Born May 23, 1914
Died January 22, 2005
As written by Joe himself:
In 1910, Edward and Laura Lundgren applied for a homestead in Cass County - Kego Township, in the State of Minnesota. A logging company once used this ground as their headquarters. While there, they made some improvements, such as the log house that was there and the clearing of some brush and trees.
Dad (Edward) and his two oldest children, Emma and Louis, moved [there] with him. Mother (Laura), Art and Loretta came the following spring. Dorothy was born in 1911. It was a cruel country with few white neighbors close by. Wolves and Indians prowling about.
The homestead bordered on Three Island Lake, which took quite a bit of the property. I was the first to be born in the log house on May 3, 1914. I don't remember much during the first few years of my life, but remember well when the twins were born and from then on.
I went to Boe School the first three years and then to Longville through Grade 7. Then we moved in 1927 to another place and I finished at Silver Lake School.
President Roosevelt started the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1933. I was in the first group to leave Cass County to join this program. Like most of the young men, it was the first time away from home for more than a few days.
After a trip to Forst Snelling, where we had our physical and were given new clothes, we were shipped to a campsite close to Bera, Minnesota, under the supervision of an Army Captain. We lived in tents that first summer while more permanent quarters were being built. A small saw mill was set up and we cut our own material. Local carpenters and people on WPA, another government program, built the buildings. This became Camp 708 Bera Minnesota. It was a worthwhile project, as we learned many things and the strict supervision kept most of us out of trouble. We did roadside cleanup, built campsites, fought fires and planted trees in the spring. Along with our work, we had fun playing sports, competing with other camps.
We received $5.00 per month plus food and clothing, $25.00 was sent to the parents. My parents used the money to drill a well. At that time, we were hauling water for home use and the cattle had a long way to go for water.
I was in the CCC for nearly two years - this project was discontinued when World War II started, as all young men were needed in the military. I was inducted into the Army on April 17, 1942, I had my basic training at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. I was sent to Camp Campbell, Kentucky, for further training.
When the hospital was finished, that's where I worked, in one of the wards. This consisted of 20 beds helping an Army Nurse, which was in charge of two wards. It was easy work, taking temperatures, blood pressure, seeing that things were neat and clean. I spent about three months there. Then 16 of us were sent to Camp George G. Mead, Baltimore, Maryland, for further training. I was there for another couple of months and then shipped to Camp Stoneman, CA, for overseas duty.
Approximately 1,800 of us were put on a Norwegian ship. Our first stop was New Caledonia, which was out of the combat zone. A couple of days later we were on the President Jackson ship heading for Guadal Canal. We joined the 23rd Infantry that had been on the island since July, replacing the Marines who made the invasion in December. The ground fighting was over when we arrived, but there were air raids every night and the patrols brought in a few prisoners. The air raids were coming from Munda Air Field on New Georgia Island.
We were sent to New Zealand for a rest cure. Our next combat was in the Phillipines. We covered all of Luzon. We were getting ready for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. I was in the service for three years, six months, and 17 days, serving as a Medical Surgeon Tech. My rank was Tech 3, which is the same grade and pay as a staff Sergeant. In 1946 I returned to Longville.
In September I married Marie A. Kline White, and we left with her son Robert for Oroville, Washington. Our daughter, Susan, was born on February 23, 1947. I worked for Dwinell Brothers in the apple industry. In 1952 we bought a small orchard and sold it in 1968. We moved into Oroville and remained working in the apple business until I retired in 1984. My wife Marie died July 23, 1993. Since July, 1999, I have been lving with my daughter in Ephrata, WA. In May of 2001 we moved to Moses Lake, and live on the lake.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Joe Emil Lundgren
Email from Leonard Stevens
(married to Lorraine Lundgren Stevens)
JOE EMIL LUNDGREN
May 23, 1914 - January 22, 2005
Joe Lundgren passed away from a heart problem, and this is the passing of a fine, gentleman of the Lundgren family. The love and gentle humor came across visiting and talking on the phone.
Monday, April 12, 2010
What's In A Name
Remembered by Patti Lundgren Franz
April 11, 2010
So, dad told me that he and his twin, Lorraine, were about to be named August and Augusta - until his older sister, Loretta (sixteen years old at the time), exclaimed that they couldn't do that!! And so, they were named Lawrence and Lorraine.
