This week would mark Georgina’s 104th birthday. We lost her in 2004, but here are a few pictures to remember her by.

Posts about West Point, and its inhabitants.
This week would mark Georgina’s 104th birthday. We lost her in 2004, but here are a few pictures to remember her by.
Grandma Link’s house didn’t have central heat. She had two oil stoves, and two wood stoves. Ed Geers delivered the oil, so that was no problem. But someone had to cut the firewood. And that someone was us.
When you think about a small town, do you imagine that it’s a quiet place? I certainly do. And, for the most part, West Point was a pretty quiet place. You might hear a teenager’s hot rod once in a while. And there was certainly some noise from the grain elevator down the street, at least at certain times of year. But much of the time all you would hear is birds singing, and the wind through the trees.
When we get to this time of year, I always think of back to school. I thought I would share a few pictures from Georgie’s collection from 1934 in West Point, Iowa.
Isadore Link was born in New Vienna, Iowa, on April 4, 1860, and lived most of his life on a farm northwest of West Point. He was the son of William J Link and Mary Ann Sauter.
Isadore married Teresa Kempker on April 17, 1882. Teresa was born on October 10, 1859, the daughter of John and Catherine Kempker.
A picture of Isadore as a young man (not sure of the date) and Teresa from the 1890s.
They had a large family and most of the family stayed in southeastern Iowa, living in and near West Point and Burlington.
Isadore died on February 24, 1944. Teresa died on March 21, 1913, when Robert was just 10 years old.
Isadore and Teresa are Walt’s great grandparents.
Last week, I showed Maria Catherina Krumpelmann’s birth certificate and the process used to translate it. That was not the only document that was translated for us. Today, we’ll take a look at Gerhard Wellman’s service record. The same process was used as in the other document.
There was a message on our voicemail from a gentleman who went to school in West Point. It was delightful to talk with him. I wasn’t aware that there was a West Point Iowa Facebook Group, and I have enjoyed reading bits of the West Point Bee and seeing pictures posted on the group.
I thought that a glimpse of the school picnic from 1934, taken at the Fairgrounds would be fun pictures to share this week.
When I was a kid Mom would always talk about the “Brigham Emkey” place. Or maybe it was “Brigham Empty”. Or “Bring ‘Em Empty”? She said it all as one word, like “BrighamEmpty”, and it was hard to tell. But the BrighamEmkey Place was where Mom lived as a little girl, and she told a lot of stories about it. But I could never figure out the name.
As you may know, Michelle and I somehow got appointed as the keepers of family history, lore, and photographs in my family. I’m pretty sure the vote took place when I wasn’t present…
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