Ruby Byrl Reese and William Richard Albrecht

Ruby Byrl Reese 1924-1978

Ruby Byrl Reese 1924-1878 & William Richard Albrecht  1924-2010

My Aunt Ruby was my mother (Josephine Roberta Reese’s) youngest sister. My grandparents (William Henry Reese and Mary Ellen Evans) had 9 children and Ruby was their last. Ruby was also the only child to have been born in a hospital. Soon after Ruby’s birth, my grandmother, Mary Ellen (Ella), died from an infection she contracted in the hospital. After her mother died, Ruby and her 8 siblings were not in a stable environment for a while. The older siblings were in charge of the younger ones and the littlest ones were passed off to the single sisters of their father. I am not sure who cared for Ruby as an infant. This was not a happy experience for the children and was quite hard on my grandfather who had a ranch to take care of that demanded most of his time. The oldest sister, Letha was still quite young and she shouldered a lot of responsibility for the younger kids. There was an old ranch hand that sometimes cared for the kids as well. His name was Ollie. My own mom mentioned that of any of the others who were in and out of their lives, Ollie was the most like a mother. Their father remarried one of the teachers from the school they attended. She did not have children of her own to my knowledge. My mom only had a few years of living with this stepmother but Ruby, being the youngest, had a lot more time with her stepmother than the rest. The children were to call her “Miss Moore”. They went through a lot and they were very close because of it. The older ones tried to take the younger ones off the farm as soon as they were grown and could do it. My earliest childhood memories are about Ruby and my Mom. I think the first one is from when I was about two years of age and is just a snapshot memory of us, one that I call a “heart print”. We were out in the woods together lying on a blanket and looking up at the trees. The trees were so tall and I remember feeling safe with them. Aunt Ruby and Uncle Willie were married June 3, 1944 and they were wanting a baby. The two of them and my parents doted on me because I was the only baby between the four of them. My coloring is more like my aunt’s than my mom’s, who was fair-skinned but had darker hair. Consequently, people often thought that Ruby was my mom. When I was older she told me how much that tickled her.

After WWII ended Aunt Ruby and Uncle Willie lived near my parents, in Sacramento, California, while they were still all young. Eventually they moved away to North Dakota where Willie’s parents had a farm. The young couple eventually bought the farm from Willie’s father, George Albrecht. It was in Rose Glen, near Garrison, North Dakota. Aunt Ruby and Uncle Willie grew crops of wheat and I think alfalfa. Their land was a beautiful, flat, wide-open property. It was many acres of crops and was adjacent to and on one side bordered an Indian Reservation.
We often saw Indians riding their horses on my aunt and uncle’s property. My brother recently pointed out to me that that was a big deal to little boys who loved playing Cowboys and Indians. He also reminded me of the barge that Uncle Willie had made and how we use to go out on the lake in it. One day we were out and a big storm came up quickly in the afternoon. As an adult now I realize it was a lot more serious than I thought then. The adults kept us feeling safe and we were just fine. But getting to shore was not easy. We did not get to see them often but every couple of years we would pile into our car and drive to North and South Dakota on vacation. We would visit my father’s (Ross W. Colberg’s) mother and stepfather, Alice Grace Godfrey Colberg Yeasley and Jacob Yeasley. Jacob was my step-grandfather. But to me he was just my Grandpa. We never knew our other grandfathers. We loved him and he was the best. (I never have liked those types of in-law references or step this and that. Family is family-no attachments matter to me except for genealogical purposes). We would also go to see my Aunt Ruby and Uncle Willie. We would visit other relatives of my mother’s as well in South Dakota. Those trips were the highlights of my own childhood. Visiting My Aunt Ruby and Uncle Willie was amazing! We lived in housing tract in Sacramento, California, but they lived way out in the country. The trip from our home was a long three days of driving. They had no running water but they did have an outhouse, a garden with vegetables growing, a bunkhouse, and lots of huge farming machinery. They also had a big sky. You could see forever out there between the farms. It was so pretty in the spring and summer. It was a real adventure for my two younger brothers and me. My brothers and I loved them so much because they were fun and paid some attention to us, with things like letting us “drive” the big combine (with supervision of course). They still had no children of their own, so we three were a novelty for them. One thing about their house was you had to take a bath in the kitchen in a big tub. That was after the water had been pumped and hauled in and heated. Even back then that seemed so old-fashioned to us. At one point, in the later years, it was nice that they got an inside bathroom with a shower! In 1959 they adopted a little baby boy and he was the light of their lives; he was that light as long as they both lived. My brothers and I loved to be with him, especially my youngest brother who was only 7 years older than their “baby.” Harvest time with them was really something! We were there one time and it was mind-blowing. My aunt cooked and baked non-stop from before the crack of dawn until way after dark. My mom and I helped all day long cooking and cleaning up. There were 8 men in the bunkhouse and all of us to feed. Breakfast was a full-on buffet with all kinds of food: eggs, meats, hash browns and either pancakes, waffles, or lots of toasts and sometimes even homemade cinnamon rolls. Lunch and dinner were both regular, hardy dinners. Each had its own unique entrée with all its trimmings. A bag lunch went out to the men in the field at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. It was insane and interesting at the same time. Who can eat that much I wondered as a child? I still do wonder. Ruby worked so hard. The men did too. Every day she made beautiful fresh pies, cakes and bread. She had no freezer. So there was no way to do any of it ahead of time. I never heard her complain about anything. A few random things I remember about all of my aunts and my Mom. As sisters they totally enjoyed trading clothes and jewelry with each other. I can still see them all sitting around discussing why they thought they should have this or that piece for a while. They were all beautiful women and all looked stunning in their 40s attire and amazing 40s pumps. Future generations would try in vain to reproduce that 40's look in shoes. They were special. They were a “class act,” those Reese sisters. Ruby had become a very good painter. I had taken an art history class in college and she loved my textbook about all the famous painters from the 19th century in Europe. I sent her home with it so she could keep it. She was thrilled. It was the last time I saw her alive. My Aunt Ruby died of breast cancer that had metastasized to her brain in 1978. It was a heart breaker for all who knew and loved her, especially her family. She had made a trip out west to say good-bye to all of her sisters in California. That was when I gave her the art book. I don't know if she also saw her three brothers also who lived in Washington and South Dakota. Shortly after that she took a turn for the worse and a few months later she was gone. She was a lovely and spiritual person. Her faith in God was evident. That last time I saw her we discussed it at length. She was faithful and good woman with an abiding faith in Jesus Christ. She was an incredible woman and such a gem. The name Ruby was just perfect for her. BJC 14 March 2017