However, it should be noted that their mother, Laura, was fully named Laura Louise Augusta Polsfuss...so the names would have been reasonable.
April 11, 2010
So, dad told me that he and his twin, Lorraine, were about to be named August and Augusta - until his older sister, Loretta (sixteen years old at the time), exclaimed that they couldn't do that!! And so, they were named Lawrence and Lorraine.
However, it should be noted that their mother, Laura, was fully named Laura Louise Augusta Polsfuss...so the names would have been reasonable.
Lundgren Family
Aron Edvard Lundgren
July 20, 1870 - May 23, 1947
Married (on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 1898)
Laura Louise Augusta Polsfuss
August 28, 1882 - October 22, 1955
Together they had these children:
Emma Caroline: August 21, 1899 - December 14, 1979
Louis William: June 9, 1901 - April 29, 1964
Loretta Laura Louise: November 28, 1903 - July 13, 1990
Alfred Otto: 1906 - 1906
Arthur Edward Lundgren: April 12, 1907 - June 3, 1984
Mary: 1909 - 1909
Dorothy Ann: April 10, 1911 - December 15, 1972
Joe Emil: May 23, 1914 - (deceased)
Viola Lidy: May 27, 1979 - December 19,1995
Lawrence Avery: August 13, 1920 - November 16, 2000
Lorraine Avis: August 13, 1920 - (still alive as of this post!)
Jacob Alan: October 16, 1923 - (deceased)
July 20, 1870 - May 23, 1947
Married (on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 1898)
Laura Louise Augusta Polsfuss
August 28, 1882 - October 22, 1955
Together they had these children:
Emma Caroline: August 21, 1899 - December 14, 1979
Louis William: June 9, 1901 - April 29, 1964
Loretta Laura Louise: November 28, 1903 - July 13, 1990
Alfred Otto: 1906 - 1906
Arthur Edward Lundgren: April 12, 1907 - June 3, 1984
Mary: 1909 - 1909
Dorothy Ann: April 10, 1911 - December 15, 1972
Joe Emil: May 23, 1914 - (deceased)
Viola Lidy: May 27, 1979 - December 19,1995
Lawrence Avery: August 13, 1920 - November 16, 2000
Lorraine Avis: August 13, 1920 - (still alive as of this post!)
Jacob Alan: October 16, 1923 - (deceased)
Beginning Of Machinery
By Art Lundgren
Transcribed by Virginia Clawson Freberg
1977
All of the work had to be done by Amy (I don't know who that is) and me - we used scythes to cut hay and more hay until about 1915 when machinery began to be used.
The land we cleared mostly by hand with horses. Some of the luckier ones with money had pullers & had different things to help them, but otherwise there was no machinery until about 1916 when some of the other farmers began to get more machines and hay rakes and one-way ploughs.
Land began to open and they had already dug up the ties and the rails off the railroads for roads. The county and state began to improve the roads a little bit.
People moved in - pretty near every section had a couple people living on it - some of them stayed on the land just a little bit so that they could prove up and get their land for speculation. Others, of course, tried to make a go with all they knew.
Transcribed by Virginia Clawson Freberg
1977
All of the work had to be done by Amy (I don't know who that is) and me - we used scythes to cut hay and more hay until about 1915 when machinery began to be used.
The land we cleared mostly by hand with horses. Some of the luckier ones with money had pullers & had different things to help them, but otherwise there was no machinery until about 1916 when some of the other farmers began to get more machines and hay rakes and one-way ploughs.
Land began to open and they had already dug up the ties and the rails off the railroads for roads. The county and state began to improve the roads a little bit.
People moved in - pretty near every section had a couple people living on it - some of them stayed on the land just a little bit so that they could prove up and get their land for speculation. Others, of course, tried to make a go with all they knew.
The Early Days Up North
By Art Lundgren
Transcribed by Virginia Clawson Freberg
1977
This is Art Lundgren and I'm supposed to talk a little bit, Emma says, about the early days up North (Longville) -- it was really kind of rough. About the turn of the century after the Indians and loggers got moved a little bit, the timber was taken off and the land up there was thrown open to homesteaders and also the railroad land and school land was sold. The Indians were given their choice: they either could keep 80 acres of land or else move further back to the reservation, so that area really became an open reservation with settlers and homesteaders in there.
