When Hilda Ida Brunken was born on September 22, 1906, near Platte Center, Nebraska, her father, William, was 28, and her mother, Clara, was 22. She married Julius Heinrich Kirmse on November 1, 1936, in Lahoma, Oklahoma. They had four children during their marriage. She died on September 24, 1946 in Hardtner, Kansas at the age of 40, and was buried in Alva, Oklahoma.
Born, to Mr. and Mrs. Willie Brunken near Monroe, Saturday a little bright-eyed girl baby. Grandpa Brunken of this route has forgot all about his rheumatism. [Route 3]
- WHAT: Birth Announcement – Newspaper clipping
- WHO: Hilda Ida Brunken
- WHEN: September, 1906
- WHERE: Platte Center, Nebraska
- SOURCE: The Columbus Journal, September 26, 1906. page 2
Mr. and Mrs John Brunken attended the christening of their little five weeks old grand daughter, Hilda Ida, at home of their son, Will Brunken, west of Platte Center on last Sunday. [Route 3]
- WHAT: Baptism Announcement – Newspaper clipping
- WHO: Hilda Ida Brunken
- WHEN: October, 1906
- WHERE: Platte Center, Nebraska
- SOURCE: The Columbus Journal, October 31, 1906 page 8
- WHAT: Portrait of Hilda Ida Brunken, daughter of William Leopold and Clara Marie (Petersen) Brunken,
- WHO: Hilda Ida Brunken, daughter of William Leopold and Clara Marie (Petersen) Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1907 – Hilda appears to be about one year old
- WHERE: Platte Center, Nebraska – West of
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: None
To Hilda
from Herbert
Birthday 1909[1]
- A birthday greeting to Hilda from her cousin Herbet.
- WHO:
- “Hilda” is Hilda Ida Brunken, daughter of William and Mary (Petersen) Brunken.
- “Herbert” is Herbert E. Arndt, son of Edward and Mathilda (Petersen) Arndt.
- WHEN: September, 1909
- WHERE: Near Platte Center, Nebraska
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES:
- The “Birthday 1909” was added at some later date than when the postcard was given.
- Hilda was turning 3 years old and Herbert was 4 years old in September, 1909.
- This post is an example of the greeting postcards in the third section of the album.
Postmark: PLATTE CENTER NEB FEB 10 4PM 1915
Miss Hilda Brunken
Meno
Okla.
%Wm Brunken
Hello Hilda,
Recd your Mama’s postal yesterday. Well how are you all up there. We are all well. I have plenty of time now to write we have no German school yet The teacher did not come yet, Suppose you go to school every day. How do you like school? I only go to Confirmation — the forenoon —- ans soon.
As ever
Elsa H.Who
- WHAT: Valentine Card From Elsa
- WHO:
- “Elsa H.” is Elsie Ida Hagelman, daughter of Henry and Anna (Petersen) Hagelman.
- “Hilda” is Hilda Ida Brunken, daughter of William and Mary (Petersen) Brunken.
- WHEN: February 10, 1915 – Postmark
- WHERE: Platte Center, Nebraska – Postmark
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES:Elsa, who is 5 years older than Hilda, apparently has a lot of extra time since her school has not yet started.
- WHAT: Hilda had the responsibility of keeping the turkeys in place so the photographer could snap a picture of them. However, the turkey tom is not taking kindly to this – he is protecting the hen while ruffling his feathers and screaming “Gobble, Gobble, Gobble”.
- WHO: Hilda Ida Brunken
- WHEN: About 1916, There are no leaves on the trees next to the house so this is winter time.
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – The William Brunken Lahoma family home is in the background.
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: Compare Hilda in the current picture with the photograph in the “William and Mary Brunken Children – 1916” picture, both pictures are the same size, on the same postcard film stock, and have the same border – the pictures were likely taken on the same film load and possibly on the same day.
