Joseph H Grell, Merchant

It surprises me that there was a small, consistent cadre of merchants who advertised every week in the Pierz Journal during the first 10 years of publication (1909-1919).  Names like  Hartmann, Blake, Neisius, Macho, Bentfeld, Burton, Schmolke, and Faust had ads in most issues (and sometimes multiple ads). Most of them seemed to stick with one line of merchandise--grocery, dry goods, clothing, farm implements--but Joe Grell tried them all, seems like. 
 
Who was Joseph H. Grell?  The son of William Grell and Gertrude (Virnig) Grell, he was born in 1867 and lived in Pierz til he died in 1944. The portrait appeared in his ad in 1912, centered on top of a full page listing of merchandise for sale.  (We're incredulous that every ad in those years promised "below cost", "bargain prices", "wholesale!"--as tho customers weren't very bright and businessmen weren't in it for the money.  Can't you hear grandpa mumble "bullshit!"?)

Back to Joe Grell: In the 1900 census, he's married to Josephina (Wolke) Grell.  She was 20 and he was 33.  In the 1905 Minnesota census they had two children, Mary and Anton. Josephina died in 1908, and Joe married Elizabeth Donek sometime after the 1910 census.  
In the 1920 census, he's 52 and she's 32.  They had six sons together: John, Victor, Melvin, Anthony, Joseph and Clarence. 

What got us interested in Joe Grell was this tongue-in-cheek write-up from 1914.  At first reading, I wondered how he managed to piss off the writer and stay in business.  But then....it sounds like schputt (spott) after all.

"Buy Your Coffins at Home.  

Joseph H. Grell tells about a fellow in Morgan, Minn., who was stung by buying from a mail order house.  It all came about this way: When mother became suddenly ill and the family physician gave a "grave" prognosis--that she could not possibly live more than two weeks--the son turned to the pages of Sears & Roebuck's catalogue and ordered a coffin.  In due time the coffin came; --but the mother got well.  For the past three years the coffin has been stored under the hay as dead capital, awaiting the opportunity to bring the owner returns on his investment.
"If you don't believe it," says Joe, "ask P. M. Koll, the new owner of the Henry Schulte farm.  He moved here from Morgan."
(The only reason one might have for doubting the story is that doctors never make mistakes)".  {The editor of the PJ at the time was Dr. Ed Kerkhoff ☺}

 "A Versatile Grafter.  Joseph H. Grell is a good man in the follow up game.  Once in his clutches, he is sure to get all that is in it.  He sells the victim the land, then sells him the farm implements, and if the fellow starves to death, he sells him the coffin.  Besides he sells the nails to fasten down the box, and sells the spade to cover him with, and then sells the mourning widow a tombstone to decorate the grave".

 A few ads from those years...Joseph, John and Frank Grell all owned businesses in Pierz.  The obit was Joseph's daughter Mary, in 1918.

 I think it might have been fun to know the Grells ☺!

Party like it's 1915

 It was a rare week when no house parties were reported on page 3 in the Buckman Correspondence column of the Pierz Journal.  The reporter was my dad's uncle Math Hesch, and he most often began: "Those that took in the party held at the _______ home Sunday afternoon are:" followed by as complete a guest list as they'd allow. There were a lot of paid inches in listing every member of all the families who attended, and I think he was right with this first one being the biggest--I count sixty guests.  There's so much we can deduce from lists like this--who lived nearby, who associated with whom, which hosts invited a wide range of ages to a party, and who arranged for lots of games to play, not just cards....and probably, which hostess put on a good feed afterwards!
This party at Henry Blocks house is of particular interest because the guests sound like the were from eight different families at least, til you realize that they were mostly Sands--Henry's wife was Lena Sand, sister of John Sand and of Angie Heimitz (Hiemenz) and Lizzie Sand was A.A. Heschs wife, while  Mike and Louisa Sand were their parents.  M. E. Hesch was Math, AA's brother.  The three Posters were brothers of Joe Sand's wife (in Sask.) Schreders and Kinzers were probably neighbors, tho ☺.

The tradition of serving lunch at midnight was mentioned almost every time, a tradition mom and the aunts continued when we were kids, remember?  

Taking the mystery out of a neighbors' history?

Larry and I often talk about the thrill we get following an unrelated  Buckman or Pierz families' story here on HH.  Terhaars, Brausens, Stangls, Muellers, Dehlers...tho when we post about them, aren't we taking the fun from someone else?  Some former neighbor's descendant who'll google their grandpas name and find the story here, already investigated?
  

But then we think, hell, there are plenty of stories out there, and the ones we find and choose to follow can be a starting place for some other genealogist.  Besides, we figure we're building a milieu of a time when anything was possible, when working together was all it'd take. Neighbors were closer than they are today, so their stories are integral to (and almost interchangeable with) the Hesch story. Like the KIPPLEY family:


According to Myles Kippley's bio in the 1970 Morrison County Atlas, Myles' dad was Henry and his grandfather was John (pictured), who settled in Agram township around 1880.  The 1905 Minnesota census says that John was born in New York of German parents, and Katherine was born in Wisconsin, also of German parents.  Henry was 12 in 1905 so he wasn't born yet when this pic was taken in 1891.

The John Kippley Family--1891

The atlases maybe contained more Kippley photos, but these four are the ones I saved, partly because I recognized the name and partly cuz the wedding photos below were taken by the same photographer who took mom and dad's wedding pics--see the columns and staircase backdrop? ☺

Myles and Wilma Kippley were married after WWII but earlier than Ray and Dolores by a whole 5 months.

