Although Grandma Eva Christenson was my step-grandmother, she was the only grandmother on this side of the family that I ever knew. Eva was particularly hard working and a very strong woman physically . She had learned to cook from her Norwegian parents with her sisters. Pete hired her first as a live-in nanny and housekeeper. After they eventually married she raised her five step children from Pete's first marriage as well as having two of her own. Her chores included milking the cows, feeding the chickens as well as cooking the meals and occasionally going to get the sheep or driving the tractor. She did laundry by boiling the clothes in a big black cast iron kettle in which she also made lye soap. She did most of the cooking during threshing or harvesting season for the many hands that showed up for the Thrashing Bee.

1926 - Although I had great love and respect for Eva, I have had to wait years until Burton died to tell this story about my grandfather and his relationship with her.   According to my aunt Clarice, who told me this about 1990, before she succumbed to Alzheimer's.   She said  that when she was a child, Eva had come to work for Pete, her father,  to take care of the the children.   Eva had apparently been dating or dated after she started working for Pete a fellow named +++++Stamford.   Eva apparently became pregnant with a child with ++++ Stamford and confided in my grandfather that she was with child.  He knew that he was not the father and confronted the  man in the middle of the street in downtown Cranfills Gap.  He apparently tried to get him to do the right thing by marrying her but he refused.   They had a fist fight in the middle to of the street.  This was, of course, the talk of the town. Since nothing was resolved my grandfather took the responsibility and married Eva.  Burton, even as a child, seemed different that than the other children and came to resemble more and more the unrecognized father in looks and attitude.   He also may have heard of these stories in this small town.   I believe that Burton, as he grew older,  understood this difference and did isolate himself somewhat from the family by physical distance and work.   I liked Burton but as friendly and jovial as I remembered him he was also somewhat aloof and distant.  I do believe that this story explains alot about his relationship with the family.   [Clarice Witte, Aug 1990]

Both Burton and Leldon graduate from Cranfills Gap High School.  Eva's sons both go off to war. Burton was in the Merchant Marines and Leldon was in the Army and posted in Korea on the front line.

Burton Christenson marries the widow Mozelle Chandler Neskorik. She had been married to George Neskorik who was killed by a truck. Although she had a daughter by this marriage, the daughter dies in 1942. Burton and Mozelle had no other children of their own and lived most of the life in Seymore, Texas.

Leldon marries Bette Lou Wimberly. Her family had lived just over the mountain from the Christenson farm. They had two boys, Dale and Larry, who together had a successful cabinet making business south of Fort Worth. Both have several children of their own. Leldon worked for many years with General Motors in Arlington, TX. He developed Parkinson disease which caused an early retirement. After his lingering illness and death, Betty Lou remarries to real estate developer, N. D. Hopkins.

Eva Christenson's Cinnamon Rolls

                 1 cup milk (scalded) heat to scumming-over
                                             1 tsp salt
                                             2 tbsp sugar
                                             4 tbsp butter
                                             1 pkgs yeast
                                             3 cups flour or more as needed

Add yeast and 1/2 cup warm water to get it started and doubled
Put warm milk, salt, sugar, butter and blend in large bowl.
Add yeast mixture when it has doubled in size.
Beat, add remaining flour and knead, add more flour to acheive the bread dough consistancy. (Cheryl says that it very much depends on weather conditions how and when to add more flour)
Place in greased bowl - spread with melted butter and cover with a towel in a warm place.
Let double.
Knead and roll to 1/2" thick on a large counter, spread with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture
Roll and cut into 1 1/2" length disks.
Place in a large (3" deep x 12"x 8") baking pan.
Let rise to double height
Bake 400¡ F. for 20 min.
When cooled cover with butter and sugar (powdered) icing

Ancestor Chart #1 | Thrashing Bee | Egeberg lineage chart

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All information and photos included within these pages was developed by the help of hundreds of researchers. The information here is for the express purpose of personal genealogical research and is freely offered as long as this site is listed as a source. It may not be included or used for any commercial purpose or included in any commercial site without the express permission of Elroy Christenson. Copyright Elroy Christenson 1998-2010.

web pages created by Elroy Christenson- elroy@next1000.com - last updated 8/10/10