Once upon a time about 150 years ago in the 1830's, a small group of Norwegian's arrived in the U.S. by way of the St. Lawrence water-way. Their destination was a valley in Wisconsin. At first they settled in Michigan. They were hit with diphtheria and many died including my great, great grandfather. His widow and her 3 children along with some others decided to leave this area and left for Wisconsin. There they built their log cabins and began their lives in the new world.

In Black River Falls, which was 14 miles from this settlement, and was the county seat, there lived a group of Mormons who came from Illinois to be in the lumber business. How Signe Anderson happened to meet and fall in love with Joseph Smith Wing is a part of the story that is missing, but they were married. Her brothers, and I imagine, the whole settlement of strict Lutherans were horrified that she could have done such a sinful thing. It was an unforgivable sin to marry a man who had been divorced and to not be of the same faith. What a shocker to it was to them when they found out that their sister had married a Mormon is perhaps beyond comprehension. In 1858 a son, Milan, was born and later another son, Omar, was born. Dr. J. S. Wing took another wife at that time, which was permissible in their Mormon religion at that time in history. Signe must have been intimidated, lectured to, and finally whisked away to her brothers farm along with her two sons before Dr. J. S. Wing and the rest of the Mormons decided to move west. She was looked down on and was a "marked" woman in the community for the rest of her life. My grandfather told me once that his mother was an angel on earth but she lived a life of hell. Omar died as a young boy. When Milan was 12 years old a man came to the door and knocked. Milan answered the knock, opened the door and the man said, "Are you Milan?" and he said "Yes" and the man said, "Do you know who I am?" Milan looked at him good and said, "Yes, I think you are my father." This story was told to me by Milan, my grandfather. His father had come back from Utah hoping Signa would go back with him. She refused and the 2 boys were taken to relatives in hiding for fear Dr. Wing would take them with him. Why the Wing was dropped from the name and Smith was used as the last name for only this wife is a mystery.

Milan had a determination to become a man to be looked up to. He worked hard and became to be known as highly respected and highly self educated. He met and fell in love with Theoline Amundson. They had a large wedding on her farm with a bowery set up for dancing. She told me once that they had 60 cakes ---5 different kinds and 12 of each, a barrel of biscuits, they killed a calf for the meat. There were kegs of beer and grandpa said that someone spiked the beer. Some of the gifts were a cow, a rocking chair, silverware, dishes, bedding, etc.

When I was 12 years old my dad (Milan's son (Eldon)), my mom, grandpa and I took a trip to Utah and there he looked up the name of Wing in the phone book. He found one who knew of his father and from that point on he met several half brothers and sisters. He found out that when his father moved to Utah he added 4 more wives to his family so there were quite a few to visit with.

My grandpa and grandma Smith had one son, Eldon, (my father) and a daughter, Elva, who died at the age of 12. They were a wonderful couple and I have nothing but fond and dear memories of them. Grandma was such a hospitable, kind and generous lady. Everyone loved her. Grandpa was such a dignified gentleman and everyone admired and respected him. Grandma told me that after she graduated from 8th grade she went to a 6 weeks teachers school to train for her teaching. She was a teacher for a few years before she married grandpa at age 16...he was 26. She had several brothers who were noted as full of the dickens and gay blades. Her sister, Carrie, never married and spent many winters with grandma and grandpa.

Sjur Fenny and his wife, Brita, came in the covered wagon to this same valley. Before they could get their log cabin built their first son was born in the covered wagon. Many tragedies happened to his family. Diphtheria raged the country. The oldest son went to Minneapolis to study for the ministry and got diphtheria and died. They sent his body and trunk home and 4 of the other children got the diphtheria and died. Sjur built the wooden caskets, performed the final service and buried them. He was a deep religious man and acted as the minister at many of their services. A few years later a son was out plowing the fields. A small storm came up that afternoon and when the son didn't come home, Sjur went to the field to look for him. He found his son dead and the 2 horses also dead. Lightening had struck them and run down the reins to the son and killed him too. Sjur had only 2 sons left .. Andrew and Lewis. Lewis and family moved to Los Angeles.

