Memories of Willard Olin

Ellen

Cousin Ellen Jane (Olin) Frank (1923-2017) was the daughter of Otto Olin. Otto was our grandfather Charlie's brother. You may remember Ellen from several of our Olin family reunions in the past. Ellen had written down some of her memories of the Olins and I thought I'd share them here. This first piece is about her grandfather, Willard Olin (1868-1946).

Willard

In New Brighton, while building our little house, the workers were taking a break; Grandpa Willard, my dad (Otto), my uncles Charlie, Vern and Delma. I had a question, and dad said to ask his Pa.

"Grandpa," I said, "Can I ask you something? How do you put our toenails on a stud?" Come with me and I'll show you," he answered. I was a little kid of about eight and took his hand as he led me to the pile of studs, holding his hammer in the other hand. We lifted one of the studs upright on the pencil line of the bottom rail. "The stud has to be nailed to the rail. How do we do it? We can't pound the nail straight-in anyplace. That's when we toe it in, at an angle, slanted so it goes through the stud into the rail. The biggest mistake the Rookies make is to use too few nails," he explained. "Use at least two nails on each side and sometimes three." That's how Grandpa taught me; by showing me. He showed me how to pound nails out of the used lumber we were using. He also showed me how to straighten the crooked nails so they could be re-used.

Grandpa Willard was mostly a sad person. He seldom smiled or laughed or talked to anyone. He had blue eyes that knew how to twinkle. He was quite tall and had a big chest. He also had big hands. My dad also had those same big hands; big, yet gentle. I believe family traits and characteristics are handed down from one generation to the next. Look at my son Jim's hands, and you will see those same hands!

Grandpa Willard lived in town and he liked coming out to visit us in New Brighton. He liked mom's home-cooked meals; he got tired of restaurant food all week long. He ate a lot but said very little.

Willard and Sadie

The biggest surprise about Grandpa Willard was his fiddle. I didn't know he had one as nobody ever talked about it. The first time I heard him play was at Stone Lake. The story of Stone Lake is that it was a small resort north and west of Two Harbors. The resort was owned by Aunt Sadie and Uncle Billy Sandretzky. Aunt Sadie was a sister to Grandpa Willard. She and Billy had a large family and so did Willard. When they all got together in the summer for a reunion, it was a huge gathering! There was a big house and several cabins and when the families arrived, tents were set up as well. Also set up was a big wooden platform with a rope railing. Towards evening the music started. Accordion, mandolin, banjo and Grandpa with his fiddle. Now he came alive. He smiled and his eyes lit up. His toes tapped to the tune and his whole body swayed back and forth as he played. I couldn't stop watching him all evening. He seemed like a new and different person. Everyone danced! There was the Polka, the Schottitz and the Waltz; and the Circle Two-Step as well as the Square-Dance with a caller for both. Grandpa played all evening, never seeming to tire.

When everyone was taking a break, Aunt Sadie went over to talk to Grandpa and then she announced, "Wil is going to play us a tune." Grandpa stood up and played the sweetest music I had ever heard! He never played scratchy or whiny. His playing was always smooth and sweet. I wanted him to keep on playing forever, it was so beautiful! Through the years I heard him play at a few parties. As he aged, he still played beautifully.

Ellen, Geraldine, and Willard

Willard started playing the fiddle at a young age. In that era dances were the primary leisure activity. Hay wagons were used to pick up friends along the way to the designated dance location. In winter they put on sleigh runners in place of the wheels. These country dances were held in town halls, barns or schools. Willard and friends were popular at the dances. They rode around the countryside to the little towns and villages where every performance was well attended. It was at one of these dances that Willard and Ella first met. He was from Anoka County and she grew up in Staples. Her family (McGillivary) was a strict, devout, religious group (Presbyterian). They objected to their daughter marrying an itinerant fiddle player who didn't go to church. They refused to allow her a church wedding, so the two of them eloped, and went to the Olin family in Anoka County.

Later the Olin group moved to Grand Rapids. Willard worked at the busy Kingston Wood Lot, and also in the construction of houses with his father, Tom Olin, who was a master builder. Willard earned extra money playing his fiddle at the many dances in the area.

In the spring when the ice melted off the river, the lumberjacks left the northern forests and floated their boats down river where they tied up above the rapids. After a long, cold winter, they wanted a bath, clean clothes, and good food; along with some fun. When several of these jack-boats were tied up, there were a lot of men and the town welcomed them because they had money to spend. A big wood platform was assembled near the landing. Musicians arrived, and soon the dancing started; all during the afternoons and into the wee hours of the morning. Willard was there, of course, along with a lot of other musicians, and sometimes a piano was carried up to the platform for Rena to play the piano while Pa played the fiddle. Pa would let Rena and Camilla, his teen-aged daughters, dance with the "Jacks" as did many of the townspeople. This was allowed only during the afternoon and early evening, but when the drinking began and the carousing started to get disorderly, he closed up his fiddle and took his daughters home. Neither he nor Ella ever indulged in, or allowed, any such behavior in their home. Ella and Willard didn't go to church, but they instilled strict moral ethics in their children. When the lumbering industry dwindled away, Willard and Ella moved to Bovey, and then later to Duluth.

Willard was greatly devoted to Ella, and when she passed away in 1923 it was as though his life fell apart and he became a sad, lonely person.

At my vast age of 83, I have the joy of retaining my memory so that I can reflect and recall events from my childhood and the happiness I had in the closeness of my Grandpa Willard and all his children, my beloved aunts and uncles.

Another joy I have is the fact that so many family traits, characteristics and mannerisms are inherited and passed from one generation to the next. Interacting with my own children and their families and with my many cousins brings back many memories of my childhood experiences. What a great heritage!