The eve of St Nick...

This particular holiday makes the Hesch connection to Bohemia/Czech Republic WAY more real to me:

The sixth of December is all Nicholas’s name day in the Czech Republic and for the kiddies and parents alike this is a sure sign that Christmas is just around the corner. On the eve of this special day, (5th December), St Nicholas arrives with company to visit all the children in their homes. For those children who have been well-behaved he bears sweets, fruit and small gifts. For the naughty ones a frightening demon brings old potatoes or coal. So that the children are not scared out of their wits, an angel also stands by St Nick’s side. This trio of costumed figures can be found in the streets of every Czech town on this evening.

I definitely remember St Nick and a devil visiting us when I was about 6...it was the most scared I'd ever been!  I'm pretty sure dad didn't realize what Gibbs Kelzenberg had in mind when he agreed to have "St Nick" visit our house....we had to kneel down and recite prayers, which I barely knew. 
OMG, it was awful!  It was the last time that part of the "holiday" was played out at our house...lol 
In later years, there'd be a knock on the door, and no one would be outside--just a bag on candy and nuts on the step.  Most years, it was a total surprise, cuz no other kids at school kept this charming holiday.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Added later:
In fact, here's an article from my hometown newspaper on December 11, 2009--looks like other German/Bohemian kids were victims too:

Whew...

The Eve of the Feast of St Nick

Most years, I completely forget about this weird tradition till it's over: in our family, after one disaster with St Nick, the annual celebration consisted of us kids being totally unaware of it till there was a knock on the door.  Mom would be busy making supper, so we were sent to open the door. 

"Muma, there's nobody there..." 

 "Are you sure? Look again ☺!"

So don't forget--St Nick is Thursday, December 6th.  The candy should show up the night before, ok?

Kelzenberg

Now, Kelzenburg's a name that pops up over and over in Hesch and Morrison Co history, but the Kelzenberg name was even less likely to be included in books than Hesch was, it seems.   The best I can do here (and still get stuff done around the house today) is to post the relevant items I have in my Gen file and let you take it from there, ok?


Let's start with Theodore & Katherina, early Kelzenbergs with the good sense to settle in Buckman:  

See their son Hubert on the census there?  



Birth: Mar. 6, 1870, Germany
Death: Jun. 27, 1958


Services At Buckman For Hubert Kelzenberg


Funeral rites were held at St. Michael's church, Buckman, Monday, June 30th, for Hubert Kelzenberg, 88, who passed away at the St. Cloud hospital at 3:30 p.m., Friday, after a month's illness due to cancer. Officiating at the rites at 11 o'clock, with interment in the Buckman cemetery was Rev. Robert Schulzetenberg.


Pallbearers were two grandson, Alfred and Leon Kelzenberg and four grandnephews, Leander Brausen, Hubert Grundhoefer, Alfred Grundhoefer and Galen Mueller.


He was born in Germany March 6, 1870 and settled at Buckman for 80 years, having resided in St. Cloud the past 8 years. He married Anna Roos at Buckman; she preceded him in death, 1919.


Following are the five sons which survive: Henry, Buckman; Hubert and Gilbert, St. Cloud; Theodore, Minneapolis; and Herman, Columbia, South Carolina.


There are twenty grandchildren.

 I started looking for the family on the various plat maps I have of Buckman township.  Couldn't find them in 1892, so they were probably renting land at first. The 1885 census above has Muellers living on one side and Dehlers living on the other.  Sounds like the area near CB Buckman's land, so west and north of town. Here, tho, is the 1902 Buckman township plat and "T. Kelzenberger" owns 80 acres a mile south and 2 miles east of Buckman.  Trivia: Did you know  that the little square on each acreage was where the house/buildings were located?

One of Hubert's sons, Henry, married Olivia Dehler.  They were the Kelzenberg couple I knew best:

Birth: Apr. 13, 1909

Death: Oct. 11, 1995

Olivia Kelzenberg

Olivia Dehler Kelzenberg, age 86, a resident of Buckman, MN died October 11, 1995 at the St. Cloud Hospital.

Mass of Christian Burial was October 13 at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Buckman with Father Ron Dockendorf officiating. Burial was in the parish cemetery.

