and approximately 13 miles east of Ogema, Wisconsin. (About one half mile from the current location of "Our Yesterday House" on the German Settlement History/Liberty School site.) Between 1887 and 1910 Al and Emma had 14 children, 13 of whom survived into adulthood. The Never Miss a Sunset Pioneer Family Series is a chronicle of this family. In this series, the surnames have been changed, but all the Christian names and all the events are historical. The author, Jeanette, was the daughter of one of the thirteen children. When her mother died she was raised by her grandmother, Emma. When her own children were grown Jeanette wrote this series relying on her memories and her interviews with the extended family. Her story is an accurate and fascinating account of the life of an ordinary family living in northern Wisconsin during the end of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.
A Winter's Promise is set in the 1890's. Al and Emma have a young family and many challenges. As the back cover of the book puts it: "The stove needs wood, the baby's crying wakes the children, and the livestock must be fed. For Emma, it is a time of struggle, a time of waiting, waiting for the bitter winter to finally pass, for her husband Al to return from the lumber camp, for God to answer her prayers for help. Amid the hardships, this mother of four finds strength in her faith in God and experiences the richness of His blessings when help finally comes and a young school teacher moves in with her family."
Never Miss a Sunset is the second in the series and is set in the very early 1900's. Ellen, the oldest daughter of Al and Emma, enters adolescence and dreams of a life of freedom from her many responsibilities. But a new baby is to be born to her mother, who is weak and sick, and Ellen knows it will bring still more work for her as she helps care for her nine siblings. Ellen prays that the baby will die. But when the baby dies, Ellen blames herself. Though it seems that her guilt is too heavy to bear, she finds forgiveness from her family and her God.
All Things Heal in Time, the third book, finds Emma now alone, a widow in her fifties. Al died in 1919, but Emma continued on the farm with the help of some of the younger children. Her older children are grown and having families of their own by this time. But there are still responsibilities: her children still turn to her for help, and when her daughter dies in childbirth she must raise her new granddaughter alone. This granddaughter, Jeanie, later grows up and becomes the author of The Never Miss a Sunset Pioneer Family Series.
Best of Intentions is the fourth book in the series. Emma is raising her orphaned granddaughter Jeanie, the best she knows how. But changes beyond their control are putting their love and understanding to the test. Now in her seventies, Emma turns to her grown children for advice while guiding Jeanie through high school. Facing a world of new friends, first love, and growing responsibilities, Jeanie must decide whether to make her grandmother's values her own. Emma's frustration with change and Jeanie's impatience to grow up threaten their relationship. But a late-night car crash and the beginning of World War II help Emma and Jeanie mend their differences and find the true meaning of love.
Satin in the Snow continues where Best of Intentions ends. In 1942, the spring after Pearl Harbor, the term "instant gratification" was not in Kenny and Jeanie's vocabulary. They had been taught that a worthy goal was worth sacrifice. Their goal: To be married before Kenny had to go into service-with Jeanie in a white satin gown and all that it symbolized. Satin in the Snow is the story of this couple's struggles the summer before they were married.
As Long as I Have You, the last book in the series, is the true story of a love that endured through World War II, when letters were lifelines. Interwoven with the chronological events of the war are the depths of emotion this couple, and thousands like them, experienced during those years. A wartime photo of Kenny and Jeanette can be found on page 215. Grandma Emma appears in a photo on page 218.
This series written by Jeanette Gilge is about her family who lived in Spirit, Wisconsin, Al and Emma and their children. Albert and Emma [Marheine] Meier were married in 1886 and set up housekeeping in a small house on their homestead near the Spirit River some twenty miles west of Tomahawk