Ms. Kreul’s Class Blog

By Josh

 

Hello my name is Charles Sinbad jr. I am a blacksmith at the Wade House blacksmith shop. I’m 36 years old and I lived in Germany. But now I live in the Wade house because there is a war going on in my country. I get paid 35 cents each week Thursday. I have a wife and two kids and there names are Windy, Ella and, Kinny. We live in the  Wade House.

 

We live on the 3^rd floor and it costs us 50 cents to rent a room. I spend most of my time at my shop making iron and wheels, the other time I spend it with my family or I’m at the dining room. I don’t drink or gamble but I do play a mean card of game. It’s really fun at the dining room because that’s where I made lots of friends. I like being a blacksmith because it is the best job I have ever had!

 

Maybe when you visited the Wade House you can become a blacksmith to. Well fairwell I hope we can meet in real life soon. Good by for now.

On Monday, May 11, fourth graders traveled back in time to Wisconsin in the 1860s when they visited Wade House in Greenbush. Now they are taking on the roles of people who lived, worked, or visited Wade House during that period in history, and writing essays about their lives.

Students took notes, made sketches, and worked on related worksheets before, during, and after the trip, and are using these materials to help them create their Wade House essays.

This writing project follows lessons focused on writing with the traits of ideas, voice, word choice, and sentence fluency, and takes students to the next level – writing with from the perspective of a person (real or fictional) who was connected with Wade House in the 1860s.

Students will also focus on the steps of the writing process during this project – prewriting, drafting, editing and revising, and writing – then typing – their final draft.

Wade House essays will be posted on the class web page in the next few weeks – so stay tuned!

A Tour of the Wade House
By: Maddy

Welcome! My name is Mary Smith, and you are standing in front of the state-famous, Wade House Stagecoach Inn. I’m a child here living at Wade House, along with my mother, who is a maid. Whether you’re traveling by foot, horse, or stagecoach, you’ll love your stay at the Wade House. Before you settle into your room, I’ll give you a brief tour of the inn, so you won’t lose your way here. Let us begin!

Here is the first place we will be visiting, the barroom. This room was designed for men only, (I will show you where the children and women go later). The barroom, or taproom serves beers and whisky for 3¢. The barroom is an ideal place for men to rest after a long days travel or work, reading the newspaper or playing card games with a glass of beer or whisky to top it off. The furniture in the barroom is very normal, consisting of a wooden bar, tables, benches, and chairs. We will move onto the next place now, come along, quickly!

Across the hallway here, is the parlor. Remember how I told you that the ladies and children could pass their time in another room, well they pass their time in the parlor. The parlor is perfect for reading a fine book, sewing, or playing the piano by the fireplace. This room is quite finely furnished, with a piano, lush couches, chairs, and a fireplace. Also many ladies and children wait here until a spot n the dining room is available, (which is our next room). Let’s hurry to the dining room.

This is the room where you will be eating all of your meals, the dining room. Each meal here costs a lot; 25¢, but it is worth every penny. The meals cooked by Mrs. Wade are traditional and savory. The meal contains: chicken, lamb, or pork, bread or rolls, vegetables, potatoes, and on a good day, cherry pie for dessert. In the dining room you will find two long tables with many chairs on each side. You must be getting tired; I’ll show you to the sleeping areas.

Here is where you will be sleeping. On the third floor is where guests who are staying for a short time set their trunks down. On the sides of the floor are eight small rooms where everyone stays unless there isn’t enough room. These rooms have chamber pots for using the bathroom, a bowl and pitcher for cleaning and washing yourself, and a bed. These rooms are 50¢ per night. Men sleep on the floor in a larger room for a couple pennies if there aren’t any spots available in the regular rooms. The second floor is like the third floor rooms except they are larger (with numerous areas in each room), are for longer stays, are fancier, and cost two-three dollars per week.

Now children here aren’t allowed to roam and play, they have jobs to do too. Here at Wade House, I have daily work to finish around the inn. In every single room I have to clean the glass on the kerosene lamps. In the sleeping areas, I have to clean the chamber pots (which I don’t prefer to do), and carry up the water for the guests’ pitcher, so they can wash themselves.

The Wade House is an enjoyable place, from the delightful food and perfect location. I find the Wade House fun and exciting each and every day. I’m hoping you enjoy your say at the Wade House Stagecoach Inn! Farewell!

