Sandrine and Gilles Tibesar Selange, Belgium

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Sandrine Tibesar-Poncin

 
Gilles and Sandrine live in Sélange, Belgium and they have two boys, Hugo and Luca Tibesar.
 
Gilles –> Jacques –> Pierre Albert –> Jean Baptiste –> Michel –> Pierre –> Michel –> Philippe Tibesar

CanadaMotorSports – NHRA Division 6 Drag Racing Meet at Nl’Akapxm Eagle Motorplex, Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada September 25, 1994 part 12

Pro Finals and interviews with Brian Scott Tibesar who wins Super Gas class at NHRA event.

(Note: Brian drag raced in the NHRA for several years with the full support and financial assistance from his loving father “Jerry” Tibesar.)

Brian Scott Tibesar –> Gerald “Jerry” Louis –> Peter Benedict –> Louis –> Antoine (Anton) Tibesar

Frédéric Huet Dit Bechoux and Caroline Pierrette Bernadette Tibesar

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Caroline Pierrette Bernadette Tibesar

Works at HIS Steinfort Studied at ISIS Lives in Habergy, Luxembourg, Belgium Married to Frédéric Huet Dit Bechoux From Arlon Born on January 15

Arlon, Belgium roofs of the city and bell tower of the St. Martin's church

 

Frédéric and Caroline live in Habergy, Belgium and they have two boys, Thomas and Nathan.

 

Caroline –> Philippe –> Pierre Albert –> Jean Baptiste –> Michel –> Pierre –> Michel –> Philippe Tibesar

 

Frédéric and Caroline Pierrette Bernadette (Tibesar) Huet Dit Bechoux in Toscane, Italy 2010

We have hired a company called UcubeStudio to redesign our blog’s header!

We simply asked the designer to modernize our header which is located at the top of each page of this blog. A rough draft is currently in place and we would like you to tell us if you like it or not. Please vote!

First Class Petty Officer Bernard Joseph and Carmena Margaret (Costello) Tibesar wedding at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Kellogg, Minnesota on 24 June 1943

The Winona Paper; The Lake City Graphic – Bernard “Ben” Tibesar, 78, died Oct. 18, 1993 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester (Minnesota). He was born March 15, 1915, in Minneiska, Minn., the son of Nicholas and Magdelene (Wieser) Tibesar. A graduate of St. Felix High School in Wabasha, he attended the University of Minnesota.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1941-45. He received the Presidential Unit Citation and served on the U.S.S. Bronstein. He married Carmena Costello June 24, 1943 in Kellogg (St. Agnes Catholic Church) and they lived in Lake City. He owned and operated Tibesar Construction for 25 years until retiring in 1972. He was a member of Knights of Columbus, St. Mary’s Catholic Church and its Cemetery Board.

US Navy Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon

He is survived by his wife, Carmena; two daughters, Jeanne Marie (Douglas) Jensen of Hopkins, Minn., and Mary Katherine Riley of Chaska, Minn., one son, James Bernard (Cheryl) of Plymouth, Minn., six grandchildren; three brothers, Leo (Mae) of Rollingstone, Minn., Henry (Lorraine) of Rochester and Cletus of Huntley, Mont.; and two sisters, Sister Cephas Tibesar (O.S.F.) of Rochester and Suzanna Hickey of Springfield, Ill.

Funeral Services will be held Thursday (10:30) at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake City with Rev. Donald Leary officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Pallbearers are Elden Miller, Joe Ryan, Glenn Dwelle Sr., Harold Schreck, Ed Bauman, Richard Barry.

Anderson-Peterson-Mahn are in charge of arrangements.

(Note: Rev. Leo Tibesar, Jr. attended the service.)

Bernard Joseph –> Nicholas Peter –> Antoine –> Pierre –> Michel Tibesar

USS BRONSTEIN DE 189 In the Atlantic Late 1944 - Early 1945 Bronstein reported to Norfolk and was assigned to TG 21.16, a hunter-killer group. On 16 February 1944 the Task Group left Norfolk on an anti-submarine sweep of the North Atlantic. On the night of 29 February numerous attacks were made by the group on a pack of German submarines. Early in the morning of 1 March Bronstein attacked U-709 on the surface with gun fire and, after it submerged, with depth charges. Bronstein was assisted by Thomas (DE-102) and Bostwick (DE-103) and the attack resulted in the sinking of U-709 in 49°10' N., 26°00' W. Later in the day Bronstein sank U-603 in 48°55' N., 26°10' W.

