ERNY, HARVEY DEWAIN

by Harvey D. Erny

Entry F132 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Harvey Dewain Erny was born on
1922 to Frank C. Erny and Ruth Fern
Hardy, in the home of his Aunt and Uncle,
Fred and Ora Hardy, four miles east of
Mullen, the oldest of three brothers, Charles
Walter born May 11, 1925, deceased October
19, 1950 from injuries received when appar-
ently a horse fell with him or threw him while
rounding up cattle working on the ranch of
Reed Hamilton located North of Thedford.
Leroy Henry, born 1927, now
living in Alden, New York, and Ernest
Norman, born 1928 and living
in Orchard Park, New York.

Around 1925, Dad was foreman on a ranch
on Three Mile Lake, Northeast of Arthur,
Nebraska. We moved a few years later to a
school section Southwest of Mullen, East of
John Boyce's and South of where George
VanDuesen lived. My brothers and I attend-
ed the VanDuesen School which was origi-
nally located about halfway between the
VanDuesen's and Sexton's, 16 miles South-
west of Mullen.

I recall my first teacher being Iola (James)
Hamilton. Other teachers during grade
school were Ruth (Mathews) Stoughton, and
Miss Louden from Ashley, Nebraska. I
attended school with Ida Ona, Norma, Gerry,
and Keith VanDeusen, Orfa Sexton, Eunice
and Goldie Maire, Eugene and Dallas Collins,
Gene and Marvel Boyce, Bob and Paul
Garret, Cecil Baldwin, and Curtis Lelachuer.
There were just a few others whose names I
cannot recall. My brothers and I walked to
school, rode horseback, or drove a team of
horses. The VanDuesen School was moved up
the valley, west of VanDeusen's to be more
centrally located for the Boyce and Collins
families. A room was added, and the grades
were split with two teachers. In 1937- 1938,
those from the Maire school were bused to the
VanDeusen School. Dad had the busing
contract for one year and purchased a 1937
Chevrolet Suburban as a bus. It had seats for
about eight. The following year Ralph An-
thony had the busing contract. He used a
1937 or 1938 Ford panel truck with bench
type seats along the sides. During the years
of the bus route we lived on the May's place
which was down the valley east of Buck-
finch's and South of Joe and Mollie Piel's
home. We moved to Northern Arkansas for
a short period of time to see if the climate
would be more beneficial to our mother's
health. While there, our house on the school
section burned.

I attended Mullen High School. During
this time I stayed with my grandparents,
Charles and Louise Erny, when they lived
four miles south of Mullen. I walked or rode
to school and each Friday evening I rode my
horse home. It would be dark before I got
halfway home so I had to rely on my horsse
to find the way.

Our family also lived part of a school year
two miles south of Mullen. During my teen
years I worked for Clem and Velma Hall, Berg
Gregg and Lloyd Collins. One summer I
worked for Bob Mills cutting hay with a F12
Farmall for Cliff Younkin, Ralph Dimmick
and Carl Jeffords using a seven foot cut
mower.

In 1941 my dad had an auction on the
school section and sold everything. He had
built a small trailer house. We then moved to
Lincoln where he and I attended Lincoln
Aeronautical School. The school secured a
job for us at Curtiss Wright Airplane Plant
in Buffalo, New York which was building P40
fighter planes.

In August 1943, I entered the Air Force
until January 1946. I met my wife, Jean
Kosakowski while working at Curtiss and we
were married August 31, 1946. We lived in a
small apartment on Westwood Road in
Alden, New York for about 1 1/2 years until we
bought a 32 acre farm. The house and barn
were very old and neglected. We spent about
three years remodeling the house and then
sold it and the 115x250 ft. lot, and built a
three bedroom ranch house on the other
corner of the farm where we have lived ever
since. The old wooden barn was torn down a
few years later and a 48x62 block barn erected
where I raise angus cattle. Since then we have
put up a three car garage and a machinery
shed.

We have three children - David Joseph
born 1948. He has two children,
Jeremy Joseph born 1976 and
Jamie Elizabeth born 1979. He is
divorced from his wife, Fran Torok. Nancy
Jean born 1954, married to
Daniel Andrew Obrotka and they have two
children, Jason Daniel born 1981
and Kelly Jean 1985. And,
Barbara Ann, born 1959 and married
to Kevin Paul Newman. They have a son
Matthew Kevin, born 1984.

Jean worked for Fisher-Price Toys in East
Aurora, New York for over fifteen years and
is now retired. I worked for thirty years in
Aerospace work on parts for high speed jet
aircraft and space shuttle. I retired March,
1986. In May 1984 I had quintuple heart by-
pass surgery and through the miracle of
modern medicine I am here to write this.