Olivia was born in Lastrup, MN on April 13, 1909 to John and Margaret (Zenner) Dehler. She graduated from St. Francis High School in Little Falls, MN in 1919. She was a graduate of the St. Cloud Normal School (college) and taught in District # 17 West of Buckman. Olivia was a great supporter of education while working as a homemaker and mother. Her special intersts were cooking and quilting.

Survivors include her husband, Henry of Buckman; children, Alfred and wife Donna (Sahr) of Shoreview, MN, Norman and wife Barbara (Carli) of Spring Lake Park, MN, Leon and wife Jean (Sitzman) of Watertown; Lou Ann and husband Del Hoppe of White Bear Lake, MN, Dennis and wife Beverly (Hoheisel) of St. Cloud, James and wife Sue (Williamson) of Rochester, MN, Ollie and wife Kim (Doring) of Brooklyn Park, MN, Reuben and wife Sandra (Gross) of Chanhassen, MN; 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Julia Brixius, Sr. Herbert OSB, Armella Otremba, Herbert Dehler, Rita Stumpf and Margaret Tschida. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Alfred, Henry, Edwin, Lawrence and Roman; sisters, Alma and Marie.

Casketbearers were her grandchildren, Rob, Tony, Peter and Debra Kelzenberg, Steve Hoppe and Lynn Jurek.

Olivia's family, kids and sibs, sound like a who's who of Buckman ☺.

The two faces I know for sure are Gibbs and dad, on the right.
I think that's Hubie on the left, and another brother?

Two of Henry's brothers were Hubert (Hubie) and Gilbert (Gibbs), who were dad's friends from home when we lived in St Cloud.  Gibbs and his family lived a couple blocks south of us, and I think Hubie was close too, but I don't know for sure. Anyway, Gibbs was the one who played St Nick and scared the beejeebers out of me when I was 5.  Still traumatized, more than 50 years later.

  

Any other Kelzenberg info we should include?

Maus, Zenner and Kapsner connections

When a story or connection fascinates me and/or Larry, I just KNOW it'll tickle you too...cuz after all, you're here, right?  So if your coffee cup is empty right now, go get more--this might take awhile, and I don't want you to miss any of it!

I'll wait.

OK, last summer when I visited St Wendelin's Church cemetery in Luxemburg, Minnesota, I didn't go looking for relatives.  I was there with Shari, and we were looking for her Brauchs and Kraemers, so I was gobsmacked (Hi, Su ☺) when I found Zenners and Jansons there.  I took pictures of those monuments cuz I knew we'd eventually figure out who they were....but there was another, smaller homemade headstone that intrigued me, even if it was for someone I didn't know:  

 "HERE RESTS MARGARET MAUS  A Life Short But Precious"

That evening, Larry figured out who her parents were via census and Find a Grave records.  She was most likely the daughter of Henry and Margaret Maus.  That's all we knew, then. 

But the name Maus was familiar from Buckman, too, so it sorta stayed in my mind.  This last week, I found an obit for her brother, who died in 2010 at 81.  He was preceded in death by his parents, three adult sibs and "an infant sister, Margaret".  The obit also mentions their mother's maiden name--Kapsner. Hmm!

So, I went to Find a Grave looking for a Kaspner-Maus connection, and found this:

1864-1926

Buckman Lady Called to Rest

Mrs. Anna Zenner, aged 61 years, died at her home at Buckman at 5 o'clock P.M. Sunday, March 28. The deceased has been ailing for the past two years and diabetes has been given as the cause of her death.

Mrs. Anna Zenner, whose maiden name was Anna Maus, was born in Luxemburg, this state, on October 30, 1864. Until of age she was at the home of her parents at Luxemburg. Her marriage [to Mathias Zenner] took place at St. Wendel church at Luxemburg, November 28, 1882. From Luxemburg the Zenner family moved to Buckman, where they resided on a farm 2 miles south of that village until this day.

Mrs. Zenner was the mother of 13 children, 2 of which preceded her in death. The surviving are Mrs. John Dehler, Mrs. Frank Kapsner, John Zenner, Mrs. Ben Terhaar, of Buckman, Sr. Hildegard and Rosaria, of St. Paul, Sr. Julienne, St. Joseph, and Elizabeth, Aloyouis, Kilian and Leo at home. Four brothers and four sisters also mourn her death. They are John A. Maus of Watkins, Nick, Mrs. John Schillo and Mrs. A. G. Wistler of Golva, N.D., Miss Mary Maus of Minneapolis, Peter of Buckman, Henry of Luxemburg and Mrs. Elizabeth Koshial of St. Augusta.

