A Book of Generations

Sweere, Dykhoff, Richart, Duren and collateral lineages





My Story
By Marie (Sederdahl) Sweere

First of all, there are a few comments I wanted to make about some of the family.

I am real proud to say Dax and Derek Marvel are both Career Air Force.

Shawn Butts is a General Contractor in Helena, MT.

Karla Butts married Kirk, who played pro football, for Cincinatti, Denver, and San Fran #76; they are retired now in Florence, MT.

Jeff Evinrude is in Kalispell with his family, and works in the timber industry. Teresa had diabetes and had a kidney-pancreas transplant and is doing great-going to University for nursing in this field.

Tony Butts graduated as a Youth Minister but is now operating a company that deals in total home care---quite a system he is head of.

Keyla Butts graduated in Youth Ministries and Music but is working for the University as a recruiting officer. Gets to travel all over North America.

Micheal Duff is in the Oil Industry , working on Service all over Central, and Nothern Alberta.

Chalena Duff married Jarvie Ashton, they have two redheaded little guys whose tempers reflect there heritage, but they are great Great Gransons. Jarvie works in the mining industry and Chalena was taking Electonics at college, but since developing MS and not needing to work, has become a lady of leisure, working harder with all their extra activities and two small boys.

Neva's husband, Robert, is from Scotland and they live in Alberta, Canada. It's actually only about 100 miles away, but sounds so far being in another country.

Now for My story:

When I was born at home in a small house in a wooded lot in Butler, my Mother was 44 at the time, and had a very difficult serious delivery. They sent for the Priest from Holy Cross Catholic church about 11/2 miles from home. He performed "Last Rites" on Mother and baptized Me, but thank the GOOD LORD He wasn't ready for us yet.

Mother lived to be 91 and I'm 76 and still going pretty good yet. He had other reasons for us.

We moved to Carrington, N.D. when I was 6 yrs. old, where Dad share-cropped a section of land. They milked about 20 cows, selling the cream and butter and raised about 60-80 pigs a year which were butchered and sold in the fall, just keeping a few for the next years crop. Raised turkeys, chickens. The first 2 years we also had about 100 head of sheep, but didn't take much deciding to get rid of them. Mother raised a garden, had fruit trees, berries, etc.. She churned her own butter, so we had all our milk, butter, cream, eggs, with any kind of meat, vegetabless and fruit that we wanted, right there from our own farm. All our work was done by teams of horses. We grew grains, hay, potatoes and corn. We had 2 big silos for corn fodder and ground our own grain for feed.

I started school in Butler, but moved after 2 months. I started in a country school 3 miles from home, which was either walking or riding a horse with my older maternal half brother, John Himmesoete, who was still home for one year. Skipped, passed over 2nd grade. In winter, Dad would take the boxed sleigh and drive me to school, church, or town. Many times we couldn't even see the fences, snow was so deep and drifted. Mother would heat flat irons and quilts for our ride to keep us warm. Same way to Church, spring and fall; I had to walk the 4 miles to town. Saturdays were Catechism. I had my First Communion and was confirmed in Carrington.

After Dad passed away, Mother and I came to Montana to live with half brothers John and Camiel. As they lived about 15 miles from town, I had to have room and board with a wonderful couple who owned the town's café. Then after school and weekends I worked for them to pay my way. I quit school in my junior year, married Paul and then moved to Moline, Illinois where Mother now lived with her new husband, Henry Van de Vere, who was an old acquaintance from her home town in Eekloo, Belgium.

When my kids were grown, I took my GED classes. I had a 94 percentile average after all those years. I was and am very Proud of it---I GOT MY DIPLOMA AFTER ALL!!!

I had a very good life, worked very hard, raised a BIG garden, canned between 1000-1200 jars of goodies yearly to supply the family. After Wallace passed away I worked for 5 years as manager and bartender of a big bar, dance hall and restaurant. This was all during the construction of the Kootenai Dam and 7 mile tunnel, when all the Corp of Engineers moved into the area. It was very busy!!

I met Leslie then, got married & started home making again. In the fall of the year we would cut 2 or 3 railroad carloads of Christmas trees to ship out. I did this while married to both Wallace and Leslie. Later I managed a tree yard for 13 years. I did all the sorting grading, sizing or culling. Had a big crew of workers for tying, tagging and butting etc. Put out between 12-15 semi-truckloads each year for a company out of Kalispell Done a lot of camping, fishing ,hunting, traveling a lot of the time. We enjoyed the outdoors so much in our beautiful "BIG SKY COUNTRY" of Montana and other places.

After I divorced Paul, naturally I was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, so a few years later, Wallace and the kids and myself took classes and all joined the Lutheran Church. Later Leslie joined with me. We had a very wonderful Pastor to begin with. He was funny, friendly and made a person feel at home, but when he was Pastoring, he definitely Was a True Man of God and pulled no bones.

I'm still active in the church, and in the VFW Auxillary, Christian Women's league, and teach Bible Studies. I am in my 8th year of councilperson for the town of Rexford.

So I keep busy and enjoy everything. Still have a big yard(!/3 acre) for summer work (some fruit too) and a 3 bedroom home for all the winter work of crocheting, knitting, quilting, and embroidery work. I stay home and keep the home fires burning (literally). Just Me and my Shadow---"CUBBY" a 4 yr. old pure black cocker spaniel. Of course he loves to have all the kids around.

OF THE 8 KIDS MOM AND DAD HAD, I'M THE ONLY ONE LEFT!!!!! Didn't mean to write a book, but please feel free to cut anything you'd like.

Love MARIE

P.S. Funny Thing: when Leslie was in the service in 1943-44 home on leave, we met, had a few dates. Each went our separate ways, married, raised our families. When he came back to Montana after losing his wife in New Jersey, we met again and "That's All Folks". Small world!!!

Source: Email correspondence from Marie Johanna Sweere (ID# I7675) to Richard T. Sweere (ID# I0095), 23 July 2003, edited for publication here by Jodi A. Sweere.



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