Mabel Theressa Johnson
b. 9 Feb 1906, d. 4 Oct 1967
1906-1921
Mabel Theressa Johnson was born on February 9, 1906 in Crookston MN. She was the little sister to Lars and Thea's first daughter Laura. Her father Lars nicknamed Mabel Bitte, or little. Shortly after she was born the family moved to Minneapolis where her other two siblings, Clifford and Muriel were born.
Mabel graduated from high school at age 16 and was treated to ice cream for
her exceptional grades. Her daughter Terri believes that Mabel went to school in Northeast
Minneapolis and that either the high school burned down, or the school
records were lost in a fire.
References
Grygla, 1921-1926
After graduation, Lars and Thea packed up Mabel, Clifford, and Muriel and moved to Valley township near Grygla. Mabel went to school in Bemidji, and received a teaching certificate in about 1923. (Evelyn Sheldrew-Tollefson was one of her classmates.) She taught in a one-room school house in the country near Grygla.
This is a photo of Tilda Olson's home, where Mabel lived during her first year of teaching.
References
Early Married Life, 1926-1942
Mabel met John Franzman Jr. in Grygla and they married on June 9, 1926. Her mother Thea was hospitalized in Fergus Falls at the time and was unable to attend the wedding. Much later, when John and Mabel went to get a copy of their marriage license, they found much to their surprise that the bride was listed as Muriel!
John worked as a lumberjack, and their early years were spent in Gheen, MN near what is now Voyager’s State Park. Mabel provided lunches for John and his fellow lumberjacks.
John and Mabel moved in with John’s parents in Grygla, where both Adeline Muriel (1928) and Luverne Alice Franzman (1930) were born.
They must have purchased land nearby during this time and, according to Douglas, were in the process of building a 2-story house when it burned down. Terri related a story about when John went out to the fields to work one day. Mabel would typically fix his lunch when he came in from work, but on this day she and the girls were having lunch at his parents' house. So when John went home for lunch, he fixed it himself. He stoked the fire very hot for his coffee, had lunch and returned to the fields to work. The hot fire must have ignited some other contents of the house, and before long the whole thing was ablaze. The house was replaced with a smaller 2-room house where many of their children were raised. Gene was born here in 1932 and Doug in 1934.
References
Becker, MN 1942-1952
In 1942 the John & Mabel and the four kids moved to a larger home in Becker MN. Grandpa Lars N. Johnson joined them here. They intended to farm here, but couldn't get the hang of working the sandy soil. John turned to silo-building, bringing son Euguene along to erect silos on farms in Minnesota. Eventually, John took a job in the Twin Cities. He drove south and stayed with their friends the Garfields during the week and returned to Becker on the weekends.
References
Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Park MN 1953-...
Eventually, John and Mabel moved their family to Robbinsdale, MN. They bought a small house on 35th Ave. I remember the back yard lined with lilac bushes, and behind that a large drug store. When Lloyd and Luverne travelled to Las Vegas for a mini-vacation (1964-ish?), they left the kids with John and Mabel. We brought our backyard swimming pool and set it up their back yard to keep us occupied.