FRANZ DRUFFEL SR. HISTORY                 (Written By His Oldest Son Bennie Druffel)         


On May 15, 1886, Franz and Elizabeth Schulz were united in marriage.  Since the girls had found the new country very desirable they married and were content to stay.

Farming in Huron, South Dakota was not very satisfactory, as the winters were extremely cold and the summers hot and dry.  Crops were poor.  On February 20, 1887,  I ( Bennie) was born to Franz and Elizabeth Druffel.  In 1888, they sold all and moved to Spokane where the climate was better. Franz worked for the City of Spokane as a stone-mason. Bernard found other employment.
                     
In 1889, while working on the city streets of Spokane, he learned that the N.P. Railroad still had some land grants. He purchased 240 acres at $2.00 per acre from the N.P. Railroad. It was situated 6 miles southwest of Rosalia, and described as a “dry farm” with no water and very hilly. Neighbors were Fred Stone on the north, Hastings on the east. Woodard on the south Kile Bros. On the west. He moved there in the fall of 1889, started to break up the land and build a home for his family of three. The first winter was hard for he had to haul the fuel (driftwood from the Rock Lake). Leaving one morning with a sled he experienced  a blizzard and had an awful time getting back. The sled tipped spilling the wood and it was well past midnight before he returned. The neighbors, the Stones, realized the family didn’t have fuel, so they brought sufficient supplies for a few days. When spring arrived, Franz made plans to build the house larger and also a barn for the livestock, for 4 head of horses and 2 cows. The barn was built that summer with a shed.  The hay was stacked on the open side. They dug a well near the building which was 30 ft. deep, with some water. He made brick forms and filled them with clay and let them air dry. These were to be used to make a cellar at the end of the house. Whenever possible, he would break more land until at last the farm was all in crop.

We attended Mass in Rosalia, which was a Mission out of Spokane having Mass once per month.  We traveled by ½ wagon, made cart with a box 4X6 with a spring seat for two. The children sat in the back on straw. It was pulled by two horses.

The first two years we would move to Spokane in the winter months and work there. A neighbor, Woodard, would look after the livestock on the farm while we were away.  He lived about ½ mile south of us. Dad then bought 80 acres, called South Hill that cornered with us.  Harvested by  a 12 ft. Randuff Header with two or three header boxes. The grain was stacked in the field with 2 to 4 stacks at a setting. After cutting and stacking it was threshed.

Plowing was done with 4 horses on 1 Boston Breaking Plow. It was harrowed several times and seeded, with a broadcast cyclone seeder which was fastened on back of a wagon. Kile Bros. and Druffel had a Case Horse Power threshing outfit. It took 14 horses to run the machine and 2 on the derrick table to fork the grain to the machine. At first it had to be hand-fed but years later self-feeders came on the market. The men boarded at home or at for which they threshed. They slept in the barns or any place where they could find shelter. The crew consisted of one machine man, 1 power driver, I forker, 2 sack sewers, 1 derrick driver, 2 hon down (?), 1 man on the straw stack and 1 man to go get all the supplies, 18 horses and 2 extras for  relief.  There were five hundred to eight hundred sacks of grain to a setting and straw stack.  Since the livestock ran at large in the fields during the winter months, the straw stacks served as feed and shelter at that time.  The grain was hauled to Thornton to the warehouse, where it was stored until sold.

In 1893 there was a wet harvest season. The crops were good but couldn’t be saved because of the rain. The grain stacks were soaked through and the grain grew in the stacks. Most of the wheat had sprouted in the sacks after threshing and much was dumped after it got hot and rotted in the sacks.

Bennie went to a little country school on the Thorncreek called at that time the Kile School House. This was 1894.  Joe also attended there. Bernard Druffel who lived on a small farm near St. John, Washington, was not satisfied with the location, so he looked elsewhere for something more suitable for him. He went to Nez Perce County (Idaho) where he heard there was still land to be homesteaded.  On his return trip to St. John, he came through Uniontown, and Colton, Washington.  Here he became acquainted with Mike Schultheis , who showed him several farms that were for sale. He bought 160 acres 1 ½ miles west of Colton, in 1896 or 1897 (home place).  He was very much impressed with the Catholic community.

