Bednars and Kieffers

As I page thru the Pictorial Atlases to find photos of people I recognize, there are lots more pics that don't connect with me at all.  OR, I'll become aware of a family or two, and then, need to go back and search for em.  

This was one of those times ☺.

Last week, I finally met Carolyn, a granddaughter of Frank Sand, our grandma's youngest sib.  Her mom was Amelia, third from left, ok? 

Her aunt Dolores (third from right) married John Kieffer, and apparently someone in her family took this "submit-family-photos-to-be-published-for-posterity" thing more seriously than the Heschs did.  Hooray!

So, you say, remind me how Bednars fit.  'K, look at the top photo--Frank Sand married Catherine Bednar. 

(I'm posting as many Bednar pics as I found in the Atlases, tho I don't know how they all fit.  They're here for posterity ☺).

 (This was a curious phenomenon among photos in the books:  a person not in the main pic was pasted in on the side--this time, the extra person was a bit bigger than the others.  Oh, well!)

 I think this Joseph is Catherine's brother, his wife Ursula Meyer, and family.  Their obits mention other familiar family names and make some 'Oh wow" connections for us.    

Joseph J. Bednar, 
 90
 May 28, 1995 
 Pierz, Minnesota

Funeral services were May 31 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pierz with Rev. Kenneth Brenny officiating. Burial was in the parish cemetery.

Joseph J. Bednar was born August 12, 1904 in Pierz Township, MN, the son of the late John and Anna (Meyer) Bednar. He grew up and attended school in Pierz. Joseph was united in marriage to Ursula Meyer on November 17, 1926 in St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pierz. The couple purchased the family farm east of Genola in 1926 and farmed until retiring in 1962. In 1942, Joe started Bednar Trucking Co. and began taking cattle to St. Paul. He sold Bednar Trucking to his son in 1954. Joseph served as Pierz Township assessor, served years on the Federal Land Bank Board as a director and was chairman of the loan committee. He served 30 years as a director of the Tri-County Coop Board and, at the time of his retirement, was president of the Board. Joe served as director on the Oak Leaf Telephone Company (telephone service to the Pierz area) in Pierz until 1952. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pierz and the Farmers Union. Joe enjoyed baseball, all-star wrestling and fishing.

Survivors include his wife, Ursula Bednar; sons, Sylvester Bednar and wife Maxine of Pierz, Kenneth Bednar and wife Antoinette of Hillman, MN, Roger Bednar and wife Nancy of Pierz; daughters, Marita Marshik and husband Virgil of Annandale, MN, Janice Gordon of Winston-Salem, NC, and Joyce Tomala and husband Roy of South Haven, MN; brother, John Bednar of St. Paul, MN; and daughter-in-law, Noreen Bednar of West Hills, CA; 27 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Allen Bednar; son-in-law, James Gordon; brothers, Chris and Ben Bednar; sisters, Mary Otremba and Martha Bednar.

Honorary pallbearers were Ken Fehrman, Tony Medek, Carly Lochner, Albert Urai, Donald Bednar and Gene Pawlu.

Pallbearers were Gordon Marshik, David, Robert and Joshua Bednar, Paul Tomala and Steven Gordon. 

Ursula Bednar 
91
Pierz
May 21, 1999 

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church for Ursula Bednar, 91, who died Friday at St. Mary's Villa.Interment will be in the parish cemetery.Friends may call from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday at Shelley-Virnig Funeral Chapel. Christian Mothers will pray a rosary at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral chapel in Pierz followed by parish prayers at 8.

Ursula Bednar was born on a farm near Center Valley in Hillman Township, Morrison County, to Matias and Mary (Billmeyer) Meyer. She was raised near Center Valley, and married Joseph J. Bednar on Nov. 17, 1926, in St. Joseph's Catholic Church. The couple purchased the family farm east of Genola in 1926. She was a homemaker, a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and a 50-year member of Christian Mothers. She had been a resident of St. Mary's Villa since September 1995.

Survivors include sons and daughters, Sylvester and Roger of Pierz, Kenneth of Hillman, Marita Marshik of Annandale, Janice Gordon of Winston-Salem, N.C., Joyce Tomala of South Haven; brother and sisters, Sylvester of Sauk Rapids, Margaret Weiss of Pierz, Theresa Kastanek of Washington, Madlyn Voltin of South Bend, Ind.; 27 grandchildren; and 32 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, May 28, 1995; son, Allen; brothers, Walter 'Mike,' Reinhard and Wilfred; and sisters, Kathryn Crotty, Loretta Sitzman, Hildegard Duschner and Ida Dahmen. 

Serendipity

I'm rifling the Atlases again this week, since I know some treasures were missed the first time I paged thru, especially photos of people I didn't immediately recognize.  You may not find these pictures all that interesting, but someone will.  Be sure to enlarge each one (the detail's amazing, considering how tiny each pic was in the books).

I particularly love this one, of "James Foss, John Kieffer & Tom Czech". Obviously friends, they might have been illustrating the most usual clothes for men in Buckman in the 1920s--Tom was comfortable as the farmer in overalls (his 'look' for all 98 of his years).  John in his dress shirt, suspenders and tie would have been the store owner, the local businessman.   James was the city slicker, the man about town, maybe the  rum runner?  Check the jaunty angle of  their stoggies ☺.

I know this building looks like  Mueller's Bar and Hardware Store, but no, it was Schmolkes General Store, with the annex on the far side serving as the US Post Office, I believe.  It was located kitty-cornered from Muellers and Mischkes stores.  Competition in Buckman must have been fierce.  Wouldn't you love to know who all the people were on the porch?  Probably John Schmolke and Pete Blake, for sure, and any boys who were out running around that day.

This must have been the wedding of a Stangl grandkid--one daughter is wearing a corsage too, see?

The Frank Stangl family is notable to me because of the two "kids" on the left.  Recognize either one?  Seated is Marie (Stangl) Pohlkamp, wife of Lambert and long time neighbor of Roman and Emily Dehler...and he's Fr. Alfred Stangl, chaplain at the St Cloud hospital, who also says the televised mass many Sunday mornings.  My Sunday client loves him ☺.

Remember hearing about "Pinky Suess" when we were kids?  I don't recall meeting him, but I've always been curious about that nickname.  The photo looks like he and John Mueller had a great day fishing.  This was probably in the late 40s or early 50s.
(No, there was no Pinky Quess).












Here's an individual  portrait of Mary Mischke,  but I don't know how she fits.  We know the immigrant Mischke couple was Joseph and Mary, but they were in their 60s in 1900, and this photo looks to be from about that time--1890 to 1910, so this Mary is much younger.
Wait--I bet this was August's mother, the daughter who lived with Joseph and Mary in the 1900 census, huh?  One of three living children, sure.  She was 20 in 1900.