BILL AND EFFIE ENGER—FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION TO THE WAR YEARS

The Good Life in Kindred, ND

Billy, Hope and Gale

In the previous blog, Bill and Effie Enger—aka My Parents—were happily settled in Kindred, North Dakota with their three children, William John (Billy), born in Bottineau, ND in 1921, Gale Edward, born March 3, 1925 and Hope Carol, born July 18, 1926, both in Kindred.

Bill was employed by the Adams Lumber Yard and joined the Sons of Norway Lodge.  Effie was involved in church and in taking care of the family.  That’s the way it was done back then for the most part—the men went to work and the women raised the kids.

The Enger family made many good friends in Kindred—Joe and Helga Owen, the Thompsons, Hansons, and Olsons, to name a few—and life was good.  Relatives lived close by also, including Bill’s great uncle Palmer Enger and his large family in Davenport.  Forever after my parents talked often and with fondness about the Kindred years. 

But the good times were not to last.  In 1929 the bottom fell out of the United States economy, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression was thrust upon the entire country.  Banks failed, people were forced to stand in soup lines, and stock brokers were jumping to their deaths.  Of course the lumber business was greatly impacted by this chain of events, as people without jobs and struggling to feed their families were not building houses, so as the Depression wore on Bill eventually found himself among the unemployed. 

 Bill on the Mahnomen Farm-circa 1935

Never one to give in to defeat, he and younger brother Art Enger decided to try their luck at farming and they both moved their families to neighboring acreages near Mahnomen, Minnesota, circa 1935.

I am not clear on how the acquisition of these farms came about or whether they were tenants (more questions I should have asked) but, contrary to the good stories I heard about life in Kindred, the stories about life in Mahnomen were far from good, especially as told by Effie—no electricity, no running water, bedbugs, the seven year itch (better known as scabies) and the bitterly cold winters were just a few of the hardships to be endured.  Hope and Gale walked to a country school a mile away, but Billy, who was entering high school, had to be boarded in town during the week in order to attend classes.

The bedbug story I heard many times:  When the Enger family moved into the old farmhouse they soon discovered that it had previously been invaded by little creatures that would appear after dark and inflict misery on the humans that were sharing their domain.  If a light was shined on the critters they would scurry away back to their hiding places, and in the daytime they stayed safely hidden.  The saying, “Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite” took on a whole new meaning!  Bill waged war by dragging all the iron bedsprings outside, pouring kerosene over them and lighting them on fire.  The bedbugs came out in droves; “there must have been a million of them,” according to the horror stories being told many years later.

Scabies, or the “Seven Year Itch” was another affliction imposed on the entire family, spread by a tiny mite that causes a skin rash and unbearable itching.  The remedy in those days was to rub a pungent-smelling salve over affected areas and then donning long underwear for an entire week without bathing. Whew!

It is no wonder that “life on the Mahnomen farm” didn’t last.  In 1937 Bill and Effie packed up their family and belongings and moved to Worthington, Minnesota where his mother Hannah, now a widow, and all of his siblings were then residing.  Sister Hazel was married to Herman Doeden, a farmer at Indian Lake near Worthington, brother Art had married a Worthington girl, Vera Nyberg, and brother Earl had been married to Evelyn Hawkinson of Shell Lake, Wisconsin whom he met while working with her brother on the railroad.

By 1937 the Enger siblings had added 13 children to the mix—Bill and Effie: Billy, Gale and Hope; Art and Vera: Vernon and Beverly; Earle and Evelyn: Deane, Shirley, Carol and Earle, Jr. (Bud); and Hazel and Herman Doeden: Gaylord, Donald, Lowell and Merle.  Vivian was just 21 and still at home with Hannah.

The Enger home on Smith Avenue, Worthington, MN

Bill returned to his former occupation when he was hired by Albinson Lumber Co. in Worthington and the following year Bill and Effie built a home in a nice little growing neighborhood called Smith Avenue.  .  Once again, with the unpleasant years of the Great Depression and the Mahnomen farming fiasco behind them, the family settled in to a new life on Smith Avenue

, Worthington, Minnesota.
.  Effie took to Worthington like a duck to water. She loved her home, she became involved in the Immanuel Evangelical Church where the rest of the relatives attended, and she enjoyed the family get-togethers with Grandma Hannah, Hazel and the rest.

Dianne Sonia Enger, six months, 1940

Little did they know, but Bill and Effie’s active life was about to be interrupted by an unplanned event!  In the spring of 1939, with three nearly grown children and the “empty nest” just a few years away, Effie sprang the news to Bill that a new addition to the family would be making an appearance around the first of January, 1940.  By that time big brother Billy would be turning 19, Gale 15, and Hope 13.

Effie and Bill didn’t tell anyone their big secret at first—it took a while to get over the surprise themselves.  But one day when Hope was looking for something she opened the drawers of a small dresser in the upstairs hall and it was full of baby clothes.  She couldn’t wait to tell Gale.

“I think Mom’s going to have a baby!” she told him. His response, “You’re crazy! “No, come and look,” as Hope showed him the tiny baby clothes in the dresser drawers.  “Well, if she is you’d better start helping her more!” Gale retorted, leaving himself out of the responsibilities that lay ahead.

But secretly Gale was excited about being a big brother again. Reportedly, he rode his bike up and down Smith Avenue telling everyone,  “My Mom’s having a baby! My Mom’s having a baby!”  I’m sure he would never admit that if you asked him today, but I have it on good authority from sister Hope!

I’m sure Effie must have been anxious about having another baby at her age—she would be turning 40 in August and Bill in November.  That was considered “old” to have a baby in that time.  Bill hired a woman to help with the housework, but according to my father’s account Effie cleaned the house thoroughly before the hired girl arrived so she wouldn’t be thought a bad housekeeper! 

One day late in November things started to happen and on November 27, 1939, Dianne Sonia Enger came into this world.  I heard the story many times:  Bill rushed Effie to the Worthington Hospital and she was having a hard time in labor.  At one point the doctor came out and told Bill, “The way things are going I may be able to save only one of them.  If it comes to that should I save the mother or the baby?”  Bill replied, “By God, you’d better save them both!”  And so he did.  Effie came through it OK, and after a short stint in the incubator the baby was OK too, weighing in at 5 pounds. Dad always said that when he first saw me I looked like a red, dried up prune covered with black hair.  Not an attractive picture, but I guess they loved me anyway.

