| Summary: | their quest for gold. Only they were looking for a warm climate. One thing that made their decision seem reasonable was the bad weather we were having on the day they left. Alta with Faye and me with Charlie were weeping to see them go and knowing we'd never see them again (We didn't for eight years). But our tears were of no avail. And like the 49ers they seem to have a commitment to go, and so they went. It took them forever to get to Petaluma, what with chasing down dogs and sand storms. They had Thanskgiving somewhere on the road, and made it to Petaluma in time for Christmas. They must have had a good time though. They never said they didn't. I met Harry Warner in 1922, when he rode over to our place to see my brother Charlie. Harry and I were married September 30, 1925 in Cando, North Dakota. We lived on the home place from 1926 until we moved to California in the fall of 1937. Our first child, Charles Harrison, was born there July 9, 1926. He served in the Navy for two years in World War II, and was killed in Anchorage, Alaska, in a construction accident on July 6, 1978. He is buried in Petaluma in the Veterans' Cemetery close to Faye. Hugo Wilton was born August 13,1927 and was killed in Anchorage, Alaska, December 18,1968. He is buried in East Palestine, Ohio beside his wife Doris. Harry Gene was born January 16,1934 on the old place. He served in the Air Force in the Korean War. He has lived in Anchorage almost 30 years with his wife and family. Lois Adriana (Phillips) was born December 22, 1939 in Santa Rosa, California. She is married and has three boys. They live nearby in Sebastopol, California. Ella May (Bush) was born Januray 26, 1941 in Santa Rosa. She lives in Petaluma and has three children and two grandchildren. My own trip to California in November 1937 wasn't quite so spectacular as my mother's was. We had an almost new Ford that we had bought from the McDougalls and a small trailor which held all of our worldly possessions. And on a lowering, dark day we left Rolla. I had gone to say goodbye to Dr. Verret and that was sad. Harry picked up Jack Koshnick downtown and we picked up Faye, who was staying at her grandmother Deitrick's farm. We left the next day from Bottineau -another sad farewell. Of course, Charlie and Hughie were glad that Faye was going with us, and in later years they told us it was the time of their lives. They had fun, and Jack was a real asset. He was only 24 at the time. Of course, it wasn't such a grand arrival into California, as snow was knee-deep in Truckee. And our first view of Petaluma was through a pouring rain. I didn't know it could rain like that. I have since found out that it can, and does for long intervals, too. We were all happy and thought that we had made the right decision. But to my utter dismay one day a month later, Hughie had two fights at school (he was the winner in both). Charlie and Hughie were sitting on our doorstep and they asked with tears, ' 'When are we going to go back home to Merry legs (our horse) and our dog and three cats?" I was really thunderstruck but I thought that the truth was best. So I said, "Kids, we have burned our bridges. The farm is sold and we can't go back." It was hard but they got over it. My three boys were raised in Petaluma, and later settled in Anchorage, Alaska. I have gotten lonesome for North Dakota in the fall (like today), when the Canadian Honkers fly over by the thousands, the lonesome call and the trees turning red and gold. I could "almost" move back, but I guess I've lived here too long. But I go up to Alaska once in a while to renew my memories of North Dakota. As I look at this ~ It seems that my family moved quite a lot. I once asked my mother, "How many times did you move?" and she said in a disgusted voice, "Until my furniture was reduced to kindling" and with the roads and the mode of travel I guess that was possible. Aledia Strawn Warner Petaluma, California Carl Strietzel family - Fred, Ida, Paul, Lena and Herman, father and mother FRED AND LOTA STRIETZEL Fred Strietzel was born to Carl and Elizabeth Strietzel December 14, 1881. His parents met and were married in New York City after they immigrated from Germany. They moved to Salem, Illinois, where Paul, Fred, Ida, Helena and Carl were born. Later the family homesteaded on a farm four miles northeast of Rolla in 1900. Fred married Lota Gano, December 8, 1905 in Rolla. They had eight children: Irma Strietzel Tallman of Holcombe, Wisconsin; Dorothy Strietzel Guderjahn of Rolla; Mina Strietzel Guderjohn of Rolla; Clayson Strietzel of Puyallop, Washington; Lester Strietzel of Portland, Oregon; Gerald Strietzel who died October 30, 1955; Raymond Strietzel who died July 12,1964; and Lyman Strietzel of Williston, North Dakota. 441 After Fred and Lota were married they lived in Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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