Helen Rachael Goethe (nee Vass) was born on September 24, 1910 in North Portal, SK. Her father came to Canada with his first wife and their two little girls. When his first wife died, he married Helen's mother, with whom he had twelve children. Mr. Vass was killed in a car accident in 1928, leaving his wife with thirteen children to raise.
The conditions of the Depression led Helen and her sisters to travel to Maryfield, SK to find work. It was there she met William Charles Goethe (1887-1976). Bill's first wife Laura Gertrude Coulson, and their son Lyle, both died in 1912. He married Eleanor Marie Krenz (?-1929) in 1925. Helen and Bill married in Elkhorn on December 8, 1945. Together they had twins Ronald and Donna. The couple lived on Bill's family farm at NW 18-11-29. Helen was active in the church and community and loved to garden Following her husband's death she lived in her own home in the same yard as her son and his family. Helen Goethe died in 2002 in Virden, MB. She is buried at Woodville Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Helen Goethe about her mother's experiences as a widowed mother with a large family during the Depression and her own life. Interviewer is Elmer Armstrong.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and the Elkhorn local history "Steel and Grass Roots: 1882-1982". Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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