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

WASHINGTON

            The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Presidential Unit Citation to the

U.S.S. BRONSTEIN

for service set forth in the following:

     CITATION:

                       “For exceptionally meritorious achievement in the performance of outstanding combat service against enemy forces in the Atlantic Ocean area from 29 February to 17 March 1944.  While operating as part of an anti-submarine task group on the night of 29 February, the U.S.S. Bronstein engaged three German submarines during a four and one-half hour period and struck heavily and effectively throughout the concentrated action to score decisive victories.  Vigilant and determined, this intrepid ship took U-441 under gunfire, successfully preventing a surface torpedo attack on two friendly escorts and, after the enemy vessel submerged, proceeded to launch an underwater weapons attack which inflicted extensive damage upon the U-boat and forced its return to a repair base.  Encountering U-709 by sonar contact, the BRONSTEIN succeeded in sinking this submarine with the assistance of two other vessels and, in the final action of the night, gain sonar contact on U-603, which was making an approach on a friendly aircraft carrier.  In the ensuing engagement, the BRONSTEIN skillfully maneuvered into position and sank the enemy submarine unassisted, although temporarily disabled by the explosion of an acoustic torpedo in her wake.  Sixteen days later, the BRONSTEIN, together with another escort, sank a third U-boat and captured prisoners from the ill-fated submarine.  Consistently maintaining a superior degree of efficiency in the performance of her assigned missions, this gallant ship established an optimum level of anti-submarine effectiveness for escort vessels during World War II.  By her readiness for combat, and the skill, courage and determination of her valiant officers and men, the U.S.S. BRONSTEIN rendered invaluable service in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Grandma Jacqueline Tibesar gives her son's baby ring to her grandson Jack Lacanlale Tibesar, Subic Bay, Philippines, October 1976- front

Oct 1976 – When Jack Lacanlale Tibesar was born his paternal grandmother, Jacqueline (Tibesar) Kawamoto, gave him his father’s tiny baby ring and this note. Precious!

Jack Lacanlale Tibesar –> Marcus Lowell Tibesar –> Peter Benedict Tibesar –> Louis Tibesar –> Anton Tibesar

Grandma Jacqueline Tibesar gives her son's baby ring to her grandson Jack Lacanlale Tibesar, Subic Bay, Philippines, October 1976- back

Henry Edward and Lorraine Frances (Brown) Tibesar Wedding in Rochester, Minnesota on 19 October 1946

Tibesar immigrants moved to the Rollingstone area of Minnesota circa 1876. The excerpts below are quite revealing of their early life in this new land!

Newspaper Notations

WINDOWS ON THEIR WORLD, 1855-1925

(A sampling of excerpts from pages 347-426 of the book, In a Large Circle of Relatives: A Genealogical Guide To The Early Community of Rollingstone, Minnesota by Mary E. Nilles, 1989)

The following are some of the events recorded in the Rollingstone area press, 1855-1925. These citations concerning Rollingstone evidence the development of the social, political, religious, agricultural and cultural life of this Luxembourgish settlement. In particular, they outline for us the presence of the earliest immigrants in the community. And they provide a valuable chronology of the rise of the town. The erection of homes, stores, barns, the church and school, as well as the sale of agricultural plots, are carefully listed in these articles.

The following news events, gleaned from available local papers (some editions have been lost), also mirror the close social and cultural connections which bound Luxembourgers of the various Upper Midwestern “settlements” for several generations. For instance, the following excerpts record the travels of Rollingstone citizens to and from Dubuque (Iowa) and Chicago, Kansas, and the newly opened Dakota Territory. Such trips were lengthy and costly for their day, only to be overshadowed, perhaps, by a voyage back to Luxembourg. The local press also reveals how Rollingstone citizens retained an interest in the Grand Duchy for decades. Notice was taken of the dismantling of Luxembourg City’s fortifications in 1867; more than fifty years later, the effects of World War I on the “homeland” were chronicled carefully. And a vacation “over there” always made the headlines.

It should be noted that Winona County reporters often shared their press releases with others. Thus, Nicholas Gonner, Luxembourg-born editor of Dubuque’s Luxemburger Gazette, frequently quoted verbatim from Winona newspapers. In an era when the printed word was the principal filament of communication uniting those of common ancestry, homeland and culture, it was publications like those cited here that preserved and promoted Luxembourgian life in the States.

These clippings–sometimes serious, sometimes amusing; sometimes paraphrased, sometimes quoted exactly as written in the colloquial and regional language of the day–have been chosen to suggest various facets of the development of Rollingstone Township and Village, and the mindset of those who settled there.

1855
Heliodore J. and Nicholas F. Hilbert, immigrants from Godbrange, Luxembourg, “Civil Engineers and Surveyors,” advertise their services to persons interested in “investments made in Real Estate, and Land Warrants located in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota;” their office is at the corner of Levee and Central Streets in Winona (TWR, 11 Dec 1855, 4:3).

1856
The North Rollingstone Hotel, operated by Levi C. Williams on the Oronoco road, advertises “accommodation for travelers and the stabling of teams” (TWR, 22 Jan 1856, 3:5).

