One American Dreamer, a Biographical Novel based on the life and times of Iowa man Donald R. Tietz, effectively entwines the major portion of the twentieth century with the thoughts and feelings of a young country boy who grows into a very successful entrepreneur.
Young Donny’s mother struggles to give birth as we join the story, a heart grabbing read right from the beginning. We’re given glimpses into the honorable thoughts and stalwart soul of Rudy Tietz, Donald’s father, and sideways glances at the disturbed balance of his wife Clara, daughter of the enormous and rowdy Leininger clan.
Some genetic magic between Rudy and Clara Tietz distilled into a young boy driven by a brilliant mind, one who could envision things that had never been done before, and tell himself he could do them. A little man, always striving to please the father that he loved to the depths of his being.
A simple farmer’s existence was not enough for young Donny; he dreamed of flying his own airplane very early in life, and accomplished that dream by the age of sixteen. At twenty, too young to carry a gun to defend his own life, Don became a Police Officer, first in Algona Iowa, and then in Tampa Florida.
Courage, strength, accomplishment, daring, and success are all a huge part of the life of Donald R. Tietz, One American Dreamer. Accompanied by heartache and loss, enough to balance the scale of wealth and privilege. A man who seems to have won this human race, but a man who hurts inside his shy smile. A man to reflect his century as only a Dreamer can.
Excitement and close calls, drama in real life, love and loss, they’re all within the pages of One American Dreamer. Your whole family will enjoy the heart warming story of Donald R. Tietz.
Just when we think we have her figured out, know just what kind of writer she really is, Canadian author Alice C. Bateman surprises us again.
aOne American Dreamer, her latest offering, is a Biographical Novel reflecting the life and times of American Donald R. Tietz. Alice tells us the word ‘novel’ in the description of Dreamer gave her creative latitude in writing the thoughts and feelings of characters like Rudy Tietz, sadly deceased for fifteen years now.
We couldn’t possibly know Rudy’s thoughts with historical accuracy, so the word novel fits. But this is also an excellent story, not a dry biography with a series of ‘he did this on that date’ facts. One American Dreamer is a warm, human, down to earth, God-fearing portrayal of American life in the Twentieth Century, with all its ups and downs.
Donald R. Tietz has billing as co-author on One American Dreamer because he provided a great deal of information about his own life, and read each chapter as it was created to give his stamp of authenticity. Sometimes his words fit seamlessly into Ms. Bateman’s.
As Alice said in an email to Don one day, one of literally thousands of emails between Calgary Canada and Algona Iowa, “You and I are One American Dreamer and One Canadian Dreamer joining forces. Should be a great Dream Team!”
And it is – the partnering of Alice C. Bateman and Donald R. Tietz to create and present One American Dreamer is something we’ve all waited for, but didn’t know until it was put in front of us.
Read this book yourself, then read it to your kids and grandkids, you’ll be glad you did. Alice is right when she says this is her best book yet – and her first two were very good indeed!
Don and Shirley arrived back in Iowa, worldly possessions in tow, with a little over four thousand dollars Don had saved. Rudy was pleased to have his eldest son back in the fold, and offered to help him build a house right on the home property, so Donny didn’t have to lay out any of his hard-earned money to buy land right away.
Don readily agreed, and within days they began to erect a two-bedroom country house, right next to where the windmill once stood. Rudy and his son kept up the farm chores together, just like in the early days, and went into Lone Rock to service and set up machinery when time permitted. The house went up quickly, and was finished within Don’s budget. This was the first time Donny owned his own house, free and clear, with no mortgage.
Shirley began teaching at the Burt Elementary School, and seemed to enjoy her work and their new home. The young couple was happy, and looking forward to a productive future.
Attractive and roomy, but cozy enough for a young family, their new house quickly drew attention from the residents in the area. When he got an offer of sixty-five hundred dollars for the house, plus the contract to move it into Lone Rock and build an addition on it, Donny couldn’t refuse, and began to build himself and Shirley a new home in Burt. Instead of the four thousand dollars Don had begun with a short time ago, he now had eighty-five hundred to work with.
