To
"How Peter Changed His Name"
How The Name "Ostby"
Was Changed To "Lundin"
Cover Page for Clara's Story
The map is of Sweden, native land of Clara's parents.
This was contributed by Karen Klennert who writes:
"The Andrew Lindman whom Clara mentions in the story is my great-grandfather."
That name, Ostby, was a "carry-on name" (surname which is carried on from generation to generation by the male children) from the 1500s. Para Miekle Ostby was born November 1874. When he came to the United States, he changed his name to Peter Michael Lundin. He took the name of his Aunt Anna Margaret Ostby who married a Lundin. That is the best I can tell you how he changed his name.
In 1894, Peter decided to leave his home in Sweden and come to the United States. The law in Sweden at that time was that to leave and go to another country you had to have a person and a place to which to go. You had to live there for one year before you were eligible to move. During that time, you could work or go to school. Peter had relatives here so he wrote to Andrew Lindman in Isanti, Minnesota. Lindman was married and had six children: four sons named Emanuel, Enoch, Fred and Eric and two daughters. Peter had been writing to three of the Lindman boys, so that was the beginning.
Peter came to Isanti, Minnesota in 1894. He went to night school for six months to learn the language so he could become a U.S. citizen. He also worked at places close by for the other six months, after which he left to see the country.
When he returned, he went to work for another uncle who lived at Ball Bluff, Minnesota. His uncle's name was John Lindman. He was a single man who lived in a log house and had a large blacksmith shop where he worked to keep the loggers stocked with their horseshoes and other iron implements. Peter began working there and learned some of the trade. (At that time, there was no post office in Ball Bluff, so Jacobson, Minnesota, four miles north, was the place for the post office.) There were many Swedish people that lived close by, so Peter would visit them and talk about getting some land with trees and a lake. Peter looked for the place he liked and it was called VanDuse Lake. He went to the county seat and got the land, 30 acres, and he also got his citizen papers so he was a U.S. citizen.
Peter built a log cabin in the pines from trees on the land he had bought. The Mississippi River was only three miles from there and logs were put in the river to float to sawmills where lumber was made. When lumber was made, Peter was busy working and visiting.
In 1899, a friend named John Westerlund came to visit him and asked to borrow $100.00. Peter said, "What do you want for $100.00? I work and save some money and I sell lumber. Why didn't you save some when you sold your potatoes?" The answer was there was no price on the potatoes this year. "Well," said Peter, "What do you want the $100.00 for?" John Westerlund said, "I'm expecting to send for my girlfriend from Sweden but need the money to send to her. I have it all planned where she can work for one year and then we will get married." Peter said, "OK, I'll lend you the money but you must pay me back when she comes to this country and I'll go with you to see her when she comes to Minnesota."
She was to live in Swan River ~ a town where she was to work at The McDonald Motel, a restaurant and boarding house, owned by Mrs. Harry McDonald. That was eleven miles from Jacobson. The only transportation was train and steam boat. This woman's name was Albertina Norberg, born in 1879. When she came to Swan River, both John Westerlund and Peter were there to see her. Peter said, "I may send for someone also." But when Albertina came down the steps, she looked at Peter and said, "I wish I could have him." Peter said to John, "You don't need to pay back the $100.00, I'll take her instead." So one year she worked for Mrs. McDonald and then Peter came to get her and they were married on July 24, 1900.
Now it's Mr. and Mrs. Peter Michael Lundin going to the log cabin on VanDuse Lake. I do not know how they got there as it was eleven miles from Swan River and it was only a path through the woods. Albertina was so pleased with the cabin, they called it "The Love and Honeymoon Cabin." I'm sure it was a lifestyle she liked. This was how Peter changed his name and how he met Albertina and how they married on July 24, 1900.
Albertina had a brother, Henry, who came to the United States in 1902 and also bought some land in Ball Bluff. He had a girlfriend and a son in Sweden and he sent for them in 1904.
Peter and Albertina's first venture was to go and get acquainted with some of the Swedish and Finnish people in Ball Bluff. These were the families of John Lofgren, J.P. Relander, John Dahl, Hjalmar and Emil Kihlgren, John Westerlund and Asplands and several Finnish people.
Hildur, their first child, was born June 16, 1901. The Lofgrens also had a girl born June 14th who they named Emelia. Both children were born at Brookston, 60 miles from Ball Bluff, assisted by a midwife named Mrs. Eklund. Hildur and Emelia went to the same school starting at 6 years old and graduated at 13 years from 8th grade at the same school. Esther, their second child, was born September 4, 1902, and along came Edith, their third child, on January 1, 1904.
