Agnes Roe BLAKEY Memories (30 Jul 1992)

Growing Up

I was born in Des Moines Township, Jackson County, Minnesota, America.

My birthdate is August 22, 1909.

My parent’s full names and birthdates are:

Father Albert Roe
Mother Mina Hoganson Roe

They had the following occupations:

Father Coal hauler and farmer
Mother Housewife – Seamstress before marriage

The most memorable times we had as a family were:

On Sunday evenings sitting around the table singing hymns. Evenings when we all played a card game called bunco [?]. It was a fun game. On memorial day when we went to the cemetery.

I remember this amusing incident involving my father/mother:

The time we went to Jackson for the celebration for the ending of world war and the car stalled. We walked home. No one complained, we had such a good evening.

The time dad rolled the car on Thanksgiving day only about a mile from home. No one hurt.

The names and birthdates of my brothers and sisters are:

Ella Roe Graves – July 12, 1902
Sherman Arthur Roe – August 25, 1907

An interesting story about my brothers, sisters and me is:

The time when it was a small blizzard. Ella was always late in getting ready so as we were going to school, and Sherman and Edward Burreson went on ahead. Ella and I had just gotten up to the track when the train came, it sure whistled and we were sure the boys would not hear so well bundled up and wind blowing. We were relieved when we saw them. They had heard it in time so they had each scrambled one way and the other between two steep hills.

My grandparent’s names and birthplaces are:

On my mother’s side Semming Hoganson born in Haarset, Norway on November 12, 1856. Lena Larson was born at Hornset, Norway, a neighboring community. Was born on November 8, 1857.

On my father’s side Anders Roe born in Lerdahl, Norway, Sept. 13, 1844. Elsa Frederickson Roe, Lerdahl, Norway, Sept. 9, 1844.

This is where they lived:

When I knew them the Hogansons lived about 4 miles north of Jackson depot. The Roes lived on the same road only a couple miles further north.

This is what I remember about my grandparents:

I loved grandmother dearly. She seemed so very kind all the time. She always got up early and served Grandpa and Charlie, every day cake and coffee before they went out to chore. I just had to be up for this. She always told me when she was going to gather eggs in her apron and I could help. She taught me what glass eggs [?] were for. I wasn’t too fond of my grandfather. He teased me in a way I didn’t like. He would take horses and wagon and haul the cream to the creamery. I would ride along not so much by choice as being urged to. Looking back I think they wanted me gone for awhile. One time he said, “Can you see where I live?” I looked and looked for their grove, and when I thought I had the right one, I told him. He said, “No, I am living right here.” Grandma spoke no English. Grandpa spoke very broken English. I only knew dad’s parents slightly.

Some things I remember doing with my grandparents are:

Gathering eggs, washing hankies on the board when Grandma stood in the shade washing clothes. Taking lunch out to the field for Grandpa and riding to the creamery.

Other members of my extended family who were important to me include:

Charlie – Very kind, but I wasn’t allowed in his room. He sold me gum but I had to have my penny half way under the door before he would send the gum out. He was one of my sponsors.

Randy – She worked in a store and it was so much fun to go in there. She was also a sponsor.

In later years it was Lillie and Emma. Emma took me along on a couple trips when I was a kid. She was the most fun of all.

They were important to me because:

I suppose they were the ones that made over me.

These were the first memories I have of myself as a child:

Maybe the first one was when my Grandpa Roe asked me to go with him to the toilet. He left the door open, but my mother came out and saw us. She called me and boy, did I get spanked. We had a sack [?] swing over the driveway and one day as I was swinging the rope busted and when I came to I was sitting behind the house. I had no idea how I got there.

On the 4th of July dad always took Sherman and I to Jackson. I don’t remember anything about the celebration but we waited for time to go home because then we got an ice cream cone. We had very few toys but I would sit in the corner of the kitchen and cut out chickens from paper. Very simple ones but it would get to be a big flock.

Some humorous or memorable incidents that I remember from my childhood are:

When Edward built a raft and we took it out on the river and it tipped over. The was little more than waist deep. Sherman and I went fishing a lot and one day we caught over a hundred when we quit counting—all bullheads.

The similarities I see between my grandchildren and myself when I was young are:

Full of pep and good humor. I hope my grandparents enjoyed my visits as much as I have enjoyed mine.

When I was a child, this is how my family celebrated Christmas:

We had dad’s bachelor uncle come over for dinner. He always brought a sack of nuts and one of peanuts. No tree, no nothing. My uncle’s name was Richard Roe.

Unique celebrations my family had were:

Not unique but we always went to Hogansons for dinner on Thanksgiving. And we kids sure enjoyed that one. One Thanksgiving we did not get there. Dad rolled the car on the way. The car never did have a top again. No one hurt.

When I was a child, some of the gifts I received and gave on holidays were:

The gifts were few and far apart. I can remember one year mother was telling me about the great gift Sherman was making for me and how disappointed I was. It was a plain old board shaped like an ironing board. I suppose I was at the age of playing with dolls and maybe it was a great accomplishment for him. If Mother just had not said anything. I got a slipover sweater from Emma one Christmas but I was just blossoming and it was tight. I used it very little tho’ I did need it.

