Elsie was born Hedwig Luise Elle (or Elsa; hard to read the handwriting) Remwolt in a small village called Leopoldshall, outside Hamburg, Germany. Her parents were farmers. In 1913 she married Henry William Nicholas Meinke in Hamburg. In April of the same year they emigrated to the United States (Americanizing her name at this time to Elsie Louise Remwolt Meinke), coming into the country via Portland, Maine. They made their way to Western Canada in the same year.
Elsie and Henry both worked in a hotel for a while in Canada until it burned down and they lost most of their belongings. They then settled in Alberta, Canada, where Henry became a lumberjack and Elsie became the camp cook, baking 18 pies a day and a multitude of sourdough biscuits for the hungry men. Their first daughter, Anne, was born in a small log cabin in Athabasca in 1918. Their second daughter, Dorothy, was born in 1920 in a hospital because Elsie did not want to give birth in the middle of the woods again. In fact, when it was time, they took a horse-drawn sleigh to the nearest hospital, which was 40 miles away and 30 degrees below zero!
Being immigrants, they had to check in with the Canadian Mounties once a month, but the distance was so far they were allowed to climb to the top of a certain mountain at a designated time once a month and wave to the Mountie to let him know they were still in the country.
The family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Muskegon, Michigan, where Henry got a job as a molder at Sealed Power Corp. (a piston ring factory). For a time, Elsie's mother Mary lived with them there. Their son, Ray, was born there in 1925.
In the late 1930s, Henry and Elsie bought a farm in Polkton (later renamed Coopersville), Michigan.
In later years, Henry and Elsie moved to Dallas, Texas, to be closer to their son Ray.
Until the day she died, Elsie had a thick German accent that she could not get rid of, and was highly offended if you said she had an accent. She had worked hard on her English, and thought she had it perfected.
She was also a fantastic money manager, accounting for every penny. As thrifty as she was, she was also extremely honest. While living in Dallas, she always walked the six blocks to the Safeway store for her groceries. Upon returning home one day, she realized that the cashier had given her 5 cents too much in change. She turned around and promptly walked back the six blocks to return that nickel to the cashier.
Her beloved husband Henry passed away in Dallas in 1962. She lived alone in Dallas for a time, and then moved back to Michigan to live with her daughter Anne and her family in Livonia. When her health worsened, the three children (Anne, Dorothy, and Ray) decided she needed around-the-clock care and so she moved into the Martin Luther Memorial home in South Lyon, Michigan, where she died in 1980. She was buried in Dallas next to Henry.
PARENTS:
Edward Remwolt
Maria (Mary) Remwolt
SIBLINGS:
Otto Meinke
Ed Meinke
Paul Meinke
Bertha Van Borstel
SPOUSE:
Henry William Nicholas Meinke (1885-1962)
CHILDREN:
Anne Mary Meinke Ceton (1918-1992)
Dorothy Agnes Meinke Poel (1920-2017)
Raymond Henry Meinke (1925-2018)
Elsie and Henry both worked in a hotel for a while in Canada until it burned down and they lost most of their belongings. They then settled in Alberta, Canada, where Henry became a lumberjack and Elsie became the camp cook, baking 18 pies a day and a multitude of sourdough biscuits for the hungry men. Their first daughter, Anne, was born in a small log cabin in Athabasca in 1918. Their second daughter, Dorothy, was born in 1920 in a hospital because Elsie did not want to give birth in the middle of the woods again. In fact, when it was time, they took a horse-drawn sleigh to the nearest hospital, which was 40 miles away and 30 degrees below zero!
Being immigrants, they had to check in with the Canadian Mounties once a month, but the distance was so far they were allowed to climb to the top of a certain mountain at a designated time once a month and wave to the Mountie to let him know they were still in the country.
The family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Muskegon, Michigan, where Henry got a job as a molder at Sealed Power Corp. (a piston ring factory). For a time, Elsie's mother Mary lived with them there. Their son, Ray, was born there in 1925.
In the late 1930s, Henry and Elsie bought a farm in Polkton (later renamed Coopersville), Michigan.
In later years, Henry and Elsie moved to Dallas, Texas, to be closer to their son Ray.
Until the day she died, Elsie had a thick German accent that she could not get rid of, and was highly offended if you said she had an accent. She had worked hard on her English, and thought she had it perfected.
She was also a fantastic money manager, accounting for every penny. As thrifty as she was, she was also extremely honest. While living in Dallas, she always walked the six blocks to the Safeway store for her groceries. Upon returning home one day, she realized that the cashier had given her 5 cents too much in change. She turned around and promptly walked back the six blocks to return that nickel to the cashier.
Her beloved husband Henry passed away in Dallas in 1962. She lived alone in Dallas for a time, and then moved back to Michigan to live with her daughter Anne and her family in Livonia. When her health worsened, the three children (Anne, Dorothy, and Ray) decided she needed around-the-clock care and so she moved into the Martin Luther Memorial home in South Lyon, Michigan, where she died in 1980. She was buried in Dallas next to Henry.
PARENTS:
Edward Remwolt
Maria (Mary) Remwolt
SIBLINGS:
Otto Meinke
Ed Meinke
Paul Meinke
Bertha Van Borstel
SPOUSE:
Henry William Nicholas Meinke (1885-1962)
CHILDREN:
Anne Mary Meinke Ceton (1918-1992)
Dorothy Agnes Meinke Poel (1920-2017)
Raymond Henry Meinke (1925-2018)
Elsie was born Hedwig Luise Elle (or Elsa; hard to read the handwriting) Remwolt in a small village called Leopoldshall, outside Hamburg, Germany. Her parents were farmers. In 1913 she married Henry William Nicholas Meinke in Hamburg. In April of the same year they emigrated to the United States (Americanizing her name at this time to Elsie Louise Remwolt Meinke), coming into the country via Portland, Maine. They made their way to Western Canada in the same year.
