Family Treasures - Aunt Ginny and Uncle Alfred Elling

Aunt Ginny brought along to our "Family Treasures" get-together a number of books that belonged either to Uncle Alfred or Grandpa Albert Elling.  A closer look will reveal that they are catechisms or prayer books...but one is an arithmetic book. 


































Some have German on one side of the page and the facing page has the English translation.  Uncle Alfred was confirmed in the church in 1935 and his service was in German, as were his catechism studies.  Aunt Alma stated that it was often confusing for them because none of the brothers and sisters could speak English when they started school - only Low German.

Then by the time they went to catechism as young teens, they knew English and Low German, of course, but the books were in regular German, which created a problem for them.
Grandma Ida used a fibel (German primer) to help them learn the German they needed.

Grandpa Elling's arithmetic book - note copyright date.  I see Alma and Paul's name on
the cover, too.  And were those numbers like grades? 

Math problems

 


 Uncle Alfred and Aunt Ginny also have a hanging lamp that hangs in their foyer. It once burned kerosene and hung over the dining room table of Albert and Ida and family.  Grandpa Albert "electrified" it.