June Edith Severin Barbee

June Severin Barbee, 93, of Millheim, Texas passed away at home 15 February 2016. June was born 20 January 1923 on a cold morning to Alfred and Dora Marquart Severin in the farm house that her great grandparents built in Millheim about 1860. Proceeded in death by her husband, Hurst "Doc" Barbee, brother, Allan Curtis Severin, sister May Belle Severin, parents Alfred and Dora Marquart Severin, grandfather, Charles and Mary Oldag Severin, and great-grandfather Karl and Anna Vorbeck Severin, who immigrated from Kleingritz, Germany and settled in Millheim about 1850. June graduated from the Millheim Community School. She moved to Houston on her own just before the start of World War II and worked at a Piggley Wiggley grocery as a checker. She then graduated from Massey Business College and worked at Johns Manville and Gulf Coast Electric Supply in Houston as a bookkeeper until her retirement in 1985. She married Doc on 11 November 1949 at the Bellville Methodist Church. She had one son, Hurst Severin Barbee in 1953. June and Doc built their own home in 1960 in Pearland by working on it in the evenings and weekends. In 1990, she and Doc moved back to her family homestead in Millheim. Doc passed away in 1996 of cancer. June enjoyed making beautiful quilts, reading, sewing, cooking, gardening and canning. She also loved to play dominoes with her friends in the community. June was at times a member of the Texas Farm Bureau, the Texas Sons of Hermann, the Millheim Harmonie Verein, the Bellville United Methodist Church and was treasurer for the Millheim Cemetery Association. June''s legacy will live on through her son, Hurst and his former wife Pamela Diane Barbee, grandchildren Autumn Barbee Mills and her husband Ross, Ashley Michelle Barbee McCorkell and her husband Niall and Justin Ryan Barbee. She was also blessed with 8 great-grandchildren: Emma June, Abigail Pamela and Jackson Ross Mills, Luca Jean, Cohen Frances Severin and Reid Finlan William McCorkell; and Cameron Ryan and Harrison Mitchell Barbee. The family requests that for those friends who wish to make memorial donations that those donations are made to the Millheim Cemetery Association, 4787 FM 949, Sealy, TX 77474. Remembrances of My Early Years written by June Severin Barbee Early memories of my childhood bring back to mind my dear "Gromutter" and "Gropapa" Severin. In those depression years, it was common practice for married children to live with their parents. In fact when my grandparents married they lived with his parents, Karl Severin and Anna Vorbeck Severin. Karl Severin and his wife settled in Millheim, Texas about 1850 from Kleingritz, Germany. My grandfather Severin (gropapa) was 6 feet tall and weighed about 250 pounds. He had thick snow white hair and a mustache. His eyes were blue and he had a fair completion. Usually he smoked a corn cob pipe. In his younger days it was said that he drank a lot of whiskey. He would saddle up the horse (my son now has the saddle) and go to the Henry Oldag (my gromutter''s brother) Saloon in Sealy with a bag of gold. When he drank too much he would toss gold coins on the floor and holler, "Pick it up you sons of bitches." Of course they would. My gropapa was a farmer and he grew a lot of watermelons. I can remember a big pile of melons under on old hackberry tree and at mid-morning or mid-afternoon he''d cut some melons and call in German for us (gromutter, mama and I) to come eat a delicious melon. Mama would get so mad because I would get my dress dirty when eating the watermelons. He always worked in the garden along with my gromutter. He had two rows of thornless dewberries. They were large and easy to pick but not as sweet as the wild dewberries. When my grandparents got angry at each other, gromutter would call him "Mecklenberger norse luck" (shit ass from Mecklenberg) and my gropapa would call her "Hamburger biffelkup" (big headed dummy from Hamburg). He was kind to me and would always buy me presents. Often times he would harness Daisy, his horse, to a sled and we would go to Vornkahl''s store. One time the horse bogged down (around the current Cook''s place) and had to be killed. He''d always asked which candy that I wanted. But I would rather have a can of Campbell''s alphabet soup with the ABC noodles. The store was large with about twelve steps to the door. It had food staples like 50 or 100 pounds of flour, sugar, salt and coffee. The store had other canned goods such as sardines, salmons and, of course, Campbell''s soup. You could take eggs and cream to the store and sell or exchange for groceries. You could buy 3 piece goods (cloth), dry goods and shoes. On one occasion he bought me a cup and saucer as I loved hot cocoa. Gropapa and I would go