Nonagenarian keeps daily journal of life
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
No one could ever say Tillie Hein's life has been easy.
The rural Tampa woman, who turns 95 in November, has suffered through the sudden loss of two husbands, but her determination to keep busy and live life to the fullest has sustained her through the years.
Even though she's nearing the century mark, Tillie's life is like an open book — literally. She's kept a daily journal of her life ever since she was a child.
Blessed with good health, the energetic, attractive, articulate woman lives one and one-half miles north of Tampa in a ranch-style home built in 1975. She remains independent and active.
The third of six children, she was born Nov. 8, 1908, to Peter and Filomena Shramek of Pilsen.
The family home had two rooms downstairs and an open upstairs. There was one south and one north window, and it was hot in summer.
When the sixth child was born in October 1917, Tillie recalled, everyone slept upstairs except mother and baby.
During the cold winter, the children kept their feet warm at night by using heated bricks placed in socks.
"It was cold, even some snow sifting on us through the shingles, but we all were cozy under a featherbed between blankets," Tillie said.
In the morning, the flat door on the stairway was opened and everyone came down to a heated room. The heating stove and the big kitchen range warmed the house.
Tillie's mother usually prepared pancakes for breakfast. She baked bread every day, and sometimes the fresh bread was torn into pieces and topped with gravy, a meal Tillie loved.
"It was a good breakfast to start the school day as mother didn't have much to put in our dinner baskets," Tillie said.
She and her siblings walked a mile to attend the two-room Catholic school at Pilsen taught by nuns. Mass was held at 8 a.m. each morning. Any pupil who failed to attend did not get a golden star that day.
After Mass, the priest asked catechism questions which the children answered in Bohemian (Czech), their parents' native language. When he left, they answered the same questions in English for the nuns. The catechism book had one page Czech and one English.
Tillie said her parents thought it was important for them to retain the Czech language. They wanted their children to learn English but also to know Czech, so they spoke English at school but Czech at home.
After Tillie married, she and her husband continued the practice of speaking Czech at home, so their children know the language. Tillie often is asked to translate letters received from the mother country, now known as the Czech Republic.
There were 10 students in Tillie's eighth grade graduation class. They had their picture taken in a studio in Marion. A second picture was taken of those who received an extra diploma in writing after taking a special test.
In summer, Tillie helped her mother set hens on nests of eggs, usually on the top floor of a granary. She frequently had to climb the ladder to the loft to make sure the hens were staying on their nests.
Her mother fed six children, a husband, and a hired man without the convenience of modern appliances. All preparation was done by hand. The stove was kept hot with corn cobs and wood, and in wintertime with coal.
At a time when young people in the Pilsen area rarely attended high school, Tillie's parents saw to it that their children had a secondary education.
The Catholic Sisters added two years of high school to their curriculum. Classes were taught in a room in the basement of the church. Tillie and four of her siblings went on to graduate from Lincolnville High School. Philomene, the youngest, boarded at Marion and graduated from Marion High School.
Tillie said she was thinking about becoming a teacher after graduation, but she had no chance to go to college. She stayed home and helped her mother.
"Mother always had us dressed nice," Tillie remembered. "I always had long curls which she put up on rag curlers several times a week and combed around a finger each morning."
As a 19-year-old girl, Tillie was courted by Frank Srajer (pronounced "shrier"). She said he was much older and ready to be married.
Their wedding on Aug. 21, 1928, was an all-day affair. After a 10 a.m. wedding Mass, dinner and supper were served to relatives and friends at the Pilsen hall. An evening dance featured the Joe Kroupa Band.
At 10 p.m., hot wieners, home baked poppy seed rolls, and kolaches were passed to a full hall of people. Beer and soda pop were served free all day and evening.
After Frank got the wheat sowed that fall, the couple drove to Iowa to visit Frank's relatives. They went on to Chicago, where they explored the city by way of the subway and elevated train. It was a great experience for a young bride from Pilsen, Kan., Tillie said.
They lived with Frank's parents until a farm came for sale north of Tampa. They bought it in October 1933 and moved there in January 1935. By then, they had a 10-month old daughter, Delores. Tillie resides there to this day.
Tillie was a hard worker and always was willing to help with whatever needed doing on the farm. She said she did everything there was to do. She also raised chickens for eggs and meat and canned produce from the garden.