1857
The cost of moving from the port of New York to Minnesota, immigrant class, is advertised: New York to Chicago by railroad–$10; Chicago to Winona–$2.50. The passenger steamers between Dubuque (Iowa) and Winona (Minnesota) are “splendid”; the trip takes sixteen to eighteen hours and passes through “scenery of the most sublime and beautiful description, rivaling in grandeur the far-famed scenery of the Rhine” (TWR, 24 Feb 1857, 2:3).

1858
Because Minnesota will enter the Union in May, Winona County is being divided into Townships; these include: Township 107, Range 9, to be known as Sumner; the north half of Township 107, Range 8, and a fraction of Township 108, Range 8, to be called Springfield; Whitewater, to be Township 108, Range 10, and Mt. Vernon, to be Township 108, Range 9. Luxembourger immigrants already have settled in each (TWR, 14 Apr 1858, 2:5).

1859
Wagonloads of market goods pour into Winona from the surrounding valleys: “Truly, the indications of increasing prosperity which are daily to be seen in our streets and along our western lines of roads, are cheering to contemplate” (TWDR, 14 Dec 1859, 4:1).

1860
The Mississippi has just closed for the season, thus ending steamboat navigation until the spring thaw. Immigrants will have to make their way to the area by overland routes (TWDR, 24 Nov 1860, 3:1).

1861
The Homestead Bill has passed the House. Its features will encourage settlement in Minnesota: any person who is twentyone, or the head of a household, and a U.S. citizen, or has filed an intention to become a citizen, will be allowed an entry of 160 acres at $1.25 per acre, or 80 acres of reserved land at $2.50 per acre (TWR, 2 Jan 1861, 1:5)

One local paper reports that as President Lincoln delivered his inaugural address he was not frightened by the numerous assassination threats against him (TWR, 2 Jan 1861, 1:6)

1862
A war recruiting office has opened in Winona to raise a company for the Sixth Minnesota (TWWR, 25 July 1862, 3:4).

The St. Paul Bureau of Statistics announces that, under the Homestead Law recently passed by Congress, in Minnesota “nearly 40,000,000 acres–an area equal to that of all New England–” are still open to free settlement. Minnesota’s healthful climate, fertile land, and opportunities for commerce are unsurpassable. On one day recently, twenty-five emigrant wagons, one hundred and fifty cattle and three hundred sheep came across the Mississippi near Winona (TWR, 18 June 1862, 3:1-3).

1863
As provided for by a law of the last Legislature, Rollingstone holds an election for officers of the militia; J. S. Denman is elected captain (TWR, 13 May 1863, 4:2).

1864
The Rollingstone Mill is totally destroyed by fire (TWR, 30 Mar 1864, 3:4).

A list of Winona County men drafted into Civil War duty includes several Luxembourgers: from Elba, Henry Wagner; from Jefferson, Henry Hilbert, Jean-Baptiste Rivers, Jean-Pierra Hilbert and John Wagner, and from Rollingstone, John Schweitzer and M. Schweitzer (TWR, 27 Apr 1864, 3:3).

1865
Immigrants continue to pour into the Winona region: “The immigration to Minnesota this season bids fair to surpass that of any previous year” (TWR, 19 Apr 1865, 3:6).

The end of the Civil War is celebrated: “The storm of war has abated and millions of slaves join in our chorus, hurrah!, hurrah!!, hurrah!!!” (TWR, 19 Apr 1865, 3:6).

The Winona area is visited by Native Americans: “The City was alive with Indians yesterday, wandering about the streets, nosing into windows and making their dirty persons generally omnipresent. Not much romance about the specimens of the ‘noble savage’ that we see. A sad commentary perhaps upon civilization; but, of course, it is not for us to moralize on the duties which white men owe to the Indians. The ‘milk of human kindness’ is not one of the component ingredients of that charity which the people of Minnesota entertain for the savages. The atrocities of the frontier are still too fresh in our memories to allow much sympathy for anything like an Indian” (TWR, 20 Sept 1865, 3:3).

1866
The assessed value of land around Rollingstone is $4 per acre; on Mt. Vernon–$2.53 per acre (TWDR, 7 Sept 1866, 3:1).

Mr. Henry Hilbert celebrated the completion of his lovely three-story brick building on the corner of Winona’s Second and Lafayette Streets “after the time-honored and good old-fashioned way of doing the thing in the Fatherland.” A band played and many friends gathered to welcome the new structure (TWDR, 15 Nov 1866, 3:1).

1867
The local press conveys the intention of Chancellor Bismarck to consent to the sale of Luxembourg (TWR, 17 Apr 1867, 2:6).

1868
Henry Williams is badly injured in an accident at the Minnesota City flour mill (TWWR, 19 Aug 1868, 4:8).

1869
The ceremony of laying the cornerstone of the new, stone Catholic church at Rollingstone is performed on Thursday, 22 July by Bishop Grace of St. Paul and Reverend Alois Plut. A large crowd attends the High Mass and the placing of documents in the cornerstone (TWR, 28 July 1869, 3:5).