The people that moved in had it pretty rough. Some of them mostly lived in log cabins and a couple in dug-outs. I know one family lived in a house four years and they did not even have a floor - bare dirt for floor which they kept real clean, while others had their dug-outs.
Later on, after they first built out of logs, some of them were able to find some logs left over from the logging companies who took the most and the best. The floors they put in out of rough pine would wear down so that the knots stuck out.
The cattle they moved up there from the dryer areas mostly became sick; I don't know why they were always sick from the beginning - what we thought was fawn fever. Some of them later got abortion and different things which wasn't too good, and a lot of them died.
Transcribed by Virginia Clawson Freberg
1977
This is Art Lundgren and I'm supposed to talk a little bit, Emma says, about the early days up North (Longville) -- it was really kind of rough. About the turn of the century after the Indians and loggers got moved a little bit, the timber was taken off and the land up there was thrown open to homesteaders and also the railroad land and school land was sold. The Indians were given their choice: they either could keep 80 acres of land or else move further back to the reservation, so that area really became an open reservation with settlers and homesteaders in there.
The people that moved in had it pretty rough. Some of them mostly lived in log cabins and a couple in dug-outs. I know one family lived in a house four years and they did not even have a floor - bare dirt for floor which they kept real clean, while others had their dug-outs.
Later on, after they first built out of logs, some of them were able to find some logs left over from the logging companies who took the most and the best. The floors they put in out of rough pine would wear down so that the knots stuck out.
The cattle they moved up there from the dryer areas mostly became sick; I don't know why they were always sick from the beginning - what we thought was fawn fever. Some of them later got abortion and different things which wasn't too good, and a lot of them died.
Graduation
By Lorraine Lundgren Stevens (my dad's twin sister)
Written February 1983
(Sister) Vi was working when I was 10 about, but later we'd go to dances at the old log dance house in Longville. Brother Jack tagged along with Lefty and I. I consider my childhood happy even though everyone was poor.
I worked the summer I was 14-15 and graduated from High School at 16. Lefty worked on farms and graduated at 16 also - from Remer, while I stayed at the Reeds in Walker, Minnesota.
I didn't know dad's parents, as Grandpa Lundgren was dead and Grandma Lundgren died the year after I was born.
Written February 1983
(Sister) Vi was working when I was 10 about, but later we'd go to dances at the old log dance house in Longville. Brother Jack tagged along with Lefty and I. I consider my childhood happy even though everyone was poor.
I worked the summer I was 14-15 and graduated from High School at 16. Lefty worked on farms and graduated at 16 also - from Remer, while I stayed at the Reeds in Walker, Minnesota.
I didn't know dad's parents, as Grandpa Lundgren was dead and Grandma Lundgren died the year after I was born.
My Dad Made Bread
Remembered by Patti Franz
April 11, 2010
My dad, Lawrence (Lefty) Lundgren, told me that after he lost his leg (at age 17), he spent recovery time in the kitchen with his mother. There he learned to cook and especially to make bread from scratch. He remembered days of making loaves upon loaves - as the family ate a lot of it.
April 11, 2010
My dad, Lawrence (Lefty) Lundgren, told me that after he lost his leg (at age 17), he spent recovery time in the kitchen with his mother. There he learned to cook and especially to make bread from scratch. He remembered days of making loaves upon loaves - as the family ate a lot of it.
Moving From The Big House
By Lorraine Lundgren Stevens (my dad's twin sister)
Written February 1983
I remember moving from the "big house" on (Three) Island Lake to a smaller place and (sister) Dorothy cried because the big house was nicer. (She was already in Minneapolis working, but came home on vacation.) We had fun herding cows, picking berries and being outside. I was a Tom Boy - Lefty and I were together the most and I played ball with the boys, etc.
We did WORK, though. I remember canning, making pies and bread, etc., before I was 12. I barely remember Grandpa Polsfuss, but Grandma Polsfuss came to visit a few times. Mother went to her funeral at Princeton when I was about 12 or so, so I did all the cooking for the family and made about 12 pumpkin pies from scratch. Brother Joe at a whole one at one sitting and I was so proud! (They were good with rich cream and eggs and fresh pumpkin.)