I teased my Mom in later years that she did me a great disservice by having me early.  I was scheduled to be born in January 1940 and instead I came in November 1939.  Forever after I would have to say I was born in the “1930’s” instead of the “1940’s” making me seem a lot older!  My Mom would counter by saying, “Well, you paid me back by ruining my Thanksgiving dinner!”

.When I was just two years old another life-changing event happened, which affected not only the Enger family, but the entire nation.  On December 7, 1941 Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and World War II was upon us.  Adolf Hitler from Germany and Benito Mussolini from Italy had been raising havoc in Europe for some time but America had managed to stay out of it.  Now, with the bombing of American territory and the killing of American citizens our country was instantly at war.

Billy had graduated from Worthington High School in 1939 and left the nest to work for an auto parts company in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.  By 1941 he was just the right age to be called up for the draft.  His “Notice of Selection” was dated June 11, 1942, and stated:

“To William John Enger, Order No. 10,373.  You have been selected for training and service under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.  You will receive an Order to Report for Induction—such induction to take place on or about July 1, 1942, when adequate facilities are expected to be available. If you are employed you should advise your employer of this notice and of the possibility that you may not be accepted at the induction station. Your employer can then be prepared to replace you if you are accepted, or to continue your employment if you are rejected.  The Order to Report for Induction will specify a definite time and place for you to report.”

Billy on leave and Gale saying goodbye at the train station

Billy dutifully reported for induction, he was not rejected, and on July 1, 1942 he was in the United States Army where he remained on active duty until September of 1945, most of that time overseas.  Gale, who graduated from Worthington High School in May 1943, was inducted for the draft only one month later at age 18, and was also sent for overseas duty.

So Bill and Effie found themselves with their two sons fighting in a World War on foreign soil.  Letters came from faraway places: France, England, Sicily, Czechoslovakia, North Africa; and packages went out from the Enger household to these faraway places. Some reached their destination and some didn’t, but it was therapeutic just to send them;--to at least feel that they were doing something to help their beloved sons.  

Commodities such as sugar and flour were rationed, and each person in the family was issued “tokens” to use in trade for these commodities.  I still have one of the coupon books issued to me.

Effie saved every letter the boys sent home and years later Billy’s grandson, Ross Enger, transcribed his letters and the combat history of his 1^st Infantry Division.  This came about when Ross and his dad Tom Enger were watching the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” Tom mentioned to Ross, “Your Grandpa was in that war.”  Ross wanted to know what his grandfather did in the war, and Tom had to admit, he didn’t really know because his Dad had never talked about it.  Sadly, Billy had passed away from cancer in 1982 at age 61, long before Ross was born.

Ross was not satisfied with “I don’t know,” and set out to do his own research on his Grandpa Bill’s war record.  He did a fantastic job and I was so impressed by Ross’s efforts that I followed his lead by transcribing Gale’s letters home.  The soldiers were not allowed to say exactly where they were located so the letter headings read “Somewhere in Germany” or “Somewhere in France.”  All homeward bound letters were censored by the War Department and any information considered “sensitive” would be cut out with a razor blade, so some of the letters have holes in them.  Since the boys were forbidden to write about specific events or activities the letters were mostly about mundane happenings, but the underlying feelings of fear and homesickness are easily detected.  Each company or battalion had an “APO” address for families to send packages and letters to their service men but it often took weeks for the mail to reach the recipients who were constantly on the move.

During the war years, 1941-1946, nearly every person in America had a father, brother, husband, uncle, son or fiancé overseas and thousands of them never came home.  Gale was inducted at the same time as his two best friends, Dick Stowe and Bob Schaefer; and of the three Gale was the only one to return. The other two are still listed as “Missing in Action.”   Aunt Vivian was married to Clarence Erbes in 1942 and she went to Washington DC with him to work until he went overseas.  Clarence’s brother Leland Erbes had been killed in the initial Pearl Harbor attack.  Hope, responding to the nation-wide plea to "write to our servicemen overseas," started corresponding with Clarence's cousin Durward Reyman from Valley Center, Kansas.  The romance blossomed and eventually "Swede" Reyman became her husband of 64 years.  Aunt Hazel’s son Gaylord Doeden, Uncle Art’s son Vernon Enger, Uncle Earle Enger and his son Deane were all involved in the war and by some miracle they all came back alive.

Two Enger boys in World War II

I have the small flag with two blue stars that my parents kept hanging in the window of our house to show that two sons from that household were in the war.  Fortunately they never had to paste a gold star over the blue to depict a son killed in action—the origin of the term “Gold Star Mother.”

I have very little memory of the war years due to my young age but I do remember the day the war was over.  When the announcement of surrender by the enemy and victory for America and its allies came over the radio, everyone on  Smith Avenue ran out to their cars and started honking the horns and shouting over and over with tears running down their cheeks, “The war is over, the war is over, our boys are coming home!!”

That’s all for now.  The post-war boom years are coming soon!

The Continuing Saga of Bill and Effie Enger, aka--My Parents

               When I left off with William D. Enger and Effie J. Mestad in the previous blog they had met, dated and eloped to Minot, North Dakota to get married on March 29, 1920.  After that they lived a happy and romantic life for the next 56 years, right?  Well, not exactly.  If that were the case there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell.  They were married for 56 years all right but, as with most people, there were many tragedies and triumphs in between.

Bill, who had been working with his father on Rice Lake Ranch in Ryder, ND branched out on his own in the fall of 1920 and took a job with a lumber yard in Bottineau, ND near the Canadian border.  By this time Effie was already blossoming out in pregnancy with their first child who turned out to be William John Enger, born January 16, 1921, in Bottineau.  My ever-joking father always said, much to my modest mother’s chagrin, that Billy waited just long enough, as he came along a respectable nine months and two weeks after the marriage!

At the time Bill and Effie were living in an upstairs apartment in a Bottineau boarding house.  As the story goes, the day Billy was born was one of the coldest days of that cold winter and since they didn’t have a car Bill froze his ears walking Effie the six blocks to the hospital. 

In later years when I saw a copy of Billy’s birth certificate I was surprised to see that the baby’s name was Everett William Enger.  My Mom told me the story:  She and Bill had a little trouble deciding on a name, since they wanted him to be named after his father but they didn’t want him to be stuck with “Junior.”  Bill was at work the day the hospital nurse came in and said they had to pick a name that day in order to register the birth, so Effie wrote down the name “Everett William.”  When Bill arrived that evening he was not at all happy about Everett, so instead they changed it to “William John” after Effie’s father John Mestad.  However, Everett William was the name that was registered with the State of North Dakota.  This turned out to be a problem for brother Billy later in life when it came to applying for a Social Security card and enlisting in the Army. When I asked Mom why my father didn’t like the name Everett she said, “I guess because he knew I had a boyfriend in Kenmare named Everett before I met him.”  The green-eyed monster strikes again!

