Eleventh Generation

431. James LaVerne "Vern" GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) was born on 15 October 1917 in La Grange Township, Monroe County, WI.¹¹⁵ He lived at his family's rented farm in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI between 1919 and 1921.³³⁰ on a farm rented by his father and mother. The farm was southeast of the intersection of Highway 131 and County Trunk "A". He appeared in the census in 1920 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.^206,207 He was living with his parents.

A detailed search of the 1930 Census failed to locate LaVerne anywhere in Wisconsin. He was not listed with his father and step-mother at their home in Lincoln Township in Monroe County. He and his siblings did not get along with their step-mother, so they didn't live with their father for very long after his second marriage.

As a 13-year-old in 1930, LaVerne is believed to have been living at the home of his paternal grandparents, Clarence and Carrie Griggs, at their home at 1308 Stoughton Avenue in Tomah. But that household was not listed on the census sheets. The census enumerator included neighboring homes in their block at 1312, 1314, 1316 and 1320, as well as homes across the street at 1301, 1303 and 1305 Stoughton. But, for some unknown reason, she did not include 1308. It is possible that the reason was that Clarence Griggs was very ill about that time, and the enumerator may not have wanted to enter the home. Vern lived at various family members' homes in Monroe County, WI between 1921 and 1936.^{269,275,330,448,449} Shortly after his mother died in December 1920, he and his father lived with his grandfather and grandmother, Clarence and Carrie (Griswold) Griggs in the Village of Tomah. His brother and sister had gone to live with Roll and Mattie Vandervort in LaGrange Township. (Clarence's home had been purchased by Carrie's father, Samuel H. Griswold in 1894.) While living there, Vern attended Kindergarten and the 1st grade. (His cousin Lucille Koopman and her two brothers, her sister and her widowed mother, Mabel, lived next door, and Lucille attended kindergarten with Vern in Tomah.)

In 1924, when his father married Anne Clay, the family lived in Anne's home in Kirby, north of Tomah. Their house was located on a portion of the farm owned by Anne's father, Frank Clay. Vern lived there sporadically until his father died in 1932.

He attended elementary school at the Kirby School and graduated from the 8th grade in 1931 with three other classmates--Jean Arity, Sylvester Heeler and Virgie Purdy. Jean tells this story about their early school years: "Myrtle Sell and I sat together in one of the many double-seats that were in Kirby School. We were in first grade and were quite impressed one day when a new student--a cute boy with reddish-auburn hair--came to school and was given the seat right in front of us. We whispered and whispered. Finally, the teacher had us sit with the new 2nd grader, LaVerne Griggs--one to his left and one to his right. I don't know who was most embarrassed."

During his teen-age years, Vern lived on the farm of his dad's sister, Mattie Griggs, and her husband, Roll Vandervort, in LaGrange Township.

In April 1936, Vern joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked on government projects building roads, dams, fish hatcheries, forests, fire lanes, etc., in northern Wisconsin. Some of the cities in which he lived and worked were Hayward, Phillips, Marshfield, and Cable--in various parts of the Chequamegon National Forest. While in the CCC's, he earned just a few dollars each week, with some being sent to his sister, Blanche. (Gary Griggs has an album of photographs from Vern's life in the CCC's.)

Gary also has several letters that Vern sent to Blanche, telling about his life in the CCC's. In one, dated 1 May 1936, he mentions that "We get our first check tomorrow. We get 3 dollars, & that ain't enough. Send me $3 just as quick as you get this." He wrote several letters during the Summer of 1936 that Blanche saved, and in all of them he asked her to send her some money.

In a letter apparently written in the Winter of 1936, he told his brother Glenn that, "I still figure on signing up again in the Spring, 'cause I absolutely need the money. I'll quit in October & come home & stay in Tomah the Winter & get out & look for work again in the Spring."

Vern left the CCC's after a year or so, and hopped a freight train to the West Coast. One of the places that he stayed was Okanogan, Washington. It is believed that he returned to Tomah after a few months, where he went to work as a truck driver for Keene's Transfer Company. He hauled cranberries and other items for about three years, until he and Bernice Pergande moved to Milwaukee about 15 months after their marriage in November 1939. He appeared in the census on 15 April 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.³¹⁶ His household was a rented apartment above Vlasek's Bar at 220 Superior Avenue in the 3rd Ward. His occupation was "Truck Driver, Local Trucking Company," and his wages in 1939 were $720. He was confirmed on 16 June 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^80,450 at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. His future mother-in-law, Lydia Pergande, would not let her daughter marry Vern unless he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. Between 1942 and 1969 Vern was a welder in Milwaukee, Milwaukee Township, Milwaukee County, WI.⁸⁰ To prepare for going to work as a welder, he took classes at the vocational school in Milwaukee. To earn money, he drove taxi at night throughout the city. For a short time, he worked at Wehr Steel and then he spent his career at Harnishfeger Manufacturing Company. He served in the military between 29 May 1945 and 14 March 1946.^269,451 He served in the US Army in Little Rock, AR and Camp Crowder, MO. He was eventually discharged from Fort Leavenworth, KS, after being injured when an artillery shell exploded in Little Rock while he was loading it. Shell fragments injured his left eye and hand, and he received 10% military service-connected disability payments for the rest of his life.