The Blacksmith
By: Zack

Have you been to the Wade House before? Well, I live here! I am Barry the Blacksmith. I am a great friend of Mr. Wade. I met the Wades in 1849 at the Half-way House. Would you like a tour of the Wade’s House and my shop? Yes! Now let us go to my shop and see what I do and use!

So, what do you think a blacksmith does? Well, I make nails, horseshoes, scissors, and in my free time I do art. My most important tool is the forge because it holds the fire where the metal goes to make it hot and formable. Another tool is the Anvil which is the surface that I form metal on. The bellows is also important because it blows air onto my fire to make it rise. Also, I use a hammer to pound on the metal to form it. Now, let us go to the actual Wade’s House!

Here, let us go in the barroom. Tell your wife and children to go in the main door, they are not allowed in the barroom, but we do not need a drink quite yet. Here let us go to the dinner room and get your family. Also let us grab a bite to eat quick.

Was that not a great meal? I loved it except for the 25¢ I had to spend. That is quite a lot of money! Now let us go see my bedroom. It is right up these stairs. Here it is! I live on the 2nd floor because people, who stay longer, stay here. Since you are staying 1 night, you’ll be staying right up these stairs on the 3rd floor. Watch Out! These stairs are steep!

Here we are the 3rd floor. These are chamber pots, when you have to go to the out-house in the middle of the night, you will just go in the chamber pot instead. Every day the children change them!

I just love my job. It is the best job ever, so I have to get back to work. Maybe I will see you tonight. Bye, Old Chap!

An Average Day at the Wade House
By: Susan

In Greenbush everyone’s happy, working and helping one another.

In Greenbush transportation is important. Most travel with a wagon and a horse. Not everyone though. I travel by riding my horse. You cannot travel those ways in winter though because in winter you use a sleigh with runners instead of wheels on the snow. Children ride in small wagons. One time I saw a child in a small wagon pulled by a couple of turkeys.

Besides transportation another important thing is the saw mill. I do believe that the saw mill not very efficient, maybe 50%. Think this is the log is always moving, but the saw isn’t always cutting. The saw goes down, around, down, around, and so on. Beside the saw mill there’s a dam that helps the saw mill in ways and gets the water in the lake. The people of Greenbush use everything they have and the saw mill creates a lot of sawdust, so we use the sawdust to pack the blocks of ice.

Mr. and Mrs. Wade have a big house and the rent some of the rooms out to people. For a man a bedroom is $2.00, but a room for a child or a woman would be only 50¢. In each bedroom there is a bed, a side table, a pitcher of water, a washbasin, a chair, a towel, a bar of soap, and a chamber pot.

But my favorite room is the barroom. Everyday I buy a cup of beer for 3¢ and a newspaper for 5¢. In the barroom you find a long table, stools, and other chairs. Women and children aren’t allowed in the barroom. They have to go to the public parlor where they serve lemonade and water. In the parlor you find an organ, books, and a few rocking chairs.

My second favorite room in the Wade House is the dining room. Mrs. Wade is the cook and she can make some mighty fine food. A meal is 25¢ and we usually get potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips, some sort of meat, and pies. The milk is either cooled or boiled. In the dining room there are two big tables, lots of chairs, a plate at each place, and a few smaller tables with chairs.

The whole time I haven’t introduced myself, my name’s James Smith. As you know I work as a blacksmith. I work as hard as I can and I make enough money for a living. I work with iron and I’m careful not to burn myself. I usually make horseshoes, nails, small scissors, and wagon wheels. Horseshoes are either 50¢ or a $1.00. 100 nails are 10¢ and small scissors are 5¢. Wagon wheels are $2.00. I either fix something or make something new.

When I fix things I take the iron and pump the bellows, an air pump, to give the fire air. After that I take the iron out with tongs, and fix one side. Then I put the iron back in the fire only with the other side in the fire, pump the bellows, take the iron out and fix the other side. Then I put it in the vegetable oil to cool it and next I put the iron in water. Everyday I make about $4.00 and that’s a lot. Some of my tools are my hammer, anvil, and the bellows. Cheerio!

The Wade House Blacksmith
By Spencer

Good day! My name is Henry J. Waltz. I am guessing you would like to know about my story then, hey? I’ve been a worker here for over 5 years. I’m an iron worker or as you would call it, a blacksmith. I earn ‘bout one dollar, which is about $20 for you. Come, and we will look ‘round my work place, or shop.

