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Note: Alfred Joseph Hamel
Alfred Joseph Hamel was born August 20, 1875, the first child of William and Cordelia Hamel. He was born on the family farm at what was then known as Medina Township, Hennepin County, Minnesota. His grandfather Lange Hamel had immigrated to Minnesota in 1855 from Quebec, Canada with his family and settled on an uncultivated patch of land some 25 miles west of Minneapolis.
When Freddie, as he was known, was only a small boy of seven or eight years old, his father and other men in the area began to build a road north through the woods towards the northern part of Hennepin County. The road was later named State Highway 101. Freddie helped the men with the work and in later life described his father and the men chopping trees to make way for the road. At night the wolves would howl and make a ghostly sound when the windows were open and one could hear them.
There was always much work for a boy to perform on the farm and school was not always available to the neighborhood children. Freddie attended the school at Hamel on an infrequent basis. The school was taught by one of the neighborhood girls and he attended formal schooling until he had completed the third grade. Freddie's first language was French and many of the neighbors of the Hamels had also moved to Minnesota from French Canada and most of them spoke French in their homes as well.
Freddie's father, William had a prosperous farm and raised diversified crops. They lived in a large farmhouse that dated from the 1870's. Fred was brought up working and helping with the farm chores and planned to farm for his life's work. The family had milk cows as well as hogs. Every fall a hog or two was butchered and the meat processed so it would keep over winter. There never were any green vegetables in winter so they relied on pickled or preserved vegetables.
Main Street in Hamel ran past the farmhouse door and Freddie's Uncle Joe Hamel owned the general store across the road and down a short distance from their house. In those days it was a rule of the Catholic faith that eating meat was forbidden on Fridays. As a child, it was Freddie's job to go to a nearby lake on Friday mornings and catch enough pan fish to feed the family for dinner.
As he grew older, Freddie attended dances and was quite popular with the girls in the neighborhood. One day in the summer of 1895, while attending a softball game in Hamel, Freddie met a young woman from Minneapolis who was visiting friends in the area. Travel to Hamel from Minneapolis usually involved a train ride on the Soo Line Railroad, so visits usually lasted for several days. During her stay in Hamel the young woman, Emilie Lefebvre, was introduced to Freddie and they became friends. Their friendship lead to an invitation by Emilie to visit her in Minneapolis at her parent's home. Eventually this friendship blossomed into courtship.
Because Freddie was helping his father with the farm work, the only day that was available to visit the Lefebvres in Minneapolis was Sunday. Freddie would get up early in the morning and attend Mass and then would set out with his horse and wagon traveling down the Bass Lake road into what is now Robbinsdale and the north end of Minneapolis, then known as Crystal Lake Township. He passed a large open field or pasture that was to become Crystal Lake Cemetery in later years. He traveled down along the Mississippi River on a road that was to be called Washington Avenue in later years and crossed the Mississippi at what is now known as Lowry Avenue. The Lefebvres lived at 1313 5th Street Northeast in Minneapolis and it usually took about 3-4 hours to make the trip from Hamel. The couple would have Sunday dinner together and spend the afternoon visiting, always with a chaperone, usually Emilie's sister Dora.
In later years Emilie said that she never drank so much water as she did during those visits, because the only time they were alone was when they went out in the backyard pump and drew some water. After spending Sunday with Emilie, Freddie usually ate supper with the Lefebvres and set out for home. The trip again took 3-4 hours and it was usually dark by the time he arrived home. He usually took a nap on the way home because the horse knew the route.
Fred and Emilie were married May 31, 1897 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in northeast Minneapolis. They lived with Fred's parents at first but soon after their marriage, Fred's father purchased a farm for the couple at Kimble, Minnesota. Before long Fred moved back to Hamel to be close to his family. Their first child, Archie, was born at Hamel in January 1898. Lillian was also born at Hamel in May 1901, followed by Dora in June 1905, and Pearl in April 1907. Their last child, Clarence was also born at Hamel in October 1909.
