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Jacob Flaming: born 1924 in Hillsboro, Kansas |
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My parents were Abram Flaming, born in Sparrau, Molotschna Colony, Ukraine and Elizabeth Dick, born in Mariawohl, Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. My mother's parents were Jacob and Susanna Dick; father's parents were Gerhard G. Flaming and Anna Dürks. Our family, along with others, had fled to Constantinople, Turkey, in 1922. Dad's second cousin Peter Flaming acted as our family's sponsor, and sent money to my parents for their trip to the USA. Our dad was the only member of his Flaming family to leave Russia. His two brothers and two sisters remained there and we were unable to correspond with them. In 1929, my parents bought a farm in Oklahoma. There I attended the elementary Black School in Bessie, Oklahoma. I don't think the school's name had anything to do with the fact that many black families lived in the area. Our uncle and aunt, Jacob and Susanna Kroeker, along with their family, had moved to Bessie in 1927. Jacob Kroeker became the pastor of the large rural Mennonite Brethren Church our family attended. By this time, my parents had two sons and two daughters, namely Anna, Jake, Betty, and Henry. Their first son Jake had died of starvation in Constantinople at the age of six months. The town of Bessie is located in the dust bowl area; we rarely saw snow. In 1931, a cyclone, combined with hail, hit and totally wiped out our cotton and other farm crops. Dad lost the farm as a result. In November of 1935, we moved to Essex County, in Southern Canada, where Mother's siblings lived. We moved to a farm on concession 8 in March of the following year. Here we grew wheat, tobacco, beans and corn. I was 12 years old and attended the Blytheswood School at the corner of concession 8 and Highway 77. Mr. Barrows was my teacher and I walked to school with my neighbours, the Cromity boys. The Nicholai Schmidt children: Nick, Mary, Henry, Jake, Dave, and Annie attended school with me, as well. Peter and Margaret Enns lived next door. We attended the Mennonite Brethren Church on Elliot Street of Leamington. Here the Dueckmann and Hamm children were in my Sunday School class. My Sunday School teacher was Mr. Boschman. In 1939 our family moved to concession 3, east of Leamington. Peter J. and Erna Dyck, parents of Helga Harder, bought a farm down the road from us. We grew early and late tomatoes, tobacco and corn on the fifty acres. We had 12 cows and I helped with the milking twice daily. When I married and left home, my father bought a milking machine.
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In 1944, I met Elfrieda Klassen at a wedding. I was baptized in the Leamington United Mennonite Church in 1946. Elfrieda and I were married in 1946 by Rev. Jacob Janzen in the Oak Street Mennonite Church and lived in an apartment above my in-laws on Mill Street until spring. We both worked at the Imperial Tobacco Company on Oak Street. Then we moved to my parents' house from March until July. In 1947, we bought a 50 acre farm on the 18-19 side road, near Rev. Jacob and Agatha Neufeld's farm and across from John Klassens and Martin Woelks. We grew potatoes, corn, early and late tomatoes, wheat and soy beans. In 1957 we bought 100 acres, then in 1965, we bought another 40 acres on concession 7, west of the Albuna townline, where Peter Fast's had previously lived. We built a new house there in 1961. In 1988, we severed the house and sold the land to Paul Orton. In 1990, we were able to visit my first cousins Henry and Abe Flaming who had emigrated to Germany. Elfrieda had knee replacement surgery in 1992 and because of complications, her right leg needed to be amputated. She spent a total of five months in University Hospital and St. Mary's hospital for rehab in London, Ontario. Today we have six children, 19 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. We live on Pickwick Drive of Leamington where we are enjoying our retirement years. AK 2008
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