Clifford (18 Jul 1925-24 Mar 1983) was married to Catheryne Nelson (d. 8 Jan 1994). They farmed near Ossian. Merle (16 Dec 1927-3 Oct 1978) and his wife Elsie File (17 Nov 1915-1 Jan 1974) lived at Cedar Rapids, IA. Merle served in the Army during the Korean War. He was employed by H & W Motor Freight for 18 years. Stanley and his wife Marjorie Peterson live near Decorah. Stanley is a farmer and custodian. Donald born 6 Nov 1932 and died 15 Nov 1932.

On 3 Jul 1944 I married Harry J. Lensch, Sr., son of William and Elizabeth Lensch. Harry was born and raised in Cedar Rapids. We made our home on a farm in Spring-field Twp. Harry died 24 1958.1 have 2 sons: David and John. David attended the same one-room school as I did - Hamre No. 6. He went on to attend and graduate from Decorah High School. He now is a farmer and lives in Springfield Twp. David married Roselyn Styve, the daughter of Lester and Violet Styve. They have 5 children: James, Cathy, Kevin, Lori and Kent. David and Roselyn’s grandchildren are: Matthew, Kyle, Michael, Adam, Brittany and Andrew.

John attended Decorah Community Schools and graduated from Thomas Roberts High School. He went to junior college in Mason City, IA for a year and then attended and graduated from Northeast Iowa Technical College in Calmar. John lives on a farm in Springfield Twp. He married Muriel Otteson, the daughter of Norris and Ella (Larson) Otteson. They do not have any children. Muriel is employed at the Security Bank in Decorah.

On 14 Oct 1987 i married Fay R. Ward. We live in the town of Frankville.

We enjoy traveling to the homes of our children and their families.

We have many hobbies. Fay has kept a diary for 59 years and also collects spoons. I have a chicken collection. I love gardening and growing flowers.

I also like making quilts, lefse and pies. I am involved in community service including VFW, American League and Carry-on-Club. We are members of the First Lutheran Church in Decorah.

Webb, Ronald and Ruth (O’Brien)

(Ron and Ruth Webb)

Ronald “Ronnie” Webb moved from Ostrander, MN to the Burr Oak-Bluffton area in 1933 with his parents and brothers and sister. In the January move to a farm 3 miles west of Burr Oak, Ronald drove a team of horses pulling a load of oat bundles. The cold 40 mile trip took two days. The Webbs moved to Burr Oak in 1934. Ronald’s father, Vance, ran the Standard Oil bulk business. Ronald was born in 1915 in Tama Co., IA to Vance and Julia (Goodwinson). Vance lived in Tama Co. since he was a small child and Julia was from Spring Valley, MN. Ronald had 2 sisters, Ethel and Laurene, and 3 brothers, Raymond, Roger and Wayne.

Ronald married Ruth O’Brien at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church of Bluffton in 1939. Ruth was born in Bluffton to Pat and Mollie (Bergmann) O’Brien, the youngest of 5 children. Her brother and sisters were Eileen, John, Margaret (died as an infant) and Charlotte. Ruth’s mother, Mollie, emigrated from Germany in 1893. Ruth’s father died when she was 2. Ruth graduated from Burr Oak High School in 1938, the last year high school was held in the white, wood building which still stands. There were six in the class. Ruth remembers many times walking the 5 miles each way from Bluffton to attend her classes. Ronald and Ruth’s 3 children, Steve, Mike, and Tom, were all born in Bluffton. Steve and Mike graduated from Decorah High School and Tom graduated from Mabel, MN High School. All served in the army in the 1960’s. Tom served in Viet Nam and Steve in Europe. Mike’s primary duty was in Texas. All the children live in the Rochester, MN area.

Ronald worked for the Winneshiek Co. Road Department for 18 years over two periods of time. He operated heavy equipment, building, grading and maintaining roads (and plowing snow) over most of the northern part of the county. While working for the county, Ronald and Ruth owned and operated the Bluffton store for 4 years. Ronald left county employment and they moved to Burr Oak in 1956, buying the Phillips 66 service station and operating a repair garage. After 16 years they sold the business in 1972 and Ronald resumed county road work. He retired in 1980. After moving to Burr Oak, Ruth clerked in the Burr Oak store for several years.

Over the years Ronald and Ruth have kept busy in community activities and in their churches. They have enjoyed traveling and have been in nearly every part of the U.S. and much of Canada. Ronald was an active baseball player on local teams until he was past 45 years old. At 80 he is still a regular golfer and bowler. They have lived in the same house in Burr Oak for 39 years. They believe no place quite matches Winneshiek Co.

Weiss, Immanuel and Johanna

(Evelyn Seegmiller)

Immanuel Weiss (1916) and his wife Johanna (1920) and their daughter Erna Freund were born in Kulm/ Bessarabia, near the Black Sea. Their hometown belonged to Russia until 1918 when it was occupied by Rumania, to be repossessed by Russia in Jun 1940. Immanuel served in the Rumanian army 2 1/2 years. In Oct 1940 they were repatriated to Germany and in March of 1941 resettled on a farm in eastern Germany (now Poland). Here daughters Hilma and Gerda were born. In 1943 Immanuel was drafted by the German army to fight the USSR southeast of Leningrad. In April of 1944 he was wounded and after recovery was ordered to the Western Front near Aachen where he was captured by the British in April of 1945.

Due to the rapid advances of the Russian army, Johanna had to leave and fled to the west with their 3 children. For almost two weeks she traveled day and night in a horse drawn wagon over congested, wintery roads