Myles and Wilma Kippley with Raymond Kippley and Elaine Flicker April 14, 1948

According to a comment left by their daughter, the  smaller pic was taken at Myles and Wilma Kippley's wedding reception.  Pictured with them are Myles' parents (Henry and Clara Kippley) and Wilma's parents (Regina and Mike Flicker) and Wilma's grandparents on the Boser side. Thanks, Carol!

Ray and Dolores (Faust) Kippley

    September 14, 1948

This couple's particularly cool because their  daughter Janice married my cousin Roger (July 12, 1980).  How can they be married 32 YEARS already?  They have six kids, each one more fun than the last one. 
A few of THEM are parents already, too.  Wow!

More fun stuff from my obsessive PJ files ☺

 I love this:

NOTICE is hereby given that hereafter all those not members of the fire Department are strictly forbidden to Interfere with any fireman or taking hold of hosecart or hose during a fire, unless ordered to do so by the chief.
Nobody is allowed to enter the engine house and touch the engine except the engineer.
The use of foul language and swearing at firemen while they are doing their duty as they see it is strictly forbidden.
All those who disobey the above rules will be severely dealt with.
Jacob Neisius, president of village of Pierz

(I see ne're-do-wells sneaking into the engine house and leaving finger marks on the engines, just cuz they could). (It's what I would do ☺)

 This priest was Fr John Sand who served in Lastrup, Mn (NE of Pierz) for a number of years.  Was he related to us?  Yup, he was Mike Sand's younger brother (the one named John, as opposed to the one named John Paul)

The Doctor's Office

Dr. Edward Kerkhoff 's Office in Pierz--1904

 It's really cool for today's historians that people took pictures and dated them back in the day, particularly when the technology was new.  By 1904 it was no longer new, but only professional photographers owned cameras (or had darkrooms), so this sort of pic had to be arranged and paid for.  Hard to believe it was ever that way when we all carry around phones with cameras now, huh?

 So, where in this 1908 street view is that office and house?  Do you see it?

 These two photos were included in the 1970 Morrison County Atlas Historical pics section.  Evidently Mrs Kerkhoff and her sons stayed in Pierz after 

Ed died of Spanish Flu in 1918.  

If you know more of their story, email me and we'll add it here, ok?

Milton & Gertrude Kerkhoff--1928  *  Rose Kerkhoff, Milton & Carl--1920

Chicken sightings

I have a life-sized hen statue on the vanity in the bathroom, and a life-sized crowing rooster next to the end table in my living room, as we all do.  Months go by where I don't think about them...until a visitor this week remarked that they're "interesting".

No big deal, except chickens have been a goofy little theme in my life lately.  I'm reading a very early P.G.Wodehouse book called "Love among the Chickens"--(not his best by far, particularly since he didn't do ANY research into chickens, the raising of which is the basis of the story).  Ok, he was 25, and it was his first published novel...nevermind ☺.  I'll give him another chance.

I was clicking around online this week and stumbled across these chickens...and I always have to spend another hour viewing more of their stuff....

Then, out of the blue yesterday morning, Su sent this:

Dear Marlys,

We have been listening to our favourite Saturday morning radio programme  in which listeners were asked to 'phone in about odd things they had found.  A woman did just that about a strange piece of plastic she had dug up on her allotment.  It was eventually identified as a pair of chicken spectacles! Yes, really!  They were made by a firm with the delectable name of Ormskirk and Dewdrop and were supposed to stop chickens pecking each other. They are now banned because in order for them to stay on (chickens don't have ears) a piece of wire is used to poke through the nasal septum - rather like a bull's nose ring.  Here is a piece of film about how they work.  Quite the most bizarre thing I have seen for a long time!

I just thought it might appeal to you too, with your love of daft adverts.

love Su

LOL...it does!
           
The vid reminded me of an AMAZING online film site called British Pathe, where I believe the vid originated.  Click the link and see what their logo is!

THANKS, Su!

Photos in the Pierz Journal

I don't know when the technology became available to print actual photographs in a newspaper, but the PJ seemed reluctant to try it out or use it much.  Visuals make a story so much better!  Knowing what they looked like makes em more real, too...and I imagine that some family has only a few candid pics of grandpa, not knowing that he ran for office or had an ad in the paper.    Just look at A.M. Stoll here--the bank clerk and eventual bank president--we've mentioned him often, but now I can imagine him walking down the street in Pierz, can't you?  

  I don't know if these people won the elections they were running for or not--I just think they should be here cuz they bothered to have a portrait taken and run for office.  Were these the ONLY people who ran for office with a photo ad?  Nope, these are either people whose names are familiar somehow or we've mentioned them here on HH, or the pic was nice and clear.

I'm typing their names so they'll be searchable ☺.

             Frank X Bastien





Charles W Bouck 




                              Simon P. Brick

Paul Felix                   Don M. Cameron                 Charles E. Gravel

Clarence B. Buckman            Joseph Grell, Pierz store owner

Henry Wuellner, running for Sheriff in 1912, and Charles A. Lindbergh, lawyer in Little Falls around 1916.

N. Ahles  1912            Mrs. K.L. Hoeglund 1914                      C. Rosenmeier

And look, I found a portrait of John Schmolke too: "the Landman, who is helping to put this part of Morrison County onto the map".












And this guy? He was in an ad  because he "was troubled" with kidney problems.....