roger.pape Site Admin
Joined: 17 Mar 2009 Posts: 414 Location: Liverpool, NY
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2023 9:30 am Post subject: Hamburger Hill, Automobiles and White Lightninng |
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One of the better known landmarks from Concordia's past was named Hamburger Hill, located in Davis Township just northwest of Concordia. It was the steepest hill in the area. Does anyone know how that area got its name? Locations are given a particular name for a variety of reasons. One is reminded of the Korean War and a fierce battle that was fought in an area called Hamburger Hill. It is said that a news reporter coined that name when he heard a soldier say that the battle was like fighting in a hamburger grinder. Obviously, the name was given to the Concordia area for a different reason. Perhaps it was because people in that area were from the area of Hamburg, Germany. While I'm not aware of anyone that was from the immediate Hamburg area, some families living in area of Hamburger Hill were from northern Hannover in Germany, in particular Heeslingen, (which is in the district now known as Zeven). Heeslingen is about 60 miles west of Hamburg. It's possible that immigrants from that area were called Hamburgers, particularly by other residents of Concordia from central Hannover or Westphalia.
In the early days of the automotive age, that hill became a proving ground. The incline of the road going over the hill when approaching it from the east was quite steep. When people purchased a car they would head out to Hamburger Hill to see if the car could make it to the top of the hill in high gear without downshifting. The hill presented a particular challenge to drivers of a Model T Ford. For those who are not familiar with a Model T, it had a planetary gear transmission. That consisted of gears in several cylinders mounted in line around the drive shaft. Holding one of the cylinders to keep it from rotating would cause a change in the gear ratio or direction. Floor mounted pedals were used to clamp cloth-lined bands around the cylinders to hold them from rotating. After prolong use the cloth-lining would wear thin to the point where the bands did not hold the cylinders tight enough to cause the gears to shift. This would prevent one from downshifting from high to low gear. The less frequently used reverse band would usually remain in relatively good shape. When it was not possible to shift the forward gear from high to low, one would simply turn around and back up the hill. This was not the only reason that steep inclines caused a problem. Not having a fuel pump, gasoline was fed from the tank under the driver's seat by gravity to the carburetor. When the tank was low on gas and one encountered a steep upwards incline, the gas failed to reach the carburetor and the engine would begin to sputter. Again, the solution was to turn around and back up the hill. This would raise the tank well above the carburetor.
I was reminded of the name Hamburger Hill while researching the history of the Jacob Martens family that lived on the hill. In fact, Jacob was called the "moonshiner of Hamburger Hill". He probably had a good business during Prohibition. My mother's Frerking family lived in that area and my father got a good sampling of the 'white lightning' when he asked for my mother's hand in marriage. Grandfather Frerking set a large glass tumbler of it in front of Dad and said "any man that wants to marry a daughter of mine had better be able to hold his liquor". Was that a test or was he just celebrating it would be one less responsibility?
The grandsons in the Martens family were given the warning not to name any of their boys Jacob because of his reputation in the community. |
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