My responsibilities on holidays included:

I had no responsibilities. I left home at 13. I can’t remember giving any gifts ‘til I was grown.

The pets I had as a child, and their names, were:

I had a pig named Asley. Since he had given it to me, Dad carried it home under his coat once when we had been down there. It was a runt but sure did not stay that way. He roamed around the place and came to the house to be fed. The family had a dog named Anton after one of the neighbors. Sherman and I thought a lot of that dog. He was just a mixture.

The one thing I remember most about my pet(s) is:

When I had to sell Asley. Dad took him down in the sled and I went along. I got 56 dollars for him. Then mother told at the supper table that night how they would kill him. I would gladly have given back the money if I could have gotten him back. The one thing I remember most about Anton was Sherman and I worrying about him during a bad storm. We were in the basement. All windows were gone, the bridge across the river went and of course all crops, but Anton was safe under the porch.

I remember when a candy bar cost 5 cents, I could go to the movies for 25 cents and gasoline was 15 cents per gallon.

When I was a child, William H. Taft and Woodrow Wilson were Presidents of the U.S.

My favorite meal my mother made, and what made it so special, was:

When dad would have a little money left from his cream check after gas and tobacco he would buy steak. Mother would sure pound it and brown it, pour cream on it and it would simmer a long time. Was that ever good. Also when mother made [illegible] (Norwegian) she would start with a big bottle of milk and end up with a small bowl, but it was divided between us. Elise made it for me once here in Windom.

These are some of the things I remember about trips my family took as I was growing up:

I went with mother and dad to Sioux Falls to visit dad’s aunt and to Redwood Falls to visit Randy and Herman when they lived there.

This is how I would describe the house and neighborhood I lived in as I was growing up:

The house was comfortable as to size, but always cold in the winter time because just a cook stove was used to heat it. Hot in the summer. A big grove in front on the north and that same cook stove. The neighborhood very friendly. Neighbors enjoyed each other back then.

These are ways that neighborhood has changed over time:

Not many left of those that lived there then and not the togetherness there was.

When I started school I was 6 years old. My favorite and least favorite subjects were:

My favorite was math and reading. My least favorite were geography and history.

One of my favorite teachers in elementary school—and why—was:

Anna Jenson later married and was Fawcett. She was our teacher for 4 years.

This is how I got to school each day:

Walked the railroad tracks.

Things I enjoyed doing most as a child were:

On winter evenings playing bunco. Summer—chasing fireflies and hide and go seek. Edward and I spent hours in a play house on the bank of the creek between his place and ours. Oh, for the mud pies we made.

These are the things I remember most about my teen-age years (friends, activities, school, special events, favorite foods and songs, jobs, heroes, etc.):

Very few activities, no money and no time. I tried roller skating once, I went to one girls’ basketball game. I did not enjoy high school. I worked for Eastvolds [?] at the parsonage for almost 2 school years. Summers I worked for Mother doing house work and sometimes helped fold papers at the reporter office where they put our a weekly paper. The last two years I worked at Clozes [?]. Part of the time at the house and part time at the store. I enjoyed most all foods. The last two years of school Bertha was my friend. I had others in school when I stayed at Eastvolds but very little time to spend with them outside of school.

This is how I would describe myself when I was a teenager:

Quiet, inferior feeling, seemed it was always work. There was nothing to go home for. No money to do anything with. When I worked money went for what I needed. Even paid my own dentist bill.

This is what I remember about my first date:

I don’t recall my first date, but he was from Iowa. He had a friend, Bertha and I went, but together with them. I can’t remember the name of the girl that introduced us. We went with them to Okoboji on 4th of July. And when talked about it afterward what good spenders they were. They each spent about $20.

Things that are different now than they were when I was growing up are:

Kids now don’t have the responsibility we had. They don’t work like we did, they have much money that comes easy which we did not have. Few had the clothes that they do now. Parents did not take us places like they do now. No one used babysitters, the children went with us. We sat still in church without something to play with or to eat.

Other comments I have about growing up:

The folks took me no place. I walked to take my music lessons. We always walked to school in all kinds of weather. The mailman usesd horses and was usually right on time. I rode with ours when I went to Eastvolds to work. Otherwise I would have had to walk.

Employment

My first job was:

At Eastvolds where I did housework and took care of two kids. I had Friday night off and Sunday afternoon and evening.

The work that I did in that job involved:

Cleaning, baking, ironing and taking care of the kids.

The things that I especially remember about my first job were:

Work, good food and more work. Being very tied down. I could only go out Friday nights until 10 and Sunday afternoons.

Other employment I have had over the years included:

Mallahans [?] in the summer, and in the last of high school I worked at Clozen [?] house and store. I also washed windows in spring and fall. One lady was so tight, she thought I was taking too long so decided they just needed wiping off. She was supposed to be wealthy. Guess that’s the way she got it.