Thomas Rees 1846-1898

Online Language Translation

Thomas Rees 1846-1898

One of the great blessings in my life happened during this past week.  For many years I have known that my mother's grandfather was Thomas Rees of Wales.  He was married to Mary Davies, my great-grandmother also from Wales. They came to America and they had five children.  Their youngest and only boy was my grandfather, William Henry Reese.  Some of the Rees family including Thomas' wife, Mary Davies Rees, are buried in the New Cambria, Missouri Cemetery.  That was all I knew. I had never seen a picture of him and I knew nothing about where he was from in Wales or anything about his life.  

My grandparents had nine children so I have quite a few cousins on that side.  When my mother's twin brother died a couple of years ago, I talked quite a bit to his daughter, Jenice.  She didn't have much information on the family but she thought our cousin, Joan Reese Prange might know more.  I had met Joan a few times while a child.   I put it on my list to get in touch with Joan.
Time passed...you know how it goes with genealogy "to-do" lists.  

We finally connected and talked and shared information and it was delightful.  She lives in Missouri and had had a lot of contact with our Aunt Lena who has now passed away, who lived nearby.  Joan told me she had information and a picture of our great grandfather Thomas Rees.  This past week I received a packet in the mail with this wonderful photo and his Welsh obituary and also one for Mary Davies, in English, thank heavens.  There was also included some hand-written family group sheets with information on my grandfather's siblings that I had not had before.

I was so excited about it all.  The challenging part was.....The Welsh obituary.  I decided to give Google Translate a try.  I have used it many times before but not on anything this important and I wanted to make sure I got it right.  So I started there and very painstakingly copied each letter very carefully into the translation box.  One letter can and did change the whole meaning of the sentence.  I did it more times than I want to admit.

Of course it doesn't translate directly when you have to consider the syntax, age of the document and idioms and cultural references that we don't understand.  When a word doesn't quite make sense you can click on that word in the translated box.  Once the word is highlighted it will bring down a box for alternate choices.  They even offer you the chance to add your own word!  You study it out in your mind and pick the best option.  It is intense and pretty fun really.  Like solving a little mystery sometimes and at other times very clear.  I quite enjoyed doing it.  Jim helped me quite a bit and it calmed down some of his post surgical restlessness as well.  Of course you can also go to specific language translators, find idioms and their definition but not always the one you are looking for unfortunately. It took me a day and a half to get it as close as I could.  I felt Google Translate gave me a good basic understanding of the content.

The next thing I did was run it by our goodfriend and Jim's cousin, Stephen to get his opinion.  He said we did a good job, but he did some refining and searching like only a seasoned genealogist who speaks several languages and is a research attorney can do.   With his help the combined second translation was born.   I feel this is extremely accurate.

REES.--In September in New Cambria, Mo., at age 45, the humble Christian Thomas Rees, farmer, leaving a widow and five children as mourners after him. Although he was relatively young he experienced long and protracted afflictions, from shortness of breath -- one of the worst afflictions to prevent man from being useful to society family, religion, and generally; but he did his part in the one as in the other notwithstanding his frailty. He was a member of the Calvinist Methodist church there, and was a faithful member throughout his life. He had the ability to socialize, and therefore his presence always truly acceptable. He was born in a small farmhouse called Crin-cae, near Rhandirmwyn, Wales. His parents were David and Betsi Rees, who were loyal to him and his brothers, rearing them with religious education as members of Salem Calvinist Methodist Church, where they were catechized and counseled in detail by the Elders of the pulpit and of the deacons' pew. Two of his brothers rose to be preachers, Isaac Rees, priest at Penygraig, Rhondda Valley, and Rees Rees, with [the Calvinistic Methodists], in the Island, Ystradgynlais, Wales. He also has two brothers in this country, James D. Rees, Wilkes-Barre, and Dan Rees, Plymouth, Pa. He had been in the area of Wilkes-Barre for ten years before moving to New Cambria; to a multitude of friends he was a morning friend there. We wish his widow and orphans every success necessary to be comfortable in temporal and spiritual things while on earth. - Yes! Morning Friend. (Which we have since learned means very good friend.)

The Wedding of Ross Colberg and Jospehine Reese~1941

Ross Colberg and Josephine Reese

September 28 1941

St. Paul, Minnesota

Just this past week I found this in an old envelope as I have been going through some things from the past.  I literally had my breathe taken away when in saw this.  This is a rose from the wedding bouquet of my mother.  The rose is over 72 years old.

I have not retouched this or altered the photo in any way.  I was astonished at the color and the green fern.  I just removed it from the envelop and placed it carefully on the back of my iPad for a dark background and snapped the shot.  I put it right back into the envelope and am now trying to decided how to preserve it and display it.  What a treasure, I am thrilled to have discovered it!

The following is an excerpt from biographical sketch I wrote and complied for our family after my father died in 1979. I wrote the introduction and my piece and then I asked my Mom, two brothers, my husband,  and a close friend of Dad's to add something.  The compilation was a very exciting project portraying a unique perspective of my multi-faceted father from the people closest to him.
The following is a portion of what my mother wrote about their meeting and marriage:

"To My Darling Children,

I was born in Pierre, South Dakota on May 17, 1919.  There was another big event that day as I have a twin brother named Joseph.  At that point in my life I had four sisters and three brothers; Letha, Lena, Harold, Margaret, William and Wilma who were also twins.  We lived on a farm about twenty miles from Ft. Pierre, South Dakota.

