Individual Details
Gerhard Louis "Lou" Heiken
(12 Feb 1908 - 24 Feb 1975)
(Their first son, Albert Louis, who was born in 1931, remembers....)
Louis Gerd Heiken was born February 12, 1908 in Castle Grove Township, Jones Co. Iowa, the son of I.A. and Elizabeth Eiben Heiken. Lou's early education was in the rural schools of Jones County. He always said that he learned English so that he could attend school from his sister, Caroline, as Low German was the only language spoken at home. He attended Monticello Public School, making the 16-mile round trip daily on horseback. He was the first in the household to attend High School, graduating from Monticello Public High School in 1925. In school he played football, earning a letter in his senior year. Louis also performed as "Dinwiddie" in the Senior class play of "Clarence" by Booth Tarkington presented May 1, 1925. After graduation, Lou attended a short course on dairying at Iowa State College (now University) in Ames, Iowa. He also worked the wheat harvest one season. He and his friends started in the Dakota's and followed the harvest into Canada.
On June 25, 1930, Louis married Elaine Eilers at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. Their first years were spent as tenant farmers on the Balster farm in Castle Grove Township, Jones County, where they started a dairy herd, and raised pigs, sheep and chickens. Farming was done with horses and by hand. Elaine helped in the milking of cows and raised chickens for both meat and eggs. The eggs were a cash product which allowed for groceries to be purchased. Much of the field work was shared between them. Elaine helped shocking the oats, putting hay into the barn, and picking corn.
After a couple of years, they moved to the Ferring farm (Section 16) in Lovell Township, just outside of Monticello. This farm was 120 acres and was a sharecropper lease. Ferring's half of the milk cows were Shorthorns and Louis had grade Jerseys.
Life was rough during this time (the 1930's), as money wasn't easy to come by. I remember that Dad killed some pigeons for us to eat, as there wasn't any meat. All the farming was done either with the team of horses or by hand, I remember Grandfather and Grandmother Eilers coming over to help shock the oats and the corn.
Dad did buy one of the first radios. It was powered by batteries and needed an antenna, which was run from the house to the windmill tower. I remember the neighborhood men and Uncle Grant coming over to listen to one of the Joe Louis fights. The family car during this time was a 1930 Chevy sedan. We didn't have running water. All the water was pumped by the windmill unless the wind died down, then it was pumped by hand. At least the pasture included the Maquoketa River, so the cows and horses could drink there and water didn't need to be hand pumped for them in the summer. Horses were the only means to plow and do the heavy work around the farm. We didn't have electric power in those days. Lanterns were used in the barn to milk by and kerosene lamps were used in the house. I don't believe they could afford to buy coal for the stove. I remember Dad cutting wood and splitting it for the stoves. Mother cooked on a wood burning stove. Dad had an accident cutting wood one afternoon. The ax cut into his shoe and went right between his big toe and the next toe, cutting into his foot. Between the hard times and Dad's fear of doctors, no medical care was sought. Dad put horse-healing powder on it and wrapped it up. It did appear to heal properly.
In 1936, they rented the Behrend's farm in Southfork Township, Delaware County, for cash rent. Louis used to laugh, years later, about when he and Joe Ferring divided the dairy herd; Ferring didn't want any Jerseys, so it appeared that the best of the dairy herd moved with Louis. The new farm was 180 acres and the first tractor was purchased, which was a steel wheeled Farmall F-20. This was later converted to rubber tires. The first few years here, the oats were still cut by a binder, stacked and then a threshing machine was hired by the neighborhood. The families would then start at one of the farms, threshing the oats from the straw with all the men sharing in the hauling the cut oat hay to the machine and others shoveling the oats into the sheds. The women would help each other prepare the noon meal (dinner) and evening meal (supper). Some crews also wanted lunch in the mid morning and between dinner and supper. This ended about three years later when Louis brought one of the first combines. It was an Allis-Chambers with a 36" cutting blade. It was just the size for one farm. Several years later, it was traded for a larger machine, which allowed Dad to hire out to others to combine their oats.
In 1939, they bought a 1939 Ford sedan, gray in color, as the new family vehicle. A farm hand was hired during this era to help work the farm and milk the cows. The farm didn't have electric lights till the early forties as the Behrends' family didn't wish to spend the money to wire the house and the other farm buildings when "REA" (Rural Electrification Administration) first brought electric lights to the farms. Up to this time, the cows were milked by hand, morning and night. One of the greatest results of the coming of the electric lights, was the purchase of a milking machine. Between the cash rent and the rising prices, because of the coming war, farming started to pay off. By 1943, enough money was saved to make a down payment on a farm.
