I wrote this feature story in a college news writing class. The feature story had to be about something that wasn’t alive.
My grandmother, Arlene Schroder, has a painting given to her by her mother, Frieda Neeyemer. My grandmother’s mom died of heart disease when Arlene was just 16-years-old. The painting is the only thing Arlene kept of her mothers. The story was intended for generic audiences who wanted to read a feel-good story. I wrote this story to showcase the power of family better and how much good family can impact people’s lives in a positive light.
OMAHA, Neb. —A dirt path leads to a foliage of flowers on a black front gate with the moon hanging behind the clouds. The path leads to a home with a dark blue exterior with a chimney and roof made with orange bricks as light glows from the house’s six windows.
“It’s a pretty setting of God’s creation,” Arlene Schroeder said of a painting that has been in her family for over 100 years.
The painting was made in Germany in the late 19th century for Schroeder’s grandfather Henry Neemeyer.
Neemeyer lived in Westerstede Province in Oldenburg, Germany, until moving with his family to Columbus, Nebraska, as immigrants in 1881.
Neemeyer, with his wife Caroline Johannes, moved to Belgrade, Nebraska, where they hung the painting over their pot-belly stove in their kitchen, Schroeder said.
The painting was given to the Neemeyer’s daughter, Frieda Neemeyer, after her father died in 1949.
Frieda Neemeyer, along with her husband Arthur Suhr, raised their three children Arlene, Duane, and Lyla, on their farm in Belgrade.
Schroeder said the painting’s foliage of flowers reminded her of the time she spent with her mother as a child on the farm.
“We were avid gardeners, we had long days planting flowers and pulling weeds in our garden,” she said.
Schroeder’s mother died of heart disease in 1956 when Schroeder was 16 years old.
The painting felt special Schroeder said, as it was the only thing she kept of her mother’s after she died.
“It was something that belonged to my mother, and I didn’t have my mother anymore,” she said.
Schroeder moved to Millard, Nebraska, after her mother’s death, where she met her future husband, Richard Schroeder.
Arlene and Richard Schroeder kept the painting hung in their house in Millard for 44 years beside their hutch in their dining room.
Denise Annis, one of the Schroeder’s daughters, said the painting makes her think of the grandmother she never knew.
“I know how much the painting means to my mom,” she said. “The fact that I never knew her mother makes it all the more sentimental to me.”
Doni Gregory, the other of the Schroeder’s daughters, said the painting makes her think of the times her family spent together in the dining room of their Millard home.
“It was our gathering spot, whether it was holidays or birthdays we always laughed together and shared great memories,” she said.
Gregory said the painting would also make her think of her mother when she dies.
“It makes me smile the thought of seeing her again someday in heaven,” she said.
The painting now hangs beside the same hutch in the Schroeder dining room in their new home for all their family gatherings.
Arlene Schroeder said she wrote a note on the back of the painting to whoever gets the painting next to help them understand the significance and origin of the painting.
“Maybe it won’t have any meaning to the next person,” she said, “but it sure does to me.”
The note reads: “I am writing this so you will know the sentimental value of this picture. This picture hung on the wall in our home when I was a little girl. I always loved how peaceful, warm and nice a place this looked,” she wrote. “Hope you cherish it like I do.”
