Ferdinand and Victoria Kuhn

Fred was very young when he began working in the Gust Lillyblad grocery store.  He later was employed at the Clausen Dry Goods store and the Boxrud Company.  He was a traveling salesman for thirty-five years representing a butcher supply company and also a cigar company.  The name of one of the companies was Koehler and Heindricks. Much of his territory included towns in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River. 

Fred was a director of the Red Wing Basketball Association.  He was noted for his enthusiastic support of the Red Wing basketball team.  He ruined more that one hat during the basketball season.  Fred would become so excited, he would strike his hat on the wooden fencing which separated the basketball playing floor from the front row seats.  He always had a front row seat.  Fred became so excited and upset with officiating in one game that he broke down the wooden fencing in front of him.  He was so boisterous they removed him from the arena. 

Fred and Victoria’s son, Arthur, owner of Kuhn's Drug Store in Red Wing, purchased a farm near Hager City, Wisconsin in 1921 for his parents.  Fred and Victoria moved to the farm and lived there for twelve years.  They had a horse, cow, several hogs and a large number of chickens including several big roosters.  Buildings on the farm included a six room, two story house, a large adjoining storage shed, an out house, a large brooder house for young chicks, a large hen house and a small barn, maybe thirty by forty feet. 

A garden area, approximately 150 feet by 200 feet, was used for small vegetables and berries.  The garden had strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries and currants.  Nearby was an acre of land for corn, melons, cantaloupe, and squash.  My brother, Art, and I stayed on the farm one summer.  It was fun and a great experience.  We assisted our grandfather with the planting, hoeing, cultivating and harvesting.  We planted melon, cucumber and squash on mounds.  We would dig a shallow hole, place fertilizer (manure) in the hole and then form a mound about three inches high and fifteen inches in diameter.  About eight seeds were planted in a mound.  We used a hand planter for planting the corn. 

Grandpa always milked the cow.  Art and I did not have satisfactory results.  The milk was brought into the house and put through a separator.  My grandparents always had a supply of milk and cream.  The hogs were fed some of the separated milk.  There were always a large number of eggs to be collected every day.  I enjoyed that task also.  My grandma always had fresh baked fruit pies available. 

My grandpa took Art and me fishing a number of times on the back channel of the Mississippi River.  The channel flowed right next to the farm property.  On one of those fishing outings, we caught twenty-three pike.  That was great fun.  My grandparents sold their produce and eggs in Red Wing. 

Telephones in those days were large and mounted on the wall.  They had a large cupped mouthpiece.  There was a crank on the side of the phone to wind in order to get the operator.  It was a party line, which meant several other area residents used the same line.  If Grandma was talking to someone on the phone, another party on the line, could lift their receiver and listen in on the conversation.  It was a great source of information if someone on that line loved to gossip. 

About fifty percent of the land farm had timber.  There were no thickets or brush in the woods so it was an interesting place to walk.  Several times during the summer, my brother and I went into the woods to cut down a few dead trees for firewood.  The wood was stored in the large shed next to the house.  My grandpa also stored tools in the shed.  The horse liked to come into the barn for his daily ration of oats.  Grandpa milked the cow in the barn.  The horse and cow also used the barn for protection from the elements.  

My grandfather, Fred Kuhn, as I knew him, was 5' 10" and of medium build, probably about 150 lbs. He had a slightly rounded face, a trimmed heavy mustache and only sufficient hair to cover his scalp. Whenever I saw him, he would be smoking a cigar. He wore gold-rimmed glasses. When I asked him one day about his teeth, he replied, "I never go to a dentist. If I have a bad tooth, I cut it out with my pocket knife." 

My grandmother, Victoria, was about 5' 4" and small build, around 125 lbs. She had blue eyes, gray hair and always wore a long dress. She had a hunched back caused by osteoporosis.