Stephen's Smith Family - Ancestors, Descendants and Cousins

Notes

Hartzell Clayton Mills

    Three older brothers were not much help to Hartzell, they had left home when he was very young. His struggle was to hold his own with two sisters just older and one just younger. From all reports he held his own very well. Un-revealed sources described him as the family pet and always hungry.
    Though born on the farm and having attended the Oak Hollow school for a short time, most of the memories of his youth are of life in the small river town of Springfield where he lived from the age of six to eighteen when he joined the army during World War I.
    He had heard that the family's very first farm house was of sod, but his memory is of a very adequate house. The family lived in two houses in Springfield, the first the only one available at the time they wanted to move, the second an adequate house for the large family plus all the over night guests that always seemed to find a welcome there.
    Hartzell recalls that they lived well, that they probably were above the average financially, and had an undisputed good reputation in the community. Home and school has left him with very happy memories. The friendships of his boyhood have contunied, though at the time of this writing, few of them are among the living. Hartzell's main interest was athletics, and of all the sports baseball was his favorite. His high school coach who showed a great interest in him, had a very profound influence during his teens.
    Unwilling to wait until June to receive his high school diploma, when World War I was declared Hartzell enlisted in the spring. He was wounded twice on the battlefields of France, the second so severely that he has suffered from those wounds his entire life.
    His college program was specially tailored to meet his physical limitations. In spite of physical problems and much pain he was able to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in 1925. In 1923 he met Elizabeth Reinertsen who subsequently became Elizabeth Mills in 1928.
    Job selections were limited for him after graduation because he was unable to pass the physical examinations which were routine with all the big companies. At that time there were few jobs for engineers that were not with big companies. In succesion he was hired by Western Electric, Insulite of International Falls, and Celotex of New Orleans. In each case work was terminated when the results of the health examinations were reported. He then decided to try to use his engineering education in a selling capacity and went to work for the Wisconsin Piven Supply Co. of Wausau, Wisconsin, 1927 and remained with the  company until 1932 when the depression made it necessary for him as well as the president of the company to find a source of income elsewhere.
    Three families, including Hartzell's employer and Elizabeth decided to move to California in 1932. There the economic situation was no better than in Wisconsin. After a series of unsatisfactory jobs Hartzell returned to the midwest where he began work as an engineer for the Minneapolis Gas Co. Elizabeth remained in California for seven months as she had almost immediately found interesting work as a social worker in Los Angeles county under the welfare program introduced by Franklin Roosevelt. However after Elizabeth was established it was possible to be transferred to Minnesota where welfare work was continued until shortly before the birth of Russell Howard in 1936. Just prior to Sheldon's birth in 1937 they moved to a house where the family lived happily for thirty-eight years. When the family refers to "home" it means that house.
    In 1946 Hartzell left the Gas Co. and formed his own company as a manufacture's agent in St. Paul selling equipment for water and power plants. After he closed his business he became a consultant for a firm until age seventy-two, even though he had been blind for several years and had had a heart attack. Besides his business his chief interests were the activities in which his boys were engaged, from PTA, Boy Scouts, Sports, their jobs, and their families. - by Elizabeth Mills

Ruby Lillian Mills

To whom it may concern;
Miss Ruby Mills was a teacher in the Hurley High School the two years 1918-1919 and 1919-1920 and the second year was High School Principal. Miss Mills is well equipped in education, experience, and in ability for both teaching and administering in High School. Shehas the physical strength, mental poise and enthusiasm that is needed by one that is dealing with the High School students.  I consider her an exceptional teacher and principal and am sure no school board will make any mistake in employing her.
M.E. Chamberlain
Superintendent, Hurley, South Dakota 1918-1920