A Smörgåsbord of Stories
On June 30, 1942, the Blees brothers (Al and Ed) registered for the draft. Al Blees got a draft deferment working on his dad’s Wisconsin farm. Ed knew that he would be drafted in the spring. So he quit his job at Montgomery Ward on … read more
Julius Neils was a successful Minnesota lumberman. With westward extension of the railroad, he set up an additional sawmill operation in Cass Lake. In 1899, Mr. Neils purchased town lots for a church, school and parsonage. The house of worship Mr. Neils built was Immanuel … read more
Konstantin Nörenberg (1889-1955) came to America in 1909. In order to find information about his birth, I took a clue from his original Confirmation certificate. Confirmation Konstantin Nörenberg born 11 December 1889 baptized [blank] Confirmed 25 April 1904 at _________ Church of Elisabethpol Dated … read more
Katherine Fleischhacker (1922-2018) kept a variety of diaries. One series of handwritten notebooks chronicle her prayer life. Other sets of papers detail her travels. This teeny notepad (2″ x 4.25″) holds six entries: My Life on the Triple Dates. 2/2/22 In bed. 2 wks … read more
For me, family history is a hobby; some may argue that it is an obsession. Many family stories are mundane, some are too good to be true. There is one particular vacation that is quite unique. Who paid for the trip? Why was this vacation … read more
Tales of the Old Home Town Cass Lake Times R. “Grant” Utley (1897-1985), editor of the Times wrote a weekly column called “Tales of the Old Home Town.” Using his newspaper, Mr. Utley jabbed at politicians and reminisced about days gone by. Fortunately for … read more
One of the fascinating tools of modern genealogical research is digitized newspapers. When seeking clues about Katherine Miller, I scanned newspapers to fill in the genealogical gaps. An important tip for newspaper research: always look for alternate spellings as well as members of the FAN … read more
Catharina Müller was baptized in the city of her ancestors: Temmels (German Empire). In 1921 she married Albert Blees in Mankato, Minnesota (U.S.A.). What do we know about her years between Germany and her marriage? Coming to America Catharina may have felt the push … read more
One of the first rules of family history research is to start with what you know and work back in time. What do I know about Katherine Miller who married Albert Blees? When I looked in my genealogy database yesterday, I was shocked to discover … read more
A relative on my husband’s side of the family passed away a few months ago. Because I am the “family historian,” I inherited her box of photos and papers. When pondering what to do, I remembered an Extreme Genes podcast in which Scott Fisher and … read more