Andrew August Lundquist and Nancy Amelia Carlson

Andrew Lundquist was born May 7, 1859 in Svanskog, Värmland, Sweden.  He was known then as Anders Anderson.  His father was Anders Carlson and his mother was Stina Nilsdotter, both born in Sweden.  Andrew’s siblings were Johan (John) (1863), Selena (1866, Marta (1871), twins Anna and Maria (1875) and Anna Marie (1878).  The twins died before the age of two. 

When Anders Anderson immigrated to America in 1881, he changed his name to Andrew Lundquist and settled in Red Wing, Minnesota.  He worked in a wagon shop and the pot shops. 

Andrew Lundquist and Nancy Carlson were married In Red Wing on August 11, 1883. 

Nancy Carlson was born September 28, 1862 in Vasa Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota.  The family moved to Red Wing in 1873.  Her father was Gustaf Carlson and her mother was Louisa Johansdotter, both born in Sweden.  The Carlsons had ten children, five born in Sweden and five born in Vasa.  Nancy’s siblings were Frank (1843), Alfred (1845), Algodt (1848), Aaron (1850), Andrena (1853), Carl (1856), John (1858), Minnie (1860) and Nancy (1865) Andrena and Minnie died before age two. 

Joseph Batilo built the Central Hotel in Red Wing in 1874.  It was located on the corner of Fourth Street and Plum Street.  Andrew and Nancy Lundquist purchased the hotel in 1911.  They operated it primarily as a boarding hotel until 1928.  The hotel was a three-story brick structure and still stands today (1993).  The entrance was on Plum Street.  From the entrance, a doorway on the left opened to a large room used as a resident’s lounge.  Across the far right end of the room was the hotel office.  Immediately to the right from the front entrance, were swinging cafe doors opening to a saloon.  The saloon compared in size to the lounge-office area.  A long bar was to the left, about a dozen tables were placed around the room with four captain-style chairs at each table.  Straight ahead from the front entrance was a six-foot wide, uncarpeted stairway to the second floor.  The Lundquist living quarters were on the second floor.  There were rooms on both the second and third floors for the boarders and travelers.  The few travelers who did register at the hotel were salesmen.  Many times, the hotel had thirty or more boarders who worked at various jobs in Red Wing. 

There was a long hallway from the front of the hotel to the dining room, located beyond the office and saloon.  Six long tables, each with seating for twelve, had linen tablecloths and napkins.  Each table had two cream pitchers.   

The cream was used for cereal, coffee or tea, and the delicious desserts baked by the hotel kitchen staff.  We have one of the cream pitchers in our possession.  A large kitchen and pantry (or storeroom) were beyond the dining room.

The kitchen had both wood and gas burning stoves and ovens.  The hotel staff did most of their baking.  There was a wide and very long table used for food preparation and baking.  There was also a large butcher-block table for meat cutting and preparation.  I remember some of their kitchen knives had three-fourths of the blade gone.  This was due from heavy daily use and frequent sharpening.  The food they served was excellent.  The desserts were delicious, especially the fresh fruit pies and shortcake. 

A fire, at 6:00 AM in February, 1922, did extensive damage to the hotel.  The Lundquist living quarters suffered the worst damage.  There was heavy smoke damage throughout the hotel.  Fire and smoke cut off use of the stairways.  Boarders escaped by rope or ladder from second and third floor windows.  The Lundquists re-opened the hotel as soon as the hotel was repaired and re-decorated. We have an antique clock from the hotel that was in the Lundquist living quarters.  It is a mission-style clock.  It stands six feet tall and has a thirty-inch long pendulum.  We also have a marble top table from the Lundquist hotel. 

Occasionally, our family would go to the hotel to eat and to visit Grandpa and Grandma.  If it were for lunch, we would go to the hotel after our last morning class, then return to school in time for our first afternoon class.  Our schools did not have a lunch program.  I can remember on more than one occasion, I left school at noon and started to walk home.  After part way home, (1009 Central Avenue), I remembered we were having lunch at the hotel.  I would turn around abruptly and run much of the way to the hotel.  On one occasion, I walked all the way home, there was no one at home.  I realized my mistake and high-tailed it to the hotel.  If I had miscued more often, I may have considered trying out for the track team.   

Andrew and Nancy Lundquist sold the hotel in 1928 to Quandt's Food Shoppe and Bakery.  Upon leaving the hotel, the Lundquists resided at 204 Seventh Street.   

I remember my grandfather was 6' tall and weighed about 180 lbs. He had a heavy trimmed mustache and wore metal-rimmed glasses. Grandpa usually wore a vest with a gold chain hanging from a buttonhole and fastened to a gold watch inside a vest pocket. 

My grandmother was about 5' 4", slim build, probably 125 lbs or less. She had blue eyes and long gray hair that was twisted atop her head into a bun. She had a slight problem of osteoporosis. She always wore a long dress. 

Andrew Lundquist died of pneumonia at a local hospital on March 4, 1930.  Upon the death of Andrew Lundquist, Nancy came to live with our family, her daughter and son-in-law, Aurora and Arthur Kuhn, respectively. 

Andrew’s brother, John, age 59, was killed in 1926 when struck by a Great Western passenger train west of Red Wing.  He was walking along the tracks on his way to Red Wing after leaving work at the A.P. Anderson "Tower View" farm in Burnside.