When he began construction in Burt, Ed Fredrickson, a neighbor, came up and asked who this new house was for. Don said it was for him and Shirley. The man nodded, and asked Don if he would consider building a house for him and his own wife Lil, close by. Don readily agreed, very pleased that his work was not only appreciated, but in demand.
Don agreed to go over and meet with the couple that evening, to discuss their plans with them. They wanted to build their dream house for their golden years, and had a design already in mind. Ed, an older bald-headed and frail gentleman, brought out a sketch he’d made and told Donny about the kind of home they were thinking of building. Don went home and stayed up until after midnight drawing up plans for the Fredrickson house.
On the way to work the next morning, Don stopped at the Burt Lumber Yard and talked to Roger Chaffee, the Manager. He explained about the new house, showed Roger the drawings, and said he had to build it for someone else, and didn’t know what to tell Fredrickson it would cost. Roger said twelve dollars a square foot would be a good general price, and it sounded feasible.
Don had no experience of negotiation or building for others. The communications center in the Tampa Police Headquarters had literally come with a blank check for construction. They called it ‘appropriations,’ and Don was simply told to use a red pencil if budgets were overdrawn. Here in the real world, he wanted to be sure he’d cover his own expenses for the building, and come out with some profit for his work.
He had another appointment with the Fredrickson’s that evening, and came prepared with his drawings. Ed was excited and pleased by Don’s design, but worried over the cost. Don promptly gave him the figure of twelve dollars per square foot, and Ed multiplied to arrive at the total cost. He showed the paper to his wife, and said that was about what they’d already expected. Don was relieved, and hoped he could produce the finished product under the figure quoted.
Next came a series of questions Donny hadn’t anticipated, but the Fredrickson’s had obviously thought deeply about. Don quickly learned the art of negotiation through body language and verbal clues. When Ed said, ‘This includes the garage, doesn’t it?’ Don answered yes. But when the older man said, ‘It probably doesn’t include painting though,’ Don agreed that it did not.
Don said yes to several of the ‘does it include’ questions, and no to as many as he felt he could get away with in good conscience and good business. After ten minutes or so of him answering no more than yes, he saw a bead of sweat break out on Ed’s forehead and begin to roll down his face. Don knew he’d better bring the negotiations to an end.
That little bead of sweat was a sure indicator that he was not going to get any more money for this deal. They agreed to the details, and Don drew up a simple one-page contract they both signed. Construction would begin when Don and Shirley’s own house was completed, payment rendered on completion.
In the meantime, Don would invest his own stockpile of money into materials. He was in business for himself now, win lose or draw, and he sure hoped his first venture would be profitable! At the moment, Don and Shirley had agreed to live on her teacher’s salary so Don could invest his earnings back into his own business.
While working on the kitchen cabinets in the Frederickson house, on November 22, 1963, a news flash came over the radio saying that President Kennedy had been shot. Don heard the news with sadness, as did many millions of others, and wondered why such a man had to be killed.
He’d never forget Kennedy’s smiling face and firm handshake, or his coppery golden tan. Don was very glad he’d spent that day with him in Tampa. He knew the world would miss Kennedy, and counted himself lucky to have met the man before his brief life was over.
When he was close to finishing up the Fredrickson house, the Mayor of Burt stopped by to ask Don if he’d consider building a house for a farm landlord whose properties the Mayor managed. Don agreed, and quoted the twelve-dollar per square foot price. He knew by now that figure worked, because he knew he was about to make a handsome profit on the Fredrickson house.
The new house turned out to be much larger in area, and therefore less costly to build. Don had the structure finished in about eleven weeks, and made a very nice profit on this deal. He’d done some hard work, had a few houses under his belt, and in this simple way, Don Tietz’s lifetime of building and development had begun.
At first, Don had a few misgivings about walking away from what many would consider a good opportunity with the Tampa Police Department, but he took this early success in his new endeavors as a sign that he was on the right track.
Don felt good about his work, his life, his location, and his future, and thanked God for the wisdom to have made the right choice.