I am very attached to my Tenney girls. The idea for THE TENNEY QUILT was hatched in 2001 as I was in graduate school pondering a paper topic in my “Visual Rhetoric” class. Yes, I know; what would possess a person to take a course called “Visual Rhetoric”? Short answer: It was required for my degree. When chatting about this assignment with my mother [for some unknown reason, I mean, why would this even be a topic of conversation?], she suggested that the Tenney Quilt would be a perfect topic for that particular writing assignment. I had not even heard of this quilt, and when my mother brought it out to show me, I knew I had seen a treasure.
I wrote that paper, and after a period of time, realized that the quilt’s story—and thus, the stories of Tenney’s pioneer women—could no longer stay wrapped up in the embroidered signatures of a quilt in my mother’s closet. I have been learning more about my Tenney women ever since. As I researched the names on the Tenney Quilt, I allowed life stories to emerge through newspaper accounts, census records, internet research, and oral history. It soon became apparent to me which women had stories I wanted to tell.
I became very attached to my Tenney girls to the point that, since I have been finished with the book, I miss them! After living their lives vicariously for a period of years, and quite intensely over the last year in particular, it is as though the publishing of the book represented a sort of fond farewell. These women have helped me learn where I came from, and I’ve done what I can to share and celebrate their lives and their legacies. Though I “miss” them, they are now free to go, because they have brought Tenney alive for me. These are my “Tenney girls,” as they were in 1928:
Octavia “Ocky” Askegaard – An 18-year-old recent graduate of the Moorhead Normal School who came to Tenney the very year the quilt was made (1928), as a primary grade teacher at the Tenney School. She worked as an air traffic controller later in her life, meeting and marrying a high-flying cattle trader from Iowa.
Linna Pithey Gordhamer – Linna was a Tenney girl, and after teaching for a few years, served as Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Wilkin County under her husband for many years until he died. At that time, Linna herself was named County Superintendent of Schools. School children were on their best behavior when Linna stopped by their school in her role as Superintendent. She was a well-respected mentor of young teachers throughout her professional life.
Violet Gillaspey – In 1928, Violet, raised in rural Tenney, was on the cusp of adulthood, having just graduated from high school in Elbow Lake. During the summer months of 1928, she was preparing to take off for the Ancker Hospital School of Nursing in St. Paul. She eventually landed as a student nurse at the “Fergus Falls State Hospital for the Insane,” where she received further training. A traveling salesman for Texaco Oil Company caught her eye and changed her life forever…..
Bertha Berry – Bertha’s connection to Tenney is through her daughter, Mary Belle, who was married to Frank Pithey, a Tenney boy (Linna’s brother). Bertha lived in Ekalaka, Montana at the time of the quilt. Once her children were raised, she made the decision to formalize her education, and took a year-long correspondence course from the Chatauqua School of Nursing New York, then purchased a large home and opened the Berry Maternity Hospital.
Nellie Dalgarno – In 1928, Nellie was working as a sales clerk in the Klugman Store in Tenney. She tried city life for a brief period of time, working in a factory in Minneapolis, but soon came back to the comfort of Tenney and married the manager of the local shipping association. She knew where her roots were, and they were planted too deeply to uproot.
Isabelle Dalgarno – Isabelle, Nellie’s younger sister, was born and raised on a farm in rural Tenney, and was blessed with an adventurous spirit. At the age of 19, Isabelle set out for Minneapolis to work as an assembler in the factory that would one day become Honeywell. She then made her way to New York City for a visit to extended family, and ended up working as a domestic in one of New York City’s finest homes. Something went very wrong, and Isabelle developed a condition that cut short a vibrant, adventurous spirit at the age of 34, far away from the village of Tenney.
LaVanche Polifka – A professional, independent woman of 29 in 1928, LaVanche had been born and raised in Tenney. She first worked at the Tenney Bank, and was the first woman to serve on the Campbell Township Board. She then went on to work in other banks in Sisseton, SD and Wheaton, MN, then it was on to a long career as a county welfare worker. Her life came full circle at age 74 when she and her high school sweetheart found each other and married after having lost their first spouses. LaVanche is my great aunt, was the original owner of the Tenney Quilt, and is the person whose photo is on the cover of THE TENNEY QUILT (see previous post).