Their life was good on the farm a Hamel, only being marred by a fire, which destroyed their house shortly after Lillian's birth. They were able to save many of their belongings and there was no loss of life. Fred's Aunt Campbell (Euphemie) had moved to the State of Washington with her husband in the mid-1890's and they owned a wood shingle mill in Seattle. Fred had corresponded with the Campbells and in 1911, he decided to sell his farm at Hamel and move his family to Washington. Emilie protested bitterly but Fred finally won out and they packed all their furniture and other belongings and moved to Washington. Fred tried farming in Washington, but because the conditions were very different than they were in Minnesota, he had a difficult time. They then moved for a few months to Oakland, California. Their stay in California was short and they returned to Washington and bought a farm at Yelm, Washington.
Once again they crops did not produce enough to pay the mortgage and eventually the farm was foreclosed. They had lost everything! They did not tell any of the relatives of their difficulties and as they left on the train for Minnesota, Euphemie Campbell scolded them for not revealing their problems to her. She had the means to help them out of the difficult times, but she knew nothing of the financial woes until it was too late. The Great Northern Railway provided the train tickets back to Minnesota at no-charge.
After their return to Minnesota, Fred took odd jobs to put food on the table. They eventually bought a house a block away from the Lefebvres at 445 5th Avenue Northeast. Fred worked by delivering coal in an old Ford truck he had purchased. In the winter he had to drain the water from the radiator of the truck and replace it in the morning. If the old Ford did not start in the morning, he built a fire under it to heat the engine.
When Emilie's parents passed away, she was able to buy the two houses they owned and also another duplex across the backyard from their own house. Because of these investments, the family finally recovered from the losses suffered in Washington. After Dora and her family moved to California in 1936, Fred and Emilie wintered in California every year. Fred continued to work. He obtained a job at General Mills in 1940 because he told them he was young than he was. After his retirement from General Mills, he found employment as a truck driver for Good Will Industries. He finally retired for good in 1947, after the death of Emily.
Fred continued to travel extensively after he was widowed. His greatest love was traveling or reading about travel. In the fall of the year, usually in late October, Fred would board a bus or train to either California or Florida. If he went to California, he stayed with Archie and helped with the chores on Archie's small rabbit farm. If he went to Florida, he would stay at an inexpensive hotel and visit with other old-timers.
Fred Hamel was about 5'6" tall and had dark hair, which eventually turned grayish. He was of a slight build but had great strength in his legs. He had no fear of heights and maintained his duplexes in Minneapolis himself. He would often slide down the ladder instead of using the rungs to descend. He liked to repair things and sometimes kept things working long past their useful life. He had a very kind and generous disposition and was soft spoken. Everyone liked Freddie. In the summer he often shopped at the old Farmer's Market in Minneapolis and would bring fresh produce to Pearl's family. He drove very slowly in his old automobile and was often kidded about this by his family. As a young man Fred chewed tobacco, but stopped using it after he was kicked by a horse and swallowed the tobacco. He never smoked or drank to excess. As an old man, he liked to treat people to dinners at the local country churches in the summer. He also liked the circus and took Pearl and Lillian to a performance in Minneapolis in the late 1950's.
Fred had suffered with a blood disease in late 1961 and had several blood transfusions. This was complicated by skin infections. Eventually Fred succumbed on October 22, 1962. He was buried beside Emilie at St. Mary's Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Personal Reminisces of Fred Hamel by Bill Soderlund
Fred Hamel was my grandfather. All his grandchildren always called him P�p�re or Pep for short. He was a kindly but somewhat distant man to most of us. He was very soft-spoken with a somewhat deep voice. He had a very faint French way of pronouncing some words like "puddy good" instead of pretty good. Even though he had only gone to school through the third grade, he was well read and had many interests. He especially liked to travel and had a great knowledge of geography. His favorite magazine was the National Geographic.
My earliest recollection of Pep was going with my parents to visit M�m�re and P�p�re on Sunday afternoons at their house in northeast Minneapolis. Mom and Mem would visit while Dad and Pep would talk. Pep usually would offer my father a glass of beer and I was always given a small glassful too! Sometimes we were treated to a piece of date and nut cake with the special chocolate frosting that Pep had baked. He always used a small amount of chocolate in his frosting so that it was a very light colored brown. It was very good and tasty. Years later my Aunt Lil made the same cake but by then it was called after her as "Aunt Lil Cake".