Disaster struck when the log cabin burned down, so they had to build a new home. How they lived until the house was built, I do not know. The preparation to get the logs ready was like this: Peter cut down trees into logs and hauled them to the Mississippi River three miles away. The logs were put in the river to float down to a sawmill where the logs were cut and trimmed to get the logs ready to make the house. Lumber was also used to make the rooms. The lumber had to be piled straight to dry so it did not get crooked or warped out of shape. Peter had all of this planned ahead of time. So now it was time to build. Neighbors and friends came to help. It was a large cabin, called a house, with 2 bedrooms and a large room ~ kitchen and living room combined. Clara, the fourth child ~ that's me, was born July 27, 1905.
Then another brother of Albertina's came from Sweden. His name was Carl. He also bought land at Ball bluff and homesteaded land in Canada in 1905. He needed someone to help him as he had to develop the land right away to claim it, so he wrote to a niece named Emelia Hagbom to come and keep house for him. She came in 1907.
Peter and Albertina's fifth child, Emma, was born June 26, 1907. Now there were 5 girls. I (Clara) was 1½ years old and Hildur, the oldest, was to watch over us when Peter was doing chores and getting things done outside. A lady named Mrs. Tiffet came to help when the girls were all sick with the measles. I was so sick that Hildur could not take care of me, as I was so sick and very hot. So Albertina said, "I'll take her in bed with me and Emma." She said, "She is burning up, she is so hot." So they called in Peter as Albertina said, "She is dying." Somehow they treated me and I lived. I had pneumonia, but I grew up to be a big girl.
Along came Robert on October 8, 1908 ~ the first boy. He looked funny to us as we had never seen a boy and there was lots to wonder about, I guess. Then Jenny was born May 8, 1910. Now there were seven. Emma was three and Clara four. Mother had 2 babies at the same time: one was 1½ and a new one. Our playtime was to take care of one of the babies, so mother said, "Clara, you take care of Emma as she likes you." So from that day, I was a nanny to my sister Emma.
Emelia Hagbom came to help so she took Emma home with her for a while. She was taught a Swedish prayer and when she came home she sang it to us and that was sad. Dad (Peter) said, "You do not say words like that as there are no such things." So Emelia said she would take Clara with her for a while, as she was so good to take care of Emma. It was a big treat to me. I had never been to Emelia's place. It was four miles to her place and we walked. Her place looked so different from our place. The building they had was built like in Sweden: barn, horse barn, calf shed were all in one long building. The last room was their house. So when I got to see all this, I was surprised, but a kitchen and a bedroom was all there was for the house. In the barn, there was a room for Carl when he came back from his stay at the homestead.
The kitchen was so pretty ~ flowered wallpaper all over, a small stove and a small table with two chairs, a shelf on one wall for dishes and food. The bedroom was a small room just big enough for a small bed. It was just right for one person, but being so little we slept together. It was an adventure.
I'll never forget the next day. Edwin Carlson came to see Emelia, so in her hurry she gave me some pretty cloth pieces to play with while she was out to the main house to visit with Edwin. She gave me a paring knife to cut the cloth to keep me busy. I had not seen a knife so I could not cut the cloth very good. I put the material on my finger and sawed away with the knife, but I cut it too far. I cut my finger and bled all over.
I hollered and cried so Emelia came in like a roaring lion, and asked, "What is the matter?" When she saw all the blood, I can still see her face and anger. She wrapped my finger. The next day, she took me home and said, "Take this javla unga." It was a bad name to call me so dad said, "Don't even say that word around here as there is no such thing." If it's translated, it would mean impossible kid, but in Swedish it was the devil child! From that time until Emelia died, she hated me. Enough of this. . . .
Victor was born in November of 1911. Then mother said "Clara, you are a big girl now so you can carry in the wood," so I did. Then it was to carry in the water from the lake to fill the reservoir on the stove. We never said, "No, I won't do that." We just did what was had to be done. When I was seven years old, I was to start school in the fall. Dad said, "Now you are a big girl and now you can come and help milk the cows." I took it as a big adventure and went. So here I was, seven years old and on a stool under the cow. It was a Jersey cow, a small one ~ easy to milk, but I had a lesson first on how to get ready to milk. First, it was to brush the cow, then wash her bag and spikes (that's what I called them). Later they told me they were called "teats." I did a good job so that evening I had to help again, and so I milked two cows. After awhile, Dad said, "Maybe you could milk two cows each morning and night." So every morning at 6:30 a.m. and every evening at 6:30 p.m., I milked two cows each time. Then as school was to start in a month, Dad said, "You are a big girl now, maybe you can milk three cows every morning and night." So I did and when school started, I had to milk the cows before I left to go to school.