Gary Griggs has a letter that "Pvt. LaVerne Griggs" wrote to his sister Blanche on 17 January 1946 from Camp Crowder, in which he mentioned that "I am trying to get a dependancy discharge...." He also mentioned that "I am still going to the hospital every day...", apparently for treatment of his injuries.

In the letter, he mentioned that "...unless Congress does something good for demobilization this week or soon, I'll be stuck here for more than another year." They must have acted, because he was discharged two months later. He appeared in the census on 4 April 1950 in West Allis, Milwaukee County, WI.⁴³⁸ His household was at 2240 South 55th Street and his occupation was "Electric Welder, Manufacturing Machinery." Living with the family was a "Lodger," Ina York (a friend of his sister's daughter, Doris Mae Cassidy) from Adams, WI. Vern died on 27 March 1985 at the age of 67 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^115,283,452 Obituary Notes: "LaVerne J. Griggs, 67, died Wednesday, March 27, 1985, in the Tomah Veterans Administration Medical Center. He was born October 15, 1917, in Monroe County to Samuel and Eva (Root) Griggs.

He married Bernice Pergande on November 30, 1939. For 38 years they lived in Milwaukee, where he worked for Harnischfeger Manufacturing Corp. He retired (on a medical disability) in 1969. They lived in Tomah for the past six years. He was a veteran of World War II.

He is survived by his wife; two sons, Gary of Columbia, S. C., and Duaine of West Allis; a daughter, LuAnn Broetzmann of Grafton; 10 grandchildren; and a brother, Glenn, of Milwaukee. He was preceded in death by a sister.

Services will be today at 11 A.M. in St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tomah. The Rev. Kenneth Gast will officiate."

Death Certificate Notes: He died of Cardiac Failure, related to Carcinoma of the Lung with Brain Metastasis. He was buried on 30 March 1985 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^90,115 in the Oak Grove Cemetery (Second Addition, Block 1, Lot 15).

James LaVerne "Vern" GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) and Bernice Gertrude PERGANDE (*) were married on 30 November 1939 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^115,152,453 at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. His best man was his brother, Glenn, and her maid of honor was her sister, Doris. Bernice Gertrude PERGANDE (*), daughter of August Friedrich Wilhelm PERGANDE and Auguste Lydia KEWIT, was born on 20 January 1919 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.^339,453,454

Notes from a conversation that Bernice had with her children, Gary, Duaine and LuAnn, while she was in the hospital during the last few days of her life: "I was born on the family farm in Wilton and was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church in Ridgeville. I attended the Hillcrest School, a one-room school with about 20 students, and I had three teachers during my eight grades at the school. Ridgeville had no high school so I boarded in Tomah for three years, and shared a room during the week with Irene (Wadephul) Smith until I graduated from high school in 1936. Then I began Teacher's Training and graduated in 1937.

I remember that we had Mission Festivals at St. John's that had three services, 10 A.M., 2:30 P.M. and 8 P.M. in the evening. A huge dinner was always served. We had good speakers, followed by an ice cream social. We had many visitors. The men sat on one side of the church, and the women on the other. We always wore hats, and the women held the babies. I remember Pastor Berg at the sacristy.

As a child I learned to read and write German.

At Christmas, we always opened gifts on the evening of the 23rd, so, if my sister and I had new dresses, we could wear them for the Christmas eve program. One year I got a wagon. I had only one doll my whole life (her son, Gary, has it). I remember one time when I snooped in the car for gifts.

I have fond memories of sledding on a wooden sleigh on the Ridge and riding my dad's horses. As a girl, I liked to listen to the radio--especially from a country music station in North Dakota. The farm was a lot of hard work and I helped milk, put up hay and did other chores. I was working in the farm field when my dad suffered heat stroke and died in 1936.

My dad taught me how to drive in a 1928 Dodge, and I got my driver's license on the day of his funeral. Dad also had an old Dodge Touring Car that he cut the back off of and converted to a pick-up truck.

My first car was a new 1937 Plymouth; it cost $630 and I borrowed the money from my mother. Dad (Vern Griggs) said that he married me because I had the best car around. We later traded the Plymouth for a new 1941 Ford after we were married. We bought the Ford even though we could not afford it. We were paying $15 a month for rent at the time."