Written February 1983
I remember moving from the "big house" on (Three) Island Lake to a smaller place and (sister) Dorothy cried because the big house was nicer. (She was already in Minneapolis working, but came home on vacation.) We had fun herding cows, picking berries and being outside. I was a Tom Boy - Lefty and I were together the most and I played ball with the boys, etc.
We did WORK, though. I remember canning, making pies and bread, etc., before I was 12. I barely remember Grandpa Polsfuss, but Grandma Polsfuss came to visit a few times. Mother went to her funeral at Princeton when I was about 12 or so, so I did all the cooking for the family and made about 12 pumpkin pies from scratch. Brother Joe at a whole one at one sitting and I was so proud! (They were good with rich cream and eggs and fresh pumpkin.)
My Mother
By Lorraine Lundgren Stevens (my dad's twin sister)
Written February 1983
Mother (Laura Polsfuss Lundgren) was born in New Germany, Minnesota, but her parents were born in Germany. Dad (Aron Edvard Lundgren) was born in Sweden and his parents before him so we are half German and half Swedish.
Mother was 39 and dad was 50 when I was born so I never considered them as 'young' parents and all us children did a great deal of work to help.
I felt sorry for mother always cooking and preparing food for the winter. Her life was hard!
She was so wonderful and kind and good - a Christian lady. I remember her most from when she lived with us. She wrote and asked us to come and get her, so we did. She had diabetes and her big toe would not heal. That was amputated, then half her foot, but she got along great until two years before she died. Her leg below the knee was amputated and she was in a wheelchair. Still got along good.
She told me those six years with us were the happiest of her life because she had no more worries then. I was 29 when she came to us and Diana 2, Jackie (Jack) 5. Steve was so wonderful to her also and we 'watched' her enjoy TV - soaps and barn dancing, etc. She and Diana played endless card games and Diana was so crazy about her.
All the family would come and see her at our house and help, especially Lefty, who built our breeze-way at cost and Loretta who would visit her at the University Hospital and look after our kids when we 'took off'. Lorita helped also and later, too, son Jack stayed there a few summers and worked (?) for Lefty.
Written February 1983
Mother (Laura Polsfuss Lundgren) was born in New Germany, Minnesota, but her parents were born in Germany. Dad (Aron Edvard Lundgren) was born in Sweden and his parents before him so we are half German and half Swedish.
Mother was 39 and dad was 50 when I was born so I never considered them as 'young' parents and all us children did a great deal of work to help.
I felt sorry for mother always cooking and preparing food for the winter. Her life was hard!
She was so wonderful and kind and good - a Christian lady. I remember her most from when she lived with us. She wrote and asked us to come and get her, so we did. She had diabetes and her big toe would not heal. That was amputated, then half her foot, but she got along great until two years before she died. Her leg below the knee was amputated and she was in a wheelchair. Still got along good.
She told me those six years with us were the happiest of her life because she had no more worries then. I was 29 when she came to us and Diana 2, Jackie (Jack) 5. Steve was so wonderful to her also and we 'watched' her enjoy TV - soaps and barn dancing, etc. She and Diana played endless card games and Diana was so crazy about her.
All the family would come and see her at our house and help, especially Lefty, who built our breeze-way at cost and Loretta who would visit her at the University Hospital and look after our kids when we 'took off'. Lorita helped also and later, too, son Jack stayed there a few summers and worked (?) for Lefty.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
My Marriage to Jim Clawson
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
This is about my marriage to Jim Clawson. Met him at a dance in 1918. Soon after I met him, he went in the service. He wrote and when he came back we started going out together. He worked out of town and when he came to Mpls again, that's when I made my mistake.
We were married in 1919 and Virginia was born in 1920. It was a mistake, as neither of us wanted marriage, but we had so much trouble, the end had to come.
I was working at Sears Roebuck, 12 hours at Christmas time, and Virginia had to go to Aunt Lena's, as I did not want her to be alone. Jim was in the work house; so one morning Charley (the House Detective for Sears) asked me what was troubling me. So I told him if I had the money, I would move. He said "if that's all you need, I will let you have it", which he did. So that was the second time a Charley was my benefactor.
