Related by Marriage: A Plot with Lilies

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's paternal Grandfather, Stanley, and other relatives visit Cousin O's plot.

Related by Marriage: Memorial

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's Mom (left) and his maternal Aunt Martha (second from right) visit Cousin O's burial site.

Related by Marriage: Rest

Goodman Wisconsin, Summer 1940. The farm horses take a break after entertaining the city girls.

Related by Marriage: A Warmer Day

Carter, Wisconsin, 1938. The family of Mr. Irene's Mom visits his Mom's Godmother. Seated, left to right, are Mr. Irene's Mom, Aunt Petra, and his maternal Aunt Martha. Standing, left to right, are the Godmother, Cousin O's daughter, and Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley.

Related by Marriage: Sunday at the Farm

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's Mom visits with Cousin O's teenage daughter.

Related by Marriage: When Wisconsin was a Destination

 

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1939. Mr. Irene's Mom and her Godfather visit Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: A Family Plot

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. The families of Mr. Irene's Mom and Cousin O again visit a family plot. From left to right: Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley; Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna; Anna's sister, Petra; Cousin O's daughter; Mr. Irene's Mom; Cousin O, and; an unidentified man.

Related by Marriage: There will be time to work, later.

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. The family of Mr. Irene's Mom visit Cousin O's farm. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley sits. Standing, from left to right, are: Cousin O's daughter, Mr. Irene's Mom, Aunt Petra, Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother Anna, and the Godmother of Mr. Irene's Mom.

Related by Marriage: Draft Horse

Commenter edutcher thought one of the horses in this post looked like a draft horse.
 
Here's a pair of draft horses:

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's Mom (center) works at Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: Farm Friends

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1940. Mr. Irene's Mom, on the right, and her cousin—Cousin O's daughter—play with some of the farm dogs that lived on Cousin O's property.

There's that ladder again.

Related by Marriage: More Apple Picking

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, autumn 1938 or 1939. The family of Mr. Irene's Mom finishes up another afternoon of apple picking. (The family often went apple picking.)

From left to right are Cousin O, Mr. Irene's Mom, Aunt Petra, Cousin O's daughter, Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother Anna, Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather Stanley, and two of Cousin O's farm dogs.

Related by Marriage: Apple Orchard

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938 or 1939. Mr. Irene's Mom and her family check out the apple trees on Cousin O's farm. Seated on the lawn is Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna. Standing, from left to right, are Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley, Cousin O, Mr. Irene's Mom, Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt, Martha, and Cousin O's daughter.

Related by Marriage: Take a break from the kitchen chores.

Goodman, Wisconsin, Summer 1940. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna, takes a break at Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: Summer on the Farm

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, 1940. Mr. Irene's Mom, a city girl, negotiates the reins while she visits Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: Farm Dog

Goodman, Wisconsin, Summer 1940. Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt, Martha, visits the shed during her stay at Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: Summer Day at the Farm

Goodman, Wisconsin, Summer 1940. Mr. Irene's Mom (center) and her sister, Aunt Martha (right), visit with a relative on Cousin O's farm.

Related by Marriage: Plow Sharing

Goodman, Wisconsin, Summer 1940. Mr. Irene's Mom, on the right, leans on the plow on Cousin O's farm during a family visit to the property. Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt, Martha, sits on the plow.

Related by Marriage: Sunday on the Farm

Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938 or 1939. The family of Mr. Irene's Mom has again made the trip up north to Cousin O's farm. Mr. Irene's Mom sits on the lawn, with an unidentified dog. From left to right stand Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley; Cousin O; Cousin O's daughter; Petra—the sister of Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother, Anna; and Mr. Irene's maternal Aunt, Martha.

The group looks like it has just returned from church.

Related by Marriage: The Cousins up Nort'

Mr Irene's maternal grandfather, Stanley, had a cousin who had emigrated with his wife to farming life in northern Wisconsin, near the town of Goodman. Cousin O was widowed when his only child was a little girl. Cousin O had a crop farm; the family does not recall that there were dairy cows on the property. Northern Wisconsin was also an active place during prohibition, and Mr. Irene's Mom recalls quite a bit of early-morning traffic around Cousin O's barn.

Near Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1938. Mr. Irene's Mom tests the plow on Cousin O's farm.

*     *     *     *     *

Cousin O married a second time in the town of Goodman, in the company of other Lithuanian first-waver, immigrant farmers. Their stout good looks and well tailored clothes spoke to their success in their new country:

Goodman, Wisconsin, about 1933. The new "Mrs. Cousin O" sports a big ring.

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Mr. Irene's maternal Grandparents, Stanley and Anna, Mr Irene's young Mom, and Mom's sister, Aunt Martha, were frequent summer visitors to Cousin O's farm in the 1930s and early 1940s. The drive from Bridgeport, Chicago, to Goodman, Wisconsin, took over nine hours in the days before interstate highways. US Highway 41 was the key artery north out of Chicago, starting along Lake Michigan with Lake Shore Drive and Sheridan Road, before turning northwest towards Green Bay. There were other relatives nearby to visit as well. The godparents to Mr Irene's Mom, whom you've met here before, ran a tavern in Carter, Wisconsin. They, too, would join the visits to Goodman.

After Cousin O died in the late 1950s, Grandfather Stanley remembered something Cousin O had promised him. Money would be hidden in specific locations within Cousin O's farmhouse, and it was for Stanley to take after Cousin O's passing. Stanley dreamed one night very vividly that Cousin O came to tell him exactly where to find the cash.

Stanley convinced his older daughter, Mr. Irene's Aunt Martha, to drive up to Goodman with him. The dream was a sign, Stanley insisted, that the promise was real. Stanley and Martha found the old farmhouse, boarded and neglected. Somehow the two made their way into the abandoned house to hunt for the hidden treasure, but they returned empty handed that same day to Chicago.