Bill and Effie were quite homesick in Bottineau as they didn’t know many people and there was no family close by.  The next year the lumber company where Bill worked wanted to transfer him to Cole Harbor, ND which was even farther away and more remote than Bottineau, so they decided to bag the north country and go back home.  By this time Bills parents, Ed and Hannah Enger, had moved to Valley Spring, SD east of Sioux Falls, and Ed told Bill that he could come there and work on the railroad with him until he found another job.  That summer Bill and Effie packed up their baby and their few belongings, headed south, and moved in with Ed and Hannah Enger in Valley Springs.

 

Second baby Robert Edward Enger--Bobby--died in his third day of  life

By the fall of 1921 Effie was pregnant with their second child which was to be born in July of 1922.  In June Ed and Bill were away  working in a nearby town, and when they boarded the train to come home for the weekend Bill noticed that a crewman was loading a tiny casket on one of the boxcars. Bill thought to himself, “Some poor family must have lost their baby.”  When he arrived back in Valley Springs he was met with the sad news that the baby was his;--Robert Edward Enger had been born one month early on June 26, had lived only three days, and had died on June 28 despite the valiant efforts of Effie and Grandma Hannah to keep him alive.  My mother told me that the baby was perfect and beautiful, but he was too weak to eat.  He wouldn’t suck at all and Grandma tried heating milk and feeding him from an eyedropper, but to no avail. 

My aunt Vivian was just a little girl at the time, and she remembered that for the rest of the time that Bill and Effie lived with them Effie would put Billy in th baby buggy every day and walk to the little cemetery on the hill where her baby boy was buried.  She never forgot him, and until the day she died a picture of “Bobby” in his casket was displayed on her bedroom dresser.  Even in the 1960’s when Effie got her mother’s ring there was a stone for Bobby right along with rest of us.  My kids learned about their aunt and uncles by counting the stones in Grandma’s ring: “Billy, Bobby that died, Gale, Hope and Dianne.”  He was then and always will be a part of our family.

            I remember visiting the Valley Springs cemetery several times with my parents when I was a little girl, and although my parents hadn’t been able to afford a stone marker at the time of the burial, my father had built a wooden frame with a glass in it to put over the grave with a little metal plaque inscribed, “Our Darling.”      When I stopped at the cemetery in the early 1990’s the grave site was nowhere to be found.  Obviously the wooden structure had deteriorated over the years and was removed.  My parents apparently salvaged the metal plaque at some time as it was found with my Mom’s keepsakes after her death.  I now have the plaque and the photograph of Bobby that sat on her dresser all those years. 

Entrance to Pleasant View cemetery, Valley Springs, SD 2009

I was able to locate a death record for the baby in the South Dakota state archives, but the burial records and location of the grave have been lost to time and the elements.  I still stop at that peaceful little cemetery whenever I go by Valley Springs while traveling I-90 between Sioux Falls, SD and Worthington, MN.

            Epilogue:  After the death of their baby Bill and Effie decided to leave Valley Springs, and Bill received a job offer as office manager for the Adams Lumber Company in Kindred, ND.  There they built their first home and as my Mom always said, they had some of the happiest years of their married life in Kindred.  Their third son, Gale Edward, was born there on March 3, 1925, followed by their first daughter, Hope Carol, on July 18, 1926.

The Enger kids, Gale, Billy and Hope, in  Kindred, ND circa 1930

            In 1991, sixty-plus years later,  my sister Hope and I attended an Enger family reunion in Kindred.  We went to the old house where she and brother Gale were born and the current owners welcomed us in.  The house looked the same on the outside as the pictures I had seen, it had been remodeled inside and was in new condition.  We were happy to see that our parents’ first home was still receiving tender, loving care after all those years.

The Enger home in Kindred, circa 1930

            That’s all for now!  Stay tuned for the continuing story of Bill and Effie’s life journey.  After all I can’t stop now, as there is still one more child to be born.  That happens to be ME!

William D. Enger and Effie J. Mestad, AKA, Opposites Really Do Attract!

            Effie Mestad, age 3            "Little Willie Cigars" photo, age 2

                  William D. Enger was born November 19, 1899 in Hanley Falls, Minnesota to Edward Ellingsen Enger and Hannah Larson, both children of Norwegian immigrants.  Bill Enger, or Little Willie as he was fondly known, grew up in Hanley Falls surrounded by a large extended clan of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  Ed was the town Marshall, Deputy Sheriff, and Fire Chief at various times, and belonged to several fraternal organizations such as Odd Fellows and Masons.

Before long younger brothers and sisters joined the family, too;--Earle 1904; Hazel 1907; and Stanley 1911, were all born in Hanley Falls.  Arthur, 1902, was born in Lengby, Minnesota because Hannah and Ed went there to stay with her parents, Martin and Mattie Larson, for a time while Little Willie recovered from a nearly fatal case of measles and pneumonia. The doctor in Hanley had recommended to Ed and Hannah that they take their sick baby to the woods to recuperate, and so they did—and he did—after which they came back to Hanley Falls.

In 1912 when Bill was 12 years old Ed was hired by the M & St. L Railroad as a water expert, and in order to be closer to his work he moved the family to Winthrop, Minnesota for two years, then to a small farm in Wisconsin for three years, on to Minneapolis where their last child Vivian was born in 1916, and then to Hopkins, Minnesota for a year. During World War I there was a real shortage of men to work on the railroads, and Ed was asked to go to North Dakota to take over the supervision of railroad bridge building and water stations in the Missouri River Division near Washburn.

 

Bill and Effie Enger met in 1919 on the North Dakota prairie

Bill, who was the only one old enough for army duty, was rejected due to “flat feet” so he was working on the railroad with his Dad. (Note: He could outwalk anyone with those flat feet, even up in his 70's). In 1919 Ed had saved some money and decided to buy Rice Lake Ranch north of Ryder, North Dakota, which was for sale with its stock.  The ranch came with 1200 owned acres, 2500 leased acres, 200 cows and 50 horses.  Bill moved to the ranch with the rest of the family, and thus fate once again intervened to change the course of history!



