By her daughter, Diane:

Mom was born August 3, 1909, probably in Sheffield, North Dakota. I honestly don’t know if she was born in a hospital or not. My big suspicion is she may have been born at her mom and dad’s farm. Because they were rather poor and only made their living from their farming, I’m sure there were no hospital births for many of the children.

You see, George Brinster and Magdalena Selinger (married 11/7/1895) eventually journeyed from Russia to America. At that time, they had two children (Raphael and Martin). At some point, grandfather had moved to a farm near St. Pius (then Schefield/or Sheffield), about 20 miles south of Dickinson.

I recall seeing the farm house she and her family lived in on a visit to the area when we were younger. I believe that my brothers Dennis and Les were with us, too. The structure reminded me of an archeological dig (not that I knew what an archeological dig was at that early time when we visited it). Only shells of living quarters were visible. My mental picture of the farm house conjures up one side having only three or four rows of bricks high, gradually graduating up to a higher level on the other end of the structure. Mother explained to me that her dad had such a tough time farming, even though he loved the farm life. However, he couldn’t really make a good living from it. According to “the book,” however, there were some good years, and bad. Mom’s voice (I still recall it) sounded rather sad at reliving her memories. That was when she related her strong feelings that when she was younger, she had rheumatic fever. With no doctors around (or else not being able to afford one), her mom did all she could to keep mom alive and helped her survive. Mom always thought her many health problems ascended from that period of time in her life.

As for when she moved to Minneapolis, I recall her telling me she was 16 years old when she moved there. She stepped off the bus or trolley with only 16 cents to her name. Mom looked around the neighborhood. Noting that there were a few stores in the area, she went to visit a couple of them, seeking work. It wasn’t long before she stepped into a small business that sold lace items (hankies, doilies, etc.). There was an older woman who ran the business. Mom talked to her, and it wasn’t long before they struck up a friendship. The lady gave her a job.

Thank YouLarry Brinster for sending this photo, and to Diane Kohanek , Les and Kathryn’s daughter, for the narrative.