The jobs I liked the best, and why I liked them, were:

The store. I like people and it was the most interesting.

The jobs I disliked the most were:

Cleaning and washing windows.

Some important things I have learned in choosing a career are:

[Left blank.]

Marriage and Children

This is how I met my spouse:

On a mud hole ride [?] with Joe Graves [?] at the [illegible] and Bertha with him. Joe did not introduce us so I had no idea who he was. The next Sunday night Joe came up and asked me. Verland did not have the nerve.

Before we were married, we dated each other for about 2 years.

We were married on August 22, 1927.

When were first married, we lived:

With Verland’s folks for 1 and 1/2 years. Then we moved to a farm south of Jackson where we were happy. Had good neighbors. Uncle Erv [?] and Aunt Ella Pierson lived about a mile and a half from us. Gordon, Verla and Averland were all born there.

We bought our first house (and farm) in 1942 for about $11,000. Our first car was a Whippit [?] and cost about $[Left blank.]

This was the rage in music, dance and clothes when we were first married:

Most of our clothes were made and we were not style conscious.

These are the homes and communities I have lived in since I was married, and here is how they’ve changed over the years:

The place in Middletown township south of Jackson, the place we rented from Oscar Teigen north of Jackson. The place we bought northeast of Windom.

Some important things I have learned about marriage are:

Don’t always want your own way. Work together. Be thoughtful of the other one, remembering the wishes of the other one are as important as yours. Live within your means.

These are the names and birthdays of my children:

Gordon – December 19, 1929, Verla – April 28, 1932, Averland – April 9, 1934, Sharon – February 20, 1946, Pamella – Nov. 9, 1949.

My spouse and I and our children celebrated Christmas, birthdays and other holidays by:

Christmas we got together with other relatives. We had a nice program honoring Jesus’ birthday, exchanged gifts and had a good meal together.

Birthdays were celebrated with some other relatives if possible and we always had a birthday cake.

Family traditions that we began were:

Our Christmas gatherings. Thanksgiving spent with the Blakeys. Grandma always made a very good dinner. We did have them for Christmas along with my our relatives.

These are the traditions which I hope my children and grandchildren will carry on with their own families:

To have Christmas like we have had.

I best remember these trips which our family took as our children were growing up:

We went to Duluth to visit Sherman. Averland and Sharon went along. We stayed about a week. They lived at Lutson [?] and had a small group of cabins. We went to Harlingen, Texas to see Verla. Averland, Sharon, and Pam were with us. This was at Christmas time.

I remember these humorous or memorable stories about our children as they were growing up:

Gordon falling off a load of corn. Being run over by a horse, but she just knocked him over and stepped over him. Fell off the arm of the day bed and knocked himself. He was really sick the rest of the day. Dad backing over Verla but left her with just a black and blue lump on her forehead.

My grandchildren remind me of my own children in these ways:

Peppy, enjoy life.

What I have enjoyed most about being a parent is:

The companionship I have had through all these years. The many things I learned as they were learning. Being able to give and do more for them than I had.

Some of the things I have learned as a parent are:

Be a part of each child. Every one is different and each one is precious, but each one has to grow up to be himself or herself.

This is what I have enjoyed about being a grandparent:

Enjoying them without having the responsibility that went with being a parent.

This is how I would describe our family over the years, in terms of its character and unique aspects:

I have felt that our family has been close knit family. We enjoy being together and have tried to help one another accomplish what is important to them. We have tried to be the kind of parents that our children could turn to.

Other Areas of My Life

As an adult, I have enjoyed these hobbies or pastimes:

Crocheting, making quilt tops, going with lady friends on short trips. I enjoy writing letters.

If I could teach a special hobby or skill to my grandchildren, I would choose:

I would like to teach them several kinds of hand work.

My faith has influenced and contributed to my life in these ways:

I have not been concerned about having enough things that are really needed. It has given me a deep concern for the children. It has given a peace in illness.

This is what I remember about the church activities I was involved in over the years:

Sunday school teaching, Bible school teaching, Zion society circles, Chairman of circles.

As an adult, these friends have been especially important to me:

Ruth, Lina [?], Bertha, Elenora Olson.

Friendships have enriched my life by:

By being there when I needed someone to talk to – Ruth. Taking me along for fun trips – Lina. A good friend when I was in my teens – Bertha. By needing me and always being good natured – Elenora.

Numerous historical events have occurred during my lifetime (the depression, World War II, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of important leaders, the space program and many more). Some events that I particularly remember or that affected my life, and the reasons why, include:

The depression taught me a lot. Neighbors became more important, we learned to make do with what we had.

When the war quit we went to the celebration. Such happiness I will never forget.

As I look back over the events of my life, the things that made me the happiest and about which I feel especially proud are:

Having a home of my own. Each time a baby arrived, the time Gordon arrived so cute and perfect. Each one after that was equally precious.

As I look to the future, I have these hopes and goals for our family and for myself:

That each family will be happy and grow stronger in their Christian life. That all four families will enjoy each other and have no conflict between them.

