Some of My Memories of Cousin Lester Seibold

My dad must have been expecting a good crop in the middle of the Great Depression in 1936 because he bought a brand-new Ford pickup. It must have cost nearly $500. This event relates to the story because it was the catalyst for our taking a trip from our ranch in Montana to Grandpa's farm in North Dakota. I suppose part of the motivation for the trip was to show off the truck.

I was about seven years old at the time, and hadn't had occasion to learn of any relatives except my maternal grandmother. It was exciting to learn that there were many others in far-off lands.

We arrived at our destination, a farm south of Drake, North Dakota, after a three-day drive in our new vehicle. My grandparents, Julius and Maria Blumhagen, had set up a family gathering for the following weekend. When they all showed up, I was glad to find out that there were kids about my age, and particularly Lester because he was only two months older than I. There were four cousins plus my brother, sister, and me; seven altogether.

Lester's mother, Anne Blumhagen Seibold, was born shortly after Grandpa and his wife and two kids arrived in America in 1902. My dad was five at the time, and his brother was two. Anne was one of the six students, all girls, graduating from Drake High School in 1921. She became a school teacher.

We cousins entertained ourselves by exploring Grandpa's farm, especially the machinery. We were most impressed with an old steam engine used to power the threshing machine. We didn't know how to get it running, but that didn't matter. Lester and I had an enjoyable first meeting which helped cement the friendship that followed in later years.