Mom

Some time ago, I posted a transcription of a journal that my great aunt wrote a few years before she died. After reading it, I learned things about my great aunt that I never expected. Today, I came across a newspaper article from 1941 that mentioned several of my relatives, including my mother and my great aunt.

Probably like most of us, it was hard to think of my parents as once having been children, let alone young adults. This newspaper article, like Aunt Eleanor's journal, revealed a glimpse of her and my mother when they both were young. My mom was only 18 and Aunt Eleanor was 36.

On July 17 and 18 in 1941 in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, my mother played the role of a riverboat sweetheart in a musical called "A Hillbilly Wedding." It's hard to think of your mother as a sweetheart, let alone a riverboat sweetheart. The names of some of the other characters were quite amusing as well as revealing that a sense of humor has been with us for a long, long, long ... time.

I was actually glad that my mother didn't perform the roles of Pucklewortz, Judge Itchiebritches, Ura Pumpkinhead, Ima Goosepimple, Lizzie Zilch, or Misery. Ima Goosepimple hit a bit too close to home.

When my husband and I were trying to agree on a boy's name and a girl's name after I learned that I was pregnant with out first child. We were so far apart in agreeing on the name for our daughter should we have one. I got crazy and suggested that we name our daughter, Ida, Inn, Dee or Rea. Since my married name is Kline, we both laughed and finally were able to agree on a more suitable name for our daughter.

The article would seem to imply that the musical was brief as there were "specialty acts" that followed. One such act was the Peterson quartet. My mother had cousins named Peterson, but in Minnesota, Peterson was like Smith.

Another act was square dancers. One of the couples was Clarence Peterson and Eleanor Stoutenburg. My great aunt had been a widow a bit over a year when this article was printed. Aunt Eleanor never remarried after her husband's death. Her journal gave no indication that she was a square dancer, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that she was still enjoying life.

Who Is Marvin?

In my last post, I mentioned that my father's friend Marvin Stromgren had come to live with us for a short time. Until most recently, I had no idea if Marvin was related to my father or just a friend. I went on an exploratory expedition on Ancestry.com to see if I could figure out how Marvin and Dad knew each other.

Oh did that journey illicit memories of the things that my dad had told me of his past! I did a search on Ancestry for Marvin Stromgren born about the same time as my father in Minnesota. There was a hit in the Minnesota Birth Index. Marvin Berg Stromgren and Kathleen Margaret Barthel came up as the parents of 3 children.

That aha moment hit. These were Marvin and Kathy. I don't actually remember much about Marvin and Kathy except that they were friends of my parents.

When I saw the date of birth of the youngest of the 3 children, I was confused. Their youngest child was born in 1951 before Marvin lived with us. However, their next child was born in 1955. The 4-year gap fit with Marvin having been in the military. It was during the Korean Conflict that ended in July 1953, about the time that Marvin lived with us.

The next aha moment I had was remembering that Marvin and Kathy were one of the families who had a basement house. I now wonder if Marvin stayed at our house while his basement was being built and that Kathy and her child lived with her family at that same time.

Marvin left behind at our house that wool blanket. That became my blanket and I called it my tickle blanket because it made my nose itch. It was very prickly. Thankfully, the tickle blanket was left behind when we moved to California.

So how are Marvin and my father connected?

I learned from the Minnesota Historical Society birth index that Marvin was born in Isanti County in 1925. That was a bummer because my dad was born three years earlier in Hennepin County. From the 1930 US Census images, I found Marvin in Grow Township living with his widowed mother, Olive and his siblings, two of which were born before 1920. The second household enumerated after Olive's was my dad's Aunt Ellen's family but my dad and his family were living in Aitkin County, Minnesota in 1930.

Olive died in 1979. I don't recall if I ever met her but I do remember hearing her name. Since Marvin's father died when he was very young, I don't believe that I knew his father's name. Checking the 1920 Census, I found that Olive, her husband Abel G. and their two children were living in Isanti, Minnesota on Broadway Street. He ran a general store. The Minnesota State Gazetteer of 1922 lists Abel Stromgren and Fred L. Russell proprietors of a general store, Stromgren & Russell, Isanti.

On September 12, 1918, Abel Gustaf Stromgren registered for the World War I draft. He was a merchant whose residence was in Constance (Grow Township), Minnesota. Abel named his wife, Olive Mary, as his nearest relative. So some time after September 12, 1918 but before January 6, 1920, the family moved from Constance to Isanti.

The family resided in Isanti about 8 years or so. Their youngest child was born in Isanti August 22, 1926. However, by April 2, 1930, Olive was back in Grow Township. According to the census, she was the postmistress. From a ledger of post office appointments in Anoka County, I learned that Abel was appointed postmaster in Constance on January 8, 1927. He died on November 24th of that same year. She then became the acting postmistress.

I found her in Grow Township in the 1940 Census. Olive was the postmistress. The household enumerated before hers was that of Ruth and Mathilda Book. Ruth would become my grandmother's sister-in-law. The appointment ledger noted her several appointments as postmistress of the Constance post office. The final entry was of the closure of the post office effective February 28, 1955, mail to Anoka.

Now I know how Marvin and my dad knew each other. It was because of the post office.

I don't know exactly when my dad's parents moved from McGregor, Minnesota to Constance but they were living in the same house on April 1, 1935 (1940 Census). I remember railroad tracks that were near the house where my grandmother was raised. My father told me that his grandfather had convinced the US post office to have a mail stop at his farm.

Prior to this, mail was sent to the post office in Anoka. As a member of the community had the need to make the trip to Anoka then he/she would check for mail at the post office. The mail train would pass by my great grandfather's farm. Dad told me that the train didn't stop but it did pick up and drop off mail as it passed.

In 1935, my father was 13, old enough to put the bag with the outgoing mail on the pick up hook and retrieve the bag left by the mail train from the drop off hook. My father graduated from Anoka High School in 1940. Between 1935 and 1940 my dad handled the mail bags at his uncle's farm. With Marvin's mother as the postmistress and my dad helping with the mail bag, Dad and Marvin would have known each other.

The Basement House

The reporting of the terrible tornado that devastated a community near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma brought to mind root cellars. If you watched the Wizard of Oz movie with Judy Garland, her aunt and uncle took shelter in the root cellar as a tornado was approaching. I remember visiting relatives who lived on farms having root cellars.

The root cellar was under the house and access was from outside. They were not very deep, but deep enough to store vegetables. Most had a dirt floor. In the days of root cellars, they served an additional function, that of a storm cellar.

My parents bought a house in the city. Like all the houses on my street, we had a basement. I am not sure, but I think that city houses had basements to accommodate the furnace that was used to heat the house. Our house had a huge gas furnace but the older houses must have had coal burning furnaces because a couple of the old houses in my neighborhood had coal chutes from a small window at ground level into the basement below. I can't recall visiting a house in Minneapolis that didn't have a full basement.