So here is my shop. After me family was in a crash when I was a youngster, and I’d been here since then. I’ll tell you what my days were like. Since we have no clocks in our days, we have to go accordin’ to the sun. So when I wake up in the mornin’ I have to get the fire started with a bellows. Since I have to make some feet holders (shoes) for the horse in noon, I better get started!

It’s ‘bout noon now and I am very busy. Mrs. Wade needs another nail for her house. Here’s what I do. I take this rod or iron bar, rod, thing, and put it in the forge, where the fire is. I use this bellow and pump oxygen into the forge and it heats it up. I use my hammer and hit the iron rod on an anvil to shape it. Then I compress it and then add some twits. Put cold water on it and, done! A nail! Here Mrs. Wade, good as new!

So me lads. The day is over. I’ll pour me water over the forge and put the fire out. Oh, so I get to go to the Wade House because I get my own room. And, I need something to eat! You can sleep in the Wade House. Here’s a few dollars. Good night lad!

My Time At The Wade House
By Nathan

Hello and welcome to the wonderful Wade House. I am a blacksmith and have been working hard for many years. Here is the story of how I got here.

I wanted to travel from Fond du Lac to Sheboygan to see my family. It was getting dark, so I started to look for a place to rest. There was a man that just past by, so I ran after him to ask if there was a place to stay, He said that there was an inn about a mile away, so I started to look around for the inn. After about ten minutes of looking around, I stopped the inn ahead!

When I got in I asked if there was a room to stay in, luckily there was one room left. I had a cozy night sleeping. It was pretty nice here, so I decided to stay a little longer. The next day there was a terrible rainstorm, so I had to stay even longer. After a while I needed some money. I heard there was a blacksmith shop nearby, so I went over to get a job, and now I’m here. Now let us get to what we came here for, a tour of the Wade House.

Now we are in the first two rooms of the Wade House, the barroom and the parlor. Only men were allowed in the barroom. They would just relax, play cards, or talk. Only women and children were allowed in the parlor. Most of the women would talk or read, some of them would even play the piano for entertainment.

Another important room is the dining room. People would come in and sit down. When they came in they would flip over their plates and wait for Mrs. Wade to come. Mrs. Wade would bring them a meal for 25¢. Our next stop is the second floor.

On the second floor, you will find some fancy rooms. These rooms are reserved for soldiers. But there are also nice rooms that anybody can rent for two dollars. There is a door that leads to the Wades’ room. In there, there are three rooms. One of them is very big; this is Mr. and Mrs. Wades’ room. There is another room that belonged to the son. The final room used to be the daughter’s room, but now is a sewing room.

Now we are on the third and final floor, there are about seven small rooms for women and children. In them you’ll find a bed, a rug, a closet, a desk, and sometimes there will be an extra mattress for children. Men would sleep on a sleeping bag on the floor.

I am a blacksmith and I work with metal. Some of my tools include a hammer, an anvil, and a bellows. I put the anvil on a chunk of wood. Then, I put the metal in the fire. If I want to make the fire bigger, I pull a lever to make the bellows blow air into the fire. Then, I put the metal on and hammer away!

I hope you had a great time and learned a lot about my job and the Wade house.

Ellen Wade Carrie
By: Katie

Hello my name is Ellen Wade Carrie daughter of Sylvanus Betsey Wade. My family and I came in1844 from Massachusetts. When we came here I was six years old. My dad bought 60 acres of land and built a log cabin. The log cabin was called the “The Half Way House” because it was half way between two cities. I have five sisters and two brothers. My sisters and I liked to watch carriages as they ride by. The Wade House was such an exciting place to be!

My family and I lived on the second floor. We had special rooms. Two other men lived on the second floor with us. They paid two dollars a week to stay on the second floor. One man had a horse so to keep his horse here he had to pay 75¢. On the third floor there were 8 rooms, but they were very small, just enough to fit a person and their trunks. Their rooms were only 50¢ a night. In every room was a chamber pot to go to the bathroom in. Our beds where stuffed with straw. Sometimes it was nice to lie down and rest.

In 1850 a new house was made and it was called The Wade House. It was three tall and had 27 bedrooms. The Wade House was much better than the log cabin. When it was finished you could tell my father was proud of it. I was 12 years of age when the house was built. It was much bigger then the log cabin, so more people could come to stay. We had a barroom, parlor, dining room, a summer and winter kitchen, and of course the bedrooms. My favorite room was the Parlor; it was a lady and child room.