- WHAT: Birthday Party for Hilda Brunken
- WHO: UnIdentified
- BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Leona Brunken, Hilda Brunken, Alvin Brunken, UnIdentified
- FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Harold Brunken, UnIdentified, UnIdentified
- WHEN: Saturday September 22, 1917 – If this was Hilda’s 11th birthday
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – at the William Brunken farm house.
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: Names are according to a sticky note on the snapshot
- WHAT: Second snapshot of Birthday Party for Hilda Brunken
- BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: UnIdentified, UnIdentified, Mary Brunken
- MIDDLE ROW,LEFT TO RIGHT: UnIdentified, Hilda Brunken, Alvin Brunken, UnIdentified
- FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Harold Brunken, UnIdentified, UnIdentified
- WHEN: Saturday September 22, 1917 – If this was Hilda’s 11th birthday
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – at the William Brunken farm house.
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES:
- According to a sticky note attached to this second snapshot, the woman on the right is Grandmother Brunken
- The woman on the left holding a child (apparently a girl) is not identified. Her facial features are very similar to those of Grandmother Brunken – possibly a sister or cousin?
How old was Hilda on this birthday? We have two pictures/chances to count the candles on Hilda’s birthday cake.
Be careful not to include the candle shadows in your count.
What is your count? As best as I can count the candles on Hilda’s birthday cake, there are 10 candles. By candle count, this was Hilda’s 10th birthday. As an addition reference for dating this picture, Harold would have been almost three on Hilda’s 10th birthday. In my opinion Harold looks older than an almost three year old. Could one of the candles be missing – the candles do appear to have previously been lit. Possibly a candle dropped off of the cake on the way outside for taking the picture and being dirty was not replaced on the cake. After all, who would have expected that someone was going to try to count the candles in a picture a hundred years later?
For now, I am going to assume that this was Hilda’s eleventh birthday.
- WHAT: Hilda Ida Brunken – Confirmation
- WHO: Hilda Ida Brunken – daughter of William Leopold and Clara Marie “Mary” (Petersen) Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1920
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Grandma Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: According to a caption on the back of the postcard, this picture was taken on Hilda’s confirmation day
- WHAT: A scene in a Walther League Playlet called the “The Booger Man”
- WHO: Hilda Brunken, Elenor Rosell
- WHEN: Circa February 1924 – Assuming Hilda is 18 years old
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: Hilda Brunken participated in many local theater plays as a young adult. These pictures show the costumes worn and scenes in a Walther League Playlet called the “The Booger Man”.
- WHAT: Another scene in a Walther League Playlet called the “The Booger Man”
- WHO: Hilda Brunken, Elenor Rosell
- Circa February 1924 – Assuming Hilda is 18 years old
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- WHAT: Another scene in a Walther League Playlet called the “The Booger Man”
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Elenor Rosell, Hilda Brunken, Irene Brakage
- WHEN: Circa February 1924 – Assuming Hilda is 18 years old
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- WHAT: Hilda and two friends have their picture taken.