The farm selected was the Gerdes farm in Castle Grove Township, SW 1/4 of section 24. This farm was 160 acres plus 10 acres of timber in Lovell Township. Price paid was in the area of $110 per acre. They moved in January, 1944. At this time, the principal business was still the dairy herd which by this time was good quality grade Jerseys. A registered Jersey bull was purchased and the herd improved even more. The milk was separated, the cream sold to be made into butter and the skim milk was fed too the pigs and chickens. Eggs and pork were the other cash products at this time. Some sheep were raised, both for wool and meat. One of the reasons I was allowed to drive to high school was that I delivered the cream to the creamery on the way to school.
Louis became the assessor for Castle Grove Township during this period. This was a job for extra money and also allowed his favorite pastime, talking and finding out what was going on in the area. This job was held several years, as he was re-elected once.
Through his efforts, his sons joined the local 4-H Club (He also served as the 4-H leader for several years) and thus, got them showing Jersey calves at the Jones County fair. This started with the showing of the grade Jersey calves and then he helped each boy buy a registered Jersey heifer. The show herd was outstanding in the area of winning ribbons and some cash.
On a 4-H field trip, July 19, 1946, Dad was driving on a county dirt road and at a road crossing we collided with a car on the crossing road. The '39 Ford was totaled, Dad was ejected and I ended up in the back seat. Neither of us needed to see a doctor, as we only had bruises. This was a bad time to lose a car as the war was just ending; vehicles were very hard to find. Dad finally found a '37 Ford coupe, which would only hold three persons on the front seat. The fourth person had to set on the floor behind the seat. We didn't travel as a family much during this period. Dad had placed his name on the waiting list for a pickup prior to the accident and he was allowed to move his name to the sedan list and we were able to get a 1946 Ford 4 door sedan, straight 6, gray-green in color. I got the '37 Ford to drive to high school.
The dream of selling registered Jerseys ended when the 4-H show herd picked up Bangs disease. Also, both boys had left the farm and the free labor to milk the cows was gone. Plus, the market demand for butter had reduced after the war and the profit in dairy farming had passed. The dairy herd was sold and the operation changed to the fattening of beef cattle.
As he approached retirement, Louis slowed down the farming operation and at the age of 65, rented out the land, but kept the house as his residence. He became the Township clerk and was on the Castle Grove A.S.C.S. (Agricultural Stabiliztion and Conservation Service) Board during this time. Lou also held various offices in the St. Matthew Lutheran Church and was chairman of the Deacons at the time of his death.gricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
Traveling was also an interest. Louis went to the 1934 Worlds Fair in Chicago by escorting a boxcar of a neighbor's steers to the Chicago Stockyards as this provided a free train ticket. In 1940, Dad and Mother planned a trip to Colorado. I begged to go, and won. Jim stayed home with Grandmother Eilers. We stopped at Uncle Cornelius Eiben's farm in Wymore, Neb., then to Rocky Mountain National Park, Pikes Peak, and back to Iowa. After the war was over, they toured most of the rest of the country, esp. the western states, and the Western National parks. It was during a trip to Hawaii, in 1975, that Lou had a heart attack in Honolulu and died.
Elaine lived in the farmhouse for several more years until she was unable to drive because of eyesight problems. She took one tour to Europe during this period but most of her travel ended except for trips to California to see her first grandchild. The farm was then sold to Robert and Madonna Lemmer. She bought a house at 1136 North Third Street in Manchester, Iowa, next door to her daughter, Jane Ann Lloyd.
(Albert L. Heiken, Jan 1994)
In 1948 Lou planned a trip to California to see his brother Harvey's place in Porterville. Jane says "Dad took the hired man (the first guy in the picture) and his brother - the guy on the other side of my Dad) to California. The hired man had the dream of seeing the West and going to California. My parents really liked this guy - wish I could remember his name - he loved my Mother's cooking because his mother was not a very good cook. He slept in the spare bedroom upstairs at the farm when he worked for them. My Dad wanted to take him and he liked the idea of having several drivers along who could take over when he got tired. He made a deal with my Mother & Jim that he would take them to California on the next trip and your Dad (Al) would have to stay home by himself to do the chores. Looks like your Dad is around 16 or 17 on the picture which would place the trip around the mid 1940's. I think the following year when Jim went he was around 13." (Jane Lloyd)
(June 17, 1926)
Louis Heiken, who has been a student at Iowa State college at Ames, came Tuesday to spend the summer in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Heiken, in Castle Grove township.