From Sweden came another family to Wisconsin. Greta was one of the girls that ended up in Mrrilan where she met Andrew Fenney. Her last name was Nelson. Andrew was ambitious and adventurous. He and Greta married. They moved often on new ventures. At one time he stayed on the home farm and took care of his aging father. Then he ran for county treasurer and won. He must have already become rather well known to win a county job when he lived quite off the beaten path. The family moved to Black River Falls and my mom told me that while there she had the best schooling she ever had. Grandpa then went into the grocery business and he had stores in Blair, Minneapolis, and the last place was in Alma Center where he was very successful. I can remember going to visit them often as they were only 14 miles from Taylor. They sold meats, dry goods, shoes, clothes, etc.. They had 5 sons and 3 daughters. One son, Archie, and the one daughter, Birdie, died in early childhood. My mom, Bessie, was the oldest living, then came Arthur, Sherman, Alice, Alvin and Merlin. They were a family of fun times. When we'd all get together there'd be games, singing, guitar playing ... the brothers were great harmonizers and could have fun just being together. Arthur and Amanda had 3 sons ... Angus, Everett and Ray. Sherman and Bessie had one son, Andy. Alice and Herman Hansen had one son, John, and 2 daughters, Evelyn and Mary. Alvin and Nellie had one daughter, Aljean and sadly she was killed in a car accident when she was in high school. They had a son also, Leland. Merlin and Marge had a daughter, Susan. I remember my grandma Fenney as a very quiet, neat and tidy lady. She was a very good lady and must have been a great mom t raise such a fine group of men and women.

My dad was a hero to us as far back as I can remember. He was a big man ... not only in size ... but big in everything he attempted. His athletic abilities soon became known throughout the area. When he was in high school he played football, basketball and baseball ... he excelled in them all. He went to the University of Wisconsin for 2 years studying Agriculture. He played on the baseball team. He was dissatisfied with that field and so he went back home and worked on the farm for a year trying to decide what he wanted to do. The heavy farm work kept him in good shape and when he decided to go to Northwestern to study dentistry he was fit. His father told him he didn't want him to play football at the University as it was too dangerous and he was there for an education. One day the football coaches came to him at the dental school and asked him to come out for football. He told them his father didn't want him to. THEY WROTE A LETTER TO MY GRANDFATHER. HIS ANSWER WAS a clipping from a newspaper of a football player killed on the football field. They came again to my dad and told him of the advantages he could have in his schooling by playing. I don't know how a decision was reached to say yes but when he did agree to come out he went out to the practice one afternoon and the coaches had him throw the ball a bit and work out with the scrub team. That night they took him out to a steak dinner and ran over the plays of the team with him. They couldn't get him a pair of size 14 shoes right then, so they took a pair of his and had cleats put on. The next day was a game and at half time they put him as center. He didn't know any of his team mates but from that time on he was the center. Paddy Driscoe was his quarterback and he went on to the pros and coaching and football Hall of Fame. Dad was also offered a pro job with the Chicago Bears and he also was offered a teaching job at their dental school, but he decided to come back home and become the first dentist there. He told me he didn't stay for the graduation ceremony as he didn't want to have his father have to spend more money on him to buy a suit.

My dad had gone to high school in Blair and so had my mom. She was a Freshman when he was a Senior. She went on to school and became a country school teacher. She told me of how she'd walk from Blair to her one room school 3 1/2 miles in the country. In the winter she'd have to carry wood in from outside and get the fire started to 'warm up the place ... in the pot belly stove. The temperature would often be below zero. She had all 8 grades in one room. She was teaching at the Finn School ... one mile out of Taylor ... and my dad came home from the University and went to one of her school programs that they had for the community. It was a means of everyone getting together. They'd have the program and afterward have cake and coffee. He asked her for a date and that was the beginning of their romance. They were married later in her parents home in Blair and began their married life in Taylor where they lived all their lives.