We had 2 1/2 miles to walk to school. We had our lunch in a syrup pail. Each had their own lunch pail. We had good homemade rye and wheat bread with meat between the slices, a cookie and a bottle of milk. We had a log house as a school. It was small and we were up to forty in one room. My first teacher was a man. He taught us the Lord's Prayer to say before we started class, but Hildur told us we could not say it so Dad would hear us say it. I only said it at home at night. Dad did not believe in God. He was an agnostic, so we never went to church or Sunday School.
May was born May 29, 1913. Mother had cooked a large kettle of fruit and she told Hildur to give all of us kids (nine of us) each lots of fruit and each to get three prunes. She took the baby to the bedroom to feed her and dad went to take a nap also. Hildur gave me only two prunes so I hollered "I want more" and kept hollering, but she did not give me any more. So Dad came in like a lion, mad, of course. He grabbed a stick of wood and hit me. I had put my hands on my seat as I figured that was where he would aim for so I got hit on my hand and I hollered some more. Dad went outside and mother said "What is this all about?" I said, "I only got two prunes." Hildur got a hair- pulling and I got a big bowl of fruit. I had a blue hand for a few days. Mother went out and told Dad, "You cannot hit the kits like that." So that was my last hit my dad gave me. I did not help with the milking for a few days because my hand hurt, but I did help later. This was the first and last hit my dad gave me.
Walter was born November 14, 1914.
In October of 1916, I was sent to Isanti to work for Enoch and Helma Lindman to take care of three children: a boy four years old, a girl 2 1/2 years old and a baby 11 months old. Enoch was Dad's cousin and that is where dad stayed when he came to the United States. I was to help Helma when she was in the barn milking cows or when she did washing, as she could not take care of the children when she worked. She was afraid they would get hurt. They lived on a farm and had a farm hand also. I had to get the kids up in the morning, wash and dress them, make breakfast, wash dishes and clean house. When I was home with my family, I was working in the hay field and planted garden and took care of weeds, so this was all new to me, but I did learn.
Then it was Christmas and they went to Minneapolis to a cousin's for a few days. I was taken along too. I was then twelve years old and had never been to any city before. After Christmas dinner (at 6:30 p.m) we all went to wait for Santa Claus. Of course I still never knew any different, but just that it was Santa. So we were sitting on a bench, Helma, the three children and me. I sat by Helma and when Santa Claus asked what I wanted, I was so excited I opened my mouth wide and said very loudly, "I want a doll." Helma gave me a push and said, "You should know better." I'll never forget that shock of my life when Santa gave me a box six inches long, two inches high and two inches wide and inside was a pair of beads. To this day I cannot wear beads.
In March of 1917, Eleanor was born. She lived only three days. Then in April of 1918, Dorothy was born. That Spring, Robert and Victor went to check on the fences and May (only three years old) followed the boys into the woods. They told her to follow the fence home. She got lost so the alarm was made for help to find her. Two hundred people came from Hill City. They searched three days, she had gone so far, but they found her. She had walked over one and half miles. She stopped by the creek as she was thirsty but was afraid she would fall in. At night she slept between two logs where there was hay, so she must have slept most of the time. When they found her, she ran to them and said, "Take me home." This man carried her to the doctor who was also there searching for her. They gave her a drink of water and the doctor checked her and said she was fine, but they had to be careful what they gave her to eat as she was dehydrated. She got along wonderful from the experience. I was not home at the time so I got the news by mail some weeks later.
In the fall of 1918, Dad thought they needed me to come home. I was thirteen years old and Hildur was seventeen and Esther was sixteen and they wanted to go out and get a job. So in November of 1918, I went back to my folks and family after two years. When I left Andrew Lindman, I called him grandpa as he was the grandfather to the children I took care of. He had asked a neighbor to make me a dress, so she did. It was brown brocade and had a tan collar and cuffs. She also gave me a brown coat with a fur collar and a pair of shoes. When I came home, I was a big girl, just as tall as Hildur and Esther. The girls went to a dance that Saturday and took my clothes to wear. I had to stay home and I cried all night, but I pulled through that agony.