Not all of my friends and relatives had lived in an above ground house. Some lived for a short time in a basement house. Instead of buying an existing house, the family purchased the land and built their own house. The first step was making the basement and foundation for the eventual house.

It usually took a few years to complete the entire house. Once the basement was complete, some families moved into the basement. When the main floor was finished, the family moved up to the main floor.

The basement house had a distinct appearance. It was a small structure on with a door. I remember these so distinctly that I was certain there would be a photograph on the Internet. I was surprised to find almost none. It seems now a basement house has a new meaning.

This was the only image that I could find of the entrance of a basement house like those of my childhood.





 

Just another family mystery

I was looking at the Ringo branch of the family when I came across a distant cousin, Mary Elizabeth Duncan, who seems to have gone through husbands like water. I began to focus on her parents and grandparents to see if I could find a pattern.

Elizabeth J. Sawyer and John E. Dillon had two children, Ethel and William when the family was enumerated in St. Peter, Minnesota on June 5, 1900. William Edward was born January 10, 1898 in Le Sueur County Minnesota when his father was 25 years old and his mother, 21 years old. William enlisted in the army on February 7, 1918 and was discharged on January 25, 1919. He served as a private in the 871st Aero Repair Squadron of the Signal Corps. (This squadron appears to have been located in St. Paul, Minnesota.)

 

His son Harlan Dillon of Kasota, Minnesota applied for a headstone from the US government on January 27, 1962. William died on January 1, 1962 and was buried in the Kasota Hill Cemetery Section C. His wife, Leona Cora (Puffpaf) Dillon, was born July 7, 1908 in South Dakota, died on October 14, 1958 and is buried near her husband.

William was living with his aunt and uncle, Francis H. and Helen Dillon, in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1910. The next record in which I found him was in 1940 when he and Leona were living in Kasota, MN with adopted son, Harlan, and daughters, Jacqueline and Hazel. They were living in rural Le Sueur County in 1935.

I did not find Ethel Dillon in the 1910 census but I did find her married to Joseph Duncan in the 1920 Census. They had two children at that time, Shryle and Mary Duncan. Shyrle Duncan died in 1926. I could not find her birth under various search fields. I did find a child Alden born in Hennepin County on the same date as Shyrle. So it would seem that Ethel had Shyrle before she married Joseph Duncan.

I have no idea if there is a connection, but in 1920 when “Hazel L.” and Fred A. Diekow were enumerated, there was a Ernest and Anna Alden on the same page.

The couple had a son, John Samuel Duncan, in 1921. In 1930, Joseph and John were living together in Louisville, KY, near where Joseph Duncan had family. Mary Elizabeth Duncan remained in Minnesota with her mother’s family.

I have been unable to locate information about John Dillon after 1900 and before 1920. In 1920, John is a farm laborer in Washington Township, Le Sueur County, Minnesota. His marital status is single. However, in 1930 he is living with his brother-in-law, Michael Smith, in St. Peter, MN. His marital status is divorced. Michael is widowed and was married to John Dillon’s sister, Mary. John Dillon died in 1931.

 

As far as Elizabeth Sawyer is concerned, I think that I have found her under a different name. Her daughter, Ethel Dillon was married to Joseph Duncan by 1920. She had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Duncan born in 1919. Ethel died in 1926. I found Mary in the 1930 Census living with F and H Diekow in Minneapolis. She was recorded as a niece. Included in the same household is a Lucy Sawyer, mother-in-law of F Diekow. So it would seem that H. is the daughter of Lucy Sawyer and the aunt of Mary Duncan. Based on the 1920 Census, H is Hazel Diekow and is the wife of Fred Diekow.

Alexander and Lucy Sawyer had no daughter named Hazel. I looked at the 1880 Census and the 1900 Census and the Minnesota State Census in 1885 and 1895 and did not find a daughter named Hazel. The age of Hazel in the 1920 and 1930 Census fits with that of Elizabeth. So it would seem that Hazel is Elizabeth Sawyer and the grandmother of Mary Duncan.

It appears that John and Elizabeth were divorced after June 5, 1900 when the family was enumerated and before June 6, 1905 when the children were living with their maternal grandparents in Kasota, Minnesota.

Finding Grandma's House

My cousin posted on Facebook a picture with our great grandparents, our grandmother and her brother standing in front of a house. The photo was taken in 1908 of their home. She asked me if I knew if the house was still standing.

I actually didn't know but I do remember going to visit my great uncle who was living in the house at that time. Although I was still in grade school the last time I saw the house, I have  memories of several visits there.

As a part of building my family history, I had purchased a 1888 plat map book of the county in which the house stood and a book of burials in the same county. My father took me a few times to see the cemetery with his grandparents and great grandparents graves. At that time the cemetery surrounded the church. In the book of burials, I found the names of my father's family listed at that cemetery but not that of my great uncle. In perusing the book, I discovered that my great uncle was not buried in the cemetery with his parents and grandparents, but elsewhere.

Several years ago my sister and I went to a family reunion on my mother's side. When we moved, she was too little to remember anything about the house, so I thought that it would be fun to visit the cemetery where our father's grandparents and great grandparents are buried. Sadly, the church was demolished and a larger, modern church built near the graveyard.

Since we were in the area, I decided to visit the cemetery where my grandmother's brother was buried too. Little did I realize then that the house was very nearby. Nearly a decade later, I had more tools and information at hand to help me see if I could find the house.

My great uncle and great aunt had no children. When my grandmother's brother died in an auto accident, his wife inherited the house and property. The cemetery in which my great uncle is buried is situated on a portion of the farm. After her death, she left the property and cemetery to her church.

Using Google Maps, I located the cemetery. The satellite view wasn't very revealing. Luckily I found there was a street view of the cemetery and church. Since the cemetery was on the corner of two streets, I was able to navigate along both streets until I found a house that vaguely looked like my grandmother's family home.

The house was obscured by trees and the resolution of the photo was not sufficient enough to allow zooming without the image being blurred. So the next step was to use Google Earth. Again with trees in the way, it was difficult to make a positive identification. That is when I took out the 1888 plat book. Between the image from Google Earth and the plat map, I was pretty certain that I had found the house.

I remember my father turning from the highway onto a long dirt driveway. I could see such a lane in both Google Maps and Google Earth. From Google Maps, I obtained an approximate street address, and was able to pinpoint the address on a contemporary zoning map of the township in which the property was situate.

Zillow had an entry for that address. According to Zillow, the house was built in 1890 and included about 5 acres of land. My great grandparents built their house about that time on a 160-acre parcel. The houses around it, according to Zillow, were built much later. The roof line that I viewed in Google Earth was identical with the exception of what appeared to be an addition at the back of the house.