When I was five years old we lost our mother from an infection after giving birth to another baby girl, Ruby.  I am so sorry I never got a chance to know my mother as I know I would have loved her very much.

After I  graduated from high school in Pierre I moved to Bismarck, North Dakota in January of 1940.  I went to Bismarck to attend Beauty School.  During that six months I lived with a couple I met and who became dear friends, Rose and Fred Gerberding.

That move to Bismarck really changed my life. It was the best move I ever made because this is where I met Ross.  Yes, he definitely was the best thing that ever happened to me.  Through friends we met on a blind date.  He looked so handsome that night.  He had on dark pants, a white sports coat and tie.  We double dated with our friends and had such a wonderful time.  After that we saw each other all the time.  He was such a gentleman and always so nice.  Yes, it definitely was love at first sight!  We met on May 4, 1940 and we always had such a good time when we were together.

About Dec 1st of that year Ross was transferred to Fargo, North Dakota.  He worked for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.  It was a sad day for us both because we knew it would mean many months of separation.  Not having a car he didn't get home very often--I really missed him.  In the spring of 1941 I moved to Ellsworth, Wisconsin to stay with my friends, Rose and Fred, that had been transferred there earlier in the year.  Ross came there to see me a few times.

I August of 1941 I decided to go to work in St Paul, Minnesota.  At about that same time I learned that Ross had been transferred there too.  We were both so happy to know we would both be there.

On September 28, 1941 we were married  in a Lutheran Church in St. Paul at 8:30 in the morning. yes it was a very strange time to be married but Rose and Fred were our attendants and being a Greyhound bus driver, Fred had a run to make in the afternoon.  The main thing was that we were married!

It was a very small and simple wedding.  Ross' mother was the only relative there, but we were just thankful to have her there with us.  We were just new in St. Paul so didn't know anyone to invite.  We were both working fortunately but worked opposite hours unfortunately.  So I'd get up in the morning and fix his breakfast and get him off to work and at night he'd wait up for me until midnight and then come down to the Ice Cream Parlor and walk me home.  We always stopped at a little hamburger place and had a nickel hamburger and a ten cent piece of cherry pie.  We were so happy and loved being married.   I really enjoyed being a housewife and always have.

Oh yes, I almost forgot our honeymoon.  It was a trip---from Minneapolis to St. Paul. After the wedding we went to get our pictures taken.  Then we went to breakfast with Ross' mom, Rose and Fred, and a couple of Fred's aunts that must have come along just to increase our numbers. Neither Ross nor I knew them.

Afterwards we jumped into the car, Rose and Fred in the front seat and Ross and me in the backseat. Sandwiched right in between us was none other than "Mama!"  This was so embarrassing to us at the time because we happened to run into some friends of ours on the street corner as we stopped at a light and it was obvious we had just been married.  Why?  Because I wore my wedding dress all day long and there she sat in the middle of us.

The next event of the day was a tour of the Capitol Building.  Over the years we laughed so many times about that, especially going there in my wedding dress.  Of course everywhere we went people stared.

Finally in the afternoon we put his mother on a train to send her home.  After that we stopped in a little place to have a drink and celebrated our wedding day.  After paying for the drinks we discovered we barely had enough money left to catch the streetcar home to St Paul which was just across the river. We had also been able to see Horace Heights put on big band show so we were pretty exhausted so we were happy to come home to our little apartment that we had just rented the week prior to our wedding.  I stayed there and got things ready and Ross lived at the YMCA until the day we were married.  The night before the wedding Rose and Ross' mom stayed with me in our apartment.  Everyone was a little frazzled and cramming three women in the bed was a bit much.  Just as we were about to go to sleep I said, "This is the first time I have ever slept with a Colberg!"  This sent my future mother-in-law into fits of laughter!"  She told that story repeatedly over the next many years.

Our apartment was tiny and our first home was so much fun.  In our home our living room was also our bedroom.  We had a Murphy bed that pulled out and down from the wall   So every day and every night we had to rearrange our furniture.  When the bed was up it had a nice mirror on the back of it so it looked just like a real living room.  Those were wonderful times.

I can remember how proud I was to be his wife, and how through our marriage I'd look at him and find it hard to comprehend that he was mine, all mine!  We didn't have much in the way of material things then, we went into our marriage with a few dish towels without hems and a few cents in our pockets but we were very much in love and we had each other, so what else really mattered?"

The End of Part I

An Apostolic Promise

Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve taught about the guiding influence of our ancestors;

“There are thousands of them, hundreds of thousands and millions of them in the spirit world who long to receive this gospel and have been waiting hundreds of years for their deliverance. They are waiting on you; they are praying that the Lord will awaken your hearts in their interest. They know where their records are and I testify to you that the spirit and influence of your dead will guide those who are interested in finding those records. If there is anywhere on earth anything concerning them, you will find it. That is my promise to you.

 But you must begin to work. You must begin to inquire after your dead. And the spirit of your heart turning towards them will come upon you, and the way will be opened in a marvelous manner, and if there is a scrap of evidence concerning them upon the earth, you will find it. When we have done all that we can do ourselves, the Lord will come to our rescue…If we have done our best and have searched and have discovered all that is available, then the day will come when God will open and part the veil and the records…will be revealed.” 

(Bryant S Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard pg, 230)

Temple Sealing Day~June 23, 1979

Sadly this is the only picture of this day.  What were we thinking.  The resolution is terrible but at least it captures the moment and the Afro!  Love you, Honey, just kidding (now that its gone!)  33 years ago.   Those kids have grown up!  Beautiful family memories of a long life together so far and eternity to go.

