Introducing Myself
I, Wanda Mishler, was born in Little Falls on October 11, 1931. My father told be about the day I was born when I had my eleventh birthday adn I don't think I well ever forget it. The day I was born my cousin Pearl was staying at ou place and when mom got sick she sent Ken over to the cooking camp where my father was employed to tell him to come home. Ken got over to the camp and didn't say a thing about it and didn't come back home so Pearl sent Dave over and he didn't say anything either. Dad didn't know anything was wrong so he gave bothm of tme a big dish of ice-cream, which is what dad thought they wanted. Of course when the boys got ice-cream they naturally forgot what they were supposed to tell. Pearl noticed that neither came back so she ran all the way over to the camp and told dad herself. Dad ripped the buttons off his cook jacket getting it off, but I guess everything turned out alright because I wouldnt' be here if it didn't, although they say I was just aabout didn't make it. Dad was surely angry with Ken and Dave for a while.
I don't think I need to explain what I look like because one look will describe that. When I was younger I used to have bangs and the rest of my hair was cut so it came just above the tips of my ears. I surely hated it. Louise gave me the nickname Wandy. When I went to grade school at North Waukenabo the kids called me Windy. When I was about four years old I had some kind of illness. I think it was mostly nerves, but everytime I got excited I got ill. Just a little tap on the top of my head would make me faint. After I started the first grade I had this illness only once.
We have lived in many different places that I have mentioned in one ofthe other themes. When we moved to Waukenabo in the fall fo 1938 I was just starting second grade. In July of 1939 I had an accident and missed the first month of school in the third grade, I would rather not say anthing about the accident. Whe I started High School my nickname was Stick. They called me this because a wand is just a stick. It isn't a very nice nickname but I am used to it adn it doesn't bother me anymore and anyway they have kind of forgotten it. Now I am most genrerally called Wan.
I don't know whether I will amount to much in the future but I will surly try hard to get some place even though I have had a kind of broken up life.
My Home and Family
I was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, 1931. We lived in a four room house on the North side of town on Ninth Street. There were three rooms downstairs and one room upstairs. The house was brown in color, and was very ofl fashioned. Then we moved out into the country about eight miles. The house we lived in was close to Camp Riply, where my father was employed as a cook. The place was called Fish's place because we rented it from some people called Fisk, which was the English meaning for Poisonti, (spelling uncertain for PoisontiO which we often called them instead of Fish. The house was large and gray with an adjoining garage. It had three rooms downstairs and one room upstairs. The is the first place we lived in that I can remember anything about.
From there we moved to a place one mile off highway 56 and three miles from East Lake. It was a large, old fasioned. The we moved again to a place called Herd's, where we lived for about one year. Riverside was the name of the school I first attended, and where I went to school until about in January of that year. This school I attended while we were living at Herd's.
Then we moved to a place called Drone's where I spent the remaining part of the first grade.
From there we moved to the place we now live in and have lived since the fall of 1938. The house is not in very good shape although we did try to fix it up when we first lived in it. We have now planned to build a new as soon as possible. One reason I like the place is its location. Thee are three lakes in kindof a triangle around us, all about the same distance away. There are also lakes adjoining the three. The trees and all the nature about us is another thing I enjoy. The different seasons of the year bring on wonderful picture of nature. Of all the other places there has not been one with nature so close at hand, as the other places we have lived in didn't have trees around them. That helps in the apperance. The place is located eighteen minels north of Aitkin on Highway 169, turn left at Harris's Station and go about thre - fourths of a mile. Then go to the right about a quarter of mile. North Waukenabo was the school in which I then attended, in grades two through eight, and eighth grade over again.
There were five children i the family, three boys and two girls. Kenneth Eugene is the oldest of us. He is not very tall, kind of chunky, and has blond, curly hair. He is not married and will soon be twenty-five. The rest are not married either. He has been just like a mother to the rest of us, as he took care of us so much. He is good natured, thoughtful and kind. David Alexander is twenty-two, blond and a little taller than Kenneth, and I think very attractive. Theodore Willis is twenty, very tall, the tallest in the family, and has kind of dark blond hair. Louise Marie is seventeen, has blond hair, and is 5 ft. 2 in. tall. I wanda Lea, am 5 ft. 1 in., and have blond hair and you can see what I look like.
My father is about the shortest in the family. He has dark hair and is thin. My mother is not very tall either had has blond hair. I think quite a lot of my brothers and sister and thing my parents are about the best anyone ever had and I am also fond of our home eventhough it is not very good but it is home to us.
My Ancestors
The only way I can tell about my ancestors is to begin first withour family. My parents were married June 8, 1921. My father, Alexander Franklin Mishler, was born in Wisconsin, Aut. 13, 1890. He was in the first world war. His chief occupation is cooking. My mother, formerly Miss Nita J. Gunderson, was born Aug. 12, 1902. They have five children, Kenneth Eugene, twenty-five years old; David Alexander, twenty-two; Theodore Willis, twenty Louise Marie, seventeen; and I, Wanda Lea, sixteen.
On my father's side my grandparents names were Mr. and Mrs. John Mishler, Mrs J. Mishler formerly Miss Louise McCann. They had fourteen children, seven girls and seven boys of which four are dead. Grandmother and grandfather Mishler are also dead.Grandmother was a good woman and helped everybody. She would feed men who came to the door an dask ifthey could work for some food, for she was afraid that some day one of her boys might be without food. Grandfather was agood lubmerjack and Kenneth and he were always together until at the age of eighty six he died. My grandfathers parent's names were Mr. and Mrs. George Mishler, Mrs G. Mishler formertly Magaret La Marr. My grandmothers parent's names were Mr. and Mrs. David Mc Carr, Mrs D. Mc Cann formerly Miss Margaret La Pointe. It was said by many relatives, that great grandfather, Daniel Mc Cann was a cousin of Abraham Lincoln and great grandfather owned the American Eagle.