Audrey Polifka - Audrey was LaVanche’s sister and was to become my grandmother. She also grew up in Tenney and eventually married A.N. Larson, the proprietor of the local general store. She and Grandpa raised my mother in the upstairs apartment of the Larson Store. Audrey would help A.N. get through a series of tragedies in his life that would cause him to lose his entire first family including wife and two sons. Audrey and A.N. eventually moved to Glenwood, Minnesota, after they sold the Larson Store in Tenney.
Marie Hadwick – Marie came to Campbell as a young girl. She was trained and worked, until her brief marriage, as a school teacher in rural Campbell. A talented seamstress, Marie then relied on her sewing skills to support herself throughout the remainder of her life. She moved from Campbell to Breckenridge not long after 1928, but remained closely tied to her roots in the Campbell-Tenney area, and continued to sew for the people that she knew as a young woman.
Lizzie Strobusch – OK, so I admit it, my initial attraction to Lizzie was her name. How can you not love someone named Lizzie? And Strobusch was pronounced “Straw Bush.” Lizzie came to Tenney alone, and married into a family she had known in Wisconsin. Tragedy would befall their young family, as her husband died in his early 40s. She then dedicated her life to her son, and went with him as he followed his career to Minneapolis, then to California.
Gertie Kapitan – My Gertie, with whom I feel so close, was known and loved by many in Tenney and the surrounding area. Gertie was born on a farm in rural Tenney, and lived in Tenney her entire married life. Gertie was trained as a teacher, but taught only a few years until she met and married Matt Kapitan, Tenney’s Soo Line depot agent. Gertie went on to raise eight children in Tenney, served as organist in the Tenney Church for 40 years, and wrote the local news for several years. As so many have said, "she was a gem."
“Ordinary” women? I suppose. But my “Tenney girls” are your mothers and your grandmothers and great grandmothers, and their lives deserve to be celebrated.
I wrote that paper, and after a period of time, realized that the quilt’s story—and thus, the stories of Tenney’s pioneer women—could no longer stay wrapped up in the embroidered signatures of a quilt in my mother’s closet. I have been learning more about my Tenney women ever since. As I researched the names on the Tenney Quilt, I allowed life stories to emerge through newspaper accounts, census records, internet research, and oral history. It soon became apparent to me which women had stories I wanted to tell.
I became very attached to my Tenney girls to the point that, since I have been finished with the book, I miss them! After living their lives vicariously for a period of years, and quite intensely over the last year in particular, it is as though the publishing of the book represented a sort of fond farewell. These women have helped me learn where I came from, and I’ve done what I can to share and celebrate their lives and their legacies. Though I “miss” them, they are now free to go, because they have brought Tenney alive for me. These are my “Tenney girls,” as they were in 1928:
Octavia “Ocky” Askegaard – An 18-year-old recent graduate of the Moorhead Normal School who came to Tenney the very year the quilt was made (1928), as a primary grade teacher at the Tenney School. She worked as an air traffic controller later in her life, meeting and marrying a high-flying cattle trader from Iowa.
Linna Pithey Gordhamer – Linna was a Tenney girl, and after teaching for a few years, served as Deputy Superintendent of Schools for Wilkin County under her husband for many years until he died. At that time, Linna herself was named County Superintendent of Schools. School children were on their best behavior when Linna stopped by their school in her role as Superintendent. She was a well-respected mentor of young teachers throughout her professional life.
Violet Gillaspey – In 1928, Violet, raised in rural Tenney, was on the cusp of adulthood, having just graduated from high school in Elbow Lake. During the summer months of 1928, she was preparing to take off for the Ancker Hospital School of Nursing in St. Paul. She eventually landed as a student nurse at the “Fergus Falls State Hospital for the Insane,” where she received further training. A traveling salesman for Texaco Oil Company caught her eye and changed her life forever…..
Bertha Berry – Bertha’s connection to Tenney is through her daughter, Mary Belle, who was married to Frank Pithey, a Tenney boy (Linna’s brother). Bertha lived in Ekalaka, Montana at the time of the quilt. Once her children were raised, she made the decision to formalize her education, and took a year-long correspondence course from the Chatauqua School of Nursing New York, then purchased a large home and opened the Berry Maternity Hospital.
