"Our Home Town"

by Mrs. Joseph M. (Lina Taylor) Brucken

Our home town is the best town I know,

I've stood on the side lines and watched it grow;

Within its walls my life I've spent,

I have always been happy and well content.

Our town is noted for thrift and cleanliness, too,

Its cordial welcome attracts quite a few;

It can boast of sons and daughters of fame

Who have added much to its fair name.

We have paved streets and water works,

A softening plant that never shirks,

The electric lights, gas and telephone

Add convenience in business place and home.

Our Marshal, Council, Mayor and Clerk,

For our town's welfare surely do work;

The Board of Public Affairs to a man,

Give us all the consideration they possibly can.

Four churches have we and we can say

The pews are filled on each Sunday.

Our schools come next in close relation,

Giving our girls and boys a fine education.

The New Bremen Sun will be a guest

In your home each week at your request;

Insurance representation of every kind,

Quite a number in our town you'll find.

Our mail is delivered twice a day,

And three times it is taken away;

The Nickle Plate train comes once a day,

Has it a passenger coach? Oh, nay!

A yarn mill run by Mr. McKay,

A popular product on the market today;

When knitted dresses are just the rage,

In pastel shades, including beige.

Our Woolen Mills make blankets fine,

That stand the wear and the test of time;

Our Gold Lace flour is renowned,

For miles and miles around.

It makes good bread and pancakes light,

And cake that is a beautiful sight.

Brockman and Kamman our coal supply,

To keep us warm when the winds are high;

New Bremen brooms sweep mighty clean,

And if you use them your floors will gleam.

Our Meadow Gold butter can't be beat,

Its ice cream and milk are sure a treat;

It builds muscle and makes the body strong,

So when it is matured it won't be wrong.

We have the Streine Tool Company too,

That furnishes employment for quite a few;

Our plumbers, both Heinfeld and Block,

Guarantee their work to be tip top.

Knipple's bread and pastries are fine,

Be sure to serve them when you dine;

Schwieterman's Drug Store is up to date,

His one cent sales are sure cut-rate.

Schelper's Meat Market has quite a reputation,

Serving its customers for many years in the same location;

Heinfeld & Gieseke, Kroger and the Red & White,

Carry a line of groceries that is just right.

There is Smith's Variety, the popular Five & Ten,

Mueller Bros. Clothing Store for men;

Two barber shops run by Dooley and Pat,

With a cordial welcome on each door mat.

August Dierker for many years has had a tin store,

We hope he continues for many more;

Irvin Wissman hasn't been in the tin business so long,

But he certainly is going strong.

Schulenberg's Store is our general meeting place,

And Cade wears a smile all over his face;

Two up-to-date hardware stores have we,

The Rabe and the Schroeder Company.

A jewelry store owned by Mel Laut,

He certainly can tell what it is all about;

Wint & Laut each have a pool room and restaurant combined,

In them good eats you'll always find.

To praise the Hotel Hollingsworth you need not falter,

The First National Bank is as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar;

The Arcade is a general department store,

Serving us well for thirty years or more.

Teddy Doenges has a tire repair shop,

When you have a puncture, be sure to stop;

Taylor's Studio is just the place,

To get a likeness of your face.

The Home Furniture Company will help you find,

Home furnishings of the latest kind;

One picture show and then, Oh my,

I must not forget the Gardens Shanghai.

Earl Kuenning, the proprietor of the Advance,

Will sell you a Chevy if you give him a chance;

Filling stations there are nine,

You may have your car serviced and gassed at any time.

The Briggs Furniture Company is just new,

It will soon have its product on the market too;

Furniture is built and repaired by Bertram and Heil,

Their prices are right and their work worth while.

Koeper and Gast carry a line of shoes that are neat,

They will very comfortably fit your feet;

One veterinary, who by night or day,

Answers his calls without delay.

Ed Wehrman has a shop for electrical repair,

He does his work with the greatest of care;

Frank Jung has the only harness shop,

So when you want to dress up old Dobbin, be sure to stop.

A blacksmith shop operated by Tony,

He will shoe your horses, including the pony;

Bill Combs delivers ice that is clear,

He is also the agent for the Wooden Shoe beer.

Five beauty parlors, where the ladies meet,

To give their hair and face a treat;

One chiropractor to work on your spine,

To take off the kinks and make you feel fine.

An oculist, two dentists, and doctors three,

Relieve all the ills for you and me;

Three undertakers to serve us night and day,

When God calls us from this earth away.

The Kay Lou Studio teaches our youth gymnastics,

And to trip the toe light and fantastic;

We are happy the Knights of Pythias have been resurrected

It was no more than we expected.

You can't keep a good order down,

It is an asset to Our Home Town.

The Cement Products Company at the edge of town

For bird-baths and fancy vases are renowned;

Wyen & Stueve your furnace will install,

And have you ready for the chill winds of fall.

Hoeper and Blanke deliver milk at our door;

If a quart is not enough, they will gladly leave more.

Dietrich and Kuhlhorst our eggs will buy,

In paying high prices they are not shy.

The Equity Union offers the trade

The products that by them are made.

Of some new business I want to tell,

It's to be a grocery run by Varno & The Grill run by Schnell.

"Say it with Flowers" is Artman, the florist's creed,

And he will be glad to take care of all your needs.

Lewis Poppe will repair your shoe

And make it look just like new.

The Pythian Sisters are a jolly bunch,

If you do not believe it, just take this hunch;

Hand in your petition and you will see,

Just what is our mystery.

Now there are some things that we could change,

And some things that we could arrange;

A recreation field and a swimming pool,

To refresh our bodies and keep them cool,

In the summer-time when Old Sol reigns down

His fury on the Old Home Town.

Make the city park a place for the kiddies to play,

And spend their excess energy each day;

A community room would be just fine,

Where we could share our idle time,

With those we do not meet each day,

And thus help to pass the time away.

Now I've told my story to you,

Let's all get busy and see it through;

Let us boost our Home Town as the years go by,

And help to keep her standards high,

So for her let us give three cheers,

May they echo down throughout the years.

Originally published in The New Bremen Sun, 1935,

reprinted in 1995, The Towpath NBHA’s Quarterly Newsletter.

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