When I last visited the house, it did not have indoor plumbing. It had a pot bellied stove in the parlor and a wood burning stove in the kitchen. There was a pump in front of the house for water, and outhouse in the back near the barn. The house did have electricity and an old fashioned crank phone. My cousin asked me if the house had indoor plumbing now. Zillow says the house has one bathroom.

I guess the answer is yes! It is probably in the addition that I could see on Google Earth.

Four Generations of Women on the Phone

I had shown a picture of my mother at her business and a picture of my grandmother at her business to a friend. She told me that I must make a collage photo. That is because the photos show my grandmother at a switchboard about 1910 and my mother at a switchboard about 1969.

In the case of my grandmother, she was the operator at the phone company that was housed in the parlor of her father's house. The switchboard supported 24 lines. The picture of my mother was at her business.

My mother had been a rural school teacher before she married my father. She gave up teaching after she married my father. However, after I was born, I became her pupil. I remember before I started kindergarten sitting on our front steps and my mother teaching me to read.

I don't remember my mother working with my younger siblings as she did with me because she did other things to bring money into her household. She sold cosmetics at home parties and took in ironing. I remember the mangle iron that she had to iron sheets and tablecloths. Everytime I iron a sheet, I think of that mangle of so many years ago.

The mangle was so much better than my European ironing board and iron. The only thing that my European ironing board does better than the Walmart ironing board is that is so heavy that pulling the sheet across it doesn't tip it over.

But I digress ... At sometime while I was in grade school, my mother worked for an answering service in Minnesota. At that time. I had no idea that my grandmother had been a telephone operator. She was simply my grandmother who lived in California. She was old.

I can remember most of the various occupations that my mother while I was growing up. So when we moved to California, I wasn't surprised when my mother secured a job as an operator at an answering service. She shortly became the night supervisor and acting manager when the manager was away. My mother complained enough about the manager and her ineffectiveness to the point that my father told her to start her own service.

My mother took up my dad's challenge and did start her own business that she successfully ran until her death. I found a photo of her taken in the early days of her business. I was away at college at the time my mother was building her business. She worked seven days a week.

After my father and a sister died, I was lucky to find the photo of my grandmother at a switchboard. It was this photo and the one of my mother at her business that I showed to the woman who owns my gym. As I was making the collage of the two photos, I recalled seeing a photo of my sister as a toddler with a play phone and a photo I took of my daughter as a toddler on the phone.

I had an "aha" moment.  I had pictures of 4 generations of women all using the telephone over a period of 70 years. My grandma worked on a 24-line switchboard. My mom had three 100-line switchboards with rotary dial. My sister played with a toy rotary dial phone. My daughter played with a real touch-tone phone. Much has changed since these pictures.

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, February 5, 1982

It looks like a may have missed one of my great aunt's entries in her journal.

Feb. 5, 1982 in the afternoon

Shall write a few more lines. Ron was here and had his lunch and I my breakfast. It is a new little plan we have that on Fridays he comes to keep me company on his lunch break. That is nice of him. Rather cold out To go on with my little tale, life must go on. I had four little ones to care for and in a way it was a blessing, it gave me something to strive for. The W.P.A. gave me a settlement and a monthly check. Not much but enough that I bought two acres from the church and had enough left over to get the material for the house. The neighbors pitched in and moved our little shack up on the land so I could be there and cook for them when they worked. They cleared off a space for the house and they dug for the basement, layed the foundation. Then there was a lull when they got their fall work done. The lumber for the house was all delivered so we had piles of lumber all around. It was such a beautiful fall and no one gave a thot to bad weather. The little shack didn’t even have a door in it just a screen door and I had a rug hanging over it to keep the night chill out. Came Nov. 10^th and we had a cool misty day but it still wasn’t cold. Early in the morning of Nov. 11 I woke up and could feel it was getting mighty chilly. I looked out and it was snowing and blowing my rug was almost blown off the screen door, the wood pile was covered with snow and the fire was out in the heater. Cold! scary! what to do? First I got a hammer and nails and tacked the rung unto the screen door and then shoveled the snow out that had blown in to the kitchen part. Built a fire in the kitchen stove and heater, put an extra blanket on the door and prepared breakfast. Edward and Leola went out to bring in some more wood but the snow had covered our wood supply so thoroughly they couldn’t get it. I made myself some mittens our of a pr. of heavy wool socks and made another pr to put outside them form an old denim overall and went out in that blizzard and dug out wood and carried in into the shack till we had enough to keep the fires going. Then I had to get water and that was quite a task as I had to get it from the pump at my neighbors that was Raymond & Helen place across the highway I waded thru the snow drifts, making my own trail and each time I went it had blown in till there was no sign of my trail, I made abut six or seven trips and I was truly exhausted but by nightfall I had my brood snug and warm with water enough to extinguish a fire should it start. I will never forget that day. I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving for strength and ability to do what had to be done. It was two days before anyone could get up to see if we were O.K. And it was my brother-in-law Oscar Peterson who came. We had no phone so no one could call to see it we were all right. This was the never to be forgotten Armistis Day blizzard of 1940. Many people lost their lives in that storm.

Needless to say that put an end to all the building for that year. Oscar saw to it that a real door replace the blanket and rug covered screen door. We spent the winter in that little shack, snug and warm even tho the water pail would often have ice on it in the morning in that little kitchen.

On March 28 that spring we had another big blizzard but we were better prepared for that one.

The house building was at a standstill all the next summer till fall then the neighbors came and the building began. Oscar was very faithful and many of my other neighbors helped. Pastor Mastid put many hours of work on that house. They had it all closed in with the windows and all before winter set it but it wasn’t finished inside so rather than spending another winter in the shack we went down to Grandma Stoutenburgs and stayed till spring. We moved back to the shack around the 1^st of April. Edward was confirmed that month. The day before his confirmation Max got sick and I had to stay at home with him. He had a high fever and couldn’t keep anything down that he would eat. The next day I got a terrific earache, it got bad that Raymond who lived right across the highway thot I’d better get into see the Dr. and he took us {Max and me} in to the Hosp. In Pine River and there we were put to bed. Max had pneumonia and I had a very bad ear infection in both ears. We spent two weeks in the hosp. Max was a very sick boy and I got so dizzy and unbalanced I couldn’t even walk straight. Emma and Grace came in and took turns taking care of Max. Pastor Mastid came to see us and prayed for Max so did many others and our prayers were answered, he did recover and when we left the hosp. we went to stay with Grace and Oscar so they could take care of us. Edward, Leola & Dianne stayed at Grandma’s. It took a couple of weeks before my ears got better and my dizziness left. Then we went back home. In that time Oscar and others had worked on the house so we could move in. It was far from finished be we were so happy to move into it. The second world war was being fought and defense plants were calling for people to come to work so that fall we moved to Mpls. and I got work in a defense plant. Bertan and Uncle Fuzz had moved down too and we rented a house. They lived downstairs and we lived upstairs. It was that winter that Dianne got the mumps and then she gave them to Edward and then I got them. We were a sick household. Leola didn’t move with us she stayed with Grandma Stoutenburg who was living in Pine River. She came down and spent Christmas with us. We stayed in Mpls till the next fall then all the children wanted to go back to Swanburg so we did. Edward and I put insolation in and layed the floor in upstairs and made the house more livable. Leola went back to stay with Grandma June and Joyce who had moved to Mpls. The next year Dianne went to stay with them, and Leola stayed at home.