Burial service were held in St. Michael's church at Buckman yesterday morning at 10 o'clock and the remains were interred in the Buckman cemetery. The funeral was one of the largest ever in the village of Buckman. Present at the funeral from out-of-town were….

Pierz Journal, April 1, 1926

SO, the Zenner graves I found in the Luxemburg cemetery...who were they?

There are other Zenner graves in Luxemburg, but Stephen and Margaretha here are the oldest one.
They were Mathias Zenner's parents, so Anna's in-laws.

Are ya still with me?  Good ☺!

So Anna Zenner's brother AND daughter married Kapsners.  Here's a photo from the Pictorial Atlas of Morrison County, Minnesota of the John Kapsner family--looks like the 1920s.

According to the 1895 and 1910 censuses, John and Marie Kapsner had 12 kids:  Cecilia, Frank, Mary, Edward, Charles, Joseph, Agnes, August, Conrad, Leonard, Leo and "Itelda", but they're probably not standing in order.

John Kapsner and Anna Zenner would have been contemporaries.  John's son Frank married Anna's daughter....and John's daughter Margaret married Henry Maus, and moved to Luxemburg.  At least, that's my version.  If you know different, email or comment and I'll change it.  

SO, the short and precious life of Margaret Maus was special to us, too.  Her little monument got me to figure out the connections between all these people.  Wow!

Two more quick facts, ok?

 Henry Maus' aunt Mary Maus was married to Michael Majerus, the man who magnanimously provided the St Michael statue in St Michael's church in Buckman. (Say that fast, out loud ☺).

And, no, this Cecilia Kapsner was born in 1883, so she couldn't have been mom's spelling rival in school.  I'd guess that one of those boys had a daughter he named Cecilia who could eventually spell almost as well as Linda Janson.

The Pohlkamp family

It looks like a lovely evening out there--nice low evening sun setting beyond the living room windows, and a perky breeze thru the birch trees.  A clear sky, too, for the first time in a week or so.
When I opened the front door a few minutes ago, there were two bunnies sitting on the lawn.  They looked my way, but it was too hot to run.  As tho they thought, "Hell, the human will never come out here anyway--we're sloggy but we're safe".
They were right.  It feels like 114 out there, like the bathroom feels after you took a long HOT shower, and the air is just that thick, too. Eww! So ...how 'bout if I stay in the A/C and write about the Pohlkamps--in particular the bunch I remember from when I lived there.

I heard this week from Julie Pohlkamp, who grew up in Wisconsin but spent some vacations in Buckman with her grandparents, William and  Mary (Mischke) Pohlkamp, and with her Aunt Marie and Uncle Lambert's family, on the farm kitty-corner from Roman and Emily Dehler.


According to Family Search and Find a Grave, Bill's parents were Theodore and Josephine (Wilkomeier) Pohlkamp.  She died in 1943, and he died in 1949. They're buried in Pierz.

 March, 1982

William Theodore Pohlkamp      
Pierz - Services for William T. Pohlkamp, 87, Pierz, formerly of Buckman, who died March 22 at Kamnic Apartments in Pierz, will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in St. Michael's Catholic Church in Buckman, with the Rev. Richard Heid officiating. Francis and Leo Pohlkamp will serve as lectors. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Casket bearers will be Kevin, Mark, Daniel, Meinrad, Terry and Nick Pohlkamp.
William Pohlkamp was born Jan. 1, 1895 in Iowa, son of the late Theodore and Josephine Pohlkamp. He married Mary Mischke May 20, 1919 in Buckman. His wife preceded him in death April 10, 1969. He farmed until 1948 in the Buckman area. He also managed the bowling alleys in Buckman; drove the Buckman school bus for many years, and was employed by Tri-City Construction for four years.
Survivors include his sons, Francis of Middleton, Wis., Leroy of Elk River, and Maurice of Janesville, Wis.; and sister, Mrs. Cecelia Heurung of Little Falls.
Two sons, Clair and Lambert, preceded him in death.