We had lots of good times together. But, of course, that had to end also. I was sorry I did not know when he died ... until later, I was in Flint, Michigan at the time. But I hope he knows I think highly of him for the things he helped me with.
dictated 12/31/1976
This is about my marriage to Jim Clawson. Met him at a dance in 1918. Soon after I met him, he went in the service. He wrote and when he came back we started going out together. He worked out of town and when he came to Mpls again, that's when I made my mistake.
We were married in 1919 and Virginia was born in 1920. It was a mistake, as neither of us wanted marriage, but we had so much trouble, the end had to come.
I was working at Sears Roebuck, 12 hours at Christmas time, and Virginia had to go to Aunt Lena's, as I did not want her to be alone. Jim was in the work house; so one morning Charley (the House Detective for Sears) asked me what was troubling me. So I told him if I had the money, I would move. He said "if that's all you need, I will let you have it", which he did. So that was the second time a Charley was my benefactor.
We had lots of good times together. But, of course, that had to end also. I was sorry I did not know when he died ... until later, I was in Flint, Michigan at the time. But I hope he knows I think highly of him for the things he helped me with.
Sponsor To A Better Life
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
In the fall of 1915, Uncle Otto got the bright idea that Louis and I should come to Princeton and pick potatoes. So we did and that's when we stopped in Minneapolis and Uncle Charley asked if I would come and stay with Anna (his wife). She was ill. He would send me to school and confirmation; so Charley Lundgren was my sponsor to a better life.
I did get confirmed, but Aunt Anna died before I was enrolled in school. So then I went to stay with Aunt Lena - Uncle Charley did pay for my clothes, etc., and he also gave me advice ... which I ignored. I would have been better off if I had listened.
Aunt Lena found me a job and I had fun. Dancing almost every night and going out with Aunt Lena and Uncle Alfred. They were newlyweds, so they went a lot of places. They had a summer home at the lake, so I went dancing at Stubbs Bay. There is where I met Hal.
I did have a wonderful life and was lucky in most things I did. But I guess it was because I did not whine - I just tried harder.
dictated 12/31/1976
In the fall of 1915, Uncle Otto got the bright idea that Louis and I should come to Princeton and pick potatoes. So we did and that's when we stopped in Minneapolis and Uncle Charley asked if I would come and stay with Anna (his wife). She was ill. He would send me to school and confirmation; so Charley Lundgren was my sponsor to a better life.
I did get confirmed, but Aunt Anna died before I was enrolled in school. So then I went to stay with Aunt Lena - Uncle Charley did pay for my clothes, etc., and he also gave me advice ... which I ignored. I would have been better off if I had listened.
Aunt Lena found me a job and I had fun. Dancing almost every night and going out with Aunt Lena and Uncle Alfred. They were newlyweds, so they went a lot of places. They had a summer home at the lake, so I went dancing at Stubbs Bay. There is where I met Hal.
I did have a wonderful life and was lucky in most things I did. But I guess it was because I did not whine - I just tried harder.
A Hard Life
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
Ben White always brought deer meat to dad, but I must say dad and mother had a very hard life up there. Good thing they were talented enough to keep everything going. First, the cattle were ill moving them and then the horses died, and then I guess it finally was better for them.
They had 12 children: seven born in Princeton, two died, five born in Longville.
dictated 12/31/1976
Ben White always brought deer meat to dad, but I must say dad and mother had a very hard life up there. Good thing they were talented enough to keep everything going. First, the cattle were ill moving them and then the horses died, and then I guess it finally was better for them.
They had 12 children: seven born in Princeton, two died, five born in Longville.
Indians!
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
We had rather frightening experiences and one night Louis and I stayed up all night because Indians were running around the house. Finally they fell asleep in the snow. We thought they were dead - and they would come and sit all day.
Louis and I would starve until they would leave and then one time they came with fish and wanted flour for it, so I gave them flour and then they wanted a knife. That's when Louis and I had conferences on what to do - so I finally gave them one and they made a thing to carry the flour on their backs - but I'm sure they knew we were afraid.
But somehow they liked us and invited us to have dinner at John Pepper's area. They had fish baked with nothing removed - and, of course, we could not eat that. Also, they gave us presents, things made of beads and moccasins - etc. We did love their maple syrup patties.
dictated 12/31/1976
We had rather frightening experiences and one night Louis and I stayed up all night because Indians were running around the house. Finally they fell asleep in the snow. We thought they were dead - and they would come and sit all day.
