Ditch Defenders by Dallas Max Schneider

Ditch Defenders by Dallas Max Schneider (Added to and edited by Bryonny Van Camp)

(Original info Provided by Dallas Max Schneider and added/edited by Bryonny Van Camp- I figured Grandpa Max wouldn't mind as he loved improving a good story).

There was a ditch from the mountain spring that Orval Dallas's Father, Frank William Schneider, has built to irrigate part of the farm on their 400 Acres in Burley Idaho.  This ditch was very important to the family, not only because it was their source of water and irrigation, but because their father had built it before he died.  Frank William dug this 30 ft cistern by hand because there were no utilities in the area at the time (an impressive feat for any man, and especially impressive while he suffered from tuberculosis).   He often would take Orval Dallas and Les, his sons, to the mouth of the spring and he would tell his boys to put their ears to the rock so they could hear the rushing water.  Side Note:  Dallas Max Schneider (son of Orval Dallas), at the age of 14, went to visit the old Idaho family farm and the ditch was still there, Max marveled at the strength of the grandfather, Frank William, he had never had the privilege of meeting in this life).

Life on a new farm was very hard, especially after their provider Frank William died and they were a long way from the help of their other relatives in Missouri, where they had moved from just a couple years before.  The little family was struggling and had 2 years of crop failure during this time.  Times were very tough and desperate for all the farmers in the area.

It soon came the the families attention that, someone up stream was diverting and siphoning off some of their water, however they didn't have any difinative proof.. yet.  Obviously this was extremely unacceptable and called for drastic measures to be undertaken as the family survival depended on this life giving water. 

Hattie Barnett Schneider, the widow of Frank William Schneider, was not to be messed with, she needed to be tough in this harsh frontier land and she was very concerned about protecting her water rights.   So one night Hattie, with her sons, Orval Dallas and Les, crept up to the ditch and lay there all night by the ditch with a loading 30-30 riffle waiting to see who the despicable person was that was taking their water.  At the dark of midnight under the pale moon, they saw outline of a figure approaching, and as he came closer they recognized their neighbor that had came with a shovel to steal the water. 

Fearless Hattie called the man by name and bellowed: "This is the widow Schneider.  Don't steal my water!" 

The neighbor, surely not afraid of a single women, said "Who's going to stop me?" 

She said "This gun and my boys" and to back up the claim, the sound of a riffle being cocked and then a single shot being fired rang out in the silent evening and it was all the proof that the neighbor needed that now was not the time to start a fight.

The neighbor said, "Now.. don't do anything rash!"  as he turned around and ran back to his house like a frightened coward.

They had to take him to court to make him stop permanently, but that incident showed that Hattie Barnett Schneider and her family was not one to be trifled with.

Horsing Around by Dallas Max Schneider

Orval Dallas Horsing Around by Dallas Max Schneider and added to by Bryonny Van Camp

(Original info Provided by Dallas Max Schneider and added/edited by Bryonny Van Camp- I figured Grandpa Max wouldn't mind as he loved improving a good story).

Orval Dallas Schneider was always on the look out for a good deal.  During one child/teenhood summer in Burley Idaho he made an agreement with a farmer to plow the farmers fields all summer long in return for a horse.  This would have been ideal situation for young Dallas, as he always had a dream in his heart that he would someday be a cowboy with his own ranch, and you can't very well be a cowboy with out a trusty horse.  Dallas really liked this particular horse because it was great jumper-because really what other qualifications would you be concerned with as a young boy.

After many long, hard, bistering hot days under the scorching Idaho sun, the work of the summer finally came to a conclusion and Dallas excitedly came to collect his well earned payment. 

However fate was not on his side that day when he asked for his payment, the farmer flattly refused to give him the horse as they had previously agreed.  Perhaps he underestimated the hard work ethic of the boy when the original deal was made and thought he would quit before the job was finished or it was just very rough in the the frontiers of Idaho and people went back on their word frequently and thought Dallas had no way of forcing a collection.  Whatever the case may be, the shear injustice must have been a absolutely crushing blow to Dallas; that had worked his hardesst all summer with now nothing to show for it.

He quickly ran home and told his mother, Hattie Barnett Schneider Austin, and stepfather, Hirum Austin, what had happened.  Hirum was a good man and took very seriously his fatherly duties.  He stepped in and went to the farmer and "made him give up the horse".  How he made him give up the horse will remain a mystery, but it would have been interesting to be a fly on that barn wall to hear that battle of words and wit.

