The Bundesen Family in 1946

On October 8, 1912, Jess Peter & Johanne (Iversen) Bundesen with their 6 month old son Jess Jr. arrived (after 2 weeks at sea) at Staten Island New York. Johanne was ill most of the trip as she was pregnant with her daughter Anne Hansen. Johanne was almost sent back to Denmark, because only healthy people were allowed to enter the United States.

They came to the United States as Uncle Ike (Adolphe Iversen) painted as rosy picture of streets paved in gold, etc. They came to Owen by train, with just a few hand bags, and a wicker trunk, with "grandmothers" clock tucked into it, a statue of Jesus (received at confirmation), her Blue Willow Ware dishes, and her linens.

The first person they met was Jens Jorgenson (Madeline Hoepers father) Madeline’s husband William Hoeper was the director of the funeral parlor in Owen. They spent the night in the White Way Hotel close to the train depot.

The next day they asked about lodging and were able rent and stay (for housekeeping & meals for a year) with a man (Knud Jensen) who lived in a log cabin about a mile north of Owen. Jess found a job in the bakery downtown as that was his trade. Johanne helped milk cows with the farmer (Chris Andersen) across the road. Instead of money, they got their milk, butter, eggs & vegetables from him.

On June 5, 1913 Anne was born, weighing 2 1/2lbs. They kept her on the warming oven in a box. Evidently the doctor didn’t think she would live as he never recorded her birth—but she did.

I remember we lived in a house in Owen, and then we moved to a farm south of town. The F&E train went thru our fields, and we 3 kids (Hans was born July 31,1916) would go down to the fence and wave to the engineer.

We had black and white cows, and 2 horses Dick & Flory. Every cow had a name. By this time, my dad worked in the saw mill and mom milked the cows.

When the war (World War I) broke out, Dad had to go to Madison (the state capital) to prove that he was not a German spy. Earl Kidd ( a lawyer in town) went with him but we thought we’d never see our Dad again.

The winter of 1918 everyone caught the flu, except me. Some people in Owen died. I remember Dad & Mom being sick, and they carried Hans on a pillow as he was to sick to touch. He got infantile rheumatism (rheumatic fever) which damaged his heart. Later the same spring, some of the cows had tuberculosis and had to be destroyed. I remember Mom crying over that.

We had about a mile to go to school by road, but if we followed the railroad it was quite a bit shorter. We had 2 trestles and a bridge over the Popple River to cross. We went with the neighbors kids who were older. One day as we were crossing bridge (river was at flood stage and full of ice chunks), we heard the F&E whistle and had to get off the bridge onto the cement pilings while the train went by. It was scary with the water swirling just below us. I couldn’t have been any older than 6 or 7 at that time. After that, we took the long way to school.

That same spring, Dad had a chance to buy a 40 acre farm north of Owen for $6,000 from a bachelor (Charlie Hansen) who was Jens Jorgenson brother-in law. When we moved out there, there was a family of skunks under the porch. I thought they were kittens, but Mom convinced me they were not.

Things moved along ok for a few years. I had my pets, Rover our dog, a chicken, a goose and my cat Tiger. I used to place a blanket on the grass, and put each pet on a corner, making sure that the tail of the goose was off the blanket.

After school, I went to the neighbor’s to comb her hair as she was so crippled with arthritis she couldn’t raise her arms that far. She washed her face by putting the wash cloth on a fork. Because I did this, she let me play the organ for ½ hr. every night. Later her husband gave me this organ and I taught myself to read music. Eventually, I was asked to play the organ for church. This was the Congregational Church.

In the summer of 1928, Hans was constantly getting nose bleeds and getting sicker. He died on August 12. I was a sad time for us as he died in my arms at 7:00 AM of leakage of the heart. The hardest part was having the casket in our living room, and people coming and going all the time. I was 15 at that time, school and church kept me busy.