1870
Mr. Peter “Keefer” (Kiefer) of Elba reports that the wheat harvest is nearly completed (TWWR, 3 Aug 1870, 3:6).

News has arrived that Luxembourg’s fortresses are being demolished rapidly by laborers from Saarbruck and elsewhere (TWWR, 17 Aug 1870, 3:1).

Proud adverstisements appear for the 40 x 90 feet building, the Erpelding Block, on Second and Walnut Streets in Winona, erected by Peter Erpelding of Rollingstone and valued at $12,000; it is “three stories high, finished with a Mansard roof, cut stone front on Second Street, returned about fourteen feet on Walnut Street, supported by iron columns” (TWWR, 12 Oct 1870, 3:4).

1871
The new Rollingstone church was consecrated on Sunday, 3 September 1871, under the name of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, by Bishop Grace of St. Paul; confirmation was administered to seventy-five candidates (TWWR, 13 Sept 1871, 3:5).

1872
According to the census of 1870, Rollingstone Township has a popluation of 595; Mount Vernon Township, 559; Whitewater Township, 439; St. Charles (City), 1152; Winona (City), 7192; Elba Township, 685; and Norton Township, 640. Among Winona County births reported in 1871, the following nationalities were recorded: American, 230; German, 230; Irish, 81; English, 65; Austrian-Bohemian, 25; Norwegian-Swedish, 15; Scotch, 5; French, 3; Welch, 3; Danish, 1 (TWDR, 17 Feb 1872, 3:1).

1873
Area residents are harvesting their summer supply of ice cakes and storing them beneath sawdust in ice houses (TWDR, 13 Feb 1873, 3:2).

The steamer “Imperial” will depart within days for St. Louis, carrying a cargo of local grain. The Mississippi is opening for another year (TWDR, 1 Apr 1873, 3:3).

Many Indians were seen in Winona yesterday (TWDR, 1 May 1873, 3:2).

A young “German” (Luxembourgish?) girl working on the Lehnertz farm was kicked and trampled upon by a cow while milking. She dislocated her jaw, and had to be brought to Winona for surgery (TWDR, 27 June 1873, 3:3).

1874
Town elections on 12 March filled the following offices in Rollingstone: supervisors: O. M. Lord (chair); E. B. Drew, and Frank Lehnertz; clerk and assessor, James Wright; treasurer, Robert Thorpe; justices: H. B. Waterman and John Jung; constables: James Kennedy and Anton Huberty (TWWR, 18 Mar 1874, 3:5).

The steamer “Dubuque” was “fairly black with harvest hands as she came in from below yesterday and the ‘Minneapolis,’ repeated the spectacle today. Added to this were swarms of carpet baggers by the incoming trains” (TWWR, 5 Aug 1874, 3:5).

1875
There is a growing sentiment in the Winona area for the establishment of a Ladies Seminary, an institution “in which girls who had successfully passed through the different departments of the public school might still further pursue their studies in the modern languages, polite literature and the accomplishments of music, drawing, etc.” (TWWR, 17 Feb 1875, 3:4).

1876
Architect Charles G. Maybury, born in Solon, Cortland County, New York, has prepared the plans for the new Catholic church to be built on Oak Ridge at a cost of about $3,000. It will measure 30 x 42 feet, with the sanctuary and sacristy in the rear, and is to have a brick facade (TWWR, 5 Jan 1876, 3:5).

(note: 1876 is the year that Antoine (Anton) and Pierre (Peter) Tibesar purchased land in Mt. Vernon Township…)

1877
A large Fourth of July picnic was held under the auspices of the church. An address was delivered by John Ludwig, formerly of Canach, Luxembourg; the celebration earned $145 for the church (TWWR, 11 July 1877, 3:3).

1878
Both Michael Walch and Peter Speltz have erected a new brick house on Oak Ridge (TWDR, 30 Aug 1878, 3:4).

1879
John Ludwig has been overseeing the spring seeding on his St. Charles farm: 130 acres of wheat; 15 of oats and 30 of barley (TWDR, 11 Apr 1879, 3:2).

1880
Diphtheria is raging in Rollingstone. The three-year-old son of John Jung and wife, Margaret Kohner, who keep a store in Rollingstone, died on 24 January (TWDR, 26 Jan 1880, 3:4).

1881
A team belonging to John Meisch of Rollingstone got frightened while in Winona. The horses dashed up Third Street and crashed into the shop windows of the Villaume Millinery (TWDR, 3 Jan 1881, 3:3).

The local press carried reports on the benefits of living in Tower City, North Dakota Territory and the surrounding farm area; several Rollingstone residents are interested in moving further west (TWDR, 26 Jan 1881, 1:3).

John Koester’s wife, who injured her legs when she was thrown from a wagon last May, had a foot amputated yesterday (TWDR, 18 Feb 1881, 3:2).

