Childhood Years of Dwight David Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, a descendent of German immigrants who came to America in 1741. His grandfather David Jacob Eisenhower moved with the Mennonites from Pennsylvania to Kansas. His parents, David and Ida Eisenhower, had just moved from Hope, Kansas because of a business recession, and David had started a job with the railroad. They had met as students at Lane University at LeCompton, Kansas. The legendary man who would lead his country in war had humble beginnings: He was born in a small house near some railroad tracks.

When Dwight was 18 months old, the family moved to Abilene, Kansas, where his father had accepted employment with Belle Springs Creamery. In 1898, they moved into a house David and Ida purchased from David's brother, Abraham Lincoln Eisenhower. In Abilene, Dwight earned the nickname "Ike."

As a boy, Eisenhower made money for the family by selling vegetables to people in Abilene. They grew the vegetables and hauled them in a horse-drawn wagon. He also had farm chores: Milking the cow, feeding chickens, and gathering eggs. In high school, he enjoyed history - particularly the history of the American West - and was an excellent athlete. He fished, hunted, and played baseball and football.

After graduating from high school in 1909, Dwight Eisenhower did not enter college immediately. Instead, he worked at Belle Springs Creamery at night and supported his brother Edgar, who went to the University of Michigan to study law. Working twelve-hour shifts seven days a week, Dwight planned to support his brother for two years, who would then start work and support him; however, Dwight obtained an appointment to West Point instead. In 1911, he left his job in Abilene and moved to New York. He had been unable to enter the Naval Academy, his first choice, because he was too old.

Entering West Point was, of course, an honor, but it was a departure from his Mennonite heritage, which was pacifist. Ike would spend almost all of his his career with the American executive branch and save his country during one of the most awful wars in history.