The LIERMANN Family

George II & Louisa Liermann

In 193 1, George 11 and his wife celebrated their 50th Golden Wedding anniversary. They had a family get-together and George gave Title to their farm to his son, George (Bud) III and his wife Bertha. Title to their farm to his daughter Matilda (Tilly) and her husband, Newton Gann. Title to her farm to his daughter Magdalena (Maggie). Title to the Bakery-Buggie building to his son Lawrence and wife, Emily Beatrice, and his daughter Maude May. Title to the Building on 9th Street was retained. George II died 1938, Louisa died 1961 at age 101. They are buried in the Liermann family plot on the very center of the old Civil War Cemetery on North Michigan.

Submitted by L.L. Liermann
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, pg 226.

Lawrence Leonard Liermann Jr.

Lawrence Leonard Liermann, Jr. of 1516 Millington Street, Winfield, was born June 29, 1925. He married Selma M. Raasch February 17, 1978. 1 grew up in a neighborhood where eventually there would be six or seven families all living in the same house for over fifty years. I attended Lowell Grade School and Winfield High School, graduating class of St. Johns College, Winfield. Repaired shoes for my dad for two years, and in 1950, hired in at Boeing airplane Co. Wichita. I missed four lay-off's by about a week each time. After twenty years Boeing laid off 100,000 employees, Herb Hawk worked in the office, said just the paper work took two years. I was laid off and recalled nine months later but decided not to return (both of my parents had recently died) and I had inherited thefamily home. Cessna built small airplanes at Strother Field. After three years I got on there. On the day they reopened the CEO died and I worked under less than favorable conditions for twelve years. I spent twenty-four years building and modifying airplanes before I received $4.00 an hour. General Dynamics bought Cessna and I wound up as the only employee in bottom pay grade (105,000 employees). I declined to stay and retired before I could collect my pensions. Boeing, twenty years, $2.00 a day, and Cessna, twelve years, $6.00.

In 1978, 1 married Selma M. Raasch. In 1986, she had two strokes and remains partially paralyzed. A week after I retired 1987, I joined a group called Life/Science. We have twenty rules, but the most important is eat nothing cooked. After a three year struggle, I am at about 90% no cooked food. My grandmother lived to 101. I hope to live to be 135. For twenty years I have been teaching myself to write. To be a good writer, you must be a good listener.

Perhaps you would be interested in some of the tales told by the "old timers" in rest homes, hospitals, friendship meals, neighbors, and etc.

Submitted by L.L. Liermann Jr.
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, pg 226.

Lawrence Leonard Liermann Sr.

Lawrence was the second son of George II and Louisa Liermann. He was born November 20, 1895, died in September 1969. He married Emily Beatrice Fulcher April 15, 1922. For six generations the first son had been named George. Lawrence was the last of six children. Magdalena (1 88 1) (Maggie), Matilda (TiUy), George III (Bud), Maude, Minnie and Lawrence (1895). When Lawrence was born, at home, the doctor told Louisa (age 45) that something had gone wrong. She had six months to live. Minnie, age three, died January 1895 from lack of breath disease. The other five children helped Louisa celebrate her 100th birthday.

Lawrence's Dad, George II married Louisa Cashin 1881, George II's brother Will Lierman married Louisa's sister, Nettie Cash, and both families lived next to each other for sixty years at Elizabeth and John Streets.

Since he was the baby, and the others had already finished grade school at Webster, when Lawrence started first grade (1901), he had to walk the entire one-half mile in the mud and snow alone. Lawrence got himself a cow route. He escorted the milk cows from Main and 12th Street, out to the day pasture east of Black Crook Creek (Charles Cloud on the north side and Gntebury Village south side). In the evening, he would open the gate. The herd had a pecking order with the lead "senior" milk cow leading the way west on 12th Street. Each cow knowing its own barn and would turn in to be milked. Lawrence loved to fish but he was born too late. With the discovery of oil the good fishing was gone. He remembered how it was inthe early days when "old man" Chase ran a thrashing crew. In those days Winfield had no bridge sough on the Walnut River. Broadway was the road into town. Just ford the river and come on to town. When they finally got a bridge, years later, it was built a one-half mile west. When it was too wet to thrash, "old man" Chase would get out his fish seine. It had a six foot fence post on one end. Usually "Oat" Lumbert, local Blacksmith, was chosen to hold anchor while the entire thrashing crew took fifty yards of seine out into the Walnut River and made several sweeps. People came miles with tubs, Lh pans, buckets, etc. to get fish and no one went away without any. At home (Elizabeth and Hackney) the outhouse was at the end of a long grape-vine covered tunnel where Lawrence could take a shower bath when it rained. Early in life, he developed a life-long love of hunting and fishing. Shells cost money so he sold rabbits to Pete Mitchler's Butcher shop. The rabbits too shot up to sell were skinned and left for the chickens. Later the Rabbit bones were run through a corn shelter, or bone grinder. The chickens fought for the bone meal. He grew up on squirrels, chickens, rabbits, ducks, prairie chickens, and Quail. He ate fish every way they could be cooked.