to Lepp''s Bakery in Sealy to get bread. Mr. Lepp would give me a small loaf of bread about 2 by 4 inches. I can still remember that small loaf of bread. On Christmas Eve 1933, gropapa took sick. His voice changed and became hoarse. Dr Roensch and Dr Neely in Bellville could not diagnose his problem. They thought it was either cancer or tuberculosis. My dad put in a screen door and my mama boiled all his dishes because it was thought he was contagious. In 1934, after my gropapa''s death, they fumigated his room, burned all his belongings including his sleigh bed and all of the furniture except the old three drawer chest that I had refinished in 1992. I remember that they embalmed him in the room and took the bloody pan to the branch and left it. We were not allowed to go see but we did. The funeral was at the house. I didn''t eat for two weeks after he died. He was a kind man and I loved him very much. Now about my "Gromutter" Severin. My gromutter was like a mother to me because my mother did not spend much time with me. She was about 5 and one half feet tall and of average build. She had an olive complexion. She had brown eyes and black hair. Gromutter was a great cook and her streusel cake was comparable to Sarah Lee''s. She would make yeast donuts. It seemed odd to me because she liked mustard on her bread and then syrup. We would sit on the porch and she would tell me stories in German. One of her stories was about the family sitting on the front porch in the 1870''s. From the porch they could hear the balls rolling at the bowling alley. The bowling alley was next to the Millheim Hall, which was east of the Vornkahl''s home on the old Goller place. Millheim never had a church, but there was a large grocery and dry goods store, 2 blacksmith shops and a cotton gin. I slept with her until I was about eleven years old. There were times that I would lay down for a nap with her and hold onto her dress because I wanted to wake up when she did, but I never did. I quit sleeping with her because Allan wanted to sleep with her. By then, my dad had made me a twin bed for Christmas so I moved into my own room. It is the same bed my son used and then each of my grandchildren used. My dad made me a vanity out of apple boxes and painted it white. He also made me a cedar desk that has a hidden place for a typewriter. When I was small my gromutter would be sewing on very old and loud sewing machine. She would make Aunt Ella''s boys shirts and continued to sew for Aunt Ella''s children because Ella didn''t have time. When she wasn''t sewing on the machine she would piece quilts or crochet. She was always doing some handy work with her hands. Gromutter did all of the cooking but retired from the kitchen in the 1940''s. My mother always baked the cakes and pies. Gropapa especially liked my mother''s lemon pie but gromutter said it used too many eggs and we needed them to sell. After my gropapa wasted the gold, he started selling the Severin cows. He made a mistake when he sold grandma''s cow. She took a hoe and stood at the gate and said, "My cows are staying here." My gropapa was a spoiled child. He had four sisters and he was the only boy. Gromutter had some bad times in her marriage but she stuck it out. She told me about the Civil War days when the Confederate Army came to pick up my great grandfather. He had just come from Germany and didn''t want to go. He hid in the hay stake but the army got him out with pitch forks. He had to leave his wife and their five small children to go fight. It seems the year was 1864 and we had a drought. The Constance Creek was dry and my great grandmother had to take a horse drawn sled with a barrel on it to get water from the Mill Creek. While she was filling the barrels she noticed eyes on her and she looked and saw an Indian man looking at her. She continued to fill the barrel with water and the Indian did her no harm. My gromutter said her mother-in-law was a short and fat lady. My great grandfather was a tall and skinny man. We have no pictures of them. They are buried on the Severin place and Doc and I put a yard fence around the grave sites. We also stood up the stones and got a marker for my great grandfather and great grandmother. My gromutter had so many stories to tell me. She kept a good mind until she died in 1947. However, I can remember her having terrible headaches. The doctor would only say to take aspirin. She was an invalid for thirteen months before she died. When she was on the portable toilet hand made by my dad, gromutter would rattle the pot for mama to clean it out. I was working in Houston at Piggley Wiggley checking groceries when my father called to tell to me come home to see my gromutter before she died. I got home in time but I remember