John Henry Wiemers

Johann & Aalke Wiemers Heritage Site

John Henry Wiemers was the first of seven children born to Dietrich William Wiemers and Trientje Bohmfaulk Wiemers. As a child, he cared for the livestock and carried in wood for cooking and heating. He enjoyed working with horses and riding horseback.

John graduated from Hondo High School, and attended Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas for two years. He could converse fluently in four languages: High & Low German, English, and Spanish.

John met Ida Alvina Schneider from Field Creek, Llano County at a Methodist Camp Meeting. They were wed on October 30, 1912, after a brief courtship (three visits). They built a house on the Dietrich Williams Wiemers property located about 7-1/2 miles southeast of Hondo near the Hondo Creek. They lived at this location for almost 40 years before moving to Hondo.

John made his living by farming and ranching. He was innovative in his farming. He constructed an under-ground silo, and purchased one of the first steam tractors to power a threshing machine for his own and custom work. Later he had one of the first "tricycle" tractors in the area, a Model "B" John Deere. He installed an irrigation pump in the hand-dug well and constructed a system of dams and ditches to water the pecan orchard and cane fields. The cane was processed under the large shed, using a power-driven press, four furnaces, and glass-lined overhead storage tanks to produce hundreds of gallons of molasses annually. The folks frequently referred to him as "Molasses Johnny". This product was marketed locally and in San Antonio as "Barrel Brand" molasses. All the family and many hired hands were kept busy with this unique enterprise.

John and Ida had 5 children including a daughter and four sons: Luella, Reuben, Elgin, Alvin, and Olen. The family frequently took the Masonic Springs route to go to New Fountain Church. But the four-door Model-T-Ford could not make it all the way up the steep north side. Someone would jump out and put a rock behind the wheel, and then the driver would "wind up" the engine and drive up the remainder of the hill.

During the mid 1930's, John drove a herd of cattle down to the Moore, Texas area. Cattle were also sometimes hauled by a 1929 truck. However, the truck had difficulty with two very steep hillls, and occasionally the load was so heavy that the truck engine was not powerful enough to climb the steep grade. Then John would let the truck roll back down the hill, turn around, shift into reverse, and back up the hill.

One time John came home with some Spanish goats. The goats were penned in the sheep pen for the night. But the next morning the family found the goats on top of the sheep pen roof, on top of the truck cab, and creating a general nuisance. The goats were soon eaten!

John Henry died July 23, 1978, at age 88 years. Ida died July 30, 1987, at age 93. They are buried side-by-side at New Fountain Cemetery.

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