Lillie Minerva Briggs and Martin Allen Godfrey

John and Josephine Colberg

Grampa Ross' Grandparents from Sweden

Alma Nelson 1873-1918

Alma Nelson

The Reese Twins in the Roaring 20s

William and Wilma Reese age 9 or 10

Joseph and Josephine Reese age 4 or 5

This morning (insomniac early) I had awakened and was looking on my smart phone at some old email files.  There in a file I found a bunch of old photos, this one among them.  The little sweetheart holding the doll is my mother and this is the only photo that I have of her as a child that shows me what she looked like.  There are a few others in various degrees of deterioration but this one is nearly perfect for being almost 100 years old.  Oddly I do not remember ever seeing this photo before.  I think I must have put it in PAF years ago and Lowell, our son-in-law must have taken all  those off PAF and sent them to me in a big photo file.   Anyway I feel as though God send me a lovely and cherished gift this morning.

There are so many things I love about this photo.  The first is that each person in this photo is someone that is now deceased that I have known and loved very much when they were alive.  It is wonderful to see what they looked like as children. 

This picture is was taken at a critical time in their lives, it is either just shortly before or after their mother died in 1924.  Their mother Ella Evans Reese had nine children include these two sets of twins.  The fact that the mother and twins all survived is a miracle in itself when nearly all twin births include at least one breech baby.  All but the last child were born at home.  When little Ruby was born our grandmother went into the hospital, contracted a serious infection and died ten days later at 39.

This left all nice children, motherless and their father was a busy rancher.  Consequently they were passed from pillar to post and separated for several years in different households.  I do know that my mother and Uncle Joseph were kept together and I have no idea what happened to the other kids during those years.  I do know that it was very rough on my mom and her brother and not ideal in any way for them.

Eventually the kids had an old field hand named Ollie that came and stayed at their home and he was the best caregiver they ever had.  Their dad eventually remarried an old spinster that taught at the kids' school.  This also was not a happy time for the children either.  They were to address her as "Miss Moore."  Not a warm fuzzy for the children for sure.  This fact was apparently kept a secret from their father who thought he had found a solution to his problem.

My mom says she only remembers her own dear mother as she watched her casket being lowered into the ground as people threw dirt on it.  That simply breaks my heart and to now be able to have a little girl's face to go with that story makes it all the more poignant for me. 

Another thing I love about this picture is the fact that my mom is holding a pretty little doll in her arms.  Mom told me she did not ever remember having a toy in her entire life.  I am not sure that this is her doll but it is nonetheless wonderful to see her holding it.

The other thing I like about this picture is a chance to see a little part of where they lived.  It looks like the most God-forsaken place on earth.  Flat, ugly, dry and brown.  Even in a black and white photo you can see it is brown. And look at their little feet.  Only Aunt Wilma is wearing shoes.  We are planning a trip to South Dakota hopefully in the late spring of the year 2014.  We want to find their property and go there and visit some of the graves of people in the family who never made it out of Pierre, South Dakota alive.

I am so thankful for discovering this photo!  It is wonderful to be able to share it with our cousins and posterity.

The Eternal Influence of Good Fathers

I absolutely love this quote.  Think about how you are the result of the love of thousands.  As a lover of genealogy and family history I just adore this thought because it is so indicative of just how special every person is.  Not only are we each a child of our Heavenly Father who loves us completely, but our human family through out the ages has conceived each of us in love.

Today I have been thinking about all the fathers in my life.  There are many.  Of course my own father and Jim's father came immediately to mind, we miss them always and wish we could turn to them for guidance often.  And most especially, my husband who has been the most amazing father our children could have ever had.  From the moment we became acquainted with the fact that we were expecting our first child, he has been a supportive father.  Always there, always ready to reach out and give of himself.  He has been a spiritual leader in our family, always a teacher, a servant and always a good example.  He loves in a total way.  What child or wife could want for more than that?

We love and miss our grandfathers.  Jim's grandfather in many ways became my best-known, best-loved grandfather too.  We stood overlooking the graves of our family today.  Grampa Andrew, our fathers, and Jim's brother, Gary.  Wow! What dynamite men.  Each and every one of them good, really good fathers.  We feel that good part of them inside of us in a real way.

When I look at our pedigree charts and try to imagine each of our grandfathers going way back, I sense they were very good people.  I wish I could know them and feel we will one day.   Of course there is always the exception and none of them were perfect, even as we are not.  But still they were mostly good at heart.

As I have worked hard to learn about them I am blessed to instinctively know that.  Each of God's children has that spark of the divine, even when our human eyes may not readily see it.  We are all a composite of those who came before us.  Today I am feeling that like never before.  A family is a sacred heritage that goes on and on in each direction. We belong to each other.

I think of our brothers, Steve and Gary and Jim's brother...they are all good fathers.  Jim's brother died at 26 with only one child, but I see the effects of his goodness in his grandson, Thomas.  Who we are affects our posterity for generations.  I think of our uncles, all good men and fathers.  Our cousins, tremendous men that have contributed much to this world.  Our friends, each one a good father and raising or has raised remarkable young people.

I have witnessed how the ones who left us early in life are missed so terribly much by their families, like Bill, Larry, John, Sione, and most recently, Alan.  The mark a father leaves behind is tangible, precious and to be remembered.  Our sweet friends that are still here are all active, happy grandfathers and even some great-grandfathers.  They are 100% in for the durations with their families.  They live their children and grandchildren's joys and sorrows right along with them.  We love you.

This is such a joy to witness over generations.  Who says getting older is not so good, does not look around with eyes to see.  As we look at the exemplary families of our children's spouses, Melissa, Lowell and Robert we see their great parents whose goodness has visited itself upon our shared grandchildren.  That influence is huge, meaningful and a great blessing to us.

We are privileged to watch our sons, Chris and the two wonderful sons our daughters married.  They amaze me to the point that a hush falls over the room sometimes as I see them at work.  They have given all for their children and their families.  We truly are the result of the love of thousands.  How can that not bring unspeakable joy to us today?