When my sisters and I watch carriages drive by we love to see all the different types and colors. My favorite carriage was the Jump Seat Cutter. The back chair could slide forward and the front chair could come out. It was almost like a sleigh, and the seats looked comfortable. I loved to count the carriages drive by, some days over 120 carriages would pass through, that was a lot!

On the land my dad owned we had many other places then just The Wade House. There was a saw mill and a blacksmith’s forge. I loved to watch the blacksmith fix up metal. In the Wade House there was a barroom, which I, or any other child, or lady wasn’t allowed to go in. Whisky and beer were 3¢ each, for a small cup. The parlor is where women and children stay, we get to read and sew. The dining room is where everyone dines; it is 25¢ a meal. You get bread, potatoes, pie, turn-ups and other food. You can have lemonade too. You can enjoy all this food at the Wade House.

I enjoy getting to go to the parlor and get a glass of lemonade and drink with all the guests, it is a lot of fun. I love the Wade House; it is a great place to spend time at. You can go see the Blacksmith at work or enjoy your room. We have two kitchens a summer kitchen and a winter kitchen. This is to keep the temperature in the kitchen right. When you get a chance come visit the Wade House it will be your best stay ever!

My Life as Mrs. Betsey Wade
By: Kaitlyn

Good day, I have a delighted story to tell you. My name is Betsey Wade, you know me as Mrs. Wade. Sunday April 24th, 1844 a long way from Massachusetts I came to a place named Wade House. My husband, Sylvanus Wade or Mr. Wade and I have nine children, 6 beautiful girls and 3 handsome boys. My family and I lived in a small cabin in the town that is soon to be Greenbush, Wisconsin. As our children grew older, we grew older and had more space in our house. 1848 Wisconsin became the 38th state!

In 1850, two of my prized loves (children) left, and Mr. Wade built the Wade House with 27 rooms, and3 floors. Our old house was known called “The Half Way House” because it laid between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac. When the Wade House was built, our family lived in the parlor room (a family room for kids and parents. It was steep, shallow, and cramped. By the time of 1863 one of my children was here with me, Polly. Polly was a fine knitter. She knitted for the people that Mr. Wade had sent to the Civil War.

As Betsey Wade, I cooked in the kitchen with a well-sized fire oven. We weren’t rich, but lived well. I cooked close to the barroom. The barroom is a place for men, most of the men stooped here for the food I make. I would cook chicken, beef, lamb, pork, vegetables, bread, and fruit pie for dessert, only 25¢. And sure knows hungry men would buy it if they only had 26¢ left. To show someone wanted to eat, they would put their plates up showing me that I need to bring out more food to the table. The plates were flipped over because the roads were dirty and filled with dirt. I did not want dirt to get on my plates, which would be very unpleasant. The Wades and I always ate after other people ate, because it would be proper and official to do.

To preserve vegetables, I hung them up; the vegetables lasted for a good long year. In the larder (pantry) we kept our ingredients, but the larder has a bed in it, because we hired a girl named Sarah to help around the house, cook, and, clean so, when she got older, she would marry and take care of herself.

In the summer it would get fairly hot in the kitchen. We had no screen windows, so we built a summer kitchen. It has a well in it 18 feet deep. It took 8 days to make it. In the summer kitchen there was a stove and two irons. The two irons were for ironing, if one iron died down on heat, I could pick the other one up and continue ironing. The pleat iron is when there is a small spot to iron. To wash dishes we had a dry sink, so when the sink got full of water Sarah, hired working kids, or I would have emptied it.

As the days went on, the days got longer, my children were in college, some married except Polly. In 1877 or 1878 Sylvanus Wade had past away. I was very sad, but I knew that I had to take over Greenbush. He was a good man and a survivor. But then in 1880 I had died too. No one knows how we died, but the love for the Wade house will pass on for generations.

Wonderful Wade House
By Jordan

Hello old chap! My name is Elizabeth Redly, and I am a guest at the Wade House. I have been here for one month now. May I interest you in a tour? Yes, splendid! We will start at the barroom! Though I cannot take you in, I will gladly explain!

The barroom, also called the taproom, is where men can come and drink beer and whiskey, read newspaper, and just talk! Only men are aloud though, no women and children.

Are you hungry? If you are, have a seat. Mrs. Wade will cook you a feast. See how these plates are turned over? Well, when you are ready to be served you un-turn them. Also, they are turned over because when a carriage goes by you can get dirt, bugs, and yucky stuff. They can make your plates full of rubbish. Just so you know, food here cost 25 cents. Well, that’s for chicken, beef, lamb, vegetables, and fruit pie! But, the food is worth it!

