Harry Lewelling HEINEKEN

                       Harry was the ninth child. He attended Hickory Grove School, joint districts 70 and 98 in Benton Township, Atchison County, Kansas. It was often referred to as Sugar Bowl School. That school was organized in 1886. In 1901/2 his teacher was John C. Wasson. Other teachers were Edna Thompson, his cousin, Mary Mitchell, 1905/6, and Tillie Adams, 1907. In 1908/9 Ruth Babcock was the teacher. Pupils at that time were, Walter, Harry, and Ernest Heineken; Walter, May, and Ralph Hoffman; Russel Brown; Harry McCoy; Stella, and Charley Page; Helen, and Homer Lewton; Laura Kneen; Jesse, and Lura Van Horn. His father, W. L. Heineken was director of the school board. From his grade cards I see that Harry was a good student. He also had very good hand writing. He attended Sunday School at another country school about two miles northwest of their home, called Prairie View.
    He was mischevious as a youngster and loved to tease his younger brother. The only spanking he remembered getting was after he had done that, however it was not because of teasing, but because he ran from his Mother. He remembered not to do that again. He was very mechanically minded, he loved to invent things, and could fix anything. His older brothers learned quite early not to go too far in teasing him. One story is told about when he was a young boy, he was up on a farm building oiling a weather vane he had made. One of his brothers came by and took his ladder down. Harry threw the oil can at him and the spout lodged in his brothers head. It could have killed him, but thankfully it didn't.
    He worked on his parents farm from a young age, along with his six brothers and three sisters. His day consisted of chores: milking cows morning and night, feeding hogs, cows and horses. He worked in the field with horse power, plowing, planting, loading, and harvesting. Later he had a nice trotter horse and buggy for transportation.
    When he was around nineteen, he farmed for about four years in Parshall, which is near Fargo, North Dakota. His two brothers, Chet and Theo had a homesteaded there. He had influenza while there in 1918, and was very ill.
    In 1920 a deed was taken in his fathers name, for a half section in Jefferson County, Kansas, with a mortgage to the owner for $10,000. His father paid $8,400, and Chet, Theo and Harry each paid $6,000. The contract was taken with their father. His father died on 20 Jan 1921. Harry learned about it the next morning on his birthday. His oldest brother Ed, was to be the Administrator of the estate, but he declined and the next brother, Chet was designated. There was much mismanagement and conflict in the family over that land arrangement.
    Harry had a good ear for music, and played the violin for country dances with a neighbor friend, Walter Hoffman, who played the guitar. They could play all evening without repeating a song. He bought his first Ford car when he was twenty-five in 1920, and always did the repairs on it.
    In 1921 he met Alice Lewis of Effingham, Kansas. They were married at the Methodist Church there. He was baptized into the Methodist Church during summer of 1922, in a horse drinking tank.
    Sometime between 1926 and 1929, Harry built a two room house, barn, well,
fences, smokehouse, cave, etc. on his portion of virgin land in Jefferson County, Kansas, and moved his wife and two small children there. This place was called `the Corner'. The closest town was Valley Falls. His family lived there until 1936. Because of many circumstances,including the depression, the weather, his trust of the administrators etc., the property was taken over by the estate and his family was forced to move. There were some hard feelings because of mismanagement during that time. During the next year, he built an 18 foot house trailer from the axles up, with cooking and sleeping facilities for his family of five. In 1937 there was a public sale of their furniture, animals and machinery. They started west.
    Harry's original plan was to go to Arizona, but after meeting a minister, with his family and a trailer going to California, Harry decided to journey on to Southern California, arriving in October. He had a nephew, Melvin Heineken, living there. Work was not steady and his wife was homesick. After staying less than a year, lack of finances forced him to sell the house trailer, and the family returned to Kansas. The family lived with the sister of Alice, Helen and Todd Shell, near Effingham, Kansas, for about one and a half years. Harry was quite ill during some of that period.
    In 1940 things became so bad in Kansas, that the Shell and Heineken families, also Howard Cox, a friend of the Shell's, left for California in December. All lived together in an large old house in Venice. Harry paid the rent by roofing the house. Harry worked as a carpenter, mechanic and repair man for Barbara Ann and Helms Bakeries, May Company, and Howard Automobile Company. After six months, the Shell's and Cox's got a job and moved, Harry did not have a permanent job, and no place to live, so when school was out, back to Kansas we went for the summer. The only work available there was farm hand. It was back breaking work with little pay. In the fall, it was back to California. They found a large old house in Inglewood. They paid the rent and fed the family by taking in young men for room and board.
    In 1940, Harry and Alice bought a small home at 604 W. Spruce Street, Inglewood, California. World War II was declared in December 1941. Early in 1942, Harry took a metal burning course and was hired by the California Shipyard, then later with the Navy Shipyard at Wilmington, California. This was the first time they had permanent stability. After the war was over, the shipyards closed. Harry took a job as a crossing guard, then custodian for the Inglewood School system.
    Harry was five feet, eight and one half inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds. He had small bones, fair skin, brown eyes and black hair. His blood type was O negative and he was a very kind, pleasant, soft spoken person.  He loved people and enjoyed talking and kidding with children and adults. Every liked him. He was generous and would do for others before himself. He often helped neighborhood children fix their bicycles and balls. He enjoyed playing pool and snooker. While living in Kansas, he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows organization, and Alice joined the women's association of Rebekah's. His political affiliation was the Republican party.
    Harry smoked cigarettes and at times a pipe. Through most of his life, his health was good. However, on 1 Jun 1953, while at work, he collapsed with a coronary heart attack. Two weeks later, while he was still in the hospital, he died suddenly when an artery burst. He is buried in the Brotherly Love section, at Inglewood Park Cemetery, between Florence and Prairie.