We had quite a struggle getting enough wood to keep the old barrel stove going. First Edward and I worked at it, we managed it for one winter than after he graduated from high school he went to Mpls. to work the next year it was Leola and I who tried it, we stuck at it till after Christmas then I decided it was a little too much and I got an oil burner. Life was easier then. It isn’t easy to go out in the woods find and old dead tree, cut it down saw it into lengths short enough that we could drag it to the house then saw it up into stove length pieces chop in half and carry it into the house and also plot it up for the cook stove. Whew! That was work.

It was about this time that I started to go deer hunting in the fall. That was really a fun time of the year. To walk in the woods in the fall all by yourself somehow draws you closer to your creator. He seems very close then. And all nature speaks of Him.

Days passed in to years. Edward went into the service. Leola graduated almost. But then decided to do otherwise. Caused me several uneasy nights and then she got married, after some time my first grandchild came to brighten our days, that was Jan. 13, 1951, that spring, Herb was drafted into the Army and in June that year I moved to Mpls. so I could take care of Carole so Leola could work. Dianne went to New York to spend the summer with Joyce and Pat. We rented an upstairs of a house and I moved some of my furniture down We got settled, when Dianne came back from New York she was very disappointed in the place and she also dreaded changing schools. But it wasn’t long till she made new friends at North high. Max was confirmed down here. I joined the choir at the church where he was confirmed. That I enjoyed. I always did belong to the choirs in the churches I attended. I loved to sing.

After Christmas that year Bertha’s daughters Maribelle and Patsy came and stayed with us and shortly after they came George {Maribelles husband} came. They stayed there with Dianne and Max. Leola, Carol and I went to New York City to visit Joyce and Pat. We stayed there five weeks. Edward was there too so we had quite a reunion.

When we came back home George, Maribelle and Patsy moved away.

On April 27, 1952 Terry Jean joined our gang. Edward also had returned so we were kind of bulging at the seams in that upstairs apt. But we went merrily along. Leola went back to work after Terry was born but had to quit because of her health. Dianne got a job and so did Edward. Summer passed, fall came and Dianne and Max went to school. Seems that Carol and Terry were sick a good part of that winter. I got a job working nites at a place on the North side I don’t even know what the name was. Any way time passed on and another spring came. Dianne Graduated and Herb came home from Japan where he had served while in the Army. They got a place in Coon Rapids. Edward and June were married and Max went to stay with June and Jerry. I moved in with Helen Church and got a job at Sears. Dianne went out to Montana. So the family scattered. I stayed with Helen until after Christmas then I got an apt. at 920 E. 19 St. and Max came to live with me. He was going to school at South High. This was 1953 and on Oct. 31 that year my first Grandson was born. Edward Barnum the 4^th He was a premature baby and had to stay in the hosp. for quite some time. Such a little mite he was but he grew up to be a handsome man, so he did.

The next summer Dianne was married but that marriage didn’t work out and Dianne came home. Leola had moved back into Mpls. and on Oct. 30, 1954 they welcomed Steven Mark into their brood. And on Dec. 21, my Patti Wats was born. To Dianne How my family is growing.

This little story is drawing to a close. Not much more to report but I will leave the rest till another time

Aunt Eleanor's Journal - Her last entry

Aunt Eleanor started this journal when she was 81 years old to give to her granddaughter Patti when she was finished writing. From my earlier posts, you can see that Aunt Eleanor thought the she was about to give the journal to Patti. It seems that she did not as this is her last entry.

Sept. 16, 1989

My how I do hang on. This year has been full of accidents and problems. The fall in the elevator that broke my shoulder Jan. 30 then on March 15 I slipped my leg under a car so it could run over it and the rest of the year has been a time of mending.

I was talking to you a little ago and told you I was going to straighten out my cancelled checks as they were piling up and running over. So that is what I started to do but I come to this little book and the time has been fleeting by while I read it and not much else has been done Funny but we sure have been to many ballgames and just 2 days ago we did it again. I just had to add a line or two as this book seems to go on and on. I sit here and wonder will there be more ball games or have I seen my last one. If so I am ready for my call. I was afraid this spring or summer that I would be moving again but the lord made things happen so we all stayed put on Oliver Ave. No. May God always keep you happy and contented where ever you are.

Love Grandma

I remember my mother telling me about Aunt Eleanor's leg being run over by Patti's car. It was such a freak accident and so fortunate that there was so much snow.

As I read this journal, I was so struck with the relationship that Patti had with Aunt Eleanor. The comments and the pictures that Patti's mother posts on Facebook confirms what a compassionate and caring person Patti is.

I am sorry that Aunt Eleanor did not continue it until she died. She passed away in 1995 at the age of 95.

Aunt Eleanor's Journal - October 12, 1983

This entry was to be the last entry that Aunt Eleanor wrote to Patti, but a year and a half later Aunt Eleanor wrote another entry.

Oct. 12, 1983 1:15 A.M.

I wasn’t going to write any more in here but I talked with you on the phone this evening and you mentioned how you would like to have me write about my past and give it to you, and you said that story you remembered me telling was about the beautiful radio we had to trade of for feed for the cattle.

I couldn’t remember if I had written about it or not so I had to dig my little memory book out and check and it was all in here. There are several more awaiting me on the other side Ferd, Raymond and others. God bless and keep you one and all. When you read this I’ll be gone but I know I’ll not be forgotten. All my love. Goodbye Grandma. M. M

May 20, 1985

Here I am adding another line or two. You were here this evening reading what I had written in the Grandmother’s book, and remarked how I hadn’t said much about you. It is funny because when I wrote it I was thinking of so much I wanted to say but I have been told that I’m so partial to you that I thot keep it cool. After all I have written a whole book to you, and you know how very special you are, and always have been. So if all I said about you was that “you were so uncomfortable” it wasn’t what I was going to write, that would have taken too much space. My “Patti Wats” little Pixie Doll.

Since I wrote in here last I have made another move. I now live right across the street from you and see you just about every day. Its great. And we still go to the baseball games together. What fun we have. And our coffee breaks.

It is now 1:50 AM May 21, 1985

It was hard not to tell of this little book that I have written just for you.