(She then talked about their married life together, and those memories are included in her Obituary notes, below.) She was baptized on 9 February 1919 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^454,455 in "Elternhause"--in her home. (Gary Griggs has her Baptism Certificate, which is written in German.) She was baptised as "Bernice Gertrud." and her sponsors were Frau F. Pergande (her paternal grandmother), Frau A. Noth (identity unknown) and August Kewit (her maternal grandfather). She appeared in the census in 1920 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁰⁶ Bernice appeared in the census in 1930 in Wilton Township, Monroe County, WI.²⁰⁷ She was confirmed on 4 June 1933 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴⁵⁰ at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Gary Griggs has her Confirmation Certificate and picture.) She graduated in June 1936 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.⁴⁵⁶ from Tomah High School. From 1936 to 1940 Bernice was a grade school teacher in one-room schools in Monroe County, WI.⁸⁰ She did her practice teaching under Bernice Ludeking at the Coles Valley School in 1937.

Between mid-1938 and mid-1939, she was dating Otto Brandau, who was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Gary Griggs has several letters that he wrote to her. In one, in July 1939, Otto mentioned that he would like to marry her.

During the summer of 1939, she took classes at Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point. She rented an apartment at 1225 Clark Street. She was dating Vern Griggs at the time, and Gary has several letters that he wrote to her. She appeared in the census on 15 April 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.³¹⁶ Her occupation was "Teacher, Teaching" and her total wages in 1939 were $765. She appeared in the census on 4 April 1950 in West Allis, Milwaukee County, WI.⁴³⁸ Bernice died on 10 July 2000 at the age of 81 in La Crosse, La Crosse County, WI.¹¹⁵ Obituary Notes: "Bernice G. Griggs, 81, of Tomah, died Monday, July 10, 2000, at Franciscan-Skemp Healthcare Center in La Crosse. She was born January 20, 1919, to August Friedrich and Auguste Lydia (Kewit) Pergande in the township of Wilton, WI. She was baptized at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridgeville, WI and confirmed at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tomah.

After graduating from a one-room school in the town of Wilton, Bernice lived in Tomah, where she finished high school. After completing teachers' training in 1937, she taught for three years at the McErn and Randall schools in Tomah.

Bernice was united in marriage to James LaVerne Griggs on November 30, 1939 at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church. After their marriage, the couple moved to Milwaukee and then to West Allis (2240 South 55th Street), where they raised their family. She was very active in the choir and various other church activities at Nain Evangelical Lutheran Church in West Allis, as well as in their children's school activities and organizations. In the early 1950's, Bernice began work at National Food Stores, from which she retired after 25 years (1977).

In 1977, the couple had purchased a second home in Lakeland, FL, where they welcomed family members and friends. In Lakeland, she was a very active member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, where she sang in the choir and was active in other church activities.

In 1978, she and her husband sold their home in West Allis and moved back to Tomah (209 East Saratoga Avenue), where she resided until her death. She was an active member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, performing volunteer work in its school lunch program as well as at the Care Center, the ABC Store, the Tomah Hospital Auxiliary and Gift Shop, and other organizations in the area.

Bernice enjoyed a joyful and robust life and was an inspiration to many. She particularly enjoyed traveling (including trips to Europe, Mexico, Hawaii and most of the rest of the United States), as well as dancing, playing cards, and entertaining her many relatives and friends. She also helped to organize the Griggs-Vandervort-Koopman family picnics--which have been held annually since 1950--and was looking forward to attending this year's event with her family.

She is survived by two sons, Gary (Barbara) of Pawleys Island, SC, and Duaine (Bonnie) of West Allis; a daughter, LuAnn Line of Chattanooga, TN; 10 grandchildren, Jennifer (Jay) Andress of Chippewa Falls, WI, Allison Lee, Stephanie (Michael) Bridgers, and Jon Griggs, all of Columbia, SC, Scott Griggs of Encinitas, CA, Kristi (Bobby) Walston of Raleigh, NC, Robert (Amy) Broetzmann of Chattanooga, TN, Daniel (Leigh Ann) Broetzmann of Ooltewah, TN, and Michael and Jeffrey Broetzmann of Chattanooga, TN; and seven great-grandchildren, Ryan, Zachary, Alex, Benjamin, Hannah, Andrew and Avery. Nieces, nephews and many, many friends further survive her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Vern, and her sister Doris (Harold) Waege.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 14, 2000 at 1 P.M. at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, 525 Superior Avenue, Tomah. Pastor Donald R. Buch will officiate. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Tomah." She was buried on 14 July 2000 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.⁹⁰ in the Oak Grove Cemetery (Second Addition, Block 1, Lot 15). She has Ancestral File Number LDCS-XJW.

James LaVerne "Vern" GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) and Bernice Gertrude PERGANDE (*) had the following children: