From Antigo to Green Bay, Wisconsin

There needs to be a change from 3rd person to 1st person in the telling of their tale.  From here on I’ll no longer call them Carl and Esther, but rather Mother and Dad Krieser, because that’s what I called them when they were living.  Carl and I lived in Hortonville from June 12, 1954 to November 4, 1954.  Mother and Dad Krieser moved into their Green Bay home during that time period.

UPPER:  I’m standing with Carl, Dad Krieser and Sharon Kumbier, Ruth’s oldest daughter in this photo.  The Hortonville depot is on the right side and Dad Krieser’s car (naturally, an Oldsmobile) on the left.  Mother Krieser probably took the picture.

MIDDLE AND LOWER:  Mother Krieser jotted down comments on the two lower photos.  “Yellow brick front, white siding on sides and back” and “Bedrooms and bath on the west side, front bedroom the one we use.  House faces south.”  The photos were probably taken in 1955, the following spring, because the snow is obviously melting.  Our VW (Volkswagen) “bug” is in the driveway in the middle photo.  The house also had a full basement and garage.  We had many a wonderful meal there with them.  Mother Krieser was an exceptional cook and I worked most of the time we lived in Green Bay, so her meals were much appreciated.  One thing I remember well was that she always had a dessert but I was always too full from her good meal to eat it, so I always said, “I’ll take mine home with me.”  It was somewhat of a standing joke.  Carl always ate his, but there was always another piece for him in the take-home, too.

TOP:  This was taken in March of 1959, between the two bottom photos.  Green Bay had lots of snow that winter.  Fritzie is standing on the front sidewalk and Mother Krieser is in the window.  Dad’s Oldsmobile is parked in the driveway.  The snow bank is as high as the car and up to the top of the house railing.  It appears that a lot of the snow had already melted off the roof.  Wow!  One wonders how high it was before all of that snow melted.  Lots of snow!

MIDDLE:  Leroy Kumbier, Carl and Joyce Krieser and Carl Senior are behind.  Ruth Krieser Kumbier, Esther Krieser and Sharon Kumbier sit in front while little Carol Kumbier plays with a new toy.  Fun get-togethers!

BOTTOM:  This was taken in 1959.  All of Mother and Dad Krieser’s descendants to date were there, including spouses and dogs!  Back row shows Dad Krieser, Ruth Kumbier, Mother Krieser, Carl Junior and wife, Joyce with their dog, Pepper.  Ruth’s husband, Leroy, must have taken the photo.  Dad holds up Fritzie while Skippy (Ruth’s dog) sits next to Carol and Sharon Kumbier.  Those early years we usually drove back to Wisconsin for Christmas.  Going there was the easy part.  Getting back to Kansas City was always a disaster!  The weather was always bad!  We always stopped at Aunt Elizabeth’s in Des Moines and that way was the easy part.  Then the weather got worse.  It was all single lane hills and curves in both directions, with accidents along the way that stopped all traffic from moving in either direction, with us freezing in the car for hours.  One year a big semi-trailer was stuck in the snow with front wheels in the ditch on one side of the road and the back wheels in the ditch on the other.  What a freezing mess!  We were lucky if we got home by 4 or 5 AM and then on to work.

TOP:  Mother Krieser put this comment on the back of the photo: “Carl Junior’s German make car Volkswagen is in the driveway.  Kitchen entrance on east side is handy to garage.”  The shrubs and bushes are very young and just planted around the house.

BOTTOM:  This picture was not dated but notice how the shrubs have grown since the photo above.  Dad Krieser planted some birch trees in the front yard along with more trees and shrubs, both in front and back.  Aunt Rose’s little black Scottie, Gordie, is on the front porch in this one.  He was a cute little dog and enjoyed playing with Fritzie. 

TOP RIGHT:  Grandpa Krieser and Fritzie play tug-of-war with a chew stick.  He had more fun with that dog!  I wonder who won that game?  I’ll bet Fritzie did!

LOWER LEFT:  Carl Junior, Joyce and Kurt sit comfortably on the couch at the Senior Kriesers’ house.

LOWER RIGHT:  Carl Junior holds Kurt with Joyce and Grandpa Krieser standing by.  This obviously was not winter but it was cold enough for coats.  Probably the spring of 1963.  Notice that Kurt had a cap on his head.  He was extremely prone to getting ear infections, so whenever it was cold or windy, we put a cap on him.  That helped to keep him a little healthier.   He had over 16 ear/throat infections that required medication such as penicillin or sulfa by that early age.  He was rocked to sleep many a night.  On July 8th of 1963 he had his tonsils out when he was only 18 months of age.