Page 91 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

Mother Fredericke was forced to assume ever-growing responsibilities for
unaccustomed household duties.

Without the good supply of servants they had in Holland, the children
were required to help out and do various chores. Each Saturday, Will and
Abe had to clean and polish 9 pairs of shoes, one for each family
member.

A major responsibility was to care for the pony every day. In Will's own
words - "It was a very nice saddle horse. Only once was I thrown, or
rather the horse fell going around a corner, but got up so quickly that I
didn't even leave the saddle. It was a sad day for all of us when Dad
decided to dispose of the horse." Most people who lived in town did not
own a horse. They would either walk or take the new trolleys.

While in Kalamazoo, J.W. Poot and his wife Fredericke had two more
children. The first one died around August 21, 1888. A second child
named Frederick was born February 20, 1890 and died August 5, 1890.
By then J.W. was 39 and Fredericke was 43. The cause of death is not
known, but may have been from cholera or typhoid as they were a
common source of infant mortality.

In 1890, Will was scarcely 12 when he obtained his first full-time summer
vacation job. He worked in a hardware store. There he cared for the
delivery horse and performed a variety of odd jobs. One of the more
strenuous tasks was to haul cast-iron stoves up to the second floor using
a hand-powered elevator. Then came another strenuous task, blacking
and polishing the stoves. The stoves came from the factory with a
natural light gray and porous surface. The blacking would help protect
the metal from stains and rust. For all of this heavy work he received the
sum of $2.00 per week. The stoves were probably locally made since a
major stove factory was located in the outer part of town.

For Christmas in 1890, Jan Poot gave air rifles to Will and Abe. This was
a big mistake and should be a cautionary tale for adults who might have
any weapons that their children can access. In Will's own words -

"One Sunday afternoon, while we were at home alone, my brother got
out his rifle and pointed it directly at my face. He said it wasn't loaded.
He pulled the trigger and nothing happened, so he cocked and pulled
again. I turned my head, as I was standing close to a wall. The bullet (or
pellet) hit the wall and ricocheted into my left eye, blinding it
permanently. This was about 2 p.m. My parents came home about 4
p.m., learned what happened, and called every doctor in the city. None
was to be had. At 6 p.m. they contacted our family doctor, whom
removed the bullet (or pellet) and then sent for an eye specialist. I was
kept in bed immobile for 10 days, no solid food during the week. I was
under treatment for 14 weeks."

- Kalamazoo - page 4 -