by Larry H. Maxey, founder and superintendent, NAILE Fullblood Simmental Shows
Our Pioneers — “Ike” Part 1
“The proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.”
The September 2025 Fleckvieh Forum was titled “Cattle Town.” As I noted, the young cattle merchant Joseph G. McCoy came up with the concept of a town near a railroad that would receive and ship cattle by rail to points east. It was in 1867 that he located and selected a “small Kansas hamlet” and stage station named Abilene, which only had a dozen or so dirt-filled log huts which he later described as a “very small dead place.” Abilene would be the location for this bold venture.
While Abilene formed the basis for that highly successful cattle business concept, no one could have predicted that it would also serve as the foundation for molding arguably one of the most important people of the 20th century. He is credited with the opening quote. He was Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II.
Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890, to David and Ida Stover Eisenhower. Both of his parents were born during the American Civil War. Eisenhower was the third of seven sons. Before his second birthday, the family moved to Abilene, Kansas. His father found work at the Belle Springs Creamery. David only had $10, even though he was well educated and engineering was his profession.
By the time the Eisenhower family arrived in Abilene, that “small Kansas hamlet” had grown to a population of about 4,000. Twenty-four years had passed since that first “Cattle Town” was formed. However, thanks to the businesses that followed the cattle boom years, Abilene was growing at a steady pace. While the Eisenhowers were respected around town, they were not prominent and were not involved in community leadership. Still, they were content even though they lived frugally out of necessity.
His parents were devout Christians and their sons were introduced to Christianity at an early age. Home life revolved around worship. David and Ida taught the “simple virtues of honesty, self-reliance, integrity, fear of God, and ambition,” as described by Stephen E. Ambrose in his book, Eisenhower Soldier and President . Every day, morning and night, the family members got down on their knees to pray. David read from the Bible before meals, then asked for a blessing.
The boys were raised to be competitive, inside and outside the family. Eisenhower said, “Mother was by far the greatest personal influence in our lives.” David encouraged his sons to stand up for themselves. Eisenhower recalled that his father never wanted to see his sons beaten by their playmates in anything, least of all in a fight.
The work ethic and deep Christian faith were a normal part of everyday life for residents of Abilene. Everyone in Abilene worked. Most of the work was hard physical labor. There was virtually no unemployment, even among children. “There was a strong sense of community, a feeling that the world was divided into ‘us,’ ‘them,’ the rest of the world. A man was judged by how hard he worked and whether he paid his bills on time, a woman on how well she ran her household,” said Ambrose.
In his early years, Eisenhower picked up the nickname “Little Ike.” His older brother, Edgar, was called “Big Ike.” The friendly moniker for Eisenhower would remain with him his entire life. As Little Ike, he was loved by his Abilene extended family and he in turn loved Abilene and all that it represented. His proficiency in his schooling depended upon his interest in the subject. He proved highly adept in history and math. His grades were good to excellent without extending himself. He became particularly interested in the American Revolution, and George Washington “excited his admiration.” His senior yearbook proclaimed that he would become a professor of history at Yale. It also predicted that Edgar would become a two-term president of the United States. Eerily that prescient prediction proved to be 50% correct with the right surname but the wrong Eisenhower.
“It was in sports that he first discovered his talents as a leader and organizer,” said Ambrose. He organized football and baseball teams as well as the Abilene High School Athletic Association, which operated independently of the school system. He also organized camping and hunting trips. “The central importance of sports and fishing to Little Ike cannot be overemphasized. He literally could not imagine life without them,” said Ambrose.
In 1909 Ike graduated from Abilene high school. He had worked at a multitude of odd jobs common to small rural towns. His first real job was as a fireman for the Belle Springs Creamery where his father worked. He toiled at this work seven days a week from six at night to six in the morning. From his earnings, he supported his brother Edgar through two years of college at the University of Michigan. The plan was for Edgar to do the same for him but that never happened. The very athletic Ike planned to go to Michigan and play football.
Everything changed in September 1910. Events would set in motion Eisenhower’s career path that would not only change a nation, but the world as well. One must seriously consider that preordained fate, or perhaps divine intervention itself, was at work and Eisenhower was the instrument chosen to confront the most dreadful, sinister, and pure evil period the world has ever known. Baked into his personal chemistry were the values and teachings he acquired from his parents and a “small Kansas hamlet” and its humble inhabitants. No one could ever have imagined that Little Ike would be front and center and an integral part in shaping the world we have today. Stay tuned for part two. .
