Yesterday Becomes Just a Memory As Family Moves On Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill. Publication date: 2005-08-05 A retiree would like to fish 30 times a year, be free of major responsibilities and live unencumbered, but the thought of giving up childhood possessions and cutting ties with his surroundings leaves him uncomfortable. There is the red cattle truck, the battleship and the barn - all toys his creative father fashioned in wood for him - and the Acorn stove his recently deceased mother used for 70 years, plus many other goods. Jon Bierman related his hesitation recently in the Hoffman Estates home, originally a one-room schoolhouse, in which he grew up. That house, added to as time went on, is the original schoolhouse - according to a jubilee booklet (1852 to 1927) saved by his family - that was on the property of Evangelical Immanuel Congregation of Hanover Township, now called Immanuel United Church of Christ on Old Church Road in Streamwood. Bierman's father, blacksmith Harvey Bierman, moved the house with its original maple floors, remodeling it into a farmhouse at its current location, immediately north of the elder Bierman's business, Bierman Implements Co. There in that Quonset hut - still a landmark on Barrington Road - young Jon worked alongside his dad under an old sign declaring "Better Farming for Happier Living," the motto of Allis-Chalmers. The senior Bierman, an Allis-Chalmers dealer, repaired the tractors and other equipment of nearby farmers, who relied on his expertise as blacksmith, welder and wagonwright to keep their livelihood moving smoothly. A 1942 article in the Elgin Courier News quotes the elder Bierman as saying, "If you can break it, we can fix it." When Bierman and his sister Judy Bierman Bartelt grew up in their home on Barrington Road near the intersection of Higgins Road, the residence had a Palatine address, a Bartlett phone number and was served by the Roselle Fire Protection District. Bierman did the class will during his 1955 graduation from Hoosier Grove Grade School, a one-room schoolhouse on Barrington Road in what was then known as Schaumburg Community Consolidated Elementary School District 54. Bartelt puts a feminine voice to the decision she and her younger sibling Jon made to sell the familiar things of their pasts. "I know others have gone through this. It's like death and taxes," Bartelt said. "It's a low period of my life to stop the routine. I'm going to miss all the things I grew up with." Bierman philosophized, "It's the memories that count." The two recall wading for tadpoles, catching bluegill and splashing in the cool waters of nearby Poplar Creek when they were youngsters, hiding out under old Higgins Road - the road is still there, although overgrown - in the coolness of the cement culvert. "You could hide there, and some kids smoked. Not me. That creek was a magnet to a little boy," remembers Bierman. "You could catch frogs, crabs, pollywogs and bluegill there. Kids today don't have the same opportunities anymore." Using their childlike imaginations, Bartelt and her girlfriends played cowgirls at a "little camp" fashioned from sticks and branches on what is now the site of St. Alexius Hospital. Those lingering uncomfortable thoughts about cutting ties with childhood possessions and the things they called home are still there, but the pair made the decision to donate some mementos to the Hoffman Estates Museum and to hold an estate sale, with proceeds slated for the museum. "It is my desire to donate the historic home to the museum as well," said Bierman. Some of the objects to be sold are old rocking chairs, jars for canning fruit, a wringer washing machine, old trunks, vintage clothing, linens and household items. The sale takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 26 and 27 at the home, 1745 N. Barrington Road, just south of T.G.I. Friday's. "It will feel empty when everything is gone," Bierman said. "It had to be done because 'man is not immortal' and neither is this place." Bierman, who claims he wants to be a professional angler, believes he can survive on his memories because memories count. He likens the experience to reading a good book. During the book's last chapter, you almost know how it will come out. You enjoy reading it, and when you are finished, you start on a new tome. "The only thing is that unlike a book, I can't reread this 'book' again," Bierman said.