Uncle Jack telling Uncle John Stories...

  Uncle Jack is Clarence John Hansen.  He is the son of Clarence Hansen and Rose Švec. Uncle John is Rose's brother.  Their parents are Frank J. Švec and Mary Vrkocova.  Uncle John was born in Vlastibor (then Lastibor) Bohemia in 1888.  He came to America in 1890 with his parents and also on the same ship was Mary's sister Annie.
     Uncle John was a cigar maker. When he decided to marry, he thought he should have a more secure job so took a railroad job--at about half the pay.  He married Florence Minnie Schultz who was born in Ohio.  She went by Minnie.

     Once, while in Osakis, he fell on his stairs and broke his back.  The stairs were very narrow and the medics couldn't get him down the windy stairs, so John got up off the stretcher, walked down the stairs and then got back on the stretcher.  He had a full body cast applied.  Uncle Jack offered to pick him up from the hospital when it was time to be discharged.  One day, John turned up on Rose's doorstep--he had taken the train and then the bus and walked a couple blocks to Rose's house.  He was supposed to wear this cast for a while. One day he asked Clarence where his (John's) tools were.  He went down to the basement and after a bit they heard pounding and buzzing.  John came up the stairs with the body cast in hand. He told Rose that he would put in her garden in the spring and he did.
     Minnie worked at a tea house in St. Paul.  This was in the time of the Weyerhausers and the Hills.  She was very good at remembering names and birthdays.  Her savvy garnered tremendous tips from her patrons. Minnie was also quite a fisherwoman.  It was one of John and Minnie's favorite things to do.
     I remember Uncle John telling us he could pick up 3 bricks with one hand.  He also called me "Mrs."  I think he didn't remember my name, but I thought that was so sweet.
     John lived on his own for a long time after Minnie died in 1957.  One of the things he did for himself was make sugar cookies.  (Dot's recipe).  Cindy said he also tried his hand at rye bread.