When Carl married Alvina, he owned and rode an Indian motorcycle. Carl once said that Alvina was the only one who dared ride with him, therefore he kept company with her. They were married December 10, 1924.
Carl & Alvina moved to Illinois where Freda was born, then moved to Michigan the summer of 1926 and then back to Neche, ND in the fall of 1926. Harold and Agnes were born in Neche. From Neche, they moved to a farm 4 miles east of Donaldson, MN in the spring of 1930 and lived there until the fall of 1932 when they moved to the Stephen, MN area. Margaret and Betty were born during this time. They lived on the Basch farm northeast of Stephen until the fall of 1936. Arnold, Otto, Mildred, and Irvin were all born during this time. The family then moved to the Benny Benson farm 1/2 mile south and stayed until the fall of 1938. Amy was born during this time. From the Benson farm, the family moved west of Stephen to the Frank Huelien farm where Martin was born. In the fall of 1939 they purchased the farm at Happy Corner northeast of Stephen. Carl, Jr. was born at Happy Corner and this completed the family.
Carl is remembered as being a stern parent who made sure his children obeyed. He would read the Bible to his family in the evenings and, on winter days when the family could not get to church, he would read a sermon from another book. He was a quiet man who did not show his emotions easily. Carl was also a hard worker who started his days early and ended them late to provide for his family. Some years were leaner than others. For example, in 1938, the ten children each received only a box of cracker jacks for Christmas.
Alvina is remembered as a loving mother. She enjoyed her children. She would get up around 5 am in the summer to wash clothes. Harold can remember her going to the grain fields to shock grain and her doing the evening chores before the children were old enough to help.. Agnes remembered that Alvina loved music and sang a lot, especially to the babies. With the large family there were always babies. Agnes remembered being outside playing and hearing Alvina singing while she held and rocked a tired and fretful baby to sleep. After Grandma Baier had given the Schmitkes her organ, Alvina would sing and play. She seemed to prefer songs with a melancholy air, such as ‘In the Gloaming’; ‘Loves Old Sweet Song’; and ‘Long, Long Ago’. Agnes remembered one with one line that said “leaving the sorrow to me…” Agnes always felt that this was the song she identified with most of all and remembered thinking that she was singing about herself when she sang it. Agnes also shared that the most beautiful duet she ever heard was Alvina and Carl singing a hymn together after the kids had been sent to bed. It was not beautiful because they had great voices, but rather because it brought such peace to the home. She only heard them do it the one time.
Alvina was a wonderful cook and made potato pancakes and pies that are remembered with fondness by her family. She always baked special birthday cakes for the children’s birthdays. Gladys Baier remembers arriving one time when Alvina was upset because the children had eaten their way through 3 pounds of sugar in the larder!
After Alvina died in 1946, Carl and the family continued to live at the Happy Corner farm until approximately 1953. Carl then sold the Happy Corner farm and bought a new farm at Holt, MN. He sold the Holt farm in 1955 or 1956. Carl and Carl, Jr. moved to Thief River Falls, MN for a few years, at least until Carl, Jr. graduated. In the early 1960’s, Carl took care of a Turkey farm for a couple of years, and then moved to a trailer house on the Gutterud property in approx. 1965 where he lived until passing away May 4, 1967. Carl & Alvina are buried in the cemetery at Stephen, MN
Carl and Alvina would have 12 children. There were reportedly at least a couple miscarriages as well.
- Freda Olga (Freda is spelled Frida in Grandpa Schmitke’s Bible). Born January 31, 1926 in Rockford, IL
- Harold William, born March 10, 1927 in Neche, ND in the Otto Stegman home.
- Agnes May, born August 2, 1929 in Neche, ND in the Otto Stegman home.
- Margaret Helen (spelled Margurite and Margarethe in different family documents). Born August 1, 1930 in Donaldson, MN
- Betty Jean, born September 15, 1931 in Donaldson, MN
- Arnold Franklin, born May 31, 1933 in Stephen, MN
- Otto Carl, born June 12, 1934 in Stephen, MN
- Mildred Irene, born July 26, 1935 in Stephen, MN
- Irvin Marquis, born July 24, 1936 in Stephen, MN
- Amy Marie, born July 7, 1937 in Stephen, MN
- Martin Edward, born August 8, 1939 in Stephen, MN
- Carl Gustav (spelled Carl Gustave in Bible). Born July 30, 1941
There were many fun times together playing softball and work-up ball. The children also had many chores to tend to also. Horses were used to clean the barn, haul hay, herd cattle, and for buggy & sleigh rides as well as for field work and riding to school and just riding. One of the main jobs the boys had was to herd cattle along the road and not let them get into the grain fields beside the road. They raised ducks, chickens, pigs, had a rabbit and pigeons. There was no electricity until later in the summer of 1949 and still no running water into the house. The house was heated with coal stoves and cooking was done on a wood/coal stove with a water reservoir on the side of the stove. The water got warm from the oven and stove being heated. The bathroom was a little outhouse in the trees that was not too noticeable from the yard. The Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs served as toilet paper. The colored pages were very hard to use. It was a treat to get the paper used to wrap peaches and pears when Alvina canned fruit.
Carl and all of the Schmitke boys served their country in the military. Together, they spent approximately 20 years in the military. If the service time of the husbands of the Schmitke girls were included, the years served would be 32+ years.
Grandchildren began coming in 1946 with the birth of Erling Jay Varland to Freda and John. Eventually, there would be 45 grandchildren.
Schmitke Family Archive 