Now, the 2nd floor! This is my room. The 2nd floor is for guests who stay longer, like a month. See, these are nicer rooms than the 3rd floor. We will look at the 3rd floor later. See how these rooms have pianos, couches, a big bed, and a sitting area? The 3rd floor does not. These rooms are 2 dollars a week. Do you all see that pot? It’s called a chamber pot, used for going to the bathroom. The Wades don’t have bathrooms. Lets go on up to the 3rd floor. Watch out! The stairs are steep.

Here we are! See the big open space? This is used for parties only on the 4th of July and George Washington’s birthday. When it’s not party time, the men sleep on the floor while women slept in beds. Also, see those big stoves? Well, whose job is it to heat them up? James McCoy and Phillip Marand, the maids daughter also have to empty chamber pots and empty lamp soot.

Well, it is the 4th of July and I hear Bessy and Katrina Harring setting up some fireworks! You better be heading off or registering a room for a night or two! It gets crowded! I hope you enjoyed our tour. I know I did.

Born as a Blacksmith
By: John

Good day! My name is Henry Johnson; I work at Dockstader Blacksmith Shop. I usually lived in Sheboygan but, we had war so I decided to move to a peaceful, quiet, nice town, so I moved to the Wade House!

Here, I make objects that are made out of steel and iron. Do you know how I know whether an iron or steel is bad or not? Well, if it is red or orange it is fine but if it is white that means it’s too hot!

At my workshop I make all different kinds of stuff like scissors, knifes, horseshoes, and more! Everything I make for Mr. Wade is mostly 50 cents or more. I work 24 hours everyday to feed and take care of my family. I have a special tool called a Bellow, when I push the lever down it blows air underneath the fire, without it I can’t make anything!

After I finish making the shape of what I want, I put it in vegetable oil first, and then put it in water to cool it down. After work I sleep in a bed for 50 cents. But the beds are very, very small! In the morning, afternoon, and evening I eat potatoes, cabbage, pork, meat, turnips, and peas for 25 cents a meal.

Do you know what we have to use to use the bathroom? We use chamber pots! Chamber pots are pots that are in every bedroom.

Mr. Wade and I always go to the barroom together to drink beer or gamble I only go twice a week. Mr. Wade is calling me for a meeting, I hope you had a fun time at the Wade House!

A Blacksmith’s Typical Day
By: Jieun

Bong! Bong! Banged my hammer. I knew it, I knew it! Matthew is the . . . no, Matthew Black is the luckiest name in the world; my name.

I came to the Wade House to live there because my cousin is Ellen Wade. Boy I’m lucky I came, I always get over $3.00 everyday, that is a lot more than other people. It all started out when I was a very little lad, 3 or 4 I’d say, because of the war, my father sent my mother and I to the Wade House. We had lived in Boston, Massachusetts. My mother got a job and we lived there happily. One day, a letter sealed in wax was sent to us that my father had died on the battleground. We mourned him for a long time. Pulling ourselves together, we decided to stay in the Wade House.

I lived a happy life as a young lad. My best friend was a gorgeous young lady named Grace. I wished I could have married her, but I was sent to Massachusetts the time we were going to get married. We could only do it that day because that day that was the day before Grace left to go somewhere, but I was gone. She married someone else.

Why hello there Scott! How ya do’ in today?

Great sir! Scott is hoping to be a blacksmith in the future. I teach him things everyday.

Scott, after you give the iron a nice heating, make sure it’s not yellow or white because that means it’s burning. Use the tongs to pick up the iron after it’s heated. Pump the bellows while it’s heating to give the forge some air. When you’re finished dip the iron piece in vegetable oil, then in water. It will steam and hiss.

Thank You!

Your welcome Scott! Oh, and Grace is coming to your shop soon!

Thank you for telling!

Good day sir!

Good day Scott!”

Hello Grace, how can I serve you?

Could you please shoe my horse, could I have 10 small scissors, hmmm, and 2000 nails?

Of course, me lady!

Handing me the money, she skipped out of the shop. I was awed. I had gotten $3.50! I quickly started hammering and pumping the bellows. Whoosh! I had finished just in time. Grace came right when I had finished.

After that, I was really tired. So, I decided to go to the barroom. Using 3¢ I bought a cup of beer and sat down with my friends to talk.

