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Memoirs of Gena Arnsdorf
Written May 30, 1984
My father, John Christopher Strombotne was born July 4, 1856, near Nemnes, Norway, on a farm called Stromen I botne, meaning bottom of the stream. He was a boat builder and spent the winters fishing in Lofoden. He had a brother Ole, who was a teacher in Oslo. His two sisters, Pernilla and the other both married teachers. When he was 26 years old, he came to America in 1882. His father, Christopher, lived with a daughter, and died at the age of 99 years. Father took the name of Strombotne for his last name instead of Christopherson, because of the uniqueness. He traveled to Meneota, Minn, to his cousin, Ole Myrvik, a farmer. He learned of a new town, Watertown, S.D. And knew there would be need of carpenters, and settled there.
He sent a ticket to Anna Jacobsen Tybeck in 1885. She sailed in steerage or third class. One month later she arrived in Watertown, SD. She worked for Ben Lee as a hired girl until they were married Jan. 25, 1886, by a Lutheran Pastor Nelson, grandfather of Leslie Mathieson. They lived in a room in the Goss Block, on the floor above Krieser Drugstore.
Later Father built a small home at 316 2nd St. N.E., then called Elm Street. The four children were born at home. He then remodeled the house. Jacob Martin was born July 9, 1888, Christopher July 6, 1890, Olga Mensena, July 20, 1894, Bergena Johanah, February 19, 1897.
Father built many homes in Watertown, and several farm buildings, for the Steins north of town. Some of the homes I know were Helbings in Southeast, Nelson of Nelson & Reed Hardware, Robert Best on maple and Fourth N. E. Abe Sherin (grandfather of Ford Sherin on 2nd st. N.E. & 4th Avew. Two cottages for Mrs. Jurney on 2nd St. N.E. (between 4th & 5th Ave.) across from Gus Hanson, also built by Father. The cottage owned by Jennie Sikkink (504 N. Brdy) and many more.
In the early years when it was too cold to build, he worked at Stokes Milling Co. There were some of his blueprints in the attic, but were not kept. He was naturalized in 1894, and I have the certificate. Anna Strombotne, my mother, told of the hardship of crossing the Atlantic with the storms and wind and conditions of the ship, which was probably a sailboat. She was not used to the cold winter winds in S.D., as there were no winds in Norway where she lived. She would like to go out on her snowshoes in Norway. She was thankful for the sheepskin robe to keep her warm as the house was not finished when they moved in.
Her first romance broke up as Mother’s older sister got the farm to live on and Mother could not live there. Her next love was a poor boy who was not considered financially secure, so her mother and sister broke up their friendship. My father and mother worshipped in the same Lutheran church but lived in a different fjord.
After their second son was born, Mother had several miscarriages, and stayed in bed 10 months so as not to lose Olga. She then became interested and was healed in Christian Science. Then Gena was born.
Mother’s sister Jacobia, (Jenny) came to America and worked in Minneapolis, married there, had a position of keeping house and cooking for several college students. Her husband, Mr. Matson, died and later she took up a claim near Minot N.D. She too became a Christian Scientist and used to stop in Watertown after attending a C.S. Association in Sioux City, Iowa. After proving up the claim, she bought a building in Minot, N.D. Where she had roomers and boarders. She married Albert Thompson and they had one child, Ethel, later married Al Johnson.
Martin, the oldest, learned Norwegian, his first language, but soon learned English at the Grant School. So Mother & Dad learned English quickly. While in Sioux City on one trip, Mother bought a large Webster’s Dictionary. We often had to look up words for her. She wanted the correct pronunciation and also the meaning. She hired my fourth grade teacher to come and correct her while she read the Christian Science lesson each week. So Mother lost her Norwegian accent.
Several friends called or came to see Mother for help or prayer which she gave lovingly without pay, sometimes she received a gift. We all had Mother’s help as long as she lived. All her grandchildren went to Christian Science Sunday School.
Martin and Chris were discriminate in school as their parents were from a foreign country. Mother spoke some broken English when we were young, so we did not have much help with our school work. Once she said, “You can correct me, but do not criticize.� This statement I fell is wise today I all our lives.
Martin quit school before graduating from high school. He set pins in a bowling alley, but did not tell anyone that he was not in school. He bowled a perfect 300 at age 18. Mother was not proud of it, as bowling alleys were not considered as sport. Later in life he made another 300. He was on a bowling team that went to a tournament in Minneapolis. Martin married Ida Johnson in March 1910. My father went to the wedding but passed on July 20, 1910 from cancer. Their four children were Cecil Le Mar, born Jan. 3, 1911, Corrine Lynette, born March 24, 1912, Emerald May, born May 4, 1913, Marcella, born Jan. 26, 1915.
