Flora Stoerker

     Photo of Flora Altenbernd(#63), Julia Stoerker(#62), Marion(#122) and Molly Stoerker(#192), Molly's mother(#3136). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers(#132).
     Recipe for Checkerboard Cake from Flora Altenbernd.
     Recipe for Lime Pie from Flora Stoerker This came from "Frieda", but which Frieda?
     Recipe for salmon salad from Flora Altenbernd.
     Recipe for (an unknown value) from Flora Stoerker.
     Recipe for lebkuchen from Flora Altenbernd. She was a witness to (an unknown value) with Alma Myers.
     Flora was born in Morrison, Osage County, Missouri, USA, on 27 Apr 1894.^1,3,4,2,5,6 She was confirmed on 27 Apr 1894 at Evang St Petris Kirche, New Haven, Franklin County, Missouri, USA.⁷ She was the daughter of Conrad Friedrich Stoerker and Wilhelmine Cuno.²
     Flora's social security number is 514-32-1928. She applied for it in Kansas, USA.⁸
     The following information is from the records of John Altenbernd.

My mother was born in Morrison, Missouri, April 27, 1894, the eighth of eleven children (and youngest daughter) of Rev. Conrad Frederick Stoerker and his wife Wilhelmina. He was pastor of St. James Church there. Mom has no memory of Morrison. The family moved to Staunton, Illinois, only a month or so later to serve St. Paul's Church there.

Staunton was a mining town. Mom was five when they left there and Mom's memories of it were childish. She recalled it as a town composed of "millionaires" (surely an exaggeration) and poor people - the mine owners and the miners. The big event of the day was when the train stopped there. "Everybody" in town would go down to the station to see who got on the train and who got off.

German was the spoken language of the Stoerker home. English was "Yankeevolk" according to my grandfather, and he did not want it spoken in his house. As a result my mother would begin first grade in Addieville, Illinois, later not knowing any English despite being American born.

My grandfather ruled his house in the German tradition. His word was law. He received whatever special privileges that might be possible in a home of meager income, such as having butter. The butter dish would be by his plate, and no one else was allowed to have any. If there was any lesser privileges to be granted to anyone, they went to the boys, not to the girls. The continuing education of the boys was an important item, all the way to Elmhurst College and Eden Seminary. The girls, after high school, were strictly on their own. My grandfather was not a cruel or insensitive man, but he was stern, and his German heritage made him a firm believer in male superiority. My mother and her sisters all loved their father (referring to him as "Papa"), but throughout their lives they would sometimes voice resentments about their father's favoritism toward the boys and his comparative neglect of the girls.

In 1899 the family moved to Addieville, Illinois, where they would remain for six years serving Zion Church.

Mom started school there the next year, a German parochial school affiliated with the church, and taught by a school master named Christian ("Christ") Mohr. Since it was a German School, my mother's lack of knowledge of English did not hurt her, and she did begin learning English there.

Christ Mohr, like my grandfather, was a product of the stern German tradition, and he taught school accordingly. My mother's memories of her early schooling were not happy ones particularly. Christ Mohr quickly took to courting Mom's oldest sister, Frieda, and married her. After that, Mr. Mohr was not only her teacher, but her brother?in?law. That did not help matters any. Evidently to prove he was not showing favoritism, he became especially hard on her.

In 1902 Uncle Christ resigned to accept a better position in Washington, Missouri. The local shoe cobbler had been a Sunday School teacher at the church for years and spoke excellent German, giving an appearance evidently of education he did not have. The parochial school board interviewed him, found him qualified to teach religion and German, but inadequate in other subjects. Nonetheless, they recommended him as the new school teacher, to my grandfather's consternation. My mother told me a number of stories about that next year of school. The cobbler was a well? meaning and kindly man, but his ignorance was staggering. The older students, for the most part, knew more than he did, and they in effect, ended up teaching the younger ones like my mother.

My grandfather refused to send his children to his own parochial school the next year, a decision that shocked the Addieville community. So my mother entered public school in the fourth grade. She liked that much better.

Mom's best friend in Addieville was Lydia("Lydie") Becker (later Lydia Lehde). That friendship continued even after the Stoerker's left Addieville as letters were written back and forth. Lydie and her son LeRoy, (a year or two older than I) came to visit us in Kansas in 1948, and Mom and I spent a couple of days in Addieville a year later. But a lot of time had passed and a lot of water had gone under the bridge for both of them. They had led entirely different lives in very different environments. They found they had little in common anymore. The two women never got together again.