Mary and Bill Pohlkamp c 1968

Julie's grandma Mary was Frank Mischke's sister.   Frank owned the Hardware Store in Buckman, and happened to be on the 1925 baseball team photo front row with his brother-in-law Bill Pohlkamp, remember?  

Bill and Mary had five sons, mentioned above.  The only one I knew in the early 70s was Lambert and his wife Marie (Stangl) Pohlkamp. 

July, 1978

Lambert Pohlkamp

Mr. Lambert Pohlkamp, 55, of Route 2 Pierz, died Wednesday at St. Gabriel's Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Michael's Church in Buckman with Rev. Alfred Stangl and Rev. Richard Heid officiating. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.

Mr. Pohlkamp was born Nov. 17, 1922 in Buckman, the son of William and the late Mary Pohlkamp. He married Marie Stangl Sept. 1, 1948 in Pierz and they farmed all their lives in Buckman Township. Mr. Pohlkamp was a member of St. Michael's Society.

Survivors include his father, William Pohlkamp; his wife, Marie; six sons, Meinrad, Leo, Nicholas, William and Joseph, at home; Terence, of St. Paul; nine daughters, Mrs. Emmanuel Bridget Marquez of Hawaii; Jean, Margery, Lillian, Colette, Carol, Cheryl, Michelle and Paula, at home; three brothers, Francis of Middleton, Wisc.; Leroy of Elk River; Maurice of Jamesville, Wisc.; and one grandchild.

Mr. Pohlkamp was preceded in death by one brother, Clair, in 1957.

Pallbearers will be: Meinrad, Terence, Leo, Nicholas, William and Joseph Pohlkamp. Honorary bearers will be Ray Herold Sr., Tony Sitzman, Joe Lanners, Ray Kahl, Roman Dehler and Ted Funk.
 

Julie sent other photos, but I'd like to get names for the people shown before I post them.  If you're interested, check back here, ok?

YAY, JULIE!!

Two days later--Sue emailed to say that her grandpa Joe's sister Catherine Suess married Frank Pohlkamp.  They had seven kids (4 boys and 3 girls) and farmed in Buckman township, tho she's not sure where.  According to FamilySearch, Frank was Bill's brother.

Oh, and speaking of Bill the Buckman ball player in that 1925 photo--he had a chance to play for the St Louis Browns, but was needed more on the farm.  Just as well--they weren't the winningest team ever...

Now for some of the pics Julie sent:

(I think EVERY farm house had that same framed copy of the Last Supper on the dining room wall, right?)

Nope, I don't know any names here--but I think they're all Pohlkamp cousins.  If you recognize any faces, let me know, ok?

Same here, but I expect the older couple is Bill and Mary.  Anybody know for sure?

The school burned down. Big deal.

Added November, 2013:  I just found this postcard online (at St Cloud Remembered, on Facebook).  It has to be the school in the articles below.  Wow.  Stunning that a pic still exists.
~~Thanks to Kim Avenson~~

 Here's an article from the Pierz Journal, published  February 12th, 1914, on the front page....  
   
THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL BURNED.


The parochial school house, at an estimated value of $10,000, was destroyed by fire at an early hour Tuesday morning.  The fire was discovered by 10 year old Nick Sehr, who called Joseph P. Meyer.  Joseph immediately spread the alarm.  Both the upper town and the lower town fire halls summoned the firemen, who forced four streams of water into the burning building incessantly for two hours without any appreciable effect on the progress of the flames.  The framework was totally destroyed and only the partly collapsed brick walls remained as shocking reminders when daylight came.

A menace to the safety of a number of children, who came to take a look at the smoking ruins and the ashes of their schoolbooks, the walls and chimneys were brought down by means of dynamite explosions.  The loss in furniture, books, etc, is estimated at $5,000, making a total loss of $15,000, covered by $6,000 insurance.  The origin of the fire is unknown.  It started in the northwest room of the second floor, while the heating plant in the basement was cold.  Electricity could hardly have caused it, as the light wires entered the building on the east side.

We started looking for an article after we saw the fire mentioned in an account of early Morrison county churches.  Larry and I have been closely perusing the online issues of the Pierz Journal, and neither of us remembered seeing any articles about a school burning, especially the Catholic school in downtown Pierz!