When I had finished, I decided to go and eat dinner. I had a delicious dinner of carrots, meat, and pie for 25¢. I thanked the maid gratefully for my dinner. I also thanked Mrs. Wade for cooking my dinner.

I decided I should get lots of sleep, so I rented a room for $2.00 and paid 75¢ to keep my horses. In my room, there was a pitcher of water, a washbasin, a bar of soap, a chamber pot to go to the bathroom, a side table, a chair, and a hay stuffed bed. The quilts were hand made. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and crawled into bed to get some sleep.

Zzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Tomorrow, I hope, more I know, that my lucky name, Matthew Black, will bring luck and hope again. Good day everyone! Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzz.

Karilena’s Stop at the Wade House
By: Gracie

Good morning and welcome to the Wade House. I’m Karilena. I’m visiting here because I’m traveling to Sheboygan coming from Fon Du Lac to see my cousins. We’ve been traveling for two and a half days and we finally reached the Wade House known as the Half Way House. We are most likely going to stay here for one or two days but who knows?

Some of the jobs us eight year olds do are bring wood up the steepest stairs ever to the third floor stoves. Another job we have to do is empty the filth-filled and rotten chamber pots. Plus, we have to bring the water to the water basin and pitcher. Not to mention, we have to clean the soot out of the oven, stoves, and oil and candle lamps.

Sometimes, I get a bit of free time and how I spend it is all different. I might go to the parlor and have some water or lemonade. Or I’ll ride the family horse, Polly. Another choice I have is to play with other children.

In this part of town, there are items you can purchase. For families, a second floor room is $2. Third floor rooms are 50¢ and the floor is 3¢. You can also purchase newspapers that are 5¢, a glass of beer or whiskey are 3¢ but for men only, a meal for 25¢, pair of small scissors is 5¢. You can also purchase items from the blacksmith like 100 nails for 10¢, a set of horseshoes for 50¢ to $1, or a wagon wheel for $2.

Much of the food the guests have in the dining room [25¢] is often things from the barn or the garden such as carrots, turnips, cabbage, and potatoes. Also, we have meat such as chicken, fish, beef, and pork. Occasionally we dine on a berry pie, the pies we dine on are mostly in season, such as apple, raspberry, strawberry, pumpkin, and much, much more.

Sorry I took so long describing the Wade House that the day hass gone by and I have to go to sleep. For tomorrow, I’m on my way to Sheboygan. It was my pleasure meeting you and good luck!

A Day at the Wade House
By: Garrett

Good Evening, I’m a blacksmith at the Wade House and I was wondering if you would want a tour? Yes, well will start right away old chap!

Well the first thing I’ll tell you ‘bout the old Wade House is that it’s important and what it is. The Wade House is like an Inn where people could stay in the night in the 1800s. But they didn’t have restrooms so people had to either go out side in an outhouse or use a chamber pot. People stayed there because you couldn’t drive at night because there are no headlights so you’d have to stay somewhere. The Wade House is important because when you stop for the night so have to stop from Sheboygan to Fond De Lac and the Wade house is in half and half so they call it the half-way-house.

In the old Wade House there is a room called a taproom. A taproom is like a bar room. The taproom is only for men only and not children or women but luckily we are men. In the taproom they not only just drink they could talk, play cards, checkers, or any other games.

On the third floor there are more rooms but not as fancy. But the other thing different then any of the other rooms is how long the old chaps stay. They generally stay two or three nights though. On the third floor people also have parties. But cherry peas like you only have them on George Washington’s and on the fourth of July.

At the old beautiful Wade House there are so many jobs you have to take care of I can’t even explain all the dirty and shiny clean jobs. Some jobs are for the Wade kids like empting the chamber pots, cleaning the soot, heating the stoves, making candles so you can see at night, and many more. Some other jobs for the Wade’s and people who are working for them are blacksmith’s like little old me who make wheels for carriages to putting horseshoes on horses, Sawmills make a lot of wood, cooking for all the guests, [witch tastes like mama used to make], and so many more jobs that need to be done.

Well I have to go make some more horseshoes at the blacksmith shop and you should get a room before all the cheery ones will be gone. Cherry oh then.

Kirsten’s Visit to the Wade House
By: Emma

Good evening, I am Kirsten Waldesh (Wall-de-sh)! In 1853 my family and me stopped at the Wade house on our way to Fon du Lac. My family and I were moving from Sheboygan to Fond du Lac. We stopped in Greenbush halfway through so my dad could take a rest because he was driving the horses. My parents knew the Wades, so we stayed for four days instead of one day to help the Wades out around their house. They had built the house in 1850, which is now known as the Wade House!