By age thirteen, (1908) he had finished the eighth grade, and his schooling. His dad was "land lord" over a dozen farms in Cowley County. Every two months the buggy was hitched to make rent rounds. The farthest farm was the Kadau farm, eight miles east of Atlanta on Grouse Creek. No stone arch b6dges, yet, north of Cambridge. It was necessary to ford Grouse Creek ten times (five going and five returning) Lawrence went along on many of these all day buggy trips. About 1911, Augustus Kadau decided to move to Winfield. Magdalena (Maggie, Lawrence's sister took over management of the farm). A. Kadau tried his hand at repairing shoes in the buggy building.

George II had his harness factory on 9th Street (now Herlocker, Roberts, and St. Peter Attorneys) but, in back across ie alley was a double building. In the east side Lawrence's sister, Maude, and her husband, Ross May, ran a bakery. The Dodge brothers built buggies until about 1911 when they went into the automobile business. George II used the west side of the building for a display room for twelve different types of buggies. Will Liermann, George II's brother, was to uncrate the buggies, assemble them - twelve different models - and move them in and out. Lawrence and his brother George III (Bud) and three sisters Matilda (Tihy), Maude, and Maggie occasionally took turns acting as sales clerks. If a sale was to be made, a door bell button in the back was pushed and Daddy would come across the alley and conclude the buggy sale. Lawrence worked for A. Kadau in his boot repair business for two years. In 1913 Kadau moved to a nearby farm. Lawrence, then eighteen, decided to go into business for himself. George II decided to retire. Wm. Newton (Hospital) retired and gave his harness business to his two employees. They got involved with a girl and thought it best to leave town, the "Newton" business sold at sheriffs' sale. Lawrence bought it, to the bare walls, and everything wound up in the old "buggy" building. The "old" White Lily cafe was just across the alley west. It had a sign in early days (1900's) beans f ive cents a bowl. It is better to go to bed hungry than to wake up in debt.

1913 was the year Twigg went crazy and shot into the trowd at 9th and Main. Some of the buckshot lodged in the lmnt of the 9th Street building and could be seen until the Law firm put on the modern front.

In 1916, Lawrence got aquainted with Freemont Houston, a third generation mountain man who had lost parts of several fingers to muzzle-loading shot guns. Freemont had made his living by shooting wild game for shipping back east to Chicago fancy restaurants. J. P. Baden shipped it by the barrel from his store at 8th and Main (now 800 Main Place). When J.P. Baden died Pete Mitchier continued buying "target shot" rabbits and squirrels. Lawrence got good money, fifteen cents for a dressed rabbit. Later in the 30's he even sold Red Grantham some crows and Red said they sold just fine.

For several years, Lawrence ran his harness and leather repair shop in the west side while sister, Maude and husband, ran the May Bakery in the east half. In 1918, Lawrence got drafted, so his dad, George II, came out of retirement to run the shop until March 1919 when his son was discharged from the Navy.

Probably the last victim of the "flu" epidemic of 1918 was Maude's husband, Ross May. He died in 1920. The May Bakery was sold to the Dentons, and moved. Frick-Reid oil well supplies moved in until Jones-Laughlin bought them out. Maude and ten year old daughter, Louise (Mrs Beryle Swanholt), moved back home.

Lawrence operated his harness shop until his marriage in 1922. That year Dean Robinson hired in as a shoe repairman. Dean's grandfather had owned the ground on the west side of tunnel mill dam, also the pecan grove south of the fair grounds. Dean Robinson married Vina Bookwalter in 1922. The name was now changed to Liermanns Harness and Shoe Repair on East 10th, Winfield. Dean Robinson's wife, Vina, had been three years old when the Bookwalter family moved to 1405 Manning in 1908. Dean moved in with his wife's folks, then both of her parents died and finally Dean passed away. Vina still lives at the home. Eighty-two years continuously living in the same home, perhaps a record for Winfield. Although Gertrude Hankins lived at 3 1 0 East I I th almost eighty years, and Louisa Liermann lived at Hackney and Elizabeth for eightyone years. Lawrence and Bea built a new home at 1516 Millington Street.

Down at the shop the cash register was built about 1910. There was no phone, not until 1961 when Alex, his son-in-law bought him out and modernized.

Lawrence joined the American Legion, Odd Fellows and Masonic Lodge, fifty year member of each. He worked six days, eight to five, and until eight Saturday night. and went hunting on Sundays. He did not attend church.