The parochial school had an annual picnic as a fund?raiser including a roulette wheel, oddly enough. There was also a "fish pond" in which , for a penny, you could put a fish pole in a tent and when you pulled it out, something would be on it. My mother one year was curious about that tent and what all was in it. So she sneaked behind it and turned up the tent edge from the ground to have a look. The man inside saw her and kicked her, bloodying her nose.

The Stoerker's were poor, and the large family didn't help matters any. The supper meal - for the children - was often only bread and apple butter. So my mother frequently was hungry. There was a tavern in Addieville that sold more things than beer. It was quite a respectable place and there was no stigma attached to children - or the minister's family - going in there. Mom would sometimes be sent there to pick up something.

It was customary in that day and age for taverns to have sandwiches on the counter, free for the taking when you bought a glass of beer, sandwiches of meat and cheese - a rare delicacy so far as my mother was concerned. She had been sent to the tavern to buy something. As the bartender handed her her order, he evidently noticed her looking longingly at the plate full of sandwiches. He motioned toward the plate and said, "Take one." She did, hurriedly eating the delicious thing on the way home so no one else would know about it.

Chewing gum was another great luxury unknown to the Stoerkers. "Chewing gum" here is not to be confused with chewing gum of today. This amounted only to a kind of flavored wax. Once at recess at the parochial school, one of the other girls was chewing "gum". Mom watched her chew longingly, and finally worked up the nerve to ask her if she could have a piece. "Sure", the girl said, and took the piece out of her mouth that she was chewing and gave it to my mother. She didn't care. She gratefully took it and began chewing it. She was still chewing it when recess was over and she went back in to class. Christ Mohr noticed her chewing almost immediately and made he put it in the wastebasket. Mom carefully stuck it on a piece of paper in the basket and retrieved it again when school was out.

The Stoerker family moved to New Haven, Missouri, to St. Peter's Church, in 1905 when Mom was eleven years old. New Haven proved to be my mothers favorite place of her childhood. Things were much better there than they had been elsewhere. The people were good to the Stoerker family, building for them a ten?room house for the large family. My mother would leave the family home before this pastorate ended in 1915.

Mom's best friend there was Lome Erfurdt, later Lome Frei. This friendship remained fully intact through the ensuing years. We visited in New Haven with the Freis even while Dad was still alive, and my mother and I later visited there too after Aunt Ella married Dr. Bert Mankopf and lived in nearby Washington, Missouri and after I became pastor at nearby Berger, Missouri, Lome Frei, in fact, was at our wedding.

The Stoerkers had a cow presented to them upon their arrival in New Haven. It became Fred's job to milk it. My mother was fascinated watching him, and she asked Fred if he would teach her. That proved to be a mistake. Once he had taught my mother, Fred wouldn't do it anymore and it became my mother's job. It probably wouldn't have mattered. Fred left for Elmhurst College that September, so the task of milking the cow would probably have fallen to my mother anyway.

Paul, the oldest, soon graduated from Eden Seminary in 1905 and married Josephine Martin, moving them to his first pastorate in Atchison, Kansas. Theodore (or "Ted") was born in 1907. In 1908 my mother went to Atchison to live with them and go to high school there. I don't know the reason for that. There was a high school in New Haven. Maybe it was to take care of the baby, and other babies soon came along for the Paul Stoerker's.

Paul and Josie moved from Atchison to Sedalia, Missouri in 1910, and Mom moved with them, finishing high school there. Mom went on to business college, qualifying herself as a secretary. She had a number of short term jobs in Sedalia.

In 1914 the Paul Stoerker's moved again, to Jefferson City, Missouri, where Paul became pastor of Central Church there. My mother again moved with them, not having any permanent job position to hold her in Sedalia.

She quickly got a position as secretary in the office of the International Shoe Company in Jefferson City, and she would remain there for almost fourteen years until her marriage to my father in 1927.

