125 Years Ago Today.....
....Arnold J. Coppock was born in Milnerville, in rural Plymouth County, Iowa. on May 23, 1895, to parents Harvey J. and Mary Jane (Horton) Coppock. The family moved to Sioux City about 1904 and then to Le Mars in 1910. Arnold was one of 6 children,: 4 sisters and a younger brother.
He met Ethel Ferguson while riding a horse, herding cows to a nearby pasture. That was a common practice in those years, earning money taking theirs and neighbors' cows to pasture. They were paid 50 cents per month per cow! Ethel was also taking a few cows to the same pasture when they met.
During the summer months, he would often go to the Tom Hummel farm near Elk Point, SD, to work in the fields. His sister Goldie was married to Tom. Like most teens back then, he quit school after finishing 8th grade. He would do odd jobs, tend horses, and herd cows to make money.
After their marriage in 1914, he finished the harvest season on the farm and then got a job grafting trees for a nursery in Le Mars. After moving to their own house, Arnold began working for the Express Company (later American Express) at the train depot. Ashton was born in January of 1916 and Clyde in December of 1917. By then, World War I was on the horizon, and all males 18 and older were required to register with the local draft board.
The "yellowed" article from the Le Mars Globe Post pictures a young Arnold Coppock (standing left) working in the express office at the depot. The document above is the World War I draft card that was signed by him in 1917. Since the railroads were taken over by the U.S. Government during the war, he was exempted from military service. In other words, his job was "essential" to the defense of the country.
Grandpa was certainly known for his temper. Fortunately, they were short-lived, often brought on by frustration with either Grandma's nagging or just not being a "morning person". In one of the family stories often related during get-togethers, Grandpa supposedly went out early one winter morning to take the car to town to run some errands. This is when they lived on the farm in Lake Benton, MN.
Of course, the old cars in those days had a hand crank to be inserted in the front. Well, the crank was icy and it slipped out of its slot and hit Grandpa in the lip. Now, this is hearsay; but, supposedly, he took the crank and knocked both headlights off the car. (Picture the car below, the one with Ashton and Clyde standing in front of. You can just barely see a headlight to the right of Ashton.)
There are two other "incidents" relating to his temper. Grandma had mended one of his pockets, and afterwards, he had put some coins in it. Well, the coins gradually slipped through a hole; he jammed both fists in his pockets and then said, "This time, fix them right"! On another occasion, he literally threw a chair out the back door of the cottage at Battle Lake.
I include these only as isolated, humorous incidents. He was a very gentle, loving person; and like most people, irritation often caused irrational behavior. As Ashton once told me at the shop one morning, "Be careful around Dad because someone pulled his chain this morning". Well, we all knew who that "someone" was!!!
After returning to Le Mars after their farm bankruptcy in the early 1930's, he went to work for Grau Company in Le Mars, and much of the rest has been related in earlier blogs. He did apply for a job with the U.S. Postal Service in 1931, but since so many were out of work and looking for jobs, this did not come to fruition.
During the late 1930's and the 1940's he sold automobiles and farm implements, and managed the business for Clarence Grau.
The above picture is the "Grandpa" that I knew as a little boy. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He lived through World Wars I and II, a Great Depression; he saw both of his sons leave for military service during WWII; he had a child lose an eye in a farm accident in the 1920's; and later, that same son died from kidney failure in 1965. Still, he remained a steadfast Christian man and a faithful long-time member of the First Baptist Church in Le Mars.
Personally, he set the standard for being a grandparent, and I can only hope that I would have made him proud if he were living today. I've always considered myself to be one of the luckiest grandsons in the world.
Arnold J. Coppock died on May 24, 1976, a day after his 81st birthday. He had been doing some lawn work when Grandma found him lying on the ground in front of their house.
"R.I.P. Grandpa."
DAC
5/23/2020
He met Ethel Ferguson while riding a horse, herding cows to a nearby pasture. That was a common practice in those years, earning money taking theirs and neighbors' cows to pasture. They were paid 50 cents per month per cow! Ethel was also taking a few cows to the same pasture when they met.
During the summer months, he would often go to the Tom Hummel farm near Elk Point, SD, to work in the fields. His sister Goldie was married to Tom. Like most teens back then, he quit school after finishing 8th grade. He would do odd jobs, tend horses, and herd cows to make money.
After their marriage in 1914, he finished the harvest season on the farm and then got a job grafting trees for a nursery in Le Mars. After moving to their own house, Arnold began working for the Express Company (later American Express) at the train depot. Ashton was born in January of 1916 and Clyde in December of 1917. By then, World War I was on the horizon, and all males 18 and older were required to register with the local draft board.
The "yellowed" article from the Le Mars Globe Post pictures a young Arnold Coppock (standing left) working in the express office at the depot. The document above is the World War I draft card that was signed by him in 1917. Since the railroads were taken over by the U.S. Government during the war, he was exempted from military service. In other words, his job was "essential" to the defense of the country.
Grandpa was certainly known for his temper. Fortunately, they were short-lived, often brought on by frustration with either Grandma's nagging or just not being a "morning person". In one of the family stories often related during get-togethers, Grandpa supposedly went out early one winter morning to take the car to town to run some errands. This is when they lived on the farm in Lake Benton, MN.
Of course, the old cars in those days had a hand crank to be inserted in the front. Well, the crank was icy and it slipped out of its slot and hit Grandpa in the lip. Now, this is hearsay; but, supposedly, he took the crank and knocked both headlights off the car. (Picture the car below, the one with Ashton and Clyde standing in front of. You can just barely see a headlight to the right of Ashton.)
There are two other "incidents" relating to his temper. Grandma had mended one of his pockets, and afterwards, he had put some coins in it. Well, the coins gradually slipped through a hole; he jammed both fists in his pockets and then said, "This time, fix them right"! On another occasion, he literally threw a chair out the back door of the cottage at Battle Lake.
I include these only as isolated, humorous incidents. He was a very gentle, loving person; and like most people, irritation often caused irrational behavior. As Ashton once told me at the shop one morning, "Be careful around Dad because someone pulled his chain this morning". Well, we all knew who that "someone" was!!!
After returning to Le Mars after their farm bankruptcy in the early 1930's, he went to work for Grau Company in Le Mars, and much of the rest has been related in earlier blogs. He did apply for a job with the U.S. Postal Service in 1931, but since so many were out of work and looking for jobs, this did not come to fruition.
During the late 1930's and the 1940's he sold automobiles and farm implements, and managed the business for Clarence Grau.
The above picture is the "Grandpa" that I knew as a little boy. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He lived through World Wars I and II, a Great Depression; he saw both of his sons leave for military service during WWII; he had a child lose an eye in a farm accident in the 1920's; and later, that same son died from kidney failure in 1965. Still, he remained a steadfast Christian man and a faithful long-time member of the First Baptist Church in Le Mars.
Personally, he set the standard for being a grandparent, and I can only hope that I would have made him proud if he were living today. I've always considered myself to be one of the luckiest grandsons in the world.
Arnold J. Coppock died on May 24, 1976, a day after his 81st birthday. He had been doing some lawn work when Grandma found him lying on the ground in front of their house.
"R.I.P. Grandpa."
DAC
5/23/2020
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