Interviewer: Andrea Mott Typed by: Marlena Fongthian Birth Midwife Aunt Karoline Kuhn Farm home Until 1938 Sons passed away in flu epidemic Home in Napoleon built Town garden Kids in town Attended school - 1945 grad Jr. in high school - 10 kids skipped school Went to wild woods Superintendent Mr. Pritchett Detention 1 month High school - Wentz & Grenz Clothing store New clothes Earliest Memories 13 years School/grades 1st - HS Sing Songs - operetta Teachers HS - best days of their lives 27 Boys gone to service Sr. Prom - roller skating party
Sr. Prom - dance Dress 110 pin curls in hair Skip day went to Bismarck Movie - "Fresco Sale" Dances Burnstead - Mom/Fri Model A car - 10 kids, no dates, danced all day night Movie show hall in Napoleon Theater description Downtowner Party with friends Dance ticket = $.25 Shopped a lot Farm Bone gathering for $ Picked wool from sheep off of fences - shed it Bought a new wagon with $ Town perhaps once a week on Saturday night Sold goods in town Chores on farm 4 girls & Carol 1 doll for Christmas - each girl Christmas Trees with candles Sang songs
Get a bag of goodies Got a purse one year Sister Deanna got a bag with an onion Share clothes Games Ring around the rosy Hide and Seek Throw the ball over the house Tea party by the Lone tree Cousins would visit and play with them School bus Winter = sleigh with horses Sister Mag drove team Summer = trailer 20 minute ride Family Aunts/Uncles each Sunday Kuhns would get together Prepare potato salad, fruit salad, fried chicken Quilts from Wishek Brought by cousin Meiers, Nigums, Joh & Pete Kuhn, Steve Richters, Aunt Carol Kuhn, Fr. Kuhn Great time! Cousin Al Richter - demon Got in trouble!
Dumped cousin in water Carol saved her Card games At Aunt Richters had homemade ice cream Had ice cellar Soda crackers with ice cream Women's stories Pull jokes on each other like on April fools Location of family members homes All within close proximity in Napoleon after retirement Religion St. Philip's in Napoleon Parent's views - strict No dance/meat during lent Description of duties Mass - was in Latin Sang in choir/german Pius Kuhn was organ player Language German English learned at home Mom Came to Russia at 19 years Taught herself English reading Best cook, strict Russia
Talking about Mom Black Sea German Fruit was better Grandpa Kuhn well-off, had pair of stallions Used buggy to go to town Grandpa K. - white stallion Always humming Play Duroc, card game Gma/Gpa Kuhn lived in town for lunch Cook - pig's feet, kuchen, homemade bread, boiled eggs Other traditional dishes Pigs in a blanket, cabbage rolls, borscht soup, knefla soup (milk with dough), chicken, pork, roast beef meals Lots of food Groceries Bought with milk/cream check and coffee Made butter, made bread, box of apples Wheat to mill for flour Took home 100 lb bags of flour Sugar in 100 lb bag Crackers Halveh - sweet, eggs, flour, delicacy Chocolate or vanilla Desserts Apple pie, rhubarb, ice cream Favorite dessert = apple
Favorite meal Knefla, cheese buttons, borscht soup, greinel boscht (green veggie soup) Typical dinner/meal Prayers Dad was leader All food was on hand Ham was cured To keep milk cold Put in well below 10-20ft Syrup mixed with peanut butter put on bread Watermelon kept cold the same way Dirty 30's Work in the field with mom and dad Mom on header box Dad barked orders Grasshoppers (wait for buds) Hot! Dad borrowed from bank $150 - took 1 year to pay back Work in hay field Mag moved Carol on hay bucker Dad in bad shape End with moving to town Weddings and Traditions Met spouse when boys were leaving for the service Going away party for Frank Mock
He asked her to dance, and conversation 1944 Letter every day, when he left Courship He had two week leave Called him Frankie Movie & dances Carol took train Bismarck to San Diego for a visit - in August Got married in October 1947 Proposal went to movie In car proposed before movie Wedding Monday morning at 10am, St. Philips in Napoleon Fr. Griner led ceremony To mom & dad Marquart's home, prepped dinner Meal description Wedding cake - large & made by a friend - 3 layers Auctioned cake - sold for $500 Shower and dance After wedding dance (ended at 2am) Get grandpa's truck to haul furniture to new home Needed nothing, just a heater Farmhouse after marriage Description Marquarts & Franks Honeymoon
To farm with gifts, threshing not yet complete Next morning had to work Traditional wedding Description German songs Money dances - $1 dance Lined up to dance Barn dances Farm to farm - alternate Linton, ND for pictures Wedding party Flower girl forgot her flowers Post- marriage Wonderful but used to town life, had to adjust to farm life Cold Christmas Eve Mass (20 miles out) started snowing Got homesick Frank tried to get her to town - roads blocked Took Model A & horses and sleigh Went to Braddock Took 1/2 day Carol waited for train to Napoleon Soo Line train to Napoleon Met by parents George & Elizabeth - 5 days Homesick for Frank Train back for Braddock, but roads still blocked
Friends had homemade snowmobile - Tony Urich took her home on that No mail service Once/month - mailman with airplane, drop mail in bundle & carton of cigarettes for Frank Children Gary born on farm, 5 years when moved to town Purchased Super Value store in town & moved No electricity on farm, bought a washer with a gas motor Lights Kerosene until bought battery motors Radio Ma Perkins News 3 times a day for a few mins Toliet Outhouse until 1951, got fridge, carried water up hill Town Moved to Braddock On Sunday, many people shopped after mass Saturday evening open until 1:30am 3 grocery stores at that time 50-60 in town, 20 now Schoves until 1980 Buses to pick up families Baseball Frank was a pitcher, two years went to Kintyre HS activities
Basketball, volleyball Pays, was in band Subjects Favorite was history Play "Antiques of Anne" 2 months of practice Coursework Not much homework Prom prep Decorate gym with crete paper Bands Wizer band Typical date With Frank - always late Late movie Dance Once/week Everyone loved to dance! Holidays pre-marriage Christmas Big supper - evening meal Belsinickle (St. Nick would come) Description Gifts/goodies
After supper Light tree candles Sing Ready for town, see grandma/grandpa, mass to gma/gpa, family Easter No baskets, holes in ground 4 in row, picked grass/hay & filled hole, hoped for gifts Deanna got coal, bad again! Easter dinner, usually ham with sauce, cake 4th of July Always work before celebrate get $.25, could buy a candy bar, bottle of pop, go to store - for candy Ice cream cone - $.05/cone, go to creamery for $.04 cone BB Bat sucker for $.01 Few fireworks Thanksgiving No celebrations, sometimes a chicken, not a turkey Birthdays Just cake, wanted angel food Names - Day celeb. for mom and dad Full house Big meal Cards No dances at mom's house Parties Butchering
Two families Butcher 3-4 hogs/time Bad smell Cured meat in brine Chickens Childhood memories Conclusion Stressful Almost cut finger off Making taffy and had accident Happiest New wagon! Adventurous Conclusion Telling life story Kids today don't believe things from the past Many changes from then until now