A Short History of William Grenz

I am the first-born child of Gottlieb and Lydia (Schock) Grenz.  I was born in a farmhouse in Emmons County.  I started school in Hazelton, staying with Grandma Grenz;  I also attended country schools in the Hazelton area, but I don't remember whether I graduated from the eight grade or not.  When I was 16 or 17, my brother Jake and I went to work at CCC Camp.  We each received $30/month, of which we were given $5 each, the remainder being sent home to our parents.

Dad raised and sold horses for a while, along with farming.  He lost the farm during the depression when the price of grain went down to almost nothing, around 1936 or 1937.  We packed up and moved east to find better land,.  We lived on several different farms in the Oriska and Tower city area before finally settling on a farm three miles east of Tower City.

I worked for farmers in the area until I joined the Navy in December, 1940.  I never did serve overseas since the Japanese surrendered when I was on my way to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in 1945.  I did spend some time in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I was discharged in 1946.

After working for the Power Co. for a short time, I farmed with my brother-in-law, Julius Hoff.

I met my future wife, Violet, at a New Year's Eve party at the Eagles Club in Valley City on Dec. 31, 1948.  When she and her parents moved to Minnesota in 1950, I decided that was a little too far to commute for dates!  We were married on March 17, 1951 at Tower City.  There was a very bad snowstorm on March 16, which Vi's parents drove through a very bad snowstorm on March 16, which Vi's parents drove through from staples, Minnesota, and sister Helen and brother Fred drove through from Milwaukee.  They all said that they would NEVER do that again, wedding or no wedding!!  That was in the days before the I 90 system, so they all had to drive on two-lane roads. Even during the summer, it took 15 or 16 hours to make the trip from Milwaukee to Tower City.

William Grenz