15 stockings were hung on the banister.
Far Side
It rained most of the day yesterday…and it wasn’t very warm either.
It kinda matched our mood. Into every life a little rain must fall. We stopped and picked out funeral flowers…yellow and light orange roses. We attended the Funeral Home Visitation for Far Guy’s last Aunt….our flowers were there along with many others. She loved flowers all of her life…and has many beautiful bouquets to mark her passing on. In her younger years her gardens were a sight to behold.
I have heard that saying “If you love me bring me flowers when I am alive instead of when I am dead.” I think she would have replied…I will take flowers when ever I get them!
Far Guy still has one uncle that is living on his Dad’s side of the family. He is now the “older generation” on his Mom’s side of the family.
Aunt Louise has struggled with health issues all summer…she has been in the Nursing Home since spring….now it is fall and she has died. She was 88 years old. We had a good visit with her in mid summer…her laugh was distinctive…we talked about her much loved husband who died in 2012 and her children. She and her husband had seven children…one is Alaska Guy who is the same age as Far Guy. He has been here most of the summer caring for his Mom. Sharon was here earlier in the summer…I missed seeing her…she and I were just a year apart in age and spent many childhood days together.
Rest In Peace Aunt Louise.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
I have been struggling with corrections to Find a Grave. Some people are very nice…others not so much. One local gal is all messed up. I finally asked that the grave be transfered to me and I will straighten it all out. Whether or not she transfers it to me remains to be seen.
I flit here and there adding obituaries. I suppose I should have some rhyme or reason to my madness but I don’t.
One of Far Guy’s Maternal Great Uncles was missing from the local cemetery. He was either missed or entered under another name. I finally gave up searching and added him myself along with a photo of his gravestone. This is a photo of him with his siblings.
That is Bernard or “Bundt” on the far left, Frank and Ernest or “Ern”.
Ethel, Amy and Meade (Far Guy’s Maternal Grandmother)
This photo was taken in October of 1967 in Detroit Lakes Minnesota.
Their brother Loren died in 1949 and Robert “Dave” in 1955.
This family still has one person missing. Ethel, I think she is buried in town at the Catholic Cemetery, I am 98 % possitive it is her…but I will make a trip to the Library to see if I can find an obit…or maybe I have one in my stacks of obits upstairs.
I urge you to check on your deceased relatives, to make sure the info is correct and complete if they are listed at Find a Grave.
We have an old photo of Far Guy’s Grandpa Curtis standing in his corn field. He was about six feet tall.
It must have been taken about this time of year….probably about 1940 give or take a few years.
Last night we went over to my cousin Todd’s place to get a photograph on that same farm in a corn field.
August 25, 2015
Far Guy is about 5 feet 9 inches tall so the corn is fairly tall this year.
This is the view across the road from the old farm.
CRP land with the Smoky Hills in the distance.
I knew the headstone had to be someplace in that cemetery. Sometimes the names run all together in my head. Good thing the cemetery is just a mile down the road. Now that these graves have been “found” we will put flowers there too.
This is the headstone for Robert B. Lemon and his wife Martha E. Lemon. They are Far Guy’s Great Grandparents on his Mother’s side of the family..
Robert B. May 15, 1855 - Dec. 27, 1919
Martha E. Lemon 1862 – 1943
Death Came Suddenly to Mrs. Robert Lemon, Ponsford Pioneer
Mrs. Robert B. Lemon, aged 81, one of the very early pioneers of Ponsford vicinity died suddenly Monday evening at her home. Death followed only a few hours of illness, and came as a great shock to the relatives, neighbors and friends, as she had been up and around the house as usual earlier in the day.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Michels, Martha Etta Michels was born May 27, 1862 in Winneshick County Iowa where she spent her young life and grew to womanhood.
She married there almost 60 years ago to Robert Bruce Lemon and eight children were born to the union.
The family came to Becker County about the year 1885, making the trip overland by team and settled on a homestead in what is now a part of the town of Ponsford. Mrs. Lemon had spent all the years in Carsonville Township, seeing the country develop from a wilderness into a land of fine farms and homes.
Mrs. Lemon was a splendid neighbor and friend at all times and especially in times of sorrow or distress. In her home life she was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.
Mr. Lemon preceded her in death December 26, 1919.