For myself that I might never doubt Christ’s love or His saving grace and be ready to say goodbye when he comes for me.

RIP Gordon Robert BLAKEY (26 Dec 2018): Memories

Earlier today I received word from my cousin Lynden Blakey that his father, Gordon, had passed away peacefully at about 2:00 p.m. MST.


Gordon and Shirley (Jurgens) Blakey. Image courtesy of Holly Blakey-Walker.

Several years ago I had asked my cousin, LeAnn (Blakey) Thomas, if she would see if Gordon was willing to fill out a Memories document similar to the one my mom did with Grandma Blakey. I recently came across it and put it away in my files. It seems appropriate to post it now.

MEMORIES – GORDON ROBERT BLAKEY

These memories are being shared by Gordon Blakey on 3/2011.

Growing Up

I was born in Jackson, Minnesota–at home on the farm.

My birthdate is 12/16/1929.

My parent’s full names and birthdates are:

• Father: Verland Edward Blakey 9-10-1902.
• Mother: Agnes Marie (Roe) Blakey 8-22-1909.

They had the following occupations:

• Father: Farmer.
• Mother: Stay-at-home mother/Farming.

I remember these amusing incidents from my childhood:

I was 8 or 9 years old. One night I was chasing cats in the barn. It was winter time and at night. There was a stock tank in the barn and it was partially covered with boards. I accidentally dove into the stock tank and had to be carried back to the house. Mamie Paulson was at the house.

I was 12 years old on the farm north of Jackson. LaRue, Roland, and I were walking from a farm building to the house. The farm dog was by the windmill. LaRue said he was going to kick the dog. It was a black and white dog. I said you better not because he will bite you. LaRue kicked the dog and it bit him. He had to go to the hospital and get stitches.

The names and birthdates of my brothers and sisters are:

• Verla Ardis (Blakey) Williams 4-28-1932.
• Averland Virgil Blakey 4-9-1934.
• Sharon Joy (Blakey) Asche 2-20-1946.
• Pamella Sue (Blakey) Bergan Wilmes 11-9-1949.

An interesting story about my brothers, sisters and me is:

I was about 12 years old. Lightning hit the chimney and came out of the chimney, hit the cook stove, jumped over to the window above the sink and went outside. It broke the casing/wood around the window. Verla let out a blood-curdling scream.

I remember giving Averland a penny so I could be the first one to get a drink of water.

My grandparent’s names and birthplaces are:

On my mother’s side:

Minnie Roe
Albert Roe

On my father’s side:

Lottie Blakey
George Blakey

This is where they lived:

Roes lived northwest of Jackson by a river.

Blakeys lived on a farm southwest of Jackson.

This is what I remember about my grandparents:

Grandad Blakey had a mustache like Geraldo Rivera.

Grandpa Roe when he would come over would sit and twiddle his thumbs the whole time he was talking.

Some things I remember doing with my grandparents are:

I remember being on a horse and sleigh because the snow was so deep on the roads.

Other members of my extended family who were important to me include:

I remember going to Duluth with Orville in his 1941 model car.

These were the first memories I have of myself as a child:

I remember the old house where I was born south of Jackson. Dad and I went down there one time and the house was still standing.

When I was a child, this is how my family celebrated Christmas:

Everybody came to our house north of Jackson. I remember I got a giant pencil with a big eraser on it. We had a Christmas tree with real candles.

Unique celebrations my family had were:

May Day–Verla and I took a may basket to the neighbors. We hid in the ditch so they didn’t see us.

Sunday afternoons we would go down to a park in Iowa and buy candy kisses for a penny.

When I was a child, some of the gifts I received and gave on holidays were:

Clothes or shoes–Christmas and birthdays.
Electric Circular Sander–Christmas/birthday (didn’t want).

The pets I had as a child, and their names, were:

We had dogs but they weren’t really pets. They were working dogs. Didn’t really have pets.

When I was a child, Roosevelt was President of the U.S.

My favorite meal my mother made, and what made it so special, was:

Glorified rice–jello, rice, and cream (whipped, I think). My mom made it for one of the Hoganson’s funerals. I ate so much of it, I was sick.

These are some of the things I remember about trips my family took as I was growing up:

Had picnics with family in Fork-u-fines(?) in Iowa.

This is how I would describe the house and neighborhood I lived in as I was growing up:

1^st house: 2-story, 4 bedrooms, N of Jackson, outdoor plumbing.
2^nd house: Big, square house, 4 bedrooms, wood/coal heater in the living room.

These are ways that neighborhood has changed over time:

1^st house in Jackson is still standing–nobody lives there.

When I started school I was 6 years old.

One of my favorite teachers in elementary school—and why—was:

Ms. Tobison–She gave me a ball for completing a task.
I didn’t like one of my teachers (Mrs. Schudeberry) because she had “an attitude”–she didn’t like my mom.

This is how I got to school each day:

Either our folks took us or we would walk.

Things I enjoyed doing most as a child were:

Rode a small bike, drive a tractor, grind feed once in a while. Was in the school play. Botched my part.

