Anton Janson marries Margaret Naber

The May 22, 1913 issue of the Pierz Journal carried this wedding announcement.  Probably written by Math Hesch, it seems to be worded delicately, since everyone knew Anton Janson was just a little prickly....  


"We have the pleasant opportunity this week of relating to the marriage, which took place in out village last Monday at 9 a.m., when Miss Margareth Naber and Anton Janson were united in marriage by Rev. J. B. Brander at the St Michael's church, in the presence of relatives of the couple and a large number of invited guests.  The bridesmaid was Rose Janson, sister to the groom, and John Naber was best man.  Music was furnished by the choir.  After the ceremony, the couple were showered with hearty congratulations.  The happy newweds were the recipients of many presents.  They will make their home on the grooms farm in Buckman".


Cool, huh?

Why I Love Dried Apricots

I've been thinking lately that grandpa Janson has been mentioned here without much affection, but it's only because I only have 3-4 personal memories of him.  He died when I was 5 years old, but a few scenarios have stayed in my mind all these years.  
One is of grandpa arriving from the nearby train depot one morning while we were eating breakfast.  We jumped up hollering "Grandpa's here! Grandpa's here!"and ran outside to greet him.  Another was the fact that grandpa stayed in the front bedroom upstairs when he visited.  That room had 1940s linoleum on the floor, mostly green, with huge flowers and leaves.  After grandpa left, we learned to go to his room to check for change on the floor, lost in the pattern.  I remember the room smelling like him, and missing him already, but happy for the cash ☺  I asked mom once if she thought he left the change purposely, or if he had holes in his pockets.  She didn't know, but thought it might have been both.
My last image of grandpa was when he was laid out at Virnigs Funeral Home in Pierz, in January 1955. There were venitian blinds over a window behind the casket. I was mortified that relatives wanted me (us) to kiss him.  I don't remember if I did or not.  He didn't look like grandpa.

My most enduring memory, tho, was sitting on his lap in the dining room at 434.  He'd brought something special from California, all the way home for me.  He asked if I liked raisins?  Oh yes, I did.  Did I know they were dried grapes?  I probably didn't know that ☺  Well, he said, there was a fruit called apricots that grew in the sun in California, and he found a bag of dried ones there, so he brought them thinking I'd like them. (Did he actually say that, or...)
Anyway, the texture was different, sorta rubbery, and the outside was different than raisins, but the taste was like sunshine.  He believed in natural and fresh foods.  This was a way to bring perishable apricots home.  Definitely, I still love em, and think of him whenever I buy a bag.  

An enduring joke

"If you have a toothache and a nickle, and wish to get rid of both, you had better go to the new dentist, Lorenz Boser.  But then, the tooth must be very loose, almost ready to fall out or it will cost more to extract it.  If you don't believe it ask Peter Thies".


I wonder what the real story was here?  Most likely, Pete lost an already loose tooth to an acci-dental bop in the mouth from Lorenz, huh?  ☺ It made the paper, and here we are 102 years later, still laughing.

Born on the Fourth

Earlier this week, Em and Scott were here working on making the former office/junk room into a viable guest room....a big job!  I sorted some stuff and found an envelope I'd put away  months ago--mom stuff.  Cool to find again.




 Mom (Orlinda Janson Hesch ) was born in 1915, on the 4th of July.  So even if these items don't have anything to do with summer or July, they give us a glimpse of her as a girl--first an essay she wrote at 8 years old when she was a student at St Michaels in Buckman and English was her second language...

...and later when she attended Cathedral, in St Cloud.  No big deal, just too precious to not add here.  She would have been 97 today.  

We still miss her.