Peter B. Nicklaus and Agnes J. Heger, wed 5 Feb 1929, Madelia, MN
|--------Balthasar NICLAUS (1793, Germany - 1854, Germany) | |---------Balthasar NICLAUS (1831, Germany - 1900, Iowa) | | | |--------Maria Anna BÖHNER (1796, Germany - 1862, Germany) | |------George NICKLAUS (1866, IL - 1936, Iowa) | | | | |--------Gregor SCHMITT (1805, Germany - ) | | | | |---------Margaretha SCHMITT (1838, Germany - 1872, Illinois) | | | |--------Margaretha NEUGEBAUER ( - ) | Peter Balthazar NICKLAUS (1901, Iowa - 1965, Iowa) | | |--------Bernardus Josephus ``Bernard'' TIEDEKEN (1807, Germany - 1876, Germany) | | | |---------Caspar Swibertus TIEDEKEN (1843, Germany - 1890, Iowa) | | | | | |--------Maria Veronica HUISMANN (1806, Germany - 1869, Germany) | | |------Elizabeth Margaretha TIEDEKEN (1877, Germany - 1958, Iowa) | | |--------Conrad Engelbertus BRÜGGEMANN (1821, Germany - 1899, Germany) | | |---------Anna Maria BRÜGGEMANN (1851, Germany - 1934, Iowa) | |--------Friederika JANSSEN (1806, Germany - 1864, Germany)
\imwide{pics/dad/nickcaswl-wed.ps}{Peter B. Nicklaus and Lula Mae Caswell, wed 9 Apr 1945}{nickcas-pic}{4in} %>
Peter B. died in the same house he was born in on the family farm in Section 10 of Monroe Township. He moved to town with his parents in about 1907, but Peter B. returned to the farm in 1931. While living in town, Pete worked the succession of family businesses --- the grain elevator, the pool hall on main street and the hotel. He always had a job, like working in a harness shop. Later he would run the machines in the theatre and finally managed it.
He was an avid reader and a very bright person. He loved music and could play about any instrument with a little practice. He loved the violin most of all. He took lessons from a noted professor of music in Dubuque who wanted him to continue lessons and to be a concert violinist, but after Pete was in Loras college for a time he was sick and had to quit college. He played with a small orchestra in town at times. After the elevator was sold which he was manager of, he went to farming on the home farm.
Peter B. started farming with horses, but saw many improvements in farming methods during his lifetime. He owned one of the first row-crop tractors (an International Farmall Regular) in the area and owned the first mechanical cornpicker in the area.
For several years, he owned and operated a large threshing machine run by a large gasoline-powered tractor (his father had run one powered by steam). When this became outdated, Peter B. owned one of the first combines in the area. He first used the combine only for soybeans, preferring to thresh oats, but later changed with the times. During his last years, farming had changed to the point that he hired large units to custom combine the oats and beans.
While Peter B. lived on the farm, every building (including the barn, chicken house, hog house, corn crib) except the house was replaced. The original home fell victim to vandalism, weather, and varmints, and was removed in 1975.
Most of the preceding was taken from memories of Peter's brother Fred in the Nicklaus Family Cookbook. Other parts were taken from the History of the Nicklaus Farm, by Peter's son Gerard, also in the cookbook.
Peter's brother Fred also wrote this: We loved Pete. Rue and I went out to visit them often. He had a good sense of humor, could talk on any subject, and loved politics. He was faithful to the Catholic church and would help in any way he could. Pete and I worked together in many ways and got along the very best. He had a great memory. He could remember the name of someone he met many years before. He was honest and set high standards of morality and honesty.
Georgia (Nicklaus) Rewerts wrote the following for the Nicklaus Family Cookbook: Dad had a pet goose. It would follow him around the place as he did chores. Gary, my brother, was in college at Loras in Dubuque, Ia. He came home a lot of weekends to help Dad on the farm. It was corn picking time and Gary was helping to unload a wagon of corn onto the elevator. He was bent way over and that goose took one look and made a bee-line for Gary. He took a big bite out of Gary's rear. If Dad hadn't been there, I am afraid that would have been the end of one big goose. We are very conscious of teaching our children not to talk to strangers, etc. that we think it's a new thing because of our crazy mixed-up world we live in. When Gary, Romaine and I were young, we went to a country school called Eleanor. It was one mile from our home. Dad took us to school in the morning, but at night we walked home. It was winter and we had had a lot of snow. Dad had taken us to school with the sled and horses, but we had to walk home in the cold and snow. While walking home a man in a road grader (snow plow) came up behind us and wanted us to ride. We would not get in and ride. Our folks had told us never get in with any stranger. Finally the guy went on down the road. We trudged along behind the grader all the way home into our yard. The man on the grader was Cliff Kramer, a friend of Dad's. He sees me to this day and reminds me of the time we kids walked rather than ride with him. He and Dad got a good laugh about it, but Dad should have been proud that his teachings stuck with us.
Peter B. was also known as ``Big Pete'' to distinguish him from his cousin Peter Nicklaus (Peter E., ``Little Pete'') who farmed nearby.
Peter also graduated from a LaSalle Extension University of Chicago business course. He was active in the Democratic party and held the position of township committeeman at his death. He was the president of the Monroe Twp board of education for many years and was also involved in the Parkersburg Rural Fire Association, the Farm Bureau, the Farmers Union, and the Knights of Columbus.
Here are a few more memories of Pete and Agnes contributed by Fred and Rue Nicklaus (told to Brenda (Nicklaus) Swailes July 1997):
Agnes Heger Nicklaus was nearly always late. Fred and his dad
and Joe Heger were out on the farm helping Pete husk corn. It got to
be noon and they went in for lunch, but Agnes hadn't started lunch
yet, so they waited, and finally Agnes started lunch and they ate, and
after lunch, Joe decided he couldn't go back to work right after lunch
without resting a while, so he stayed and rested while Fred and his
dad went back out to work.
Agnes was also not big on housework - the house was always
untidy with things laying around, and she always left all the days
dishes for Georgia to do when she got home from school. It seems
organization wasn't Agnes' strongest quality, but she was a very good
cook - she could bake the most wonderful cakes.
Pete had one eye that he couldn't see very well out of (if at
all) and was very self conscious about it, as it was noticeable.
(Fred thought that he was born with his eye that way). Despite this,
Pete read everything he could get his hands on, and any topic you
wanted to discuss, he had read about it and was ready to discuss it.
He always liked to take the opposite side of an argument, too, just
for the sake of arguing. Fred says Gerard (or Gary as he was
called) also inherited this argumentative trait, and that Pete and Dad
would start a friendly argument just to keep the conversation lively ---
they both knew it was all in fun.
Fred and Rue were good friends with Pete and Lu, and miss
their companionship a lot.
Fred was manager of the hotel in Parkersburg for a while, and
remembers running the hotel at night, and going to help Pete on the
farm in the morning - he was going about 24 hours a day. The hotel
sat on the corner of third street (the main street downtown) at the
north end of downtown, on the east side of the street. It is now a
car dealership lot for Badger Chevrolet.
Sources for this individual: @S2@ @S3@ @S4@ @S5@ @S341@