I wasn’t too interested in boys, altho I had my eye on Edward Moore (James). I wrote him a note and asked him to be my boyfriend. I sat by the windows and he sat across the room by the black board. I passed the note to my girl friend, she read it, passed it on to the next girl, she read it. He finally got the note, read it and tore it up.

He noticed me again in high school about the time we were 16. He walked me home from choir practice. I knew he was going to kiss me and I did and didn’t want him to kiss me, so when he did, I turned my cheek. He ran back down the road to town & I ran home.

Dates were dances, sleigh rides, taffy pulling, roller skating and movies. Life at the time was just lots of fun. In spite of having such good times, I graduated as valedictorian from High School in 1931, and was class president. Ed (James Moore) joined the Army after school was out as there weren’t any jobs. It was the height of the depression. I had won a 4 yr scholarship to Carroll College ( State Teachers College) in Waukesha, but there wasn’t money for room and board so I had to get a job instead.

I got a job as a maid for wealthy people in Milwaukee for $5.00 per week, with every other Sunday off. I stuck it out from June thru October, got homesick, went home and got a job at Master Package Co.

Life on the Farm

We had no electricity or indoor plumbing. We had a two burner gas lamp in the living room, and gas lanterns for the barn, and kerosene lamps for the kitchen. We kids had candles to bed with. Water for baths and washing were heated in a double boiler on the stove. The reservoir on the side of the stove always had warm water in it. Water was carried in from the pump in the well house. Years later, a pump that had to be primed, was installed in the house.

Baths were taken on Saturday nights in a round galvanized tub. When we kids were little, we all used the same water. I was washed first as Mom said I was the least dirty. Our hair was washed with soap, and rinsed with vinegar to make it shine. Saturday baths were a must as church & Sunday School were also a must.

I was baptized in the Danish Lutheran Church in Withee, and confirmed in the Norwegian Lutheran church in Owen. Shortly after confirmation all of us went to the Congregational church as the Norwegian Lutheran church broke up. Church, dancing and the theater (.10 cents to see a black and white with captions at the bottom of the screen) plus family and friends get togethers was the rule. Of course, school and all their activities was the big thing.

I had my first ride in an airplane when I was 16. The plane was a two wing open cockpit and landed in the farmer’s field. $3.00 was the cost of the ride. I had my tonsils "taken out" when I was 9, at home on the dining room table. If we had aches and pains, we didn’t have heating pads, Mom warmed a plate in the oven to put on the sore spots.

Every summer for 6 weeks, we had to go to Danish school in Withee, walked 1 ½ miles. There we learned how to read and write Danish, plus crafts. The girls learned how to crochet, embroider and etc. Boys learned to make ropes out of string. School was from 9-12 each day.

Life the next few years was so-so I quilted, embroidered & etc. Ed and I got married on April 20,1935 when he was on leave. I stayed at home My son was born at home in my mothers bed. Pay in the service was $30.00 a month, when he got out of the service in 1937 I had my first daughter.

After that we moved to Milwaukee, I was a stay at home Mom and Ed sanded floors for a living, until he bought the business. Our second daughter, was born in Milwaukee. The first in our family to be born in a hospital. We always returned to Owen to help with the haying and Christmas was always in Owen no matter the weather.

I remember walking home from school, hearing the wolves howling. My Dad killing a bear when I was very small, hanging the hide on the barn, and friends and neighbors coming to see how huge he was. I remember hobos stopping at our back door for a meal and offering to help milk cows to pay for it. Life was hard, but somewhat easier for us, because Dad worked, and Mom always took care of the farm and had a huge vegetable garden.

I finally got to put my Danish educations to good use, as we traveled to Denmark in 1983, to meet all the relatives I didn’t have growing up. They were amazed that someone born in America could actually write and speak their language so well.

Memories of Anne Bundesen Moore

Their well house still stands 50 yards in the middle of a corn field just north of Owen. The only building my Dad built on the farm. And the Moore house still stands on Bjornstadt Street, in what was then shanty town. All in all my life was full, and I always remember Owen and my youth.