Bio: Larsen, Inga –
Memories of Withee
Transcriber:
stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Larsen, Rasmussen, Clifton
---------Source: Withee Centennial (Owen, Clark County, Wis.) 2001
My parents, Viggo and Marie Rasmussen and I were immigrants from Denmark. We
came to the Withee area from Green Bay when I was one year old. I have two
brothers, Einer (deceased) and Kris who lives south of Withee in Longwood
Township. I remember moving into Withee in 1923. I was ten years old and my
father had gotten a job at the creamery. The Withee Hardware and Implement
burned completely in 1931 and the Hardware Specialty burned in 1938.
I first started school in Longwood. When we moved to Withee I attended
school there. We were members of the Danish Lutheran Church. Sunday School
was taught in Danish. In the summer we had six weeks of Bible School (Dane
School) at the Assembly Hall, taught by Danish teachers from the community.
One year, we had teachers from Askov, MN. and Ringsted, Iowa. Lessons were
Bible study, singing and embroidery for girls. The boys got by easier, they
played ball. Sometimes at recess we had gym class. We started having English
Sunday School in 1929.
The Young People's Society called the Trillium (Skovlien) was a big
attraction for the young people. Folk dancing and gymnastics were taught by
Chris Frost. In the spring we would have an exhibition to show off what we
had learned.
There was a picnic ground near the grove of trees behind the hall, where we
had 4th of July picnics and ball games. There were swings for the children.
We had races and games for entertainment. Ice cream and "pop" (soda) were
sold. It cost five cents for a cone and five cents for a bottle of pop.
Every year in October the Ladies Aid would hold a Bazaar and Bake Sale. In
the evening we would have a program put on by the talented people of the
community. Then the articles remaining from the bazaar would be auctioned
off to the highest bidder - that caused many laughs.
Withee grew into a prosperous village with several stores, a new bank on the
corner of Main Street (Division) in the center of town. Also a mercantile
store, two gasoline stations on the corner of Highway 29 (Now County X).
Stores were open two nights a week, Wednesday and Saturday. There was a
bandstand across from the bank where the high school band held concerts in
the summer. There were free movies on Saturday nights, provided by the
businessmen. It was a great disappointment if we had a rainy night.
The Danish Brotherhood Lodge had built a large building called "Dana Hall".
Meetings and dances were held there. Only folk dancing was allowed in the
church hall, singing was done along with the dancing. At Christmas there was
always a Christmas Party at Dana Hall, with treats for the children and a
dance later. Once a year a Masquerade was held, usually around Valentine's
Day, always before Lent started. Prizes were given for the best costume. A
$1.00 for first prize and a second and third place prize.
When I was 16 years old I got a job at the Douphner Hotel. The owner sold it
to Mrs. Clifton. A crew of ten men who were erecting telephone lines, rented
rooms. Two girls came in to help after school. We helped with the laundry,
cleaning and chamber-maid jobs and waitressing. There was no indoor
plumbing. One evening I had a tray of mashed potatoes and gravy and was
coming through the swinging door into the dining room, when young George
Clifton shoved the door open. The gravy spilled down the front of my apron.
I hurried back to the kitchen, put on a clean apron and finished waiting on
the tables, much to the amusement of the men. I received a lot of teasing
from them. George got a good scolding from his mother. No one was supposed
to use that door at meal times except the waitresses. I worked for Mrs.
Clifton for one year, then my parents decided that I should attend the
Danish Folk School in Tyler, MN. That is where I learned to paint.
After that I got a job in Milwaukee. Five years later I married Einer Larsen
at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Withee. We bought a farm south of Longwood
after having lived the first year near Askov, MN. We had four children:
Sylvia, Mary, Gladys and Kenneth. All were baptized and confirmed at
Nazareth, and our daughters were married there. I am a member of Nazareth
Church Women. We are proud to keep up the tradition started by our ancestors
over a century ago.
May God Bless everyone in our church and community as Withee begins its
second century.
Inga Larsen, November, 2000
|
© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.
Become a Clark County History Buff
|
|
A site created and
maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke, Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,
|