(April 9, 1931)
Castle Grove Lutheran
...For entertainment John Gerdes had prepared a pie-eating contest. The man who ate his whole pie first without using his hands won the prize of a dollar bill. You should have seen John Specht, Louis Heiken and two members of the Riedel trio eat pie. Specht beat them all. ...
Monticello Express, Thu, Jul 25, 1946, Monticello, Iowa
Ray Eiben Places 1st In County-wide Trip
About 35 4-H Club members, their fathers and other interested persons attended the county-wide swine judging tour conducted last Friday by Grover Miehe, county extension assistant....
... Eight classes of swine were judged at four different farms during the day, with Ray Eiben of the Castle Grove Rangers 4-H Club having the highest score in the group. Ray scored 725 out of a possible 800 for an average of 91. ....... Albert Heiken, averaging 78;...... Louis and Albert Heiken were in an automobile collison a few minutes after.....
And No One Was Hurt
Louis Heiken ruefully examines the remains of his 1939 Ford, but thanks his lucky stars that he got out of it alive. In this picture taken last Friday shortly after he had collided with a 1940 Pontiac (background) drive by William Jansen at a four-corners a mile east and a mile north of Amber. Heiken was going east (to the left in the picture) and Jansen was going south (straight ahead in the picture) when the two collided. Albert Heiken was riding with Louis, and Jansen was alone in the car. Louis was thrown out of his car, but the only casualty, other than the two automobiles, was a bag of doughnuts belonging to Jansen, which was strewn over the dirt road.
Monticello Express, Thu, Sep 11, 1952, Monticello, Iowa
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane have returned from a trip through Yellowstone, Oregon, Washington and California. They visited Mr. and Mr.s Albert Heiken at San Jose, Calif.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, July 18, 1957]
Heiken Family Reunion Held Sunday at Park
The Heiken reunion was held in the city park Sunday noon. A picnic dinner was held honoring Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Suchsland, Dianne and Brain of Caldwell, Idaho.
The families who attended were: Mr. and Mrs. Abbott Mayer of Marion, Ernest Heiken of Coggon, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Hinrichs and Paul, Mr. and Mrs. William Baumann, Jimmie and Sharon, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Hinrichs, Dannie, Shirley and Luann, Mrs. I.A. Heiken, Caroline and Emma, And Mr. and Mrs. Sam Rhatigan, Cheryl and John.
(Monticello Express, July 10, 1965)
From house to barn
One of the first stone houses built in the area is now used as a barn on the Norbert Manternach farm, located at the "Y" intersection county road "A", four miles west of Monticello. ; The house was built in the 1863's by a man called Hartley. Another stone house, built about the same time, is the residence of the Louis Heiken family. The stone building on the Manternach farm was at one time gutted by fire and the interior was rebuilt. Later a frame addition was built on the west side of the house, but was blown off in a windstorm and was never replaced.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, June 21, 1962]
Castle Grove By Mrs. Delmar King
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken, Nancy and Gary of San Jose, Calif, arrived Saturday for a visit in the home of Mr. Heiken's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken entertained at a dinner Sunday honoring their son and family, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken of San Jose, Calif. Other guest were Mr. and Mrs. Glen Eilers of Hopkinton and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Eilers of Center Jct.
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Eilers of Center Jct. were Monday morning visitors in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane and their house guests, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken, Nancy and Gary of San Jose, Calif. enjoyed a picnic at McGregor Monday.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, June 14, 1973]
Take trip to Colorado
Castle Grove -- Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. returned May 31 from a vacation in Colorado. They visited the Grand Canyon, Royal Gorge and Seven Falls. Jane returned to Fonda June 3.
Louis Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. attended the funeral of Mrs. Paul Eilers of Anamosa June 2.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, December 27, 1973]
SUPPER GUESTS
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and their house guest Jane Heiken were guests Tuesday, Dec 20, of Mr. and Mrs. Celan Rollins, Marion, at a dinner honoring Miss Heiken at the Long Branch.
IS HONORED
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lemmer and family entertained Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and their house guest, Jane Heiken, at dinner Friday evening at the B & H Lounge in Worthington.