Vivian, Effie, Bill and Art at Rice Lake Ranch, 1920

 

It so happened that a new young schoolteacher came to the nearby one-room schoolhouse in 1919 for a teaching job.  She was Effie Jeaneatta Mestad from Kenmare, North Dakota who had graduated from Kenmare High School in 1917 and then attended the Minot Normal School to become a teacher.

Effie, born August 1, 1899 in Wallingford, Iowa,  was the youngest daughter of John Mestad of Kenmare, son of Norwegian immigrants from Voss, and the late Caroline Jacobson, the daughter of Danish immigrants from Aalborg.  John and Caroline Mestad were married in Iowa and homesteaded to North Dakota in 1900 with their four daughters.  Caroline died on the homestead in 1902 leaving John to raise the four girls. He moved to Kenmare and in 1906 was remarried to Olga Estabrook. After the four daughters left home John and Olga moved to Minot and ran a small grocery store.

Bill Enger’s younger siblings, Hazel and Stanley, were students at the Ryder School and Effie became their teacher.  Bill was a young man of 19 by then and he was curious about the new gal in town.  He \asked his father Ed what the new school teacher was like, and Ed, in his usual teasing manner, said “Oh, she is just an ugly old hag and you wouldn’t like her.”  Bill took him seriously and didn’t bother to go near the schoolhouse.

Effie, in the meantime, was rooming with the Dopp family on a farm neighboring Rice Lake Ranch.  On the 1920 census for Ward County, Rice Lake, North Dakota, taken on January 24, 1920, we find Edward Enger, 46; farmer; Hannah, 40, wife; William 20; Arthur 17; Earle 16; Hazel 12; Stanley 8; and Vivian, 3 ½.  The very next entry is Ira Dopp, farmer, 34; wife Bell, 35; daughter Dortha, age 13; and Effie Mestad, boarder, teacher in public school.”

One day Effie decided to go on a visit to Rice Lake Ranch to meet the parents of her students and she came  riding up the Enger’s driveway on a horse.  Effie was indeed a beautiful young woman and she immediately caught Bill’s eye. “Who is that!” Bill asked. “Oh,” said his amused father, “that’s the ugly old schoolteacher I was telling you about.”  Bill was quite upset with his father for fooling him like that, and now he definitely wanted to meet that schoolteacher.  He had wasted too much time already!

Bill worked up the courage to ask Effie for a date.  She said yes, and to impress her Bill borrowed a team of horses and a buggy from a friend.  He proudly drove over to the Dopp residence and helped Effie into the buggy.  To show off a bit he cracked the whip, startling the horses so they took off and separated themselves  from the buggy, leaving it behind in the dust.  Bill was still holding tight to the reins and the horses dragged him for a ways before he got them stopped.  When he came back to where he had so abruptly left Effie, the buggy was upside down and she was under it.  What a way to impress a first date! 

Luckily neither of them was hurt, except for Bill’s pride of course.  Years later when they were telling me this story I said, “Wow Mom, and you went out with him again after that?” She smiled coyly and said, “Well, we were about the only two young people out there of dating age. We didn’t have a lot of choices!”

In March of 1920 a North Dakota blizzard of epic proportions visited the Ryder prairie.  Effie and her students were already in the schoolhouse when it hit and it soon became obvious that this was going to be a big one.  Effie made up her mind that she and all of her students were going to stay in the schoolhouse until it was over, as some of them lived quite a long ways from the school.  A few of  the older boys said they thought they could make it to their homes but little Miss Effie Mestad, who was smaller than most of them, put her foot down and said, “NO!”  No one was going to leave that schoolhouse until the storm was over or until someone came to rescue them.  She went so far as to follow them outside if they had to relieve themselves to make sure they came back inside.

If you know anything about North Dakota blizzards of those days, the fierce winds and blowing snow made it impossible see your hand in front of your face.  All the farms had ropes tied between the house and the barn in the winter so they could make their way back and forth to care for their animals. 

Bill and Effie were seriously dating by that time, and in fact were secretly engaged!  Bill knew Effie was at the schoolhouse, and the harder the blizzard raged the more worried he became.  He went to the barn, hitched the horses to the sleigh, and started them in what he thought was the direction of the school but the horses were too smart and just went in circles right back to the barn so Bill had to give up.  Others also tried to get to the school and were turned back.

Meanwhile Effie and the students—all of them—were perfectly fine.  They used their coats for beds, kept the heating stove going, and ate the meager leftovers from the lunches they had brought to school that day.  When rescuers were finally able to make it to the schoolhouse the next day by following the fenceposts they found everyone hungry but safe. Later it was discovered that some students from neighboring schools had tried to make it home during the storm and had been found frozen to death.  Effie was touted as a heroine for keeping her children safe.

Effie wrote to her father in Kenmare telling him of her experience and John Mestad was so proud of his daughter that he published the letter in the Kenmare newspaper.  My Mom had often told me this story but she no longer had a copy of the article.  In 1992 I visited Kenmare and decided to try and find the article in the newspaper but I didn’t know exactly where to look.  I knew it had to be in the winter of 1919 or 1920 but I looked through all of those issues up to April and didn’t find it.  I was just about to give up when I came to the issue dated April 8, 1920, and there it was.  It had been a very late blizzard!

The Kenmare News, Oldest Paper in Ward County, April 8, 1920:  Ryder, N. Dak., Mar. 21, 1920: 

“Dear Papa—I suppose you are wondering how we got over the blizzard;  that is if it was as bad there as it was here.  In the school south of Ryder there were four little boys started home from school in an open sleigh and the horses got down in a slough and couldn’t get up again.  The two oldest boys worked with them a long time but no use.  They were 14, 12, 10 and 9 years of age. The 12-year-old boy was all tired out so sank in the snow and went to sleep.  The 14-year-old boy got almost within calling distance of the house but could go no farther, so sank there.  The other two were in the sled and the 10-year-old boy covered the other one with a blanket and laid over him to try and keep him alive, but as you know the snow was wet and then it would freeze, so being all wet it was impossible to keep alive.  The father had started out about four o’clock to meet the children if they should be coming from school, but it was impossible for him to face the wind so he went back in the house, saying that the teacher would surely keep the children at the school house as she had board and lodging there for herself.  That night the father and mother felt so gloomy, but the father kept telling the mother that he knew they staid (sp) at the school house and that God would surely take care of their little ones.  In the morning it was just as bad so the father started out to the school house with something to eat for the children.  When he had gone a little ways he saw an overshoe sticking up in the snow, and he commenced kicking at it and found it was solid, so he kicked a little more and saw a leg and then he knew.  He didn’t seem to realize so he carried this boy to the house thinking he had started out walking but the others were still at the schoolhouse.  There was a little life left in the boy but he died before he reached the house.  The father went on and then when he saw the sled he realized what had happened.  The horses were standing with their backs to the wind still alive.  The one little boy in the sled lived a little while after he got home, but he died soon.  They had a funeral Saturday in Ryder.  Think of a poor father having to buy four little coffins.  They have one 16-year-old boy left now.  It seems a pity but I suppose it is all for the best.

