Margaret Ruth Scherer

   Cause of her death was bronchiectasis ­ far advanced, chronic miocarditis with myocardial degeneration..⁵

  General Notes:

 
My mother was well known in Menekaune. She sailed, skated and was good at many things. She went to the Catholic school [Our Lady of Lourdes] and had to walk there every day (about 2 miles) and home again. She had chicken pox and they didn't know she was as sick as she was. She developed a cough and it became bronchitis which she had until she died. Margaret went to Stevens Point College and graduated. She always wanted to be a nurse but that was no profession for a nice girl. She met and married my father after Aunt Polly and Uncle Fred were married. Two brothers from the Jaeger family and two sisters from the Scherer's. It was a time when to have a Catholic marry a Lutheran was a terrible thing. They were almost ostracized and to have two daughters that married out of their religion was something!

This was not put into perspective until after my Aunt Polly and my mother were married but the family could remember. It was a Sunday and the family had gone to Lourdes Catholic church on Water Street and while they were there at the service the whistle blew at Sawyer Goodman something like two long and as grandfather was the superintendent he got up from church service and left. It meant that someone had been hurt and he went and found that Frederick Jaeger had been killed while working there. He had been filling in for someone else who had been sick. Later, two of Grandfather Scherer's daughters and two of Grandfather Jaeger's sons married. ^{[Martha Jaeger Mogensen]}
 
 
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Mom was a knitter­ she could and did knit in the dark even when she went to the movies. She did the movies often and I enjoyed them with her. Many, many times she’d get excited and the ball of yarn would roll down the incline to the front of the theater. Guess who retrieved it? We often stopped after the show at McDonalds Drug Store on Dunlap Square for a "stomach ache" sundae. We called it that because it had a little of every flavor the soda fountain had and nuts too.

She was also a fire buff. She loved making a big fireplace fire. She would rationalize that by saying she needed to burn the soot out of the chimney. She also chased every fire truck to be sure she knew where the fire was (I lay that to the terrible lumber mill fires that we were subject to in our neck of the woods). I think I stood for hours on several occasions to watch the awesome J. W. Wells hardwood flooring mill burn to the ground. It burned yellow, red, blue and green for what seemed like a week. And it was a hot one.

There was a car for mother because Dad drove a truck. I remember a Reo that was so wide across the front seat that I was able to sit on the left side of the driver. Another special was the Willy’s Knight. It was a big, closed in touring car and we nearly had to use a step ladder to get into it. And then there was the Stanley Steamer that I put through the rear of the garage. Yes, it still had "a head of steam" when I turned it on. Oh yes, and Mom loved to drive in the rain. She always said, "the car perks along better in wet weather."

Mom was adventuresome too. Once when we were crossing the old turn-style Menekaunee Bridge we were first in line and Mom said, "let’s go ride it as it turns." (This was something all the Scherer kids did because they lived at the foot of that bridge and when the bell rang to open they would literally fly to jump on for the ride). Well, this time she was showing me how. We got on fine ­ it opened and then the boat struck the bridge and knocked the turning gears off kilter. Well Mom dropped her purse which landed on the concrete bow of the turnstile. She did get her purse back but to this day I can’t tell you how she got off that bridge.

Mother loved sweets and I’m sure she got tired of baking. Her favorite store cookies were Twilight cookies which may have been the forerunner of today’s Oreo. Dad would come home from a trip and tell about a dessert he’d had at some restaurant and Mom would work up a recipe for that. She had studied Domestic Science at Stevens Point, Wis. Where she got a teaching degree. But as far as I can remember she never taught ­ unless it was nite school and Red Cross classes. But she surely used all of her talents on the 6 of us. ^{[Ruth Jaeger Melegari] 6 7}

  Noted events in her life were:

• Census: 1900 US, 04 Jun 1900, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁸
| 90 | 91 | 132 | Scherer, John | Head ... | W | M | Aug .| 1855 | 45 | M | 9 | . | . | Wisconsin | Germany . | Germany .| . | . | . | Master Mechanic | . | Yes | Yes | Yes | R | . | H | . |
| .. | .. | ... | -....., Ruth | Wife ... | W | F | July | 1870 | 30 | M | 9 | 2 | 2 | Michigan .| Ohio .....| Michigan | . | . | . | ............... | . | Yes | Yes | Yes | . | . | . | . |
| .. | .. | ... | -., Margaret | Daughter | W | F | Dec .| 1894 | 06 | S | . | . | . | Michigan .| Wisconsin | Michigan | . | . | . | ............... | . | No .| No .| Yes | . | . | . | . |
| .. | .. | ... | -.., Pauline | Daughter | W | F | Feb .| 1896 | 04 | S | . | . | . | Michigan .| Wisconsin | Michigan | . | . | . | ............... | . | No .| No .| Yes | . | . | . | . |

