Elsbernd, Alois

1903 - 1974  (71 years)

• Name	Elsbernd, Alois
  Birth	5 May 1903	Festina, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA
  Gender	Male
  Biography	From Nancy Brincks Elsbernd Family History 2002.Memories of Alois and Loretta Elsbernd by Sister Helen Elsbernd, Anna M ae Kuhn and Lawrence Elsbernd Alois Elsbernd married Loretta Kuennen on September 1, 1926. They had twe lve children - six boys and six girls. They farmed on the Elsbernd home f arm located between Festina and Calmar. They were members of the St. Mary 's parish in Festina until they moved to Calmar in 1973.Alois experienced many changes in farming during his lifetime. During t he depression he purchased his first milking machine, which was run by a g asoline engine, from Korbel-Flaskerud Hardware in Calmar. With a generat or that provided six-volt lights, the barn had lighting during milking.In 1938 Alois bought his first tractor by trading in a team of horses as p artial payment. This tractor originally had steel wheels but Alois replac ed them with rubber wheels a year later. He was one of the first farme rs in the area with a corn cultivator on the tractor. He also had an ensi lage cutter that could handle eight bundle-wagons. Later he had a field c hopper with a motor on it and did custom silo filling. His first corn pic ker was a Woods single row picker.Good farming methods and soil conservation were important to Alois. The U niversity of Iowa literature, the Doane's Digest, and the County Extensi on Agent were ready sources of information for him. In the early 1940 's he was a pioneer in strip cropping and contour farming. He was named t he Master Soil Conservationist of Winneshiek County in a later year. He f requently entered the county corn yield contest and was among the top prod ucers.Alois and Loretta built a new house in 1940 for their growing family. Th ey had the house wired for electricity in anticipation that the REA (Rur al Electric Association) would be coming soon to their neighborhood.Loretta cared for the family and the home throughout the years. She alwa ys had a large garden, from which supplied the family table all summer a nd from which Loretta was able to can vegetables, make preserves, and sto re food for the winter months. Loretta did a lot of sewing, making mo st of the girls' clothes. She always was pleased when Alois came home wi th a load of feed that had many feed sacks of the same print so she cou ld make dresses from them. In her retirement years she enjoyed crocheti ng and knitting afghans, caps and mittens.In addition to many family pictures, the family photo album contained a pi cture of a handsome black man in an army uniform. This man, John Novak, c ame from Mississippi to live with Alois and Loretta's family for a time ar ound 1935. John Novak had lived in an orphanage all his life and Father A lphonse Elsbernd, Alois' brother, asked that John could live and work on t he farm in order to learn the value of money. John played baseball on t he Festina team that summer. The Elsbernd family lost track of John wh en he entered the army during World War II, and they were greatly surpris ed to meet him again in 1989 when he came to Epworth for Father Alphonse 's 60th Ordination celebration.Their family and their Catholic faith were priorities for Alois and Lorett a. They enjoyed many family celebrations as their children followed vario us ways of life - nine married, one was ordained, and two became Sister s. Whether their children lived close to Calmar or were at a distance, th ey were always welcomed at "home". Alois died in 1974 from bone marrow ca ncer, having survived an initial bout of stomach cancer eight years earlie r. Loretta then lived alone in Calmar for 17 years until six months befo re her death in 1991 due to congestive heart failure.
  Death	10 Jul 1974	Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA
  Person ID	I37804	1FamilyTree
  Last Modified	16 Jan 2016

  
  

  Father	Elsbernd, Joseph,   b. 26 Sep 1856, Legden, Isingort, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany d. 13 Oct 1936, Festina, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA (Age 80 years)
  Mother	Moellers, Mary,   b. 17 Feb 1861, Festina, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA d. 6 May 1938, Festina, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA (Age 77 years)
  Family ID	F1921	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Kuennen, Loretta,   b. 8 May 1904, Festina, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA d. 30 Aug 1991, Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	1 Sep 1926	Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA
  Children	+ 1. Elsbernd, Lawrence + 2. Elsbernd, Paul,   b. 19 Feb 1929, Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA d. 13 Mar 1997, Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA (Age 68 years) + 3. Elsbernd, Agnes + 4. Elsbernd, Anna Mae + 5. Elsbernd, Gerald,   b. 7 Aug 1934, Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA d. 22 Aug 2002, , , Alaska, USA (Age 68 years)   6. Elsbernd, Reverend Elmer,   b. 4 May 1936, Calmar, Winneshiek , Iowa, USA d. 8 Dec 2001, Techny, Cook, Illinois, USA (Age 65 years)   7. Elsbernd, Sister Helen F. S. P. A. + 8. Elsbernd, Clare + 9. Elsbernd, Denis + 10. Elsbernd, Kathleen   11. Elsbernd, Sister Rose Mary F. S. P. A. + 12. Elsbernd, Ray
  Family ID	F14749	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	11 Jun 2010