Louis and I would starve until they would leave and then one time they came with fish and wanted flour for it, so I gave them flour and then they wanted a knife. That's when Louis and I had conferences on what to do - so I finally gave them one and they made a thing to carry the flour on their backs - but I'm sure they knew we were afraid.
But somehow they liked us and invited us to have dinner at John Pepper's area. They had fish baked with nothing removed - and, of course, we could not eat that. Also, they gave us presents, things made of beads and moccasins - etc. We did love their maple syrup patties.
The Homestead
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
This is my life from 1910.
I was 11 years old and Louis was 9.
Dad had filed for a homestead so he took Louis and I up to the homestead. Mother and Loretta and Art stayed in Princeton - she was going to have a baby so they did not come until May 1911.
We took the train to Hackensack and then rode with the man that made the trip to Longville every other day. It was very cold and Louis and I were so cold that we cried.
I still wonder how parents could leave two kids up there all alone. Most of the time God must of protected us - no school - no neighbors - and 30 below most of the time.
Dad was hauling the things from Princeton and was gone most of the time. I did have to bake bread and whatever else I cooked I do not know - but we did survive.
dictated 12/31/1976
This is my life from 1910.
I was 11 years old and Louis was 9.
Dad had filed for a homestead so he took Louis and I up to the homestead. Mother and Loretta and Art stayed in Princeton - she was going to have a baby so they did not come until May 1911.
We took the train to Hackensack and then rode with the man that made the trip to Longville every other day. It was very cold and Louis and I were so cold that we cried.
I still wonder how parents could leave two kids up there all alone. Most of the time God must of protected us - no school - no neighbors - and 30 below most of the time.
Dad was hauling the things from Princeton and was gone most of the time. I did have to bake bread and whatever else I cooked I do not know - but we did survive.
He Froze His Hands; I Was Deaf For A While
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
Then poor Louis and I were walking to school and he froze both his hands and we stopped at Mrs. Tueck's and she defrosted them in snow.
Also, I had mastoid and was deaf for awhile.
I can remember getting money and buying a ring with my initials on it. We were lucky not to have any more illness, as I don't think we were ever taken to a doctor.
Aunt Lena and Aunt Anna (Charley's wife) came up on vacations. Aunt Lena had beautiful hair and she always washed it in rain water. She was a remarkable woman, good to everyone.
Next, I used to walk to Aunt Emma's on Sunday to go to Sunday School. Why, I don't know. Then I must of stayed there one time as I can remember going home from Princeton with John Gates and he drank beer all the way home from Princeton. So Aunt Emma was really angry.
Then, of course, the famous ride with my father: he took me to Princeton with him and bought me bananas and took me to the Circus. I stayed there all day waiting for him, eating those bananas. So when we got home I was so ill I have never eaten a banana since.
dictated 12/31/1976
Then poor Louis and I were walking to school and he froze both his hands and we stopped at Mrs. Tueck's and she defrosted them in snow.
Also, I had mastoid and was deaf for awhile.
I can remember getting money and buying a ring with my initials on it. We were lucky not to have any more illness, as I don't think we were ever taken to a doctor.
Aunt Lena and Aunt Anna (Charley's wife) came up on vacations. Aunt Lena had beautiful hair and she always washed it in rain water. She was a remarkable woman, good to everyone.
Next, I used to walk to Aunt Emma's on Sunday to go to Sunday School. Why, I don't know. Then I must of stayed there one time as I can remember going home from Princeton with John Gates and he drank beer all the way home from Princeton. So Aunt Emma was really angry.
Then, of course, the famous ride with my father: he took me to Princeton with him and bought me bananas and took me to the Circus. I stayed there all day waiting for him, eating those bananas. So when we got home I was so ill I have never eaten a banana since.
I Remember When They Died
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
I can remember my brother Alfred's funeral: born 1906, died the same year. What I can remember was his casket. It was an awful cold day.
Then I will always remember my sister Mary's death: born in February 1909 and only lived 1/2 hour and Mrs. Fisher made her coffin cloth lace and ribbons. I don't think there was any real funeral.
Alfred and Mary are both buried in the German Lutheran Church.