My sister (Mary) and I helped Mrs. Wade cook, clean, wash the dishes, and clean out the oil lamps. My two brothers (James and Henry) helped clean out the chamber pots. James, (science he was older) helped my father around the blacksmith shop. When we came to the Wade House Mr. Wade told my dad that Mr.Dockstander (the blacksmith) could use some help in the blacksmith shop. So my father said he would help and my brother joined him. My mother worked with Mrs. Wade and helped her cook.

When I moved I faced some sad things. One thing was I had to give my horse away to my friend. At least I knew that she would be in good hands. Also we had to sleep in really uncomfortable beds made out of straw and rope springs.

There are six people in my family – my mother Emma, my father Scott, my sister Mary, my brother James, my brother Henry, and me Kirsten (Ker-s-ten). Our family has one cat, and two horses (now).

Mrs. Wade always made the food we ate at the Wade House. We ate many fruits and vegetables, we also drank milk a lot!

In the Wade house there was a barroom for the men to rest and drink. The ladies and children never went in there.

We were at the Wade House on the 4th of July! We all went on the porches and eventually we did see some fireworks,

Though there were some hard times at the Wade House. I loved being there and I made new friends!

The Wade House!
By: Emma

Ring! Ring! Here that? That’s my hammer hitting my sturdy handy dandy little table of mine! I’m Henry and I work here at the Blacksmiths!

I work with a bunch of tools like bellows, iron, and metal. I get paid different prices a day like if I put a shoe on a horse I get the price of 1.00 and I can sell 100 nails for 10 cents, but the best price of all is when I fix a wagon wheel, I get the price of 2.00!

Here it is, the Wade House, come, hurry inside! This is the first floor, as you see here this is the barroom and only men are aloud! There is the brown bar in the back so while men were in this room the women and kids went to the parlor. Here in the parlor there’s a piano, some chairs, and paintings!

Come on; let’s make our way to the dining room. This is the dining room, as you see the plates are down, but why? The reason why is because they want to keep the plates clean, since the windows were always open and there were dirt roads and dirt always flies in, they keep their plates down so they don’t get mud all over them! Another reason why they have them down is because when people stopped to eat or someone sat down and was hungry, they would turn there plates up so Mrs. Wade, a great cook, knows there’s ready to be served for food!

Come here I want to show you the Wade’s regular kitchen and their nice summer kitchen! Here it is! This is the summer kitchen Mr. Wade built, look that little green thing is the bathtub, they boiled warm water over the fireplace then put it in the bath and when one person got out of the bath, they wouldn’t change the water! Interesting right?

Here is the second floor. The Wade family’s rooms are over there. They have this door
to separate the guest room from there room! Also there are chamber pots in all of there
rooms, a chamber pot is your bathroom. Just say it’s the middle of the night and you really had to go to the bathroom and you wouldn’t want to go outside and use the outhouse, so you would just go use the chamber pot in your room!

Come along now I’m going to show you the soldier’s room! The Civil War was going on and soldiers had rooms when they slept up here on the second floor. Some soldiers as you see have really nice rooms and they pay 2.00 a week for them to sleep in the Wade House for a week!

This is the third floor! See all these rooms? They’re for people to sleep on, and this whole
floor is also for people to sleep on. They could lie out blankets and sleep on them on the floor but you have to pay a nickel to sleep up there! These rooms are small but people are fine with them, so at night the whole floor is filled with people, there are people in every little corner!

Since there are a couple actual beds to sleep on, guess what’s inside the bed holding it up? It’s straw, it sure looks like hay but they use straw, they save hay for the horses to eat! Wow, does time go by fast. I hope to see you again but I have to get back to the blacksmith.

See you, I hope you learned as much as I did about my job and the Wade House!

Life As A Blacksmith
By Davis

Hello I’m Dave Doxen, Greenbush’s blacksmith. Sometimes if I’m real lucky I make $3.00 a day. Horseshoes cost 50¢ to $1.00 for me to make.

As you may have guessed I make horseshoes, but I also make nails and other things. To make those things I need to heat them up so I can change the form. I use a forge to keep the forge hot so I use a bellow. So I don’t burn my hands I have tongs to hold the hot metal. To pound it in to shape I use my hammer and pound against the anvil. If anvil broke it would cost $20.00 to buy a new one.

