The Saga of Ben Pippert
"We came out in a boxcar in the fall of 1893, recalls Ben Pippert, 87, from Dysart, Iowa."
Ben was only one-and-one-half years old when he traveled the Orphan Train with his four older brothers and sisters to a new life. The Morris children had been turned over to the Children's Aid Society in New York by their father who had hopes of providing them with a better life in foster homes in the midwest. The senior Morris, who worked building stays for ships, could not take care of his children after his wife died. "We lived on the third flight of a big building in New York, and there was a hellhole of taverns below us. It was no place for hids to grow up," recalls Ben.
One stop on the train's schedule was Dysart, Iowa, where Ben and the others were taken to the town hall. Out of curiosity, Iowan Henry Pippert went to the town hall that day--although he didn't intend to adopt any children.
"He had a handle bar mustache just like my father," said Ben. "I hollered "Dada" and raced toward Henry Pippert."
Because it was a stipulation of the Children's Aid Society that children from a family not be separated geographically, all the Morris children were adopted by Dysart citizens once young Ben forced his way into Henry Pippert's heart. "All but one of my brothers and sisters were placed in good, caring foster homes," Ben remembers. His last surviving sibling, a sister, died in 1979.
A farmer until he retired a number of years ago, Been says proudly, "I came up the hard way. I had to work. But I had a happy home with my foster mother and father in Dysart. I'm awful thankful to my real father to seeing that I got a good home and a good life."
CROSSROADS
December 1999, page 12
Ben Pippert-Age 106
Funeral services for Benjamin E. Pippert, 106, of Dysart (Iowa), were held Wednesday morning, June 23, 1999, at the United Methodist Church in Dysart. Burial was in the Dysart Cemetery.
Benjamin E. (Morris) Pippert was born November 12, 1892 in New York, New York. At the age of one and one-half years he came on an orphan train to Dysart, Iowa. When the train arrived, Henry Pippert decided to go see the children. Henry saw Ben and decided to take him and give him a home. Ben took the Pippert name, received his education in Dysart, and worked as a drayman [horse & wagon delivery business] until his marriage to Mary Schmidt on January 21, 1914.
Ben and Mary then farmed in the Dysart area until their retirement in 1961.
Ben was an accomplished self-taught musician and played the violin and harmonica. He was a great storyteller and enjoyed sharing experiences with family and friends.
Ben was the inspiration for the book The Orphan Train by Dorothea Petrie and James Magnussen. [His character was portrayed in the movie and the video produced from the book.] He appeared on national television on the Good Morning America show. Ben's life stories have been an inspiration and example to many.
Following Mary's death on July 12, 1974, Ben continued to make his home in Dysart. Due to failing health, he became a resident of Sunnycrest Care Center at Dysart in 1988. His death came at the Center on Saturday, June 19, 1999, at the age of 106. Ben was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, one daughter, Frances Degner, one grandson, Wayne, and three great grandchildren. He is survived by his son, Howard of Dysart, four daughters, Violetta Schuchart of Dysart, Dorothy Halupnik, of Tracer, Marie Benduli of Vinton, and Kathryn Newmeyer of Dysart, as well as 16 grandchildren, 4 step-grandchildren, 37 great grandchildren and 5 step greatgreat grandchildren.
Services were held at the United Methodist Church in Dysart with burial in the Dysart Cemetery.
Ben was placed in an orphanage along with two brothers and two sisters after their mother died and their father remarried. The siblings were placed in the Dysart area but lost touch with each other until they were grown.
"Ben did not die with riches, but in his heart he was a millionaire," says his daughter, Kathryn.