The Schlepers and Weidners of Minnesota:Information about Joseph Bernard Schleper

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Joseph Bernard Schleper (b. April 11, 1928, d. May 08, 1998)

Joseph B. Schleper

Joseph Bernard Schleper (son of Herman Joseph Schleper and Mary Ann Dingmann)^{63, 64, 65} was born April 11, 1928 in Farming, Stearns, MN, USA^{66, 66}, and died May 08, 1998 in Shakopee, Scott, MN, USA. He married Rose Marie Weidner, daughter of Robert Andrew Weidner and Margaret Peters.

Notes for Joseph Bernard Schleper:
Joseph Bernard Schleper was born on April 11, 1928, in Farming, Minnesota, USA, to Herman and Mary Dingmann Schleper. He and his six older brothers and two older sisters were raised on the family farm.

According to Elmer Schleper, on December 2002, "Joe (Joseph Bernard Schleper) was born in April of 1928, when I was 4 ½ years old. My recollection of Joe’s birth: “Leona and I went upstairs, and when we came down, baby Joe was there!” Ray was about 17 at the time, but he always said that he never knew that Mom was expecting. She was fairly heavy at the time, and they just never talked about it in those days. A neighboring midwife, Mrs. Machtemes or Mrs. Nett or Mrs. Niehaus, delivered Joe."

"The baby was always brought to church for baptism on the same day that it was born. (Now they wait about a month—the baby almost decides what its name will be!) They didn’t have a big meal after baptism. It wasn’t so bad for Joe’s baptism because it was in April, but I don’t know how they did it for winter baptisms, how they kept the baby warm while traveling to and from church."

"I remember my uncle Ben Schleper sitting in the living room playing cards (I think it was the game “66”) with my Dad. They had already been to church for the baptism. Ben was there because his wife Barbara (Tante Barbara) was Joe’s baptismal sponsor."

According to Elmer Schleper (December 2002), "My sisters, Leona and Hildegard, had their bedroom on the main level where the bathroom is now. I think that they must have cut the beds down a bit so they could fit into that room—it was small but it was a nice warm room."

"The farmhouse had three rooms upstairs, just as it does now. One (the first room to the right) was the guest room—for Aunt Josephine and Aunt Rose, and also for the nuns—they came home every five years. The back room was just for storage and was very cold. The seven boys all slept in the large bedroom on the left. In this room, there was a stovepipe where the heat came in, and when we said prayers we’d stick our feet in that hole to warm them. Paul and Ray slept in one bed, Urban and Albert had the bed by the window, which was the coldest spot, and Joe, Eddie and I slept together in the middle of the room between the other two beds. Our mattresses were filled with cornhusks. It was nice and comfortable in the fall when it was filled with new husks, but towards spring, it would get pretty lumpy. In the summer, we could “kind of spread around upstairs” because Ray and Albert would usually be out working elsewhere."

"Our bedroom had no closets, just a couple of hooks for clothes, but we just didn’t have that many clothes. “Winter underwear we changed every 2 weeks.” We went to the barn to milk cows in the morning, and then we changed our overalls, but not our underwear. Nobody seemed to notice or mind—I guess we were all the same. But when we went to high school, I (Elmer Schleper) can remember those town girls from Albany saying that the farm boys from farming stink. I’m sure we did—we didn’t take baths, we had no showers, and we washed our hair only a couple times a month. We’d wash our chests once in a while, and we washed our feet once a week."

According to Elmer Schleper (December 2002), "We often got a ride to school in Farming because Dad took cream to the creamery on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He gave us a ride to church, and we all went to Mass before school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we would walk to school. We also walked home every day after school, unless the weather was really bad. When Joe started school, they gave us rides home more often, I suppose because he was the baby. Actually, I think that maybe Dad was a little more retired then, and would spend time in town playing cards and then picked us up from school. I don’t remember being driven home in a car but only with horses and a sled."

"We spoke Low German at home, but I could speak a little English when I started school. We had 40 days of school in the spring when you weren’t in first grade yet, sort of like a kindergarten. I remember Hildegard bring a book home, “The Little Red Hen,” so I could speak a little bit of English from hearing that book. I’m not sure if Joe could speak English or not—I know that he could understand it. Our cousin Jerome Kollmann from St. Cloud could speak only English, not German. He lived at our house all summer. Jerome and Joe played together and talked with each other all day long, each in their own language (Jerome would speak English and Joe would speak German). It was pretty comical—we had some laughs about that."

"Jerome still says a couple of Low German phrases—“Paul, de schwiennes ist rute!” (“Paul, the pigs are out!”) Paul was the pig man, and when the pigs were out of the pen or yard, they would shout and he had to chase them in again."

"Joe had a nickname of “Duehlas,” which meant, “Open the door” in Low German. Dad had rheumatism pretty bad in his good leg; he couldn’t walk for the whole winter. Fr. Augustine came over for a visit. Joe was carrying wood and had his arms full, so somebody had to open the door for him. Joe shouted, “Duehlas!” Fr. Augustine got such a kick out of that, he always called Joe “Duehlas” after that."

Joe graduated from Albany High School in 1946 and then enrolled at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He was drafted as a pitcher by the Detroit Tigers and played minor league baseball for one year before returing to finish his college education at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1951. Joe was then drafted into the U.S. Marines and served his country as a Corporal from January 18, 1952 until January 17, 1954.