The food that Mrs. Wade prepares cost 25¢, which is sometimes 1/4 of what I erne. It costs $1.00 to get a really good room but all the beds are made of straw. you know the saying sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite it comes from the beds like ours. They have ropes to hold it up and you need to keep them tight. The mattresses are made of straw so you might get some bugs in it.

Touring the Wade House
By Charlie

Welcome to the Wonderful Wade House!

The Wades arrived here in 1844 so they needed a house. So they built the extrodinary Wade House in 1850, and they also built a Blacksmith Shop and a Sawmill. Out of their 10 children 9 lived there. The 1 who didn’t live there was out and married.

In the Wade House, people use chamber pots. Unfortunatly, kids would clean them.

If you would just come this way we will enter the barroom. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the barroom. This is where men would relax, have a beer, and read newspapers. Since women and children wouldn’t go into the barroom they’d go in here.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the parlor. The parlor is where children and their mothers would play music on the piano, play around, and have a few chats. Now we’ll enter the last room on the fist floor, the kitchen.

In the kitchen Mrs. Wade would cook the meals. Then she’d bring them through that hallway and in that room to the guest. Right now you see Mrs. Wade is very busy so she hired a younger lady who just finished school. As you see she sleeps right through here in this room.

Right now we’re on the 2nd floor. If you look through that door you’ll see a soldier’s war suit. Right now he’s down stairs having something to drink in the barroom. As he’s around the house he’s trying to convince muscular men to come out to war with him.

If you’d come through this hallway I’ll show you where the wade’s slept. As you see the wades had much more comfortable beds than the guests. In just a few moments I’ll show you where the guests slept. But right now if you’ll come this way we’ll go up to the third floor.

As you see these rooms are where the guests stayed, sometimes if they’re were to many guest they would sleep on the floor. They’d also use the floor for dance parties on holidays or presidents’ birthdays.

Thank you, for coming to the wonderful Wade House. If you’d just follow that path it’ll lead you to the Blacksmith Shop. Thank’s for coming, hope you come again.

A Visitor at the Wade House
By Brooks

Hello there, may I bother to ask why you are out alone so late… Oh I see, well why don’t you come and stay here at the Wade House. There is a stable we can take your horse to just give them 75¢. My gosh look at those horseshoes we better go get the black smith to fix them. Come along now.

As you can see he will make anything from a wagon wheel to a horse. Needs us to get some logs for his fire hurry up so you don’t get lost on the way.

There he is it looks like he’s about to turn in we better hurry.

Woo that’s as fast as I’ll ever run. I’ll see if he can give us some logs.

Excuses sir can you pleas give us some logs; you see the black smith is out. Splendid.

Hurry up know son.

That’s a lot of logs and look at the size of the saw don’t want to be cut by that thing.

Here we go, let’s go it’s getting really late.

Were back and it looks like the fire died while we were gone and he left. I’d recon he’d better get working on it tomorrow. Let’s get going to the house so you can get a room.

As you can see this is the bar room for men only. Now go sign in at the counter for Mr. Wade he keeps track of everyone that comes and goes.

Their lets go to your room. Now lets turn in.

Pounding through the house
By: Alex

Boom! Bam! Boom! Whoosh! Oh hello. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. How can I help you? I am the “high and mighty” blacksmith at this here wonderful Wade House.

I get about $3 a day. Actually I get around $4 a day. My name is Bartholomew Washington. I have a two-year-old son named Abraham (after our president nowadays), a five-year-old son named George (after the president) and Tom (because I like that name).

I came from Columbia, South Carolina, to escape the evil War Between the States. Anyway, the Union should win in a few months. I heard about Greenbush, Wisconsin, from a railroad friend. There’s gonna be a railroad right through Greenbush!!! I might get even more money than I get now!!!

A few places to go around the Wade house are; the sawmill, where I go to get my wood to burn in my forge, or my office. On the first floor there is a barroom for men to sit back, have a whiskey or beer, and talk to friends about politics and problems. There is also a parlor, where women and children go to wait for the men to get out of the barroom. Refreshments are served there. There is a second floor where guests of the Wades sleep. The chamber pots are so clean. Someone must make a darn lot of money doin’ that.

My main work is making new tools, (such as horseshoes, hammers, nails, hooks, and more), and fix old ones. I use a hammer and anvil to make my money.

I hope you appreciated the tour of my life. I must get back to work now. Farewell!!!!