Nellie Dalgarno – In 1928, Nellie was working as a sales clerk in the Klugman Store in Tenney. She tried city life for a brief period of time, working in a factory in Minneapolis, but soon came back to the comfort of Tenney and married the manager of the local shipping association. She knew where her roots were, and they were planted too deeply to uproot.
Isabelle Dalgarno – Isabelle, Nellie’s younger sister, was born and raised on a farm in rural Tenney, and was blessed with an adventurous spirit. At the age of 19, Isabelle set out for Minneapolis to work as an assembler in the factory that would one day become Honeywell. She then made her way to New York City for a visit to extended family, and ended up working as a domestic in one of New York City’s finest homes. Something went very wrong, and Isabelle developed a condition that cut short a vibrant, adventurous spirit at the age of 34, far away from the village of Tenney.
LaVanche Polifka – A professional, independent woman of 29 in 1928, LaVanche had been born and raised in Tenney. She first worked at the Tenney Bank, and was the first woman to serve on the Campbell Township Board. She then went on to work in other banks in Sisseton, SD and Wheaton, MN, then it was on to a long career as a county welfare worker. Her life came full circle at age 74 when she and her high school sweetheart found each other and married after having lost their first spouses. LaVanche is my great aunt, was the original owner of the Tenney Quilt, and is the person whose photo is on the cover of THE TENNEY QUILT (see previous post).
Audrey Polifka - Audrey was LaVanche’s sister and was to become my grandmother. She also grew up in Tenney and eventually married A.N. Larson, the proprietor of the local general store. She and Grandpa raised my mother in the upstairs apartment of the Larson Store. Audrey would help A.N. get through a series of tragedies in his life that would cause him to lose his entire first family including wife and two sons. Audrey and A.N. eventually moved to Glenwood, Minnesota, after they sold the Larson Store in Tenney.
Marie Hadwick – Marie came to Campbell as a young girl. She was trained and worked, until her brief marriage, as a school teacher in rural Campbell. A talented seamstress, Marie then relied on her sewing skills to support herself throughout the remainder of her life. She moved from Campbell to Breckenridge not long after 1928, but remained closely tied to her roots in the Campbell-Tenney area, and continued to sew for the people that she knew as a young woman.
Lizzie Strobusch – OK, so I admit it, my initial attraction to Lizzie was her name. How can you not love someone named Lizzie? And Strobusch was pronounced “Straw Bush.” Lizzie came to Tenney alone, and married into a family she had known in Wisconsin. Tragedy would befall their young family, as her husband died in his early 40s. She then dedicated her life to her son, and went with him as he followed his career to Minneapolis, then to California.
Gertie Kapitan – My Gertie, with whom I feel so close, was known and loved by many in Tenney and the surrounding area. Gertie was born on a farm in rural Tenney, and lived in Tenney her entire married life. Gertie was trained as a teacher, but taught only a few years until she met and married Matt Kapitan, Tenney’s Soo Line depot agent. Gertie went on to raise eight children in Tenney, served as organist in the Tenney Church for 40 years, and wrote the local news for several years. As so many have said, "she was a gem."
“Ordinary” women? I suppose. But my “Tenney girls” are your mothers and your grandmothers and great grandmothers, and their lives deserve to be celebrated.
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1 comment:
Heidi,
It is rather amazing how a simple, seemingly ordinary conversation can lead to the most wonderful, exraordinary events. When I read that your mother showed the quilt to you that short time ago, it seems truly quite amazing... perhaps she had in mind something quite special for it, and you were the right person for the job, at the right time. To think if you had not had that conversation, we would not have the book, and we would have one less opportunity to gather together the rich history that has grown from this verdent land. As you had mentioned in an earlier blog, the good old folks are getting older, and for some of them, their memories are thair greatest treasure to give, their legacy. I cannot say thank you enough for making this happen.
As I work in the new City Office, I often feel a presence, and definite connection encouraging me forward, to preserve and rebuild all that I can, but also to be respectfull, and honor the memories and accomplishments of those who built this town, and perhaps, one day I may be counted among them, as one of Tenneys fondly remembered.
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