“Grandma” Lemon as she was affectionately known, is survived by three daughters and five sons, who are Mrs. Curtis Abbott, Mrs. Ira Burlingame and Mrs. James Robinson and sons Ernest, Bernard and Robert all of Osage vicinity, Loren Lemon of Henrietta Township, Hubbard County and Frank Lemon of Nehawka, Neb. There are 17 grandchildren, three great grandchildren, also a sister Miss Lucy Michels and a brother George Michels of Bassett, Iowa.
Funeral Services will be held Friday afternoon at 2o’clock at the Baptist church in Osage, Rev. C. H. Peters officiating.
Pallbearers will be J.A. Mc Grane, H.H. Chilton, Brice Stephens, Lawrence Siegford, Arthur Mayberry and W.T. Mc Grane.
Burial will be made in the Linnell cemetery in Carsonville township.
The son Frank, of Nehawka, Neb and grandsons Ivan Burlingame of Camp Barkeley, Texas and Hugh Robinson of Scott Field, Ill are relatives from a distance expected for the funeral.
Well that obit answered a few questions from last week. Robert’s middle name was Bruce…and here I was expecting it to be Bonaparte!
Robert and Martha are Far Guy’s Great Grandparents, Mrs. Curtis Abbot (Almeada Clara) is his Maternal Grandmother.
I did not recall that they lived in Ponsford proper. I know they lived just down the road from us about two miles, they farmed and the bachelor boys Ernest (Ern), Bernard (Bundt)and Robert (Dave) had a sawmill there.
From Ethel (Burlingame) Kivinen (a grandaughter) April 2009. Ern, Dave and Bundt were bachelors and they never married. They continued to live on the Lemon Homestead (Located South of Hwy 225, and 3/4 mile west of the Linnell Cemetery) They had a sawmill at the farm, they farmed and took care of their Mother. One day Dave came walking across the fields to the Burlingame’s (Amy and Ira) Dave said “Amy needs to come home to help take care of mother.” The next day they up and moved. Ethel says “Grandma Martha was a heavy lady. Grandpa Robert died of Cancer a long time ago in 1919.”
Martha is on the far right. I don’t know who the other people are? Could be neighbors or friends or it may be her sister Lucy and brother George from Iowa.
The lane going to the Lemon Farm. I remember when it was a two track road, I used to watch out the bus window every morning on the way to school.
The farmstead was in the center of this photograph. Far Guy says he can remember when the foundation of the barn was still visible.
Bit by bit I am getting this part of Far Guy’s family history together. His Mother paper clipped a note to the newspaper clipping that has her grandmothers name and birth and death dates noted. The newspaper clipping is taped to a piece of cardboard that nylons used to be displayed on…you know the old kind…where they were stretched on the cardboard and then packaged. The newspaper clipping has been covered in Saran Wrap and taped securely. I will put it away again in my Obituary box upstairs.
What good is a first name if no one ever calls you by that name? Far Guys Maternal Grandmother’s real name was Almeada Clara. She was mostly known as Meade..or Meady, but I have heard a few people refer to her as Clara.
I found an old polaroid of Meade and an unknown bride. Near as we can figure one of the Nurses was getting married and stopped by to see some of the residents. Far Guy’s Dad took this Polaroid Photo. It is not marked, I sent a copy to a few relatives and no one knows who the bride is.
The only thing I can figure out for sure is that it was taken in the Nursing Home in Detroit Lakes Minnesota and it was taken before 1990…because Meade died that year.
However this photo reminded me of two things. Notice all the glasses and cups on Grandma Meades tray. She liked to line up her coffee, milk and juice just so…and her water was nearby. By the time this photo was taken her eyesight was not very good…and if the drinks were lined up she could find them. At this point in her life she had been deaf for 40 plus years (Tuberculosis). Her Magic Writing Pad/Magic Slate and a magnifying glass are on the bed. She never learned sign language so everything had to be written on the Magic Slate, she would read it and them answer verbally. She talked quite loud and had a very distinctive voice.
Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s we would stop to visit her every few weeks…she loved seeing the girls. They were mostly scared of her, the loud voice and when she would reach out to touch or hug them they would become frightened.
Far Guy’s Mom came to visit her Mother regularly… she visited at least once a week if not twice. Far Guy’s Dad patiently drove her the 45 miles over and back again from the visits. One time Meade asked her “Who is that man you are with? He sure has been hanging around a long time.”
That story when related to us made us all smile.
William and Martha were Far Guys maternal Great Grandparents. His Grandfather Curt’s parents. They are buried at Linnell Cemetery just a mile down the road from us.