Also 1909 Grandpa Lundgren died, he was 79 years old and I can remember being at the funeral in Princeton with Aunt Lena and Uncle Charley - we ate in a restaurant afterward.
Then Uncle Oscar died in the spring of 1910. He was only 30 years old and he played violin at all the dances.
dictated 12/31/1976
I can remember my brother Alfred's funeral: born 1906, died the same year. What I can remember was his casket. It was an awful cold day.
Then I will always remember my sister Mary's death: born in February 1909 and only lived 1/2 hour and Mrs. Fisher made her coffin cloth lace and ribbons. I don't think there was any real funeral.
Alfred and Mary are both buried in the German Lutheran Church.
Also 1909 Grandpa Lundgren died, he was 79 years old and I can remember being at the funeral in Princeton with Aunt Lena and Uncle Charley - we ate in a restaurant afterward.
Then Uncle Oscar died in the spring of 1910. He was only 30 years old and he played violin at all the dances.
When I Lived On The Farm
By Emma C. Clawson
dictated 12/31/1976
These are things I remember when I lived on the farm about eight miles from Princeton.
I was born there and lived there until I was 11 years old. Of course, my memories are more about my brother, Louis. It seems we were always together being we were the two oldest. In fact, we did a lot of planning for two kids. We lived across the road from Schwantes' and we went over there a lot. That's why I have always liked Bertha and Albert. They were cousins.
Then Grandpa and Grandma Lundgren lived 1-1/2 miles and Grandpa and Grandma Polsfuss on the same road. I can remember Louis and I walking to both places every Saturday; why on Saturday, I don't know, so the one problem we had which grandparent to go to first. Grandma Lundgren would always give us money - and Grandma Polsfuss would have so many wonderful things to eat! Of course, we did all right in both departments.
dictated 12/31/1976
These are things I remember when I lived on the farm about eight miles from Princeton.
I was born there and lived there until I was 11 years old. Of course, my memories are more about my brother, Louis. It seems we were always together being we were the two oldest. In fact, we did a lot of planning for two kids. We lived across the road from Schwantes' and we went over there a lot. That's why I have always liked Bertha and Albert. They were cousins.
Then Grandpa and Grandma Lundgren lived 1-1/2 miles and Grandpa and Grandma Polsfuss on the same road. I can remember Louis and I walking to both places every Saturday; why on Saturday, I don't know, so the one problem we had which grandparent to go to first. Grandma Lundgren would always give us money - and Grandma Polsfuss would have so many wonderful things to eat! Of course, we did all right in both departments.
Grandpa William & Grandma Mary
As told by Emma C. Clawson (my dad's oldest sister) on 12/31/1976
Emma Caroline Lundgren Clawson b.8/21/1899 d.12/14/1979
William & Mary were my father's maternal grandparents.
This is about Grandpa (William, born Frederick William Polsfuss in 1849) and Grandma (Mary, born Anna Mary Molls in ?) Polsfuss. Grandpa had a long white beard and played the accordian - I used to love to hear him play. Grandma was the best cook I have ever heard of.
Their life was so different. Grandma was an orphan. When her mother died, Grandma and her brother were standing at the grave and some relatives took them home, and they stayed with them until grown up. Grandpa was supposed to have left Germany as he did not want to serve in Kaiser Wilhelm Army. So they met in New Germany, Minnesota, and married there.
All their children were born there - 10 or 12 I don't know which, but only three lived to adulthood...Emma, Laura (my mother) and Otto. Emma died leaving three children. Otto lived until 1960.
When Grandpa and Grandma lived on their farm, near Princeton, we used to go over there for Thanksgiving dinner in a sled and sing "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go". They rented a farm and lived near us. Later they moved back to their own farm.
They were not a happy couple. Grandma was always crying about all her dead children. But I can always remember the wonderful things she cooked: tomato preserves, also vegetables, pickles, homemade sausages, and her famous coffee cakes.
Emma Caroline Lundgren Clawson b.8/21/1899 d.12/14/1979
William & Mary were my father's maternal grandparents.
This is about Grandpa (William, born Frederick William Polsfuss in 1849) and Grandma (Mary, born Anna Mary Molls in ?) Polsfuss. Grandpa had a long white beard and played the accordian - I used to love to hear him play. Grandma was the best cook I have ever heard of.