HOSTS TO CARDS
Caroline and Emma Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. were supper guests Wednesday evening. Dec. 19, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
A distant cousin, Daniel Specht, brought a very large old map of Jones County that his parents owned to school that had the Heiken's stone farmhouse on the fringe. When I saw him at our 10th class reunion, I asked him about it and he said it was at his parent's house. His parents came to visit Jane when she lived in Batavia, NY and she asked them about it and they said they would send a copy of the drawing of the stone house, but they never did. The house looks very nice on it. I think it was done soon after the house was finished because the house turned 100 in the 1960's. The porch was open with small pillars and there were paths around it with a horse and buggy. It was built by Squire Hubbard - a stone Mason from Germany. All of the stone came from the nearby quarry. The Lou Heiken farmstead was bulldozed about a year or so ago, I am sorry about the stone house because I really enjoyed living there - except for the winter. It needed a lot of repair even when Mother sold it and then it really went down in a hurry. (Jane Lloyd)
Louis Gerd Heiken was born February 12, 1908 in Castle Grove Township, Jones Co. Iowa, the son of I.A. and Elizabeth Eiben Heiken. Lou's early education was in the rural schools of Jones County. He always said that he learned English so that he could attend school from his sister, Caroline, as Low German was the only language spoken at home. He attended Monticello Public School, making the 16-mile round trip daily on horseback. He was the first in the household to attend High School, graduating from Monticello Public High School in 1925. In school he played football, earning a letter in his senior year. Louis also performed as "Dinwiddie" in the Senior class play of "Clarence" by Booth Tarkington presented May 1, 1925. After graduation, Lou attended a short course on dairying at Iowa State College (now University) in Ames, Iowa. He also worked the wheat harvest one season. He and his friends started in the Dakota's and followed the harvest into Canada.
On June 25, 1930, Louis married Elaine Eilers at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. Their first years were spent as tenant farmers on the Balster farm in Castle Grove Township, Jones County, where they started a dairy herd, and raised pigs, sheep and chickens. Farming was done with horses and by hand. Elaine helped in the milking of cows and raised chickens for both meat and eggs. The eggs were a cash product which allowed for groceries to be purchased. Much of the field work was shared between them. Elaine helped shocking the oats, putting hay into the barn, and picking corn.
After a couple of years, they moved to the Ferring farm (Section 16) in Lovell Township, just outside of Monticello. This farm was 120 acres and was a sharecropper lease. Ferring's half of the milk cows were Shorthorns and Louis had grade Jerseys.
Life was rough during this time (the 1930's), as money wasn't easy to come by. I remember that Dad killed some pigeons for us to eat, as there wasn't any meat. All the farming was done either with the team of horses or by hand, I remember Grandfather and Grandmother Eilers coming over to help shock the oats and the corn.
Dad did buy one of the first radios. It was powered by batteries and needed an antenna, which was run from the house to the windmill tower. I remember the neighborhood men and Uncle Grant coming over to listen to one of the Joe Louis fights. The family car during this time was a 1930 Chevy sedan. We didn't have running water. All the water was pumped by the windmill unless the wind died down, then it was pumped by hand. At least the pasture included the Maquoketa River, so the cows and horses could drink there and water didn't need to be hand pumped for them in the summer. Horses were the only means to plow and do the heavy work around the farm. We didn't have electric power in those days. Lanterns were used in the barn to milk by and kerosene lamps were used in the house. I don't believe they could afford to buy coal for the stove. I remember Dad cutting wood and splitting it for the stoves. Mother cooked on a wood burning stove. Dad had an accident cutting wood one afternoon. The ax cut into his shoe and went right between his big toe and the next toe, cutting into his foot. Between the hard times and Dad's fear of doctors, no medical care was sought. Dad put horse-healing powder on it and wrapped it up. It did appear to heal properly.
In 1936, they rented the Behrend's farm in Southfork Township, Delaware County, for cash rent. Louis used to laugh, years later, about when he and Joe Ferring divided the dairy herd; Ferring didn't want any Jerseys, so it appeared that the best of the dairy herd moved with Louis. The new farm was 180 acres and the first tractor was purchased, which was a steel wheeled Farmall F-20. This was later converted to rubber tires. The first few years here, the oats were still cut by a binder, stacked and then a threshing machine was hired by the neighborhood. The families would then start at one of the farms, threshing the oats from the straw with all the men sharing in the hauling the cut oat hay to the machine and others shoveling the oats into the sheds. The women would help each other prepare the noon meal (dinner) and evening meal (supper). Some crews also wanted lunch in the mid morning and between dinner and supper. This ended about three years later when Louis brought one of the first combines. It was an Allis-Chambers with a 36" cutting blade. It was just the size for one farm. Several years later, it was traded for a larger machine, which allowed Dad to hire out to others to combine their oats.