Ok, we were both skeptical, just like you are ☺.  The first article doesn't sound 'upset', and Larry pointed out that by dynamiting the "menacing" chimney and walls, they pretty much destroyed any evidence of possible arson.  
Another corollary is that Pierz, in 1914, was still battling the Catholic/public school issue, so those citizens who thought two schools in town were excessive now had to deal with all the kids attending the one small public school.  Hmm....

I found this next article in the February 19th issue of the PJ.  Wow, in ONE WEEK, they already had specific plans for the new building?

NEW PAROCHIAL SCHOOL FOR PIERZ.

At a meeting held by the members of St Joseph's congregation last Sunday, it was decided to build a new parochial school to take the place of the one destroyed by fire last week.  Fr Stiegler exhibited plans for the new structure which will be of solid brick, two stories high, 76 feet wide, 80 feet long, with full basement, and will contain eight rooms.  The site for the building has not yet been definitely selected, but it is more than likely  that it will be built upon the church grounds southwest of the parsonage and facing the east add west street.  Work will begin as soon as the condition of the ground and weather permit.

But, back to how they obtained plans for the new school so soon--Larry found this entry in the 35th edition of a contractors record book online.  It was published in January, 1914.
Pierz, Minn.--Parochial School: 2 sty. & bas. 76 x 79. Pierz.  Archt. E.J.Donohue, 600 Gilfillan bldg., St Paul, Minn.  Owner St Joseph Parish, Rev. J.L. Stiegler, Pierz.  Contracts let; see St Paul.

How small towns worked then--the building was inadequate and they needed it gone.  Everyone sorta "knew", and this was a good way to deal with it.  
Still, in the same issue of the paper on the 19th, there was a blurb that one family had lost $15.00 worth of schoolbooks in the fire.  Proof, I suppose, that not everyone knew.

Margaret Zenner Dehler 1884-1963

Rites Held Monday For Mrs. John Dehler

Mrs. John Dehler (Margaret Zenner), 79, a lifelong resident of Buckman and one of its earliest settlers, died Thursday in St. Gabriel's Hospital. She was born in Buckman, March 5, 1884, and in 1904 married John Dehler. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1954, and he died July 9, 1960. Mrs. Dehler was a member of the Christian Mothers Society.

Surviving her are the following sons and daughters: Herbert, St. Joseph; Edwin, Casper, Wyo.; Henry, Mrs. Fred (Alma) Stumpf, Mrs. Walter (Rita) Stumpf, and Mrs. Martin (Margaret) Tschida, Pierz; Lawrence, Little Falls; Roman, Mrs. Robert (Julia) Brixius, Mrs. Henry (Olivia) Kelzenberg, and Mrs. Herman (Amelia) Otremba, Buckman; Mrs. Roy (Marie) Paggen, Silver Lake, and Sister M. Herbert, OSB, St. Cloud. There are 87 grandchildren and 42 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Michael's Church, Buckman, with Rev. Paul Kunkel reading the Solemn Requiem High Mass, assisted by Rev. Robert Voigt, Pierz, and Rev. Omar Maus, Minneapolis. Pallbearers were grandsons of Mrs. Dehler: David Dehler, Leo Dehler, Melvin Stumpf, Roger Stumpf, Norman Kelzenberg and Leon Kelzenberg. Honorary pallbearers were Mmes. Katherine Gruber, Edward Hortsch, Anna Bertelt, Mary Funk, Joe Kahl and Nick Mueller.

The Virnig Funeral Service was in charge of arrangements. The Rosary was prayed by the Christian Mothers Saturday and the parish Rosary was prayed Sunday night.

 Parents:

 Mathias Zenner (1857 - 1925)

 Anna Maus Zenner (1864 - 1926)

 Spouse:

John Dehler (1878 - 1960)

  Probably 1954, when John & Margaret celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. I recognize Herb, Armella, Olivia, Roman, Julia and Sr Herbert ☺ I'm sure I met others, tho.

 August Dehler and Julia Seifert were John's parents, of course. This photo was probably taken around 1900.  Looks like John in the middle of the top row, huh? Oh, and see the girl who looks about 10 over on the right?  That was Rosalia, who married dad's uncle Theodore Hesch in 1920!

John Dehler descendants--same day as top pic, huh?

THANKS again to Fran, the Pictorial Atlases of Morrison County, Minnesota and Find a Grave--wow!

