52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 28 Prompt - Trains

2024

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 28

Prompt – Trains

Bill's Great-Uncle, William Edward Hansen is married to Bill's maternal grandmother's younger sister – Carolina Emily Bachmann.

Bill is William Hansen's namesake. One of Bill's earliest memories is the gift of a “hurdy-gurdy” that Great-Uncle Bill had given him. Apparently Bill was around 2 or 3 years old. 

1955 - Great-Uncle William Hansen With Bill Hoffart

 William and Carolina (aka; Lena) Hansen were married on May 7, 1928 in Melville, Saskatchewan. This is where they resided after the marriage. William (aka; Bill) worked with the CNR (Canadian National Railway). CNR's divisional point was at Melville because it was approximately halfway between Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Tragedy struck Great-Uncle Bill on April 12, 1946. 

April 13, 1946

William E. Hansen

Bill Hansen was fitted for a metal artificial leg at some point after. On one of his visits to the Hoffart household in Saskatoon, young Bill remembers this cute story of Great-Uncle Bill and his artificial leg. It was made of metal and young Bill was looking at it. Bill discovered a hole in the artificial leg. Great-Uncle Bill told young Bill that he had a real problem with that hole because the mice kept getting into his leg. However Great-Uncle Bill told young Bill that it was okay now because he put a mouse trap inside to catch the mice. However Great-Uncle invited Bill to go ahead and stick his finger in it. Bill remembers vividly that he never did put his finger into the hole of Great-Uncle Bill's artificial leg.

I feel stories like this are priceless. It tells me so much more about Great-Uncle Bill.  I'm sure he was a very fun loving fellow who enjoyed his life despite the tragedies that he had to bear. He lost his wife, Lena to cancer in December of 1955. His only child lived in California working as a nurse since 1951. 

I met him once or twice before his death in 1981.  And I know he was a guest at our wedding. Unfortunately I recall very little of him from these encounters.  

William E. Hansen - 1956 circa.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 27 Prompt - Planes

2024

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 27

Prompt – Planes

I wrote this story way back in my first year of blogging. I hope that it is as enjoyable this time as the first time you may have read it. 

Circa 1967 - Uncle Wally, Grandmother McLaughlin and My Mother, Vivian Peters

 In 2006 we had a chance to visit our aunt & uncle in their winter home in Arizona. Wallace McLaughlin is my grandma McLaughlin's third child, a sibling to my mother. Uncle Wally, as we called him, was born in 1927 and died just 3 years after this visit. They lived in Ontario and growing up we rarely saw them. My older siblings know him better than myself. Uncle Wally was an Engineer who at one time was the Dean of Engineering at Waterloo University and in fact was president of The Deans of Canada Engineers. At the time of the visit, I was just starting to put family history together. We asked him if he knew any stories of himself and my mom when they were young.

He unfortunately could not remember many. We did learn that he was a bit mischievous growing up. He said his step-father, Benjamin McLaughlin, was strict and liked things just so, such as no talking at the dinner table. If you broke the rules you were punished by his “razor strap”. Uncle Wally knew if he got in trouble at school and in his words was “caned” at school he would get it twice as bad at home. So on his way home he would find a few layers of cardboard to put in his back so it lessened the severity.

I call this Uncle Wally story - “Have Gun Will Travel”.

It is my favourite story of my quintessential church lady grandmother. Grandmother went to church every week and sometimes more often. She baked cookies and took them to the “old folks shut-ins” She always wore a hat and her handbag was firmly clutched within her hands or hung over her forearm secured tightly to her body.

Sometime in the 1970s or 1980's Grandma McLaughlin decided to go to Ontario to visit Wally and his family. She always travelled by plane. In those days airport security was almost non-existent.

Apparently his mother (Mary McLaughlin) use to own a 32 calibre Browning Automatic gun. What the heck was she doing with a gun in her home. Maybe it belonged to her second husband who had died in 1945. She must have been going through her stuff in the cellar when she found it and probably had long since forgotten about it.

Browning 32 Calibre Browning Automatic Pistol - Similar to this Image

Grandma was quite deaf. In his younger days, Uncle Wally would go down into their cellar, find it and for the heck of it go outside and shoot it at the wood pile. Grandma was non the wiser! So uncle Wally knew she had a gun. He went on to explain that on this particular trip to their home in Ontario, she decided it was “too dangerous” to have around her home. Grandma had decided that she should take it and give it to Uncle Wally because he would know what to do with it. So she put it in her handbag along with all of it's ammunition. She flew with it in her purse as carry on and without incidence. Uncle Wally and Aunt Phyllis were flabbergasted that she took it on the plane. I can visualize grandma surprising them with the gun from her purse. It really paints a bizarre picture. I mean my church lady grandmother pulling a gun from within her purse!

With a hearty laugh and a smile so wide, Uncle Wally said that when he took it from her, he found out that it was loaded and ready to shoot. All I can say is OMG – the angels of Grandma McLaughlin were protecting her in all her innocence. 

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 26 Prompt - Family Gathering

2024

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 26

Prompt – Family Gathering

Georg Frederick (known as Fred) Krikau was born on January 26 1905, in Warenburg, Samara Province, Volga Valley, Russia.

His father was Andreas Krikau born January 20 1879, in Warenburg, Samara Province, Russia.

His mother Mary Katherine Kraft was born on August 27 1879, in Warenburg, Samara Province, Russia.

He had 7 siblings: Andreas, Mary Katherine (my grandmother), Elisa, Georg, Johannes (John), Heinrich (Henry), and Wilhelm.

His wife Alvina Margaret Goeringer was born on June 3 1908, in Rocky Ford, Colorado, USA.

They were married on October 17, 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and they had 2 children: George Frederick Jr., and Margaret.

Fred and Alvina Krikau - November 16, 1941

This was my maternal grandmother's sibling. He was known as Fred. In the early 1920's, the Krikau family moved to Chicago, Illinois. That is. all but my grandmother who was married and her brother Fred. I am not sure why he did not immigrate at the same time as his family. He was a full time mechanic in Winnipeg. He wasn't married . However he did marry on October 28, 1928.

Several years ago while looking through the website – newspapers.com, for any Krikau family news I found the following article. It was written in The Pointer of Riverdale, Illinois on January 19, 1945. Interestingly it was an article about Fred Krikau and his family visiting from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Who knew that the family gathering was so newsworthy?

The Tanis family that they were staying with was Fred's sister, Elisa and brother-in-law.

The other article that I found was dated March 20, 1946 in The Times in Munster, Indiana. 

We learned in this article that Fred Krikau and his family have moved to United States and are living with his parents at this time.

Similarly, I found my grandmother's and Fred Krikau's younger brother, George Krikau in The Times, Munster, Indiana published on June 22, 1944.

The article wrote about all the family gathering for a picnic supper to celebrate George Krikau's birthday which was June 15. The picnic was held on Sunday, June 18.

Wendy