Kenneth J. Peek - The Observer: Letters from Oklahoma Territory

John Wessel at work at the Frederick Press .

Hard at work at the Frederick Press , Fred Wessel below at right.

R.H. Wessel, 1919.

Ive spent most of my life as a reporter and editor, reporting everyone elses news. I was but a teenager the first time I printed the words R.H. Wessel, Editor. Looking back, I believe that my own life has been interesting enough to report.

I found my place in life as editor and publisher of the Frederick Press , in Frederick, Oklahoma. Id like to tell, in these pages, of my adventures in coming to Oklahoma Territory in its heyday; O.T. being one of the last wild frontiers in these 48 states.

As for reporting my story, I suppose I should go back to the beginning, as I know it, and give a little prehistory to set the tone for telling my tale, just as it happened. Of course, as any good reporter knows, any story worth telling is worth improving a little.

My papa, Karl Wessel, came from a well-to-do family in Mecklenburg, Germany. After attending school and serving a two-year apprenticeship to become a miller, Papa became the caretaker of his fathers farmlands. As eldest son, he was destined to inherit the family properties according to German tradition. For reasons Ill not ever know, Papa was not going to inherit fully as hed expected. Disappointed and disillusioned, he decided to come to America, as many of his friends in Mecklenburg were doing at that time. Together,with his brother Otto, he immigrated in 1860.

Life in the new world was difficult at best for the first year. Having had barely enough money to make the voyage, the pair moved about frequently in search of work. They settled in New Ulm, Minnesota, in 1861, where Papa met and married Mama, Louisa Wieche, who had also emigrated from Germany with her family.

Mama and Papa settled in together with papa working at the trade hed been trained formilling. Work for a miller was plentiful in this thriving farm country and Papa did well for himself.

All was not easy for the German immigrants of New Ulm. The country was still wild, and in 1862 the Santee Sioux rose up against the government and the people of New Ulm. The Civil War had caused the Indians annuities from the government to be late, with rumors that Congress had spent all their money on the war. The Indians were starving and getting none of the help that the treaties had promised. With most of the soldiers having gone east to fight, the Sioux saw this as an opportunity to drive the white men out of their country. They raided farms, killing and capturing many of the people in the outlying areas. The Indians werent quite as successful with their attacks on the towns and Fort Ridgely. The townspeople and soldiers there were better prepared to defend themselves than the Sioux had figured. Still, a lot of the German folks suffered and died in that uprising, many of them known to Mama and Papa.

When all was said and done, the Sioux that hadnt been hanged, or sent to prison, were moved off to the West beyond the boundaries of Minnesota. Life in the Minnesota River Valley settled back down and new farms spread out rapidly on the land where the Indians had been removed.

Mama and Papa stayed on at New Ulm for a time, where my oldest sister, Mattie, was born in 1866. Papas father died about that time, and Papa inherited a goodly sum of money after all was sold off and divided up between him and his four siblings. With a newfound fortune, Mama and Papa set off to find new opportunities for their life in America. Their first move was to Marysville, Kansas. My first brother, Hugo, was born there; but as quite often happened in those days, he lived only a few short months. This was the first of Mamas series of sorrows.

Papa learned of an opportunity in Richardson County, Nebraska, for a water-powered grist and flour mill on the Nemaha River, so they were off and moving again. With Papas inheritance, he planned to build the mill for himself, to be the owner and proprietor. His dream of a mill never materialized. It came to light that some fast-talkin American was trying to swindle Papa out of his small fortune. Fortunately for Papa, he uncovered this plot before hed turned over his money. The family stayed on for a while, and my sisters Flora and Alvina were born there.

By 1874, Papa and Mama had discovered that living with each other wasnt much of a picnic, and Papa took off, leaving Mama with three girls and another child on the way. Mama didnt much care for staying in Nebraska, and picked up and moved back to Kansas, where she had a number of friends to help her along.