She became best friends with a very attractive, vivacious young woman named Ozetta ("Ozzie") Bruce. She was Presbyterian and did not go to Uncle Paul's Church. Ozie was single and lived with her mother. Later on, when the Paul Stoerker's moved again, Mom moved in with Ozie and her mother. Both of them paid rent and board to the aging Mrs. Bruce.

Mrs. Bruce was a stern Presbyterian who had a total abhorrence to any kind of alcoholic beverage. She had reason to. Both her husband and her son had died or would die from alcoholism. Mrs. Bruce always canned a considerable amount of grape juice. She brought out and served a newly opened batch of it one day and served it to the three of them. It had fermented and had become wine, but Mrs. Bruce like the taste of it anyway. Ozie pointed out to her mother that the stuff had turned to wine, something which she always said was the Devil's brew. But Mrs. Bruce insisted this was all right. She had made it herself and she knew what was in it. It was not alcoholic at all. She kept right on serving and drinking it until the batch was gone. Mom and Ozie laughed over it.

On the evening of August 2, 1923, Mom and Ozie were lying in bed not yet asleep when they heard a newsboy outside shouting an Extra, (newspapers in those days would publish an extra edition for street sale in the wake of some important event. In a day before radio and television, that was how sudden news reached people) "President Harding is dead!" Warren Harding had fallen ill a few days earlier while on a trip to the West Coast, so the news was not an altogether unexpected shocker, but it was still the trauma of a President dying in office.

My mother and Ozie both dated - even before my father came into the picture, but Mom never told me about any man in particular. I don't think there ever was any special boy friend until my father. Mom really was not all that interested, and was not looking to get married. There were two kinds of men she would never marry, she said. She could not marry a minister or a farmer. (One is tempted to think about the best laid plans of mice and men.)

There was one thing Mom told me about her Jeff City years that I find totally incongruous. Someone would have had to know my mother well to fully understand why I think that, but Mom could be very much the naive innocent despite her deep-seated determination always to do what she termed was "proper". (That was one of her favorite words.) Even in later years when I was grown up, she would tell me about this with all the unquestioned innocence in the world, it never dawning on her what must have been implied in it all. Mom could be an extremely trusting person. Mom and Ozie, two single young women, were often called upon to entertain out-of-town customers for an evening. Usually they were married. Mom very matter-of-factly always told me about these simply being evenings of sociable enjoyment, and she couldn't understand the rather odd and sometimes irritated attitude of some of them. And some of them she frankly did not like although she never told me why, and I didn't ask. There was one she didn't like which she told me about, and provides a hint. He told Mom (and I don't know the context for this), "That's alright, I've seen naked women before." I'm sure these out?of?town customers - most of them at least - expected a great deal more than they got. Ozzie probably knew the score, but I'm sure my mother never guessed. Someone who did not know my mother will find that hard to believe, but I believe it.

It was through Ozie's encouragement that Mom continued on with Dad at first. Ozie liked him (and called him "Bern"), and she talked Mom out of breaking off with him when candy, flowers, and visits from Dad began coming there in the beginning of that courtship.

Mom's close friendship with Ozie continued until the last years of Ozie's life when they tended to drift apart. She was a frequent visitor at the farm, often at Christmas time, and we made numerous trips to Jefferson City.

Before staying with Ozie Bruce, my mother lived for a time with the J.H. Strother family. They moved to St. Louis in later years. On one of her visits to us when we lived in Concord Village, my mother got in touch and went to see them again.

Ozie Bruce had a married sister, Ivy Farr, who had a large family. I remember going there a time or two with my folks when we were visiting in Jefferson City when I was little. To my child's mind it seemed like the house was packed with kids.

One of Ivy's little daughters was staying with Ozie and Mrs. Bruce for a few days. The little girl did something for which she was scolded by her grandmother.

Ozie saw the little girl go off in a pout, write something on a piece of paper, take it out to the back yard garden, and bury it. Ozie then went out and dug up the note. It read, "Dear Devil. Come get Grandma. She's mean."

It was early in 1919. The Rev Fred Stoerker was pastor of what was then called St. Paul's Evangelical Church of Eudora, Kansas. Among his parishioners was a balding, bachelor farmer, William John Altenbernd, who lived west of Eudora in the Kaw Valley, about halfway between Eudora and Lawrence. The farm adjoined the Kansas River (or Kaw River as it was called locally) on the south side. He lived on the farm, still in the old Altenbernd homestead, with his unmarried sister, Louise. Will Altenbernd, as he was called, was then 33 years old.