There was a bachelor south of here found leaning against a barb wire fence frozen also.  In Max the man driving the school wagon started out with the kids but his horses got down and couldn’t go any farther.  He went out and unhitched the horses and let them go.  Then he crawled into the covered wagon and stayed in there all night with the children and kept the fire.  He was pretty wise.  I hear in several other places there were school children frozen.  I heard there were seven frozen around Berthold.

Now, I will tell you about my school.  At recess Monday afternoon I warned the kids that not one of them should leave the room.  The little girls and little boys didn’t get a smell outside unless I went along and then didn’t go only outside the door.  The big boys didn’t get out either unless it was absolutely necessary.  After school it was no better so I said not one of them were to stir outside unless someone came after them.  The Peterson boy, 16 years old, had a sled and horses there and his brother 14 and 5 little sisters.  He said he thought he could get home all right, but nothing doing!

Believe me, I watched that door like a cat and every five minutes I counted the kids to see if they were all there.  The time dragged on and we had no supper and were getting hungry, as we only had a cold lunch for dinner.  But it got no better outside so about ten o’clock we made beds for the little girls and boys on the desks with coats.  The boys laid on the floor around the stove curled up like dogs.  It seemed like there were kids all over.  I sat up all night and kept a good fire as the kids were laying around with nothing over them.  I locked the door, too, and there we were.  The water leaked in the ceiling so one side of the room was all wet.  Luckily we had two lamps with chimneys and kerosene.  I kept one lamp burning low all night, waiting for it to get better and for somebody to come.  I believe it was the longest night I ever spent.  I made the kids shut up and try to sleep a lot.

Morning finally came and it was comical to see the different positions and sleepy heads.  Late Tuesday morning a couple of men got to the schoolhouse, and believe me we were hungry!  They brought us something to eat but it didn’t last long.  We didn’t have any school the rest of the week because I was too tired and then it was all wet in there.  It was quite a nervous strain, too, you know.  I guess it was hard for the parents, too, as they did not know but what I was some little greenhorn that didn’t know anything.  You have always told us about those blizzards so I guess that’s why I was so careful.

It is real nice and springified today. Write and tell me how Kenmare cam out in the blizzard.

Lovingly, Effie

P. S. One teacher in Max had to stand by the door and lock it and hit the big kids over the head with a ruler to keep them.”

            I was so thrilled to find the article, but that wasn’t the end of  my bonanza.  I hit the jackpot again when I looked through the rest of the paper of April 8, 1920.  There on the social page was the following announcement:

Bill and Effie Enger circa 1921

“Miss Effie Mestad surprised her Kenmare friends the latter part of last week when she arrived from Ryder to spend the Easter vacation with her father, J. H. Mestad, and gave out the news that she was married.  The ceremony occurred in Minot on March 29^th.  She was united in marriage to William Enger of Ryder.  The groom is a well-to-do young man and is associated with his father in conducting the Rice Lake Stock Ranch near Ryder.  The bride is a fine young lady and was reared in this city; a graduate of Kenmare High School and is teaching her third term of school in the Ryder district.  The many friends of the bride in this vicinity join extending congratulations.  She is at present visiting her sister, Miss Mayme, at Portal but expects to return to Ryder about the middle of the month to finish her school term, after which they will take up their home on the groom’s farm.  The ceremony was performed by Rev. Lund, pastor of  the Lutheran Church.”

It turns out that after the “big blizzard” of 1920 my parents decided to elope to Minot and get married, then go back to their homes and not tell anyone until school was over.  The main reason was that in those days school teachers were supposed to remain single.  Somehow the word got out but the school board thought enough of Effie to allow her to finish her school term.

(Note:  The part about my father being a “well-to-do young man” was a bit of a stretch, but I am sure that it was written by Effie’s  sister Cora who aspired to be a writer and an actress and was always slightly over-dramatic!)

Effie and Bill were married just short of 56 years when my Mom died on February 26, 1976.   They were the parents of five children who brought forth sixteen grandchildren who now are bringing forth the greats and the  great-greats.  That’s all for now.  Stay tuned for the rest of the “Bill and Effie” saga in a future blog!



TWO GREAT MEN WHO TOUCHED THE LIVES OF THE ENGER PIONEERS

I love old obituaries! Yes, I know, I’m weird—but my friend and relatives have known that for a long time.  The old obituaries told all about the lives and times of the deceased, usually in very flowery language, and they are a real boon to genealogists.  Recently I have run across the “last words” written about two men who were influential in the lives of the early immigrants.

Both of these obituaries were with the belongings of my father who passed away in 1982, and have survived the rigors of time and many moves just a little worse for the wear.  These men were contemporaries of one another, although probably never met as they worked in different communities and moved in different circles, but each left their mark in the memories of the people they served.

Both of these obituaries give a clear picture of life on the frontier, some of the hardships endured by the pioneers, and the remarkable people who helped them through.

The first obituary is of Rev. Styrk Reque, an immigrant from Voss, Norway, who served the church at Spring Grove, Minnesota for many years and would have confirmed, baptized and buried members of the Peder and Elling Enger families.

Rev. St. S. Reque

Spring Grove, Houston Co., Minnesota

September 1, 1910

Our Beloved Pastor Has Gone to His Reward

Rev. Styrk Sjursen Reque was born at Voss, Norway, Nov. 27, 1836.  In 1845 he came with his parents to Koshkonong, Wisconsin.  He attended the Madison High School three years and the University of Wisconsin.  In 1861 he went to St. Louis where he studied at Concordia college one year and at Concordia Theological Seminary three years.

In 1861 he was called to take charge of Roche a Cree, Lemonweir and Newport congregations in Wisconsin.  There he worked until 1871 when he accepted a call from Spring Grove, Wilmington and Black Hammer congregations, Houston County, Minn.  