We watched a wonderful young father say good-bye to his four day old son, as the baby returned back to heaven, just weeks ago. Through the strength of their little family and the baby's very supportive grandparents, many have been lifted up in faith and hope and love~forever changed.  We will love you forever, Chapmans.  We have been taught by your deep love and faith in our Father in Heaven.

Just a little while ago I spoke with my sister-in-law, Emily, to wish her a happy birthday today.  She told me of our nephew, Nicholas, and his wife, Mara and their first new baby, Quinn, just a few months old.  She told me of their complete devotion to their little one, barely having time for anything else in their lives, in the newness of it all.  And I realized another new Dad has been born, completely and totally devoted to his little girl.   And I see, my brother, my dad, our grandfathers, uncles and cousins.  They are all a part of that eternal influence that insures Quinn she belongs to something big and powerful and where she will always be loved and cherished....her family.

May we all have had a wonderful day of reflection upon all the fathers in our lives that have been the best they knew how to be and may we feel a special joy in knowing that they have touched us for the better through their love and inherent goodness.  Thank you to all our wonderful Dads related or otherwise!   And Thanks be to Our Heavenly Father for blessing us with all of you.

James with Jennifer 3 days old!

"If in John 14:2 the word "mansion" is replaced with the Hebrew word "bayit" - meaning "family" - we get a very different interpretation of what the Savior was saying to His disciples when He talked about "mansions" within His Father's house.  "In my Father's house are many families. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (plural, meaning you and your family) ... that where I am, there ye many be also."  
 By Ryanna Ollivier~ Meridian Magazine 6/17/13

William Henry Reese and Mary Ellen Evans

 Some of the members of the William Henry Reese Family

Taken in South Dakota around 1921-23

My maternal grandparents were Mary Ellen Evans (1884-1924) and William Henry Reese (1882-1938.)  Most of my life I have known very little about them.  Both died long before I was born and my mom's mother died when Mom was only five years old.  My mother's only memory of her mother is seeing her wooden casket lowered into the ground.  The image of that in my mind is just heartbreaking for a little five year old to remember.  The nine children they had did not have a very happy childhood from all I can gather and from what the older siblings recounted there was much discord in their home.  Thankfully my mother did not remember any of that.

Their children were Letha (1906), Mary Lena (1909), Harold (1910), Margaret (1912), William and Wilma (twins) (1915), Joseph and Josephine my mother (1919) (also twins) and then Ruby (1924).  My grandmother died before age 40 from complication of Ruby's birth.  The baby was just a few weeks old when their mother passed away.  She was the only one of their children to be born in a hospital.  This is the only photo I have of my mother when she was little. I only have two photographs of my grandmother and grandfather.

I don't know who wrote on this photo, and as much as I wish they hadn't, it is good that they did.  I am sure someone might be able to restore it.  I heard an archivist speak about photo restoration the other day and she was saying that the people who restore old photos are called conservationists.  I don't even know how this photo fell into my hands but I am so thankful that it did.

There is one other photo that I have of my grandparents but it is very odd in that they are standing in front of a barn and they look, seriously, 70 years old!  Knowing that my grandmother died around 40 always made me feel so badly for her.  Her life had to be terrifically hard and aged her so.  But seeing this profile photo, even though is it dark assures me that she was more youthful than I had imagined from that other photo and this photo is just a few years before she died.

The two children in the foreground on opposite sides of the page are my Aunt Wilma and on the right her brother, Uncle Bill.  That set of twins is five years older than my mom and Uncle Joe so I'd imagine Wilma and Bill are about 7 or 8 here.  My mom is the sweet little one sitting just to the right of her mother along side her twin, my Uncle Joe, on her left.  My Uncle Joe was the last to leave us and he passed away just a few months ago.  November 16, 2012 in Kennewick, Washington.  On the far left side is my grandfather's spinster sisters,  Maria, pronounced "Mariah" with a long I.  She was pretty dreadful to the children as one of their many "caregivers" after my grandmother died.  I am surprised at the tears running down my cheeks as I write this.

My grandfather was a rancher is South Dakota.  They lived some miles south of Pierre.  He was not the kindest of husbands or fathers is all I really know.  He is the one marked Papa in the hat.  I was blessed to know each and every one of their children in this life.  My aunts and uncles were all very wonderful human beings.  I am overcome with missing them right now.  They deserved a wonderful life as children, but that was not to be. Some of the people in the photo must have been friends and the one with the scratched out face may have been another of the dreaded sisters of my grandfather but I cannot know for sure.  My grandfather was the only male in his family so the "Uncle Bill" is not his brother.  My Grandmother who went by Ella did have an older brother named William Daniel Evans.  It might be him.

There is so much more to the story but this is all I can muster right now.  Part 2 coming later.

 This is my beautiful grandmother's headstone.  They made a mistake on it.  She was born in 1884 and died in 1924 not 1824.  I can just picture those little kids standing nearby 89 years ago.  Sometimes a vivid imagination is not so hot.

i

Fort Pierre, Stanley, South Dakota, USA

It just looks like a prairie cemetery, doesn't it?

 I hope we can visit here one day and leave some flowers.

Cattarina Maria Lagomarsino

 

This is Jim's maternal great-grandmother.  She married Peitro Franchini and had two children, Margherita and Pietro.  

Margherita Emma Franchini

About 14 years old

This is Jim's grandmother.  We knew her as Marge or Marguerite Ferrera. More coming soon here.

Childhood Recorded Memories~Ross W. Colberg

My Dad left us three amazing stories from when he was a child.  I love these...they seem to come out of a very, very long time ago.  So long ago in fact, it is hard for me to fathom life at that time for someone that I actually knew as well as I knew my Dad.

Baby Food or Aunt Agnes' Answer to Gerber's

"Aunt Agnes, my Dad's sister, was a very resourceful person and I have vivid recollections of her feeding her babies.  This was the time before canned baby food so she improvised.  When her children graduated from milk to solid food she would take small bites of food, generally meat, potatoes and bread, put them in her mouth, chew well, roll into a little ball in the palm of her hand and pop it into her baby's mouth.  It seemed to work well because the little ones would anticipate it like a baby bird and would relish each morsel.  It didn't seem to harm them any as she had at least six and they were all very healthy.