These are the things I remember most about my teen-age years (friends, activities, school, special events, favorite foods and songs, jobs, heroes, etc.):

Delbert Ring was a friend. Didn’t have a job. Attended school in a one room school house. At Christmas time, there was always a Christmas tree with real candles.

This is how I would describe myself when I was a teenager:

Quiet, didn’t get into mischief.

This is what I remember about my first date:

Don’t remember my first date.

Employment

My first job was:

Artificial inseminator.

The work that I did in that job involved:

Reaching inside the cow and spraying the semen inside.

The things that I especially remember about my first job were:

Quite a bit of driving all over the county. Farmers would call when they had a cow in heat.

Other employment I have had over the years included:

Worked for Art Vold doing construction.

The jobs I liked the best, and why I liked them, were:

Didn’t like any of them.

Marriage and Children

This is how I met my spouse:

Through Lyle Jurgens. Shirley went to Alabama with Audrey Jurgens and I met her there.

Before we were married, we dated each other for about IDK years. We were married on November 23, 1953.

When were first married, we lived:

The old house on the Windom farm.

We bought our first house in Bingham Lake for about $6,000. Our first car was a ‘49/’50 Ford and cost about $10K.

These are the homes and communities I have lived in since I was married, and here is how they’ve changed over the years:

Bingham Lake, MN
Howard Ketzenberg’s farm
Aurora, Colorado–grown very much
Brighton, Colorado–grown very much

Some important things I have learned about marriage are:

After losing my spouse, there were simple things she wanted to do that I could have and should have done.

These are the names and birthdays of my children:

• Laurene Ann – September 11, 1954
• Lynden Mark – November 12, 1956
• Leslee Roberta – July 20, 1958
• LeAnn Kay – September 28, 1959
• Lisa Carol – December 10, 1960
• Larry Douglas – October 18, 1964
• Leah Lynn – January 16, 1973

My spouse and I and our children celebrated Christmas, birthdays and other holidays by:

On Christmas Eve we either went to my parents or her parents. For birthdays the kids would pick what they wanted for dinner.

Family traditions that we began were:

Oyster stew on Christmas Eve.

I best remember these trips which our family took as our children were growing up:

Camping trip to Blue Mound, near Worthington with Slayton.
Camping trip to Colorado with Lyle Jurgens.
Camping trip to S. Dakota with Chet Bennet.
Camping trip to Wisconsin with Kermit Twait.

I remember these humorous or memorable stories about our children as they were growing up:

When we lived in Aurora, Larry took a scooter to the open field and he got it stuck in the mud. I chewed him up one side and down the other. Also, LeAnn and Lisa were backing out of the driveway. LeAnn backed into the trash cans. Lisa got out to move them and was snickering the whole time. LeAnn looked at her and said, “Shut up!”

My grandchildren remind me of my own children in these ways:

I don’t know.

What I have enjoyed most about being a parent is:

Parenting was not always fun. I’m glad I had so many kids to take care of me.

Some of the things I have learned as a parent are:

Parenting was not always fun.

This is how I would describe our family over the years, in terms of its character and unique aspects:

Kids always seemed behaved and disciplined in public. Got complimented for it several times.

Other Areas of My Life

As an adult, I have enjoyed these hobbies or pastimes:

Woodworking.

If I could teach a special hobby or skill to my grandchildren, I would choose:

Carpentry.

As an adult, these friends have been especially important to me:

Kermit and Betty Twait, Archie Amundsen

Numerous historical events have occurred during my lifetime (the depression, World War II, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of important leaders, the space program and many more). Some events that I particularly remember or that affected my life, and the reasons why, include:

I remember going to Camp Rucker, Alabama. My job was driving truck – it pulled a big gun – this was used for training new recruits for Korea.

RIP Verla Ardis (BLAKEY) Williams (4 May 2026): Memories

Verla A. Williams passed away on the evening of 4 May 2026 surrounded by her family. She and I had earlier completed a Memories document similar to the one she had done with my Grandma Blakey.

MEMORIES

These memories are being shared by Verla A. Williams on 7/22/2021.

Growing Up

I was born in Middletown Township, Jackson County, Minnesota.

My birthdate is 28 Apr 1932.

My parent’s full names and birthdates are: 

• Father: Verland Edward Blakey (10 Sep 1902).
• Mother: Agnes Marie Roe (22 Aug 1909).

 They had the following occupations: 

• Father: Farmer.
• Mother: Housekeeper for Pastor Eastvold.

 The most memorable times we had as a family were:

The people from Middletown Township had picnics where we played with the other cousins and kids. I remember going to Grandma Blakey’s (Lottie Kephart) for Thanksgiving dinner. (“I remember she made the best duck.” – Vince Williams)

 I remember this amusing incident involving my father/mother:

Dad was very quiet usually, but when he said something it could be very funny.