Elsie and Henry both worked in a hotel for a while in Canada until it burned down and they lost most of their belongings. They then settled in Alberta, Canada, where Henry became a lumberjack and Elsie became the camp cook, baking 18 pies a day and a multitude of sourdough biscuits for the hungry men. Their first daughter, Anne, was born in a small log cabin in Athabasca in 1918. Their second daughter, Dorothy, was born in 1920 in a hospital because Elsie did not want to give birth in the middle of the woods again. In fact, when it was time, they took a horse-drawn sleigh to the nearest hospital, which was 40 miles away and 30 degrees below zero!
Being immigrants, they had to check in with the Canadian Mounties once a month, but the distance was so far they were allowed to climb to the top of a certain mountain at a designated time once a month and wave to the Mountie to let him know they were still in the country.
The family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Muskegon, Michigan, where Henry got a job as a molder at Sealed Power Corp. (a piston ring factory). For a time, Elsie's mother Mary lived with them there. Their son, Ray, was born there in 1925.
In the late 1930s, Henry and Elsie bought a farm in Polkton (later renamed Coopersville), Michigan.
In later years, Henry and Elsie moved to Dallas, Texas, to be closer to their son Ray.
Until the day she died, Elsie had a thick German accent that she could not get rid of, and was highly offended if you said she had an accent. She had worked hard on her English, and thought she had it perfected.
She was also a fantastic money manager, accounting for every penny. As thrifty as she was, she was also extremely honest. While living in Dallas, she always walked the six blocks to the Safeway store for her groceries. Upon returning home one day, she realized that the cashier had given her 5 cents too much in change. She turned around and promptly walked back the six blocks to return that nickel to the cashier.
Her beloved husband Henry passed away in Dallas in 1962. She lived alone in Dallas for a time, and then moved back to Michigan to live with her daughter Anne and her family in Livonia. When her health worsened, the three children (Anne, Dorothy, and Ray) decided she needed around-the-clock care and so she moved into the Martin Luther Memorial home in South Lyon, Michigan, where she died in 1980. She was buried in Dallas next to Henry.
PARENTS:
Edward Remwolt
Maria (Mary) Remwolt
SIBLINGS:
Otto Meinke
Ed Meinke
Paul Meinke
Bertha Van Borstel
SPOUSE:
Henry William Nicholas Meinke (1885-1962)
CHILDREN:
Anne Mary Meinke Ceton (1918-1992)
Dorothy Agnes Meinke Poel (1920-2017)
Raymond Henry Meinke (1925-2018)
Elsie and Henry both worked in a hotel for a while in Canada until it burned down and they lost most of their belongings. They then settled in Alberta, Canada, where Henry became a lumberjack and Elsie became the camp cook, baking 18 pies a day and a multitude of sourdough biscuits for the hungry men. Their first daughter, Anne, was born in a small log cabin in Athabasca in 1918. Their second daughter, Dorothy, was born in 1920 in a hospital because Elsie did not want to give birth in the middle of the woods again. In fact, when it was time, they took a horse-drawn sleigh to the nearest hospital, which was 40 miles away and 30 degrees below zero!
Being immigrants, they had to check in with the Canadian Mounties once a month, but the distance was so far they were allowed to climb to the top of a certain mountain at a designated time once a month and wave to the Mountie to let him know they were still in the country.
The family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Muskegon, Michigan, where Henry got a job as a molder at Sealed Power Corp. (a piston ring factory). For a time, Elsie's mother Mary lived with them there. Their son, Ray, was born there in 1925.
In the late 1930s, Henry and Elsie bought a farm in Polkton (later renamed Coopersville), Michigan.
In later years, Henry and Elsie moved to Dallas, Texas, to be closer to their son Ray.
Until the day she died, Elsie had a thick German accent that she could not get rid of, and was highly offended if you said she had an accent. She had worked hard on her English, and thought she had it perfected.
She was also a fantastic money manager, accounting for every penny. As thrifty as she was, she was also extremely honest. While living in Dallas, she always walked the six blocks to the Safeway store for her groceries. Upon returning home one day, she realized that the cashier had given her 5 cents too much in change. She turned around and promptly walked back the six blocks to return that nickel to the cashier.
Her beloved husband Henry passed away in Dallas in 1962. She lived alone in Dallas for a time, and then moved back to Michigan to live with her daughter Anne and her family in Livonia. When her health worsened, the three children (Anne, Dorothy, and Ray) decided she needed around-the-clock care and so she moved into the Martin Luther Memorial home in South Lyon, Michigan, where she died in 1980. She was buried in Dallas next to Henry.
PARENTS:
Edward Remwolt
Maria (Mary) Remwolt
SIBLINGS:
Otto Meinke
Ed Meinke
Paul Meinke
Bertha Van Borstel
SPOUSE:
Henry William Nicholas Meinke (1885-1962)
CHILDREN:
Anne Mary Meinke Ceton (1918-1992)
Dorothy Agnes Meinke Poel (1920-2017)
Raymond Henry Meinke (1925-2018)