William Born in Canada in 1848 – died in Minnesota in 1904. I know how he died. He was taking two boys hunting, his son Curt and a friend Walter. The boys were 16 and 13. Whist climbing over a fence, the 13 year olds gun discharged and wounded William. William said “It was an accident…no one is to blame.” He died a day or two later. He would have been about fifty-five years old.
Martha Born in Canada in 1852 – died in Minnesota in 1936. Her grandson Willard told me this. “Grandma lived with us. She spoiled me rotten. She was the family stabilizer, she kept things working. She was my protector, when I misbehaved I hid behind Grandma. Grandma was afraid of thunderstorms, she would take us into the stone milk house because she knew it wouldn’t blow down…she had her ways.”
Recently Edie a neighbor gave us the newspaper clipping about Martha’s death.**
We have one photo of Martha.
Martha is on the left, the other woman is an unknown. We have no idea where the photo was taken….someplace in Minnesota.
William and Martha owned a farm in Ontario Canada, Eramosa Township in Wellington County before they came to Becker County Minnesota.
I have no photos of William. I have asked cousin David to share what research he has completed. I am still waiting for him to get home from an extended vacation…retired people!
*** What do you believe, the newspaper obituary or the headstone? There are two dates that don’t match up. Newspaper: Martha’s birth in 1851 Headstone 1852. William’s death Newspaper 1905 Headstone 1904.
Just goes to show you that newspaper obituaries should only be used as a guide.
William Abbott:
Death: August 27, 1904
County of Death: Becker County, Minnesota, United States
Mother's Maiden Name: COPELAND, Date of Birth: 1849, Place of Birth: CANADA
In this case the headstone and death certificate match.
Someday when someone, possibly one of the grands is doing family research they may find this blog post helpful.
We drive by the farm where I grew up quite often it is only 2 1/2 miles from where we live now.
That silo is newer…it wasn’t there when I lived there. The silo we had was closer to the barn…to feed silage. The barn has seen better days. Someday a wind or snow load will take it down.
Of course it was a tired looking barn when I was little…this photo was probably taken about sixty years ago.
It was always a white barn…not sure why? Perhaps the blue roof had something to do with it.
I believe that Loren Lemon probably built this barn or part of the Lemon family… he is a Great Uncle of Far Guys. Loren was married to Florence Graham Lemon…she was Walt Grahams sister. Years ago the three farms along the 6th mile of Highway 225 on the right side of the road would have belonged to Loren and Florence Graham Lemon, Curtis and Almeada Lemon Abbott( Far Guy’s maternal grandparents) and Walter and Dora Graham. I remember them all except for Loren and Florence because my parents bought their farm.
I still have a number of old family photographs that are not completely identified.
This one is from Far Guys Mom’s side of the family.
It was probably a family gathering with watermelon maybe the 4th of July. The photo was taken at a lake. There are three unknowns.
Great Aunt Mae was there and she and Great Uncle Frank lived in Nebraska. Great Aunt Mae was Grandpa Curt’s sister. I have no idea if one of those men is Great Uncle Frank or not. (Frank was Grandma Meade’s brother…confusing I know, but it makes it easier when you go to visit relatives…less stops.)
Great Aunt Ethel was there too. She was Grandma Meade’s sister.
Aunt Marie was there. I wonder what year this was? Possibly before she was married in 1943.
Far Guy’s Dad Marvin was there. Where was his Mom? Taking the photograph?
Great Aunt Mae seems to be talking to someone….oh well they all seem to be enjoying the watermelon. Maybe she is hollering at Frank “Sweetie bring me some watermelon.”
I wonder why so many people took photos of people eating watermelon? You would be surprised how many old photos have that for a theme.
Whenever I eat watermelon outside at a picnic I lean forward so the watermelon juice doesn’t land on my shoes.
Five more years and he would have been 100. Born in April of 1917 he was a middle child, the only boy and very spoiled..by his older sister and his Grandmother.
This photo was taken about 1920. That is Far Guy’s Mom with her baby brother. The baby brother that told us “ When it was time to come in for supper, Ma would send Evelyn after me, I would run away from her until she finally caught me and sat on top of me until Ma got there.”
His Grandma Martha Abbott was afraid of thunderstorms, they had a stone well house, she would take the kids there during a thunderstorm because she knew it would not blow down. His Grandma Abbott lived with them. He told me" “My Grandma was a fierce protector, I could do no wrong in her eyes. She saved me from lots of whippings.” He also told me the day and the year that she died…I didn’t write it down but I believe he was 16 years old when she died. His Grandpa William Abbott died before he was born.
