Past becomes just a memory as family moves on Joanmarie WermesPosted Friday, August 05, 2005 ADVERTISEMENT A retiree would like to fish 30 times a year, be free of majorresponsibilities and live unencumbered, but the thought of giving upchildhood possessions and cutting ties with his surroundings leaveshim uncomfortable. There is the red cattle truck, the battleship and the barn — all toyshis creative father fashioned in wood for him — and the Acorn stovehis recently deceased mother used for 70 years, plus many other goods. Jon Bierman related his hesitation recently in the Hoffman Estateshome, originally a one-room schoolhouse, in which he grew up. Thathouse, 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 ofHanover Township, now called Immanuel United Church of Christ on OldChurch Road in Streamwood. Bierman's father, blacksmith Harvey Bierman, moved the house with itsoriginal maple floors, remodeling it into a farmhouse at its currentlocation, immediately north of the elder Bierman's business, BiermanImplements Co. There in that Quonset hut — still a landmark on Barrington Road —young Jon worked alongside his dad under an old sign declaring "BetterFarming for Happier Living," the motto of Allis-Chalmers. The senior Bierman, an Allis-Chalmers dealer, repaired the tractorsand other equipment of nearby farmers, who relied on his expertise asblacksmith, welder and wagonwright to keep their livelihood movingsmoothly. A 1942 article in the Elgin Courier News quotes the elderBierman as saying, "If you can break it, we can fix it." When Bierman and his sister Judy Bierman Bartelt grew up in their homeon Barrington Road near the intersection of Higgins Road, theresidence had a Palatine address, a Bartlett phone number and wasserved by the Roselle Fire Protection District. Bierman did the classwill during his 1955 graduation from Hoosier Grove Grade School, aone-room schoolhouse on Barrington Road in what was then known asSchaumburg Community Consolidated Elementary School District 54. Bartelt puts a feminine voice to the decision she and her youngersibling 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'mgoing 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 inthe cool waters of nearby Poplar Creek when they were youngsters,hiding out under old Higgins Road — the road is still there, althoughovergrown — in the coolness of the cement culvert. "You could hide there, and some kids smoked. Not me. That creek was amagnet to a little boy," remembers Bierman. "You could catch frogs,crabs, pollywogs and bluegill there. Kids today don't have the sameopportunities anymore." Using their childlike imaginations, Bartelt and her girlfriends playedcowgirls at a "little camp" fashioned from sticks and branches on whatis now the site of St. Alexius Hospital. Those lingering uncomfortable thoughts about cutting ties withchildhood possessions and the things they called home are still there,but the pair made the decision to donate some mementos to the HoffmanEstates Museum and to hold an estate sale, with proceeds slated forthe 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 forcanning fruit, a wringer washing machine, old trunks, vintageclothing, linens and household items. The sale takes place from 10a.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 tobe done because 'man is not immortal' and neither is this place." Bierman, who claims he wants to be a professional angler, believes hecan survive on his memories because memories count. He likens theexperience to reading a good book. During the book's last chapter, youalmost know how it will come out. You enjoy reading it, and when youare finished, you start on a new tome. "The only thing is that unlike a book, I can't reread this 'book'again," Bierman said