F. Straub

Fred and Magdalena Straub grew up in Neulustdorf, Russia, as their families had taken advantage of an offer to German farmers to settle the prairies of south Russia. They married on October 4, 1911 at 26 and 22 years old, and on July 23, 1914, they took a boat from Bremen, Germany and immigrated to the U.S. with two children, one two years old and the other four months. After arriving in Baltimore they traveled by train to Eureka, South Dakota. There they stayed with their uncle Henry Straub, and Fred dug basements for four or five dollars a day. In 1916 they took up a homestead in Vananda, Montana. After struggles with poor soil and a reliable water source, they found a spot for a well which would be fed by a spring. They dug this by hand and had a good garden, with Fred working for a rancher named Stromstead.

After over three years in Vananda they rented a farm northeast of Plevna. Two of the children started school here and had to learn English for the first time while still speaking German at home. At one point three student teachers stayed with them, and Fred began to learn English from Rodemacer’s Spelling and Language Book. The adults had rabbit hunt competitions and the children were kept occupied with school plays, picnics, and keeping up their grades. They also experienced the first radio with earphones. Magdalena grew watermelons in her garden which the men loved after a morning of threshing. In the 40’s Fred and his sons tore down an old hardware store in Westmore, and used the salvageable materials to build a barn on their ranch. It was painted red in 1959, then repainted by Darold Brown in 1971 and a few times after that. The Barn still stands today and is considered part of their family. The Straubs went to the Plevna Congregational every Sunday, by horse and buggy until they bought a model T. After fifty-five years of marriage Fred died on November 11, 1966 at 81 years, and Magdalena died four and half years later on April 29, 1971, 81 years as well. They had eight children, Richard, Rudy, Reiny, Art, Herbie, Emma, Rosalie, and Louise.