Rev Fred Stoerker had a younger sister, Flora, who worked as a secretary in Jefferson City, Missouri, for the International Shoe Company office there. She was nearing 25. Fred and wife Hilda received a letter from her one day, informing them she was coming for a visit if that would be alright. She would come in on the evening train, which did not stop in Eudora. Could Fred meet her at the depot in Lawrence? She gave the date and time.

Well, of course that would be alright. They would be happy to see her again.

But something came up. Fred was not able to meet that evening train in Lawrence. He called Will Altenbernd and asked him if he would meet the train. (My mother always took all of this at its face value. But I've sometimes wondered in later years if Uncle Fred was really unable to meet that train. Could Uncle Fred and Aunt Hilda have been playing at matchmaking?) Will said he would meet her, and he did.

Maybe Will altenbernd had seen a picture of Flora Stoerker beforehand, or maybe he had been impressed when his pastor had talked about his sister. In any event, Will evidently prepared himself beforehand, and he was not disappointed at what he saw emerge from the train.

When they got to the parsonage in Eudora -- a ten mile trip or
thereabouts -- Will escorted her to the door with a package under his arm. When Hilda Stoerker greeted them at the door, Will pulled out two boxes of candy from his package, gave one to Hilda and the other to Flora, saying something to the effect that pretty girls always deserved something -- an interesting remark in that it might be doubted Hilda Stoerker could ever have been regarded as a pretty girl, whatever else she was.

Will was invited in. He stayed for a while, and then left for home.

When Flora Stoerker got back to Jefferson City she soon got a letter in the mail, along with a box of chocolates, these coming from "Wm Altenbernd" with a postmark of Eudora, Kansas. Poor Flora couldn't for the life of her figure out who that was, an indication of the impression Will Altenbernd had made upon her. She couldn't even remember his name. She had to write her brother to find out who this "Wm Altenbernd" was. She had to find out. She couldn't just let it go because in the letter he said he wanted to drive to Jefferson City to see her.

"Let him come," her brother urged her. "He's a very nice man. It would be cruel just to give him a cold rejection." So, against her better judgement, but with the added urging of her friend and roommate, Ozie Bruce, Flora let him come.

I don't know the details of that first date, other than that it firmly encouraged Will Altenbernd and left Flora Stoerker realizing she had let herself in for something she wasn't sure she wanted, and which would now be very difficult to get rid of in any case.

The box of chocolates through the mail became a weekly thing. And a Eudora visitor to Jefferson City occurred with some frequency. Ozie Bruce was crazy about him (She called him "Bern"), but Flora Stoerker had serious misgivings. Will Altenbernd was obviously quite serious, and Flora Stoerker had long determined that there were two kinds of men she would never marry -- if indeed she ever got married at all; a minister or a farmer. At length she sought openly to discourage him, but that didn't do any good. He kept writing. He kept sending candy, sometimes flowers. And he kept on coming to Jefferson City.

Not only were candy and flowers being sent, but a number of
photographs began arriving. Will Altenbernd was in the process of tearing down the old homestead and was building a new one. The photos were pictures of the work in progress. (Dad later always said he had built the house for her. Whether or not he actually told her that in 1919 I don't know, but certainly the implication was plain enough.) Flora put the pictures in her photograph album. Will also put construction pictures in his album, along with the canceled check that paid for it -- $10,000.

Immediately before one of his trips to Jefferson City, Will bought a new car. He had gotten no license plates for it as yet. They had been applied for, but Will didn't wait around to pick them up. He drove on to Jefferson City without them.

He was in Jefferson City before some policeman finally stopped him and prepared to ticket him (or whatever was done in those days) for driving without an auto license.

But Will was not to be deterred by any mere policeman. "I've come all the way from Kansas," Will told him, "to see the prettiest girl in your town. Now you're not going to stop me from doing that, are you?"

The policeman waved him on, telling him to get those license plates before he drove anywhere else.

Mr. Hagans, a junior executive of the International Shoe Company, and Ozie's current boyfriend, upon hearing this story, got a piece of cardboard, wrote, "License Applied For" on it, and stuck it onto Will's car. Will got safely back to Kansas and got his license plates.