her struggling to breathe and making such a strange noise when she did. Her funeral was in the house also. I was born on a cold morning on January 20th, 1923 to Alfred and Dora (Marquart) Severin in the old house that my great grandparents built about 1860. The kitchen was detached from the main house. It had two large rooms and a porch room and an upstairs. My dad named me June after the heroine of the novel "Trail of the Lonesome Pine". I was glad he gave me that name. I really liked it. I can remember my fifth birthday in 1928. My sister May Belle was real sick and it rained all day. My cousins Jasper Swearingen and Herman Domel spent the day with me. Herman had pneumonia too. My Uncle Dick brought Wesley, Marvin, and Myrtle also in a covered wagon to play with me all day. We had a cake that mama made me in a little angel food pan which I still have. We sat at my little table and ate my cake. We had to be quiet the whole time since my sister was sick. May Belle was born on June 21st, 1927 but all I can remember of her was when she died. She had on a pink and white checked dress. I can remember her funeral. All of the children from the Millheim School walked around the casket and dropped rose petals. I can still hear the hard clay dirt hitting the casket. All of the people stayed until the grave was closed. It made quite an impression on me. May Belle live only six months. She had an ear infection and pneumonia. Her fever was over 104 and all the doctors could give her was part of an aspirin in those days. A few days before her death, my parents and I took her to the doctor in Bellville. The bridge was out on the Gamma Grass road and we went almost to Cat Spring on Mill Creek Road when we got stuck. My dad had a Ford Model T. It was very cold that day. I don''t really know why I was along on that trip. He pulled out a few fence posts to get us going. The only picture that I have of May Belle is her in her casket with Elfrieda Goebel holding her. That is the only one that was ever taken. In the spring of 1928 my grandparents started on building the new house. I remember my dad drawing the plans. My grandma wanted a large hall, four bedrooms, a big kitchen and pantry. They hired Tom Kveton to build it. I can remember the curls shaved from the wood. I''d played with the wood curls and put them in my hair (which was always cut short so mama had no trouble with it) I remember the move into the new house. Gromutter had the choice of the bedrooms which is now my spare bedroom. Gropapa had the one where my desk and sewing machine is in. My parents had the front room which is now the living room. It was the only room with a small closet and a vent pipe so a wood burning stove could be put in. Allan was born on October 30th, 1928 at home and I was sent to Hugo Goebel''s to spend the night with Lucille. They were renters on the Beckona place and had two bedrooms and a kitchen. Hugo and Emma had the front room and Grandma Olga, Lucille and Arthur shared the other room. They managed to have room for me. The next morning we were walking to school. The school house was where Nancy Swearingen now lives. My dad came out to the road and said to me "Don''t you want to come in and see your baby brother?" I said "No, I can see him plenty." Knowing that life was about to change for me, I''d rather go to school. I can still see my dad''s face. He was so happy. That day my dad was wearing high lace boots and jodhpurs, just like Lindberg wore. My parents now had their "stammhalter" meaning someone to carry on the Severin name. At about the same time my parents discovered that I couldn''t see out of my right eye. I had gotten some particle in my left eye and my dad said, "Come here." I could not see him or where to go. I was also cross eyed and this meant an operation in Houston or Temple. Remember, this was during the depression. There was no money and no jobs. Cotton was the main crop around here and it was bringing about 5 cents per pound. My dad had no money and no credit at any bank so the Hugo Goebel family (Lucille and Arthur''s parents) loaned my dad $250.00 cash for the eye operation. Luckily, we had met the John Grossman family at my Aunt Anne''s house in Guy and they invited us stay with them for the length of time of the surgery. Mr. Grossman was a street car driver and lived at 5 North Milby Street in Houston. He had his wife Katy, daughter Katherine (Sis) and two sons, George and Johnny. The house was a small two bedroom track house which they rented however they made room for three extra people. We felt very welcome. I remember the milk wagons bringing the milk. I can still hear the clip clop of the horses. We invited them to visit us anytime. I can recall the first time riding down Main Street