Louisa S. Shafer

     Louisa S. Shafer was born on 20 October 1872 at Balls Mills, Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.^1,2 She was the daughter of Samuel B. Shafer and Maria Heim. Louisa S. Shafer married, at age 21, Jonathan W. Heim, age 32, son of Jacob G. Heim and Regina Gross, on Tuesday, 26 December 1893 at home of Samuel B. Shafer, Hope, Dickinson County, Kansas, by the Reverend D. A. Homfeld.² Louisa S. Shafer died on 25 July 1937 at Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, at age 64 years, 9 months and 5 days.³ She was buried in the Heim Cemetery, located in Dawson, Richardson County, Nebraska.³
     Written by Arthur W. Heim, son of Louisa S. (Shafer) Heim

Louisa Shafer, eldest daughter of Samuel B. and Mary Heim Shafer, was born October 20, 1872 on a farm two miles northwest of the village of Balls Mills in Lycoming County Pennsylvania. The farm was owned by John Shafer, oldest son of Frederick Schaeffer. It was then owned by J. Harold Shafer. Little is known of Louisa's childhood, but she attended Klump's School, also the Statin Hollow School.

In the fall of 1884 Samuel and Mary Heim Shafer with their children, Louisa (age 12), Elizabeth (age 10) and Mattie (age 6), left Pennsylvania by train and moved to Dawson, Nebraska. They made their home with Jacob G. Heim and family. This was the custom of those coming from Pennsylvania to Nebraska. They also spent some time with the John and Margaret Heim family; Margaret and Mary were sisters. Samuel looked for land to buy in the Dawson Community, but it was already too high-priced to suit him. He worked for Jacob G. Heim for a while, as they spent several months around Dawson.

In the fall of 1885, or the spring of 1886, against the wishes and advice of relatives around Dawson, the family moved further west in Nebraska. They lived for a few weeks in Hebron. From there they moved to a farm near Imperial where Samuel tok a homestead on a quarter-section of land. It was on this homestead that he cut prairie sod and built a nice house for his family. This sod was called "prairie marble." The family lived there for several years. Mother told us of the pony she had and of riding on the prairie side-saddle; she became quite an expert rider. About the only fuel available was buffalo chips. Louisa and her sisters would go out on the prairie to gather them. She told us of the prairie chickens and how nice they "sang." The sod house was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It was here that the youngest child, and only son, John, was born on August 5, 1891.

For Samuel and Mary Heim Shafer, it was a time of hardship. They were hit by grasshoppers, drought, prairie fires, hot winds and chinch bugs. They had poor crops or crop failures year after year and were unable to make a living. When they coud no longer endure their problems, they moved to a farm near Abilene. Their address was Hope, Kansas.

During the time the family lived in the Dawson community, Louisa and Mary Heim, daughter of John J. and Rosina Heim, had become close friends. This family and the Jacob G. Heim family were neighbors. Louisa had also become acquainted with Jonahan Heim, son of Jacob and Regina Gross Heim. Through the years Louisa and Mary corresponded, and after the family moved to Kansas, Mary invited Louisa to Dawson for a visit. It was during this time that Louisa and Jonathan became interested in each other, and in the summer of 1893 they became engaged. They were married on December 26, 1893 at Louisa's home near Hope, Kansas, by the Rev. D. A. Homfeld.

Jonathan brought his bride back to the home of his parents. They built an addition of two rooms on the east side of the house, where they lived, using also part of the old house. About 1903 Jacob and Regina moved to a house in Dawson. Now Jonthan and Louisa had all of the big house which they needed for their growing family. The house was remodeled at various times, and a Delco 32V light plant was installed about 1916. They were one of the first families to have electricity and running water in the community.

Louisa was a wonderful mother and homemaker. She lavished love upon her children and yet she disciplined them whenever necessary. She was a fine cook and baked sixteen loaves of bread per week when her family was all at home. She always raised a big garden, canning many jars of vegetables and fruits. One of her specialties was pickles alone. She had a large flock of chickens which were hatched under 'setting hens'. Her hobbies were flowers and house plants. She played the accordion and the organ and had a beautiful singing voice, teaching all of her children to sing and instilling in them an appreciation of music that has endured through the years. She was a firm believer in education; she wanted all of her children to attend high school and college. Jonathan and Louisa were early members of the Dawson Evangelical Church (later the Evangelical United Brethren Church) and it was their custom to attend regularly. They were faithful in support and attendance as long as their health permitted.

Jonathan expanded his farming operation and bought more land until he eventually owned and operated a half-section with the assistance of a renter and later help from his sons. He raised corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa and clover. He had a fine herd of purebred Polled Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs. In 1929 Jonathan suffered a farm accident and his health began to fail. His sons, Wesley and Arthur, took over the operation of the farm. Jonathan passed away on July 27, 1934.

Louisa, in later years, wanted to live in town. In the spring of 1935 she moved to a house in Dawson accompanied by her daughter, Edith. She was happy in her new home until her health began to fail in the spring of 1937. Her illness was diagnsed as toxic goiter; she underwent surgery in Topeka, Kansas, but never regained consciousness, passing away on July 25, 1937. She and Jonathan are buried in the family plot in the Heim Cemetery, Dawson, Nebraska.³