ESTELLE KNAPP
“Blessings Deferred”
For the Fries family, the blessings of joy and prospering were to come over time....
This is the drama of the Fries family, told as factual, historical events as they have been passed down through the generations.
Before radio, telephones, cars, computers and rockets, life was simpler, but not unlike it is today. It was late in the 1860’s, and times were very tough.
When the Turner and the Fries families set out on the road to the little village of Greenville, Michigan, the wonder and possibility of a new life awaited them. The Turner family barely makes it to Greenville on a harsh rainy evening. When the Smith family adopts little Lucinda Turner, after her parents tragically die, she is too young to understand.
Years later, Lucinda “Lucy” Turner Smith will meet a man named Clarence Fries, who will take up carpentry in the little community, and they will be blessed with 9 children, which was not uncommon in those days.
Estelle Fries was one of those 9 children. She would later marry, and write her stories down for her Children and Grandchildren, and live to 100 years of age. In her lifetime, she saw many changes in the world, but human nature never changes. These were the days she grew up in and this is her story as she told it over 40 years ago. As promised to her years before her passing, the story is as last in print!
From 1860’s Greenville, Michigan to 1930’s Chicago, Illinois, this is the story of the Fries family and their descendants, as told by Estelle Fries Browne Knapp, and transposed and updated by her descendants.
In Loving Memory Of Grandma Knapp...
1896-1996
Estelle Marien Fries Browne Knapp was born in Greenville, Michigan in 1896, before the car, before radio, TV, or most modernization. She lived during the most advanced age of development in the world, and in her lifetime saw advances from horses and buggies to landing a man on the Moon. She was a good hearted, Christian woman who spent a lot of her life in Chicago, and performed and sang for the Chautauqua Circuit in the 1920’s. She married in the 1920’s and had two children, Martha and Robert, who went on to marry and have children and grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. Estelle Browne’s first husband died in a train accident while working on the railroad after 42 years of marriage. She worked for Gibson Refrigerator Co as a secretary and could type 120 WPM. Many years later, she married Carl Knapp, but he died of heart attack. She later moved out to California in 1971, and remained there until her death at age 100 in 1996. Blessings Deferred would have been her first novel, had it been published in 1957. She made several short stories in 1975, based upon the novel, but they were lost for many years. The short stories were found in California in her old residence in 1998, and the novel, at her son’s house, in 2003. Lovingly and meticulously, her grandchildren combined and compiled them into this one work.
For Grandma Knapp, In Loving Memory, 1896-1996
Special Thanks to Dad, Mom, Martha, and Aunt Martha Mossberger, Jeanette Fries Dehn, Bartell Fries, and others that helped out.
Michigan, 1863
Springtime in Grand Rapids did not turn Tom Turner to thoughts of renewal. Tom walked along the dirt road that wound its way through town and saw that some of the young trees planted in Rowe’s apple orchard were being cut down by a group of field hands. ‘Blight,’ he thought bitterly. The scraggly trees behind the sun-bleached barn had been bearing spotted and sickly-looking fruit since the beginning of spring, but the rot must have finally spread to the entire orchard. Tom watched as the workers sweated and sawed and turned the once bountiful trees into so much kindling. Branch after branch tumbled to the dusty earth while spoiled apples were kicked aside by the workers’ scuffed boots.
It wasn’t until he felt a hand clap gently against his shoulder that he realized with a start that he’d been standing in place.
He blinked and turned to see a Union hat perched on top of a head of reddish-brown hair, just above a pair of pale blue eyes and a thin pair of lips upturned in a pinched smile. “Tom.”
“Luke,” nodded Tom.
“Are you well?”
“Pretty well.” Tom resisted the urge to scowl.
They stared at each other in silence for several moments. At last, Luke gestured with his chin toward the Rowe orchard. “It’s a shame, isn’t it? Old man Clark thinks his orchard is cursed.”
“Old Clark is a coot.”
Luke chuckled. “Well now he’s an enlisted coot.”
Tom blinked in surprise. “Samuel Clark? He’s 45 years old!”
Luke’s pinch of a smile crept up. “What else is a farmer with nothin’ to farm going to do?”
