Lawsonia

      On April 1, 1918, Fred Shikoski bought the farm from I. O. Sherwood on a land contract.  It had a house and a well.  In May, Charlie, the oldest of Fred's seven children, graduated from eighth grade from Kelm School.  He did not continue his schooling but worked to help his father develop a good productive farm.

     The farm was fertile, had been developed, but still retained some huge trees blocking smooth, orderly fields.  Fred became expert at digging and using dynamite to get rid of them.  He also developed rotation and conservation methods to conserve its productivity.

     During the first ten years on the farm, with Charlie's help, Fred made big improvements.  He had developed a yearly system to conserve soil fertility.  He had built a 14x44 concrete silo; a drive-through, double corn crib; a swill-house/milk house: and a machine shed.

     In 1925 Lone Tree Farm was sold to H. O. Stone Company of Chicago, and re-named Lawsonia.  It became an exclusive country estate.  Otto Bierman, who had been the head carpenter of Lone Tree Farm, continued as the head carpenter of Lawsonia.  Charlie, who worked under Otto Bierman as a carpenter, worked on the hotel being built, as well as some of the homes also being built.  One of the homes being built was the Anne Hathaway Cottage.

     Charlie told me that one noon during lunch break, he another was worker were eating their lunch while relaxing in a house being built.  Charlie did not know the other man.  They were both relaxing and not talking.  As Charley looked at him, he began to think that there was something about him that made Charlie think that the man looked like a bulldog.  Though neither one was talking, the fellow said clearly and plainly, "You look like a bulldog."  It scared Charlie to have his thought spoken out loud.

     Another time Charlie said that when he was leaving work he told the bookkeeper that if he didn't feel better in the morning that he would not come in to work. The fellow was surprised saying he didn't know Charlie was not feeling well.  That night he was taken to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac where Charlie stayed four weeks with a ruptured appendix.