Flora Stoerker was gradually giving in to this man, despite herself. But it took a long time. It would be a courtship of about eight years before there was a wedding. Most men would have given up long before then.

As time went on Flora Stoerker found herself occasionally taking trips to Kansas, even though her brother was no longer pastor there. She was always welcomed and treated royally by Will's sister Louise, who ran the farm house. The farm house, now long completed, was a beautiful thing. There are pictures of how Louise had it furnished.

On one of Floras's visits to Kansas, around 1926 I suppose, standing outside looking at the house, Will slipped a ring on Flora's finger. There were still many misgivings on Flora's part, but she did not take the ring off. She accepted it.

But once back in Jefferson City, doubts really assailed her. She went to work that Monday trying to hide her left hand, afraid somebody would see the ring. Of course, they saw it anyway. The office girls, especially Ozie, who worked there too, all knew Will by then, and they were overjoyed about it. Flora's doubts finally became resolved.

It was Will's intention that Louise keep living there at the farm house. After all, this was her home too. But Louise would have none of that. If Will married Flora, she would find a place of own. That became academic, however. Louise came down with appendicitis, the appendix burst,and Louise did not survive the emergency surgery.

There would be no great rush to a wedding, nor would it be a big wedding. In fact, there wouldn't even be any announcement of it in Eudora for a while afterward. Flora would go back to work at the Jefferson City office for a week or two to get things squared away there before coming on to Kansas.

The wedding itself would take place in Booneville, Missouri, in the parsonage of the church there. That was then the home for Fred and Hilda Stoerker, the witting or unwitting matchmakers of it all. Flora's sister, Alma, may have been there too.

The Rev Conrad Frederick Stoerker and his wife Wilhelmina would also be there, coming from St. Charles, Missouri, where they lived in retirement. They were the bride's parents. The Rev Conrad Frederick Stoerker would perform the ceremony for his daughter. It was May 24, 1927.

For some reason Rev Stoerker listed Flora's address as St. Charles when he filled out the marriage certificate, even though Flora had then lived in Jefferson City for some fifteen years.

Shortly thereafter, on June 13, 1927, Rev Conrad Frederick Stoerker would collapse in his bathroom. It was an aneurysm which would take his life within minutes.

So, as it turned out, the uniting in marriage of my parents was my grandfather's last wedding.

I always thought the farm house had been built later in the mid-twenties, but Dad's canceled check for the house is dated August 2, 1919. If Dad did indeed build the house for my mother, as he always said he did, then he had remarkable confidence very early on ?? like within weeks of meeting her.

I don't know how serious Ozie Bruce and Mr. Hagans were, but their relationship ended abruptly when Mr. Hagans got drunk one night and woke up the next morning to find himself married to the woman lying next to him. Mr. Hagans made no effort to get out of the marriage. I don't know if or for how long the marriage lasted. I have only the vaguest memory of Mr. Hagans when he was at the farm once when I was very small.

The old Eudora parsonage in which the Fred Stoerker lived was not torn down when the new one was built. It was sold and moved to what became Hiway 10. It was still there when I was a boy. It had been sold again and had become a beer hall.

Flora had no middle name. None of the Stoerker girls did.
-----------------------
Flora was confirmed on April 12, 1908 in St. Peter's Evangelical and Reformed Church in New Haven, Missouri.

On May 16, 1908, Flora was awarded her High School Entrance certificate.

On May 21, 1908, Flora graduated from the New Haven Grammar School at Gruebbel's Opera House in New Haven, Missouri.

On April 27, 1917 Flora was living at 712 Washington St. Jefferson, Missouri.

Prior to her marriage, Flora was living at 633 Clark Ave., Jefferson City, Missouri.

On May 24, 1927, Flora and Will were married in Boonville, Missouri. The service was conducted by her father Conrad Stoerker (#14) shortly before his death. Witnesses were Fred (#61) and Hilda (#114) Stoerker.

Flora had blue eyes and brown hair. She was 5' 7". Her 1941 driver's license listed her weight as 175 lbs.

When Will died, Fred Altenbernd (#49) and Helen Wichman (#99) were at the farm. Fred went to comfort Flora, and Helen went to comfort John. Flora became the administratrix of Will's estate. The estate was probated on August 26, 1941.

