Leo Joseph Ulwelling

Leo Joseph Ulwelling, son of Joseph Henry Ulwelling and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Mary Steines, was born on 09 Apr 1914 in Johnsburg, Mower, Minnesota, USA. He died on 01 Jan 1986 in Rochester, Olmsted, Minnesota, USA. He married Margaret Elizabeth Winkels on 14 Feb 1939 in Adams, Mower, Minnesota, USA. She was born on 25 Jun 1916 in Taopi, Mower, Minnesota, USA. She died on 15 Dec 2007 in Adams, Mower, Minnesota, USA.
Notes for Leo Joseph Ulwelling: ULWELLING, LEO   9 Apr 1914 Jan 1986 MN Adams, Minnesota 55909 Adams, Minnesota 55909

Here is an excerpt from the Ulwelling Family Cookbook – published in 2003 for family-
Our parents had a very strong Catholic based faith. We are a very prayerful family. Mom and Dad always had us say our prayers before meals. Those meals were prepared by our Mom’s loving hands. Our Mom took great satisfaction in cooking and baking for her loving family. Our Mom’s greatest gift was pleasing her family and presenting them with some wonderfully prepared homemade meals and desserts. Suppertime may have included: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Vegetable, Coleslaw and ALWAYS pie! Sometimes our friends would join us for supper and they endeared our Mother by calling her “Mom”, too. She really liked that.

Dad (Leo Joseph Ulwelling) was born on April 9, 1914 near Johnsburg, MN to Joseph and Elizabeth (Steines) Ulwelling. He has a sister Marie born on May 16, 1912 and a brother Paul born on May 22, 1918. Our Dad passed away on January 1, 1986 after many months of fighting and losing a battle with cancer. Marie and Paul are still living in Minnesota and enjoying their families and memories of the past.

Dad worked hard on the farm, in the fields and making a living for his family. While working in the fields, it was very important to get sandwiches and coffee and on really hot days, some ice cold lemonade to him. Barb remembers when she and Jim would walk out to the field while Dad was binding oats and bring him sandwiches and lemonade. He also enjoyed it when Mom would take some of us out to the field with her to give him lunch. He would stop the tractor and walk over to us. He would be covered with dust but would enjoy so much the steaming cup of coffee we handed to him or the ice cold lemonade. As he reached out for his lunch, we could see how black and dirty his hands were, but his smile was so special to us. He was so hungry and thirsty and so glad to see us. He would share how much of the field work he had completed since breakfast and how much more he could do before coming home to milk the cows. We could see how he appreciated the lunch and he always ate all the homemade cookies that Mom would bring. (Sometimes he would share his cookies with us!) It was not always by his physical affection of us that we knew he loved us so much as by the respect of life on the farm and faith in God. In Dad’s raising us in this way, we grew to respect this way of life and never doubted how much our Dad loved us. I don’t want to forget to mention how much our dad loved to fish. Summertime or wintertime he would love to be on Lake of the Woods finding that big walleye. During some of the cold northern Minnesota winters, you would find him cozy inside his neatly constructed fish house out on the lake. Most of the time he would bring home his limit of walleye for Mom to prepare for supper or to put in the freezer. Because of his busy life on the farm, Dad had so few precious moments to get away and enjoy fishing, but when he did you could always count on a few stories of the “one that got away”. Another favorite pastime of Dad’s was playing cards. Growing up, we all remember neighbors and family over as Mom and Dad would play cards. He even asked Elaine to stay home from school a couple of times, just so he could have a partner in cards during his day when he wasn’t in the fields. And here Mom thought Elaine stayed home from school because she was sick!

Our Mom (Margaret Elizabeth Winkels) was born near Taopi, MN on June 25, 1916 to Jacob and Elizabeth Winkels. Mom’s sisters and brothers: Paul was born in 1907 and died June 3, 1988; Ernie was born in 1909 and died in 2002; Ray was born in 1913, then comes Mom in 1916 and we are so glad that she is still with us; then comes Carl born in 1918 and died in 2000; Gracie was born in 1920 and died in 1980 and Lenny was born in 1923 and died in 1968.

Mom loved planning and preparing meals. (Remember, the stores were not open on Sunday back then. There was no running to town for just one ingredient.) She made everything from scratch. She prepared angel food and sponge cakes and beat those egg whites by hand. We had a lot of eggs because of all the chickens we raised. Besides cooking for her family, Mom would cook for threshers as they would come to help harvest. She worked hard and expected all of us to pitch in and help her. She would pick elderberries and prepare jams. She would pick blueberries to prepare pies. She would raise lots of vegetables in her garden and can them or take them to town to freeze in the locker. (She did not have a freezer at home.) When she butchered chickens, they had to be taken to town to the locker to be kept frozen. Barb and Jim would carry in water and put in a copper boiler on the stove to heat up. Dad and the threshers would use this hot water to wash up when they came in from the fields. Barb and Jim also carried in water for drinking.

Mom’s pride in preparing meals and cooking for her family has spread over on to all of her family. Every one of us appreciates and loves knowing that we grew up in a family whose values are hard work and pride in family life. In Mom’s heart, she could feel the joy and love when she watched us ‘clean it all up’ at the supper table!
Several years ago, Karie (Welin) Reishus interviewed her Grandma Margaret for a school paper. The following is from that paper as told by Grandma to Karie:
“Grandma was born on June 25, 1916 in Taopi, Minnesota. Grandma was born at home. Her parents are Jacob and Elisabeth Winkels. Great-Grandpa Jacob loved working with horses. He never drove a car or tractor in his life. He did all his farm work with horses for almost 70 years.

When she was a little girl, she traveled around in a car, except in winter she had to travel on a horse and buggy. One time when she was just six years old, she rode a train to Austin (20 miles away) to visit her Grandparents.
When she was six years old, she started school at the Sacred Heart Catholic School in Adams. This school is still open. She attended Sacred Heart for eight years and she had 15 classmates.

When she was 17 years old, she met Leo Ulwelling at a dance. It took Leo a whole year until he asked her out on a date.

When Grandma was 18 years old she got a job doing housework for different families in Austin. She had to take the train to work every day.

Two weeks before Grandma married my Grandpa Leo, her mother died of cancer. Grandma married Grandpa when she was 23 years old.

Grandma and Grandpa were married on February 14, 1939. They had eight children. They lived on a farm near Taopi until 1958 when they moved to Warroad, Minnesota. In June 1980 they sold the farm, retired and moved back to Adams. Grandpa became ill with cancer in 1985 and died on January 1, 1986. My Grandma had a stroke in 1987, but has since recovered. She has 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. We all love her so much and we are all glad that she is still here so that we can enjoy her chocolate chip cookies!!” by Karie Lee Welin (See below for the latest total of grandchildren and great-grandchildren!)

The recipes in this cookbook are collected from Margaret & Leo’s family of children and grandchildren and loving friends. We are very proud to dedicate this cookbook to our parents to show them our love and appreciation for their hard work and sacrifices they gave to raise all of us.

We love you, Mom and love and miss you, Dad!