“Huh,” Tom just shrugged.
A horse drawn carriage loaded with soldiers rode by, as the dust kicked up. The soldiers hollered. Luke hopped into the wagon as they went, disappearing down the road.
As Tom walked to the blacksmith shop he looked with melancholy at the “Closed” sign on the craggy wooden door. He coughed as he meandered, lost in thought for a moment, toward the shop. Other shops were opened, and the sounds of metal stamping began. He wished he could continue to work, but it was getting harder and harder to keep up with the competition.
“Excuse me, smithy,” an irritated voice came.
“Oh, I didn’t notice you.” Tom looked up at a thin man with bronze colored hair, and red freckles. “I’m closing ‘cause of the other shops are doin’ better.”
The irritated man thrust a broken plough into his hand. “Well could you stay open so I can have this fixed?”
Tom considered just walking away, but he figured a little work might do him some good, at least a little. He limped as he reached for the door, and flipped over the wooden signboard. “I suppose it can’t hurt. You’re my first customer in a week.”
The man was not interested in hearing about it and grumbled.
Tom noticed that he had a similar plough handle hanging on a rack nearby and pulled it down. He took hold of the other handle, removed the bolts, and fastened the working part of the plough to it. The job wasn’t great, but it would do.
The man grumbled upon inspecting the job. “Here’s 5 cents.” He gave him a coin, turned to take his repaired plough, and left quickly.
Tom hoped that he might get another customer that day, so he stayed open, however the other blacksmiths were busy, and nobody came all day.
Tom had received a letter earlier in the day. He pulled the letter from his pocket to re-read the creased parchment. The letters were printed. “Dear Tom: I have good news for you. I understand how tough it is for you there, and that you must get working to support your family. Well there may be a chance here, and it may help your life get better. Greenville has fresh air and sunshine, and most importantly, it needs a blacksmith! They have good land for free to settlers! The lakes and streams are clear and the flowers are just blooming. I’ve hired on a girl to help with the family, and she can also help with guests. My family could even board you and yours for a little while, till you get settled. Please let me know what you think. Sincerely, Pete.”
Tom felt hopeful that there might be a way to support his family, as the prospects for a new life in the frontier town seemed pretty appealing.
The thought of moving weighed on his mind as he walked back to his home. As he flipped end over end the 5-cent piece the stranger tossed at him, he was reminded of the meager income left to him. His parents left him an inheritance, but it wasn’t enough for his family to live on.
Greenville was promising, he thought, if only we can get through the last month of Lucinda’s pregnancy.
Lucinda came to the door to greet Tom, but she clearly was not well. She turned to him to ask how his day was while stifling a cough. He smiled as he noticed that she was still pretty despite the sickness. Her peaches and cream complexion, paled by the sickness, was her most distinct feature, and her curls of shimmering auburn hair had turned a frazzled dull brown, but he only saw the face of his bride. Sadness crept into her dark brown eyes, but she smiled at her husband in a way that still melted him. Lucinda asked,
“How was work?”
“Oh, you shouldn’t worry about that. It was fine.”
Lucinda looked puzzled. Usually Tom came home sullen and quiet, but this time he seemed excited about something.
“I got a chance for a new start up north in Greenville,” Tom told her, “Our friend Pete says he can find a place for us and we will be able to live there, and even prosper. We can move right in as soon as we get there!”
Lucinda knew that it would be tough getting to Greenville in her condition. She coughed again, feeling faint. “You’ve made up your mind.”
Tom had a twinkle in his eyes. “I have.”
“I am a little worried.” Lucinda replied, and smiled as best she could.
“Don’t worry, my pet. Pete’s a good man, and he has given us hope.”
Then she asked, “How soon do you want to leave?”
“Well, if possible, after the baby is born.”
Lucinda started to cry, and between sobs she said, “I will try and be ready to leave when the baby is due.”
Tom was proud of Lucinda and he tenderly petted her. Then he smiled and said, “You are so brave, my wife.”
The Turners made preparations for the coming baby. One of Tom’s friends in town was able to arrange for purchase of the shop, so that he didn’t have to.
