By that time her parents had moved to Victoria and opened up a butcher shop on Main Street between the lumber yard and the Creamery.  "I waited on custom-ers and even skinned out beef once in a while and worked the locker plants," said Gerda.
As a youngster she developed various phobias which survive to this day.  "I'm scared to death of butcher knives," she said.  "I acquired that from working with my dad.  I'm scared of storms, too.  I watched our garage get flattened in a storm.  That was in about 1938."  Gerda said this is not the same tornado that went through Victoria in the mid 1940's and flattened the Victoria Auto Body Shop.

In these years that were colored by tornadoes and tough work, Jerry and Gerda met at a family wedding.  "I couldn't stand him the first time I saw him," said she.  "I thought he was a smart aleck, but then he kind of grew on me."
"Gerda was a table waitress at my sister Madelyn's wedding," explained Jerry.  "She was going with Roundie Wellens at the time and I decided to tick him off so I played shuffleboard with Gerda.  Shuffleboard was a popular thing in those days."
Jerry and Gerda's colors soon began blending in a romantic way, but a dark spot appeared on the palette and overshadowed them.  In that shadow were two tones, Roman Catholic and Lutheran Missouri Synod, that did not blend well.  In the eyes of some people it was like mixing oil and water, so Jerry and Gerda packed their brushes -- their toothbrushes -- and escaped to Sioux City, Iowa.
"We went to see Father Arnold Schwarz, a Franciscan priest who had previously been stationed at St. Victoria," said Jerry.  "Some of his Mass servers might not agree, but I thought he was a super priest and I liked him.  He married us and helped us find a place to live."
Jerry and Gerda were married by Father Schwarz at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Sioux City on April 18^th, 1951.  "Then I looked for work," said Jerry.  "I only had enough money for two weeks rent, and rent was $60 a month.  We rented the upstairs of a duplex and the owner asked me if I ever painted."
As it turns out, the young Schmieg lad had not only milked cows on the family farm, he had also painted.  "My mother and dad had built nearly all the buildings on that farm and we painted them," said Jerry. 
"So I painted for my landlord's boss in Sioux City.  The man we rented from worked for the same contractor.  Leo Pflang was his name.  That's how I got into the business.  Hey, it was a living!  We had to buy our own pots and pans and everything.  By the time we got done buying the necessities, we only had two weeks' rent money left."
Said Gerda, "From the original place we moved to an even smaller apartment.  We didn't even have a bed!"
The couple lived in Sioux City for one year and made lifelong friends.  The experience became a significant mural in their lives as they overcame the shadow, returned to Victoria, and found light in a little house just down the street from the St. Victoria Catholic Church.
Continuing to paint, Jerry learned how to hang wallpaper and was employed by Lakeside Decorating in Wayzata.  But it was never all work and no play for Jerry Schmieg.
"In 1955 I joined the Drum and Bugle Corps and marched in 24 parades a year," he said.  "I arranged music for the Bugle Corps.  I still have my original scores.  We had practice every Wednesday night.  We practiced year 'round and marched in the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Minneapolis Aquatennial.  My kids reconditioned my old trumpet for me for Christmas a couple years ago."
In 1957 the Schmiegs bought a bigger house over on Quamoclit Street.  To supplement his income in 1960, when he went into business for himself, Jerry also "pulled ashes," then became an "oiler," at the Sugar Factory in Chaska. 
"I worked two eight-hour shifts every day, seven days a week during the processing," he said, "but I never painted on Sunday.  In the morning I was painting and then I was at the sugar factory from midnight to 8 a.m.   I only got three to four hours of sleep every night, but it didn't hurt me, but I really needed good shoes.  I got Red Wing Shoes.  They were a godsend."
And what was Gerda's job?  "My job was to keep the kids quiet so he could sleep when he was home." 
In 1959 Jerry became a member of the Victoria School Board.  "They came and asked if I'd accept an appointment," he said.  "I was on the school board until the school closed in 1970.  That was School District #109.  Before that it was #16.  Victoria was the first consolidated school district in Carver County.  That district was consolidated with Chaska, Waconia, and Minnetonka, the largest portion to become District #112."
In 1978, when the kids were a little older, Gerda drove school bus for Ed Vanderlinde.  "I drove for Ed for seven years," she said.  "I did the Zumbra Ridge and Chanhassen route, mainly elementary kids.  Ed was wonderful.
"Then I knew when Jerry ran for District Governor of Lions that it was going to be a little expensive, so I applied at Kallestad Laboraties and got the job immediately.  The fellow asked me if I had any experience in production and I told him I had eight kids.  He never forgot it.  I got the job."  Gerda worked fulltime at Kallestad, making blood testing kits, for 19 years.
Jerry had become a charter member of the Victoria Lions Club in 1966, was appointed to the Governor's Cabinet in 1972, and elected District Governor of 5M2 in 1978.  The position entails much travel and time away from home as the governor is expected to visit each of the 62 clubs in the large district during his one-year term of office.
"We've met a lot of wonderful people through the Lions," said Gerda, who exhibited no regrets.
Said Jerry, "Lionism crosses the boundaries of religion.  We could all work together.  It was ecumenical." 
Jerry's other memberships included the Knights of Columbus, the Victoria Fire Department, and the Victoria Com-mercial Club.  In 1984 he was elected mayor of Victoria, a position he held for four terms, until 1992.  It was under Jerry's tenure that municipal water finally came to the city.  Jerry also served on the Planning Commission and the Park and Rec Committee.
His latest position is serving as co-chair of the Building Committee for a new St. Victoria Catholic Church, quite a responsibility considering the fact his direct ancestors helped organize the first Catholic church in Victoria 150 years ago.  His great great grandfather was Carl Diethelm, the first white settler to tread upon this land.

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