I was born on April 26, 1946... in an upstairs room... above what is now a video store in downtown, Belle Plaine, Iowa... to Gale Allen Shedenhelm and Stella Sylvester,. They owned a farm a few miles southwest of town, but before I reached school age, we moved to Des Moines, where my father found a job with a major tire company. Later, dad found a better job with Little Giant Crane & Shovel, and he spent the rest of his life working there, rising to the position of Vice-President. Like many men of his time, dad endured the Great Depression and fought in WW2, where he saw action in the European Theater. He seldom talked about the War, but he bore the marks of a man who had seen too many deaths, and he talked even less about his childhood years. His father, Clarence McClellan Shedenhelm, wasn't particularly successful as a farmer... and he and my grandmother, Myrene Agnew Simmons, moved frequently... searching, I suspect, for a place where things would work out. Like many other Americans, my father's parents worked hard to eke out a living, and according to family lore, my dad and uncle Duane literally hunted wild game to put food on the family table.
I don't know if this story is true or not, but I do know that my dad was a man who took life seriously and that he had an incredible work ethic. He was a "man's man," who seemed to be a product of an earlier age in history, and he could be imposing, even intimidating, in certain settings. He left school in the 8th grade, but he had a quick mind and he learned quickly. He never sought sympathy or expected much help from others, but he loved to entertain friends... and he loved to laugh. He was never "chatty," or "mushy," but occasionally he would make popcorn for us (by shaking a skillet over the stove)... and we would watch Jackie Gleason and Red Skelton as a family. I relished these times, but they were not the norm in our home. We had some good times, but we were hardly the "Cleavers," because dad gave his life to "the plant," (as we called his place of work).
If you've seen the movie, "Nebraska," you know what our Shedenhelm reunions were like. We didn't attend all of them, but from time to time, we would drive to one of my uncle's or aunt's house for the annual "Shedenhelm Family" reunion. Growing up, I thought that the men and women I saw at our reunions... were THE Shedenhelm's... but later I discovered that there were many Shedenhelms in and around Ottumwa, Iowa... and several others in the Cedar Rapid area. My view of my family and my own heritage was much too narrow back then... but in 1957, I was sitting in my aunt Mary Glene's living room with the Shedenhelm men... as the Shedenhelm women prepared our meal in the kitchen. Fortunately, I had my brothers and my cousins to play with... because the conversation in living room was sparse and far from entertaining. "Hey, Cecil," someone would say, "How's your crops?" "Pretty good," he would reply, "how are things over your way? Have you had much rain?" Then there would be (what seemed to me) a long period of silence... before someone else would ask, "Say, Duane, what do you think the prices for hogs will be this fall?"
In time, and after an awesome meal that really was homemade- including ice cream and other desserts- individual families would leave because they had to get home and "do chores." We would leave the reunion at that time as well... and wait until next year, or maybe the year after that, to claim and embrace our family connection. Over the years, my sense of family has grown both deeper and wider. I feel more deeply connected to more Shedenhelm's throughout America and the world, and I have grown to love and value my ancestors who had different surnames. Thus, in addition to writing extensively about "Shedenhelm's" and proudly tracing our family back to Nordlingen, Germany, circa 1250, I must also recognize grandma Simmons, who was strong and talented woman in her own right, The Simmons' were a significant part of life in Maryland and the Agnew's were hereditary Sheriffs in Scotland for centuries, Likewise, grandma Myrene;s mother-in-law, Elizabeth Johnson, was part of a much larger family that includes many men and women who shaped America in colonial times. The lives and stories of our more distant ancestors are wonderful and informative. They are stories of strength and achievement, and most importantly, they are our stories,
I will turn my attention to the Simmons family and others... and build our family tree in that way... but first... I must say this: when I sat in my aunt Mary Glene's home... and looked at my aunts and uncles, I was looking at the very people who built America and made it great. Uncle Cecil, it is said, was the kindest man in the family, and certainly, he was a man of principle and loving-kindness. Uncle Duane was a man of strength and ingenuity and like Cecil, he farmed successfully. My brothers and I spent summers with Uncle Duane, and I will always remember our fishing outings (even though we did a lot of hard farm work). I didn't know my aunts as well as my uncles, but I do know that they were strong and loving women... who did what they could... to nurture and strengthen their families. In short, even as I turn my attention elsewhere, I applaud the Shedenhelm's who gave me the ability to meet life's challenges head on, the work ethic to carry my share of the load, the wisdom to put God and family first, and the grace to treat others with respect, as I journey through life.
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