The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on October 14, 1943.
(Hardwick resident Mrs. Anna Varah continues her story from last week.)
The Ostreich family lived in Clayton county nine years and from there moved to Delaware county, Iowa, where they lived until 1885 when they came to Rock county, settling in Clinton township, just north of the Iowa line.
On September 28, 1887, she was married to James E. Varah, by a justice of the peace in Lyon county, Iowa. According to Mrs. Varah, Mr. Varah at that time was not permitted to be married in Minnesota because an Iowa law at that time forbade its residents from marrying outside the state.
They lived in Lyon county the first winter, and there experienced the famous blizzard of 1888. They had plenty of snow, Mrs. Varah declared, and it was extremely cold.
The next spring, they moved to a farm east of Ashcreek, where they lived for five years. From there, they moved to Murray county where they farmed until 1898 when they moved to a farm in Battle Plain township, five miles east of Hardwick. While operating a corn picker one day in the fall of 1914, Mr. Varah lost his hand and the following spring they moved to Hardwick.
They had no children of their own, but they took Truby De Vinney as a boy, and reared him.
One remarkable fact about her family, Mrs. Varah stated, is that there are still nine children living out of a family of 12. Her brothers and sisters include Mrs. E. S. Barker, Willmar; Mrs. Charles Mc Gowan, Pipestone; Mrs. Martha Raymond, Delaware county, Ia.; Mrs. Howard Adams, Suffolk, Mont.; Herman Ostreich, Leboth, S.D.; Paul Ostreich, Cromwell, Minn., and Henry Ostreich, Pennock, Minn.
Mrs. Varah is still very active. She kept a big garden this summer, and did considerable canning. She also raises a few chickens. One of her favorite pastimes is crocheting dish towels for her friends, and she also pieces quilts for others. During the last war, she did considerable sewing and knitting for the Red Cross, but thus far, she has not done any of that type of work during this war, she stated.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.