Jan

Nov 21, 20225 min read

First Generation American

Updated: May 15, 2023

Frederick Lowell Koprek

26 August 1930 - 4 January 2009

Quiet. Reserved. Shy. Loner.

Creative. Intelligent. Thoughtful.

Curious. Calm.

Born to German immigrants at the beginning of America's Great Depression, Fredy grew up as an only child who made few friends.

He called himself Fredy, and he spelled it that way. So I do, too.

He wrote this song (and others). I found the manuscript after he passed, and asked my husband to create an arrangement and record it. Since Bluegrass was one of Fredy's passions, this arrangement is very much in that happy style.

Homes

1930

His parents were living with his maternal Aunt Louise and her husband, John Semelka (1544 E. Hickory) when he was born. Soon after they moved to 961 N. Folk.

Around 1940 they moved to 1464 E. Orchard and he lived there until after his marriage and after his son was born in 1955.

First house 1955

1773 E. Decatur

He broke his back stepping out the kitchen door onto icy steps one winter morning.

Second house 1967

4140 Turner Drive

About 1980

Rented a farmhouse so that he could sample country life.

6525 Nevada Rd, Macon, IL

About 1984

Designed and built his own house with the help of a neighbor on 27 acres (with its own fresh water spring!) in the Missouri Ozarks near Johnson Shut Ins. The locals called the place Old Maid Springs. He lived there happily until his death in 2009.

Early Childhood

During the depression the family had little money and learned how to make do. Instead of using butter on toast, they used bacon grease. Fredy's dad Fred worked for the railroad and his mother Helen worked in the garment factories.

Church was a central fixture in their life and Fredy attended the nearby St. Johannes Lutheran School. It was a short walk from their home on Folk Street. The school had a bowling alley and provided activities for the whole neighborhood.

Fredy's cousin Dick Baker married a girl named Carol in 1956. Carol lived behind the school and would sit on the window ledge to watch the bowling games. Nearby Torrence Park had movie night once a week in the summer. Everyone would bring a blanket to sit on and that was where the two met. They had a 3 year courtship during the 1950s. She was a great addition to the family, always perky and willing to help! She hosted a wedding shower for me in 1972.

Family

Fredy, Helen, Hilda, and Fred c.1940

Confirmation

Every good Lutheran boy goes through catechism class and confirms his baptismal vows when he turns 13. Back row, third from the left.

Lake Decatur

As a young adult, Fredy swam all the way across Lake Decatur.

High School

He went to Stephen Decatur High School. In his senior year, the week before graduation, he had a disagreement with a teacher and walked out of school. He did not graduate with his class.

Glee Club

During his sophomore year he was in the Boy's Glee Club.

Fredy had a flair for inventing. He wanted to know how things worked and how to make them better. He was always drawing diagrams for new ideas. Right after his military service, he sent a letter to Ford Motor Company in Detroit, asking for a job.

His first motorcycle was a Harley Davidson, shown here. For the rest of his life he had a motorcycle of one kind or another most of the time.

Military Service

Illinois National Guard 1948-1949

130th Infantry Regiment

United States Army 1949-1952

698th Engineering Field Maintenance Company

His Army company was transported on the USNS General Nelson M. Walker out of San Francisco Bay to their supply unit in Okinawa.

On the journey, he crossed over the International Date Line and received an official document to commemorate the event.

He was given a quick course on the Japanese language during military training and taught me how to count to 10. He said that all of the girls in Okinawa would call the GIs "Ichiban" which meant "number one".

Colorado Madness

The road to the summit of Pikes Peak is over 12 miles from the bottom of the mountain to the summit of 14,110 ft and has over 150 turns. While he was stationed at Camp Carson in 1952 Fredy and his buddy Wayne drove it at night with no headlights to make it more exciting.

He was an excellent mechanic and always loved cars --even took his bride to the 1954 Indianapolis 500 on their honeymoon!

Hobbies

Archery was a favorite pastime in the 1960s. The Turner Drive house was on 1/2 an acre and had room to set up hay bales as targets.

He studied the craft of watchmaking and had a small watch repair business around that same time.

Once he was retired and living on their Missouri land, he added many hobbies. At one time he made knives as jewelry and sold them at craft fairs. He also made folding pocket knives and at least one full sized Bowie knife.

Woodworking: bookshelves, kitchen table, rocking chairs, rocking horses, toy bear climbers, walking canes

He would spend hours drawing plans and then build things in his workshop. He had almost every woodworking and metalworking tool known to man out there.

Just Because

This is a paperback book that he repurposed as his own Andy Capp scrapbook in the 1980s or 1990s. The cover was hand drawn and colored.

Food and Drink

Most of his working life he was on the 2nd shift at the local Caterpillar plant (3 pm-11 pm). He was offered work on 1st shift many times but never wanted to interact with the white collar management. He drank a few beers every night at home after his shift. Miller, Michelob, sometimes Budweiser (craft beers were non-existent). And for a few years he bottled his own beer. He also made his own wine.

Some favorite foods: Sharp Cheddar cheese, Braunschweiger sandwich on buttered artisan bread (dill pickle on the side), Cambell's Bean Soup, his recipe for baked beans "Daddy Beans", Skinny Pancakes (basically a crepe), Stewed Breaded Tomatoes, and Beef Jerky (which he made in bulk and sold to his co-workers at Caterpillar). I will share the ones that I know in a future Recipe post.