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Gieseke Corners or Gieseke Crossroads

Many times in my life I have heard people talk about Gieseke Corners or Gieseke Crossroads. It later years people started to call it the Wheeling Crossroads because there is a road sign directing motorists to Wheeling.

The “Gieseke “ name came from Henry Gieseke who lived at the location where Jerry and Claudia Blanton live today, just a stones throw north of the crossroads on Highway 65. “Old Man Gieseke”, was what I always heard him called when the name came up, lived at that location, but when David Huey bought that ground he built the present house.

Henry Gieseke came over from Germany and settled on that property. Henry Gieseke was the Uncle of Jesse Gieseke and Great Uncle to Joe Gieseke, who most people remember.

My Great Grandfather Jacob Kolb also came from Germany and settled just across the field to the east of “Old Man Gieseke”. They were great friends and visited and shared stories of Germany and how it was coming to this country. This went on for some years, visiting and sharing stories.

It has been said that German people are sometimes stubborn and have a temper; I don’t personally believe that could be possible in our family of course. Well, as the story goes there was a day when Great Grandpa Jacob stopped to see “Old Man Gieseke” when he saw him in the yard. Henry Geiseke said “Jacob I have nothing further to say to you”. Like a good German, Jacob turned on his heel and left and they never spoke again. In talking to Grandpa Kolb he said his Dad never knew why the friendship was over and didn’t think his Dad ever ask why. Henry Gieseke in true German form also never spoke to my Grandpa Joe or any of his boys.

Henry Gieseke had a pear orchard that stretched from his home to behind the Phillips Home Place. He liked to make pear cider and he put it up in three and five gallon jugs that he stored in a building near the house.

One day during threshing season Uncle John Pauley was threshing wheat at the Gieseke home and had some of the McRoberts boys helping with the threshing. “Old Man Gieseke” left in his buggy to go to Union to get a shave and a haircut. The young men saw him leave and decided to help themselves to some pear cider. They went to the shed and drank as much as they could hold and decided to pour the rest out. The boys decided to refill the jug with water and no one would know.

Sometime later “Old Man Gieseke” was going to a lodge meeting and took a jug of his famed pear cider for refreshments. When the refreshments were served people looked funny at each other and said” this tastes like water”. Henry Gieseke was angry and went to Uncle John and Aunt Bette Pauley who at that time lived in the Rainey house, (a large two story home just south of the Gieseke Crossroads). He wanted to know if anyone went into his shed where the cider was stored during the threshing. Uncle John said he had seen some of the boys around there, but didn’t know if they bothered anything. Mr. Gieseke went to Princeton to see an attorney about a lawsuit, but he would not take his case.

“ Never leave the door to your cider shed unlocked.”