Shortly after Will's (#55) death, Flora became very ill and had to be hospitalized. She was in Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas from June 11, 1941 to June 20, 1941. Total cost for the stay was $62,65.

On July 29, 1941, Flora purchased cemetery lot 478 Block E in the Eudora Cemetery for $25.00. On October 27, 1941, she purchased one granite marker and one granite monument to be erected in the Eudora Cemetery for $168.00. These were purchased from the J.F. Bloom & Company in Omaha, Nebraska. On April 23, 1942, the erection of the markers was completed.

Flora is listed in the 1956 Lawrence, Kansas telephone directory as Mrs. Wm. Altenbernd living at RFD2. Her phone number was VI3-3194.

Flora had a delayed birth certificate recorded on February 4, 1957. It uses her driver's license (# 16-11862 State of Kansas), her confirmation record, and an affidavit from Ella Mankoff as supporting evidence. It is Missouri birth certificate # 455095.

The LDS Social Security Death Index indicates that Flora's social security number was issued to her in Kansas. It also incorrectly states that her residence at the time of her death was Lawrence, Kansas. Some months before her death, she moved in with her son John and his family in Godfrey, Illinois. As her condition worsened, she was moved to the Eunice Smith nursing home in Alton, Illinois where she died. Her body was transported back to Eudora, Kansas for the funeral.

Flora's home in Lawrence, Kansas was not sold until after her death.

I am now in possession of my grandmother's dining room set and good Haviland china. I can remember many hours spent around that table while visiting her. The dining room set and the china originally were passed on to my parents. When a move to an apartment no longer allowed them room to keep the furniture it was passed on to me. Recently, the china too was passed on to me. I can remember grandma telling me how she had purchased the china with some gold pieces given to her. She said she should have kept the gold pieces and purchased the china with something else. I can no longer remember who she told me had given her the coins.

After Dad was born, Grandma was unable to have any more children. Knowing that she wanted a little girl, my grandfather bought her a doll to be her "little girl". She would keep the doll sitting on her bed. I can remember as a child being allowed to look at the doll, but not play with it. After Dad's death, Mom gave the doll to me. Unfortunately, none of us can remember the name of the doll. Knowing how much it meant to grandma, I can't imagine that she didn't name her. I have checked Dad's memoirs, but there is no mention of the doll. Hopefully, some day the name will come back to me.

Norma Wichman remembers her Aunt Flora as being a very special lady.

     Photo in 1900.
     Flora Stoerker was listed as Fred Stoerker's daughter on the 1900 US Federal Census of Plum Hill Township, Washington County, Illinois, enumerated 2 Jun 1900.⁵ Her birth date was listed as April 1894, age 6. She was born in Missouri. Her father was born in Germany. Her mother was born in Germany.⁵ She was able to read, able to write, and able to speak English.⁵ She attended school for 4 months.⁵
     Photo in 1907. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130). Standing -- Paul, Alma, Flora, Josephine, Ella, and Julia Stoerker, Frieda and Christian Mohr
Seated -- Conrad, Wilhelmine (holding Theodore) Stoeker
Ground -- Gottlob, Theophil, and Adolph Stoerker, Waldemar Mohr.
     Photo.
     She was a student at Atchinson High School, Atchison, Atchison County, Kansas, USA, bt 1909 - 1912.
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (center) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo c 1910.
     Photo of Conrad, Flora, and Julia Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Caroline and Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Photo of Josephine, Ella, Alma, Julia, and Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo.
     Photo in 1912. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130). Stoerker Family 1912 -- Back: Fred, Hilda, Theophil, Flora, Alma, Frieda Mohr, Julia, Christian Mohr -- Front: Waldemar Mohr, Conrad, Wilhelmine, Gottlob.
     Photo. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130). Back Row: Julia, Theophil, Flora, and Adolph Stoerker
Front Row: Gottlob, Conrad, Wilhelmine, and Paul Stoerker.
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (right) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (right). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker and friend. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (far left) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (bottom left) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (far right) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (middle) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) and friend. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (right) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (middle) and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) and friend. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (standing at right) at International Shoe Company, Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left - with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left - and friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - 4th from left - with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left - and Ozzie Bruce. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left - and Ozzie Bruce. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left - and Ozzie Bruce. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) and Ozzie Bruce. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - 2nd from left. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of where Flora Stoerker worked at International Shoe Company, Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - left. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (far right) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (far left) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (center) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (right) and friends taken by  . Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (center) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker - 3rd from left, Julia Stoerker far right. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Julia Stoerker (3rd from right), Flora Stoerker (far right). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of ?, Josephine and Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo bt 16 Aug 1915 - 25 Aug 1915 in Missouri, USA. Motor Trip.
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (left) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo.
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Hilda, Flora and C. Frederick Stoerker on 20 Jun 1918. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora and C. Frederick Stoerker on 20 Jun 1918. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Hilda and C. Frederick Stoerker and Flora Altenbernd on 20 Jun 1918. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker and Ozzie Bruce on 26 Sep 1919. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Stoerker received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker c 1920.