On my mother's side my grandparents names wer Mr. and Mrs Knutt gunderson, Mrs K. Gunderson formerly Miss Marie Raksted. They married in December. They had elevn children, nine girls and two boys of which four are dead. Grandmother and grandfather Gunderson are also dead. My grandmother died las summer. Grandfather Gunderson came from Norway at the age of nineteen and has lived in Otterhtail county most of his life. He was a good natured whiskered farmer and died at the age of seventy. My grandfathers parents are not remembered except that they came from Norway with their famly and great-grandfather died the year my mother was born. My grandmothers parents names are Mr. and Mrs Pete Baksted. There are alot of interesting things about ancestors but it would be too much to wirte about. This is ab brief summary of My Ancestors.
My Most Interesting Relative
My favorite relative is my Uncle Samuel Ambrose Mishler, brother of my father; he later changed his name to Mitchel. His nickname was Sam, hw was six feet and one inch tall, and his hiar was black and curly and he was the handsomest of men. He would not have to have a suit on to look dressed up. Hu usually wore a sport jacket and slacks adn looked like a millionaire i them too. My brother Ted resembles him somewhat in being quick tempered, in being tall, and having some of the same actions.
He had very little education, but personality plus and the talent of a well educated man.
He was a cook by trade and one of the best in the coutry. The places he cooked were the Andrews Hotel in Minneapolis, Douglas Lodge in Itasca State Park, places in Chicago, and also in some camps. He has been in quite a few states especially the western states, a few in which he has cooked.
We used to visit uncle Sam and Aunt Nora a lot. when he was working in the kitchen making doughnuts, he would have the door open. My sister Louise would ask to close it. He would tell her she could and when she shut the door she would be on the outside. She did that because she wasn't supposed to be outside and in that way, she could get out. Somethimes he would chase her and me around with a little paddle. Of course our trick was to slide to a corner and stand up.
Often Louise would ask him for raisins while he was working and didn't have time to pay any attntion to her. She would say, "raisins in pocket", and keep on asking. After a while she would be saying, "Sammie, raisins in pocket", then he would laugh.
One time I will always remember. It was my fifth or sixth birthday and he said he was going to spank me. He gave me timeto hide, so I went up stairs and got into one of the beds, but he found me and carried me downstairs. He gave me a spaning in front of everybody. It's a spanking I'll never forget.
he was always welcomed at our place and we were glad to see him when he came, but he was mean to us kids adn it was sometimes a relief when he went back home again. He was born in 1901 and passed away about July 20, 1940.
Early School Days
I Started the first grade at riverside School with Miss Neimi as my teacher. She was a very good teacher and I liked her very much. It was a nice school an dit had electric lights. There were to large classrooms, a library, two clockrooms, a room for the things that the children made, and a full basement where we could play in the winter times. There was also a room fo the teachers to stay.
Some fo the things I remember about this school was the garden we all planted, from which we had one of our dinners, and the nice Christmas program we had, in which my sister, louise, another girl and I sang. It was sure fun giong to this school and I hated leaving it.
We moved in the spring, while I was still in the first grade, adn I then finished that year of school in East Lake.
In the fall of 1938 we moved to North Waukenabo where I attended the second grade and only to I finished grade school in this school. It isnt a very large school. It has only one room. My second grade teacher was Miss Wilson. On the first day of school it was raining so Dad took us. On the second day we had to walk and I thought I would never get there, although it is approximately two miles. I soon got used to itt because I walked it almost every day I went to school until I began the ninth grade.
In the third grade I missed the first month of school because of an accident I had during the summer. My teacher's name was Miss Johnson.
The fourth, fifth, adn sixth grades werer the same with the exception fo the subjects getting more difficult. My fourth grade teacher was Miss Johnson, my fifth grade teacher was Miss Dee Champ and my sisth grade teacher was Miss Otterson.
In the seventh grad of there was the Geography exam, which I thought was fairly easy, but it was a worry until it was over. My teacher was Miss Otterman.
The eight grade was a greater worry too, because of the four exams, but I struggled through with the great help of my teacher, Mrs. Angermo.
I guess what I really liked the most was the parties adn the programs. The parties were once amonth every month during school, for all the birthdays in each month and other times on a special occasion. The programs were the Mother's Day program, the Halloween program, and the Christmas program. The best part of the Christmas porgram was Santa Clause coming. The best part of a Halloween program was the dance afterword. Then there were the school picnics on which we kindo of celebrated the endin go fthe school year.
Though we had a lot of struggles, fights, and quarrels in grade school I would rather be there, thinking of all the good old times I had with friends I often wich I were back.
I am not sure what I will do in the future, but there are a lot of things I would like to do.
When I was four years old I often pretended I was a great singer on the radio or on a stage, but I have kind of given that up. Instead I would like to play the piano well enough to play in sume public places. I have written may poems adn when I got to know notes I would try composing. In the mean time have to finish school. Next summer I am going to try for a job at my brother's radio shop in Minneapolis. If I can't get that job I will get work caring for children or taking care of a house. I have never been to Minneapolis and this would be my chanse. If I do get a job at the radio shop I will work there every summer until I am out of high school, and then work there for about two or three years after I have finished school. Out of each pay check I will save part. When I have saved, what I think will be enough, I wll start to travel. I have always wanted to visit all the National Parks. While I am traveling I might be able to pick up a jo and maybe go to some foreign countries. My mother said when she named me Wanda, that I would be a wonder, but I somethings find it hard to believe, although, I guess a person doesn't have to be smart or have a big education to get anywhere in this world.