The local press anounces the death on 2 June in the Grand Duchy of Martin Ludwig. He was the father of John Ludwig of Winona, Martin Ludwig of St. Charles and a daughter who resides in Missouri; another daughter, “Mrs. Hoffman,” died of cholera in Chicago in 1866. Martin Ludwig was a successful building contractor; he had visited the States three times, the last excursion being in 1880 (TWDR, 16 July 1881, 3:3).

1882
The school at Minnesota City, attended by some Rollingstone children who desire advanced education, is praised for its quality facilities: “We have a large two-story brick building, consisting of two well-ventilated rooms, heated with a furnace, and furnished with wardrobes, patent seals, globes, maps, charts, etc.” (TWDR, 21 Mar 1882, 3:2).

Nicholas Rietz of Rollingstone narrowly escaped death when he, his horses and his wagon plunged into the Rollingstone stream today, as Fifield’s bridge near Minnesota City suddenly gave way (TWDR, 8 May 1882, 3:3).

J. B. Kirch, area dealer in agricultural implements, reports that his business has improved greatly in recent months (TWDR, 19 Dec 1882, 4:3).

1883
Tickets to and from the principal cities of Europe on the best steamers can be purchased at the Second National Bank of Winona (TWDR, 16 June 1883, 3:1).

1884
Area residents N. A. Frommes, M. J. Schroeder and Frank Winkels sailed from Winona to Dubuque (Iowa) last week; their trip made the pages of the Dubuque Democrat of 19 August (TWDR, 21 Aug 1884, 3:4).

1885
John Zenk has presented St. Joseph’s Church, Winona, with a very beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart made in St. Louis at a cost of $125 (TWDR, 24 Dec 1885, 3:2).

1886
Louis Jung has rented the Erpelding Block on Third Street in Winona. He will establish Jung’s Hotel, a restaurant, hotel and saloon complex (TWDR, 29 May 1886, 3:3).

1887
Peter Schweitzer has purchased a house in Winona for $6,000 cash (TWDR, 21 Feb 1887, 3:2).

Township officers have been elected on Oak Ridge in Mount Vernon Township: supervisors are: R. Walch, William Diederich and P. Peschon; clerk, Nicholas Biver; treasurer, John Speltz; assessor, Nicholas Schell, Jr.; justice, J. Frisch, and, constable, H. Bernhardt (TWDR, 10 Mar 1887, 3:2).

1888
The first twenty miles of the new Winona and Southwestern Railroad route (Winona to Bear Creek) have been completed. It is “a railroad first-class in every particular, with its dozen or more gigantic bridges, varying from 400 to nearly 1,000 feet in length, and from two to six score feet in altitude–and so complete today that a limited express could make its full speed over its tracks–over which the construction train carried us from town at a rate of over thirty miles an hour” (TWDR, 21 Nov 1888, 3:3).

1889
Mr. Jean-Baptiste Rivers took important Rollingstone news to the Winona papers today: Over half of the local grain has been cut; John Speltz has begun threshing on Oak Ridge with his steam machine; barley will be the biggest crop of all (TWDR, 29 July 1889, 3:2).

1890
John Kronebusch is erecting a barn, 30 x 50 feet (TWDR, 18 June 1890, 3:5).

1891
Nicholas Stoos and wife Sarah Thompson, of Faribault, Minnesota, were the guests of friends here on the 21st and 22nd. They were residents of Rollingstone about fifteen years ago (TWDR, 23 Nov 1891, 3:3).

1892
Frederick Drenckhahn is constructing a new windmil (TWDR, 13 Dec 1892, 3:3).

1893
The new Telegraph Company, which recently has been organized, is now in full operation. Lines have been strung from John Schommer’s hotel to Michael Reiland’s store (TWDR, 22 Dec 1893, 3:7).

1894
Rollingstone is progressive! The waterworks have almost been completed; a fire brigade will be organized; the creamery will soon grind feed with their new mill; Susan Neyers Rivers (John) has let the contract for a large barn to Peter Becker; and Michael Reiland’s store has received the famous Davis sewing machine (WDH, 13 Dec 1894, 7:3).

1895
Katherine Maiers Maus (Jean-Baptiste) of Casselton, ND is visiting her friends here (TWDR, 16 Jan 1895, 3:5).

1896
Joachim Brothers and Co. are busily breaking rock at the Meyers Stone Quarry for several new business buildings which will be constructed in the spring (TWDR, 19 Feb 1896, 3:7).

1897
John Kronebusch is hauling rock for a new barn (TWDR, 30 Dec 1897, 4:4).

1898
John Ludwig has addressed the Luxembourger celebration at La Crosse on 29 January, naming several prominent representatives of the nationality. He advised good citizenship and close association with the Germans (TWDR, 1 Feb 1898, 3:4).

Baptiste Rivers has his photography gallery nearly completed (TWWH, 12 Apr 1898, 8:1).

1899
An illustrated lecture on the Spanish-American War was delivered at Schuh’s Hall last Tuesday (TWDR, 6 Jan 1899, 3:6).

