Vegter-Tschetter Heritage

Susanna & Daughters:
Susie, Anna, Grandma, Mary, Barbara, Elizabeth

(Susanna's Recollections Continued)

One thing unforgettable in my life is that I was so very sick when my youngest child, Paul, was only 8 days old. I had a very high fever and became blue in my face and it seemed that the end was near. The Lord lead it that a beloved brother, Paul Hofer, (nicknamed Peter Paul) who was a man of prayer, visited at our house. I said to my husband and the brother, "If there is anything that can help, it is prayer." So they knelt down beside my bed and prayed earnestly. The Lord heard this prayer and`at once I got better so that I could take care of my dear son Paul. The Lord gave us eleven beloved children, 5 boys and 6 girls. They are Anna, Jacob, Susanna, John, Maria, Barbara, Dave, Margareth, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Paul. Margareth died when she was 9 years old.

The 12th of September, 1908, we sold our farm near Bridgewater and moved to Beadle County and lived on and built up a farm 17 miles northeast of Huron. We moved several old buildings on the place and built a new home and the following spring a new granary. We never regretted our move to Beadle County.

We were happy with our children, but I often felt sick and had great pains. We committed it to the Lord in prayer, and it was decided to go to Rochester, Minnesota, to get medical help. I said, "The Lord's will shall be done." In such hours it is precious to have a Savior who comforts us. A great comfort to me was the verse, "If a mother should forget her child, I will not forget thee." In 1912 I submitted to an appendix operation at the Mayo Clinic and was very sick. Death was near, but I could feel that my beloved Savior with His Spirit was near me. A whispering voice said to me, "The wilt not died, but live and make known the works of the Lord." I became well, and in 3 weeks I could come home. My beloved husband was with me in Rochester, and it was a happy occasion to again be with my beloved children and grandchildren who came out to meet me.

And so we shared joys and sorrows together for many, many years. The dear Lord has been very good to us, and I must say with Jacob of old, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which that hast showed unto thy servant." And now we want to celebrate our Golden Anniversary.