I was to start milking cows so I was a farm worker again: three cows every morning and night. I went to school, also, and Emma and I were pals again. We started a new language and we gave ourselves the names of Pickadelly and Mocksey. Every time we were together, we talked the language, although we did not know what we talked about in later years. One day, when we were picking over gooseberries, we were talking while doing our job. The older girls went to our mother and said we were talking a crazy language, so we were separated from doing any more work together.
Emma started high school in Grand Rapids. She was fifteen years old and I was sixteen. Hildur and Esther left home and Edith moved to Carlson's to cook and keep house for them (two single men). June was born on June 29, 1921. I was a farmer worker and Emma took care of the housework and cooking when she as home from school.
The summer of 1921, when we were haying, I hurt my back. The hay was so heavy that I slipped a disk and could not work for a few days. I managed to help up with the milking but could not carry anything. In 1922, I still could not do heavy lifting, so I told Dad, "I'm not able to help any more with this heavy hay and I cannot carry anything." So in October of 1922, I left and went to Duluth and worked. I worked for people in their home and lived there, too. I had a married cousin who lived there, so on my days off I would go to visit her and her husband. I also knew Bob and Olga Larson and another family, the McKeowns, so I had a lot of places to go on my Thursday and Sunday afternoons off.
Children of Peter Micheal Lundin
and Albertina Norberg
There were thirteen children, one who passed away at three days old. The oldest daughter married a son of John Westerlund. Now is that a coincidence? Mother passed away at age 60 and Dad passed away at age 90.
Hildur, born June 16, 1901
Esther, born September 4, 1902
Edith, born January 1, 1904
Clara, born July 27, 1905
Emma, born January 26, 1907
Robert, born October 8, 1908
Jenny, born May 8, 1910
Victor, born November of 1911
May, born May 29, 1913
Walter, born November 14, 1914
Eleanor, born March of 1917 (lived only 3 days)
Dorothy, born April of 1918
June, born June 29, 1921
Now this is where my life (Clara) begins. . . .
My cousin's husband worked at Minnesota Tea as a salesman. His name was Thure Kolquist. A young man, Hilding, also worked at Minnesota Tea, so Thure asked this man to come to his place on Sunday, saying that he would have a young lady come over so he could meet her. So Sunday, I was asked to come there also, and to meet this young man (heart-throb). I tell you, it was first love for both of us. That afternoon they had us haul in water as they did not have water at their place. It was winter and cold in February, so we got a sled and a big tub to be filled. I nearly froze but this young man gave me his gloves and that was the start. He asked if he could come and see me, so the following Thursday evening we were at Kolquist's again. Times were hard those days. It was 1925 and there was so very little money to spend on entertainment, but were happy just visiting different places. Then he asked me to marry him. We decided I'd keep on working at $50.00 a month with room and board free. He had to rent an apartment and eat out and so we lived apart after we were married in order to save up some money. We were married in August, but didn't live together until October as I had promised the people I worked for that I'd stay until after their daughter was married. In October, I was "P.G." (pregnant) so we rented a 3-room apartment that was furnished.
Now I'll tell about our wedding. Esther was my attendant and Ray Young was Hilding's best man. We were married in Gloria Dei Church and the pastor was Pastor Swan. I had gone to that church a few times so the Pastor knew me. I invited my folks also so there were six of us. We had dinner at the Lincoln Hotel. It was real nice. I had a blue dress and got myself a bouquet of flowers. I did know a little of such things as I had worked out for 4 years.
I went back to work for 2 months. I was kept busy in the apartment sewing baby clothes. My folks gave me a sewing machine as a wedding present. In March, Gladys was born. We lived in the apartment yet. Then we bought some land close to Kolquist's and had a 3-room house built, so we moved there to our new home in July. There was no electricity or water so we had to haul in water from the neighbors. In October of 1929, Richard was born. We had chickens and a cow so we were busy. I also had a nice garden.
In July of 1931, Hilding got sick and had surgery for appendicitis. He was so dizzy and vomiting. In two weeks he had the same attack so he was back in the hospital. I was then 5 months pregnant with Deloris. He was sick and doctored for two years, but at last a doctor found out what his trouble was: infection of the 8th nerve which is in the head (near the ear) so he went to Rochester May Clinic and had surgery. I had three small children. Gladys was 6 and going to school, Richard was 3 and Deloris was 1 year old. I took the bus to the hospital the day before surgery on Friday, September 1st and on Monday, September 4th, he passed away. I was well taken care of at the hospital.
