He was also kind of a man of mystery.





At one point, Uncle John was a Franciscan "lay brother",
one considered as Brother to the Franciscan Monks,
but not an actual priest.

Things are a little vague after that until...

Philomena Hahl!

Philomena Hahl, the pretty little lady from Germany
with the captivating smile?

Philomena Hahl, the temptress,
who lured Uncle John from his semi-monastic life?

Did it happen this way?   I don't know.
Sounds so romantic though....

They were inseparable.

Uncle John seemed to never smile. At least, that was the way he tried to appear. Even though this picture is much older than I am, I would would know that moustache anywhere. ANECDOTE When we were kids, he would scoop us up, give us a hug, a "kissie" and a "Dutch Rub" - that would make us scream, giggle, and scramble away laughing.

Now think about it...would a man without a smile
last very long around someone
like this?


Aunt Mina
Our Aunt Minnie

Will the real Uncle John stand up? Ok, here he is. Notice the twinkle in his eyes. Notice the sneaky little smile Notice the cats in his arms.

I found this really good picture of Aunt Minnie
while re-browsing an old album.
No clue who the young ladies were.



Aunt Mina and her nieces?

Aunt Nellie, who is the young lady on the left of the picture, did the identification.

Left to right are Aunt Nellie,
Henrietta from Germany who stayed with Aunt Minnie for a while,
and Emily Peterson, a friend.

Allow me to assure you, I would never have figured that out by myself.



For I guess all of the time I knew her,
Aunt Minnie was mostly blind.
This didn't stop her from making tea for guests.

I can remember her kitchen
as though we visited yesterday.

This is the way I remember them.

She was dainty and feminine,
he had powerful arms and hands,
and a great voice to yell at us.