A century of memories
by Bonnie Kay Baldwin
Lake Mills Graphic
Grace Evangeline (Reyerson) Dahlby, born Aug. 29, 1919, Silver Lake, rural Northwood, has experienced a CENTURY of life.
The daughter of Oliver and Laura (Loberg) Reyerson (who owned and operated the Silver Lake Store which was strictly for farmers), later farmed—both with her family and her husband, for many years.
Baptized and confirmed at Silver Lake Lutheran Church, she was the second oldest of five children, attended country school and then Northwood High School.
Grace always enjoyed helping with the field work, chores, and driving tractor, etc., but most of all, loved her horses.
“It was wonderful, growing up. I had really good parents. My sister (June) and I always liked to be outside . . . to begin with, we asked my dad for a pony. But he didn’t think we should have one, yet,” said Grace. “So, when I was about 8, we got on the great big Belgians (the plow horses), and when my sister and I got set on each one, we rode down the field and back again. Well, my dad saw our love of horses, so he got us a pony that we named Babe.”
Dec. 19, 1937, she married Aaron Dahlby, who farmed in rural Joice. They moved to a farm southeast of Lake Mills (Mount Valley), and joined Winnebago Lutheran Church, rural Lake Mills. The young couple had three sons: Phillip, Lauritz, and Edward. For a while they attended Salem Lutheran.
The three brothers grew up on the Horvie Farm, southeast of Emmons, raising dairy cattle, chickens, hogs, beef cattle and—horses.
Aaron shared her love for horses, and they raised several colts, went trail riding and competed in horse shows. Their favorite breed was the American Saddlebred.
In 1962, they bought their first farm, moving to the Troe place, near Emmons. They started up a milking operation again, and owned Simmental cattle. Grace and her family, also rejoined Silver Lake Lutheran Church.
In addition to farming, Grace also worked as a quality control inspector for Deluxe Filter Factory and Universal Circuits, Inc., both of Lake Mills.
Both Aaron and Grace were actively involved in their church, as Grace sang in the choir, and took on leadership roles in the Naomi Ladies Circle. She also enjoyed quilting for projects of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the synod their church belongs to).
After retirement they made another move to a smaller home, south of Emmons. Since then, Grace has also known great heartache. Her son Phillip passed away in 1998, her husband in 1999, and another son, Lauritz, in 2018.
Grace moved back into the farmhouse, where memories abounded, because that is where she was happiest. She loved mowing the lawn until she fell late in 2013 and injured her back and shoulder, and then came down with pneumonia, having to be hospitalized.
After recovering in the spring of 2014, she moved into Mills Harbour Assisted Living Facility, Lake Mills. To this day, she still continues to cook, sew and quilt, etc. for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and her church.
Grace celebrated her extra-special birthday with nearly 100 family and friends, Saturday, Aug. 24 at her church—Silver Lake. Stone Soup, a local gospel group from the area including two of her relatives, played a few tunes to honor her momentous occasion. Following the music, her son, Edward, gave a short presentation about his mother’s life, as well as some trivia from the year she was born. (See inset.)
“She is just simply amazing at what she is still able to do at her age. I am so glad she is still with us and can still do the things she enjoys,” remarked Edward.
Grace’s great-grandchildren, Ely, Owen, Alex and Nate also gave a presentation after some mathematical calculations they had determined, that in Grace’s lifetime, she had taken enough steps to have walked around the earth one and a half times; the amount of milk thefamily had produced in 34 years, could have filled 3.8 Olympic-sized swimming pools; she had driven enough miles to go to the moon one and a half times; and their farm was big enough to fit two Disneylands inside of it.
Looking at her lifetime and being asked what the biggest change in the world has been, as she sees it, she responded, “The automobile. My dad had a Huppmobile and we had our picture taken sitting on the fender, when we were little.”
“Being a 100 years old, seems almost impossible,” Grace said. “I just can’t believe I’m a 100. I feel happy about it and yet . . . in a way, unhappy. You never know when the Lord will call you. You have to be ready to go.”
What a difference a century makes. Here is some trivia from the year 1919:
The average life expectancy for me was 47 years.
Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only eight percent of the homes had a telephone.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average US wage in 1919 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
A dentist earned $2,500 per year.
A veterinarian between $1,500 and 4,000 per year.
And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as “substandard.”
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were 14 cents a dozen.
Coffee was 15 cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and, used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
The five leading causes of death were: pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease, and stroke.
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
There was neither a Mother’s Day or a Father’s Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write.
Only six percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.