• Residence: 90 Ogden St, 04 Jun 1900, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁸

• Census: 1905 WI, 01 Jun 1905, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ⁹
| 78 | 238 | Sherer, John | H | W | M | 49 | M | Wisconsin | Germany ... | Foreman Mill | 12 | O | F | F |
| 79 | 238 | -...., Alta | W | W | F | 34 | M | Michigan .| Ohio - Mich | Hkpr ....... | 12 | . | . | . |
| 80 | 238 | -, Margaret | D | W | F | 11 | S | Michigan .| Ohio - Mich | Student .....| .. | . | . | . |
| 81 | 238 | -., Pauline | D | W | F | 09 | S | Michigan .| Ohio - Mich | Student .....| .. | . | . | . |
| 82 | 238 | -., John Jr | S | W | F | 03 | S | Michigan .| Ohio - Mich | .............| .. | . | . | . |
| 83 | 238 | -, Gertrude | D | W | F | 08 | S | Michigan .| Ohio - Mich | .............| .. | . | . | . |

• Graduation: Marinette High School, (Classical Course), 13 Jun 1912, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA.

• Graduation: Stevens Point Normal School (U of WI-Stevens Point) with a degree in Domestic Science, 1914, Stevens Point, Portage, Wisconsin, USA.

• Obituary: Marinette Eagle-Star, 14 Oct 1963, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ¹⁰  
MRS. JAEGER OF MARINETTE DIES

Private services were conducted today in the McLain-Thielen-Langer funeral home for Mrs. Richard Jaeger, who died Saturday afternoon at Marinette General Hospital where she had been a patient since Sept. 22. Death followed a long illness.

The Rev. H. Allen Maxwell of St. James Lutheran Church, to which she belonged, officiated. Burial was in Forest Home Cemetery.

Mrs. Jaeger had been a Marinette resident for 50 years. She was born Dec. 23, 1893, in Nahma, Mich., and spent her early life there and in Lansing, Mich. On April 8, 1917, she was married to Mr. Jaeger.

Surviving with her husband are two sons, Richard John Jaeger of Wilmington, Dela., and Daniel K. Jaeger of Santa Monica, Calif., and four daughters, Mrs. Lionel Bushey of Cleveland, Wis., Mrs. Louis Melegari and Mrs. Clarence Mogensen of Marinette and Mrs. Edward Daley of Long Beach, Calif.

Also surviving are four sisters, Mrs. Fred Jaeger and Mrs. Raymond Schuck of Marinette, Mrs. William Ingram of Chicago and Mrs. Ray Watson of Washington, D. C., and 18 grandchildren

• Cemetery: Forest Home Cemetery and Mausoleum [Section Z, Block 1, Lot 3, #5], 14 Oct 1963, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ²
MARGARET RUTH
WIFE OF
RICHARD E JAEGER
1893 - 1963

Margaret married Richard Edward Jaeger, son of Frederick Richard Jaeger and Elizabeth Anna Kraft, on 08 Apr 1917 in Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. (Richard Edward Jaeger was born on 06 Mar 1891 in Menekaune, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA,^{11 2 12 13} died on 27 Dec 1969 in Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA ^{14 2 15} and was buried on 30 Dec 1969 in Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA ¹⁶.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage, 08 Apr 1917, Marinette, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. ¹⁰

  Marriage Notes:

 
We had a Slab Wood burning steam furnace in our house on Pierce Av. in the early 1920's. The fire pit in this furnace was very long and very narrow. At times the ceramic fingers of the grate would break off. They were not hard to replace, except that Dad couldn't fit into this long, narrow pit opening. So, of course the chore fell to me as the "oldest" again. The furnace was cold and fairly well cleared of ashes. I’d have to crawl in this dark pit; with Dad's repeated assurances that he'd be right there in case of trouble (like getting stuck inside). My concern this time was I had just read the Fairy Tale, Hanzel and Gretel, and I could just see the Wicked Witch and the fiery oven. Needless to say, crawling into this pit scared the day-lights out of me.

This furnace was later converted to coal. First Anthracite and even later to small chunks of coal and a hopper to be filled morning and night. Once, a full tube of Summer Sausage disappeared; which was later found buried in the coal pile by one of our dogs. Later our chores were eased by adding a Bin-to-stoker Screw that automatically fed the Stoker. Now my chore became to regularly breaking up the clinkers that formed in the bed of the furnace and hauling these out so the fire would have fresh coal to burn.