He was installed in Wilmington, Sept. 27, 1871, and in Spring Grove and Black Hammer Sept. 28.  In 1876 Rev. Reier Larsen became his assistant, and in 1880 Rev. E.P. Jenson was called as assistant.  In 1894 the parish was divided and Rev. Reque from now on served Spring Grove and Wilmington.  Rev. H. J. Wein was called as assistant pastor by Spring Grove and Wilmington in Oct. 1902, and took charge of his work Feb. 1903.  In Dec. 1908 the parish was once more divided. Wilmington and Caledonia formed a new parish and called Rev. Wein. Rev. Reque continued to serve Spring Grove until his death, Aug. 21, 1910.

In 1865 he was married to Cecillia Anderson, from Koshkonong, Wis.  They had the following nine children:  Syver, dentist, Westby, Wis.; Peter, doctor, Brooklyn, NY; Willhelm, dentist, Prairie Farm, Wis.; Gerhard, electrical engineer; Otto, mail clerk, DeForest, Wis.; Walter, railroad station agent, Grand Haven, ND; Mrs. Anna Katherine Muller, Iola, Wis; Mrs. Sara Louise Ceceilia Omlie, Glenwood, Minn.; and Lars, druggist, Mylo, ND.

            After about three weeks sickness, Rev. Reque died in the faith of “Christ Jesus who came into the world to save sinners.” His long service in the Lord’s vineyard is now ended.  His influence for good has been great, and long will he be missed and remembered by the thousands he came in contact with.

            One of the largest, if not the largest, gathering of people in Spring Grove was present, from far and near, to pay the last respect and love to him who had faithfully labored among them.

            Rev. Kristian Magelssen spoke at the house. After singing the hymn 455, Prof. Dr. H. G. Stub spoke in the church, using for his text Revelations 14, 15. Then followed hymn 456, 1, 2.  Rev. O. P. Vangness spoke to the congregation using as his text Philippians 4, 9.  The church choir then sang a touching funeral hymn.

            Rev. K. Seehus spoke in English.  His text was the first verse of Psalm 73.  After the singing of the Doxology, Prof. C. K. Preus spoke in behalf of Luther College, Rev. P. Koren, (next few words obliterated) V. Koren, Rev. H. Halvorson spoke on behalf of La Crosse Special Conference and for four of Rev. Reque’s first confirmants from Wisconsin.  Rev. G. Magelssen spoke for Church Extension.  Rev. Kasberg and Wein spoke on behalf of their congregations.  The services in the church closed with singing hymn 375, 5-7.  At the grave Rev. H. J. Wein officiated.

            The pallbearers were members of Spring Grove congregation, eight of the ministers and his sons.  Among the ministers present were also M. Bleken, Thomas Nilson and Rev. Pankow. To mention the names of all who came from a distance to be present at the funeral is impossible.  We noticed Dr. and Mrs. Stabo and Prof. Svanoe from Decorah, Iowa, Dr. Gunderson, of La Cross, Wis.
            The remains lay in state from 11 A. M. until 1 P. M. in the church.  The floral tributes were many and beautiful.

            In Spring Grove there was sorrow, it was a solemn occasion when so many gathered in their house of worship to see him for the last time who now lay lifeless before them.  But in heaven he rejoiced and will through eternity rejoice, for blessed are the dead which died in the Lord.

It Must Be The Dane in Me!

Mother Carn Jacobson and children, from oldest to youngest:

Pete, Chris, Camilla, Caroline, James, Lewis and John

           
     Until now all of my blogs have been about my Norwegian ancestors so the readers may think that my heritage is 100 percent Norske.  Actually, I can claim 3/4 Norwegian, and 1/4 Dane, thanks to my maternal grandfather John Hanson Mestad, a Norwegian who married a Danish girl.

     When I was a child and I was acting up or displaying extreme stubbornness my father would often say, "It must be the Dane in you!"  I wasn't sure what that meant at the time except it probably wasn't good, but later I found out he was just trying to tease my Mom about her Danish roots. 

    Her mother, Caroline Jacobson, had immigrated to America from Denmark with her parents at the age of 10.  She was the daughter of Andres (Andrew) Jacobsen and Karn Christine (Carn) Andersdatter who emigrated from the Aalborg area of Denmark  and established a farm near Graettinger, Iowa in Walnut Township, Palo Alto County.  Andrew came in 1882 and  the following year his wife Carn and seven children joined him in Iowa.

           Father Andrew and Mother Carn in Denmark 

Possibly confirmation photos 

      Andrew Jacobson was 41 years old when he arrived in New York on March 28, 1882 on the ship Geiser which departed from Copenhagen. The next year his wife and family set sail on the SS Heimdal from Copenhagen and debarked in New York on May 4, 1883.  Carn was born June 27, 1840 in Dronninglund, Denmark. She married Andrew Jacobsen in 1867.  He was born February 24, 1841, the son of Jacob Anderson and Karen Marie Andersdatter of Sebbersund, Denmark

     The years between the marriage of Andrew and Carn, the voyage to America and their reasons for emigrating from their homeland are lost in history as no other records have been found to date, but the fact is that the Jacobson's made their home in Iowa and stayed there the rest of their lives. Carn died in 1916 of cancer and Andrew in 1921 of kidney disease.  They are buried at St. Paul's Lutheran cemetery in the country about two miles out of Graettinger.

     The Jacobsen children, all born in Denmark, were Jacob Peter (Pete) 1868, Andrew Christian (Chris) 1870, Camilla 1872, Caroline 1873, Jens (James) 1874, Lars (Louis) 1878, and Johanne (John) 1879. They were listed on the Danish census  in Vodskov, Aalborg, Denmark on April 14, 1883 just before leaving for America, with destination listed as Emmetsburg, Iowa the county seat of Palo Alto, County.

Andrew Jacobson house in Graettinger, Iowa

     As fate would have it the Jacobson farm in Graettinger was just a few miles from Wallingford in Emmet County, Iowa where the Hanson family had settled.  Hans Hanson and Britha Knudsdatter had both emigrated  from Evanger, Voss, Norway in the 1850's and had married at Spring Prairie Church in Columbia County, Wisconsin in 1862. At the time Britha had a son Christopher, born in 1859 in Wisconsin,  and in 1863 they had a son Knute born  in Wisconsin. In 1865 my grandfather, John Hanson was born in Estherville, Emmet County, Iowa.