Great Grandma

I don't know why Aunt Eleanor signed this entry as Great Grandma. She was Patti's grandmother. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Patti visited her grandmother with her children.

To be continued ...

Aunt Eleanor's Journal - February 6, 1982

I was writing the Newsletter for the Stoutenburgh-Teller Family Association so didn't get a chance to post Aunt Eleanor's next journal entry.

The very next morning.

I was lying in bed thinking that I would write some more in here, when the telephone rang and it was your Patti calling to say “good Morning” Such a doll you are. I was thinking of all the things I wanted to write but had forgotten. One of them was about Edward, that first fall when we lived in our rug covered screen door shack he went and sold salve to all the neighbors. The money he made from that he used to buy me a Bible that he gave me for Christmas We used to have our daily devotions every day. It was at this time that I started tithing. My in come was $30.20 a month and $3.10 went into the “Thank Offering” box. It wasn’t too long tho maybe 6 months until I got some help from Aid to Dependant Children and the tithe grew. “Give and it shall be given unto you.”

Now to go on from where I left off last nite. Dianne and Patti joined Max and me in our apt. and Patti really entertained us with music all afternoon and evening. Poor little girl she was so uncomfortable. I think that other tenants must have wished we would move out. Well! Even that was remedied and she became more comfortable. At that time I was layed off at Sears so I had lots of time to spend with Patti. In the spring 1955 Jerry Shoemaker was left with 2 youngsters and no one to care for them. I was asked to take over which I did and Dianne and Patti came with me and we kept house for Jerry for awhile taking care of Kent and Kay. In the spring of 1956 Dianne and Patti moved away. They lived with Joyce & Pat. Also on May 28, 1956 Pamela Kay joined our happy brood. She was welcomed into Edward and Junes family. A little black haired doll she was. Then on Aug. 24 that same year came Barbara Ann. A little blond Barby Doll. She joined Carol, Terry, and Steve to keep that family growing. 1957 was a quiet year I also moved back to the old apartment building and Max joined me. He had been staying with June and Jerry. Poor Max it seems he was always rented out somewhere. But he had a job with a bakery close by and I worked at the Gabriel Martin Bakery. Max bought a car and we took many a joyride in that yellow convertible. even went out to Mont. to visit Bertha and Uncle Fuzz. and brought Dianne & Patti back with us. They had been out there for quite a while and it was a real joy to get them back.

On June 7, 1958 Max and Bev were married. It was hard to have my baby leave for good and many tears flowed in the lonely hours. But Bev was and is a much loved addition to my family. And I’m very fortunate to have two loving daughters-in-law like June and Bev.

1959 was a very eventful year on January 16^th Dianne & Jerry were married, now I was truly alone, the apt. was so empty. Lonely, lonely hours. But I was working and I could have Carol, Terry and some times Patti over on weekends and that helped. On Sept. 8, 1959 Todd William arrived to bless Max and Bevs union. He was a very blond, cuddily little fellow with long eyelashes like his Daddy. Just 10 days later on Sept. 18, Joel Alan arrived to bring joy to Dianne and Jerry. He was always such a mama’s boy I could never quite make him comfortable with me. He was a pretty child but he liked his mommy best. Then on Dec. 12. 1959 along came Dene to keep all the Herb Shoemakers happy. By this time there were so many little ones I couldn’t spend enough time with each one to really get to know their every little mood.

1960 came and I kept on working at the bakery. Wanda {Berthas daughter} came and stayed with me for awhile between semesters at Bemidge State College. The Gabriel Martin Bakery Co., were building a new bakery on 79 and Pleasant Ave. and by Jan 1st 1961 they moved in. The bus service out there wasn’t too good so I gave up the apt. and moved in with Edward and June. That worked out very well.

That’s the year the Twins arrived to play ball at the Metropolitan Stadium. Many a game I attended at that Stadium with different ones. Helen Church and I saw many games and lots of my grandchildren went with me. Oh! What fun and excitement.

On March 3, 1961 Michael Alan joined Eddy and Pam to round out that family, and on April 29 we had the surprise of our life. Bev had to go to the Hosp. earlier than was expected and gave birth to not just one but two little premature boys Timothy Alan and Thomas Mark. They were in critical condition and were baptized right there in the Hosp. then moved to another Hosp. that had better facilities to care for them and there they had an intensive care for quite a while till they weighed 5 lbs. But those two boys grew to be two big boys. They looked so much a like that very few people could tell them apart. The rest of that year was rather uneventful.

In 1962 I had a gall bladder operation that put me out of circulation for a while 1963 Helen Church and I decided to get an apartment together and we found one at 63 and pleasant ave. There I could have visitors and I did. Carol, Terry, Patti, Barby and Dene all used to come and spend days and nites with me. Todd was going to one nite but when it got to be bed time his eyes got so big an glassy I asked him “what is the matter? And the eye just over flowed and he said “I want my Daddy.” I had to call Max and in just a few minutes he was there to get his little boy. Terry was another one who liked to come but at nite she would rather be at home, that left Patti and Carol they could stay for weeks at the time and they did. They would go with me to work and stay all day long. Carol even helped me with the work and did so well Erv. payed her. She sure felt smart then. Patti was a bit too small to work but she did a lot of playing and was quite a hit with all the workers.

Barby would stay if she could be there when Patti was but I could be there when Patti was but I could only have one at the time. We had great times together going to work, going to ball games, going shopping and Just going for walks.

On May 26, 1964 my last grandchild came to greet us, it was Tyler Owen a chubby, blond cutie was he who joined the Max Stoutenburg family

Now I have just about finished my memoirs. The rest you have been very much a part of.

I retired in Feb. of 66 took several trips here and there all of which you can well remember. Also the tornado that destroyed the house we had worked so hard to finish, my moving back to Swanburg after 20 years in Mpls. It was such a thrill. I lived in my mobile home up there another 10 yrs. and now I’m back in Mpls. Moving, moving, moving but if God is willing I hope there will be no more moves till I make the last one – Home –

There have been many joys, lots of happiness, also heart aches and sorrow. My one regret is that I always have had to face them alone. No one really to share it with. How your Grandfather would have loved all of you and enjoyed you had he lived to see you. But it was not to be.

At some later time I may add a line or two if not I leave you with this thot. God bless you, keep you always in His care That is for every one of my big family. Remember always that there is a corner for each one in my heart and I’ll be looking for each one of you in that eternal home. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. I love you, each and every one. When I get to the other side I’ll have Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Sisters Leola, Bernice, Grace, Emma, brother Glen, Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa Stoutenburg and many more even Jarad. What a joyuous gathering so please let not one of you regret my going to be with my Lord and Saviour Jesus.

To be continued....

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 26, 1982

Grandpa Stoutenburg dies...

Jan. 26, 1982

Here I am again. Ready to add a paragraph or two.

That house we moved into had been occupied by a couple of bachelors and the left it in a very dirty condition I scrubbed and cleaned like I had never done before but finally got it so we could live in it. The pump on that place didn’t work so we had to haul our water from the neighbors or from a creek that ran thru there it was about ¼ of a mile from the house. Edward and Leola were big enough and it was their job to take an 8 gal. cream can on the little wagon or a sled and fill it up with water at that creek then putt it up to the house for washing. They had to make several trips every wash day. Quite a job for 2 little ones age 10 and 6. Daddy hauled our drinking and cooking water from the neighbors place. One day when I had wash it was very icy we had had a sleet storm so the trees and bushes were coated with ice and it was very bad day but I had to wash so Edward and Leola were busy hauling the water. Dianne was supposed to stay by the house. I checked to see where she was and no Dianne. This was just 2 weeks after our little blonde boy named Max joined our family. So I had to leave him in the house and run out to find Dianne. There was such a noise from all the ice covered woods it sounded like a child crying. I was running and calling, but never got close. It wasn’t much fun. I was worried sick about her and also Max left in the house by himself. I was about ready to give up but I prayed to be led to her, then I heard talking and turned around to retrace my steps and saw Edward and Leola pulling the sled and there was my little runaway. She had found her way to the creek where they were. All was well. My hair must have turned a bit whiter that day. I did get the washing done and I had to hang it all up stairs because of the weather. The day that Max was born all the Drs. were out on other cases so we had no Dr. and my sister Grace who had delivered dozens of babies came and took care of us. I think I must have worried her because I got pretty sick and Daddy also got scared and when it was over he came and knelt by my bed and wept and thanked me for another son. Max was so blond, all the others had darker hair so I used to cover his head with the blanket so I wouldn’t see his white hair, with his read face it looked all the whiter. When he lost the redness it was O.K. He had blond curly hair and the longest dark eye lashes. A beautiful little boy he was. We let him have his blond curls until he was about eighteen months old then we dressed up in a little dress put a ribbon in his hair and took his picture. After that we cut his hair and he was a boy again. Some of the people thot it was a shame to cut his hair off.

Shortly after Max was born we moved again because the people who owned the house we were renting wanted it. This time we moved down on Grandpa Stoutenburgs farm. We built a little house down there close to their house. Edward and Leola were going to school in Pine River and had to walk a half mile up to the main road to catch the bus. June and Joyce were going too so that had company The last day of school before Christmas vacation June, Joyce and Edward came home but Leola wasn’t along. She had missed the bus and was left at the school. We were rather upset about that she was only six years old and no doubt a scared little girl. Well the bus driver called the school and had them get in touch with his wife who was in town and have her bring Leola out which she did but instead of bringing her down to our place she left her off up on the highway and she had to walk down by herself and by that time its was getting dark. I wasn’t too happy about that.

We got a dog that looked some like Sally and named her Tippy Tin she had puppies and one of them was all white with a black ear and no tail we named him Shag. He just grew up with Max and truly became his shadow. We had to get rid of Tippy Tin because she started running with other dogs that were chasing some neighbors sheep in fact they had killed one, so those dogs had to be done away with.

In July of 1939 Grandpa Stoutenburg died. We lost a much loved friend and the children all missed a loving Grandpa. He was so good to his grandchildren and they all loved him dearly. Life wasn’t quite the same. Daddy had to kind of run two households it wasn’t easy. Kendall was in a C.C.C camp so it was only Grandma June and Joyce. The summer passed and another winter arrived. Wood had to be furnished for the two houses and Grandpas house was big it took a lot of wood to keep it warm. So Daddy was kept busy working on the W.P.A. and keeping up with the other work too.

We had a different Pastor by this time. Pastor Mastid had come when Pastor Dehaan was called to a different church. And Pastor Mastid got Daddy to go to Adult confirmation class so ones a week they met and finally the date was set when Daddy was to be baptized and taken in as a member of Faith Lutheran. Just 2 weeks before that date on April 16, 1940 he was killed by a truck loaded with gravel that was standing still and just as Daddy walked by it and stepped back into the road behind it the driver backed the truck up and run over him. Of course that driver didn’t see him and it was entirely accidental. My only comfort was the fact that he had been taking confirmation lessons and Pastor Mastid told me he was saved. He had been going to church with me for a long time so I know we will meet again. But I was left along with my 4 children. To be continued.

To be continued...

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 24, 1982 Continued

This part of Aunt Eleanor's entry talks more about the Depression.

When Leola was 3 years 3 months old a little doll came to join our family and that was Dianne Bernice. She was such a good baby that Grandpa Stoutenburg used to say I abused her cause she never got any attention. Of course that wasn’t so, she got attention but she was a very contented baby who liked her thumb. Now in 1982 I have a great granddaughter who is very much like her. Thats Katie. Leola liked her sister and tried to hold her. One day I was in the kitchen and from the corner of my eye I saw Leola in the doorway going to the living room and thot that she was holding her doll instead she had Dianne. I quickly crossed the room and took her.

We had made another move too so Dianne was not born in the house that Leola was born in. My did we move around and each time we moved we had accumalated more things to move. This house that we lived in was about ¼ of a mile north of the highway. We had quite a big fenced in pasture so we kept the horses and the cattle there. Grandpa and Grandma moved from the farm they had lived on and build a home on land they had bought but didn’t have a barn for the cattle.

Mother used to take card of Dianne every time we went to a ball game so I could stand and yell my head off and razz the rival team. It sure was a help to me, not to have to sit in the car and hold Dianne. The fall after Dianne was born a man named John Dehaan came to Swanburg. He was a graduate of Northwestern Seminary and was up there to see if he could organize a Lutheran Church there. He went from house to house and got enough signatures to present to the Synod and went back to Mpls. and it was decided they would accept us into the Synod. We gave him a call and that was the beginning of Faith Lutheran Church in Swanburg. But before this all was settled we lost our dear Mother. On Nov. 1^st 1935 right after she had gone to bed she took her last breath. No struggle, just peacefully passed into eternity. It was such a shock to all of us. She had been so active always ready to give us a helping hand when we need it. Oh! How we miss her. Paster Dehaan came back and we had service in the School house. He and his wife lived in a cottage on Trout Lake and that first winter he would walk up to the school house Sunday mornings, build a fire and have it warmed up by the time the little congregation arrive. The collections were very small but he never said a word about that. The people used to have food showers for them and they managed.

