Early settlers...in Buckman?

LOL...a bit of Americana:
We don't know who these people were, but Sue says it's a postcard, and it has lots of fingerprints on it.
Did all nine people live in that house?
Or, was the woman with the horse visiting?
Was her husband taking the picture?
Were the couple parents to the little kids?
Who was standing in the doorway then? ++++

Edit: Larry brought this to my attention just now: There are some definite anomalies in the photo that bring up lotsa questions...like, why would there be four oxen parked in the farmyard like that? It's a joke that the little kid is holding the lead rope to those huge animals--Larry pointed out that they look like buffalo/cattle crosses, and wow, they DO. See the horns and hump on the nearest beast? (We know Frank Otremba was messing with crossing buffalo with his cattle...could these be some of them?) The mans' clothing doesn't look "German" to me, either....and the oxen are tied to a low hitching post before the lead rope--why would that be there?

If this was a random "settlers" picture postcard, why did Aggie Suess keep it in her stuff?

Also, why the rows of cans IN the window of the 'house'? The relationships of the people seem odd, too...

Now, try THIS theory on:

I heard this weekend that there was another Center Valley Store, located at the T in the road north of the creamery. Is this picture of THAT store?

It would account for the cans in the windows, and the chalkboard next to the door, for the unusual mix of people outside, for the kids sitting on the ground with no kid-stuff near them, for well-to-do parents of those kids owning a horse, too; for the fancy dog-cart just to our right of those kids, for the woman and baby in the doorway (storekeeper?) and for the 'extra' woman behind the man ( possibly the storekeepers' sister or more likely, the "hired girl" who tended the children ). And, it would account for having four large farm animals in the yard. Were they for sale?

See why I think Larry's a genius? lol...this idea makes MUCH more sense of what we see here!

The man could be Frank Otremba, who was Polish.. Perhaps he was showing them that day (matching halters on 'em), and/or selling them? We know he tried to convince other farmers that they were the future. He could very well have been showing them, and he could afford a photographer to record the event.

Aggie would definitely have kept that picture--it might not have been the Center Valley store, but it WAS a store, I think. (Either Center Valley store would have been close to the Suess farm, and much closer than Buckman).
+++++

HA! Theory #2: (Thursday morning) That store could very well have been John Mueller's store, in Buckman. Larry was thinking about it, and checked John's bio in "The History of Morrison and Todd Counties, Minnesota" from 1915. John Mueller and his brother opened a store in Buckman in 1909. We know from the 1908 Schmolke house photo that most of the houses/businesses weren't there yet.

It would make even MORE sense that Frank Otremba would show his cattleo there. A brand new store, and innovative Buffalo/cattle crosses:

Aggie would have had even more reason to save THAT picture!

BTW, 20 days till the REUNION!