Pep liked to attend the movies by himself because Mem was unable to navigate very well with her wooden leg. They used to change the show twice weekly at the Ritz theatre near their house and he went twice a week to the movies.
Pep always had a good appetite. He usually drank tea and he ate bread at every meal. He liked to use his bread to swab up the gravy on his plate after he had finished his meal. He believed it was a sin not to eat bread at every meal because it was a gift from God.
Pep was a good attentive husband and took care of Mem's every need. They would travel to California every winter leaving shortly before Thanksgiving and returning in the spring after the weather turned warm in Minnesota. They usually stayed with Dora in Pasadena but sometimes they stayed with Archie in Paramount. After Mem's death he would travel to Florida to spend the winter on occasion.
When I was in the eighth grade at St. Austin's school, I decided to study clarinet and my mother and dad did not have enough money to buy the instrument, so Pep bought the horn for me. I also wanted to attend DeLaSalle Catholic High School after graduation from the eighth grade but again, my folks did not have the money for my tuition. After a few weeks of trying to come up with the money for my tuition, Mom asked her father to help with the problem. He said he would, but by the time he agreed to pay, the enrollment for the class was full.
I can remember summer mornings when he would stop by our house with a bag of produce that he had purchased at the Farmer's Market in Minneapolis. He would come in the back door of our house with a bag full of sweet corn or tomatoes. We had little money at home then and his help was greatly appreciated.
He had an old car, which was not pretty, but he drove almost up to the time he died. In those days one obtained their drivers license at a real estate office or drugstore and he had no formal training in driving. Pep had driven a coal truck in the early 1920's and had also driven for the Good Will Industries in the middle 1940's, so his driving skills were adequate. He always drove quite slowly, sometimes to the consternation of those following him.
During the summer of 1952, I worked with him painting the duplexes and garages of his buildings over Northeast. I always rode my bike to work, even thought it was 4-5 miles from our house to where we were working. We had a chance to become acquainted that summer, even though we were working on different parts of the buildings. He always took the higher work and I worked on the lower level. He was in his late 70's at the time, but never flinched when it came to work. I remember he was able to read a clock in a filling station, which was about � block from where we were working, and he did that without wearing glasses! His eyes were nearly perfect until the day he died.
We did not work on August 15 because it was a Holy Day, the Assumption. Pep was a very good Catholic and never missed Mass. I remember going to Mass only once with Pep. It was when Ray and Joe were babies and Mom was unable to attend. He came to the house and picked me up and we went to St. Austin's Church. He gave me a quarter to give in the collection plate.
He used to come and visit my mother, Pearl on a regular basis. She was his confidant after the death of his wife, Emilie (Mem). She often advised him about his finances and he trusted her knowledge. When he decided to buy an apartment building in south Minneapolis, Pearl and Lil were his cosigners. In the late 1950's Pearl and Lil with his approval became his guardians. Because of this arraignment, he lost his ability to vote and he regretted that ever afterward.
In April 1961, Joan and I were living in San Antonio, Texas, while I was attending The Medical Service Corps Officer Training School. Early one Saturday morning our telephone rang and it was Pep calling from the railroad station. He was on his way back to Minneapolis from California and had decided to stop and visit us in San Antonio. What a treat to have him visit us. We were so lonesome for home and he just happened to stop by. He spent the day with us and took us to the San Antonio Zoo. He was in the habit of taking a nap every day after lunch and because we lived in an efficiency apartment with no bedroom, he decided to take his nap in our car parked out on the street. He never wanted to interfere with his hosts when he stayed over at their home. We all watched Lawrence Welk's television program that evening because Pep liked Lawrence Welk. The next morning I took Pep down to the railroad station and bid him good-bye. That was the last time I saw him alive. He passed away in October 1962 while we were living in Virginia.
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