Helen Klinke

Helen Klinke (b. 1894 ca.) was the daughter of Frank Joseph and Catherine Klinke.  In 1875, Frank immigrated through Castle Garden. He was the son of father was the son of John & Rosa (Krejci) Klinke.  Catherine (Katharine, Katie or Katrina Klinka his wife and probably cousin--with a slight last vowel change in name so as not to make it obvious that they were closely related) was a native of Austria who came to the USA in 1875.

Helen was an outstanding honor roll student in the Greenwood Public Schools and in 1900, was commended for neither being absent nor tardy during that school term.  In 1908, she was one of the editors of the High School Annual, "The Quiver" and were it was also noted that she served as assistant superintendent in Neillsville.  In 1909 she was teaching in the one room school house in the Braun Settlement School in Warner township.  She taught there for two years and in 1911, attended the Normal School in Milwaukee.

Her strong religious upbringing in the Catholic faith is apparent from a notation in the 1907 Gleaner which noted that Joseph and Helen Klinke drove on the winter roads to Neillsville that Christmas evening to attend a midnight mass in the parish there.
 

When Greenwood first established a library in 1913, Helen was one of the people who contributed financially to the effort.