The Rise of Family Fielding

After Tony told his parents about the death, he went to the store to talk to Elizabeth and Jack. He told them about the death then said, "I know this is sudden and, of course, not a good time to approach the miller's widow but I think we should buy the mill if she wants to sell it. I am sure she will. They do not have any boys left at home and from what the miller told me over the years his sons in law are shiftless bums who do not want to work the mill.

"Elizabeth, you could either move the store to the mill or run it here as you do now. It is a fair piece for me to go everyday to run the mill but I can do it if you want to stay here."

"Where would we live if we move to Steelville?"

"We could build a house beside the mill or, if she does not want to stay, and is willing to sell us the mill and the house we could live in the existing house.."

"That would work. I do not think there is much business left for this small store here. About all we get now is from folks who only need a thing or two. Most make the trip Saturdays to Wheatland or Steelville. A family could not live on the money we make here in Roland. Is there room in the mill for a small store?"

"Yes, the main part of the building is pretty large. We could put the store in the front, or better yet, use the front to store grain and feed and build a small addition for the store if you still want to keep one open."

"I think I do. That way I can help some in the mill and we can still sell our grain, feed and some of the things we take in trade for our stock or that Pa takes in trade for his smith work."

"Fine, I will give her a week or so to grieve then talk to Charity. During planting I can still come out and work the farm some I think but during harvest I will probably be too busy at the mill. We might have to hire Pa some help but I think this will be a good move. I bet we can even do better selling our implements there than here too.

"Jack, what about you. Do you want to keep working here or move your smithy to Steelville? The mill sets on a large tract of land and we could build you a fine new building. That way you could help me some if needs be and vice versa. "

"Dont rightly know son. I will think on it but right now I am thinking that might be a good idea."

Six weeks later the Fieldings owned the mill and had the addition built for Elizabeth's store. As he had surmised, Charity wanted to sell the house, mill, and all their land so she could move in with her youngest daughter in Neosho.

Jack was in the process of building his new black smith shop near the mill with living quarters in the new building. Tony and Elizabeth moved into the miller's house beside the mill. One afternoon Tony, Jack, Hiram and Elizabeth were resting on the porch in the shade after lunch when she asked, "What are we going to call our new endeavor?"

"What do you mean honey," asked Tony.

"Well, a mill is usually called after the last name of the miller or, sometimes, by the town's name. I think we need a sign but before we make a sign, we need to agree on a name for our mill. Do you want to call it Fieldings mill or what?"

"That would not be fair to Jack here since he works here too. Hey, why don't we call it Steelville Feed and Farm Supply? That would cover everything we do here and the name would not limit what we might want to do or sell in the future." There was almost no discussion before they all agreed on the new name.

During the next harvest season, Elizabeth heard the men at the mill and smithy complaining about either having to walk almost a half mile into town to eat at the cafe or wait until they got home to eat if they were at the mill over meal time. The very next day, she cooked a larger than normal lunch for her family and, after they ate she put out an old chalk board advertising lunch for sale at 50 cents per plate.

It seemed like every day she sold more food and some days she actually had to cook more after her first meal was gone. Most of the time the customers got no choice, it was only pot luck but they all raved about the food. Finally, she had to ask Tony to add on a room for her to cook and serve meals in to take care of customers. She even had townspeople come eat at her place instead of the small cafe in town. Before the end of the harvest the cafe in town had closed and the owner moved off. Elizabeth hired his two employees to help her in the cafe and store. She began serving three meals a day at the cafe and they made almost as much in it as in the store.

The business continued to grow and do well for all the Fieldings. They treated their customers right and charged the same prices charged in the larger towns. They had their own teamsters and freight wagons used to haul produce to the larger towns and bring items back for sale in Steelville.

Their acceptance of the new farming machinery and use of it impressed the local farmers enough they, too wanted to purchase and use the new labor saving devices. Soon, machinery sales became one of their highest profit lines. Jack became the go to guy to repair broken machinery and his business boomed also.

Over the years, the Fieldings purchased small plots of ground as the owners decided to sell out or they died. They now owned many of the buildings in town and several of the small farms scattered around. Of course, as they owned more land, they had to purchase more machinery to work it and hired men to help. Soon, they became the largest employer in the county. Their farms produced more grain than they could use or sell locally so they shipped it off, mostly already ground into flour and cornmeal for the hungry people in the cities to use.

As time went by, the Fielding children grew and prospered, deciding on their lives work as do all young people. Peter loved the farms and took over the farming side of the family business. Simon was enthralled by the new technology of the Wright Brothers. By the time he was 8 years old in 1908 the Wrights were demonstrating their aircraft in France and to the U. S. Army in Washington D.C.

As aviation matured, so did Simon and his love of aviation. He liked all things mechanical and helped his grandfather in the blacksmith shop constantly. As soon as he could get his hands on new machinery he did so. He loved internal combustion engines and automobiles and began dreaming of driving and using the internal combustion engine in farming at an early age. He read all he could about the Wrights flying machine and obtained specifications when he could. He built large kites and gliders as time permitted trying to duplicate the Wrights flying machines. By the time he was fifteen he read everything he could about the flying machines fighting in the air over France and Germany. He dreamed of one day following those intrepid flying men into the Sky to rid the world of the dangerous Hun.

Mary, like her mother, was a beautiful young woman by this time and giving the young men much to dream about. Unfortunately for those men, she also took after her mother and was very particular about her wants as it applied to a future husband. She was kind and polite to all but at age 14, considered early marrying age, she had yet to find one she wanted to "spark" with.