B. Rohner Drive

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: I don't know what you think about it, but that's the way my thinking would be.

Bob Zybach: Well, I think I want your opinion. You grew up here.

B. Rohner Drive

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: There's our road, we used to walk to school. It went straight up till it intersected the Butte, and then it went about the same angle as the Butte on back, to our buildings. Then down a little, then downhill just a little bit. Where the buildings were. Went straight across the highway here, and there was .. . it was about, roughly in round figures, it was about a mile up here and a little less than a mile to Wells, but then the school was up the railroad track a ways, so altogether there was about a mile over here and, well 2 miles to school everyday to walk.

Bob Zybach: Now, this road here, was that in there when you first moved in or did you build that?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: It might have been in. Eston Carter I think was here a little bit before us, so he probably. . . but as I remember Dad saying the right-of-way belonged to us. With the place. But Eston Carter helped maintain to where his gate was to turn off.

Bob Zybach: Okay, now we're looking due west right along...

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: I think due west.

Bob Zybach: Between a plowed field here and a unattended field. Must be a property line.

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: Well, yes, this was a plowed field on this side also.

Bob Zybach: On the south side.

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: On both sides. When we were living here. And Steilmacher on that side and Eston Carter on that side. But of course now it's not being farmed on this side at all. The disposal company owns all this property now over here. From here on. I don't think they own that.

Bob Zybach: Were those poplars there?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: No, that was all farm land. Those poplars were planted here I'm sure by the State. Because the State owned that for a while and they used the quarry up there for some time. But it seems to me that I have heard that the disposal property bought that from the State, but I'm not sure.

Bob Zybach: When did they abandon this road?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: This road here?

Bob Zybach: Yeah.

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: As soon as Camp Adair bought it.

Bob Zybach: Okay, and then they just abandoned the road immediately.

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: Abandoned the road immediately. Built the other road just south a little bit all the way through.

Bob Zybach: Oh, I see. Okay. And then the Steilmacher house that you had purchased, did Camp Adair take that house out at that time?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: No, the Steilmacher house came long before. See about, approximately 1915, '16 or so. That it was bought and moved up there. Of course it was never put on it's foundation until my father bought the farm.

Bob Zybach: And so, but then after Camp Adair bought the farm from you, how long did the house stay there?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: It was just a short time, and some soldiers were messing around, and it caught on fire and burned down. Not long after Camp Adair.

Bob Zybach: Was it kind of upsetting to your family, to see the family home burn like that?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: Well, yes and no. We wanted a new house so bad, and we already had some of the lumber to build a new house, that we didn't care all that much. About the old house.

Bob Zybach: One last question. On the Steilmachers, we never talked about them before. Did they live around here for a lot of years?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: Yes, I think for a good many years. Because they were older people than my parents. By several years. Quite a few years. And they were here ever since, as long as I can remember.

Bob Zybach: Were they Swiss?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: No, German.

Bob Zybach: Had they come straight over from Gennany?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: I don't think so.

Bob Zybach: Did they have German accents?

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: Not that I can remember.

Bob Zybach: Okay, but just Gennan ancesny.

John Jacob "Jake" Rohner: German ancestry, yes.

Bob Zybach: Oh, okay.