John and Henrietta Van Doorn

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John Van Doorn was baptized as “Johannes Jacobus Van Doorn” on November 27, 1872 at the First Reformed Church of Rochester, New York. 

In 1886, John was earning a living as a baker and living with his parents at 21 Congress Avenue.   By 1892, he was working as a cabinet maker for the Widdicomb Furniture Company and was still living at home. 

John enlisted in the Michigan National Guard on December 30, 1897. He served as a private in Company B of the Michigan 2nd infantry. He was honorably discharged on May 22, 1900.  At the time of his discharge from the Michigan National Guard, John was working as a farm laborer for the Otis Jones family in Benton Township of Berrien County, Michigan.

John Van Doorn was described as a wanderer. He was said to be fun-loving and had a great many stories to tell when he came home to visit. He hopped trains and traveled from town to town. His brother William and sister Elizabeth were said to place the legs of his bed in oil so as to kill the bed bugs he carried with him.

He married Henrietta Nies on June 29, 1900. They settled in Boyne City, MI. Some years later he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He was told by doctors to “go West.” He moved to Deadwood, South Dakota in about 1907. John was so sick that he made the journey on a cot in a baggage car. 

After moving to South Dakota, Retta was able to get work in a bakery to support the family. They lived in a sod house in Lemmon, South Dakota.

At one point they joined a threshing gang. Retta cooked and did the laundry for all the men and John helper her. They moved from ranch to ranch, living in Wyoming and Montana.

Some years later they purchased a farm in Hettinger, ND. While living on the farm, Bessie boarded in Bozeman, MT and attended high school.

By 1920, the family had moved to Cougar Bay, Idaho, a farming community just south of Coeur d’ Alene. Later they purchased a home at N 15th and Best where John and Retta ran a small dairy. John gave up the dairy business in the 1930s and worked as a maintenance man at the Blackwell Lumber Company. He also raised chickens. His last job at the mill was as a night watchman. By the late 1930s, John had retired, but continued to raise chickens on his small farm.

John was very fond of his only grandson, Loren. He would often take him to the mill on Friday nights. After making one round with his grandfather, Loren would curl up in the warmth of the boiler room and sleep until John would take him home in the morning.