My mother's reaction to this was one of disbelief and she abhorred the idea.  She preferred a knife and fork to get the food fine enough.  I am kind of glad Mom took this position!"

Chewing Tobacco or How To Get Sick In A Hurry

"I recall one incident that I shall never forget!  It was my first and last experience with chewing tobacco.  My Dad was going to take two loads of wheat to the grain elevator in Ventura, North Dakota.  I was about six or seven years old and my job was to drive a team and wagon load of wheat.  It wasn't a hard job and kind of fun.  I followed my Dad and his load.  The horses were gentle and followed his lead with no trouble.  The so-called roads were dual ruts worn by other wagons before us. 

We left early in the A.M and arrived and had unloaded our wheat by about lunch time.  There were no restaurants in the little town and the local butcher capitalized on that by provided local farmers with a place to get a snack.  

Liverwurst..possibly the wurst all right.

He had liverwurst and other sausages along with bread, crackers and cheese.  The real treat was Nehi Pop.  My Dad had malt liquor (this was before the day of 3.2 beer and sometimes I suspect home brew was also available to him.)

After our feast we were about to head for home and my Dad took out his plug of tobacco and whacked off a chunk with his pocket knife.  I must have looked rather wistful because he looked down at me and said, 'You think that looks pretty good, huh?'  My reply was affirmative so he gave me a piece about the size of a dime with the admonition, 'Don't tell Mama!' I really felt like a man as I climbed up on the spring seat of the wagon and headed for home chewing my chow.

Now wagons in those days didn't have rubber tires, but ran on steel rims.  So in spite of the spring seat it was a very rough ride in the empty wagon.  Dizziness reared its ugly head and I soon had to wrap the reins around the seat and let the horses follow the team ahead and lie down in the wagon bed. The ride got rougher and rougher and I got sicker and sicker.  I finally lost my good lunch and Nehi Pop.

I recovered before we got home but evidently my color wasn't too good because my mother questioned both of us about my condition.  I was ashamed to tell her I couldn't chew tobacco like my Dad and he was afraid to tell her what he did!  My Dad's reaction was of concern and some amusement.  He said, 'That can be lesson to you, son, not to chew tobacco.'  And you know I learned that lesson well.  I haven't had a chew since!"

My First Job Or The Saga of Ballinger's Bull

The first recollection I have of working for pay was when I was about eight years old.  I was living with my parents on my grandparent's farm in Mc Intosh County, North Dakota.  My cousin, Virgil, also lived in the area about four miles from us.  He was eighteen and made a deal with Mr. Ballinger to drive his old bull to market at the nearest rail head at Lehr.  The price to be paid for the ride was $1.00.  Virgil asked me if I would like to drive the animal with him and he would split the fee with me.  We started early on horseback one morning to drive that dumb bull 16 miles across open country.  (It was more like 26 miles 'as the bull runs!') 

It was in the fall of the year so crops had been harvested and there were few fences so the old boy had plenty of room to run.  It was a hard day's ride to the rail head and back but as I look back on it it was exhilarating fun in the outdoors and quite an accomplishment for a couple of kids.  I think some of the neighbors were laying bets we'd never get the bull to market.

We did it though and then sat back and awaited our pay of $.50 a piece.  For me it never came to pass and to this day I don't know if Mr. Ballinger got he bull to market for free or if Virgil reaped the full benefit.   I guess the moral of the story is you can drive a bull to market but you may not get your just reward!" 

Here they are, Daddy...1925! 
Virgil is in the clear!

Ross W. Colberg Journal Entry #1

This week I wrote about my Dad in celebration of what would have been his 95th birthday.   I included an edited version of the introduction to the book I wrote about him just months subsequent to his death.  Today I want to continue that entry with a short introduction to his planned writings of his life history and a trilogy of short stories he included before his untimely death.  The way that all happened is a reminder that it is never too early to get started on preserving our memories.  We never know when our time on earth will end.

I had given Dad a journal for Christmas a couple of years before he died.  I asked him the following Christmas to share what he had written.  He sheepishly told me he hadn't done it yet.  So I asked him to please start and to give it to me for my birthday in July.  He agreed.  Over the next couple of months he made a few entries.  With no warning he started having cardiac issues in May and was gone by May 21, 1979.  My dad was youthful and active and physically appeared to be the perfect picture of health.  We just never know. Not exactly the birthday present I was hoping for that is for sure.

For months after his death Mom and I scoured the house because she knew he had been working on it.  Now their home was very orderly and so there just were no piles of stuff to look through, and not many out of the way places it might be hiding.  We were just baffled by what had happened to it.  One day while putting something away in their coat closet I was impressed to reach up on to a shelf that was completely empty above the coats.  My fingers grazed the top of something that looked like this.

If you know what this is you are dating yourself!

Some ancient computer printing paper was lying completely flat and not visible from my perspective.  On that paper I found the four entries my dad had made.  I guess he had planned to copy it into his journal once he was satisfied with his draft.  This treasure is something I cherish.  Ironically his life was cut short and he was just beginning but, it was precisely the time period that his sister, Grace, could not have supplied for us, she being five years younger than he was.  With her writings and my mom's we were pretty much able to reconstruct his early life for the book.  I do not view this as a coincidence but as a miracle.  He brought us to the time period when his father died, which is exactly where she picked it up.  They were eleven and six respectively at that time.