Freemont Houston and Lawrence loved to fish, so one year, he and Lawrence went fishing thirteen straight weeks and were rained out twelve of the thirteen times. At that time crows were a nuisance so a bounty was paid, they made enough to buy shells. Lawrence could sew leather using a waxed-end awl and two needles. He learned to use a "sailors Palm" working with canvass at an equipment depot in France in World War I. Lawrence could sew "rounds", no sharp leather edges, on bridles. His f iling system was a hook. One year, during the depression, his profit was the 2% discount for payment within ten days.

Fremont died about 1938, so Lawrence found a new hunting partner, Lou Beltz. Lou put out fifty wheat crops and only lost two. When his fifty-first was lost to flood, near Magnolia Ranch ten miles east of Hackney, he retired.

In the back of Lawrence's shop was a pot bellied stove. Several young high school boys would occasionally eat dinner there. It became a favorite spot for loafers. Occasionally a husband and wife would come to town, both go take care of business and meet at Liermann's stove before going back out to the farm. Lawrence knew most of the farmers within thirty miles and had a hundred offers to come out and hunt and fish. Gradually, the farmers died, the widows moved to town and "No Hunting" signs appeared.

Lou Beltz preferred hunting crows. You could build a blind and set on a shell box. Expenses could be made by collecting the bounty paid for crows. Now crows are an endangered species. Lou's favorite chair by the old pot-bellied stove, was an old wicker rocker. Eventually, his 250 pounds broke it down and the rockers were removed. This made it lower but Lou thought it was still comfortable. Lawrence began sawing off one-fourth inch on each leg and finally Lou was sitting six inches off the floor. He never did catch on.

Times were tough during the depression years. People would leave one shoe to be fixed and either go barefoot or borrow a cast off leather house slipper to wear while it was being fixed.

By 1933, there were four children at home. Nancy, Leonard (Sonny), Harry, and Rosemary. School kids went home at noon for dinner so Lawrence walked home and the whole family had dinner together. Lawrence noticed a tiny hedge tree near the alley between 1 1 th and 12th Street on the east side of Millington Street which was as thick as his wrist, in 1922, when he first started walking home at noon. Hedge trees grow slowly. Sixty-eight years later (1 990) it measures ten and one-half feet around at eye level and may well be the biggest hedge tree in town.

About 1933, the shoe repair shop moved to 1008 Main Street right across the street from the old Zimm Theater where Mr. Layton, next door neighbor, sold popcorn outside. Later this Zimm was replaced by Fox Cinema II.

The McConn sisters ran their bakery in the buggy-bakery building for a number of years. During World War II Ollie McConn was bookkeeper and paid cash, probably she never gave or took a receipt in her life.

George II, Lawrence's Dad, died in 1938, leaving Louisa a widow for twenty-three years. Maggie and Maude took care of their mother who lived her last ten years in a wheel chair. Maude was a widow fifty-one years.

Lawrence repaired miscellaneous items such as combine canvasses, dog muzzles, bee smokers, football uniform pads, while Dean Robinson repaired shoes, Ladies purses, zippers, parasols and you-name-it. Dean's wife, Vina, went to work for Barbour-Collison Abstract Co. Lucien had not yet been born. When she retired after fifty-six years, Lucien Barbour was her boss.

At the start of World War II, Lawrence ordered 150 sets of heavy team harness. He received five at $100.00 each. Harness was rationed. On the day WW II ended he received a shipment of 100 sets (ten thousand dollars). Not one set ever sold. To get rid of them, he made them into trunk handles, dog collars, and reins. His brother, (Bud) George III, left a used set of heavy team harness (used six times) hanging in the shop for six years. No one wanted any of them since they could get tractors.

For several years, truck after truckload of plow horses went by on Main Street towards the packing house at Arkansas City to be made into dog food.

Several people worked for Lawrence following WW II. Charles Chapman, age eighty, repaired shoes, and Floyd Feger, after he sold his shoe repair shop across the street. Leonard (Sonny), two years after college before going to Boeing Airplane Co. Upon the death of his mother, Louisa, in 1961, Lawrence at age sixty-six retired and sold his shop to his son-in-law, Alex Almassy and daughter Rosemary.

Lawrence had a victory garden during WW II and continued it until his death in 1969. His wife, Bea, also passed away in 1969. His son Leonard inherited the family home at 1516 Millington. Leonard married Selma Raasch.

Lawrence and Bea's daughter, Nancy Louise, married Wayne Priest. They have four children: Linda, Terry, Laura, Jeff.

Lawrence and Bea's son, Harry Dean, married Martha Jeanne Brant and they have three children: Craig, Janie, and Chris.

Lawrence and Bea's daughter, Rosemary, married Alex Almassy and they have two children, Maria and Julia.

Submitted by L. L. Liermann Jr.
Scanned out of the Cowley County Heritage book, pg 226 & 227.