Me and Annie: Childhood Memories Growing up in Iola, Wisconsin

By Lanna Langdok

Her friendships with two Annies made the adventures of a lifetime possible! From working at a circus to riding the milk cans at the creamery to jumping on-board a local train. Exploring new things, yet holding onto the old traditions like hanging May baskets on doorknobs. Daring to walk the alleys after dark, yet remembering the safety of home. Sharing these stages of childhood with close friends and classmates made for the best of memories. Knowing these same people would be at your side through high school graduation and beyond, was priceless! That's the true blessing of growing up in a small town....

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publication Consultants
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781594339776

Book preview

The Early Years

The year was 1944. World War II was drawing towards an end. The infants born during this time frame, were referred to as the ‘War Babies.’ My friends and I fell into that category. Mary Ann was born on October 16th to Butch (Bryon) and Jennie Berg. Jeanne Ann was born on November 9th to Ernie (Ernest) and Eunice Rice and I, Lanna Faye Smith was born to Russell and Evelyn Smith on December 15th. Our parents all lived in the small village of Iola, located in central Wisconsin, population under 1,000, and predominantly Norwegian in nationality and Lutheran in faith. All three of us were delivered at the Iola Hospital.

Main Street Iola

Our paths were soon to cross. Our lifelong friendships all started in an alley in downtown Iola. Jeanne Ann lived over the Red Owl grocery store, I lived over the El-Rus Bar and Mary Ann lived at the end of the alley, a block away. We played together before entering kindergarten, went through all the grades through high school graduation and have continued our friendship for close to 70 years!

Though we have lived in various parts of the country, distance never mattered. Ours was always a friendship of the heart....

Me & Mary Ann

Me & Jeanne Ann

Bicycles ~ Miles of Memories

My first experience with a bicycle took place in the alley behind Main Street. My sister Bev had gotten a brand-new, shiny blue bike for her birthday. After she and her friend, Carolyn Sorenson were done riding for the day, Me and Annie decided to take it for a trial run.

Annie balanced the bike so I was able to get up on the seat. My feet didn’t touch the brakes or the ground. Then she gave me a push and down the alley I went. There were a few moments of thrill, until I realized I couldn’t work the brakes. The new bike and I ended up in a pile of orange crates behind the grocery store.

Annie let out a scream and ran down to where I lay. The bike’s basket and light were all bent up. Boy, was I going to be in trouble! I limped back up to the house, with my ‘comrade-in-crime’ soon leaving my side.

Bev

Carolyn

The only injury I sustained was a very, sore bottom and a very stern talking to. I promised to never touch my sister’s bike again.

In a few short years, I had my very own bike. Now Me and Annie could go wherever we wanted. There’s no doubt that we put on a couple hundred miles, just riding up and down Main Street.

I remember well the fun we had on warm summer evenings in early summer. The street lights attracted those big, juicy June bugs. With our bikes, Annie and Me would squish them with our tires! The older girls sitting on the metal ledge by the Corner Restaurant, would grimace in disgust. They didn’t want their legs or shoes stained, while waiting for the boys to appear.

Corner Restaurant

During the day, we’d stop in at all the stores and all the storekeepers knew us by name. They never worried about us stealing any merchandise, that’s something that never crossed our minds. Besides, Sunday School had taught us, never to steal.

The Michaelis and Aasen general stores were always a favorite. They both had numerous small box dividers filled with all kinds of trinkets and personal items, such as hankies, perfumes and bottles of lotion. Here we would get ideas for gifts for our Moms for Christmas, birthdays and Mother’s Day. You could always get gifts for your father at Cleaves Sports Shop or at Gunderson Hardware.

During our jaunts around town, Me and Annie would sometimes get treats of sausage and cheese at the Kluge & Kruse Meat Market. Out back in the alley, they had cages of chickens they would butcher and quarters of beef and pig for fresh display.

Kluge & Kruse Meat Market

Smith’s Meat Market had the