The prompt for last week's blog was "random." I decided to write about a random article I found in the paper about Viola Strand.
Viola Strand was the daughter of Carl and Mildred Strand. She was born in September 1922. By all accounts she couldn't wait to get out of her parents house and start her own life. When she caught the eye of nearby farmer Raymond Henrickson, that seemed to be her way out.
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| colorized picture of Howard Strand, Viola Strand, Ray Henrickson |
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| Allegan Gazette, March 28, 1940 |
Viola and Ray were officially married on April 20, 1940. Viola's age is given as 18, but she was actually only 17 at the time of marriage. I've seen the age of many women inflated on marriage certificates back in the day.
I found it interesting that the marriage occurred in Grand Rapids, and not Allegan. Also interesting is that Ray's sister Esther and her husband Milo are listed as witnesses. They were married by a Lutheran pastor, though. Ray's family was very involved with the Lutheran church. The Strand family has been described as not very religious and not officially belonging to any one church.
Ray and Viola's marriage was later recorded in the Allegan Gazette.
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| Allegan Gazette, April 25, 1940 |
A few more interesting notes about the wedding. The marriage occurred on April 20. The 1940 US Federal Census was being conducted that year. On May 9, 1940 a census taker came to the Henrickson farm and recorded the persons living there, which included new daughter-in-law Viola.
What's interesting is that Viola is also recorded as living with Carl and Mildred, and being single, on May 17, 1940. Viola was recorded twice on the 1940 census, living in two different households! I wonder if maybe a neighbor gave the census taker information for the Strand household? Or maybe there was a cutoff date? Anyway, Viola was counted twice.
The next piece of random information I have concerns Viola's baptism. Ray Henrickson's grandparents had been instrumental in starting a Lutheran church in Allegan, Michigan. Ray was already a member so it only made sense for his new wife to join the church too. I found church records indicating that Viola was baptized and officially joined the church as a member on April 6, 1941. This would be one year before giving birth to her first child in May 1942.
Does anyone have anymore information on the wedding of Ray and Viola? Why they were married in Grand Rapids? Was there another wedding in Allegan at the Lutheran Church down the road? What happened to the recipe box full of recipes Viola was given at her shower? Did she use them? Let me know in the comments down below or email me.
I think it was interesting that mom was baptized on dad's birthday.
ReplyDeleteViolet was mom's close friend from school. We would go visit her sometimes. She died of breast cancer and mom was devastated. Mom Was always close to Esther, out of all dad's sisters
Thanks for the additional information. It all ties in and makes sense. I wonder if it was coincidence then, or maybe a present? that she was baptized on his birthday? That's too bad about her friend Violet.
DeleteI looked it up and April 6, 1941 was on a Sunday, so probably a happy coincidence that it was on Ray's birthday. That is also the day Germany invaded Greece and Yugoslavia. Another interesting thing is that Ray's father, George, passed away on April 11, 1941. A lot happening that week.
DeleteAhhhh!!! Someone misspelling Henrickson as “Hendrickson” goes back to 1940!!
ReplyDeleteYes! I consistently find the Henrickson name misspelled with a "d" ALL the time. Great grandpa George chose the spelling of his last name and he went with the Swedish spelling of his middle name "Henric". He added a "k" and "son " He had no idea Americans wouldn't be able to spell it correctly. Lol
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