John Austin Williams (updated)

Remember our search for William Williams?  He was a possible twin, and connects with us because he was adopted from the orphan trains by Magdalena Sand, widow of Nicholas Sand, in St Cloud, Mn.  Go, read that post, then come back here for the sequel ☺.

John Austin Williams

This week, we had a comment on that post from the granddaughter of William's probable twin, John.  She sent this photo of him, too, probably taken in the 1920s.
We're hoping a Minnesota Sand might make the connection to John's brother William, whose adopted mom was Nick Sand's second wife, Magdalena Brodie Sand.  Are there photos of William around?  What a thrill if Will had a photo taken about this age, too.  They were born in 1908, so this might have been 1925 (a high school graduation photo?)

OK, keywords: John Austin Williams, Brady/Brodie/Sand, Joseph William Williams, 1908, New York Foundling Hospital.

A bit more info:  Slim was researching online this morning (next day) and found this website listing orphan train riders, by whom they were adopted, and where.  At the bottom of that page is a Joseph William Williams, with the Sand/Brodie/St Cloud information.
(Larry found the riders website when we first posted about Wm Williams.  Evidently, info there gets updated, too ☺).

Slim said her grandfather John Austin Williams was born September 27, 1908.  This paragraph about Joseph William Williams says he was born August 11, 1910 so they may have been brothers.  We just don't know...yet.

Joseph  William Williams (birth name) William Sand (foster/adoptive name) (deceased)
1913 NYFH Rider to St Cloud, MN to Magdalena Sand & brother Bernard Brady family.
Born William Williams of Brooklyn, New York on 8/11/1910.  He was placed in the New York Foundling Hospital by his mother at 2 weeks old.  In 1913, at 3 years and 5 months old, he was placed with Magdalena Sand in St Cloud, Minnesota.  He married Eleanore Ludenia and they had six children.  He worked for the railroad most of his life.  He died  April 20, 1985.

THANK YOU, Slim!

Frances Dengel

 

Wow, it really pays to go back over census records.  This time, I was reading them for relationships and who the next-door neighbors were, etc.
Going back over the 1910 Buckman census, the Joseph Janson family included a John Janson, grand child, 13 years old, born in New York.  Was this an adopted kid, or was he Sebastian's son, born 'out east' in Virginia?
--We had a question about the John Sand who lived west of town near Mike Sand--was he the same John Sand as the sheriff in Little Falls during the Bulow business?  (No, this was John M where the one in Little Falls was JP).
--William Bahns and wife Katherine lived in the township in 1910 (mom's side of the family).

--Actually, we were looking for Aggie Hesch's friend, Frances Dengel--where did she fit?  We have photos of her with Aggie courtesy of Sue's mom's photo collection.  In other words, Agnes Hesch married Joe Suess and they had 2 kids--Joan and James.  Joan inherited a lot of pictures from Aggie, but Joan died in a car accident before she could explain who these people were-to her daughter Sue.  Now, it's become a quest for Larry and me to help figure em out ☺

The young woman on the right is Frances Dengel.   I can't get over how photoshopped they look, levitating over the sidewalk there, in Duluth.
lol

A photo that Frances sent to Aggie, evidently.  This would be about 1923 if they were 17 in the photo ►.  They were going to school in Duluth, I think.

Ok!  Here's the transcription on FamilySearch from the 1920 Buckman census.  It says Frances was born in Oregon and was the niece of Nick Mueller and Caroline (Dengel) Mueller.  Frances was the same age as Aggie, and they were first cousins cuz Nick and Ket were siblings.

Eventually, Frances Dengel became Sr. Carmelita
Thanks, Sue! ☺
********************************************
And more thanks to Sue who sent Sr Carmelita Dengel's obit, which explains a lot.   She was born in Oregon, but her parents had died, which is why she lived in Buckman with her aunt and uncle.  Cool! Another mystery solved.  

Added almost four years later:

As it says in her obit, St Carmelita worked at St James Orphanage in Duluth during her career, having something of an affinity with parentless kids.  If I understood Chris correctly, Albert and Mary Stepan worked there in later years, along with their son Clarence (Chris' dad).

 These two pictures are of the Stepan family

Above, the Stepan family in 1983...and below, in 1995 

after Sr Carmelita's funeral.

THANKS to Chris for these last pics, and the info to go with em ☺