BOYER, HASKLE D. AND ELVIA M. (FOX)
Haskle Dennis Boyer and Elvia Mae Fox were married at Seneca, Ne., June 15, 1920. They began their married life in a one-room frame house on a homestead 10 1/2 miles southwest of Torrington, Wyo. A daughter, Grace Eileen, was born May 27, 1921, and on May 20, 1923, Wilma was born with Grandma Sarah Boyer and Nellie Johnson in atten-dance.
In March of 1924, Haskle drove a four-horse team with a wagon-load of their possessions and leading his saddle horse, Stub, and a young shepherd dog, Tip, returned to Mullen to farm the Hugh Boyer homestead northeast of Mullen. Elvia and the two girls came by train escorted by Hugh, Haskle's father.
Haskle had attended the school of Agricul-ture in Lincoln and graduated in 1917 president of his class and Captain of Com-pany Min R.O.T.C. He was inducted into the United States Army in October of 1917 and assigned to Company M of 355th Infantry at Camp Funston, Kansas. On June 3, 1918, they left for England “on an old cattle boat, The Baltic.'' According to his diary, the soldiers underwent further training in France from the last part of June until August 21, when he mentions “front trenches near Beaumont, St. Mihiel drive, Sept. 12; and Meuse-Argonne, Oct. 8,'' Apparently he spent his 26th birthday crossing the Meuse river and a day later the Armistice was signed. Haskle, with eleven other Company M men, had passes to spend from No. 19th to 27th in Southern France. To catch up with their outfit, they spent 22 days hiking into Germany where he served in the Army of Occupation near Trier and “Saarburg''. He left Germany for Brest, France, and boarded the ship, Leviathan, on May 15, 1919, returning to New York on May 22. Then he came by train to Camp Funston, arriving on June 1, where he helped with discharging the men – even writing up his own discharge last. He returned to Mullen June 4, 1919.
Elvia had graduated from Hooker County High School with her sister, Sylvia, in 1916 – the first four-year graduating class. She taught school one winter “on the river northwest of Mullen. '' She attended business college in Lincoln one term and then worked in Citizens State Bank at Mullen until their marriage. One of the stories she often tells is about living for a summer on a place near the Dismal river where she and sister, Sylvia, raised a big garden, did lots of canning and looked after cattle for her father, R.S. Fox. During her high school days she roomed and boarded with the H.J. Lowe's, who had befriended them when the Fox family arrived by covered wagon, probably in 1896 or 1897. Elvia says she was born in a room at the back of a building on the south side of Main Street in Mullen on Christmas Day in 1897. She always praised Mrs. Lowe for helping her to grow up with high ideals, for she sorely missed her mother, Ida Belle (Trester) Fox, who died when Elvia was 8 or 9 years old.
On March 13, 1925, Grace died of pneumo-nia and in September Doris (Mrs. Dale Stauffer) was born. Phyllis (Mrs. Lee Homri-ghausen) was born Oct. 25, 1927 and Gettie (Mrs. Wes Sandall) August 25, 1929. That fall Wilma began school at Virginia, Dist. 176, about a mile south of Fay James home, where all four girls received most of their grade school education. Richard Hugh (Denny) was born Dec. 22, 1933 and attended Virginia and Reigle schools before finishing the grades in Mullen Grade School.
In the spring of 1944, Haskle spent 36 days in the VA Hospital at Hot Springs, S. Dakota, after an appendectomy. That fall they moved into Mullen where he worked at Johnson's Store for a time, later moving to Lee Boyer's turkey ranch for some time. He served as assistant County Agent in 5 counties during World War II, was Hooker Co. Veteran's Service Officer from 1954 to 1975, and was County Judge 1957 to 1965.
A highlight of their lives was a trip to West Germany in 1971 to visit Denny and his family. They were able to see the same towns, even the same buildings, where Haskle had been during the winter of 1918-1919, as well as to tour Luxemburg and Holland.
There are sixteen grandchildren and pres-ently eighteen great-grandchildren.