Their life was so different. Grandma was an orphan. When her mother died, Grandma and her brother were standing at the grave and some relatives took them home, and they stayed with them until grown up. Grandpa was supposed to have left Germany as he did not want to serve in Kaiser Wilhelm Army. So they met in New Germany, Minnesota, and married there.
All their children were born there - 10 or 12 I don't know which, but only three lived to adulthood...Emma, Laura (my mother) and Otto. Emma died leaving three children. Otto lived until 1960.
When Grandpa and Grandma lived on their farm, near Princeton, we used to go over there for Thanksgiving dinner in a sled and sing "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go". They rented a farm and lived near us. Later they moved back to their own farm.
They were not a happy couple. Grandma was always crying about all her dead children. But I can always remember the wonderful things she cooked: tomato preserves, also vegetables, pickles, homemade sausages, and her famous coffee cakes.
Grandpa Erik & Grandma Carolina
As told by Emma C. Clawson (my dad's oldest sister) on 12/31/1976
Emma Caroline Lundgren Clawson b.8/21/1899 d.12/14/1979
Erik and Carolina were my father's paternal grandparents.
This is about Grandpa (Erik, born 3/18/1830) and Grandma (Carolina Anderson, born 9/10/1841) Lundgren. As I remember them I don't know what age I started to remember them. My Grandfather was real tall and always petted us on the head. He could not speak English, but always had money in his pocket to give us. And Grandma Lundgren was kind of cute, she always wore a silk petticoat and a silk skirt on top. There was a pocket on the petticoat so she always had to lift her skirt to get her money. What I went to Princeton (MN) with her for I don't know, but I can remember doing it many times.
Charles Lundgren (Emma's and my dad's uncle) told me Grandpa came from Sweden and worked on the railroad tracks for the Milwaukee Road. Grandma came later with six children and landed at the depot. No money. But finally Aunt Lena (sister to Charles) saw her father walking along the tracks coming to the depot so they were united and they lived in Minneapolis for some time.
They all worked hard and then Aunt Lena bought them a farm 9-1/2 miles from Princeton. One of the ancestors still owns the farm. Grandpa Lundgren died in 1909. He was 79 years old and I went to his funeral. He was the first person I saw dead so I dreamed about him for a long time.
Grandma Lundgren died in 1921 so I saw her for years - she died at Aunt Lena's home in Minneapolis. But I will say she was a remarkable woman coming to a strange land penniless and kept her family together. Aunt Lena and Charley stayed in Minneapolis and the rest all owned farms around Princeton ... Emil, Oscar, my dad (Aron Edvard) and Emma Gates.
Emma Caroline Lundgren Clawson b.8/21/1899 d.12/14/1979
Erik and Carolina were my father's paternal grandparents.
This is about Grandpa (Erik, born 3/18/1830) and Grandma (Carolina Anderson, born 9/10/1841) Lundgren. As I remember them I don't know what age I started to remember them. My Grandfather was real tall and always petted us on the head. He could not speak English, but always had money in his pocket to give us. And Grandma Lundgren was kind of cute, she always wore a silk petticoat and a silk skirt on top. There was a pocket on the petticoat so she always had to lift her skirt to get her money. What I went to Princeton (MN) with her for I don't know, but I can remember doing it many times.
Charles Lundgren (Emma's and my dad's uncle) told me Grandpa came from Sweden and worked on the railroad tracks for the Milwaukee Road. Grandma came later with six children and landed at the depot. No money. But finally Aunt Lena (sister to Charles) saw her father walking along the tracks coming to the depot so they were united and they lived in Minneapolis for some time.
They all worked hard and then Aunt Lena bought them a farm 9-1/2 miles from Princeton. One of the ancestors still owns the farm. Grandpa Lundgren died in 1909. He was 79 years old and I went to his funeral. He was the first person I saw dead so I dreamed about him for a long time.
Grandma Lundgren died in 1921 so I saw her for years - she died at Aunt Lena's home in Minneapolis. But I will say she was a remarkable woman coming to a strange land penniless and kept her family together. Aunt Lena and Charley stayed in Minneapolis and the rest all owned farms around Princeton ... Emil, Oscar, my dad (Aron Edvard) and Emma Gates.
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