3/6/2008:
It was touted as the American Dream: a car in every garage; two and a half kids in every home; money in the bank; freedom. Under debate and with many meanings, the American Dream changes here and there, but maintains its essence. When the early immigrants first came to America, those people also sought a different world—one where they could do well, could escape the strife of the worlds they had left behind; one where they could take care of their families and provide a future. Across the country, different families, different cultures, different backgrounds and different dreams converged.
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants, like Frederick Puppe and his family, poured in to America’s ports of entrance. Frederick was born in Germany. When he was eight, his family traveled here. They settled in Minnesota. In 1887, he moved to Pembina County in North Dakota, and in December of 1892, Frederick married Emma Born.
Emma was also from a family of immigrants. She, too, was from Germany, and she, too, had lived her early years there. She traveled with her family to America at a young age, and they settled in Wisconsin. She and one of her brothers, Gus, traveled up to North Dakota.
When these two families converged, however, there was some trouble.
Emma’s brother Gus, was “never able to remain on good terms of friendship” with Emma’s husband Fred. In fact, Gus even went so far as to sue his brother-in-law Fred over a disputed claim.
On this day in 1911, after that lawsuit, Fred apparently had had enough. Therefore, he “proposed to sell his relationship” to a Mr. Reinhold Unke. He appraised it to be valued at fifty cents.
It was reported that “Mr. Unke accepted the offer and paid the 50 cents. Julius Puppe, John Schroeder and Rudolph Riddle witnessed the transaction.”
It was an American deal for an American family. As for what happened afterward? It’s uncertain. However, Gus moved to Minnesota. And when Emma died in 1937, it was arranged that someone of the Unke clan served as one of her pallbearers.
As for the rest: Eight children later, at that early date, perhaps there was a wagon instead of a car. Surely there was hard work to put some money away. And there was one more family to live their dreams.
By Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Cavalier Chronicle, p.12, Friday, Oct. 1, 1937
The Cavalier Chronicle, p.1, May 1, 1942
The Bismarck Tribune, p.3, Tuesday, March 6, 1911