Here I was, 28 years old with three small children and $12.00 in my pocket, as that was all the money I had. I told them I did not have any money and had doctor and hospital bills for over 2 years. Now there was all this surgery and a funeral, and what could I do? They said, "Don't worry, it will be okay, I'm sure." So they called Hilding's mother in Michigan and also called my folks. They took an autopsy to see what he died from and it was "ether pneumonia." The lungs filled up with ether, as that was the thing they used in those days tp put them under for surgery. They called Bell brothers undertakers who they said they would take care of the funeral. They took me to the restaurant and gave me breakfast and then took me to the bus depot. I had to change the bus in Minneapolis so they told the bus driver to help me. All went okay.
They had called Bill Palmer where the children were staying. Hilding's brother, Alfred took me to Bell Brother's undertakers. I managed to do what needed to be done ~ casket, grave lots, his clothes ~ and I told them I had no money. His answer was, "Don't worry, I'll help you; I'll get someone to bring you down here and we will see what we can do." He gave me $50.00 to get along until after he saw me next in 10 days so we had food. The funeral went okay. Emma said that the children and me should come and have Christmas with them. They lived in St. Paul.
I had no idea what I could do. There were bills in the thousands of dollars so they came and got me. I was so nervous but the office girl (I was glad it was not a man) said, "Do not worry, it will all be okay after we check with Mr. Bell." So all he said was, "Don't worry, I'll see what I can do." So he asked me, "How much are you in debt?" I said I did not know. Hilding had been doctoring for over 2 years, so he could only work a few days between spells and that was just enough for us to live on. Mr. Bell got the girl to write the name of the doctors. I maybe could not remember them all, but he called them and told them what a situation I was in. All I heard him say was, "That will do just fine." They called at least 20 places, then he said, "It's just fine. Some canceled the bill and so will I." That was over $1000.00 and I do not know what the hospital and surgery in Rochester cost, but I never got any bills.
Then he said, "Hilding had a small insurance of $2000.00 that they have sent to me. It's for you and not for any bills. Just do not spend it all now. Put $750 in a trust until you can make up your mind what to do with it." He said that he would take care of the note and when I needed it just to call him. It was a blessing from God that I had such a good undertaker.
That Christmas, 1933, I went to Gladstone to be with Emma and her family. I stayed until February 1, 1934, as Gladys had to go back to school. Winter was hard but I survived. After school was let out in June, I took the three kids and went to Jacobson to my folks. Hildur wanted me to leave Richard with her as Lloyd wanted him, so I stayed home with all three kids and helped with chores, gardening and everything else that needed help. Then I decided I needed to find a job where I got paid, as the money did not want to last long. Word got around and one day Adolph and Walfred Gilbert came over. Walfred had a restaurant and wanted me to come and cook for him because his cook could not do the job, so I said, "I'll see how it works with the children." Gladys was going to school, so I had to have her with me. Richard went to Hildur's. I had talked to my cousin, Emma Sorgren, and she said she would take care of Deloris for $1.00 a day. That was all I was going to get from working, but Gladys and I had a roof over our heads. It was a hard job but I was determined I'd stick with it.
Then in 1935 Richard started school, so I took him to be with me, but then I was only to get 75 cents a day. Adolph had been around so he ate his meals with his brother at the restaurant. I told him I could not do all of this work, take care of the two little kids and pay $1.00 a day for Deloris. Adolph said, "Rent a small apartment, take the children with you and I'll help you. I'll eat with you and buy the groceries and sleep at where I do now until you can find a better place and get your own furniture." I lived in this apartment until school was out in June, then I went to Duluth to get furniture, as I had found a larger apartment. That is how Adolph and I got together. We were married a few years later.
We found a house to buy. Adolph wanted to buy a new car but no one had any money to lend him. Adolph was getting 35 cents an hour working at the paper mill but I said, "I'll lend him the money for his house and 4 lots with a small garage." So, I went to Mr. Bell and told him what I had planned to do. He said I was a very wise lady, so the house was mine and I never changed it over when I got married. I figured that was money I had gotten when Hilding passed away 24 years before, and that this would be finished when I sold the house. After a couple of years we decided to build on more room as this house was only 2 bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen, but had no sewer. So we built adjacent to the house a bedroom upstairs and a bedroom downstairs. Both rooms had a stairway downstairs and a full basement. We got a sewer put in and a furnace to heat the house. We had cupboards built in the kitchen, wall-papered all the rooms and painted the kitchen and bath.