The names and birthdates of my brothers and sisters are:

• Gordon Robert Blakey (16 Dec 1929).
• Averland Virgil Blakey (9 Apr 1934).
• Sharon Joy (Blakey) Asche (20 Feb 1946).
• Pamella Sue (Blakey) Bergan Wilmes (9 Nov 1949).

An interesting story about my brothers, sisters and me is:

When we were going to the country school, Mom had us walk home (just short of two miles). There were a group of six of us, I remember during the winter when there was snow on the ground, but the weather. Three of them parted at the corner of Highway 71 where we had had a snowball fight and gotten our clothes all snowy.

As we were walking home, we would walk single file on the highway by age. Gordon first, then me, then Averland. Our teacher happened to come along and offer us a ride. We didn’t refuse because she was our teacher. She dropped us off at the end of our driveway.

The next day we got called in because the teacher (Mrs. Schluter) was upset that we had gotten snow in her car and as punishment had to stay in for two recesses and the noon hour for several days. The younger kids had to do arithmetic problems. Gordon and I had to memorize some poems. Mom got mad enough that she talked to the teacher. She told her we were walking because of my health and that I needed fresh air and exercise. I was puny, and she figured it would be good for me.

The teacher was finally persuaded that that had been enough and since she couldn’t let just me go, she let us all go.

My grandparent’s names and birthplaces are:

On my mother’s side:

• Albert Roe (8 Nov 1876, Enterprise, Jackson, MN) 
• Mina (Hoganson) Roe (29 Jul 1880, Des Moines, Jackson, MN)

 On my father’s side:

• George Edward Blakey (17 Feb 1863, Portage County, WI)
• Lottie (Kephart) Blakey (9 Mar 1871, Dubuque, Dubuque, IA)

This is where they lived:

The Albert Roe farm was next to the Des Moines River in Section 10 of Des Moines Township, Jackson County.

The George Blakey farm was in the southeast corner of Section 28 of Des Moines Township, Jackson County.

Some things I remember doing with my grandparents are:

I remember several times when we would visit my Grandma Blakey we would look at pictures through a stereoscope. Grandma Blakey also used to have a drawer of buttons that I used to take and string onto a string and play with them.

At the Roe farm when there were family gatherings with the cousins we would play Ante Over.

Other members of my extended family who were important to me include:

I remember visiting my grand aunt and uncle Ella and Ern Pearson.

These were some memories I have of myself as a child:

When we lived north of Jackson we went to a country school. We were almost the same distance to the school in town as to the country school. When the weather was nice we would walk home after school. Once at recess when I was in about first grade, two of the eighth-grade girls would take hold of my hands and run across the school yard with me and my feet would barely touch the ground.

Some humorous or memorable incidents that I remember from my childhood are:

I remember getting a box of candy that I wanted to make last. So the first day I ate one piece. Then the second day I ate another piece. Then the third day I ended up eating all of the rest of the candy.

One day at country school I remember I was with some eighth graders, and we were looking in the hole of a latrine and my tam fell in. They fished it out for me and I can’t imagine what my mom must have said when I brought it home.

I remember once at the farm picking up a tin can, and there was a snake coiled up inside of it. I dropped that can so fast.

When I was a child, this is how my family celebrated Christmas:

I remember we had a Christmas tree with decorations, icicles, and lights. Ella and Bruce, Roland and Elaine Graves, and Grandma and Grandpa Blakey would come to our house. Elaine was in charge of coming up with a Christmas “program” before we could open our presents. The stairway upstairs was partially hidden. We would sit on the steps behind this partial wall and took turns singing Christmas carols and reading the Christmas story.

When I was a child, some of the gifts I received and gave on holidays were:

I remember getting a doll either for Christmas or my birthday. A lot of times in school we would make gifts that we could give to our relatives.

The pets I had as a child, and their names, were:

We had dogs and cats but they weren’t really pets, the dogs helped herd the cows and were guard dogs, and the cats were outside cats that caught mice.

I remember the first movie I was allowed to go to was Lassie Come Home.

When I was a child, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the U.S.

My favorite meal my mother made, and what made it so special, was:

I am not sure I had a favorite meal because we were taught to eat what was placed in front of us, so we might as well like it. We had chicken a lot because we raised them on our farm.

These are some of the things I remember about trips my family took as I was growing up:

Our family didn’t take many trips when I was young during the Depression as it was expensive, and because it was hard to find someone that would be able to do the chores on the farm.

This is how I would describe the house and neighborhood I lived in as I was growing up:

The farm north of Jackson is the first one I remember. It had a very long lane, maybe a half of a mile. The house had two stories and was square. It had a stairway to the second floor that was partly closed off. 

Once we were going to give May baskets to the neighbors that lived across the highway from us. To try to surprise them we hid the May baskets in the ditch. I don’t recall if we ever actually delivered them.

At Christmas Mom would organize a program and we kids would read the Christmas story from the Bible. She would have us do recitations of poems and sing Christmas carols. Usually we celebrate with the Graves family, Grandma and Grandpa Blakey, and Orville. Sometimes Grandpa and Grandma Roe would also join us. We would sit on the stairway behind the wall waiting for our turn to perform.