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Louise Brandhorst, Edna Graf, Hilda Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1924 – Assuming that Hilda is about 18 years old
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – probably
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- WHO: Hilda Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1925
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – probably
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: None
- WHAT: Hilda Graduation from High School
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Hilda Brunken, UnIdentified, UnIdentified
- WHEN: Circa 1926
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- WHAT: A play that Hilda participated in
- WHO: UnIdentified
- WHEN: Circa 1928
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- NOTES: Hilda enjoyed helping produce and act in plays
- WHAT: Swimming at Walther League Camp
- WHO: Hilda Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1930
- WHERE: Walther League Camp
- SOURCE: Donna Martin
- WHAT: Photographs that were exchanged with friends
- WHO: Hilda Brunken
- WHEN: Circa 1935
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – probably
- SOURCE: Mildred Kletke
- WHAT: Wedding portrait of Hilda Ida Brunken and Julius Henry Kirmse
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Julius Henry Kirmse, Hilda Ida (Brunken) Kirmse
- WHEN: 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma – possibly could be Enid, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Mildred Lorena Brunken, sister of the bride; Laura Helena Maria Kirmse, sister of the groom; Hilda Ida Brunken, bride; Julius Henry Kirmse, groom; Harold Casten Brunken, brother of the bride; Ella Anna Paulina Kirmse, sister of the groom
- In Front: Audrey Lee Lindorfer, niece of the bride
- WHEN: November 1, 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Mildred Lorena Brunken, sister of the bride; Laura Helena Maria Kirmse, sister of the groom; Harold Casten Brunken, brother of the bride; Ella Anna Paulina Kirmse, sister of the groom
- In Front: Audrey Lee Lindorfer, niece of the bride
- WHEN: November 1, 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Mildred Lorena Brunken, Laura Helena Maria Kirmse, Hilda Ida (Brunken) Kirmse, Julius Henry Kirmse, Harold Casten Brunken, Ella Anna Paulina Kirmse,
- In Front: Audrey Lee Lindorfer
- WHEN: November 1, 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Hilda Ida (Brunken) Kirmse, Julius Henry Kirmse
- In Front: Audrey Lee Lindorfer
- WHEN: November 1, 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Hilda Ida (Brunken) Kirmse, Julius Henry Kirmse
- WHEN: November 1, 1936
- WHERE: Lahoma, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Yordi
Julius Henry Kirmse
When Julius Heinrich Kirmse was born on January 20, 1905, near Goodwin, Oklahoma, his father, Wilhelm, was 29 and his mother, Martha, was 25. He married Hilda Ida Brunken and they had four children together. He then married Hildegard Frieda Kletke on August 19, 1951, in Alva, Oklahoma. He died on December 4, 1998, in Alva, Oklahoma, at the age of 93, and was buried there.
- WHAT: Julius Kirmse with his sister Edna Kirmse
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Edna Barbara Kirmse, Julius Heinrich “Henry” Kirmse
- WHEN: Circa 1908
- WHERE: Goodwin, Oklahoma – possibly taken at Shattuck, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Donna Kirmse
- NOTES: Edna Barbara Kirmse, , daughter of Wilhelm Kirmse and Martha Margaretha Cordes, was born on February 5, 1908, in Ellis County, Oklahoma. She died as a child on July 10, 1909, in Ellis County, Oklahoma, and was buried in Alva, Oklahoma.
- WHAT: Julius Heinrich Kirmse – confirmation portrait
- WHO: Julius Heinrich “Henry” Kirmse, son of Martha Margaretha (Cordes) and William Kirmse.
- WHEN:
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Donna Kirmse
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Julius Kirmse, Alvin Kirmse
- WHEN: DateUnknown
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Donna Kirmse
- WHO: Julius Kirmse
- WHEN: DateUnknown
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Donna Kirmse
- WHAT: A photograph taken in a photobooth
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Julius Henry Kirmse, Hilda Ida (Brunken) Kirmse
- WHEN: Circa 1936
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma – possibly could be Enid, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Hilda Brunken’s Album
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Julius Heinrich “Henry” Kirmse, Hilda (Brunken) Kirmse
- WHEN: Circa 1938
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Gary Brunken
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Hilda (Brunken) Kirmse, Julius Heinrich “Henry” Kirmse
- WHEN: Circa 1938
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma
- SOURCE: Judy Ann Yordi
- NOTES: None
Hildegard Frieda Kletke
When Hildegard Frieda Kletke was born on March 18, 1905, in Alva, Oklahoma, her father, Edward, was 31, and her mother, Ida, was 25. She married Julius Heinrich Kirmse on August 19, 1951, in her hometown. She died on February 27, 2002, in Alva, Oklahoma, at the age of 96, and was buried there.
- WHAT: Wedding portrait
- LEFT TO RIGHT: Hildegard (Kletke) Kirmse, Julius Heinrich “Henry” Kirmse
- WHEN: August 19, 1951
- WHERE: Alva, Oklahoma