Grandfather Strand's House

Click to enlarge

On one of my visits to Gowrie in the 1990s I was in a group of my siblings and we went to view my grandfather’s house. It was vacant and uncared for. Vivian and I stood on the porch and peered in. It was not long after this that the house was razed; I think I may have viewed the scene with it gone.

Before we moved from the little brown house out to the Peterson farm, we would periodically be invited to my grandfather’s for a visit, typically on a Sunday afternoon and there would be a meal associated with it, probably an early supper. On such visits we children were allowed in the parlor, where my father had his Victrola and the various records which I think dated from his pre-marital days. The records I recall included several Sousa marches (my father liked these and any other march music), one of Caruso singing and one or two “humorous” ones. Of the latter I can remember little except there was one funny tale about hydrophobia the details of which escape me. I don’t know why the Victrola was kept at my grandfather’s — lack of space at home? protection of a valued possession against us children?

After the move to the farm, the Victrola ended up in a small room off the living room of the Peterson house. (This room was I understand the bedroom for my Peterson grandparents.) Marold eventually got the Victrola when the furniture was dispersed after my mother’s death. The only other item I can remember from my grandfather’s parlor was a large picture of my father and his brother Reuben. Dad was standing with Reuben apparently still quite young (2 years old or thereabouts) sitting, garbed in a white dress. Dad was perhaps 5 or 6 years old and in a suit with short pants.


Clarence and Reuben (I’m pretty sure this is the picture my dad is referring to. Even though the dress that Reuben is wearing is not all white, the collar is white, and that is probably why my dad remembered the dress as being white. —LRS)

As to the meals on these occasions I recall little. About the only thing that sticks in my memory was that Aunt Hulda had apple pie and served it with cheese. I thought this quite odd at the time for cheese to accompany apple pie but Aunt Hulda seemed to think from her experience as a “domestic” that it was quite the thing to do.