The Winona Telephone Company will build an eight-mile extension from Rollingstone to Oak Ridge. The following have agreed to take phones: John A. Speltz, John Schell, John Kreidermacher, Peter M. Speltz, John M. Speltz, Francis Lehnertz and John P. Schuh (TWDR, 24 Feb 1899, 3:6).

The firm of Jung and Rivers has installed an acetylene gas machine to light their store (TWDR, 1 Mar 1899, 4:5).

1900
Smallpox appears to have been eradicated in Winona. However, the Board of Health is watching carefully for any reappearance of the disease in the area (TWDR, 12 Sept 1900, 3:5).

Residents of Mt. Vernon hope that the Congress will appropriate less for the Philippines and more for improvement of local dirt roads (TWDR, 11 Dec 1900, 4:5).

1901
Young women of the area now have an opportunity for higher education at the Winona Seminary, a boarding and day school for girls, founded in 1894 in Winona by the Sisters of St. Francis. The expanded curriculum offers a “thorough preparatory course in History, Mathematics, Natural Science, English, Latin, French and German,” with opportunities, too, in “piano, violin, voice, elocution, Physical Culture, Drawing and Painting from Landscapes, Still Life, China Decorating, Bookkeeping, Shorthand and Typewriting” (TWDR, 1 Jan 1901, 1: 1-2).

Elisabeth Huberty, who has been very low with typhoid fever, is recovering slowly (TWWRAH, 20 Sept 1901, 5:4).

Peter Brimeyer writes home from military service that on 10 December he expects to sail to the Philippines on the transport ship “Hancock” with the Fifteenth United States Cavalry (TWWRAH, 13 Dec 1901, 7:6).

Josephine Neyers is sewing this week for Katherine and Margaret Kronebusch (TWWRAH, 13 Dec 1901, 5:4).

1902
Peter Kronebusch will erect a stone basement barn on his farm this coming spring (TWWRAH, 10 Jan 1902, 6:5).

Arc lights are being installed on Main Street (TWDRAH, 23 May 1902).

Peter Kronebusch’s basement barn has been completed. On 22 May neighbors held a barn dance there (TWWRAH, 26 May 1902, 7:4).

1903
More than the usual number of Winnebago Indians are camping in the Trempealeau River bottoms. Most now speak English and hunt mink, muskrat and skunk skins for income. “As a tribe they are far advanced over what they were twenty years ago, and are rapidly learning and adapting themselves to the mannerisms of civilization” (TWWRAH, 27 Feb 1903, 8:3).

1904
The annual area Luxembourger Treipenfest will be held on 18 January at Philharmonic Hall in Winona (TWDR-H, 12 Feb 1904, 3:7).

The Reverend Nicholas Schmitz and Dr. Harry Brown, the town physician, have left for the World’s Fair in St. Louis (S-W, 23 Sept 1904, 3:2).

1905
Elisabeth Rivers Speltz (John) has died from severe burns suffered when a lamp exploded in her face on 9 January (TWWRAH, 13 Jan 1905, 3:4).

The great Northwestern Railway has been snowbound for over a week. The mail cannot be delivered (TWWN, 21 Feb 1905, 5:4).

The Minnesota Light and Power Company has secured a large number of applications to furnish electric lights for Rollingstone people by 1 May (TWWN, 21 Feb 1905, 5:4).

Anton Tibesar reports the loss of seven cows and one horse; they were bitten by rabid dogs (S-W, 20 Oct 1905, 3:1).

1906
Ice is about twelve inches thick. Some people are putting up their supply for summer’s use (TWDR-H, 24 Jan 1906, 7:3).

A number of young men have departed for North Dakota, where they intend to work during the stacking and threshing season (TWWRAH, 22 Aug 1906, 3:2).

Mathilda Diederich is going to Europe. She has sent word from New York that she will sail on 13 October on the steamer, “Zeeland” (TWWRAH, 10 Oct 1906, 7:2).

1907
Peter Faber has moved to the farm of John P. Neyers, which he intends to purchase and make his permanent home (TWDR-H, 9 Mar 1907, 3:3).

1908
Automobiles appear frequently on Rollingstone streets; six teams are hauling rocks to keep our thoroughfares in repair (TWI, 22 July 1908, 5:1).

1909
The Oak Ridge School No. 36 has closed for a two weeks vacation, and teacher Mabel Frommes has departed for her home in Winona (TWI, 25 Mar 1909, 3:4).

Advertisements in the local press assure area women and their parents that female college graduates still will be fit for homes. Professor M. Cary Thomas, president of Bryn Mawr College, also reports that the health of women actually can improve while studying, and that college women tend to earn increased salaries and marry stronger men than do females who do not receive an education (TWI, 30 Oct 1909, 6:7).

1910
Nicholas Meyers is operating a hay baler in connection with his feed mill (TWDR, 1 Mar 1910, 7:1-2).

John and Nicholas Ries, Michael Kohner and Theodore Mueller, Jr., have returned from a three-week trip through Alberta, Canada, and Montana; they have taken up a claim near Conrad, Montana, to which they will return in the near future (TWDR, 9 Mar 1910, 7:3).

