Old clippings
Over the past couple of days Beth has been “spring cleaning” and getting ready for her garage sale this spring. This is another way of saying that I have been forced at gunpoint to sort through my stuff and part ways with things I know I won’t use. It is just as well, because I have a tendency to hold onto silly things that I know I’ll never use, but feel that I should keep them around just in case.
The most important thing I have been doing is sifting through the dozens -- no, make that hundreds -- of newspaper clippings, articles and other assorted things that my mom and dad had collected over the years. A whole pile of these clippings had been lying around in a cardboard box in my house for at least the last 10 years and I decided it was time to either organize them, or just get rid of them. Now, if you know me, you know darn well that I wasn’t going to get rid of them! So I have been looking through all of these clippings and odds-n-ends that Mom and Dad had saved. I found some stuff that was just plain funny; where my immediate reaction was “Why would anybody keep THIS?” But I kept it, figuring if it was important enough for my parents to keep, who am I to toss it?
But most of the bits and pieces I found were very interesting. Among many things, I found my brother Dale’s high school graduation announcement, including his Baccalaureate program from 1965. A faded black and white photo of my brother Bob’s high school (?) baseball team. It was clearly taken in front of the east side of the 1953 B-H school building. The only person I know in the picture is Bob, but I have no doubt he could name every person in the photo. There’s a postcard to Dale Branstner, 1212 Bemidji Ave, Bemidji, MN from Mom, dated November 15, 1967, asking if he could come home on the weekend because Sandy was going to be home and she wanted to see him. There’s another postcard from Bob, dated January 22, 1986, sent from Las Vegas, explaining that they still had the same amount of money as they came with, so they were doing okay.
I found many clippings of fiddle contests my mom judged, including one with a picture of Joe Bauer holding his fiddle and a trophy. There are many obituaries, including one for the son of Homer Hoare, who is supposed to be my dad’s half brother. I should e-mail my cousin Mark Branstner, the family historian, the details of that obituary. Quite some time ago he asked about Homer and wondered if I knew anything about him. This would be a gem to him, I think. It turns out that Homer had several children and resided in Somers, Iowa. I also found a picture of what could be Christian and Johanna Branstner, according to the back of the picture. I checked Rootsweb, but I can’t find a Johanna Branstner and there are multiple Christian Branstners, but none of whom married a woman named Johanna. It is kind of a dead end; I know they are my ancestors, but that’s about it. I also found a check made to Chris Branstner from the Oak Valley Creamery Association, dated May 25, 1927, for the amount of $47.99, which must have been a hefty amount at the time -- and I suspect that is why my grandpa kept that particular check.
I also found dozens of newspaper articles on the history of Hewitt and Wrightstown. In fact, if I compiled it altogether, I would have a neat little history book. One article includes an interview with Ray Thompson discussing Wrightstown school district 141. Ray was Fern Greiner’s dad and I remember when I was a kid, Blaine and I would walk over to his old, rundown house, which was located near the Buschke farm. I remember he always had a coffee can or ice cream bucket he spit his tobacco into. He was always nice to us kids, although I’m sure we annoyed the hell out of him.
Probably my favorite article (at least that I’ve read so far) is an interview with my uncle Swede Truax, who had a watch repair shop in Bertha for years. I remember Mom and I going to visit him every time we were in Bertha. I remember he always had a magnifying glass attached to the rim of his glasses, which I thought looked really weird. He had the neatest shop, with watches and clocks everywhere. Uncle Swede was always full of stories… or as my mom would say, “full of piss and vinegar.”
I suppose I should stop yapping and get some more done around here.
The most important thing I have been doing is sifting through the dozens -- no, make that hundreds -- of newspaper clippings, articles and other assorted things that my mom and dad had collected over the years. A whole pile of these clippings had been lying around in a cardboard box in my house for at least the last 10 years and I decided it was time to either organize them, or just get rid of them. Now, if you know me, you know darn well that I wasn’t going to get rid of them! So I have been looking through all of these clippings and odds-n-ends that Mom and Dad had saved. I found some stuff that was just plain funny; where my immediate reaction was “Why would anybody keep THIS?” But I kept it, figuring if it was important enough for my parents to keep, who am I to toss it?
But most of the bits and pieces I found were very interesting. Among many things, I found my brother Dale’s high school graduation announcement, including his Baccalaureate program from 1965. A faded black and white photo of my brother Bob’s high school (?) baseball team. It was clearly taken in front of the east side of the 1953 B-H school building. The only person I know in the picture is Bob, but I have no doubt he could name every person in the photo. There’s a postcard to Dale Branstner, 1212 Bemidji Ave, Bemidji, MN from Mom, dated November 15, 1967, asking if he could come home on the weekend because Sandy was going to be home and she wanted to see him. There’s another postcard from Bob, dated January 22, 1986, sent from Las Vegas, explaining that they still had the same amount of money as they came with, so they were doing okay.
I found many clippings of fiddle contests my mom judged, including one with a picture of Joe Bauer holding his fiddle and a trophy. There are many obituaries, including one for the son of Homer Hoare, who is supposed to be my dad’s half brother. I should e-mail my cousin Mark Branstner, the family historian, the details of that obituary. Quite some time ago he asked about Homer and wondered if I knew anything about him. This would be a gem to him, I think. It turns out that Homer had several children and resided in Somers, Iowa. I also found a picture of what could be Christian and Johanna Branstner, according to the back of the picture. I checked Rootsweb, but I can’t find a Johanna Branstner and there are multiple Christian Branstners, but none of whom married a woman named Johanna. It is kind of a dead end; I know they are my ancestors, but that’s about it. I also found a check made to Chris Branstner from the Oak Valley Creamery Association, dated May 25, 1927, for the amount of $47.99, which must have been a hefty amount at the time -- and I suspect that is why my grandpa kept that particular check.
I also found dozens of newspaper articles on the history of Hewitt and Wrightstown. In fact, if I compiled it altogether, I would have a neat little history book. One article includes an interview with Ray Thompson discussing Wrightstown school district 141. Ray was Fern Greiner’s dad and I remember when I was a kid, Blaine and I would walk over to his old, rundown house, which was located near the Buschke farm. I remember he always had a coffee can or ice cream bucket he spit his tobacco into. He was always nice to us kids, although I’m sure we annoyed the hell out of him.
Probably my favorite article (at least that I’ve read so far) is an interview with my uncle Swede Truax, who had a watch repair shop in Bertha for years. I remember Mom and I going to visit him every time we were in Bertha. I remember he always had a magnifying glass attached to the rim of his glasses, which I thought looked really weird. He had the neatest shop, with watches and clocks everywhere. Uncle Swede was always full of stories… or as my mom would say, “full of piss and vinegar.”
I suppose I should stop yapping and get some more done around here.