Dallas was thrilled to have this horse as his own and he went everywhere in town by horseback.  Although he did not realized the dream of being a cowboy with his own ranch (instead he became an owner of a drycleaning business in Los Angeles), he turned out to be an excellent horseman and never forgot his first horse.

Orval Dallas Champion of the Weak by Dallas Max Schneider

Orval Dallas Champion of the Weak by Dallas Max Schneider

 

Orval Dallas had friends in Burley, both girls and boys. They associated as a group rather than dating one another. Among that group was a shy girl who had terribly bucked teeth and one of the boys liked to make fun of her. He was a bully type of boy who ridiculed anyone who had abnormalities about themselves. 

One evening this heartless boy was so derisive and jeering of this poor girls teeth that she started to cry. Most of the boys were embarrassed but said nothing. Then from the crowd, up stepped, bold, brave, Orval Dallas to confront this calloused boy. The boy was large and ugly himself. Orval said, "You make fun of everyone, don't you?"

"What if! do? Who is going to stop me?"

"I guess you would make jokes about my sister?"

"If she had funny teeth, you bet I would," and he gave Orval a shove.  The gauntlet had been thrown down and a challenge made. Orval Dallas had a mercurial temper that was well backed up with a fighting courage that was nothing short of heroic. He never looked for a fight but when pushed-there he was-pugnacious, like a lion-unafraid and equal to the task.

The taller, bigger boy rushed at him and young Orval stepped to one side and hit him hard in the stomach-just below the solar plexus. It doubled his attacker up so he could not defend himself and Orval hit him at his pleasure until he knocked him down. The mocking boy laid on the floor with a hand over his bloody mouth and said, "I quit," and that was

Orval Dallas's baptism of fighting with someone other than his bigger brother Les.

Frank William "Willy" Schneider

Frank William Schneider

Frank William Schneider was the son for Frank Xavier (or Zavier) Schneider and Anna Josephina Noerthmann, and was Born on the July 21, 1876 in West Plains Howell County Missouri and died on October 6th 1913 in Burley, Cassia County, Idaho.  Frank married in West Plans on September 24th 1898 to Hattie Barnett, the daughter of James Dallas Barnett and Tennessee Gunter.  Hattie Barnett was born January 28, 1881 in West Plains and died June 16, 1955 in Santa Ana, Orange California.  After the death of Frank, Hattie remarried and had one child by a second husband Hyrum Clarence Austin.--By Brock Guernsey

Memories of Frank William by Dallas Max Schneider

He (Frank William, also known to friends and family as Willy) came from a large family and was in the middle.  His father (Frank Xaiver Schneider) was a civil war veteran.  We know Willy could add and subtract, since he ran a little store later, but not much else about his childhood.  In the winter he also worked as a traveling salesman.  He was tall about 6'4".  He picked up tuberculosis or "consumption", so the doctor told him to move to a dryer climate. 

He went to Burley Idaho and bought 400 aces for farmland, then built a house on it.  There were no utilities, so he dug a trench from a spring in the mountains for irrigation.  Orval Dallas, his son, was 6 years old when they moved from Missouri.

He would take his sons,Orval Dallas and Les, to the mouth of the spring and he would tell the boys to put their ears to the rock so they could hear the rushing water.  He told them that some day he would harness electricity to take care of all of Burley.

He felt better in Idaho, but slowly failed from the tuberculosis.  He died at age 37.  The family was so badly frighten that they all ran outside-except Dallas.

Max (Dallas Max Schneider-son of Orval Dallas and grandson of Frank William) never saw this grandfather but always felt close to him.  He had a dream at one time that Dallas and Willy came to Grande Cleaners (Dallas Max's Dry Cleaning Business) and the looked just alike.

Relatives told Max that Willy was the kindest man that ever lived.

The Schneider Boys move to California-by Dallas Max Schneider

Schneider Boys move to California
Excerpt from Remembrances of Orval Dallas Schneider, My Father

By His Son Dallas Max Schneider 

Time passed and Uncle Les had moved to California and had gone into the restaurant business. He did very well in his chosen location. It was what was called a street car dinner-just an old streetcar parked on his acre lot and turned into a dinner-restaurant. The location was in Hollywood, right across the street from MGM movie studios. He knew the restaurant business very well and he flourished in it.