1911
Aline Kreidermacher has been home with her parents for the past weeks; her school is closed because of an epidemic of scarlet fever (TWI, 24 Jan 1911, 3:4).

1912
Peter Kronebusch has remodeled his house (TWI, 30 Apr 1912, 5:2).

John P. and Francis Lehnertz will install pipes to carry water from their wells into their houses (TWI, 8 May 1912, 8:4).

The circus is coming to Winona! Many from Rollingstone are planning to attend (TWI, 2 Aug 1912, 5:2).

1913
The Rollingstone Creamery has elected officers for the year; president, Frank Preston; secretary-treasurer, Michael Kohner; manager, Peter Faber; buttermaker, Louis Stiehm. They have decided that cream of No. 1 quality, not less than 25% butterfat, must be brought to the Creamery before 3 p.m. and be in “fairly sweet condition” (TWI, 4 Feb 1913, 5:6).

1914
The trout fishing season opened on 15 April; the banks of the streams were lined with hopeful anglers (TWDR-H, 15 Apr 1914, 8:1).

1915
The Village has purchased a water-wagon which features a modern sprinkler device (TWI, 13 Apr 1915, 8:2).

Alfred Sens is the first farmer in this vicinity to purchase a new type of milking machine (TWI, 10 Nov 1915, 5:5).

1916
All children under the age of sixteen are restricted from attending the Ringling Brothers Circus now in Winona; an outbreak of infantile paralysis is feared in the area (TSCU, 3 Aug 1916, 1:2).

1917
Rollingstone Village recently made several notable improvements: the laying of waterworks, a half mile of sidewalks, and the large, fireproof garage of Kimmel and Meyers, 41 feet by 81 feet. New residences were erected by Michael Hengel, Michael Elsen and John Ries; John Wagner will build a new home this spring (TWR-H, 6 Jan 1917, 8:6).

The local press reports that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, occupied by German legions on their way to France, is virtually shut off from the rest of the world (TWI, 3 Mar 1917, 2:5).

Rollingstone Village will enforce a speed limit of 15 miles per hour for autos, to protect persons and teams (TWI, 29 Apr 1917, 6:3).

Edward J. Hengel, twenty-three, has enlisted in the Army’s Company C; he may go to France (TWI, 31 July 1917, 6:6).

(note: World War I had broken out in 1917)

1918
On 25-27 February all Minnesota “aliens” (that is, in addition to Germans) will be registered by village recorders and township clerks. In Rollingstone Village this procedure will be supervised by John H. Rivers, Nicholas Kimmel and Henry Hengel (TWR-H, 23 Feb 1918, 9:4).

Germans, now considered “alien enemies,” are being registered by the local police (TWDR, 12 Mar 1918, 4:3).

The damage of World War I in Luxembourg is detailed; the people of the Grand Duchy are praised as “gallant fighters on the side of justice and humanity” (TWI, 2 Aug 1918, 4:2).

German, “the enemy tongue,” is being discontinued in some public schools; in Iowa, the governor has banned the language from all systems (TSCU, 29 Aug 1918, 1:3).

1919
The Rollingstone Telephone Company reports that 299 phones are now in use by its patrons (TWI, 24 Jan 1919, 6:3).

The fiftieth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Holy Trinity Church was observed in Rollingstone yesterday first with a Mass, and then a parish dinner on the church lawn (TWR-H, 29 July 1919, 5:3).

1920
The results of the recent Rollingstone clinic are now known. Forty-two children were examined with the following results: enlarged tonsils, 22; decayed teeth, 12; no dental care, 14; dental care, 12; pyorrhea, 8; malocclusion, 1; enlarged glands of neck, 12; goiter, 2; thickened pleura, 1; malnutrition, 4; anemic, 7; dumb, 1; astigmatism, 8; eyestrain, 4; near-sighted, 1; diverted septum, 1; middle ear disease, 2; inflamed eyelids, 4; cross-eyed, 1; adenoids, 4; ear plugged with wax, 2; rickets, 1; negative, 2 (TWR-H, 4 June 1920, 3:2).

1921
Greden and Speltz realtors are offering farm land near Rollingstone for $125 per acre (TWR-H, 28 Apr 1921, 11:4).

1922
Holy Trinity School reopened on Thursday, 5 September 1922, with 225 pupils in attendance (TWR-H, 7 Sept 1922, 8:3).

Jean-Pierre Beckius and Nicholas Thoma have departed for New York, from where they will sail for Luxembourg, their old home (TWR-H, 6 Oct 1922, 6:2).

1923
A meeting of the Farm Bureau will be held at the Amusement Hall on 15 March. The growing of alfalfa and soy beans will be discussed. The Holy Trinity High School Orchestra and Glee Club will provide entertainment (TWR-H, 15 Mar 1923, 11:1).