in Houston and hanging out on the sides of the old 1928 Chevrolet touring car while my dad gazed up at all those tall buildings. It was incredible. The Shell Building, with a huge sign on the top of it that lit up the night, and the Esperson Building were the tallest ones in Houston then. On Main Street there was a big sign which Maxwell House coffee had showing a percolator pouring out coffee and said "Good to the Last Drop". Further down on Main Street the Fair Maid bakery had a sign showing bread with slices falling. I had my eye operation on May 30th, 1930. I never will forget it was at the Ears, Nose, Eyes and Throat Hospital. They sent me to about the sixth floor and the nurse asked "Would your mother be staying?" And mother said "No!" Talk about being afraid. I thought if a fire broke out surely I''d burn up! In the hospital I was served a red Jell-O which was new to me and I didn''t like it. I only ate the whipped cream off. I was in the hospital five days and then another five days at the Grossman''s. I had to wear a patch over my right eye about two months and then wear glasses the rest of my life. And remember that "men do make passes at women with glasses"! I started school at the age of seven in the first grade. The school house was where Nancy Swearingen''s house is now. We had a one room school house and one teacher, Victor Witte. He taught seven grades. It was very interesting to me. If you had your lessons all done then you could listen to the higher grades and learn more which is what I did. I always made A''s and graduated from the seventh grade with the highest average in Austin County. I didn''t have far to walk and could walk home for lunch. But I really liked to take a sack lunch and play with my friends. My favorite friends were Irene Hillboldt and Gladys Goebel. Gladys is my cousin by marriage, she married Wesley Swearingen. I graduated from the Millheim School on May 22, 1937 when I completed seventh grade. Carolyn Caldwell was my teacher the last year of school. My dad had to pay to send me to high school in Cat Spring. First I had to learn how to drive our 1938 touring Chevrolet. The first time I drove was to visit Aunt Ella and Uncle Dick Swearingen. We got to the gate and my dad said step on it and I did and tore the gate down. Of course I was fussed at. After that I drove OK and I had to drive to school every other day with Gussie Vornkahl. Now Gussie wanted to drive our car and I wanted to drive our car. We would argue all the time he said to me that a man ought to drive but I told him there wasn''t a man here! One evening coming home from school, Gussie grabbed the steering wheel and we hit the ditch at Robert Goebel''s place but there was no damage to the car. But that was not my worst part of my high school days. The Cat Spring girls made so much fun of my two dresses and only one pair of saddle oxfords. They said I was so poor and was only white trash and that would make me. There was only one person, Lonnie Skalak (now Maechiles) that would speak kindly to me. I had to quit school because I became so sick each month when I had my first periods and there was nothing the doctors could do. In 1938, my dad, Alfred O Severin bought the place from gromutter by paying Aunt Annie Selig and Aunt Elle Swearingen their share. Then, on October 30, 1939, a tornado hit our place. It blew away the old log cabin that we used for a barn which my great grandparents built about 1850. It also took the chicken house, garage and the front porch off of our house. That day my dad and I had to take gromutter to Dr Neely in Bellville. The day turned as dark as night on the way home. We met our team of horses at Schneider''s corner and I remember my dad saying, "That''s funny, what are they doing here?" When we approached the home place we saw total destruction. The trees and even the fences were down. My mother was so shook up and crying. She said it sounded like a freight train coming so she crawled under their bed. All of the neighbors, the Muellers (who lived on the Otto Severin place), the Goebels, the Hillboldts, the Schneiders, the Palms and many more came to fix the fences so our cattle would be enclosed. It was a rough time for my dad with no insurance and no government aid but we managed. My parents never did argue. My dad was the boss. During the depression and until my dad got a defense job in Texas City, my dad would have spells. At least that''s what mama called it. He would sulk and not talk to anyone. I remember one time he threw the molasses pitcher out of the window and mama said "Don''t pick it up". Finally he brought it in and cleaned it. Of course he had a lot of debts. This is all of the remembrances that June was able to complete before she passed away.