Wild Prairie Rose~North Dakota State Flower

 Here is what he wrote for us:

" I was born in Ashley, North Dakota on August 8, 1917.  I do not have full recollection of the day but was told I was born at Grandma Godfrey's house.  Grandma and Aunt Theresa were in attendance at the delivery as they both claimed to have given me my first spanking!  I don't know if any doctor was in attendance but doubt it, because it was such a small town and I don't think there was a doctor in the community at that time.  (Later old Doc Campbell arrived and met all our needs.)  So, a new baby boy arrived and now-what to name him?  My Dad evidently wanted to name me Jack, but my mother objected because Grandpa Colberg--A Swede with a heavy accent and trouble with his J's, would have called me "Yak!"  So somehow they came up with Ross Willard!  I have no idea where they got these names but they have served me well as a means of identity and after all, that is the purpose of a name. (Ed. Note:  My grandmother once told me she selected the name Ross because it was a character name she liked in one of her favorite books.  I am not sure about the Willard.)

I remember all of my grandparents except Grandpa Godfrey. He was bed-ridden with a stroke when I was born and died about two years later.  He and his parents came from Michigan in the late 1800's to settle in Hoskins Lake which was about three miles west of Ashley.  They came in covered wagons and suffered many hardships such as Indian and prairie fires scares.  More and more settlers came to the area and they evidently decided to move to town to the present site of Ashley.  Grampa Godfrey operated a livery stable and also was Deputy Sheriff up until the time he became ill.  I remember Grandma Godfrey as always bustling about the kitchen.  Most of her ten children were away from home by the time I arrived, so I suppose she was even busier in the early days!  She had three boys, James, Glen, and Martin Jr., and seven girls, Elsie, Minnie, Nellie, Alice (my mother), Eleanor, Theresa and Hallie who died in infancy. Grandma was a Christian and quite active in the Methodist church and the ladies' society called the Thimblebees.  

Many years later, she remarried, Grandpa Moore, who was also quite religious and my first recollection of table prayers was at their house.  He was a carpenter by trade, but pretty much retired by the time I knew him.  He always had a big garden so I learned how to hoe weeds when I went for a visit!  Grandpa Moore died and Grandma lived for a while with my Aunt Elsie in Linton, North Dakota and later at St. Vincent's Home in Bismarck.  She died there and must have been nearly ninety. 

I don't remember much about the Colberg side of my family.   I do know that my Grandpa John and Grandma Josephine came to America from Stockholm, Sweden.  I think their oldest son, Frank was born there but, the rest of their children were born in this country.  They had two girls, Agnes and Delia, and five boys, Frank, Fred, Philip (my father), George and Victor.  I have faint recollections that Grandpa Colberg worked in logging and the sawmills in Sweden.  He was not a tall man but had big arms and great shoulders which might bear out the fact that he did heavy work in his early life.  He became a farmer after homesteading in the Dakota Territory, and they lived in a sod shanty.

It must have looked something like this.

Grandma Colberg spent her time in the kitchen also, and wore starched, blue, gingham dresses and always had a shawl or cap on her head.  She smoked a corncob pipe with cheap tobacco called corncake--she was kind of a crusty old gal who always spoke her mind and would switch to Swedish when she couldn't talk fast enough in English.  (Or when she didn't want me to understand!)  I couldn't understand Swedish, but my Dad could and my mother had learned to understand and speak a little.  Grampa died when I was about six and Grandma when I was eleven, just ten days after my Dad.  

Great Great Grandma Colberg~Sheesh!

Can't you just picture this image Dad leaves 
for us of this "Crusty Old Gal?

My mother, Alice Godfrey was born in Ashley in 1896.  She went through high school there and I think she attended Ellendale Normal School for a short time or at least long enough to be able to teach in a one room rural schoolhouse.  She and Aunt Elsie were both school teachers before they married.  

My Dad, Philip Albert Colberg, was born in Montrose, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1886.  I know of two jobs he had in his early years.  He worked for a time in a creamery and to his dying day he would not eat butter.  I guess it was because of the sanitation or lack thereof that he noted while working in the creamery.  He wouldn't even allow my mother to cook with it.  When she wanted to tease him she would set the butter near his plate at the table.  He would  give it a shove with some force and then put jelly in his bread.  He also spent time working on the railroad.  Later he became a farmer which was very hard work and not always rewarding.  Being a farmer did have one good point though--it kept him out of World War I."

Thus ended the journal entry that Dad began in the spring of 1979 and was never able to finish.  It was just a beginning but I will always love him for the valiant effort he made to do it just because he knew how important it was to me.  In the front of the journal we eventually found he wrote the following...

"This journal is a gift to my dear daughter, Bonnie, and is dedicated to her to share with her children and grandchildren.  I also include my good sons, Steve and Gary, so that they may know a little more about their Dad's early life on the prairies of North Dakota.  As I start to write I have no idea what will come out but, I will do the best I can to try and be as accurate as my memory allows.

With love to all of you, Dad" 

Wow, this has been a real experience for me today sitting here retyping all of this.  It is amazing how deeply the joy and grief can be buried when your father died 34 years ago.   That stiff upper lip I have been displaying for 33 of those years is disappearing over this past year.  My tear ducts leak frequently and it feels good.  Family history has helped me get real with myself and my deep down feelings and has been very therapeutic for me.  More than anything it has helped me know what really are the most important things I have left to do during my life.  It is all about people, relationships and love.  Not just family but cherished friends too. What a blessing to know where I am going to focus my energies and efforts.  I love it when the Lord takes your hand and leads you in the way you should go.  I could never deny that that is exactly what is happening to me on a daily basis.  My heart is filled with thanksgiving and love today.

♥ Bonnie

Happy Birthday, Daddy (Ross W. Colberg 1917-1979)

My Dad would be 95 years old were he alive today.  Sadly he died when he was 61 years old.  So very young, way too young with the potential of many years still left unlived.   He was taken from this life due to an embolism in his lung after his second heart attack.

My Dad died when I was 30, I really miss him. It is hard to imagine that I have spent more than half my life with him gone. It's funny though that when someone impacts you like a parent does...they are never far away.

