My father John Louis Bitzer was born in Turners Falls on May 25, 1887. His mother was pregnant with him on the way over by boat from a small farming village named Dewangen in the lower portion of Germany, near the Switzerland border. Fortunately, he was born a citizen of the United States.
His grandparents had to settle in America earlier and opened a shoe, boot and repair store on 3rd Street in Turners Falls. The brick building is still there, where they lived and worked in the store.
I remember my father having several things to do and take care of on Meridian Street, where his father and my mother, brother and sister lived. He had chickens, roosters, grapevines for making his wine and a big garden. One of his pastimes was making sauerkraut for Sauter’s Grocery Store that was on Pond Street in Greenfield. He had a special cutter and other tools, and with the help of several men, barrels of it were made to be sold at the store. He would do the same for relatives and make some for our own use.
He lost his mother at age 53, and a sister and brother very early in their lives.
His lifetime work was with Greenfield Tap and Die’s Plant One in the hardening room, a very tough and hot job with little wages and benefits.
He was very strict and handed out much discipline to my brother and I.
He would help my mother do the washing of clothes in a tub, for we had no washing machine, and he helped her make her Christmas breads. His love for playing pitch card games with relatives and friends gave him some pleasure in his life, and having a Collie dog that was afraid of thunderstorms helped him to cope with everyday life.
He and my mother were married for more than 60 years, and did their best for us with low income and health issues. Both of them were good parents and cared very much for all of us.