Christopher loved to play ragtime music. He could play the piano and mouth organ or harmonica, at the same time.
Martin’s wife Ida was born in Iceland. Her family came to Winnipeg, Canada and then to Watertown. She worked at Schaller’s Dept. Store as an alteration lady in the dress department. Clothes were not made as perfect to sizes and many had to be altered. They were married in the German Lutheran Church. Ida loved to dance, but did not teach Martin to dance. He later took up dancing lessons so they could enjoy the dances at the Masonic Temple. Martin was also a Mason, so Olga and Gena joined the Eastern Star as Ida had. Martin attended Business College and worked for a year for a construction company. When Bradley’s son graduated, he came to work and Martin was out of a job. This was really a blessing as he was hired by Park and Grant. He worked for them all the rest of his life. Martin and Merl Whitwam started the first Prairie Market which is still going today.
Christopher was held back in the grades, so when he got into high school, the principal insisted he play football as he was a big boy. It was a very rough game then and Chris refused to play. The
principal sent him back to the 8th grade, thus he quit school. He worked for Express Co. a short time and then as a brakeman for various railroads. He followed a railroad boom and worked different places in the U.S. When he was in El Paso, Texas, working as a baggage man for Southern Pacific. He met Elsa Rendrup-Holm and they were married in Sept. 1920. They had three sons, Chris, Henrik Walter, and Norman Jay. Elsa was a voice teacher and had many students in El Paso and also later in Cheyenne. Chris Jr. was a teacher & pilot, being in the Air Force. He and another student were killed in an air collision in 1945. Rik also became a pilot and flew Helcats over Japan. Norman was in the Air Force too, was missing in action, taken as prisoner of war in Italy. [Actually Germany] He said he would have starved if it were not for the Red Cross. While in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Chris and Elsa adopted an 11 month old girl and named her Elsa. Her own mother couldn’t care for her and the aunt who kept her had five sons to support.
Olga had two more years of high school to finish when our father died. One summer she tried to work for a lady who thought she could pay her with old clothes, so that ended that job. Our house was large and we rented out rooms for light housekeeping. Mother also helped some people while the mother was in the hospital. Olga taught two years in country schools, Henry one year and the other at German town. She then worked at the North American Creamery as bookkeeper. She married Emil Carl Mielke on February 7, 192. They had four children, William John, born February 24, 1926, Carol Joan, born October 23, 1928, Shirley Ruth, born Feb. 3, 1931, and Ramon Carl born Aug. 11, 1933.
Gena graduated in 1915. Summer jobs were canvassing and collecting for magazines, which were paid for each month. I made enough for my own spending money. I taught school in Germantown one year, and two years at Gardner, where I stayed at the Nick Kirsch farm, and also worked at the N.S. Cry during the summer months. Since the young men were drafted in 1917, I was offered a job as clerk for C.NW. Ry. Freight office, which I kept nearly five years. In 1923 Emil Mielke bought the Watertown Tea & Coffee Store. I because manager and partner. I had $66 to put in the cash register. The first 6 months were a nightmare. Later we prospered until the Depression. So I borrowed to the limit on my insurance. We finally sold out in 1935, paying all bills and owing none. We did not collect all outstanding bills to us. Mother was ill in the last six months and passed on in Feb. 1935 and was almost 76 years old.
On May 25, 1935 I married Vernon Arnsdorf of Gary, S.D. Who had been honey to the store since 1928. We lived on the farm at Gary for one year as long as the mortgage lasted. With $400 between us we made a down payment on a twenty acre farm about one mile from Kimball, Minn. We had three cows, come chickens, and raised strawberries and raspberries. We made friends there and enjoyed life, but not much money. My nephew, Bill Mielke came out nearly every summer and helped. The last summer we paid him $1.50 a week and called him “our hired hand�.
Two days after Pearl Harbor in 1941, we left for San Diego, CA, where Vernon was promised a job with Consolidated Aircraft. He had gone to Minneapolis for 6 weeks to learn riveting and aircraft work. I also worked 26 months in the same aircraft company and stayed until July 1945. We spent 13 months in Safford, Arizona, working and learning watch repairing from Roy Zamow. In August 1946 we moved back to Watertown and Vern worked for Mel Staley for Two years. We built a little cottage on Lake Kampeska but went back to California, to San Diego in Dec. 1951 and to Torrance in 1954. We bought out home April, 1955, where I lived for 28 years. Now I am in a high rise apartment building in Rapid City, moving April 1983.
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Individuals - strombotne / specht
40
-2 years
