Matriarch reflects on family, farm life, history

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Rita Rose Seyller of Hampshire.

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Updated: December 1, 2011 8:17AM

HAMPSHIRE — Rita Rose Seyller, 81, of Hampshire, likes to dance, go camping and host holidays at her home every year for more than 70 family members.

She is proud of her heritage, her 53-year marriage to her late husband and of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who continue to bless her life.

Rita Rose’s grandfather, Karl Schiesher, was a blacksmith who came to America from Germany. He set up shop on State Street in Hampshire.

Rita Rose’s parents were George and Cornelia Schiesher of Hampshire. Rita Rose was a middle child in a family of nine girls and one boy who were raised on a dairy farm along Romke Road.

The children attended St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Hampshire. Rita Rose was named after Sister Rita Rose, one of the nuns at the school. The stained glass window depicting St. Andrew at St. Charles Borromeo Church was donated by the Schiesher family.

Rita Rose remembers what it was like growing up on a farm.

“We still used lanterns,” she said. “We had no running water and no electricity. We had a cook stove in the kitchen and used oil burners for heat. We never bought anything at the stores. We grew our own food including wheat, which we took to the mill to grind into flour.”

“The downtown drugstore gave free ice cream cones during the holidays,” Rita Rose added. “During the Depression, business owners threw live ducks, geese and chickens off the roofs of their businesses on State Street that people would catch and cook for Thanksgiving. A carnival with rides and game booths was held on the Fourth of July at Seyller Park. It was like the current Coon Creek Country Days.”

Rita Rose’s husband, Ambrose Seyller, grew up on a farm in Burlington. He was born in 1921 to Walter and Marie (Weber) Seyller.

Ambrose’s father served during World War I as part of Battery A, 21st Field Artillery, 5th Division, also known as the “Red Diamond Division.” Ambrose’s mother was born and raised in Luxembourg. Ambrose’s parents met for the first time when his father was serving in Europe.

When Ambrose wanted to join the Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, his parents were opposed to his enlistment because of their experiences during the previous war. In respect for his parents’ wishes, Ambrose did not enlist until his 21st birthday on July 28, 1942. He reported to Camp Grant in Rockford.

Ambrose attained the rank of first lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s 109th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Unit. This unit participated in the invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and the release of prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp that was opened in Germany. Some of the generals Ambrose served under included Gen. Omar Bradley and Gen. George S. Patton.

Met at Easter dance

Rita Rose met her husband for the first time in 1947 at an Easter Monday dance held in the St. Charles Borromeo Church hall. They were married one year later at the same church where they first met.

The couple raised 10 children on a 142-acre dairy farm at Hampshire. It was located half a mile north of the farm where Rita Rose was raised. They had 150 head of livestock and eight horses.

When the children were older, the Seyllers moved into a ranch home in town. Dan and Deb Seyller now run the family farm. Ambrose died in 2001 at the age of 79.

Except for Mary (Richard) Kastning who moved to Wisconsin, all of the Seyller children settled in Illinois. Sandy (John) Eberly, Peg Thompson, Joe (Sandy) Seyller, Dan (Deb) Seyller, and John (Lisa) Seyller are Hampshire residents. Pat (Bill) Maynard moved to Durand, Walter “Hap” (Deb) Seyller lives in Kingston, Ambrose (Shelley) Seyller Jr. lives in Elgin, and Paul (Patty) Seyller is a resident of Geneseo. (Editor’s note: Neither of the two Deb Seyllers in the family is the Kane County Circuit Clerk, who has the same name.)

In addition to her 10 children, Rita Rose has 29 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. The youngest great-grandchild, Faith Schaver, was born on April 29, 2011.

“My kids and grandkids all help me out,” Rita Rose said. “Sandy comes every morning for coffee, and Joe is my handyman.”

Michelle (Seyller) Podkowa earned a master’s degree in U.S. history. In 2008, while she was a teaching assistant at Northern Illinois University, she gave a lecture about her grandfather’s military service.

“During the Battle of Normandy, he slept on the sand and ate the same meal every day, which was different variations of ham, crackers, eggs, and cheese,” Podkowa said. “My grandpa said that the men were trigger-happy because of the tense situation. They shot at a shadow one night and realized the next day that they had shot a horse.”

Podkowa said her grandfather had a close call one night. An explosion nearby put an indentation the size of a golf ball into his helmet as it was lying beside him. Ambrose always slept with his helmet over his face after that night.

Horrors of Holocaust

Later in the war, Ambrose met a young photographer who had taken photographs at a concentration camp without the Nazis’ knowledge. He gave Ambrose some of the photographs he had taken of the camp. The photographs include images of the ovens used to cremate the remains of prisoners and bodies stacked like cordwood.

When the war was over, Ambrose was in charge of a security patrol to help displaced persons.

In later years, Rita Rose and Ambrose visited WW II sites in Europe. They saw Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest mountaintop chalet/retreat. They also visited one of Ambrose’s relatives from Luxembourg who had been a prisoner in a concentration camp.

Ambrose received many medals and certificates from his military service. Some of the medals were delivered to Rita Rose after Ambrose had passed away.

Rita Rose has always kept herself busy. She attends the annual family camping trip at Lake of the Woods in Wautoma, Wis. She visits her sister, Ruth, in Arizona during the winter. Canning at Rita Rose’s house is a much-anticipated family experience.

“We still can 100 quarts of pickles, tomatoes, and pears,” Rita Rose said. “We used to can pork.”

Rita Rose once worked at the Video Xpress store in Hampshire that also sold local crafts. The business was owned by her son, John, from 1987 to 2005 and then sold to current owners Pat and Mike Ream.

The Seyller family’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter celebrations are held at Rita Rose’s home. There is a kitchen upstairs and one downstairs. Instead of using paper plates for such a large crowd, Rita Rose’s best china and silverware are brought out.

“I once cooked at 34-pound turkey that my son raised,” Rita Rose said. “Every year, I make five dozen caramel rolls, cranberry salad, and 15 pounds of mashed potatoes. Everybody brings something to eat.”

The Seyller family members support each other. Sixteen years ago, Sandy Eberly gave one of her kidneys to her brother.

“Every year, Hap takes me and my family out to dinner on the anniversary of his operation,” Eberly said. “He always gives me a dozen roses.”