A trip to Bancroft, Iowa

This was a negative I found in moms' stuff.  The poor quality is because I scanned it and then reversed the black & white.  It wasn't the best pic to begin with, but I recognize all of 'em, even mom's shadow there on the right, as she took the photo...lol
It's Reinhard Janson, Walburga and Ida Naber, Helen and Lawrence Cable, with Naber's chicken coop in the background.
I'm trying to figure out what year it probably was: it's cold enough to wear coats, but Ida and Walburg just dashed outside for the photo-op.  There are no leaves on the tree to the left and no leaves on the ground, so it's probably spring....Uncle Reinhard looks like he did in his U of M pics....I don't have a date when Helen Gertrude Bahns married Lawrence Anthony Cable, but this trip was probably to introduce Lawrence to the Naber sisters.  My best guess is April, 1942.  If I'm right, Helen was expecting little Lawrence, who was born in November that year.  She does look a little urppy....lol

Helen's mother was Katherine (Naber) Bahns, and Reinhard and Linda (mom)'s mother was Margaret (Naber) Janson. Katherine and Margaret's dad was Gerhard Naber, whose oldest  half-brother was Henry, the father of Ida and Walburga Naber...got it?

How far was it?

See Dyersville, west of Dubuque? That's the area our Nabers came from.

And see Davenport, at the bottom? That was where William and Katherine (Naber) Bahns started their family.

Larry found the city directory for Davenport, Iowa from 1890-91, which showed a few BAHNS, including a Wm Bahns. In one entry, he worked for the Black Hawk Brick Company as a laborer, and in the "Musical Organizations" listing, he was the leader of the Germania Band.

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Could it be that Pierz needed a band leader, and that he applied for and got the job? Since we don't know why the Nabers moved to Morrison County, I'm just speculating, but it's possible. Perhaps Gerhard coincidently purchased the Buckman farm before he died?

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Here's a map that shows how far Pierz is from Davenport. They would have taken a riverboat up to St Paul, probably, then the train.

By 1908, Wm was 39, and Katherine was 28. Her mom was 62, and her sibs were 32, 30, 26 and 24, all unmarried. Maybe they saw Minnesota as a fresh start, huh?