Source: Marilyn Moen
She is married to Harry Joseph Tweed.
They got married on April 22, 1920 at Forest City, Winnebago Co., IA, she was 18 years old.
Harry Joseph Tweed oo Opal Ileen Hovland
Marriage source: Moen, Marilyn, Moen File Born Before 1900, (Pub. location unknown, http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com, 25 Aug MMI)
'... Harry Joseph TWEED ... Marriage 1 Opal Ileen HOVLAND ... Married: 22 APR 1920 in Forest City, Winnabago, Iowa'
Child(ren):
Opal Ileen Hovland
Source: Heyer Family Book by Iris & Dean Tweed, 1985
Author: Moen, Marilyn, Title: "Moen File Born Before 1900," (Publication location unknown, Publisher: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com, Publication date: xxv Aug MMI), Repository: The Cloud
'... Opal Ileen HOVLAND Sex: F Birth: 12 JUL 1901 in Eldon, MO, Miller County Death: 30 JUL 1987 in Mason City, Iowa, Cerro Gordo County Burial: Beaver Creek Cemetery, Joice, Iowa Religion: Lutheran Note: 1 Harry Joseph Tweed and Opal Ileen (Hovland) Tweed
Opal Ileen Hovland was born to Carrie and Halvor Hovland on July 12, 1901, near Aurora Spring and Eldon, Mo. She had two sisters and two brothers -- Bertha, Homer, Thelma and Cecil. She enjoyed her life in Mo. and was about eight or ninewhen the family moved back to Iowa -- Sergeant Bluffs, where they lived for a year or so before moving to Joice. While living at Sergeant Bluffs, she had a friend named Opal Combs. Opal and Mom lived in a duplex with their families, sothey saw a lot of each other. She also got to know her grandmother, Christi Michaelson a lot better after moving back to Iowa. Opal said her grandmother was a tall, thin lady who worked very hard. Opal Combs and Opal Tweed havecorresponded for years and they are still keeping in touch -- they're both in their middle eighties now. A year after moving to Sergeant Bluffs, Halvor was visiting his relatives near Joice and Forest City, and they convinced him to buy afarm near Joice and move his family to the country again -- they said town was no place to bring up a family. They moved there about 1911, and Opal helped milk the cows, drove a team for haying, she went to school through the eighthgrade. There were times they couldn't get to school because of the deep snow. Mom helped a sick relative who lived nearby -- she took care of two small children so the mother could stay in bed and rest. Some of Opal's work involveddriving a horse and buggy into Joice to take cream to the creamery. On the way, there was a man who was also taking his cream to town behind a team of horses and a buggy, and as they meet at a corner the horses would begin to race. Shedidn't know the man's name, but one day when she was invited by Joe to his home for Sunday dinner, there was her racing partner, Joe's father, and they looked at each other and grinned!! Box socials were held in school -- girls made boxeswith decorations on them, then they's make a delicious lunch in them, then the boys would bid on them and they would eat it together. The purpose was to make some money for the school, and of course, to have fun. Joe's father bid andbought Opal's box at the box social one night, and gave it to Joe to eat with Opal -- he was quite timid and did not have a whole lot to say she remembers. They started seeing each other a lot after that. When Mom was seventeen or so, shestarted working at restaurants -- first in Joice, and then in Lake Mills. She really enjoyed that a lot she says. Sometimes in the evenings for entertainment several families would go to a neighbor's home and play records on theirvictrola (you must remember there were no TV's in those days). They enjoyed each others' company.
Joe and Opal were married April 22, 1920 and lived in his folks' enclosed porch which was quite roomy. (Most of Knut and Maria's children started out housekeeping in this same porch; it was real cozy.) Joe and Opal lived on several farmsnear Joice (one had a log cabin). Joe worked as a hired hand for Bill Pueggel near Clear Lake. Later on, they worked for Sam Hyde. This farm was located near Clear Lake also; (about 5 miles away) and everyone in the family loved theneighborhood -- the Cash's, the Eibey's, and the Latch's and many more. Cash's had a pet sheep we kids would ride. In the evenings the whole family would go down to Farmer's beach, meet the other neighbors and swim, on the fourth of Julywe'd have family picnics with the Cash's. In 1935 we moved to a place by Forest City and Joe worked for a dairy man, Jay Brooker. He worked for $1.00 per day plus a furnished house, milk, cream, eggs etc.