These are ways that neighborhood has changed over time:

Vince and I drove by the farm sometime within the last 20 years and the house was still standing. It had a lot of trees around it.

When I started school I was five years old. My favorite and least favorite subjects were: 

We didn’t have kindergarten then. I started in the first grade. I remember even going to school with Gordon before I started and remember sitting in the back of the room listening while the other students were reading. I liked school and don’t remember really having a favorite subject.

One of my favorite teachers in elementary school—and why—was:

The first teacher I remember was Leona Tobiason who taught all the grades in our country school. She was nice and not very strict or bossy. I think I had her for first and second grade. The teacher after her was a Mrs. Schluter. Country schools then went through the eighth grade if there were students. I went to that school until we moved to the Windom farm about when I was in sixth grade. Then I went to the school in Bingham Lake.

This is how I got to school each day: 

The country school was about two miles from the farm (a mile and a half north and a half mile west). Mom would give us a ride to that school because she didn’t think we would get there on time. Usually we would walk home.

Things I enjoyed doing most as a child were:

I remember enjoying going to town with Mom and Dad on Saturday night to get groceries and I always got a sack of popcorn­­—my weekly treat.

These are the things I remember most about my teen-age years (friends, activities, school, special events, favorite foods and songs, jobs, heroes, etc.):

Living on the farm during the Depression, I didn’t have a lot of time or money for social activities. I remember mostly family get togethers at the Roe farm. Lucille Pierson and Mavis Garoutte were good friends of mine then, though I would spend time with them separately. I was part of Luther League at Windom Evangelical Church. I sang in the high school choir when I was a freshman and a senior. My high school yearbook for 1949 reminded me that I was in a play called The Gift Perfect. 

This is how I would describe myself when I was a teenager:

My nickname in high school was “Tiny.” Here is my senior picture.

Things that are different now than they were when I was growing up are:

Back then I wouldn’t have been able to talk with my family online and see them. We had a telephone with a party line. If someone else’s phone rang we could listen in. They all had different rings. Our number was 39F21 with the 21 meaning two long rings and a short ring. Sometimes we would “rubberneck” and listen to other phone calls and find out what the neighbors were doing.

Employment

My first job was:

The first job I remember was working at a grocery store. The owner was a Joe Moede. I think that was in Windom. I was about 14 and worked Saturdays. I would get a ride there either from Gordon or my folks.

The work that I did in that job involved: 

People would call in an order. I would go around and pick up the stuff and assemble it. They would come in and pick it up and pay for it.

Other employment I have had over the years included: 

I helped Mom and Dad on the farm with chores like gathering eggs. After high school I went to Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis and finished in 1951. I wasn’t finding a job, but knew a lady from Windom who was working for Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance. She told me they had a job available as a typist.

I had my name in as a parish worker, and soon after I was offered a job in East Grand Forks, MN. I worked there for a few years. I think they had a change of pastors and I thought I needed a change too. I went back home for a while.

In the fall of 1954 I started work at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa, as a parish secretary working for both the pastor and congregation.

The jobs I liked the best, and why I liked them, were: 

Being a parish worker was rewarding in that you could visit with people and answer questions. It’s more than just sitting behind a desk.

I also found my role as a wife and mother very rewarding too.

The jobs I disliked the most were: 

Sometimes it was hard visiting people that I didn’t know. You wouldn’t know what to expect when you knocked on their door. That’s why I eventually asked to be a parish secretary rather than a parish worker.

 

Marriage and Children

This is how I met my spouse:

I was renting a sleeping room on W Main St about a block from First Lutheran. Around 9 or 10 one Saturday night I heard someone calling my name and throwing some pebbles at my bedroom window. I went to the window and there were a couple of girls (Charlotte and Charlene Wilkins who were twins) who wanted to know if I wanted to go with them. They knew some young men (the Dresselhaus brothers) who had a friend with them and wanted to see if I would join them. The friend was Vince. We went up to Palisades for a watermelon bust.

Before we were married, we dated each other for about 2 years. 

We were married on 1 Sep 1956. This is our formal wedding picture.

When were first married, we lived in an apartment that was in the back of a house in Iowa City.

We bought our first house in Decorah at 606 W Water St for about $17,500. 

Vince says jokingly that he married me for my car. He didn’t have one. Our first car was a 1957 Chevy 210 Sedan and cost about $2,200.

This was the rage in music, dance and clothes when we were first married:

Vince and I were not really interested in rock and roll that was starting to get popular. We usually listened to big band and swing music that he played and liked.

My mom disapproved of dancing, so I never really learned how.

We didn’t really have a lot of money then, so our clothes were plain and simple. I had dress clothes to wear to church, work, and special occasions.

These are the homes and communities I have lived in since I was married, and here is how they’ve changed over the years: 

When we first moved to Decorah we rented an apartment in the back of the Haugen house on 503 Fifth Avenue. Then we bought the house on 606 W Water St and lived there until we moved to Iowa City in 1977 and lived in a house on 4333 Pine Ridge Trl NE. We lived there until 2019 when we moved into our current apartment at 1095 Silvercrest Cir #313.

