Martha Christina who married Arne Brunsvold and he had a brother Mikkel who lived at Alta, IA.

Anna and Knut became parents of 3 daughters: Myrtle Amanda (b. 1 Nov 1905); Nora Henrietta (b. 20 Dec 1910); and Cora Jeanette (b. 21 Mar 1917). Myrtle married Lewis E. Forde 18 Feb 1939 at Big Canoe Lutheran Church. They had 5 children: Norma Jeanette (6 Oct 1939-Dec 1939); twin boys Kenneth Irvin and Kermit Elder (b. 31 Dec 1940, Kermit died Mar 1941); Norman Eugene and Linda Elaine. Lewis died in Jul 1959. Myrtle died in Jul 1976. Nora married Levi Guttebo 30 Aug 1934 at Big Canoe Lutheran Church. They had 2 children: Lester Norman; and Rose Ann. Levi died 19 Jun 1995. Jeanette married Merlin Naley 22 Dec 1948 at Big Canoe Church. They had 3 children: Vernon Knut; Duane Alfred (9 Dec 1951-3 Feb 1990); and Muriel Jean. Merlin died 29 Sep 1965.

Knut and Anna farmed on the Thune farm about a mile north of Big Canoe Lutheran Church. Their daughter Myrtle was born there. That farm (in 1996) is owned by Eunice, Wilbur and Bill Stoen. Knut and Anna moved to the farm of Nels and Martha Gulickson and purchased it. It was only 40 acres and, to supplement their income, Knut was caretaker at the Big Canoe Lutheran Church for many years.

Knut Mikelson, Anna Mikelson, Jeanette Mikelson Naley, Martha Gulickson and Nels Gulickson.

Some of my memories of those years are: walking the half mile to church and back; my mother cleaning the church, carrying buckets of hot water to wash with a mop the big wooden floor in the sanctuary; one Christmas eve waiting for my dad to come home—walking sometimes in a blizzard—after climbing to the church steeple to sit and "chime" the church bell with a hammer. This could be heard for miles around; and the Christmas Eve dinner with white tablecloth and plenty of lutefisk, meat balls, lefse, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Knut also hauled cream to the creamery in Highlandville, collecting it from farms in the neighborhood. He first used horses and wagon. Later I remember he got a Model T truck with solid tires. After that he got a Model T car. This eliminated so much walking.

Anna helped neighbors with clothes washing, using the scrub board, cooking for threshers and house cleaning. I remember her helping Lily Liquin cook for threshers. The Liquin farm is at the present time owned and

occupied by Loren and Connie Amundson and their family, Laura, Matthew, Anna, Amanda and Sarah. Anna also sold strawberries for 15 cents a quart. She cooked coffee at special events at Big Canoe Lutheran Church. There were no electric coffee makers so coffee was cooked in large wash boilers on a wood stove. She mixed an egg with the coffee grounds and tied them in a bag, then dropped it into the boiling water. This made good, clear coffee.

Through the 1920’s we didn't have modern conveniences. There was no running water, bathroom, television, radio or electric lights. Wood stoves were the source of heat. In the 1930's, however, the R.E.A. brought electricity to the farms.

Knut died 23 Apr 1952 and Anna died 22 Apr 1958. They are buried in the Big Canoe Cemetery.

Mikota, Frantisek and Marie (Shileny)

(Cyril M. Klimesh)

Frantisek Mikota was born 16 May 1805 in #42 Purkarec, Bohemia to Frantisek and Katherina (Svoboda) Mikota. The senior Frantisek was the son of Jan, who was the son of Vaclav, who was the son of Matej Mikota. On 6 Jun 1829 in Purkarec, Frantisek married Marie Shileny. As his father before him, Frantisek owned a small cottage and only enough land around it to provide food for his own table. His occupation was that of vratnv. Literally the term means gatekeeper; in fact he was a raftsman. The gates referred to were those in the many dams which spanned the Vltava River, the main artery from southern Bohemia to Prague. The gates permitted passage of the toll-paying commercial boats and rafts bound for the capital city. As vratny Frantisek was captain of the rafts which earlier his crew had assembled and bound together into a string. As captain he was responsible for opening the gates. In Prague the logs were sold for lumber or firewood. The crewmen then walked home.

In 1854 Frantisek brought his family to Winneshiek Co., IA. After crossing Germany in the company of others the family boarded The City of Hamburg, a coastal steamer which on 18 Nov departed from Hamburg bound for England. The details of the balance of their journey are unknown but it was a relatively fast voyage; by 31 Jan 1855 Frantisek was the owner of 120 acres in Section 16 of Sumner Twp. This he had purchased for $1.25 an acre, with terms of 25 percent down and ten percent interest for ten years. Frantisek died 2 Jun 1864 and Mary died 20 Dec 1870. Both are buried at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery in Spillville.

Children of Frantisek and Marie were: Francis, Mary Anna, Anna, Albert, Mathias, Barbara, and Catherine. Francis L. was born 7 Sep 1833. Studying for the priesthood when his parents left for America, he remained in Bohemia until his training was completed. After ordination he joined them. From 1866 to 1881 he served as the pastor of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Spillville. He died in Norway, IA 2 Dec 1888. Mary Anna was born 11 Mar 1836. On 30 Jun 1857 she married John Ludwig. Mary and John farmed near Spillville and were the parents of 7