Bio for TOLSTEAD, Harold James (b.1895 d.1971), Mower Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Rollins Submitted: February 2007 ========================================================================= HAROLD JAMES TOLSTEAD July 31, 1895-August 5, 1971 By Robert Tolstead Harold Tolstead was born on July 31, 1895 to Lewis Anthony Tolstedt and Lucy Mae Pease Tolstedt at Saint Anthony, Iowa. Harold was the youngest of their three surviving children. Lewis spelled his surname Tolstead at this time and that is the spelling on Harold's birth certificate. Harold told his son that in his childhood he loved to play baseball and that his most prized possession was a baseball glove his father and uncles taught him how to use and care for. He spoke often of an "Uncle Willie", which poses a mystery because Lewis's brother William is thought to have died in 1892, three years before Harold's birth.(authors note, Lucy Pease Tolstead also had a brother William, probably the Uncle Willie mentioned by Harold) In the harsh economic circumstances of that time before child labor laws were enacted Harold worked 10 or more hours a day in a canning factory in Marshalltown, Iowa (possibly Gilman or Watertown, South Dakota) before he was 12 years old. In his early teens he learned telegraphy from his father who by then was a railroad station agent in Stanton, Minnesota. The boy copied his first train order at 14 when the key began to clatter unexpectedly while his father was off plowing the garden. He took his first permanent job in June 1913, at age 17, as a telegrapher for the Chicago Great Western Railroad on the night shift at Dennison, Minnesota," down the line" from Stanton. His association with the company lasted fifty years. Harry, as he was known by his friends was about 5'10" tall and weighed about 150 pounds in his 20's to 185 pounds for awhile in his 50's , but usually weighed about 165. He was boyishly handsome, with sandy brown hair, blue eyes, dark eyebrows and a "tooth paste add" smile. When he transferred to Renova , Minnesota, Harold met Lydia Hedwig Stern. They were married on August 4, 1915 at Dexter Minnesota and their first home was on the second floor of the Renova General Store which was owned by Lydia's brother Herman Stern. Housing was so scarce at that time in Taopi, Minnesota, which was Harold's next assignment with the Chicago Great Western Railroad and where the newlywed's were forced for a time to live in a tent. The CGW and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroads intersected at Taopi and he was a joint agent for both companies. His thirty two years tenure there spanned the roaring twenties, the Great Depression of the 30's and all of W W II. It was a good and relatively high paying job when jobs were scarce, and it allowed him to provide well for his family, but required a full seven days of work each week. During W W II Harold worked more than four years without a day off except for serious illness. Some aspects of his personality seem contradictory. He was an introvert and had a tendency toward perfectionism and worrying. But in spite of these traits and his punishing work schedule he was usually a happy and jolly man; respected and well liked in the community because of his friendliness, wit and sense of humor. He was a good armature athlete and in his younger days, participated in baseball, tennis and boxing, as well as family competitions in volleyball, softball, croquet and pitching horse shoes after his work day ended at 4:00 P.M. He played the cornet and before the seven day work schedule at Taopi, occasionally played in a small dance band led by his brother in law, George McClintock, in Randolph, Minnesota. He did not consider himself an accomplished musician and only rarely would he succumb to the pleas of his children to perform for them. His relationship with George provided both of them with opportunities for practicing their sarcastic humor. A typical example of Harold's wit occurred when during a volleyball game he accidentally slammed the ball into George's rather large nose. George exclaimed, "Damn! Harry, you hit me right in the face." Harold replied," George that ball hit you on the nose; it didn't come anywhere near your face." Harold had a rather quick temper but was very tender hearted, sensitive and forgiving; he didn't hold anger or grudges. One of his favorite quotations was ,"A soft answer turned away wrath; a precept that served him well in controlling his temper. The nature of his early religious orientation is unknown, but it was probably Methodism in the tradition of his grandmother Eliza Martin Tolstedt; he told his children that his father Lewis had at one time studied for the ministry and aspired to being a Methodist preacher. He was a believer as were his parents but did not regularly attend church in the early days at Taopi. He and Lydia , a Lutheran provided religious training for their children through Sunday school at the local church, which was affiliated with different protestant denominations at different times. He experienced a significant spiritual awakening some time in his forties and for his remaining time in Taopi, often drove with his family to Austin, 25 miles away, after work on Sunday for an evening worship service there. Intelligent and an avid reader, Harold was interested and well informed on the issues of his time. He was articulate with friends and business associates but was uncomfortable with public speaking and shunned the lime light. Although he was not enamored