George and Christine Houstine: Wanda (Dalager) Megers Wagner remembers

Wanda remembered going to visit Aunt Christine in Wisconsin along with her mother and dad. George and Christine were getting on in years but George still had milk cows. When George would come in from the barn at about supper time, he went directly to the basement and shower. When he came up stairs he had put on all clean clothes. Wanda said she was surprised by this because her dad had not changed clothes for dinner as George had done.

Julia (Dalager) Knutson: Wanda (Dalager) Megers Wagner remembers

Wanda always enjoyed visiting Aunt Julia in Benson. Julia had trained to be a chiropractor and visiting there was different for a child because Julia had a skeleton under the bed. She needed the skeleton so she could keep up her chiropractic skills. This was really unusual and fascinating for young people. Wanda thought that this was about 1937 or 38 as Wanda was still in country school and she graduated from country school in 1940. Wanda remembered how good Aunt Julia was at telling stories. All of us cousins remember this about Aunt Julia.

Hans and Christ and the House of David: Wanda (Dalager) Megers Wagner remembers

Wanda remembered when Hans and Christ came to visit her family. She remembered that they were full of tricks. Wanda said they would place a pencil on their hand and talk to the pencil saying, “Come on, stand up.” and it would stand up. Grandma Amelia was afraid of them and would not come into the room where they were. Hans and Christ were members of the House of David. This was a religious sect with headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan. When their leader ‘Benjamin’ died they preserved him in their headquarters for a long time. When they came to visit the Willie Dalager family they came in a big Cadillac. Wanda told an incident when Hans and Christ went into a restaurant. After they had ordered their meal one of them put a imitation mouse on the table. When the waitress came with their food, she dropped it all on the floor when she saw the mouse.

Willie Dalager: Wanda (Dalager) Megers Wagner remembers

Wanda remembered that when ever my dad, Karl, visited Glenwood, he would always visit Willie. Wanda said they were pretty close. Willie visited us at St. Hilaire several times and I believe he was at Horace’s wedding. Wanda said her dad’s eyes lit up when he knew that Karl was coming for a visit. Willie’s wife was Esther Lee. Wanda told that Esther’s dad remarried after his first wife died and they had children. Therefore, Wanda had aunts and uncles that were about her age. Wanda’s dad, Willie, married a 2nd time when Esther died.

Wanda never got to know Aunt Hannah but the family members that knew both Hannah and Wanda said that Wanda looked like Hannah and sounded like Hannah. Wanda had a brother Hans who contracted polio when he was 15 years old. He spent much time at the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis and recovered quite well from polio. He married a women who had been a foster child. What was her name? __ ____________________. In whose home was she a foster child? _________________ They had three children.

Hans died in 1968 when his third child was 3 years old. After Hans died, the family moved to Idaho. There was not much contact with Hans’ family for many years. However, Hans youngest daughter Kathi Burks and her two boys Benjamin and Jere were at the reunion held at the Barsness church when Asmund Dalaker from Norway was there. They live in California but they are keeping in touch with Wanda and her siblings. That reunion must have been in 1996. Eleanor’s son Jeff Mason, has been at some reunions. He works for FeatherLite Trailers in Iowa. He is the accountant or financial officer. Wanda does hear from her brother Jerry. He travels around a lot. He is involved with the construction of service stores such as Osco Drug etc.