Math the reporter

I think of great-uncle Math Hesch with affection.  He was bigger than life when I was a kid because he looked like his brother "Big Grandpa" but he was way more tolerant of kids--he actually seemed to like us.  He always had gum or a nickle for us, so why was mom so adamant about not talking to him?

As I skim the first five years of Pierz Journal issues (1909-1913), I realize two things: Math hadn't really developed his style yet, and there were many other moms who enforced that rule with their kids,too, way before I was born.

The range of Buckman residents mentioned in the Buckman News was limited to the west end, his own relatives, and what he could deduce by driving past a farm and recognizing the cars parked there. I think he loved the repercussions, too, when he told a joke with locals as characters...for instance:

(I think these two "Dreamstick" bits were copied from a joke book--the theme, thankfully, didn't last).

Oh oh:

 THIS didn't last either...☺