with most fraternal and civic clubs, he was proud of his affiliation with the Masonic Lodge at LeRoy, Minnesota. With both the decline of railroads after WWII and advances in communications which enables safe control of much longer segments of track, the station at Taopi closed in 1947 and Harold transferred to Racine, Minnesota where he finally had Saturdays and Sundays free. He worked there and at times also at Stewartville, the next town up the line until they closed and he retired in 1963. In Racine, He and Lydia joined the Racine United Methodist Church and were members there for the remainder of their lives. Harold died in an ambulance in route from Racine to Rochester, Minnesota of an aortic aneurysm, August 5, 1971. Heroic efforts to revive him at the emergency room of St. Mary's hospital were unsuccessful. An autopsy revealed he had suffered two previous "silent" heart attacks. He is buried with his beloved wife Lydia at the Hamilton Cemetery Southeast of Racine. MEMORIES OF GRANDPA HARRY By Diane Tolstead Rollins I was fortunate to have spent considerable time with my Grandpa Harry and Grandma Lydia and have fond memories of two dear people. I often stayed with them in the summer as a little girl. I have several images of Grandpa Harry; one is of him reading his newspaper and Reader's Digest in his gold colored chair near the picture window of their house in Racine, walking down the rural road near their home, tadpoles in the creek near their house, and lilacs from the lilac hedge behind their house. Grandpa Harry was a handsome man, and enjoyed laughing. He for some reason made me think of Franklin Roosevelt, and some of the qualities of Jack Benny. He enjoyed cars and was always joking with my dad about how powerful the engine was in his 1964 Chevy Impala. Another area of ongoing banter between Harry and Donald, had to do with "snagging a free meal", after they would have dinner at each others home they would estimate the cost of the meal, something that seemed to add significantly to the cost was if the dessert served was pie and if it was served, "a- la-mode". I also remember going to visit him in the depot in Racine, which was always interesting for a little kid. My imagination would take hold ,of the people who came to that depot and of their travels to places unknown. He never attended or graduated from high school but was well spoken and enjoyed reading. I remember going with Grandma and Grandpa to Rochester to go shopping Grandpa would eat at Perkins and Grandma would eat at Henri's hamburger joint and I could pick who I went with. They were a happy couple and you could tell they loved each other. I was with my parents when we got the call to come to Racine and were with Grandpa Harry and Grandma Lydia just prior to his death in 1970. I have warm memories of Grandpa Harry. Harold James was the youngest child of Lewis and Lucy (Pease) Tolstead. Lewis parents were Ulrich and Eliza (Martin) Tolstedt. Ulrich was a German immigrant who fought for the union army during the Civil War. Eliza Martin was of English descent, and was born in Canada, coming to the United States as a young child. Her father was a successful farmer in Northern Illinois and according to family tradition was also a Methodist preacher. Lucy's parents were Joseph and Louisa Schoenfeldt Pease, German emigrants from Prussia, who lived in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Iowa. Harold Tolstead was born in St, Anthony, Iowa and lived in central Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota during his childhood years. He never attended high school. His life's work was acting as a telegrapher and Railroad Station Agent with his first permanent adult job at age 17. He was a skilled telegrapher according to my dad. Three generations of Tolstead's made the railroad their life's work including Lewis, Harry and my father Donald. Harold was the youngest child in the family. His sisters, Frances and Maude were six and four years older than Harold. His parents lived apart for a time starting when he was 15 or 16 years old. He met my grandmother Lydia when he was the station agent at Renova, a small town in Southern Minnesota that is now unincorporated. Harold and Lydia were married at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church near her parent's farm in Mower County Minnesota on August 4, 1915. They moved to Taopi as a young couple and my father, Donald Tolstead was born on June 26, 1917 when Harold was 22 and Lydia was 20. Their family eventually grew to five children with the births of Blanche in 1919, Shirley in 1925, Robert in 1930 and Marilyn in 1931. Harold and Lydia lived in Taopi for 32 years before relocating to Racine, Minnesota. They were involved with and proud of their children. Donald worked for the Chicago Great Western eventually serving managerial roles as a Road master. Blanche and her husband ran a successful appliance retail business. Shirley and Marilyn and their husbands were partners owning a successful retail store called "Farm and Home" in Rochester. Robert was a career military man serving in the Air Force, and living overseas and in Texas. All the other children lived in close proximity to Harold and Lydia in southern Minnesota. Harold and Lydia had 11 grandchildren, ten of which are still living. ========================================================================= Copyright Diane Rollins 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm =========================================================================