Orval did not stay long in Burley. With 5 friends they started for California to seek their fortunes. The car they drove kept breaking down and it drained them of all cash. An exasperated Orval Dallas finally made the break from this endless expense and he and another man named Dane, started hitchhiking.

 They made it as far as Las Vegas and beyond to a place in the desert called the corduroy road. The corduroy road was nothing more than two by fours, placed on edge over this sandy stretch of road to Los Angeles. No car would stop to offer them a ride so Orval put his suitcase in the middle of the road and waited until the next car came and had to stop. It was a new 1919 model T sedan with a canvas top. When the car stopped, Orval went to the driver and said, "Where are you going?"

It was an innocent enough question and when he answered, "To Los Angeles."

Orval said, "So are we," and Dane and Orval climbed into the back seat of the car as if they had been cordially invited.   The driver was a nice man who accepted them and that is how Orval and Dane made it to California.

Orval Dallas Schneider The Early Years-by Dallas Max Schneider

Orval Dallas Schneider-The Early Years
Excerpt from Remembrances of Orval Dallas Schneider, My Father

By His Son Dallas Max Schneider 

He was my father and l owe him reverence for that. I also honor him, not only for my life but the quality of life that he wanted for his children. Everything he did not have as a child and young adult was given to his children, as he labored mightily to provide.

Orval Dallas was born in a small town of southwest Missouri, called, West Plains, The date of his birth was May 24, 1902. His father, my grandfather was also born there. Grandfather, Frank William Schneider died when he was 38 years old and I never saw or knew him.

Orval Dallas grew up without the wisdom and guidance of his father. Orval Dallas was 9 years old when grandfather Schneider passed away leaving his wife (Hattie Barnett Schneider) with 5 small children to raise on a failing dry farm in Burley, Idaho.

The family had moved to Idaho because Frank William felt better physically, there in the dry, arid west. In Missouri, it was humid and hot in the summer and he had a hard time breathing that wet, heated, heavy air. He probably had tuberculosis but they called it consumption in those days.

My father had a scant memory of his childhood days but he told me that he started smoking cigars at age 7 because everyone else did. I asked him, "didn't your parents object?"

 "Yes they did but we all snuck around them and smoked in secret. All of the men smoked, except my dad. He did not smoke. We had plenty of bad examples around us."

Heavenly Education by Dallas Max Schneider

 

 

Heavenly Education

Excerpt from Remembrances of Orval Dallas Schneider, My Father

By His Son Dallas Max Schneider 

 

My mother, Rosabelle Larsen Schneider, use to say to me, "Oh I wish your dad had some education. He is plenty smart enough."

After Orval Dallas had passed from this life, I had the most wonderful dream about him. He came walking into the dry-cleaning plant with his father, my grandfather, Frank William Schneider. They looked like twins but I knew that it was my grandfather. He said nothing but smiled at me.

I spoke to my father, who had a large roll of individual sheets of paper rolled up under his arm, "Where have you been dad?" He replied, "I have been going to school at BYU and I have come to show you some of my work." Then he proceeded to lay the sheets out on the counter. The work he was showing me looked like some sort of mechanical drawing and on the first page, written in blue pencil was the numbers 78%.

I asked, "What is that?"

"That is my grade," and we turned a few more pages and there was some writing in the same blue pencil.

"What is that?"

"It is the teachers remarks and it say's, thanks for improving 20%."

At that point they both faded away and the pleasant dream was over. I lay in bed musing over this scene I had experienced and luxuriated in its deliciousness for some time. That's what heaven must be like, perfect teaching conditions and endless energy. I would speculate that he can read real well now.

Oravl Dallas had his faults but his virtues shined in gleaming display, far above his flaws.  I hope these stories put flesh and bones on your grandfather and you can enjoy the memory of him as I do.--His son Dallas Max Schneider

Have you ever been Hungry?-by Dallas Max Schneider

Have you ever been hungry?

Excerpt from Remembrances of Orval Dallas Schneider, My Father

By His Son Dallas Max Schneider 

(My Father) did not go to Church regularly but saw to it that his children did. His lack of spirituality did not dim the Christ like generosity that flowed from him so naturally.

