You know it's summer vacation...

When I dust off the scanner and return to this project.   It seems July is when I get nostalgic and think I really need to try to untangle that mess of loose photos and randoms scans.   With only a week or so left of summer vacation, I'm making no guarantees how long I'll stick with it, or how much time I can dedicate to this project but hey's it's worth a shot.   A few stories here and there, bit by bit, I'll get some order to these family stories.

So, what's sparked this latest desire to update the blog?  Well, my Uncle Royal (my maternal uncle by marriage) has been working on a family memoir for his children.   However, the details of the Bohren side of the family were limited so they asked for input from Richard.   Richard chimed in with a very thoughtful recollection of his early years with his soon to be inlaws that I thought I'd update.

Richard writes:

I of course came into Irene's life about 25 years after Clarence died, and you probably know, death ends a life but it does not end a relationship.  We pick up the cards and play our hand the best we can.

Clarence Bohren (6.26.1907-8.1943)

Irene, to my recollection always spoke affectionately of Clarence.   And she spoke of him fairly often, and always in terms of what we did, what we would have done and always with a positive tone.

I recall Irene mentioning the dance hall at Orihula and that Clarence was either a bouncer (sometimes called a floor manager) or a bar tender.

Orihula Dance hall circa 1940s (courtesy google images)

  Irene would sometime join him and these were special times spent away from the work of the farm.   In fact, this is the only recreation I recall Irene talking about.   That and of course shopping trip to Appleton, the nearest big city to their farm in Winnebago County.

I think Irene enjoyed doing a man's work.   The Farm, and keeping it going, through the Depression, alone, raising three kids.   She had no choice but to step in the harness and keep going.

(photo courtesy google images)

  I do not know why, but I have the sense that Clarence was the less "driven".   I recall conversations about "robbing the cradle.   I believe Clarence was two years younger than Irene.   So, maybe she was a bit like the FFA adviser "Being older, I am called up as the need arises to advise and assist.   I hope my advice will always be based on true knowledge and ripened with wisdom".  

The Bohren farm passes from Clarence's parents to Irene and Clarence, an only child by virtue of a land contract.   That written contract specified that Clarence and Irene provided for the needs of Clarence's parents.   This included lodging, utilities, food from the garden and meal/milk from the farm.  

Young Clarence and his parents,Pauline and Fredrick Bohren, circa 1908

I recall there were pocket doors between Irene's living space and that of Clarence's parents.   How would you like to have your in laws on the other side of the door, year in and year out?.   When the kids would ask if they needed to be quiet, the reply was "No, Grandma is sleeping on her good ear.".   While there may have been a note of resentment, the sense of duty always trumped it.

Good times included visits with the neighbors, many of whom were relatives.  The Hoffburgers, the Hahns, Fricks, distant second cousins, Clarence and Irene Reuter from West Allis Wisconsisn.  Their daughter, Zona was a childhood friend of Phyllis and Audrey.

Irene's daughters, Audrey and Phyllis with most likely cousin Zona

 I do not recall mention of travel, honeymoon, vacation or celebrations.   Christmas began on December 24th, when they went shopping for a Christmas tree and gifts.   Gifts were often items needed such as socks and underwear.   The tree remained up but the celebration was over the day after Chrstimas.

Willard Rickman became a part of the family as a hired man.   Actually, he was much more, maybe like a son.   He made it possible for Irene to continue farming and eventually work off the farm.  Here she continued to do a "man's work with spot welding and stretching casket springs.   She was always known for being on the go from morning til night.   A work horse in the harness.   But she silently enjoyed the show horse also.   A new tractor, a sporty Pontiac car and a photo of her and Clarence, dressed up and with a big silk flower corsage are a few of my memories.

 Editors Notes:
The town of Wolf River remains. It rests just south of Fremont on the northwest corner of Winnebago County.   Appleton is about 20 miles east and Lake Poygan is just south of this community.  Originally inhabited by members of the Menomonee Tribe, many German immigrant families settled here and farmed the land.

  Today, there are fewer families farming the land and instead the area along the river is dotted with a host of weekend homes.  Orihula remains a thriving business, serving as the central location for surrounding families.   Orihula first opened in 1918 as a general store and tavern.   Soon, the owners Magnus and Alma Bartel added a dance hall that served as a popular destination for local residents.   In the 1950s, beer was 0.15 each or 7 for $1.   In the 1960s, Cliff and Judy Hahn purchased the business and renamed it Hahnalula.   The name pays tribute to the Orihula name (a Menomonee Indian name) and recognizes the contributions made by the Hahn family through the many years.

Photo taken during a luncheon September 2013.

I recall visits to see Irene as a young child and adult.   A treat was having lunch at Hahnalula.   As a kid, I didn't make a connection that this place was named after the Hahn family.   Instead, I associated it with going on an island adventure, aka Honolulu Hawaii and always assumed this was a Wisconsin humor play on words about it being a resort much like the tropical destination in Hawaii.   Oh the things one learns as you grow up and ask for the rest of the story....