Jack Woodcox life story
Jack and Macie's second daughter, Doris Cornelia Woodcox was born March 4, 1921 In Lewellen. When she was two years old the family moved near Lisco, Nebraska up on the “north table” where Jack farmed the Berge Place. The man who owned this section of land was Wendell Berge who was Assistant US Attorney General under President Roosevelt. After Wendell’s death, his wife Laura moved into town and taught school.
My grandfather, Jack had a keen mind and such a thirst for knowledge. He was a staunch Democrat. There was always good literature in their home. My grandfather taught me to love poetry. The earliest poem I remember was Whittier's--:
Blessings on thee,
little man,
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistled tunes;
With thy red lip, redder still
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brim's jaunty grace;
From my heart I give thee joy, --
I was once a barefoot boy!
and
IN SCHOOL-DAYS
John Greenleaf Whittier
Still
sits the school-house by the road,
A ragged beggar sleeping;
Around it still the sumachs grow,
And blackberry-vines are creeping.
Within, the master's desk is
seen,
Deep-scarred by raps official;
The warping floor, the battered seats,
The jack-knife's carved initial;
There's more, of course, to both these story poems --the feel of wholesomeness- and yearning for a simpler time--now long gone. The two poems above, plus "the Village Smithy" are the ones I remember hearing--out on the farm at Lisco, Nebraska when I was about 8-10 years old.
I remember their shelves of classics. I have his book of Edgar Allen Poe, which I prize highly.
As a young girl, I rode the combine, horseback and the truck with my grandfather. He taught me to love the goodness of being outside by his actions and his eyes. He also taught me a few well chosen words when he was fixing the combine.
In the 1940’s the county telephone lines would have 18 to 20 people on the line. More than two receivers off the hook sharply diminished sound. Jack would go to the phone and call Sidney for parts and promptly let the whole North Table know that they better get off the line so he could hear.
He and Macie moved to town (Lisco) in 1949 but still farmed the Berge place. By this time Jack had several other pieces of property that he owned. They had some land down by the North Platte River and built a wonderful cabin there for hunting and fishing.
They moved to Gothenberg, Nebraska in 1952. Jack had hundreds of prize roses around their lovely home. I’m sure he cared for them as consistently as he did the many trees he planted out on the Berge Place. He carried pails of water to those trees out west of the house. Water was always a precious commodity.
Jack passed away on January 1, 1968. His precious wife died April 19, 1978. They are buried in the Ash Hollow Cemetery outside Lewellen, Garden County, Nebraska. His influence can still be seen in the beautiful farmland he cared for and the lives of his descendants.
Previous Page Home Photo of the farm Jack & Macie family group Woodcox photographs