In 1939, they bought a 1939 Ford sedan, gray in color, as the new family vehicle. A farm hand was hired during this era to help work the farm and milk the cows. The farm didn't have electric lights till the early forties as the Behrends' family didn't wish to spend the money to wire the house and the other farm buildings when "REA" (Rural Electrification Administration) first brought electric lights to the farms. Up to this time, the cows were milked by hand, morning and night. One of the greatest results of the coming of the electric lights, was the purchase of a milking machine. Between the cash rent and the rising prices, because of the coming war, farming started to pay off. By 1943, enough money was saved to make a down payment on a farm.
The farm selected was the Gerdes farm in Castle Grove Township, SW 1/4 of section 24. This farm was 160 acres plus 10 acres of timber in Lovell Township. Price paid was in the area of $110 per acre. They moved in January, 1944. At this time, the principal business was still the dairy herd which by this time was good quality grade Jerseys. A registered Jersey bull was purchased and the herd improved even more. The milk was separated, the cream sold to be made into butter and the skim milk was fed too the pigs and chickens. Eggs and pork were the other cash products at this time. Some sheep were raised, both for wool and meat. One of the reasons I was allowed to drive to high school was that I delivered the cream to the creamery on the way to school.
Louis became the assessor for Castle Grove Township during this period. This was a job for extra money and also allowed his favorite pastime, talking and finding out what was going on in the area. This job was held several years, as he was re-elected once.
Through his efforts, his sons joined the local 4-H Club (He also served as the 4-H leader for several years) and thus, got them showing Jersey calves at the Jones County fair. This started with the showing of the grade Jersey calves and then he helped each boy buy a registered Jersey heifer. The show herd was outstanding in the area of winning ribbons and some cash.
On a 4-H field trip, July 19, 1946, Dad was driving on a county dirt road and at a road crossing we collided with a car on the crossing road. The '39 Ford was totaled, Dad was ejected and I ended up in the back seat. Neither of us needed to see a doctor, as we only had bruises. This was a bad time to lose a car as the war was just ending; vehicles were very hard to find. Dad finally found a '37 Ford coupe, which would only hold three persons on the front seat. The fourth person had to set on the floor behind the seat. We didn't travel as a family much during this period. Dad had placed his name on the waiting list for a pickup prior to the accident and he was allowed to move his name to the sedan list and we were able to get a 1946 Ford 4 door sedan, straight 6, gray-green in color. I got the '37 Ford to drive to high school.
The dream of selling registered Jerseys ended when the 4-H show herd picked up Bangs disease. Also, both boys had left the farm and the free labor to milk the cows was gone. Plus, the market demand for butter had reduced after the war and the profit in dairy farming had passed. The dairy herd was sold and the operation changed to the fattening of beef cattle.
As he approached retirement, Louis slowed down the farming operation and at the age of 65, rented out the land, but kept the house as his residence. He became the Township clerk and was on the Castle Grove A.S.C.S. (Agricultural Stabiliztion and Conservation Service) Board during this time. Lou also held various offices in the St. Matthew Lutheran Church and was chairman of the Deacons at the time of his death.gricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
Traveling was also an interest. Louis went to the 1934 Worlds Fair in Chicago by escorting a boxcar of a neighbor's steers to the Chicago Stockyards as this provided a free train ticket. In 1940, Dad and Mother planned a trip to Colorado. I begged to go, and won. Jim stayed home with Grandmother Eilers. We stopped at Uncle Cornelius Eiben's farm in Wymore, Neb., then to Rocky Mountain National Park, Pikes Peak, and back to Iowa. After the war was over, they toured most of the rest of the country, esp. the western states, and the Western National parks. It was during a trip to Hawaii, in 1975, that Lou had a heart attack in Honolulu and died.
Elaine lived in the farmhouse for several more years until she was unable to drive because of eyesight problems. She took one tour to Europe during this period but most of her travel ended except for trips to California to see her first grandchild. The farm was then sold to Robert and Madonna Lemmer. She bought a house at 1136 North Third Street in Manchester, Iowa, next door to her daughter, Jane Ann Lloyd.
(Albert L. Heiken, Jan 1994)
In 1948 Lou planned a trip to California to see his brother Harvey's place in Porterville. Jane says "Dad took the hired man (the first guy in the picture) and his brother - the guy on the other side of my Dad) to California. The hired man had the dream of seeing the West and going to California. My parents really liked this guy - wish I could remember his name - he loved my Mother's cooking because his mother was not a very good cook. He slept in the spare bedroom upstairs at the farm when he worked for them. My Dad wanted to take him and he liked the idea of having several drivers along who could take over when he got tired. He made a deal with my Mother & Jim that he would take them to California on the next trip and your Dad (Al) would have to stay home by himself to do the chores. Looks like your Dad is around 16 or 17 on the picture which would place the trip around the mid 1940's. I think the following year when Jim went he was around 13." (Jane Lloyd)
(June 17, 1926)
Louis Heiken, who has been a student at Iowa State college at Ames, came Tuesday to spend the summer in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Heiken, in Castle Grove township.
(April 9, 1931)
Castle Grove Lutheran
...For entertainment John Gerdes had prepared a pie-eating contest. The man who ate his whole pie first without using his hands won the prize of a dollar bill. You should have seen John Specht, Louis Heiken and two members of the Riedel trio eat pie. Specht beat them all. ...
Monticello Express, Thu, Jul 25, 1946, Monticello, Iowa
Ray Eiben Places 1st In County-wide Trip
About 35 4-H Club members, their fathers and other interested persons attended the county-wide swine judging tour conducted last Friday by Grover Miehe, county extension assistant....
... Eight classes of swine were judged at four different farms during the day, with Ray Eiben of the Castle Grove Rangers 4-H Club having the highest score in the group. Ray scored 725 out of a possible 800 for an average of 91. ....... Albert Heiken, averaging 78;...... Louis and Albert Heiken were in an automobile collison a few minutes after.....
And No One Was Hurt
Louis Heiken ruefully examines the remains of his 1939 Ford, but thanks his lucky stars that he got out of it alive. In this picture taken last Friday shortly after he had collided with a 1940 Pontiac (background) drive by William Jansen at a four-corners a mile east and a mile north of Amber. Heiken was going east (to the left in the picture) and Jansen was going south (straight ahead in the picture) when the two collided. Albert Heiken was riding with Louis, and Jansen was alone in the car. Louis was thrown out of his car, but the only casualty, other than the two automobiles, was a bag of doughnuts belonging to Jansen, which was strewn over the dirt road.
Monticello Express, Thu, Sep 11, 1952, Monticello, Iowa
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane have returned from a trip through Yellowstone, Oregon, Washington and California. They visited Mr. and Mr.s Albert Heiken at San Jose, Calif.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, July 18, 1957]
Heiken Family Reunion Held Sunday at Park
The Heiken reunion was held in the city park Sunday noon. A picnic dinner was held honoring Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Suchsland, Dianne and Brain of Caldwell, Idaho.
The families who attended were: Mr. and Mrs. Abbott Mayer of Marion, Ernest Heiken of Coggon, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Hinrichs and Paul, Mr. and Mrs. William Baumann, Jimmie and Sharon, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Hinrichs, Dannie, Shirley and Luann, Mrs. I.A. Heiken, Caroline and Emma, And Mr. and Mrs. Sam Rhatigan, Cheryl and John.
(Monticello Express, July 10, 1965)
From house to barn
One of the first stone houses built in the area is now used as a barn on the Norbert Manternach farm, located at the "Y" intersection county road "A", four miles west of Monticello. ; The house was built in the 1863's by a man called Hartley. Another stone house, built about the same time, is the residence of the Louis Heiken family. The stone building on the Manternach farm was at one time gutted by fire and the interior was rebuilt. Later a frame addition was built on the west side of the house, but was blown off in a windstorm and was never replaced.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, June 21, 1962]
Castle Grove By Mrs. Delmar King
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken, Nancy and Gary of San Jose, Calif, arrived Saturday for a visit in the home of Mr. Heiken's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken entertained at a dinner Sunday honoring their son and family, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken of San Jose, Calif. Other guest were Mr. and Mrs. Glen Eilers of Hopkinton and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Eilers of Center Jct.
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Eilers of Center Jct. were Monday morning visitors in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane and their house guests, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Heiken, Nancy and Gary of San Jose, Calif. enjoyed a picnic at McGregor Monday.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, June 14, 1973]
Take trip to Colorado
Castle Grove -- Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. returned May 31 from a vacation in Colorado. They visited the Grand Canyon, Royal Gorge and Seven Falls. Jane returned to Fonda June 3.
Louis Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. attended the funeral of Mrs. Paul Eilers of Anamosa June 2.
[Monticello (Iowa) Express, December 27, 1973]
SUPPER GUESTS
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and their house guest Jane Heiken were guests Tuesday, Dec 20, of Mr. and Mrs. Celan Rollins, Marion, at a dinner honoring Miss Heiken at the Long Branch.
IS HONORED
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lemmer and family entertained Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken and their house guest, Jane Heiken, at dinner Friday evening at the B & H Lounge in Worthington.
HOSTS TO CARDS
Caroline and Emma Heiken and Jane Heiken of Fonda, N.Y. were supper guests Wednesday evening. Dec. 19, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiken.
A distant cousin, Daniel Specht, brought a very large old map of Jones County that his parents owned to school that had the Heiken's stone farmhouse on the fringe. When I saw him at our 10th class reunion, I asked him about it and he said it was at his parent's house. His parents came to visit Jane when she lived in Batavia, NY and she asked them about it and they said they would send a copy of the drawing of the stone house, but they never did. The house looks very nice on it. I think it was done soon after the house was finished because the house turned 100 in the 1960's. The porch was open with small pillars and there were paths around it with a horse and buggy. It was built by Squire Hubbard - a stone Mason from Germany. All of the stone came from the nearby quarry. The Lou Heiken farmstead was bulldozed about a year or so ago, I am sorry about the stone house because I really enjoyed living there - except for the winter. It needed a lot of repair even when Mother sold it and then it really went down in a hurry. (Jane Lloyd)
Events
| Religion | 1908 - 1975 | Lutheran | |||
| Birth | 12 Feb 1908 | Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States |  | ||
| Baptism | 17 Apr 1908 | SS Peter & Paul Lutheran Church, Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | | ||
| Confirmation | 1923 | SS Peter & Paul Lutheran Church, Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | |||
| Graduation | 28 May 1925 | Monticello Public High School, Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States | | ||
| Marriage | 25 Jun 1930 | Little Brown Church, Nashua, Chickasaw, Iowa, United States - Elaine Irene Eilers |  | | |
| Occupation | Bet 1932 and 1936 | Farmer (Sharecrop) - Lovell Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | |||
| Occupation | Bet 1936 and 1944 | Farmer (Cash rent) - Hopkinton, Delaware, Iowa, United States | |||
| Census (family) | 1940 | South Fork Township, Delaware, Iowa, United States - Elaine Irene Eilers | | ||
| Occupation | Bet 1944 and 1973 | Farmer & Landowner - Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | | ||
| Election | 1946 | Township Assessor - Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States | |||
| Census (family) | 1950 | Castle Grove Township, Jones, Iowa, United States - Elaine Irene Eilers | | ||
| Death | 24 Feb 1975 | of a Stroke - Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | | | |
| Burial | 1 Mar 1975 | Oakwood Cemetery, Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States | | | |
| Residence | 1975 | 52310, Monticello, Jones, Iowa, United States | |
Families
| Spouse | Elaine Irene Eilers (1911 - 1994) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | James Irving Heiken (1933 - 1994) |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Ihnke Albert Heiken (1871 - 1944) |
| Mother | Elise Katharina Margareta "Eliza, Elizabeth, Lizzie" Eiben (1880 - 1959) |
| Sibling | Marie Henritta "Hattie" Heiken (1899 - 1971) |
| Sibling | Christina Caroline Heiken (1901 - 1984) |
| Sibling | Emma Friederike Heiken (1903 - 1998) |
| Sibling | Ernest Hinrich Bernhard Heiken (1905 - 1982) |
| Sibling | Anna Clara Heiken (1910 - 1980) |
| Sibling | Irene Mathilda Heiken (1913 - 1984) |
| Sibling | Harvey Johannes "Jim" Heiken (1915 - 2001) |
Notes
Marriage
Elaine Eilers Becomes Bride of Louis Heiken.Miss Elaine Eilers. the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eilers of Lovell township, was united in marriage with Louis Heiken, the son of Mr. and Mrs. I. E. Heiken of Castle Grove yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Little Brown Church in the Vale, near Nashua.
Rev. Wm. Kent officiated. Mr. and Mrs. Heiken were attended by Irving Eilers. brother of the bride, and Miss Emma Heiken, a sister of the bridegroom. Mr. and Mrs. Heiken will be at home to their friends near Monticello after a two weeks' trip through the state of Minnesota. Mrs. Heiken graduated with the class of 1930 of the Monticello high school, a student the normal training department. Mr. Heiken graduated from the same school with the class of 1925, and since his attendance at the Iowa State college in Ames, has been assisting his father on a farm in Castle Grove township.