In 1944, I had to have back surgery as a result of the disc rupture when I was 16 years old. It took a long time for me to get strong again. All those years I had worked at doing housework. I started work for 25 cents an hour and worked 6 hours a day. I worked until I was old enough for social security.
Adolph and I traveled a lot. In 1963, we took a long trip for 6 weeks. He got 6 weeks of vacation then. We went to Florida and took the south route going west. We stopped several places on the way but we liked Arizona the best so far. We drove to California, up the coast to Washington and into Canada and then back to Minnesota. The next year we went back to Arizona and made lots of friends. We rented for 3 years and then we bought a new one-bedroom motor home.
Six years later Adolph was taking cobalt treatments as he had cancer of the throat. After his surgery we went back to Arizona after Christmas. When we had been in Arizona five days, Adolph had a heart attack and was in the hospital for 2 weeks. He got over it but was weak. We came back to Minnesota in June, as he felt better there. He got well and we went to Arizona another year and then back to Minnesota. I had sold the old house and bought a smaller one after all three kids were reared and gone.
The fall of 1972, Adolph had more surgery and cobalt. He was doing fine so we packed and were going back to Arizona. Esther was to see us before we left but that all changed. Adolph had a stroke. He was in the hospital and had brain surgery in Duluth one month after, but he never could talk and his mind was not good. The doctor asked if I wanted to take care of him at home as he thought that it would be better for him, so I did take care of him. A nurse came often to help me. At last, he needed more care. He was not able to eat so we put him in the hospital, he did not know what was going on so it was not too hard. I had taken care of him from October of 1993 to March of 1994. That was five months. He passed away March of 1994 at the age of 76 years old. I stayed in Grand Rapids for three weeks to finish up the funeral and pay the bills and then I flew to Arizona to relax and take care of the trailer house and to enjoy sunshine again. In June, I left for Minnesota, renting my place out for the season. I stayed in Grand Rapids and visited until October. Then I drove my car to Arizona with Richard helping me. So, for three years I lived in Arizona in the winter and Minnesota in the summer.
In February of 1996, I met Matt Roles, so I was blessed with someone to care and love me again. Matt and I were married in Grand Rapids in October of 1976 and moved to Arizona. We sold my house in Grand Rapids and the mobile home in Arizona. Matt sold his doublewide mobile home and we had a house built in Arizona. In June of 1977, we moved to our lovely new home. We were 72 years old. At 75, we took a trip to Alaska and were gone two weeks. On our way to Washington, we stopped and visited some of Matt's relatives. We were gone all summer. Each summer we went back to Minnesota and North Dakota. Matt would sometimes have heart trouble and was in the hospital. We were staying with Deloris and Buster.
In June of 1985, I took a trip to Sweden for 6 weeks. Matt could not go with as he had a fear of flying that far over water. His brother came and stayed with him. He wanted me to go to Sweden. Previously, we had three people come to visit us. They stayed with us eight weeks and they begged me to come to Sweden. Matt did not understand the Swedish language so it was better that I went alone.
I came back in September, so it was nice weather. We went on a trip to Arizona's Lake Havasu and took a cruise on the big lake to see the beautiful land around it. We were gone a week. All was well until October 9th when Matt had a heart attack and lived only 2 hours in the hospital. So there I was, a widow again at 80 years old. Matt was laid to rest in Minot, North Dakota on October 12, 1985.
I lived in my house all alone for 10 years. Then when I was 90 years old, I sold my car and house and moved to an apartment called Citadel, only a few blocks from where I had lived, so all my friends could come to see me. Then in June of 1998, I moved to Prescott, 200 miles north, to another home for elderly people and that is where I am living now. I am now 95 years old. I am almost blind and handicapped so I must use a walker.
This was written in the year 2000
As of December 1, 2002, Clara was 97 years old, Emma was 95 turning 96 next month, Robert was 94, and May was 89.
This family has a history of longevity.
Victor was the only one so far that has not reached 90 years plus.
Aitkin Age Newspaper
July 17, 2002
Clara Louise Roles
July 27, 1905 ~ December 26, 2002
May Eveline Neary
May 29, 1913 ~ December 20, 2002
Robert Lundin
Oct. 8, 1908 ~ March 26, 2003
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