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Ralph Heiden - Many people mentioned the Christmas Eve’s at Grandma and
Grandpa’s house. What do you remember about those parties?
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - After church everybody would come over and people would be
all over the house, sitting in the bedrooms and everywhere. There
were so many people in the house all at once on that night!
 Mildred (Roggerman) Heiden - I used to wonder why Grandma
(right holding Bruce Eipperle) would set quietly in the
background during those parties. Well, after I had all my children
and grandchildren home at once, I could begin to understand. It gets
so hectic.
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - It got to be too much. Pa went down to the basement one time
and put an extra brace under the floor because he was afraid that so
many people being there at once would collapse the floor.
 Wilma (Heiden) Bicking - The men used to try to play cards out in the dining room and
the kids would race around the whole house. They would tear around
that table. You could just see Pa get frustrated but he never said
anything.
Mary Lou (Heiden) Opfermann - I remember Helen saying that the next morning she would
find half-eaten sandwiches down beneath the furniture.
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - There would be food everywhere and wrapping paper wadded all
over the place.
Christmas Day was never anything special for us. People would go to
the other side of their families for visits. We would be all by
ourselves, cleaning up the mess and returning chairs we borrowed
from the church.
Mary Lou (Heiden) Opfermann - I remember Grandpa got plenty of shirts, pipes and
tobacco for presents at Christmas.
 Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - Ma would sit there in the living room and unwrap her gifts.
She and Pa both got a present from everybody who came. The children
all drew names and then got a present from whoever picked their
name. Sometimes your godparent gave you a present too.
We were lucky, we got an orange and some candy from church.
Hilda
and Carl
stood up for me so they would each give me a present and
that was about it. Helma (Heiden) Nickel - I had seven godchildren to buy presents for each year. Five
girls and two boys.
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - I remember one time Ma and Pa gave me a harmonica for
Christmas.
Helma (Heiden) Nickel - When we were young, we would usually get something like a
sled or a wagon for all the brothers and sisters to use.
 Ralph Heiden - Everyone would go to the service at
St
Matthew Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve. The kids were part of a Christmas pageant
play. What do you remember about those?
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - Yeah, my heart was always beating like crazy before we had
to stand up in front of everyone and speak our lines. I was so
scared to do that sometimes.
Helma (Heiden) Nickel - I remember when they had the real candles on the tree in the
church. Carl Miller stood nearby with a fishing pole that had a wet
sponge attached to it. He was supposed to put the candles out when
they burned down close to the tree.
Wilma (Heiden) Bicking - We used to have candles on the tree at home too but Pa would
never allow us to light them.
Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - Pa was always concerned about fires in the house. |
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Ralph Heiden - Did the preachers used to come over to the house often?
Helma (Heiden) Nickel - That one preacher we had liked to play horseshoes.
Bidlesbocker was his name. He was the one who baptized me.
 Norma "Jeanie" Heiden -
Pastor Thomas used to come over after Ma had died. He would
sit there while we were playing cards and he’d say, “I thought you’d
have a Budweiser out by now.” So, we would go and get him one and
he’d have it with us.
Wilma (Heiden) Bicking - Every so often, you were expected to have the preacher over
for a meal because they didn’t get much pay.
Helma (Heiden) Nickel - If you dug potatoes or had vegetables, you would drop some
off at the parsonage to help them out too.
Helma (Heiden) Nickel - The parsonage was there on Ida Maybee Road across from
Seibarth’s. We used to go there for Catechism lessons before we were
confirmed.
Mary Lou (Heiden) Opfermann - We had to sit in the living room and take the lessons. It
was another “quiet” house. |
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 Over
the years, we have also received written memories and
remembrances about this person or topic from various family
members. |
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 Marie
(Heiden) Tommelein - The whole family "always"
attended church together on Sunday with Grandpa inviting several
friends, family, etc. to share Sunday dinner afterwards. |
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 Eva
(Berns) McCarthy) - We also enjoyed going there for
Sunday dinners. I remember and liked that they always set their
table so formal with white table cloth, etc. Grandma had a good
sense of humor. I believe all of us will relate to the Heiden
Reunions and the Christmas Eve parties! |
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 Laura
(Berns) Shoemaker - I
always remember Easter Sundays. All of the adults went to church
as there was communion (which only happened 4 times a year
then). All of us kids were left at Grandma's with Aunt Helen. We
would all bring Easter Eggs and eat them. We always had to play
outside. It was so much fun with all the cousins.
I also remember everyone going
there after church on Christmas Eve and had ground bologna and
chicken sandwiches. |
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Pictured
is what was called a cassette tape back in pre-digital
times.
Wilma, Jeanie, Wm Frank, Helma & Marie were
children of 