According to Elmer Schleper, December 2002, "Joe (Schleper) was drafted in 1952 or 1953 into the service Marines for the Korean War. He was pretty sad. He played ball for Cold Spring and I was playing for Paynesville. The two teams played each other the night before he left. He didn’t do much at the plate during that game. Plus, he was in love with Rose, I guess, too, so it was hard for him to leave. He had his basic training in California, and then was moved to Camp LaJune in North Carolina. While there, his back went out. He had problems with his back before that, but he would go to a chiropractor and get fixed up and then he would be OK in a week or two. But in the service, they didn’t believe in chiropractors so he lay on his back for six weeks. We never went down to see him, probably should have. We called him a couple of times. He ended up being discharged because of his back problems, so he never had to see active duty."

According to Elmer Schleper (December 2002), "Joe (Schleper) and Rose (Weidner) met at our wedding rehearsal, they never met while Marcy and I dated. Rose was going with one of the Backes boys from Farming, then she met Joe and it was goodbye for him."

He proposed to his sweetheart, Rose Marie Weidner on Valentine's Day of 1954, and they were married on August 16, 1954 in Regal, Minnesota. Rose and Joe began their teaching careers and their family in Belgrade, Minnesota, USA. After eight memorable years in Belgrade, Joe, Rose, and their five children moved to Shakopee, Minnesota where Joe had accepted a teaching and coaching position at the high school. Joe became the school's Athletic Director in 1966 while continuing to teach sophomore history and coach varsity baseball. He retired as the school's baseball coach in 1976, as a teacher in 1989, and as Athletic Director in 1990. He became the exectutive secretary of the Missota Conference in 1990 and held that postiion until the time of his death. Joe treasured his friendships with teaching colleagues, athletic colleagues, and former students and players.

Joe also enjoyed an avid baseball career as a player, manager, and coach. Some of his career highlights include pitching a nine-inning, perfect game for the Cold Spring Springers and winning both ends of a double-header while pitching for Belgrade's town team. He also enjoyed playing and managing for Shakopee's town team, which made several state tournament appearances. He was known to be a great power hitter and led the old Corn Belt League and the River Valley League in many offensive categories thoughout his career. Joe was the main force in erecting lights at the Belgrade Field and was President of the Baseball Lights and Stadium Committee for Shakopee's Tahpah Park. He gruided the committee through the completion of the grandstand seats, which were purchased from the old Metropolitan Stadium, and he donated his own money and countless hours towards working on the grandstand, the dugouts, and the center field wall at Tahpah. After he died, the stadium was named the Joe Schleper Stadium.

Joe served as President of the Minnesota State Baseball Coaches Association from 1972-1973, received the Dick Siebert Award in appreciation for contributions towards high school baseball in 1980, and received the Jim Dimmick Retired Baseball Coach Award in 1997. Joe was elected into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 and was a charter member of the Albany High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. He also was a charter inducted into the Shakopee High School Athletic Hall of Fame on May 31, 1998, just a few weeks after he died.

During his retirement, Joe loved to travel and spend time with Rose, his wife of 43 years. He enjoyed developing his woodworking skills in the winter and golf skills in the summer. He also attended numerous athletic activities, announced for the local baseball teams, bowled, and played cards with friends and relatives. Joe was very proud of his 8 children and 10 grandchildren. He absolutely treasure family gatherings.

According to the funeral services, Joe is survied by his wife Rose Marie Weidner and their children: Joe (and Cheryl) of Delano; Linda Laird (and Gene McBride) of Mineapolis; Jeanne (and Tyler) Anderson of Hastings; David of Washington, DC; Bill of Shakopee; Gary of Shakopee; Tom (and Brenda) of Shakopee; and Jenny (and Todd) Bieniek of Burnsville; his ten grandchildren; Monica Laird and Sophie McBride, Maggie, Sam, Max, and Charlie Anderson; Adam and Anna Schleper; and Dominick and Kasey Schleper; and his brothers: Albert, Paul, Urban and Elmer Schleper; and sister, Hildegaard Mehr.

Joe was preceeded in death by his parents, Herman and Mary Schleper; brothers: Ray and Ed Schleper; and sister, Leona Schaefer.

Joseph B. Schleper died on May 8, 1998, and was buried on May 13, 1998 at the Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota, Section 11, Site 108.

More About Joseph Bernard Schleper:
Date born 2: FARMING, MINNESOTA.⁶⁷
Date born 3: April 11, 1928, Farming, MN.
Date born 4: April 11, 1928, Farming, Stearns, MN, USA.⁶⁸
Date born 5: April 11, 1928⁶⁹
Date born 6: April 11, 1928⁷⁰
Died 2: May 08, 1998, Shakopee, Scott, MN.⁷¹
Died 3: May 08, 1998, Shakopee, Scott, MN.⁷¹
Died 4: May 08, 1998, Shakopee, Scott, MN, USA.⁷²
Died 5: May 08, 1998, Shakopee, Scott, Minnesota, United States of America.⁷³
Died 6: May 08, 1998⁷⁴
Military: January 18, 1952⁷⁴
Residence: 1930, Farming, Stearns, Minnesota.⁷⁵
Social Security Number: 475-30-7399.⁷⁶
SSN issued: Minnesota.⁷⁶
Vital: MN.⁷⁷

More About Joseph Bernard Schleper and Rose Marie Weidner:
Private-Begin: Private

Children of Joseph Bernard Schleper and Rose Marie Weidner are: