Dick explained that a cement block foundation was built under the woodframe barn.  It came to be, in fact, the second barn on the old homestead.  The original barn was built in 1870 and it is still used today by the Schmiegs for holding heifers during the winter, although there are few spots where the wind can blow clear through the whole thing.
Getting back to the Victoria duplex, Mary stated, "I had six kids there in a two-bedroom apartment!  I had bunk beds and two baby cribs set up because they were born in 1959 and 1960 and 1961 and 1963 and 1965 and 1966."
Although Dick's full time job was at the Sugar Plant in Chaska, he and Mary also helped out on the Hilltop Farm where John and Gertrude Schmieg lived.  Said Dick, "I think I came out every night to help milk cows.  There were about 20 to 25 cows to milk then.  It was always a dairy farm, right from the beginning."
Stated Mary, "When I got married you have to remember that I was a town girl, but I learned how to drive a tractor and make hay.  When my kids were little I'd have diapers out on the wash line in town and Lorene would get them in for me if it was going to rain and I still wasn't home.  Then we saw a house to buy in the newspaper."
Said Dick, "We did a lot of driving around to find a house.  I remember talk-ing to Jerome Kelzer who had moved a house onto his land.  We bought a house in Hopkins and had it moved out here to a corner of my dad's farm.  I bought an acre of land from Dad for a dollar.  You had to make it legal.  It was 1967."
Dick and Mary had space for two more children, and the family lived in that house just down the hill from his parents until about 1981 or 1982 when they moved up the hill to the home place.
In 1983 or 1984, after their move to the Hilltop, Mary decided to add a few extra hours of work away from home.  "I worked out for a while at a printing company and at sewing places," she said.  Mary had done some sewing for her girls and herself, but mainly she did a lot of mending on the jeans of her boys.
Her big garden at the Hilltop also meant hours on her feet.  "I had a lot of potatoes and I canned a lot of pickles," she said.  "Sometimes when I came home from work I jumped on the tractor and when out to the field to work with Dick's dad.  I had a tan by the Fourth of July.  I got used to a lot of work.  Work isn't new to me, and our kids worked hard too."
For several years Mary also helped cook for funerals and functions at their parish of St. Victoria and she cooked for many years for the Victoria Lions.  But about five or six years ago, Mary had both of her knees replaced and it's still not so easy going when the walking surface is rough, like in the cow pasture.
Mary continues to make good use of her Hilltop kitchen, and her grandchildren eagerly anticipate making cutout Christ-mas cookies each year;  the task consumes an entire day for them.

Let's meet the eight children of Dick and Mary Schmieg.  Barb Schmieg lives in Jonathan and does computer work for a Minneapolis attorney at Faegre and Benson.  Ron Schmieg lives at home and works at Medallion Kitchens in Waconia.  Paul Schmieg lives next door (in the "valley" house) and works part time as well as helps in farming.  Mark Schmieg lives at home and is "the farmer here."  Mark is the son who has taken the lead in the 30-cow dairy operation.  Cathy Breeggemann and husband Roger live and raise cattle at Marystown.  Their children are John, Scott, and Nicoletta.  Julie Schmieg just bought a new townhome down the road and works at St. Victoria Catholic Church and Community Living in Victoria.  Anne Menden and husband Kevin live in Jordan.  Anne is a social worker at St. Gertrude's in Shakopee.  Their child-ren are Katie, Jenny, and Mike.  Dale Schmieg and wife Corinne live in the Kelzer house, which is about a mile from the Hilltop Farm.  Dale works in the shipping and receiving department of Buchen in Jonathan.  Corinne stays home with children Sarah, Abigail, Lydia, Caleb, and Elizabeth.

Last year, when Dick and Mary Schmieg celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary, their children presented them with a party, special albums, and a large decorated cake upon which their wedding photo was painted in frosting.
An extra special gift from daughters Barb and Julie included airfare and a week's vacation in Hawaii, including Waikiki and the black sand beaches of the big island.  Dick especially appreciated touring Pearl Harbor.  "Every time we looked up into the mountains, it was raining," he said.  "I had a ball."  Mary enjoyed Diamond Head and International Market place.  It was a trip of a lifetime with two daughters.
Over the years the Schmieg family vacationed together every summer up by Lake Superior.  Together Dick and Mary have visited Door County and Mackenac.  With daughter Barb, Mary has traveled to Colorado, the Canadian Rockies, Yellow-stone, Louisiana, and Kentucky. 
Roller skating remained on the Schmieg family agenda until relatively recently.  "I was 50 years old the last time I roller skated," said Mary.  "We were with the kids in Burnsville."
Most of the special times together continue to be at the Hilltop Farm, how-ever, where a large upright piano occupies a prominent spot in the dining room and an antique, ornate, parlor stove looms large in the living room; where walls are lined with framed 8x10 baby photos and graduation photos of each of the eight children; where corners are piled with toys for visiting grandchildren.
The city girl learned early on to love country life.  "I like the fresh air, the peace.  It's good living.  It's a good place to raise kids," said Mary.
"I like to watch the crops grow from planting to harvest when things are good," said Dick, "and it's not always a bed of roses.  I like working around machinery and being outdoors.  Nowadays it's not as physically hard work."
Regarding the future of the Hilltop Farm, he added, "I just as soon leave it as it is.  My one son wants to farm.  We plant corn and alfalfa for the cows and oats to protect the alfalfa."
When Dick is asked about the most important things we can teach our child-ren, he says, "Honest work and honesty.  They shouldn't lie.  They should be fair and not try to swindle your neighbor.  Honesty is a good policy."
To the same question, Mary states, "It's important to love and honor your parents and do the right things.  I think it's good for families to gather together often."

Click here for the concluding paragraph.