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Joseph's Family, Oakdale to California & Back


 

Joseph Telgren, 1930sArthur and Maude Telgren's oldest son, Joseph LeRoy, or "Joe" as he was known, was born on July 5, 1910 in Oakdale, Nebraska.  He attended schools in the Antelope County area and helped his father and his grandfather with farming.  On October 5, 1929 he married Nina Ruth Duncan of Oakdale in Neligh.  Nina was born February 26 1912.   Vultee Plant in Downey, California

In 1936, the family moved to Arcata California on Fickle Hill, due to the depression.  During this time Joe worked in a factory.   In 1942, the family moved to Southern California and settled in Whittier, where Joe and Nina both worked in airplane factories.   In 1946, the family returned to Oakdale where Joe worked at the Oakdale Elevator (formerly Oakdale Mills) until his death in November 1956. 

Joe and Nina had six children, five boys and a girl;

  • Arden LeRoyKimberly TelgrenJoseph Telgren Family early 50s
  • Paul Arthur
  • Randall Ray
  • Joseph LeRoy Jr
  • David Joe
  • Kimberly Kay

Arden, or "Arch" as he is known by, was born in Oakdale.  After graduation from Oakdale High School in 1948, he enlisted in the U.S.  Army.  On April 8, 1955 he married Yoshiko Tsuneto born November 23, 1932.  After retiring from the Army, Arch was employed in Civil Service in Brookings, South Dakota, and Yoshiko was employed at the 3M plant.  Yoshiko attained her American citizenship in 1959.  Arch has retired from Civil Service and lives in Brookings.  He and Yoshiko have two children, Clifford Arthur born June 22, 1955 at Camp Zama, Japan, and Nancy Ruth born March 7, 1957 at Monterey, California.  Cliff married Cynthia Peterson and had two children, Jason & Katee.   Cliff served a term in the Army and became an insurance salesman after leaving the Army.  He and Cynthia were later divorced.  Nancy was married to Gordon Johnson and later divorced.  They had one daughter, Leah Nichole Johnson.  Nancy later married Gregory Rodriguez and had their daughter, Clarissa.  

Paul was born July 15, 1932 in Oakdale.  After graduating from Oakdale High School in 1950 where he was an outstanding athlete, he earned a tryout with the St.  Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball team.  He tried out for pitcher, but was cut on the final cut.  He enlisted in the U.S.  Army.  On January 30, 1951 he married Vivian Edwards, born November 24, 1931.  After his release from the U.S.  Army he moved to Wayne, Nebraska and was employed with the U.S Postal Service and Vivian was employed at Wayne State College.  They had two daughters and a son; Paula Rae, Brad Allen, and Cheri Lynn.  Paula was born November 6, 1951 at Tildren, Nebraska and married Michael Poe December 25, 1979.  Paula worked with computers and her husband was a pilot.  They lived in Englewood, Colorado.  Brad was born November 28, 1961 in Wayne and resided with his parents.  Cheri was born January 16, 1966 in Wayne and is a graduate of Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska.  She was married and lived in Lincoln, Nebraska for a time, before moving to California. 

Randall was born in Oakdale April 13, 1936.  He enlisted in the U.S.  Army prior to graduation from High School.  He earned his Diploma while in the Army.  He married Chong Tok on September 16, 1963.  She changed her name to Jackie when she attained American citizenship in December of 1969.  Randall served over 20 years in the Army as a dog trainer.  He spent much of his time in Korea where he met his wife.  After retiring from the Army, he worked as a carpenter.   They were unable to have children biologically, so they adopted a baby son, Scott Ray, who was born 23 January 1972.  Randall and his wife settled and lived in Augusta, Georgia until their death.

Joe or "little joe" as he was known in his younger years, was born in Eureka, California on November 16, 1941.  He attended schools in the Oakdale area where he was a noted athlete, and after graduation in 1959 he enlisted in the U.S.  Air Force.  After leaving the Air Force, he found employment with the Iowa Highway Department.  On May 30, 1974 he married Lydia May Gingerish of Mt.  Pleasant, Iowa, who was born May 10, 1938.  Joe and Lydia (or "Mae" as she was known) owned and operated J & L's CafĂ©/Truck Stop and Motel in Mt. Pleasant for a number of years.  Mike and Kim Wiseman (Kimberly Telgren) moved out from Nebraska to Mt.  Pleasant and helped Joe and May with the business for a time.  When the main highway was re-routed away from the business, Joe and May sold the business.  Joe and May had two children, Joseph LeRoy III born April 3, 1975, and Jami Lynn born June 9, 1978.  Both were born in Mt.  Pleasant.  Joe is worked for the Iowa Highway Department until his retirement.

David was born in Whittier, California July 22, 1942.  He attended Oakdale schools where he was a noted basketball player and track runner.  After graduation from High School, he attended business college in Grand Island, Nebraska where he earned a C.A. in accounting.  He then entered in the U.S. Army where he was stationed at Camp Red Cloud in Korea for a time.   It was while in Korea he met his wife, Chong Su Kim.  They were married 1966.  David left the Army after his enlistment and later was employed in the Civil Service until his retirement.  Dave and Su (as they are known) had three children;  John David, James Paul, and Anna Leah.  John was born August 25, 1966 in Tilden, Nebraska and was married to Karen Runnels until their divorce a short time later, and married Stacey Renea Proffitt on January 19, 1991.  James Paul was born May 20, 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia and married Andrea Taylor.  Anna was born February 1, 1978 in Soeul, Korea and married Robert Perran.  David was the only child of his generation in the family to have two Telgren boys.

Kimberly or "Kim" was born in Oakdale December 17, 1955, and attended Oakdale Schools.  On August 25, 1974, she married Michael Wiseman of Page.  Mike and Kim have two children; Shannon Michele born August 8, 1973 in Tilden, and Joshua Alan born July 20, 1977 in Mt.  Pleasant, Iowa.  Mike was employed by the Oakdale school system as a maintenance supervisor and has made numerous improvements on the school.  He also drove the bus.  Kim worked at the Neligh rest home.


Joe and Nina were known in the community and were always well liked by others, until Joe's tragic death in November 1956.  Joe was on his way home one night and fell into the icy creek.  He tried to walk home one late November evening, but had apparently fallen into the creek which ran some distance behind the house, and then collapsed in a ditch near the creek only a few hundred feet from home.  He was discovered there the next morning.  His wife, Nina, lived in the house until her death.  After her husband's death, she continued to raise the sons who were still at home and their daughter and later helped with grandchildren.

Nina Telgrens House 1980sFor many years the Telgren house was a site of large family reunions and gatherings during the holidays or when family and friends were around.  A natural canopy of one hundred year old cottonwood trees shaded her yard and provided a place for grandchildren, cousins, and their friends to play.  Playing cards was one of the all time favorite activities in the evenings, along with other games such as Aggravation, Yatzee, Dice, and Chrochinole.  Nina took time to play many of these games with her grandchildren for many long, enjoyable hours.  The Telgrens have always been a happy, humorous and sometimes crazy bunch.  Nina or "Grandma Telgren" as she was known in her later years, was surprised on her 80th birthday with a surprise party from her children.  She had letters and cards from everyone, including congressmen and the president.  She went from being "Grandma Telgren" to "Grandma T" when the great-grandchildren came.  One of her sayings she used to repeat late in life whenever someone would fret over something was, "Oh well, who is going to care one hundred years from now." 

(4-29-11)

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