Family Building Begins 1915

Family Building Begins -1915

Bill and Edna had very similar upbringings.  Edna's two sisters ((Mable and Bess) and her brother (Tobe) were very close  and supported each other during their adult years.  Tobe did not marry while the  three sisters all married and raised families.  A fun loving spirit was part of Trowbridge family life.  Tobe and Edna both had the gift of humor. The Trowbridge farm was the main gathering place for celebrating special events.  With the  15 Sept 1915 wedding, Bill took a wife and got adopted into the Trowbridge family. 

The family building cycle started up again just like it had for generations one (Henry/Sarah) and two (William Albert/Alta/Daisy).  Kids were born, kids grew up on the farm, kids worked in the fields, played in the barn, fed the animals, and walked through the woods to Iddles School.  For the 3rd generation there were many advances.  Gas powered vehicles, electricity, many many household conveniences, and all the modern stuff in town (South Haven).

Bill and Edna worked hard and became valued community members.  Close relationships were established with nearby farm families that lasted throughout the rest of their life.  Edna was very fond of children.  This fact was attested to by my mother June when she sent me a 50th birthday card on 7-11-1990, "When we were coming home from the hospital, Grandma Edna held you and put you up to the window at every house we passed so all of the neighbors could see our new beautiful baby."  Edna must have been very excited when my Dad Albert arrived 17 Dec 1916.  Below are Bill and Edna's children.

• Albert Wayne 17Dec1916/2Dec2008
• Kenneth McKinley 28Nov1919/1954
• Doris Mae (Adkin) 6Nov1921/4Feb2009
• Thomas Edward 10Dec1923/21Oct2005
• Janet Joyce (Brown) 8Jan1928
• William Douglas 5 Feb1936/30May2009 

Remember to eat your fruit,

Martin Overhiser (first grand child of Bill and Edna Overhiser)

At The Farm November 4, 2010

The election has come and gone and all my brother Allen (current Township Supervisor) needed to do was vote.  The Township Clerk's job was held for 69 years by grandpa Bill (1935-64), our dad Albert (1964-88) and then Allen (1988-2004).  Because this is a part time job, voter registration was housed in the enclosed front porch of Bill and Edna's house and the house that Allan and I lived in while growing up.  One ballot issue in Casco Township this year was the passage of a park millage.  The Township has just completed purchasing a 9 acre parcel on Blue Star Highway with 300' of frontage on Lake Michigan.

Much of the farm has been put to bed for the winter but trimming has begun and will continue until next spring.  The kids are busy in school and with sports.  Aaron played tight end for the Fennville 7-8th grade football team (4-2).  He caught several passes until he had surgery on his right thumb.  He plans to play basketball as soon as the cast comes off in a couple of weeks.

Bill and Edna Takeover

Bill and Edna Takeover

Prior to his dad's death Bill (William McKinley Overhiser 25Dec1896/27Dec1969) had planned on attending Purdue University and becoming an engineer.  Then Albert died in May, Bill graduated in June, and married Edna (Edna Mildred Trowbridge 20Sept1895/7Dec1991) on September 15, 1915.  The wedding was at the Trowbridge home on Phoenix Road east of South Haven.  That would be the north side of the road on the east side of the "Trowbridge Flats".  

The popular Reverend W. N. Breidenstein performed the ceremony.  He was a United Brethren pastor at both East and West Casco.  Edna's sister Mable and her husband Burrell Wenban were witnesses.  From old photos it appears that Bill's side of the family did not attend.  Bill had aunts, uncles and cousins.  So why they were not in photos is a mystery.

Sometime after the wedding Daisy (Bill's mother) moved to Kalamazoo.  On February 25, 1916 Daisy signed her interest to the farm over to Bill and Edna for $3,000.  We have the real estate document signed by Daisy and notarized in Los Angeles, as she must have been touring the west coast.  Daisy lived in Kalamazoo until her last few years when she moved back to the farm because of her dementia.  Many family stories confirm that Daisy held a grudge against Edan for taking her only son.  However, Daisy did make trips to the farm when children started arriving.

Bill and Edna became the 3rd generation farmers and made a great team.  Edna was always the more social and outgoing.  She knew how to run a household from her upbringing and her work at local resorts.  Bill knew about running a fruit farm.  His dad had replanted orchards after the 1906 killing freeze so the farm was again productive.  The marketing of fruit was changing in those days.  Buyers from the Chicago commission houses still made farm visits to obtain signed contracts for fruit.  In 1913 the Fruit Exchange was organized in South Haven.  So Bill did take some fruit to the Exchange.  A packing fee was charged plus a 5% commission on the sale of the fruit.  The rail road connection provided access to the established Chicago market as well as the rest of the Midwest.  The Exchange also sold farm supplies, spray materials, feed and seed to the area farmers.

Kids start arriving in the next episode.  Until then stay fit.

Martin Overhiser (first grand child of Bill and Edna)

At The Farm

October 6, 2010

The current Overhiser farm family (5th generation) is very busy with school activities.  Aaron is playing football, Alex and Adam are playing soccer and Kelsy and Kortny are playing volleyball.  Allan and his workers will complete the apple picking this week and start fall cleanup.  This involves storing boxes, crates and ladders.  The equipment and containers will be repaired and stored for the winter.  You can get apples and cider at the retail building daily through Halloween (Sunday Oct 31).  In November they will be open on weekends (Nov 6/7, 13/14 and 20/21) prior to Thanksgiving.