1924
Dr. Andrew B. Rivers, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic, spent Sunday with his parents on Main Street (TWDR, 12 Nov 1924, 10:1).

1925
The Speltz Hatchery has installed a modern 1200-egg-capacity incubator, which is electrically ventilated (TWR-H, 10 Feb 1925, 9:7).

NEWSPAPERS

The Saint Charles Union (TSCU)

Sontags-Winona (S-W)

The Winona Daily Herald (TWDH)

The Winona Daily Republican (TWDR)

The Winona Daily Republican-Herald (TWDR-H)

The Winona Independent (TWI)

The Winona Republican (TWR)

The Winona Republican-Herald (TWR-H)

The Winona Weekly Herald (TWWH)

The Winona Weekly News (TWWN)

The Winona Weekly Republican and Herald (TWWRAH)

(Back Row L to R) Jason holding Anthony, Rachael, Glen (Front Row L to R) Kelli Kuzia, Jack, Grandma Gregoria "Ria" holding baby Mattie and Grandpa Marcus Tibesar in Phoenix at Christmas 2011

The Marcus and Ria Tibesar Family Christmas Story

Dec 25, 2011 – Traveling all the way from Hampton, Virginia, Marcus and Gregoria “Ria” Tibesar joined their children and their children’s families in Arizona for a very special Christmas.

The family met at Jay Schuster and their second oldest son Glen Gregory Tibesar’s home at 2636 N. 54th Place in Phoenix, Arizona. In attendance were Glen Tibesar, Glen’s long-time friend Jay Schuster, Jack Tibesar, Jack’s lady friend Kelli Kuzia, newlyweds Jason and Rachael Marie (Kelly) Tibesar with their children Anthony David and Mattie Rae Tibesar. Not in attendance was their oldest son, Conrado L. Vargas, of Chesapeake, Virginia.

When Marcus and Ria Tibesar traveled by sleigh (actually Ria’s Honda CRV) from Virginia to Arizona, they brought with them three very large bags given to them by Conrado – “ho, ho, ho!” Conrado was moving and downsizing. Rather than donate his excess apparel to the Salvation Army, Conrado thought it a better idea to share his beautiful collection with his brothers.

Brothers Glen, Jason and Jack Tibesar celebrating Christmas in Phoenix on December 25, 2011

Before the Christmas gathering Marcus and Ria laid piles and piles and piles of clothing near the Christmas tree. Then, Conrado’s three younger brothers all picked shirts, pants, jeans, coats, hoodies, belts, and other fabulous clothing items with glee. They screened, sorted, pulled, jeered, laughed and negotiated while having a marvelous fun time bartering and clamoring over their oldest brother’s dare we say “hand-me-downs”. It was a sight to behold! Thank you Conrado!

Since the family had attended Jason and Rachael’s wedding on December 16, 2011 and, some of them had just returned from “Lost Wages, Nevada” (Las Vegas), the family decided that each adult purchase just one gift valued at $25 or less and play the “white elephant gift exchange” game. They all drew a number out of a hat and in sequence opened one gift at a time. The next family member could then steal any previously opened gift or pick a remaining unwrapped gift instead. Everyone had a fabulous time and, some of the gifts included: nose trimmers, nine dollars, a blue-tooth ear piece, headphones, candles, a Red Lobster $25 gift certificate and pyrex dishes.

Marcus and Ria Tibesar - Christmas 2011

Grandma Ria cooked and cooked and cooked some more. A few of the dishes that she prepared included lumpia (Philippine fried egg rolls), filipino minudo, spaghetti, apple and pumpkin pie. After the festivities Ria, Rachael and Glen went to the Lone Butte Casino to play BINGO. Marcus, Jason and Jay remained at home and watched the Green Bay Packers/Chicago Bears football game while tending to little Anthony and his baby sister Mattie. Jack departed with Kelli to travel to Kelli’s parents home in Phoenix to celebrate and eat a Christmas dinner there.

The next day (December 26, 2011), Jason, Rachael, little Anthony and baby Mattie Tibesar all flew to Philiadelphia, Pennsylvania to begin their honeymoon and visit with Rachael’s family living in Philly and New Jersey. This was Mattie’s first Christmas and her first plane ride! (Read more about their honeymoon)

When not studying Conrado Vargas relaxes playing golf on the local Hampton Roads golf courses. This photo was taken at hole #17 Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg, Virginia in September of 2011.

Conrado L Vargas, 42, and oldest son of Marcus Lowell and Gregoria Delos Reyes (Lacanlale) Tibesar, has gone back to college!

He almost finished his Bachelor’s degree in Hospital Administration several years back when he was serving in the United States Navy. However, Conrado is now pursuing and studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Business. He will have to attend for 2 years in order to complete his degree.

Life certainly has changed for Conrad who now focuses on homework and the library. Oh, and he continues to love and play the game of golf!

Way to go Conrad!  We are proud of you!