The summer of 1936 was a dry summer and there was a great danger of fires. One Sunday when we were at that little school house for the Service a man came to the door asking for volunteers a fire had started up north and they needed every man that was able. Pastor Dehaan closed the service and joined the men who went. The ladies and children went home. Here I was with 3 little ones and I could see smoke rolling up just north of where we lived. The horses were in that fenced in pasture and the wind was blowing from the north. I was pretty worried and I didn’t know what to do. Pretty soon a truckfull of men came down from the north and yelled “get out we can’t do anything with that fire up there and you are right in its path.” I was plenty scared but I prayed for guidance and stayed put. The ashes from that fire was falling right in our yard but I knew that Daddy was up there with others too so I waited and prayed and soon Daddy came he said stay right here we are going to stop that fire don’t be scared. He got some more men went back up to the fire line. They fought that fire all nite, and for several days the women cooked coffee, made sandwitches and took it up to the men. It took several days before they got it under control. That was a close call I’d say.

We lived at that place until the fall of 1937 then we got rid of all the cattle except a couple of cows and Grandpa took those down to his place and we moved into a house on the highway. Daddy was working on the W.P.A. work force and we were getting monthly paychecks it wasn’t much but we survived. By this time we knew another one would join our little family. It was just shortly before we moved that Dianne who had always been so good decided to be a run away I had to watch constantly or off she would go. We had a little dog named Sally who would follow Dianne around. One day I went out to check on her and she was no where in sight I called & called but no Dianne then I whistled for Sally and pretty soon she came out of the woods on the east side of the road but no Dianne I watched and pretty soon she dashed back into the woods I ran after her but she disappeared so I had to whistle again and she came back we did this three or four times till I found Dianne she was about ¼ of a mile into that woods. We sure treasured that Sally dog but when we moved to that other place something happened to Sally she got sick and couldn’t eat and one day she was gone and we never saw her again. We thot that she must have found some poison and eaten it. To be continued.

To be continued...

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 24, 1982

Aunt Eleanor's entry of January 24th is much longer than the previous entries. This is the first part. I will post the second part another day.

Jan. 24, 1982, Sunday afternoon.

We are just getting shoveled out after 2 days of blizzard. Ron {bless his heart} got his car out of the garage after much shoveling, and he and Pati and Jo Jo Nicholas and Katie came and picked me up and we all went to Sunday School and church. Now I’m back home and ready to write some more. We were cozy in our little house, but the depression was steadily getting worse. I remember that Christmas in 1929 I too, Edward’s Teddy bear and made a little clown suit for it out of some green and white material I had and then we got a little German Shepherd puppy and that was Edward’s Christmas gifts from us. Someone else gave him some blocks. The puppy was a cute fuzzy little thing and Edward called it Kiki. I guess he tried to say Kitty. But Kiki it was and that little puppy grew to be a great big dog and I do mean big, also useful. More about him later.

That next winter Edward played with his blocks and he got so he knew the alphabet even started to know little words. I had time to spend with him and he was a good little student. The winter passed but not without a tragedy striking twice. Both sister Leola and sister Bernice died that winter Leola in Jan. and Bernice, in April. I missed them but learned that life must go on. Edward was so attached to Leola when he was with her. He called her Aunt Poli. That was in 1930-31 and Edward had another outfit made for his Teddy bear and a harness for Kiki. We would hitch Kiki to the sled and he would pull Edward all over the place, he would also pull 8 gallons of water from the pump to the house for me. That came in handy on wash days. This was the winter we traded our electric radio for $10.00 worth of feed for the cattle. That didn’t last long so little by little Grandpa Stoutenburg had to sell or give away his sheep and cattle herd as there was nothing to feed them. He had about 12 cows left and no sheep but we struggle on, always had enough to each, tho the wardrobes were getting pretty skimpy. In the summer of 31 we found out a new little someone would be joining our family and that gave us something to look forward to. Besides we needed more room so we got some lumber, I don’t know from whence it came but we built a bedroom unto our little house and we opened an account with Sears and bought a bed, dresser, and bedspread, a yellow one. Mother made curtains for the windows and gave us rugs for the floor and there we were all fixed up. I can’t remember what that Christmas was like, but things were getting better the crops improved so there was plenty of hay for the cattle and Grandpa had got a contract to cut pulpwood. He had two young men hired Oscar and Billy Puttin {not sure of that last name}. So the men in the family were busy and there was a little money coming in.

On the 10^th of March 1932 our expected some one turned out to be a golden haired little girl and we named her Leola Jean. Daddy called her his million dollar baby. Edward thot she was pretty special and so did the Mother. When she was 3 months old I started to make a dress for her out of some colored material. Up till that time babies were dressed in white. So this was supposed to be her first colored dress and it took me so long to finish it that when it was done Leola had out grown it. It ended up as a dolls dress. Things would have been pretty tough I’m afraid clothes wise if it hadn’t been for my sisters Grace and Em and my Mother. They were always there giving me a helping hand. In the summer after Leola was born Mother got arthritis in her hands it got so bad she couldn’t do any crocheting, sewing or even her work like washing and ironing. We had to help her. She never could lift or hold Leola. That lasted for about a year and then she was alright again. All this time there was something that was bothering me. I had been brought up knowing that parents were responsible for the Christian upbringing of their children. We believed in the baptizm of children and here I had Edward aged 5 years and Leola 1 years old who had never been baptized. It weighed on my conscience till I finally had to talk to Daddy about it tho I know he would not agree. He objected and I insisted till there was no harmony in the household, I went ahead and made arrangements to have it done at my sister Em’s house on a Sunday by a Methodist minister who was in Swanburg and was going to baptized the children of my cousin Mable Stevens’ family. Well Saturday came along and Daddy had not agreed, in fact he threatened to disrupt the whole service. I said “I can’t help it do whatever you want to, but Edward and Leola will be baptized. I can have no peace of mind until I have it done. Daddy was very angry and he left the house and went into the woods. This was in the morning and he never came back until evening. I kept on praying all day asking God to speak to his soul, to change his mind. When he came home he came and put his arms around me and said we will have them baptized and we both wept. The next day he went along and for the first time in his life he witnessed a baptizm. That was the start of a changed life, God worked in our hearts several more years. Prayer can change lives.

To be continued...

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 17, 1982 - An Aside

As I was rereading Aunt Eleanor's journal entry of Janaury 17,1982, I had an Aha! moment.

My mother told me about her mother's spinning wheel that was in Aunt Eleanor's possession. She implied that Aunt Eleanor would be giving the spinning wheel to one of her sister's granddaughters.

I assumed that my grandmother actually was in possession of the spinning wheel. After I read, Aunt Eleanor's journal, I learned that the spinning wheel belonged to her grandmother. My grandmother had asked her grandmother for the spinning wheel. Since my grandmother died so young, Aunt Eleanor came into its possession.

Between my marriage and birth of my daughter, Aunt Eleanor came to California to visit my mother who seemed to imply that Aunt Eleanor was going to decide which my grandmother's granddaughters would receive the spinning wheel. My mother invited me to come to her house to meet with Aunt Eleanor.

