A report card from 1915-1916

A legend in our family is the story about mom going to High School in Buckman.  She said the nuns only taught freshman and sophomore classes, and only in alternate years, so she was a sophomore first and a freshman second.  That would have been 1931-32 and 1932-33. (Mom finished HS in St Cloud, at Cathedral, while she worked for board and room with a local family).


Irene Janson, mom's cousin three-times-removed, attended St Michaels Parochial School (1st year) in 1915-16 when she was 14, about the year this photo was taken...

Sr Waltrudis seems to have been a tough marker--but then, just look at the list of subjects taught, beside the fact that report cards came out monthly--whew.

I've left these two scans large so you can examine them better when you click the pic.  Oh, and don't miss the didactic missive "TO PARENTS".  Evidently the nuns knew best how to raise good Catholic kids.

The other Janson family in Buckman

If you're from Buckman and remember when my ex-husband and I owned Zenner's Store, you'll recall that Irene and Robert Janson helped out there quite a bit.  Their dad was "the other" Joseph Janson, the blacksmith, and their mom was Mary Poster.  Irene and Robert had a brother, Otto, a cashier at the bank in town, who married Philomine Theis.  (That's all I know about Otto, except that he and Philomine lived in Minneapolis in 1965, according to her sister's obituary).

Anyway, back to Zenner's store.  I left the marriage, the store and Buckman in June of 1974, but Andre' stayed on with even more help from Robert and Irene.  

Robert died in 1978, and when Andre finally closed the store, he was the nearest thing to family Irene had.  As she got older, Andre' and his wife Sue graciously provided a home for her with them.

When she died in October 1993 she was buried next to Robert in St Michaels Cemetery in Buckman.  Her box of photos and mementos has been sitting in a closet of Andre's house ever since, waiting for someone who wanted them. 

Now, 18 years later, I realized they could be here, on the blog.  Andre' brought them along on a trip to St Cloud, and here they are--too many for one post, but let's start with her family of origin, ok?

If you know this part, just skip it... ☺

Two cousins came to America with their families in 1883.  They were Joseph Janson and Johannes Janson.  (Joseph was my great grandfather).

Johannes was Irene's grandfather.  His son Joseph was Irene's dad, or "Joe Janson, the blacksmith" in Buckman.  Here he is on the left, back row.

The Johannes and Mary (Sauer) Janson family in about 1895 before their family was complete.

Joseph Janson and Mary Poster

August, 1901

Below, the family on a summer day in about 1917:  Robert, Irene and Otto with their mom Mary and dad Joe.  The kneeling woman might have been Gramma Janson. or Gramma Poster?