Jonathan P. and Helena Graber
"Our Times, Our Lives: Dawson County Family Stories"
by: Cloey Scheer (revised)
Helena was born December 13, 1880 and was raised in Dolton, South Dakota, the
eldest daughter of Wilhelm and Maria (Schwartz) Soft. Dashing 28 year old
Jonathan Graber swept her off her feet in a three-week whirlwind courtship. He
was born May 13, 1874 in Poland but his parents, the Peter Graber's, sailed for
America when he was just two weeks old, working their way west to South Dakota.
After their marriage on November 13, 1898 in Childstown, South Dakota,
Jonathan and Helena (Lena) made their home in Pretty Prairie, Kansas where he
started as a blacksmith, establishing his own shop in few years. Life was humble
but comfortable as the family grew to include three sons: Ralph Ole born
November 2, 1899, William Walter born May 22, 1901, and Harvey Harry on August
11, 1902. A baby girl, Edna Helen, was born February 19, 1906, the joy of
Jonathan's life.
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Life for the young Graber family was typical of the Mennonite community
around Pretty Prairie. Helena was an immaculate housekeeper and devoted mother.
She was content to be living in the same area as several of her brothers and
sisters.
Jonathan, though he was doing well in providing for his family had a restless
nature and a new and better life beckoned him. Great hopes for a prosperous
future were dashed when the land where they grew melons and sugar beets became
unproductive. In 1909 Helena finally relented and consented to move to Ordway,
Colorado, leaving behind relatives, a snug home and financial security.
Heading north from Ordway, Colorado, seeking a new frontier, Jonathan P. and
Helena (Soft) Graber packed their five children and essential belongings onto a
train for a long trip to Glendive, Montana. It was the second time the
adventurous Jonathan had convinced Helena to uproot the family and look for
greener pastures or the land of opportunity.
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In Ordway, Jonathan was employed by a garage. On December 2, 1912 another
baby girl, Delpha Dora, was born. By this time the three boys were at a
mischievous age. One incident remembered was when they played with matches and
set the neighbor's haystack afire that quickly spread to a shed nearby.
In the meantime, Helena's parent had moved to Montana north of Bloomfield and
wrote of the fine farmland available, plus good crop prospects. The wanderlust
struck Jonathan once more. This time however, Helena could at least look forward
to living near her folks.
Arriving in Glendive on March 4, 1913, they unloaded their possessions into a
lumber wagon for the trip to the Soft farm which was recently occupied by the
Harry Sawatsky family, on tableland known as Retah Table. Settling nearby, they
rented a farmstead owned by Helena's Uncle Bernard Schwartz. Bernard and his
wife Fanny lived just a few miles south and other relatives were close too.
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Jonathan began wheat farming with horses and it went well with the three boys
to help. They lived in a two-story house surrounded on two sides with trees.
Everyone in the community raised large gardens. The women were proud to can
produce for the winter months. The relatives got together to butcher hogs and
beef, make sausage and head cheese.
Their Christian upbringing carried through to their lives. Jonathan gathered
the family around the breakfast table beginning the day by reading from the
Bible and praying. Helena was equally devout, serving in the local church as
organist and Sunday School teacher. Jonathan was on the church council and also
a school board member.
Bernard lost his young wife, Fanny, after the birth of their second child in
1923. Bernard was left with two small children. Three-and-a-half year old
Viola was raised by Fanny's parents, Levi and Mattie Miller. Jonathan and Helena
cared for infant Cloey, and that arrangement became permanent.
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Jonathan did his own repair work on the farm and was soon again in the
blacksmithing trade as neighbors found him as a handy and excellent smithy.
Actually, farming was never Jonathan's ambition and by 1928, he and Helena
decided to sell out and move to Richey to establish another blacksmith shop.
They purchased the former Discher home just across the street from the school.
Edna and Delpha both graduated from Richey High School and Cloey started school
the following year. The boys were married and starting families of their own.
Ralph married Julia Richert. William married Molly Senner and Harvey married Ann
Graber (no kin).
Ralph and Julia had six children. They were two daughters; Nona and Bernice;
and four sons; Kenneth, Archie, Eugene and Collin who died at infancy.
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Edna consulted with her parents about opening a beauty shop in Richey to
which they agreed. Jonathan built a patron's chair and Edna rented a basement
room in the original bank building, across from Luchsinger's Drug Store. It was
called the Richey Beauty Shoppe and it was an instant success. Coiffures of the
day included marcels and bobs. Later the styles progressed to finger waves, pin
curls and permanents. Before long Edna moved the shop to a much larger room
across the hall and Delpha went to beauty school in Billings. By then operators
had to be licensed. After Cloey graduated from high school, she too apprenticed
under Edna and worked as an operator for six years until the business was sold
to Maude Gering in 1945. Delpha married Myron Appel and moved to Fremont,
Nebraska.
Helena made the Graber yard a showplace, growing trees in the dry years,
lugging stones for flagstone paths and growing flowers. When Jonathan sold the
blacksmith shop to Ben Holzworth and then operated a newsstand in a room towards
the rear of the bank for nearly three years before retiring.
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He spent his spare time making knives from header blades and fine tools that
won prizes at fairs. He loved to carve diamond willow canes, work with cedar and
furnished gifts to family and friends. His agate cutting provided the family
with pretty brooches and rings. Both Jonathan and Helena would design new quilt
patterns and then see them completed when she would sew them during the long
winter evenings. The family honored them with a 50th wedding anniversary party
in December 1948.
Jonathan's ill health with cancer taxed Helena's strength as she cared for
him at home until his death in May 1954. Jonathan was 80 years old. Helena
stayed on in the family home until after she had a series of strokes and Edna
cared for her. Edna married Henry Yeo and Cloey married Vernon Scheerer, both in
1944. Helena died in April 1965 at the age of 85. Much of her last year was
spent in the Circle Hospital.
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