Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Johann Nickel of Waldheim, West Reserve,
1880 census, BGB 399-430, parents of Mrs.
Jakob B. Koop, nee Helena Nickel. Photo courtesy of
Peter S. Koop, Steinbach, Manitoba.
firewood to last us a year. We also got a pail of
milk daily if our cow was dry and sometimes
in fall he would also give us a hog to supply us
with meat.
Some Sundays we would be offered a ride
to church on his democrat and team of spry
hackneys. A democrat was a heavy-duty buggy
that was used for light freight when shopping
in town. Three seats could be snapped into place
when used to go to church, seating nine
people—depending on size, sometimes only
No. 11, December, 1997
two! Whenever we rode to church with grandfather
we had to rush out of church quickly if
we wanted a ride home, grandfather Koop was
always the first one to leave the church yard
and by the time the second buggy left the yard,
he was 1/2 mile down the road.
Jacob, my brother, had only eight percent
vision which was enough to keep him from colliding
with most objects but not enough for
school. After trying the local school for two
years it was decided that more help was needed.
A lady from the Department of Education, Mr.
John D. Goossen and my grandfather, were able
to arrange that Jacob could attend the School
for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario with all costs
covered by the blind institute.
Working for Grandfather.
When I turned twenty-one years, Grandfather
asked me to come and stay at his place. If
I had work somewhere that was fine, I could
stay and help Isaac (my uncle) do the chores on
weekends. He would feed me, the aunts would
wash my laundry, and if no work was available,
I could stay and help uncle Isaac on the
farm, a very comfortable arrangement at that
time.
Grandfather Koop was a very meticulous
farmer. The first thing in spring on a warm and
calm day all harnesses were spread out on the
south side of the barn where it was warm and
comfortable, every inch of harness was inspected,
scraped to remove dried sweat and
horse hair and oiled with neatfoot oil (a leather
preservative). If he found buckles missing they
were replaced. The lines for horse control received
special attention. If a line was nearly
broken, he would cut the line, shave the flat
side to a nice taper, then sitting on a harness
repair horse with clamping device in front of
him, he would stitch the splice with strong
The Jakob B. Koop farmyard on SE16-7-6E view to the west. Photo courtesy of Peter S. Koop, Steinbach, Manitoba.
45
thread that he first pulled through a lump of
pitch (solid tar) to protect the thread from frazzling
when sewing and also seal the thread from
getting wet. These joints were so smooth they
would not get stuck in the harness rings. These
days were days of fun; we joked, reminisced
and the togetherness was very bonding.
Another strong trait of Koops was fencing,
every spring Isaac and I had to inspect about
three miles of fencing, post by post. If a post
was broken it had to be replaced. All wires had
to be stapled and have the right tension, done
with a wire stretcher. In no way would grandfather
ever have any of his cattle get through
his fence and feed on his neighbour’s field of
grain. At times when one of his animals got
out of the fence, I was sent out to get the animal
back where it belonged. With handful of
staples and a hammer I was to find the hole
where the animal got through.
Greasing day was also observed every
spring, when all wheels on wagons and buggies
were taken off and the axle and hub received
a generous coating of grease, some farm
machinery also received attention at this time.
Grandfather Koop was seventy years old
when I had closer fellowship with him, and
noticed there were two jobs on the farm that he
alone was responsible for. One was feeding the
hogs, that was his allotment. Another job of
his was at seeding time. Uncle Isaac did the
field work prior to seeding. But when it came
to the actual seeding, it was grandfather operating
the drill and horses. He made sure the
rows of grain would come up straight and that
no patch was left unseeded.
Land Purchases.
Grandfather Koop was very helpful in acquiring
some land for his sons to start farming.
My father Johann N. Koop received the