    Tragedy ensued when the Hanson boys, Knute and John, were swimming one day in the Des Moines River with their older brother Chris.  The current was swift and the two younger ones both had trouble keeping afloat. Chris only had time to save one of them which turned out to be John, and Knute was drowned.  Another ironic twist of fate;--if Knute had been saved and my grandfather had drowned, I would not be here to tell the story!

     I don't know the exact time this happened as I haven't found a death certificate for Knute, but the 1870 census shows the Hanson family in Peterson Township, Emmet County, as Hans Hanson 60, farmer; Betsy Hanson, 44, keeping house; Christopher Hanson 11; Knute Hanson 6; John Hanson, 5.  In the 1880 census they are living in High Lake Township and the family consists of Hans 70, Betsty 55, Christopher 21, and John 15.

Hans and Britha Hanson, circa 1885

  The only death record I have found for Hans Hanson was published in the Emmet County Republican, dated September 5, 1889: "Hans Hanson died at his home in High Lake, Tuesday morning, August 27, after a long and lingering illness.  Funeral services were held Wednesday, August 28, from the church, Rev. Engh officiating."   And in the Northern Vindicator of Emmet County, dated August 30, 1889:  "Hans Hanson, residing in High Lake Township, died Tuesday morning. Mr. Hanson has been infirm for several years and his taking off was not a surprise."   He would have been 78 years old.

    I have found no death record for his wife Britha either. One problem in finding her is the name. At different times she was known as Britha, Brite, Betsy, and Bertha.  In the 1895 State of Iowa census she was living as Bertha Hanson, 71,  with her son Christopher and family in Estherville First Ward. 

     My grandfather John Hanson took Mestad as his last name when he was an adult. As my Mom explained it, her father thought there were just too many John Hanson's!  He was an entrepreneur of sorts in Emmet County judging by newspaper articles I have found.

•  Northern Vindicator, 10/4/1889: "Henry Hanson and John Mestad are the new boys who have purchased the Squier Restaurant.  They are good boys and worthy successors to the old firm."
• 11/1/1889:  "Mssr's. Hanson and Mestad have a new baker, a Mr. W. Nunn of Eagle Grove."
• 4/18/1890:  "Hanson and Mestad are having their store repainted and kalsomined and a general cleaning up."
• Emmet County Republican ad, 5/15/1890:  "HANSON AND MESTAD CITY RESTAURANT, A First Class Bakery.  Fresh vegetables, fruits, confections, canned goods, etc."
• Vindicator, 10/3/1890:  "Hanson and Mestad have sold out their restaurant to A. A. Lein and Aaron Peterson who will continue the business at the old stand."
• Republican, 12/25/1890:  "A merry Christmas to all.  Holiday trade is lively at this place.  J. H. Mestad is working behind the counter at H. N. Osher's Store, John is a good salesman!"

    

Wedding photo, April 10, 1891, John and Carrie Mestad, right, and Pete and Caroline Jacobson, left.

The next year romance entered the picture, as John H. Mestad, 27, born Iowa, son of Hans Hanson and Brithe Knudsen; and Caroline Jacobson, 19, born Denmark, daughter of Andrew Jacobson and Christina Anderson,  were married on April 10, 1891 in Graettinger, Iowa.  Also married at the same time were Caroline's sister Camilla Jacobson, 20, born Denmark, to August O. Berg, 28, born Norway; and brother J. P. (Pete) Jacobson, 28, born Denmark, to Caroline Thomsen, 20, born Denmark.

     My Mom always told me that her Danish grandparents were not pleased that both of their daughters chose to marry Norwegians.  One must remember that back then the various ethnic groups of immigrants usually stayed with their own kind and their children were encouraged to do the same.  The pioneer Scandinavian churches were  Norwegian Lutheran, Danish Lutheran or Swedish Lutheran, each had their own pastors from the old country, and they wanted their children to remain "pure."

    But there is no accounting for love, and marry they did, John Mestad and Caroline Jacobson.  For the first ten years of their marriage they were content to stay in Iowa and started building their family. Four daughters were born to the Mestads, Alma Henrietta, 12 July, 1893; Cora Beatta, 17 March, 1895; Mayme Lucretia, 03 February, 1897; and lastly, Effie Jeanetta, my Mom, 01 August, 1899.  John Mestad continued making the news during those years:

• Republican,11/1/1894:  "John Mestad's name appears in the official ballots for High Lake Township for assessor on the democratic ticket.  Mr. Mestad wants it understood that he is not a democrat and it was an oversight of his petitions that he got on that ticket.  His name should have been in the independent column." (Note: He won.)
• Estherville Democrat, 5/17/1898:  "John Mestad of the Lund hardware and implement firm, has purchased the widow Kries property at Wallingford and will add to the improvements as soon as possible.  Mr. Mestad is now owner of a half block of the Wallingford soil. Mr. Lund has sold over one carload of binder twine and orders are still rushing in."
• Republican, 10/6/1898:  J. H. Mestad entered a 40-1/2 pound pumpkin in the Pumpkin Contest and won a napkin ring.  The first-prize pumpkin was 43-3/4 pounds.
• Democrat:, 3/30/1899:  Mr. and Mrs. Adson of Terril visited their friends last Monday and made arrangements for the transfer of their real estate to Mr. J. H. Mestad and wife." 
• Democrat, 5/3/1899:  "John Mestad sold his farm last Friday at $25.00 per acre."
• Vindicator, 5/4/1899:  "M. C. Stone and wife to J. H. Mestad, lots 1 and 2, block 2, Wallingford, $40.00."
• Democrat, 8/16/1899:  "Mr. and Mrs. Mestad has added one more girl (Effie) to their household."
• Vindicator,9/22/1899:  J. H. Mestad and wife to J. G. Remmers, nw quarter, sec 31,98,33. $3761.25."
• 9/27/1899:  "J. H. Mestad is managing the T. J. Randolph hardware establishment and doing a good business."

     The newspapers continue to tell the family story of the move to Dakota Territory in 1900. Evidently John Mestad's quest for government homestead land triggered the migration.

• Democrat, 4/4/1900:  "John Mestad and Mr. Peterson left last week for their new home in South (sp) Dakota. Their many friends here are sorry to lose them from our midst.  The best wishes of the DEMOCRAT go with them." 
• Republican, 4/5/1900:  "John Mestad accompanied by Carl Grinder left Tuesday for Ward County, North Dakota."

