The bride was twenty-six and the groom was twenty-eight. They were both born in the McHenry area, Benjamin on his parents’ farm in the Ingleside-Pistakee Bay area and Margaret in Johnsburg. Her parents, the Casper Wirfs, moved to McHenry when she was only two years old. They lived on West Waukegan Road and owned a saloon (very respectable) on Main Street. The building was later a florist shop; back to a grocery store again and eventually it was torn down and replaced by Buss Motor Sales. (Present address - 3936 Main Street)

Their wedding attendants were his brother Jake and cousin Josephine Brefeld. The bride wore brown satin. The dress had leg of mutton sleeves and a high neckline trimmed in ivory satin, in the style of the day.

After the wedding the newlyweds made their home with her parents, in their home on Waukegan Road. The house has since been numbered 3932 and is kitty corner across the street from her sister Elizabeth Buss’s home (now 3925 W. Waukegan Road.)

All of their parents were born in Germany and came to America while they were young.

It’s 1900 - the turn of the century! They were still living with her folks in their home on Waukegan Road, when their first child, John Henry, was born on Sept. 6th. Benjamin soon bought the property at Green and Washington streets and contracted to have a house built which was completed in 1901. The family moved in to what was to be their home to share for over fifty years.

In the winter of 1908, when Mayme was only ten months old, Benjamin was walking across the frozen river to a job on the other side and fell on the ice. He developed water on the knee and was laid up for a long time. He had to sit with his leg elevated and could not work for months.

During these years and all of his working days, Benjamin earned his living as a carpenter. It must have been hard to keep all those youngsters fed and clothes, particularly the winter of 1908, times were pretty lean. But they knew how to make good use of what they had. Carrots, potatoes and onions from the garden were stored in the front cellar and lasted all winter. Every fall they bought a whole pig (butchered) from a farmer and smoked it in the back yard. (There was a collapsible smoke-house used for the occasion.) Afterwards the hams and sausages hung on the back storm porch which was put up every winter.

1917 - U.S. enters the first World War.. Believe it or not, Benjamin was drafted! Not to fight, but as a carpenter to help build barracks at Camp Grant in Rockford. He stayed there all week and came home only on week-ends.

1922-1923
Benjamin continued working as a carpenter. For a number of years he worked for a wealthy man at Pistakee Bay, building what was practically a mansion for a Mr. Saal.