He was the son of a farmer. They had Jersey cows and 18 to 20 ewes. Bill Blourt had a sheep shearing crew. They had a gasoline engine that turned the clippers. They would pack the wool in a box and took it to the wool buyer in Park Rapids. There is a special way to butcher a lamb not touching the wool. Ed Klarer knew how, he used clean cloths like dish towels to hold the wool away and then you cut down through the skin. You always cut the tallow out of sheep meat..if you don’t when you cook it that tallow will stick to the inside of your mouth.
They had 24 milk cows in the barn and room for young stock and calf pens in the barn. Then the war started. Before he left for Omaha he got a milking machine for his Dad and a well in the barn, he also saw to it that Alvin Wicks was hired to help at the farm.
He moved to Omaha. He moved in with his sister and her husband ( Far Guy’s parents) They lived near Spring Lake Park Golf Course. He and Far Guy’s Dad worked at Fort Cook Military Reservation for the duration of the war.
He worked on the B-26 Marauder in the Martin Plant. The “A” model B 26 all went to Russia. Hitler was pounding the hell out of Russia. The “B” model all went to the Army Air Corps. The modification center moved more planes through than the factory. The first big modification job was a B 25 they were missile bombers made in Burbank California. The planes were stacked up outside sometimes there would be 40 acres of planes just setting there ready to run through modifications. We put more guns on them..50 caliber and a 75 mm cannon out the nose of the airplane. These were used in the Pacific and Western Europe..they would wreck a railroad..they blew up Hitler’s trains. They would fly right down a track and hit a locomotive. They would take the 50 caliber and shoot right into the railroad cars..they blew up!
Willard was a story teller. He used to call me up and talk for hours about the old days.
He drew the plans for his parents new house on the farm. The window that jutted out to the east was a place for his mother to grow her flowers and a cold storage room for canned goods in the basement.
He married Louise and they had seven children. A few months ago he said “Do I know you?” She replied “Well you better we had seven children together!”
The past few months his health and memory were failing. The last few days he has been out cutting wood. On Thursday morning he said “I am too tired to cut wood today.”
Willard, Marie and Evelyn photo taken around 1921
He joins his sisters in heaven.
It is the end of an era, but the celebration of a life well lived. Four score and fifteen…:)
This is a photo of Far Guys Maternal Grandparents. This was taken in December of 1969. The year that Far Guy and I got married.
I am not quite sure why these two got married? Opposites must attract.
Curt was kind and gentle, small things delighted him..just visiting brought out the best in him..he loved to read..mainly westerns. He always sat in an old oak rocker. He was tall, he walked bent over..his hips and knees had seen better days and he walked with a cane. He died in 1973 four years after this photo was taken.
Meade was ornery. Of course we have to cut her a little slack, she almost died from Tuberculosis. She was in the sanitarium for many years. The TB destroyed her hearing, she was deaf and refused to learn to read lips or sign. Everyone used the “Magic Slate” to communicate with her. She would talk to herself..of course she could not hear herself..she often cussed under her breath, or so she thought. She did beautiful handiwork, embroidery and crocheting with fine thread and a very small hook..until she lost her eyesight. I have many of her works of art. She lived a good long time. She spent 17 years as a widow.
Curt liked a “nip” occasionally and kept a bottle hidden in the barn. All the Grand boys knew where it was hidden. If he went to town with Walt the next door neighbor, Meade would be sure to send Alaska Guy along..thinking that they wouldn’t stop at the liquor store for a drink if they had a child with them…she was wrong. Alaska Guy enjoyed a soda at the bar almost every trip to town…and he was sworn to secrecy.
For a wedding gift we got a full set of embroidered tea towels. I still have them in the same box with the same tissue paper covering them. The box was decorated in an odd way. I wish I had kept it. Tied to the bow was a large plastic spoon, tied to small holes on the outer edge of the spoon were many blue and pink bows that held about a dozen tiny babies..Meade wrote on the spoon..a little poem..about “spooning” and the result which would be lots of babies!
Our girls called her “the scary grandma”..because she couldn’t hear she spoke loudly and made lots of extra noises that she didn’t know she was making. Her voice was high pitched and squeaky. We took them to visit late on Sunday afternoons for years…when she became blind..often she would grab at people..searching for a friendly hand.