Census (family)
Head Louis Heiken M 32 Iowa, H4, Farming, AgricultureWife Elaine Heiken F 28 Iowa, H4, Housekeeping Home
Son Albert L Heiken M 9 Iowa, 4th grade, at school
Son James J Heiken M 6 Iowa, 1st grade, at school
Hired hand Henry Rusp M 38 Kansas, 8th grade
Residence in 1935: Monticello, Jones, Iowa
Hired hand: Kellly, Kansas in 1935
Occupation
Owner of the SW 1/4 of Section 24, Castle Grove Township, Jones County, Iowa (160 acres)Farmer, Castle Grove Tsp, Lovell Tsp. Landowner of SE 1/4 of Section 24, Castle Grove Tsp, Jones Co. The land was sold after his death.
Census (family)
4/10M Right, 40, farm, Agricultural Questionaire # 33Heiken, Louis G, Head WM 42, Mar, Iowa, Working 70 hrs/week, farmer, farming, Own account
Heiken, Elaine I, Wife, WF 37, Mar, Iowa, House
Heiken, Albert L. Son (crossed out) 1. is serving in the Navy
Heiken, James, Son WM, 16, Nev, Iowa, Ot, yes, 24 hours/week, farm helper, farming, NoPay
Death
LOUIS G. HEIKENMONTICELLO - Funeral services for Louis G. Heiken, 67, were held Saturday morning, March 1, at St. Matthew Lutheran church with burial in Oakwood cemetery. Rev Harold L. Naig officiated.
Mr. Heiken died suddenly at Kaiser Foundation hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii, Feb. 24 of an apparent heart attack. Mr.. and Mrs. Heiken were on a tour of the Hawaiian islands at the time.
He was born Feb. 12, 1908 in Castle Grove township, son of I. A. and Elizabeth Eiben Heiken. He received his early education in the rural schools of Jones county.
In 1925, he graduated from Monticello high school and then attended Iowa State university.
Mr. Heiken and Elaine Eilers were married June 25, 1930, at Little Brown church, Nashua. They farmed in Delaware county for seven years before moving to their present farm in Castle Grove.
Mr. Heiken held various offices in St. Matthew church and currently was the chairman of deacons. He served as the Castle Grove assessor, was active in the Jones county 4-H for several years and was currently on the Castle Grove ASCS board.
Survivors include his wife and three children, Albert L. of San Jose, Cal., James I. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mrs. Richard (Jane Ann) Lloyd of Batavia, N. Y., and four grandchildren.
He is also survived by four sisters, Carolyn Heiken, Emma Heiken, and Mrs. Sam Rhatigan, all of Monticello, and Mrs. Leonard Suchsland, Portland, Ore.; two brothers, Ernest of Manchester and Harvey of Fresno, Cal.
Mr. Heiken was preceded in death by a sister.
Burial
M502 Louis Heiken 2/12/1908 2/24/1975Endnotes
1. SS Peter & Paul Lutheran Church Centennial Book. 100th Anniversary 1879-1979. (Monticello, Iowa: Church Committee. 1979.), p. 35.
2. Heiken, Louis G. obituary, Monticello Express, Monticello, Iowa, Mar 1975,.
3. "Iowa Births and Christenings, 1830-1950," index, FamilySearch , (https://familysearch.org: accessed 29 March 2014), Louis Heiken, ; citing Castle Grove Twp., Jones County, Iowa.
4. SS Peter & Paul Lutheran Church Centennial Book. 100th Anniversary 1879-1979. (Monticello, Iowa: Church Committee. 1979.), p. 35.
5. Heiken, Louis G. obituary, Monticello Express, Monticello, Iowa, Mar 1975,.
6. Heiken, Louis G. obituary, Monticello Express, Monticello, Iowa, Mar 1975,.
7. "Society and club news," Monticello (Iowa) Express, 26 June 1930; Ross & Elizabeth Baty Public Library (http://batypl.newspaperarchive.com : accessed 1 February 2011), Newspaper Digital Archives.
8. Heiken, Louis G. obituary, Monticello (Iowa) Express, Monticello, Iowa, 6 March 1975, A-16.
9. Oakwood Cemetery burial list, US Genweb and Jones Co. Genealogy Society online http://iowajones.org/cemetery/Oakwood03.htm], accessed March 2008.
10. Social Security Death Index. (ancestry.com).