Upon his return, he talked to my folks about his findings in the Colton district, of the  land opportunities and of the fine Catholic community. Also, he said that he had purchased a farm there.  My folks became interested.  In the summer of 1898,  Papa went to Colton. Here he met many of the people, saw many of the farms and was impressed with his findings. He bought a 200 acre farm from the Mortgage Co., Vermont Loan.  This, the home place, he paid $45.00 per acre, all good tillable soil. Charles Steirwalt as farming the land at the time.

In September of 1890 we moved to the farm at Colton, by wagon and hack. Besides Mama and Papa there were five children, Bennie, Anne, Joe, Franz and Tillie, the baby.  Papa had all his farm machinery on the wagon except the header which he left on the farm to get later. He had 4 horses abreast hooked to the wagon. Mama had the hack in which she had the younger children. Tillie (the baby) was in her wash basket which she held between her feet.

Two colts were beside the horses to lead them along the way.  I rode a horse and drove 8 head of cattle, milk cows and calves. We spent the first night near Steptoe.  It was raining.  What a night!

The second night we spent Pullman, Washington. Slept in a blacksmith shop on a farm now  owned by Forrest Gray, 1 mile south of Pullman on the old Pullman-Colfax highway. We arrived at our farm near Colton about 2 o’clock the following day. We bunked in an old shed on the farm as the Steirwalts were not to move for a few days. The house was very small but adequate for the time being.  It consisted of a kitchen lean-to on the back, one very small bedroom and one bedroom somewhat larger and a living room.  The barn was a mere shed.  There was part of a corral and a hog pen on the farm.

In the fall of this year, 1898, we started classes at the Catholic School in Colton.  They were held in the convent. Papa returned to Rosalia and sold the farm for $30.00 per acre to Fred Stone, a neighbor. Our farm equipment consisted of a plow, harrow, 8- ft seeder and 6 horses. This he added to when necessary.
In 1900 he started to build a barn.  The rock for the foundation was hauled down from the John Semler place about 2 miles east of us. After the foundation was completed, he hauled the lumber from the Moscow Mountains at Rosen Mill.  All the lumber was hauled by wagon pulled by 4 horses.  The cost of the barn was about $100.00.  This barn is still on the Home Place and is still the main barn, its size is 40X60.  Leo, my brother, now lives on the farm.

Also, in 1900, Papa bought the Rim Ranch of 320 acres.  This land he leased out.  He bought this with money from the Rosalia farm. Joe, my brother, now owns this farm.

In 1902, construction of a new house began. Again we hauled rock from the John Semler place for the foundation and also lumber form the Rosen Mills in the Moscow Mountains. It was a 2-story structure. Four bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms, a parlor, dining room and kitchen on the main floor.  The house still stands on the Home Place.  It has been remodeled and is now occupied by my brother Leo, his wife and family.  The sand for plastering was hauled from the Snake River up the Steptoe Canyon. It was hauled in 2 wagons driven by Papa and myself. We put the sand in wheat sacks to keep from spilling it.  One trip a day was a hard days work.  Papa did most of the carpenter work although he did have a carpenter part of the winter. His name was Frank Hobler. We moved into the main floor first as Papa completed the second story the following winter.

Later, he bought 40 acres of land from Joe Bohle; this joined the first 200 acres he had. Next he purchased 80 acres from A.M. Bibbins,  land laying along the N.P. Railroad and his farm on the south.

In 1907, he bought 240 acres from Joe Bohle, as Bohle was returning to his native land of Austria.
                         

All six of we children stayed at home and helped where we were needed. Uncle Joe Druffel had a harvesting machine and we worked with him for several years.  My brother Joe hauled bundles and hauled water. I helped on the machine. Later Papa bought a machine of his own from Jim Trump- A Minneapolis 32 with 22 HP engine, water tank and we built our own bundle wagons with wide axles.  We made 10 of these and a cook house.  This was about 1910. Our threshing run was about 25 days which included harvesting our own and that of some neighbors. Anne took care of the cookhouse with the help of Fronie Reisenauer to assist her.  Joe, Franz and Bennie worked with the machine. Leo helped in later years and Tillie, also.    


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