In 1936 we moved to Lake Mills on a farm northwest of Lake Mills -- the Andrew Anderson farm. They farmed with teams of horses. Plowing behind a horse was slow. Pumping water with the whims of the wind, and if there was no wind, we pumpedby hand. Picking up corncobs for heat tested a family's commitment. Picking corn by hand was another tedious job which ran into weeks and months for some farmers. It all had to be unloaded by hand, too -- no elevators in those days (oraugers). Opal can remember pushing and pulling the handle of the washing machine, in her early days of marriage; then later on a motor was installed on her Maytag (it took the man of the house to get it started, but it ran good as a ruleafter that). It took hour after hour, and boiling water on the stove in a large boiler, breaking the water with lye (so it would be soft water) using bluing in the rinse water to make the clothes white all were Monday's washday chores. In1947 or 1948, Joe bought a tractor and retired the horses, except for occasional chores around the farm.
Joe was a strict disciplinarian, but we knew we were loved -- in many ways we were shown this -- in the appreciation of things we did around the house, helping milk the cows and do the other chores, driving the horses when we put up hay.Our parents couldn't afford the frivilous things -- they gave us the more lasting kind of Love, their time.
Many Sunday afternoons we'd quite often make homemade ice cream -- it was a real treat because we didn't have refrigerators or freezers to keep ice cream in, so didn't have it all the time like we do today. Sunday afternoons were spentvisiting grandparents, aunts and uncles, or having them over for Sunday dinners. When cousins would come, we'd all play ball. Our Aunt Tammy would always kick off her high heels, and go out and play with us, too. We loved her for that!Winter Saturday and Sunday afternoons would find us out on the snowy hills on skiis, sleds, and scoop shovels. Thanksgiving Day we were usually at Grandma and Grandpa Hovland with aunts, uncles, and cousins; Christmas Eve's we wereusually at Granpa and Grandma Tweed's having Lutefisk and Lefse with the Tweed aunts, uncles and cousins. We'd skate down her long upstairs hallway on the slippery rugs, climb into her empty bathtub (the kind with the fee). We'd playhide-and-go-seek in her many bedrooms upstairs. It was fun!!
Joe and Opal had their first grandchild, RIchard Thompson, in the spring of 1941; and many more have followed. As I am writing this story, they have thirty eight grandchildren; and the fiftieth great grandchild was born this winter, FondaMarie Mullenbruch.
In 1948 or so, Joe took a beef to the locker to be butchered, the beef wrapped Joe in the rope and threw him up in the air, he came down on his head on the frozen ground; he awakened in the hospital about two weeks later. He had forgottensome things; some things never came back to him, such as the Black Hawk Waltz which he had known by heart since a boy. Fritz and Yvonne went up that winter and stayed to help Dad get back on his feet.
In 1966 Joe retired and then worked for a neighbor some. He said it was so enjoyable and easy because he didn't have any decisions to make, just go to work and work until he was tired and then quit and go home.
We celebrated Joe and Opal's 49th wedding anniversary at the Stable's Restaurant in Albert Lea in April, 1968. Evelyn and Gar Paulsen, their dear friends brought them to the surprise party and all nine of the kids and all nine of the spouses were there to surprise them. This was all arranged by Barbara and Ray Tweed. The following December 4, 1969, Joe passed away and is buried at the Beaver Creek Cemetery near Joice, along side two sons, DeWard (who died at almost seven years of age) and Don (who died when he was one day old).
Opal had a stroke in April of 1983 which affected her memory and her seeing. She stayed in many of our homes until she was better and then Hazel Branstad, the governor's mother, stayed in her home with her for two months or so. Sincethen, she has been by herself and gets along quite well. Change Date: 31 JAN 2000
Father: Halvor HOVLAND b: 16 NOV 1865 in Olhagen, Hulleneie, Jevnaker, Norway
Mother: Carrie MICKELSON b: 17 FEB 1874 in Winneshiek County, Iowa
Marriage 1 Harry Joseph TWEED b: 1 JUL 1899 Married: 22 APR 1920 in Forest City, Winnabago, Iowa
Sources: 1. Text: Story by Dorothy (Hovland) Alden. Daughter of Opal and Joe Tweed."
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