Some important things I have learned about marriage are: 

Don’t be as concerned as much about what you’re getting as opposed to what you’re giving.

These are the names and birthdays of my children:

• Dawn Marie (Williams) Boyd (26 Aug 1957).
• Mark Didrik Williams (31 Mar 1959).
• Arik Michael Williams (19 Mar 1964).
• Jené Rachele (Williams) Daub (2 Jun 1966).

My spouse and I and our children celebrated Christmas, birthdays and other holidays by:

We opened presents on Christmas Eve and then went to church services on Christmas Day. Walter and Lillie would usually join us for dinner and the kids would get impatient because they had to wait until the dishes were done, the food was put away, and we had a little Christmas program before we could open the presents. For the program, we would sing carols, and read the Christmas story from the Bible.

I would bake birthday cakes for our family’s birthdays, frost the cakes, and put candles on them. We always sang “Happy Birthday” before they blew out the candles.

We bought the kids sparklers for the Fourth of July and they would see how many times they could run around the house in Decorah before the sparklers died out.

For Thanksgiving we went to church and then I made a big Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the trimmings.

These are the traditions which I hope my children and grandchildren will carry on with their own families:

I hope my children and grandchildren will continue to celebrate Christmas for the reason it was meant to be celebrated.

I best remember these trips which our family took as our children were growing up: 

We often visited my folks in Windom for Christmas, their birthdays, holidays, and sometimes a week in the summer.

We vacationed north of Brainerd, MN at Gull Lake, Trout Lake, and also Whitefish Lake.

Once we visited Vince’s brother, Lyle in Salt Lake City, UT, and also went to Jackson Hole, WY, Yellowstone National Park, and back through the Badlands in SD.

In 1969, we spent the summer on an island in the Caribbean called Anguilla. Vince was doing dentistry there for Lutheran World Relief. I kept a diary for that trip which Mark put on a blog called Mom’s Anguilla Diary.

I remember these humorous or memorable stories about our children as they were growing up:

I remember Dawn taught Mark how to read when she was in first grade and before he went to kindergarten. They would play school after she got home and she still has the little white table and chairs that they sat at.

I remember when Mark accidentally opened the car door when we were coming home from getting groceries, and almost fell out. He was hanging on the door, and I could see his little legs trying to keep up running alongside while I was hoping he would not fall.

I remember Arik and his cousin Larry Blakey playing with a BB gun and Arik getting hit near his eye after shooting a rubber ball. He ended up being in the hospital a few days.

I remember Jené would climb up the door jamb between the kitchen and the living room by putting her bare feet on each side and shimmy her way up.  

What I have enjoyed most about being a parent is:

When the kids mind what I tell them. I’ve enjoyed seeing them perform or get good grades in school and being able to celebrate with them.

Some of the things I have learned as a parent are:

To always love them no matter what they do.

This is what I have enjoyed about being a grandparent:

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to give the child back to the parent. That changes as the child grows older, of course.

Other Areas of My Life

As an adult, I have enjoyed these hobbies or past times:

When we lived in Decorah, I used to like bowling with the women’s bowling league on Friday nights. One of my other favorite hobbies was genealogy. I also enjoyed sewing and quilting with my church group. I like doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku. Vince and I and enjoy going to concerts and listening to music. We also like watching the Hawkeyes play football and both boys and girls basketball.

If I could teach a special hobby or skill to my grandchildren, I would choose:

Genealogy, because I would like the work we’ve done to continue on and take care of what we’ve already done.

My faith has influenced and contributed to my life in these ways: 

Living as a Christian influences the things you do or don’t do. You strive to live following Christ’s examples.

This is what I remember about the church activities I was involved in over the years: 

I was involved with Circle that had monthly meetings. I taught Bible classes for adults at First Lutheran in Decorah, and at Zion Lutheran in Iowa City. I also taught Vacation Bible School. In addition, I took the Bethel Bible Series courses, a 20-lecture series on both the Old and New Testaments.

Numerous historical events have occurred during my lifetime (the depression, World War II, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of important leaders, the space program and many more). Some events that I particularly remember or that affected my life, and the reasons why, include:

Growing up in the Depression, my folks never had much money. When I was young I remember getting a nickel for allowance, and then later a dime, and then a quarter. Saturday night Mom and Dad took us kids into town and would give us a nickel and we could buy a whole bag of popcorn or an ice cream cone. We would walk around the square in Windom to entertain ourselves, while Mom was grocery shopping.

I don’t remember a whole lot about World War II. I vaguely remember once coming down the stairs at the Jackson farm and Mom telling me that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.

We were in Anguilla when the moon landing happened.

As I look back over the events of my life, the things that made me the happiest and about which I feel especially proud are:

Any time one of my kids reached a milestone in their lives, I was happy and proud about it. It helped me feel like I didn’t fail them as a parent.

As I look to the future, I have these hopes and goals for our family and for myself:

I always hope that they will be safe and in good health.