My Dad grew up in North Dakota and he was a great guy. His Father passed away before my Dad became a teenager and that placed some huge hardships upon my Grandmother to raise her two children. Consequently, my Dad spent a lot of time away from his Mom and sister while growing up. Another family, the Vanorneys (God bless them), took him in so that he could continue his schooling while my Grandmother sold all the farm equipment and moved from Ashley to Bismarck to go to school. She eventually became a court reporter and then was able to survive. My Dad had a college degree which was rare in those days, from the University of North Dakota in accounting.

He worked endless hours to make it happen with no financial support from his Mom, as she was barely making it herself. He was very athletic and handsome and would get the most gorgeous golden tans in the summers. He was super smart and had a great sense of humor. Here is a photo of Dad at 19. Isn't he a cutie? Had he been LDS he would have been ready to go on a mission about this time.

My Dad was a gentle and quiet man. He didn't talk your ear off, but when he spoke he had something important to say and people listened. He got a position with the Firestone Tire Company in Minnesota after he graduated from college. My Mom had just moved there from South Dakota to go to beauty school and that is how they happened to meet in 1939 or 40. I think they were the cutest couple. Here they are on one of their dates before they got married.

The Original Rossie and Jo-Jo Bean
I just love the clothes and shoes from this era, do you?

Dad served for nearly six years in the Army during WWII. After the War he accepted a position in California with Standard Oil and one month after he started working there I was born. I was thinking about how our decisions truly do affect the generations to come. Had they not moved to California just weeks before I was born, I would not have married Jim, joined the church, had the kids and grandkids we do, etc. etc. It is amazing how important each big decision really is. Everything would have been different in Minnesota.  We don't realize how every decision we make affects our posterity and our history. 

My Dad was a great father. Sometimes I wish he would have offered more direction, but his parenting style was more like ~ train up a child and then let them try their wings. He always trusted me and supported my decisions. My Dad was just such a kind person. People that worked for him would always tell me what a gentleman he was and that he was the best and kindest boss they had ever had. He was always so even-tempered and kind at home too. I think I can only remember him ever being really mad at me two times in my whole life and both times I deserved it! When he got annoyed about things he would grind the gear shift in the car and that was about it.

Dad's Retirement Picture

 I believe this is my Dad's College graduation picture.  He went to the University of North Dakota and received his degree in Accounting and Finance.  That was as much an accomplishment for his widowed mother as ti was for him.  Although he paid for every cent of his education his mother made many sacrifices for both her children after my grandfather, Philip Albert Colberg  died when their kids were young.  The resolution on this picture is terrible, but it does give it kind of an ethereal look which I do like.  He was so handsome and such a sweetheart.  The perfect gentleman in every way.

Some of my favorite times with my Dad where when I was a young adult and I worked in San Francisco at Standard Oil with him. We commuted together for a few years and that was a great one on one time for us. I was always very proud to be his daughter when I would meet his colleagues from work or anywhere for that matter. Dad worked endless hours in the Lutheran church, he was a great servant for the Lord. I really miss my Dad! I know that families are forever though and that helps!

The best part of our relationship was when he became a Grandpa and that is when I really saw him open up and adore our kids! He had a great smile and laugh and I can remember seeing more of both during those times. He was the first Grandfather in our town to work in a classroom as a volunteer when Jen was in kindergarten. He called Christopher his Little Buddy and spent lots of hours over here playing with the kids. Sadly he had only a few months with Laura before he was taken home.

The sentiment here is just perfect I think!

After my Dad died I wanted to write his life story.  I had tiny children and an old ratty typewriter but I plunked along on it and finally got it done.  It is not long and it is a compilation of writings from several of us close to him.  It was kind of a family/friends effort to deal with our grief at his sudden death.

Here is an edited version of the introduction to the book...

The History of Ross W. Colberg

Complied in December of 1979,

 just months after his death on May 21, 1979

It has occurred to me many times in recent months just how fleeting a man's life on this earth really is.  As we go about our daily activities, days turn into months and then years.  Time passes much too quickly, almost unnoticed sometimes.  Each of us becomes myopic, getting rather caught up in the immediate concerns of the day or the hour.  Rarely do we stop and ponder the more global and eternal aspects of our lives.  Each of us places the utmost importance upon who we are, what we will become, our life goals, our opinions, or values and beliefs, our family and friends, and whatever else gives meaning to our lives.

This is all well and good but where does it fit into the over all scheme of things?  When one thinks of all the people that have lived upon the earth, how significant really are the achievements, activities, loves, joys, trials and heartaches of any one individual?   Deep within my heart I believe that they are very important, not only to us but to our contemporaries and our posterity.  How deeply we value our own lives affects all that we do.  What we do affects those around us.  What we leave behind affects generations to come. 

My father's life on this earth is over but I cannot bear to let his memory and his legacy die with him.  Those things cannot just fade into nothingness with just the passing of a few years.  That would truly make his life's experiences and contributions to all of our lives seem insignificant, indeed!  I cannot let that happen, it would be such an ungrateful thing to do.

As I have begun to research our family history I think that it is very sad that we need only to go back one generation before little is known about our ancestors beyond their names and in some cases we don't even have that.  Isn't it ironic that those important lives, no less significant than our own, of people that literally sacrificed for us personally and contributed to who we are today, are now lost to us?  That is just wrong.  Thinking about the sacrifices we make for our own kids brings the reality of this to the forefront for me.  We need to remember and never forget them.

We all could have learned so much had family records and journals been kept.  That is why I gave Dad a journal two years ago for Christmas and asked him to fill it up with stories and the events of his life.  He was a little reluctant and felt no one would want to read it. He did write some very important things, (mostly because I begged...)and for this I will be eternally grateful.  They are recorded here. The rest of what you find here is a compilation of the things we each remember about him.  Herein you will find things you never knew about him as we all share our own personal memories with each other, our love for our father, husband, brother, uncle, grandfather and friend will grow.  I hope these things will bring comfort, peace and strength to us all.  I hope we will all resolve to leave our legacy for those left behind.  What better inheritance could there be?.........

To be continued if there is an interest.....B