Halbur Peshman, at the same family get-together.

Norbert, Priscilla Adelmeyer Halbur, and S. Lucina.

Jeannette Ertz Weske, foreground, Mary Birschbach Halbur.

Pictures of the Family of Henry Halbur and Sidonie Ertz