Birth:
| Feb. 9, 1910 Dundee Delaware County Iowa, USA | |
| Death: | Aug. 23, 1986 Rapid City Pennington County South Dakota, USA |
   Dale William Zemanek was born in Dundee, Iowa on February 9, 1910 to Frederick William Zemanek and Winifred E. (Hood) Zemanek. His father died 2 months before he was born. In about 1914/1915, after attending kindergarten in Dundee, Great Grandma Winnie and Grandad Dale moved to Western Nebraska. Grandma Winnie had married Guy Williams in hopes to have a father for her young son and he a mother for his children and they lived in Melbeta. Following his mother's early death in 1918 and a few months later her husband, Grandad was raised by his Grandfather, James Edward "Ed" Hood. He attended school in Melbeta and Minatare, NE. Grandpa Hood had worked for Mel Nichols, who farmed on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota and also for Rube Davis, who farmed just east of Minatare, NE. Grandad had told stories about how he and the Davis boys would ride horseback into Minatare on Saturday evenings for a night on the town, if that was possible in Nebraska in the late 20's. Grandad met and married Grandma Margaret Alvina Gartman on August 7, 1932 in Alliance, Nebraska. I recall Grandma telling me the story about them hitching up the horses to the wagon and driving over to Alliance from Bayard so they could get married. She was nervous because it was not long after she graduated from Bayard High School and she was afraid what Grandpa Gartman would think. He wanted her to get her nurses training instead of marrying a farmer. After they were married Grandad Dale, went to work for Richard Knapp who had farmed east of Minatare. Part of his salary was the privilege for the newlyweds to live in a one room bunkhouse on the Knapp farm. Grandma often referred it to it as their mansion on the hill and it was where their two sons were born. Many years later, us grand-kids would go and play house there and Grandma would scoot us out, but not until we swept it. Dale and Margaret continued to farm the Knapp and Davis farm while raising Lewis Dale and Glen Marvin until they purchased the property as their own. Proudly they farmed sugar beets, corns, beans along with a huge garden. They had chickens and sold farm eggs to the neighbors and they had milk cows that they sold and delivered milk and cream to the Platte Valley Creamer in Scottsbluff, NE in the back of the old truck. Grandad also worked campaigns at the Great Western Sugar Company. He started out as a sample carrier at the Minatare factory in November of 1930. After the Minatare factory closed, he continued to work at the Bayard, NE GWS. He continued to work as an Assistant Chemist til his retirement in 1975. He work 46 campaigns in all and was proud he only missed one day of work. (he would make homemade hard candy in the lab with a bunsen burner and beaker... it was the best candy ever that he would treat us kids to. I can remember when he would bring out that white cardboard container and open it up and tell us a job well done and hard work deserves a piece of heaven) Grandad and Grandma sold the Bayard farm in 1972. I remember the day of the auction; a found memory... They never got rid of anything... there were piles and piles of nuts and bolts that sold by the buckets. It was the day I actually saw a tear in Grandad's eyes. He loved that farm. They didn't even have an indoor bathroom til the early 60's, even though Grandad still insisted on using the outhouse and we were only allowed to flush the new toilet inside every 3 or 4 uses. Living through the depression made them a humble and frugal couple. They moved to into Bayard for a couple years and then moved to Mitchell, NE to be close to Dad. Grandad drove deliveries for Dad's Grocery Store and Grandma worked in the Deli and Bakery. They were hard working people and they taught all of us to give 200% or not at all. They both became icons of the community and helped out at the Mitchell Senior Center. One week they took a vacation to Rapid City, SD and the call came that Grandad had suffered a fatal heart attack Aug. 23, 1986. The funeral was held at the Mitchell Federated Church with standing room only. He was loved by many. My fondest memories are from the farm... homemade ice cream, big dinners, hair cuts, Grandad playing his harmonica and guitar together and reel to reel home movies on Sundays. He had built a trout pond on the farm and he fished ice cold winters and warm hot summers. Family was everything... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memorial by Granddaughter Cheri Zemanek Kennedy Zemanek = Czechoslovakia descendants Family links: Parents: Frederick William Zemanek (1882 - 1909) Winnifred E. Hood/Zemanek Williams (1889 - 1918) Spouse: Margaret Alvina Gartman Zemanek (1914 - 2007)* Children: Lewis Dale Zemanek (1935 - 2007)* Glen Marvin Zemanek (1936 - 1996)* | |
