Family Stories & Reflections
Memories and reflections passed down through the Schmieder-Beck family are shared here as stories of faith, hard work, and perseverance—stories that help keep their lives and legacy alive.
Chapter 42—Celebrating Grandparents Day: Honoring George and Rosa Schmieder
Rosa and George Schmieder—Grandparents to Forty-One A Day to Honor Grandparents On Sunday, September 13,...
Chapter 41—Willow Branches and Lead Sinkers: Schmieder Boyhood Along the Tonawanda Creek.
The original flattened lead pipe from which the Schmieder boys made sinkers for their homemade...
Chapter 40: From Revolution to Hall’s Hill: Alexander’s Founding Generation and a Fourth of July on the Schmieder Farm
Dr. Jonathan Hall (1757–1812), Revolutionary War soldier, physician, and pioneer settler. His name remains forever...
Chapter 39—The Lippold Brothers: Building Farms, Homes, and Families
The Lippold Brothers—Frank, John, and William. Skilled carpenters and builders from Darien, New York, whose...
Chapter 38 — Building for the Future: Expanding the Schmieder Farm During the Depression
The Schmieder farm, circa 1900, before George Schmieder's Depression-era additions expanded and modernized the farmstead....
Chapter 37— Music, Memory, and Fellowship on the Schmieder Home Place
Picture of a Schmieder gathering during the Depression years in the 1930s. Pictured in the...
Chapter 36 — The Hired Man on the Schmieder Farm: The Life of Henry Vollmer
Henry Vollmer (left) and Magdalena Beck (center) on the Schmieder farm, early 1930s, prior to...
Chapter 35 — For a Season: The Life of DeForest “Chrissy” Christ, Hired Man
Gravestone of DeForest “Chrissy” Christ (1899–1974). The Hired Man’s Room The hired men slept in...