Troubles in their new home started almost immediately, as chronicled in the Estherville, Democrat, June 13, 1900:

• John Mestad writes from his new Dakota home that they have had no rain there this summer and that even the grass is dying.  Evidently, there are worse places than Emmet County."

    

John Mestad and daughters after the death of Caroline

Alma, Cora, Mamie and Effie on Daddy's lap

Sometime that summer of 1900 John Mestad moved his wife and four daughters to the new homestead of 160 acres in Ward County, North Dakota (now Renville County) north of Kenmare.  I don't know what type of housing was established there but I can imagine that it was quite primitive compared to their former home in Iowa.  Tragedy visited once again, when in 1902 Caroline Mestad, pregnant with their fifth child, died of an appendicitis attack on the homestead leaving behind her husband and four daughters.

    My mother, Effie Mestad, was just over two years old when she lost her mother.  After she was old enough to understand her father told her the story, that when Caroline became ill he hitched up the horses and went as fast as he could to the town of Kenmare to find a doctor.  The first doctor he found was drunk so he went to find another  that would come with him, and by the time they reached Caroline it was too late to save her.  It was determined that she died of a burst appendix.

    I have never found a death certificate for my grandmother through the state of North Dakota, Ward County, or Renville County.  At the Danish Lutheran Church in Kenmare there is this notation in their records: "Karoline Mistad, death April 25, 1902, burial April 29, 1902," but no record indicating that she was buried in the church cemetery. My assumption is that she was buried at the homestead which was not recorded, and that my grandfather asked the Danish Lutheran pastor to officiate. Another one of those SUI (Still Under Investigation) mysteries that may never be solved!

     I am in possession of  John Hanson's autograph book from the old days in Iowa with words and verses of inspiration written by many friends and relatives, some in the Norwegian language. One that is particularly haunting and prophetic was penned by his wife Caroline on May 1, 1892, with these words: "Forget me when I die; The violets above my rest will blossom just as blue; Nor miss my tears: ev'n Nature's self forgets; but while I live, be true.  Your wife, Mrs. Carrie Mestad."

    I can imagine the grief of the Jacobson family back in Iowa who had suffered a double loss, first that John Mestad had taken their daughter and grandchildren away to wild and woolly North Dakota and secondly, she had died there.  To triple the tragedy, their only other daughter, Camilla, married to Norwegian August Berg, had followed John and Caroline out to Kenmare and Camilla died young also.  A Register of Deeds Office certificate shows that August O. Berg purchased 159 and 95 hundredths acres in Ward County on November 16, 1903 for $199. On the 1910 census it shows August Berg, 46, widowed, Alma, 16; Katie, 14 and Arthur 12.  Jacobson sons  Peter, Louie, James and John all moved to Minot area for a time and acquired land but returned to Iowa after a few years.

The John Mestad home in Kenmare, North Dakota

     John Mestad tried to keep the home and hearth going as a single father but times were too hard and he finally determined that he couldn't keep the homestead. He moved his children into the town of Kenmare where he used his old salesman skills working at P. M. Coles Grocery, and Badmers and Dresser's Clothing respectively.  In 1907 he  married his housekeeper, Olga Estabrook. She had been married  previously but her first husband had reportedly ran off and taken their only daughter with him.  Olga did not see her daughter Gladys again until she was grown up.

John and Olga Mestad, circa 1930's

     After the marriage my grandfather would go to work leaving his new wife in charge of his daughters.  What he didn't know is that Olga, or Nana as they were told to call her, had a very bad temper and she was mean to  the girls when their father was away.  She often threatened them with bodily harm if they told him.  She chased the older girls around with brooms and screamed at them,  although she treated  my Mom a little better since she was the baby and the same age as her own daughter. In 1923, after the Mestad girls were grown and had left home, John and Olga moved to Minot where John sold Raleigh products and they established a small grocery and candy store in their home with living quarters in the back. My grandfather died January 1, 1945 when I was 5, and since he lived in North Dakota and we lived in Minnesota I saw him only a few times.  I knew of him from his daughters, who adored their Papa, as a kind, gentle, and godly man who was loved by all.     

      Growing up in North Dakota, my mother and her sisters had very little contact with their Danish grandparents and relatives, especially after the death of Camilla and the return of the Jacobson brothers to Iowa.  She longed for her mother but had no memory of her, so all she knew were the tidbits she gathered from her father and older sisters. 

     The girls were not allowed to talk about their mother around Olga and the "wicked stepmother" even cut the heads out of a large portrait of Caroline and John together. Luckily the older girls saved the heads and I still have them today, passed down to me by my aunt Cora.

John Mestad and daughters circa 1930 during trip back to Iowa.

From left, Cora, Alma, Mayme, and Effie on Daddy's lap

    In later years my grandfather and his daughters made a trip back to Iowa to visit the Jacobson uncles and cousins,  and I can remember as a little girl traveling to Iowa once or twice to visit Chris (Sena) Jacobson, their only son Malta (Laura) and daughters Donna and Karen, just a few years older than me.

    In the early 1990's after I had started my quest for family history, I went to Estherville and Wallingford to meet my Mom's cousins, Mildred (Henry) Sunde, daughter of John; and Vernie (Mildred) Jacobson, son of James.

At that time I saw for the first time a picture of  my Mom's grandparents, Andrew and Carn, and a photo of her great-grandmother, Andrew's mother Karen Marie.  I was stunned by how much my mom Effie resembled her!  Vernie told me that there were a lot of family photos from Denmark but many of them had no identification. At that time I also visited the country church and cemetery where the Jacobson's were buried. 

      

Andrew Jacobson's mother Karen Marie Andersdatter;      Effie Mestad Enger , circa 1950   

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Graettinger, Iowa 2009, formerly Old Walnut Church

Gravestones of Andrew and Carn Jacobson across from St. Paul's Church

      A couple of years later Vernie's grandson, Mike Torreson of Wallingford, stopped to see me in Sequim, Washington when he was out looking for old railroad memorabilia and in the summer of 2009 I went back to Wallingford and Graettinger on a roots-finding mission.  This time Mike introduced me to his Mom Lois (Ralph) Torreson, daughter of  Vernie.  Her parents are both gone now and she has the old family photos  which she kindly let me scan into my computer. What a treasure!  On that trip I also met Harold Sunde, son of Mildred and Henry who both had passed away since my last visit. I was so happy to make these connections with my Danish family tree, and I hope to see them again on future travels.

The writer in 1991 with Jacobson cousins Vernie,

son of James, and Mildred (Sunde), daughter of John.