When I arrived at my mother's house, Mom was shocked at what I was wearing. She was convinced that Aunt Eleanor would not give me the spinning wheel. I was wearing expensive designer jeans, a silk blouse and heels. My mother focused on the jeans as she felt that her aunt would disapprove of a female wearing jeans or pants.

I don't believe that Aunt Eleanor said a thing about my jeans or even had a reproachful look when she saw me. In 1991, when I saw Aunt Eleanor at a family reunion, she was wearing pants.

As far as I can tell, pants had nothing to do with her decision. She did not give the spinning wheel to any of my grandmother's granddaughters but instead donated it to a museum. I never learned where the museum was but the spinning wheel served many more people than it would have if it had ended up in anyone's livingroom.

Although I am happy that the spinning wheel is in a museum where many can view it, I wish that I had a picture of it

Aunt Eleanor's Journal, January 17, 1982

My grandmother becomes a widow in this next entry. And as a reminder, the text within braces {} is information that I added for clarity.

Jan. 17, 1982

Again evening is here and I can’t think of anything interesting to do so I’ll go on with my tale. Can’t imagine any one getting a bang out of reading this, but perhaps a similar evening will come into some ones life when they are alone and wondering what to do to pass the time, then they can read this and maybe think “Oh! That’s what I can do. Write a story of my life: Then go a head and do it. Now to go on with this little story.

We were one happy family of three with sister Leola making it four. We stayed at this house till the 1^st of Nov. 1928. Ned {from now on I’ll call him Daddy} He was so proud to be a Daddy. He had to be on the road all the time from Mon. to Fri. Nite or Sat. sometimes, so week ends were really looked forward to. One week end he couldn’t make it so he called to let us know he had to go out to a place in western S. Dak. When he was away I never bothered with fixing potatoes so I was rather amused when I went into the kitchen and found Leola peeling potatoes. I said “what are you peeling potatoes for? Daddy wont be home till next week end. She said “I know but I’m not going to wait another week for potatoes. Guess potatoes are a desired food on most peoples menu. We had a phonegraph with a big horn we put on the floor beside Edward and turned on the music, he would lay there and listen to the music for a long time. Mother came to see us that summer and sewed some outfits for Edward and a dress for me. Leola started to take up beauty culture in the fall so I was alone with Edward during the day. I never mentioned this but Leola became a widow in 1926 and when she came to stay with us she left her family “Kendall June and Joyce” with Grandpa and Grandma Stoutenburg. She planned to get work as a Beauty Operator and then have the children with her but that was never to be.

We went down to Martell to see Grandma and Bernice that summer and Leola was along. She hadn’t been there since she was five yrs. old so it was quite a thrill for her. She noticed Grandma’s spinning wheel that was standing in a corner in one of the rooms upstairs and she went downstairs and asked Grandma if she could have that when Grandma was gone. I had many times wanted it too but never thot I could ask for it. Grandma’s face lit up and she smiled so sweetly and said “yes you can have it. But that too was never to be.

In Nov. we moved for the 6^th time back to the apt of 24^th and 1^st ave So. We bought a very nice Majestic radio and we spent a lot of time listening to that radio. It was presidential election that fall 1928 and Hoover ran against Al Smith. That was the first election we had ever had the chance to hear over a radio. Hoover won of course and took on the job of pulling a nation up out of a down slide into depression. Right after that Daddy was encouraged to go to Regina Sask. and take a job up there, so just before Christmas he left and I made a move to Swanburg no. 7. Leola stayed in Minneapolis so she could finish her course at the Beauty School. I with Edward stayed at Grandpa and grandma Stoutenburg. On March 16^th Edward and I (move #8) took the train and left for Regina. Daddy met us in Moosejaw and took us to our new place in Regina. We rented a furnished home there, and we had a boarder by the name of Spika Harris. Edward had his first birthday just eight days after we arrived. His Daddy picked up some gifts for him as I was too new to venture down town to shop and I thot his gifts were kind of strange for a little boy. He got a cupiedoll, a little black doll, a mouth organ and a rubber ball. I made a little birthday cake and he was happy. I spent the day dressing him up in different out fits and taking his pictures. It was a nice warm day and I had outside without any coat or sweater on for some of the pictures, It was while I was outside that the lady next door came out to hang something on the clothes line and she spoke to me. She had a little girl and a little boy who used to come over and play with Edward. We got to be good friends and used to have tea together in the afternoon. But at times I would get lonely for friends back home. I remember we had a couple of gloomy days and I wrote a letter to some one back home mentioning the gray cloudy day but I said “we don’t mind the dark cloudy day cause Edward is our sunshine. He was a little busy body and could get into his share of mischief. One Sunday as we were sitting out on the veranda we heard him inside, it sounded like he was swatting with a flyswatter but I thot I’d investigate and here he was on a chair up the kitchen cabinet and we had a bag of eggs there that we had just bought from a farmer who was selling them door to door. Well Edward had dropped them one by one on the floor and there was that puddle of eggs all 12 of them. I don’t like cleaning raw eggs off the floor very much. But seeing it was Edward who was to blame it wasn’t too bad. I don’t believe he was even paddled.

We lived in the house till May 31^st then we made move number 8 to another apt. Spike didn’t come with us. In the new place there was a fenced in yard where Edward could play, and there is where we got acquainted with Joe and Esther Hudon. We used to play cards and have each other for dinners and go to shows etc and that made life a little more worthwhile. Esther and I have corresponded and we have visited each other ever since.

While we were there Bernice came to see us in Sept. Grandma had passed away shortly after I arrived in Regina and Bernice was free to come and visit. We used to get letters from Grandma Stoutenburg telling us that Grandpa was not feeling well and things were not going well on the farm, they sure wished we would come back and help out on the farm. Daddy felt he should do that but he had promised to stay year with the Company he was working with so we couldn’t go till the first of the year. I was a little skeptical about this but finally in Oct. we decided I had better go back and Daddy would finish out the year up there. Thats what we did, and just before Christmas I rec’d a letter telling me to meet him (Daddy) in Brainerd on a certain day and to keep it secret. I got Aunt Em and Uncle Bill to take me to Brainerd and we met him and surpriced Grandpa and Grandma. They were sure two happy people, and Leola came up from Minneapolis too so we had quite a reunion. She had graduated from her Beauty School and was working in a Beauty Parlor. But the depression was being felt, money was scarce and living became harder every day. We cut timber for pulp wood but it didn’t pay much. We never were hungry but we sure didn’t have money for anything but food. We lived right with Grandpa and Grandma for that winter and part of next summer then we got a truck and went to Mpls to get our furniture and we fixed up a little house that was used for storing things in, and we moved into that. Seemed nice to get by ourselves again. We had our beautiful radio but no electricity to plug it into. To be continued.

To be continued...