It was almost a daily affair that some derelict would come into his business and ask for money so he could eat. Dallas would drop everything and take desolate stranger to the restaurant next door and see that destitute man was fed anything he wanted and then he told the restaurant owner to fix him a sandwich to take with him and paid for it all with a 20 dollar bill and told the owner that when the beggar was done eating to give him the change and Orval Dallas would leave. 

This happened many times and one day, young Dallas Max, who had never missed a meal in his life, chided his father for this gullible generosity. "Why do you do that? The tramp will only take the change and go buy liquor with it."

Orval Dallas replied, "Have you ever been hungry? I have and it hurts!"

And young Dallas Max learned a great lesson. It changed and humbled him as he realized he had been taught something of tremendous value that could not be learned in the great universities of the land-kindness and non-judgmental generosity.

Cars in the 1930's-How the World has Changed-by Dallas Max Schneider

How the world has changed since I was a little boy-By Dallas Max Schneider

(written approx. 1988)

Story Key:  I=Dallas Max Schneider, Dad = Orval Dallas Schneider, Mother =Rosabelle Larsen Schneider, Grandparents Larsen=Neils and Matilda Larsen

Cars were in, but not with the numbers or the dependability that they have now.  I can remember with great vividness my Dad preparing the car to go to Hyrum Utah to visit my Grandparents, Aunt, Uncles Cousins and Friends.  It was an awesome task;  Extra tires, extra gas and water for the radiator.  Let me tell you about this trip to Utah in 1933.

My Dad owned a 1928 Hudson which in this own words would "Pass anything but a gas station".  After Loading the car with all of our personal items, then came all the other things that I mentioned above.  Gas in 5 gallon cans were placed and secured on the running boards, at least 3 extra tires tied to the trunk and the extra water stored in several locations around the inside of the car.  It was jammed and packed .  The passenger list included my Mother, Father, older Sister LaRae and newly born brother Dee., my mother's 2 younger brothers Lamont Larsen and Lorin Larsen.

Because of the summer heat we would always leave about 9pm in the evening and drive all night across the desert.

We start, and spirits are high.  The car with my Father at the wheel speed across the desert towards Las Vegas, a sleepily little desert town.  Soon all are asleep but me and my Dad.  Even at that early age (I was 5 years old) I felt that it was my duty to stay awake with my Dad and help him drive.  He would set me on his lap and let me hold the wheel and sleep would flee from my eyes with this wild excitement in my life.  My Dad teaching me to drive!  Wow!  who could ask for anything else in life.

I guess I was not as stoic as a I thought for the next thing I remember is burning night air and the car had stopped.  Outside I could hear the voices of my Father and Uncles.  They were fussing with something under the hood of the Hudson.

My young mind did not comprehend what they were doing and all I knew was that it was dark, hot and we were not moving.  Others began to wake.  My one year old brother began to cry and my sister began to sya in a sleepy whiney voice "When are we going?"

Dad and Uncles finish their work and we are off, hurtling down the road in the dark of night fifty miles per hour.  Everyone settle back into the routine of Dad driving and everyone else sleeping.  Thirty minutes later the car stops again. Everybody awake, Dad and nclces repair the car, my brother crying and my sister and I impatient to be moving.  This sense is repeated over and over.

What has happened is that there is something in the gas line and it clogs the line from the gas tank to the carburetor.  My Dad and Uncles become so frustrated that unprintable words are spoken and finally my Dad has to sit on the fender of the car and slowly pour gas into the carburetor and one of my Uncles has to drive the car slowly down the road.

We would creep this way till we found a gas station opened with a mechanic that could fix the car.  The car would be fixed, an exorbitant fee charged, and off we would go.  Twenty miles down the road the car would do the same thing.  We limped into a least 3 gas stations, all with the same results.  Fix the car, charge a horrible fee, drive 20 miles out of the range of the gas station, and the car would stop and my Dad and Uncles would have to repeat the same procedure.  We finally arrived at Mesquite, Nevada as the blazing sun leaps over the western sky.  We ate one of the worst breakfasts known in all the halls of resturantdom.  The car repaired- we zoomed through the heat of the day for about 50 miles and CLUNK!  The car stopped again.  Dad back out on the running board all the way to Cedar City.  The mechanic there knew just what to do and 15 hours later we were safe, sung and well fed and put to bed at Grandpa Larsen's House.

It took us 32 hours to drive 900 miles.  The route has changed.  It is now only about 800 miles and can be driven in 16 hours.