Throughout the years, gradual improvements were made in household furnishings and farm equipment.
Frank operated a threshing machine and helped other farmers in the area harvest their crops.
Son Donald was born in 1939. Five-year-old Delores was enrolled in tap dancing lessons.
Tragedy strikes
Tragedy struck the family in November 1944, when Frank was killed in a vehicle accident near Ramona.
"What a day!" Tillie remembered. "He left through the gate and then waved where I was hanging clothes on the line. Not long after, he was killed."
In those days, the casket was brought to the home for a few days before burial. Tillie said the yard was full of vehicles as friends and relatives came for a last look at Frank. He was buried in Pilsen cemetery a week before he would have been 45 years old.
Tillie said her need to take care of the children gave her the strength to bear up under that terrible situation. She said it was hard on the children. Delores was 10 years old and Donald was five. The little boy was in a daze for a while, she recalled.
Tillie rented out the land and sold the farm machinery. However, she kept 350 laying hens and about 40 head of beef cows. She also kept four milk cows and sold cream.
During several bad years on the farm, she used money saved from egg sales to pay property taxes. She kept busy keeping house and building, fixing, and painting fences.
In 1954, after the children were grown, Tillie married Jake Hein, a farmer from Durham. They combined their farming operations, but livestock operations were kept separate. Tillie continued to take care of her own cattle and chickens.
Tillie received another hard blow when Jake died suddenly in October 1971. She believed he was suffering from cancer but he refused to see a doctor.
Once again, she was left on her own. Once again, she rented out the land.
In 1975, she purchased a Moundridge home and moved it onto the farm.
Son Donald and his wife Carolyn were living in Omaha and had seven children. One of their sons, Jimmy, began spending summers at his grandmother's farm. As a teen-ager, he worked for neighboring farmers and found that he enjoyed the rural lifestyle.
After graduating from high school, Jimmy attended agricultural college for two years. In 1983, he moved to Tampa and took over Tillie's farming operation. It was back in the family once again.
Jim and his wife, Kris, were married in 1994. They live just west of Tampa and have two sons, Grant, 8, and Cole, 4.
Keeping busy
Tillie enjoys having the two boys at her home and helps Jim as much as she can. She enjoys riding with him in the tractor when he feeds cattle and riding in the combine during harvest time. She no longer has cattle or chickens but keeps busy with many activities.
Years ago, she attended Farm Bureau classes at Marion and was a member of the Tampa Trailblazers, a group of women who sang and put on plays in local talent contests. She also was a member of the Tampa bridge club until it disbanded.
She still likes to bake and keep house and enjoys hosting family gatherings. Besides Donald's seven children, daughter Delores and husband Ron Scott of Emporia have four children. Tillie has eight great-grandchildren and two step-great-great grandchildren.
She doesn't do much gardening anymore but continues to preserve produce from Kris's garden.
Tillie's hands are never still. Her handiwork includes pieced quilts, braided rugs, embroidery, and other crafts, many of which have won ribbons at fairs.
She is handy with a sewing machine and does clothing repairs and alterations for family members.
She regularly attends Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and other area churches and is a member of the Altar Society.
Tillie was president of Sunflower Senior Citizens organization at Tampa during its first 10 years of existence and remains an active member. She organizes tours for senior citizens to interesting places throughout the state.
She also is in charge of distributing commodities to Tampa area residents whenever they are made available.
She associates with several close friends and neighbors. They attend many area activities together.
Tillie's lively spirit is reflected in her neat appearance. The trim woman keeps her hair black, uses nail polish, and likes to dress nicely, even at home.
"I never wear pants," she said.
In addition, she likes sports cars. Her current Pontiac Grand Prix is her fifth one.
"I would like to get another one, but I think I'm too old," she said.
In the 1970 and 1980s, Tillie went on many bus tours. She has been to every state except four, has visited four Canadian provinces, Hawaii, the Bahamas, and Europe.
While visiting her one remaining sibling, Philothea Snell of Macintosh, Fla., the two sisters traveled throughout the state. Philothea now is 90 years old and remains active.
Tillie said the secret to a long life is to continually have something to do and to follow what is going on in the world.
"The clubs, the farm work, all the activities were good," she said.
She is looking forward to celebrating her birthday Saturday with family members at Brookville Hotel in Abilene.
