Flashback Friday

This is Niels & Mima Nielsen (Poppop's parents) in front of their home in Midvale. Not sure of the date. Thanks to Midge (our cousin) for emailing it. We were able to learn a little more about them at the reunion. Here is an excerpt from a letter that Midge had written to her mother, Helen (Poppop's sister).

"That big Nielsen family you came from actually started around the turn of the century when your father, Niels, married Dagmar Lubbers. They had two daughters, Leona and May, then Dagmar died suddenly of consumption at about age 21. Later, in 1911 grandpa married your mother, Mima Wilson, 21 years his junior.

Throughout the raising of the 12 children in your family your parents never owned a car. Grandpa almost bought one and then after rethinking the idea decided against it--a good thing as the year was 1929 and the Great Depression was just round the corner. The big buggy shed housed the horse drawn buggies and sleighs that you rode in as a child to go out to see your grandparents who lived in Riverton. A trip like that, you explained, took all day. And once on the way home, the horse got very sick! Grandma had to send someone to get grandpa to come and get them and take care of the poor horse. Otherwise the public transportation would do just fine grandma always said, and ‘shanks ponies’, as she called a trip on foot, was even better. If she could get by with her bad foot going on the bus everywhere with only an occasional lift here or there you couldn't really feel too bad having to walk places on two good legs. By the time I came along the buggies were gone and the tools sat silent on the once active work bench."