All this, and yet the gentle side of Rick. We always had more than just our family around the table at mealtime and these seemed to be permanent other family members. Dad really shared what he had, great or small, depending on the financing of the Family fortunes at any given time. He gathered Kiddoes like the Pied Piper of old, sang silly songs to them, told the others and ourselves his lumber camp stories, his railroad stories, and other tales of how he carried Grandma's Books home for her from grade school. He also would give all the smaller kiddoes a ride on his crossed legs.

Then the Aerial got into the Barber Supply business. Dad saw so much barbering that he could do it in his sleep. He decided that could cut hair and proceeded to experiment on me. He cut and trimmed, and cut and trimmed until I thought I had been scalped. Mom bought the widest ribbon she could find and I wore ribbons around my head until my hair grew out again. He (Dad) never cut my hair again.

As Rick did a lot of bartering during the Depression, some of the Spoils were very interesting. Once he came home with a "Green" Canadian Mackinaw. At the time, the only one it would fit was Ruth. She wore it when it was too large for her, when it fit her, and again when it was too small for her. It just wouldn't wear out. Today I cherish Canadian clothing for it’s quality but not if it is a green color To top it off I married a Canadian and furnished our house many Canadian mementos.

Rick also brought home a bolt of brick red velvet material. I had a brick red velvet dress (with a ecru crocheted collar) a brick red velvet coat, a brick red skirt, and a brick red jumper. I suppose Martha and Esther remember those too, because we had to use up that material. Other fun weekly trophies were: a car loaded with cabbage for sauerkraut (this became an annual event), an animal or two managed to be brought home, a recipe For Zweibach Torte and a wooden ice cream maker that we kiddoes took turns sitting on while someone else did the grinding. I think that was to add weight, otherwise it walked across the floor.

Another side of Rick was his temper. No-one was spared that at one time or another. His mother told him to always be the "Peacemaker" between Fred and Chris. So, what he couldn't say at the Aerial he brought home. Also , since he was gone all week (on the road) mother did as she thought best in family situations, but was often different from what Rick would have done. Then his temper would flare up. We got scolded for things we did as well as many things we didn't do. The razor strap was always handy during these sessions.

Under the main stairwell to the second floor of the house on Pierce Avenue was a clothes closet. At least that was what it was designed for. But we had it as a phone booth also and a crying closet. Of course all the temper tantrums which called for time out in the crying closet came to a quick halt when the phone rang. That was a must.

Buck­Ste­Hoo was an old log farm house just outside of the village of McAllister (about 35 mi. north on the Menominee River). The Jaegers had purchased this place for a hunting camp. Dad would not shoot a deer but he always [went] along to camp as the Chief maintenance man as well as the camp cook. He loved to cook and bragged about learning to cook when he worked as assistant to the regular cook in a lumbering camp at the ripe old age of 15. At 16, he was shoveling coal on the old steam trains on the old Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. He worked out of Chicago and went to Bemidji and also Albert Lea in Minnesota. Then he would make the return trip and repeat the process. He loved to brag how many cars, full of merchandise, that they could pull with one locomotive. I seem to remember some fantastic figure 1ike 120 1oaded cars would make up a train load.

Another Depression story about when Dick was a teenager. It was difficult to get 5¢ to join other kiddoes with ice cream cones. I remember Dick saying to Dad as he headed off for the ice rink to skate, "how do you expect me and my girl to get along on 5¢?"

Christmas Day was so special. Mom always made a veal hot dish that was so very delicious (and I don’t have the recipe).

We walked to St. James (4 flocks) thru the snow for the children’s program. Because I was the oldest I knew about Santa Claus before the others and so was privileged to help assemble things under the tree.

I remember we got a children’s card table and chairs that I felt "big" about because I saw it first. But there were other not so good ones during the "Great Depression." Mom was a knitter and she really knitted up a storm that year so that there was a new sweater ­ mittens ­ and scarf for each of the 6 of us. Except my sweater was the last one she worked on and she told me "because I would understand," but she couldn’t finish it and wrapped it one sleeve short. About that time I was into The Ugly Duckling. Anyway, I think that was one of the building blocks of my own poor self esteem.

One of the better memories were of fun in the snow in our snow suits made from "paper mill felt." Dress coats for the three older girls were navy blue double breasted chinchilla coats purchased from Lauermans. At our house store bought was special because Mom always made everything. Always our dresses were the same pattern. Martha’s was green, Esther’s was blue, Ruth’s was red. ^{[Ruth Jaeger Melegari] 17}