Students conducted interviews with family members, and some were able to gather additional resources and pictures to help tell their story. While there were many great stories written, not all will be published.
This project was a collaborative effort between students’ history classes with Mrs. Kruthoff & Mr. Armstrong, English class with Ms. Baldwin, and their families. It was inspired by the original project that long-time English teacher, Mrs. Wiersema, made a tradition in her 8th grade class.
Students enjoyed getting to know more about their families, and many were surprised to learn how interesting their families were. We hope you all will enjoy their stories, too!
My Ancestor, by Kaci Kapple
Do you know the Erie High School Commons? My grandpa did all of the walls for that part of the school! Before even living in Erie, he came to my hometown for work! Now every time you walk into the Erie High School for any events, you can think of him! Jeffrey Burton Kapple is my grandfather. He is my paternal grandfather, meaning he is my father’s father. I picked him for this paper for many different reasons. He worked very hard throughout his life. He fended for himself a lot, paying for a lot of his own things. He is around our family a lot and we all love having dinners together and enjoying each other’s presence. He also has an interest in lots of different things which makes him exciting and unique.
My grandfather, Jeffrey Kapple, was born October 13, 1959. He was born in Orion, Illinois. He lived on the outskirts of Orion. If you ever drive from Erie to Orion, you will pass by my great grandparent’s house. His parents have raised him in the same house all throughout his life. My great grandmother still lives there. His parents Carol and Bob Kapple raised him. Bob unfortunately passed away two years ago in January. He lived with his mother and father throughout his entire childhood. He has two brothers Jim and John. My grandfather is the middle child. Unfortunately John, his brother, also passed away a few years ago. When he was in High School he went to state for wrestling and football on a varsity team as a freshman. He went fishing and hunting a lot when he was younger, and even has a deer stand in the woods in his backyard. There were a lot of cool things that he found in his backyard in the woods. He found an old milk truck from the 1930s that must have crashed back there. It is still intact and our family still goes back there.
Jeffrey later got married to my grandma, Lisa. Her maiden name is Eaton. Lisa and Jeff, my grandparents, have been married for forty-five years. They had two children, one daughter, one son. They named their first born child Trish Ann Kapple. She got married, and now her name is Trisha Ann Contreras. Trisha is forty-four years old. Trisha was born on August 3, 1981. Their second born child was named Jeffrey Michael Kapple. Jeffrey is my father. He was named after my grandfather, Jeffrey. My father, Jeffrey’s, birthday is July 29, 1982. My grandfather never went to college. He plastered buildings for thirty-eight years. He liked that he could decorate buildings and make them look nice. He also liked meeting people, like the owners of different businesses. He lives in Silvis, Illinois, and he has lived at the same house since he got married to Lisa.
He had many accomplishments. He went to state for wrestling, wrestling varsity being a freshman. It meant a lot to him because he was known for something good and was recognized for being athletic. Going to state as a freshman made him a “known name” in Orion. He also taught himself EFIS and how to drywall to make for the rest of his career for thirty-eight years that he loves. My grandfather did EFIS at the Moline Movie Theatre! The movie theatre is called The Great Escape. The drywall company took my grandpa out of retirement because nobody else knew how to do the old Blackhawk Historical Building.
I would describe my grandfather as hardworking because he has worked to support his family all his life. He also tries everything he can to be a better person. He used to be a rude mean person but ever since we started coming around him he became an amazing caring, nice grandfather. He also makes me laugh over the dumbest things. He also went to the store and got me cookies and milk at ten P.M. because I said I was hungry. After this paper I realized you can come from anywhere and be important and amazing.
Kaci Kapple, Miss Baldwin’s Language Arts class