One day before Meade went totally blind. She looked at Far Guys Mom and then at Far Guys Dad and said “ You sure have been bringing that man with you for a long time.” :)
This is an old photo from years ago. I found it among the hunting and fishing photos in my Father In Laws album. I finished that scanning project and made a CD of the photos and packed it all away in the trunk. One more project completed! All the photos were marked with who, when and where with a photo safe marking pencil.
Uncle Willard, Lola, Evelyn, Don and Aunt Louise
This was taken sometime in the early 1950’s. That is Far Guys Mom at the end of the table. The photo is taken from Far Guys Dads spot at the table. So I can safely say he took the photo. It was taken in the formal dining room at their home in Park Rapids Minnesota.
I think this photo has a spring feel to it, the ladies are in short sleeves, the linen tablecloth is the one with the green leaf pattern. They have just finished a platter of sweets of some sort and the silver creamer and sugar set is on the table. I bet it was taken on a Sunday afternoon. Years ago Sunday afternoon was a time for relatives and visiting.
Uncle Willard is not in the best health. Most of his children were here for Thanksgiving. On Sunday afternoon they converged at our house along with other cousins from Detroit Lakes Minnesota..there was no linen table cloth..and no one showed up in a suit…but there was much laughter and lots of reminiscing and coffee and a plate of goodies. Alaska Guy and his brother from Washington DC were very impressed with this photo..it was one that they had never seen before. I made them both copies. ( Lola and their Mother Louise are sisters.) It was a fun afternoon..almost like old times visiting with the relatives on a Sunday afternoon:)
I was reading some of Far Guy’s family history on his Mothers side of the family.
March 13, 1890 Zack Lemon gets in with the stage before dark. (He must have been busy in Detroit ( Detroit Lakes) that day.) He purchased the mail route between Osage and Detroit. (The stage went out one day and returned the next day.)
Zackary Taylor Lemon was seven years older than his brother Robert ..Robert was Far Guys Great Grandfather. They were both born in Monroe, Wisconsin. Sometime after 1857 they moved to Deerfield Township, Chickasaw County, Iowa.
For now I am just going to talk about Zack. Zackary Taylor Lemon was born September 27, 1848. He married Sarah Jane ( Aunt Janie) on December 29, 1875. They moved to this area in October of 1880. Zack would have been 32 years old. Aunt Janie would have been 24. ( If you ask me, October would be one of the last choices I would make for a move to Minnesota) They were one of the first three white families to settle in the Ponsford area. The others were Mart Stephens and John Snyder ( John a Civil War Veteran was married to Phoebe Lemon.. a sister to Zack and Robert.)
Counting babies and all there were twelve people in three wagons that were loaded with their household goods.
There was four feet of snow on the ground when they got here.
They built two shanties, with the Stephens and Lemon family sharing.
Their flour was stolen when they were near Osage..so they lived on biscuits made of horse feed. ( ground oats and corn)
They finally went to Verndale ( as the crow flies 41 miles) on homemade snowshoes and brought back 100 pounds of flour on their backs.
Wild game provided their meat, Deer and even a Moose were on their table that first winter.
In the spring Zack traded in his team for a yoke of oxen and began to clear the land.
In Iowa, they couldn’t afford land. In Minnesota homestead land was free…it cost you 2.50 to file your claim.
Zack said “ The first winter we were snowed in and after that so short of money that we were not able to get out of the country anymore.”
I have heard that Zach and Aunt Janie used to sit around and talk about the early days and that they were quite the story tellers. Ohhh..what it would have been like to be a mouse in the corner and listen!
Martha was married to Robert..Aunt Janie was married to Zack. They were sister in laws.
Robert and Martha must have joined Zack and Janie at some time…but I am not sure how that all came about. More than likely they followed because of the lure of free land. I only know of two people who are alive that would know..I will have to go and pick their brains again.
Zack and Aunt Janie had one son Clarence, he married Inga. 
I do not remember Clarence, but I remember Inga. She was a single lady for a long time..so long that even my Grandfather Y took a shine to her. When he showed up at our place all slicked up sometimes he was going to visit “one of his lady friends.” He courted quite a few widowed women…Inga was just one of them.
Inga lived at the edge of Ponsford for years in a little house near the road..
This is all that is left..trees.
Zack and Aunt Janie had a few grandchildren Ray, Zachary and Florence..but their family tree has all but disappeared over the years. There might be a relative or two out there..you never can tell:)
