David F. Yauck, oldest son of Fred and Kathryn Schoenhals Yauck, was born Feb 19, 1902 near Arnett, Oklahoma. This was in Day County, later changed to Ellis County. In 1936, honoring a death request of their father, he and his three brothers added the initial "F" to each of their names.
Bertha Beththold, daughter of Paul and Mirjam Reiswig Bechthold, was born Jan 4, 1901 in Grimm, Russia. (Grimm is also in the Volga area, not that far from Holstein.) At the age of eight, she came to the US with her parents, via Canada, to a farm 6 1/2 miles SE of Booker, Texas. David and Bertha were married at the Fairview School House on Apr 7, 1921. They made their home with his parents for nearly five years, nine miles SW of Follett.
David worked with his father and younger brothers. They broke sod over a large area, using horse-drawn equipment until 1922, when they purchased a Minneapolis tractor, one of the first in the county. They also operated a steam tractor threshing machine from summer until fall, getting 8 cents per bushel for threshing wheat and barley, and 3 cents per bushel for Kafir (broom corn) and maize. The farmers did the labor, feeding the stalks into the machine, etc. There would be a crew of twenty or thirty men, moving from one farm to the next. Neighbor women helped each other serve meals for the crews.
In 1928, David and Bertha built their home one mile SW of the old home place. They lived there until 1944, when they bought the Tom Haines home in Follett that was built in 1919, where they now reside. (published in 1976.). In 1948, David and Bertha began the custom combine trek from Texas to Montana, and continued until 1957.
He continues to farm some of the land he broke the sod on 47 years ago. Their family consisted of one son, David, Jr., now living at Darrouzett; and three daughters Eva Hildenbrand, Pampa, Texas; Kathryn, Houston, Texas; and Bertha Lea Morris, Bakersfield, California.
From History of Lipscomb County, Texas.
(comments) by Edith Bottsford