I was born in the first house they owned ... no plumbing ...complete with outhouse. Roger and Glen were born a few years later. We had a fine childhood. Grandpa and grandma Smith lived close by and their home was a second home to us. We grew up knowing our dad was a big leader in the community ... everyone loved him. He was a great entertainer and trickster and yet he would always be there to help someone in a bad spot. People looked up to him ... they had to ... he was 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed over 300 pounds. He had to have his clothes ordered special. Honesty, integrity and respect were high on his list and he always told us, "When you walk out that door, remember you're a Smith and people are watching to see if you act like one or not."

And always there was mother who kept that household running. She loved to have people over ... for a cup of coffee and a treat of some kind that she'd always have baked ... or for dinner. She was such a fantastic woman.

Dad developed diabetes when he was in his forties. He did his own testing and decided how much insulin he'd take. If he felt like he'd like a piece of pie, he'd just give himself more insulin. He said he'd rather enjoy life.

He started getting numbness in his extremities and a tack in his shoe went undetected until a bad infection had set in ... then gangrene. He had his toe amputated first. At that time I was going to be married and dad said he'd get an ambulance and come home for the wedding. The day before the wedding he said he'd rather not get in the ambulance, etc., and said that he'd prefer we'd come to the hospital and see him before we left on our honeymoon. He didn't tell us that his leg was going to be amputated the next day. He did make it through that operation, was fitted for a leg and when he finally got to leave the hospital and come home ... as he drove up the main street he lit and threw firecrackers out the windows so everyone would know he was back in town. He moved his dental office and practiced dentistry for several years.

One day he didn't feel well so the local doctor suggested he go to Madison for a good physical...150 miles away. He and mother drove to Madison and when he got to the hospital he had to be taken from the car in a wheel chair. He had a blood clot and they tried to give him medicine to dissolve it ... but to no avail. I hadn't told them I was pregnant at that time. When they called me in Florida to tell me dad was so seriously ill, I told them to tell him I was going to have a baby on his birthday. Even the doctors had estimated my baby's birth as April 19, but Bob WAS BORN on May 2, my dad's birthday. Dad died there in the Madison Hospital.

Mom kept busy. She worked in Minneapolis 2 winters in a row. Once she worked as a kitchen helper at a girls dormitory. another time she worked at a nursing home. She'd come and help me when I had my babies. I needed a babysitter when I went to the hospital to have Mary in Alabama, John and Suzy in California and Jimmy in Nebraska. Mom came every time. In between, during the winter months, she'd come and visit and mend all our tattered clothes. She'd also get jobs babysitting and she was in great demand as she couldn't just sit and she'd clean their house, bake cookies for them, do the ironing, etc., for her 50 cents an hours.

As she got older, mom became more immobile because of arthritis. Her knees crippled her and she became very bent over ... but was always in good spirits. She never complained and was always willing to listen to other complaints and problems and she would sympathize and lend an ear. Her sense of humor was great and we had so many happy moments and many laughs.

WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE THE INNER FEELING OF PRIDE, CONTENTMENT AND JUST THAT HAPPY, HAPPY FEELING FOR BEING PART OF THAT HERITAGE. I ONLY HOPE THAT IT WILL CONTINUE ON FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND THE JOYS THAT COME WITH IT.

Toni's note....I truly am honored to be able to reprint this copy of Lois's article about the Smith family. Lois Wing Smith Amundson died October of 2002 of a heart attack. Her daughters, Suzi and Mary were flying in to visit her and when Suzi got off the plane that night at six o'clock, her son greeted her with the sad news.

If it is any consolation, Lois's wish that her feelings of pride, contentment and that "Happy, Happy," feeling for being a part of that heritage would continue on from generation to generation are being fulfilled thanks to her daughter, Suzi.