     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (2nd from Left) with friends. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker (right). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo.
     Photo of Flora and C. Frederick Stoerker on 18 Jun 1920. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Flora Altenbernd received a postcard from Wilhelmine Stoerker in 1921.

     Photo of Flora, Gottlob, and Ella Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Stoerker received a letter from Gottlob Stoerker,residing at in St Louis, Independent City, Missouri, USA, on 1 Jun 1922.¹¹
     Photo of Flora Stoerker on 12 Jul 1922. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Stoerker was a bridesmaid at Emma Elise Stoehner and Gottlob Stoerker's wedding on 12 Jul 1922.¹²
     Photo of Hilda Stoerker, Flora Stoerker, Will Altenbernd, Wilhelmine Stoerker, Alma Stoerker
on ground: Frederick and Eleanor Stoerker
unknown who is being held. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Stoerker Golden Wedding Anniversary -- Back - Theophil, Julia, Paul, Conrad, Ella, Fred, Adolph -- Front - Alma, Wilhelmine, Frieda, Flora, and Gottlob on 2 Nov 1926. Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Flora Stoerker lived at 633 Clark Avenue, Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, USA, in 1927.^13,14
     Flora Stoerker, residing at 602 Clark Avenue, Jefferson City, Missouri received a letter from Conrad Friedrich Stoerker,residing at in St Charles, St Charles County, Missouri, USA, on 21 Feb 1927.

     She resided at 607 Clark Avenue, Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, USA, on 21 Feb 1927.¹⁵
     William John Altenbernd married Flora Stoerker, daughter of Conrad Friedrich Stoerker and Wilhelmine Cuno, in Boonville, Cooper County, Missouri, USA, on 24 May 1927.^16,3
     Flora Stoerker received a telegram from Paul Stoerker,residing at in St Charles, St Charles County, Missouri, USA, on 13 Jun 1927.

     Flora worked. She worked as Housewife.¹⁷
     Photo of Flora Altenbernd, Wilhelmine and Julia Stoerker c 1929 at Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker c Jan 1929.

     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Ozzie Bruce on 8 May 1929.
     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker,residing at at 1027 South 4th Street, St Charles, St Charles County, Missouri, USA, on 21 Oct 1929.

     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker on 21 Dec 1929.

     Flora Altenbernd, residing at RR2, Lawrence, Kansas received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker from Lawrence, Kansas,residing at at 1021 South 4th Street, St Charles, St Charles County, Missouri, USA, on 28 Dec 1929. The original is in German.

     Flora Stoerker received a letter from Gottlob Stoerker,residing at in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.
     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Friedaricka Elizabeth Hoelzel,residing at at 2732 Gillham Road, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, USA, on 1 Jul 1931.
Dearest Flora,

I have intended writing to you for some time. We enjoyed getting John's picture so much, it is very good of him. I showed it to Mrs. Kobrock and she immediately said that he is a Stoerker in looks. Of course that is true and is very complementary to you. Thanks a lot for the picture.

It has been so very hot here for two weeks and for those who are and have to be busy in the sun I feel plenty sorry, for it is more than I appreciate and I can stay in and make myself as nearly comfortable as possible. I mean the heat is more than I appreciate. I guess Will and Carl are digging potatoes now, and I so hope they get a good price. It is so discouraging to put the money and labor in for a crop and then get such prices as the farmers are getting for wheat. I am about sure that never before has wheat been so cheap. The country is full of food supplies and there are so many people coming to my door every day for a little to eat. Prices with us too have changed a great deal. So many people are out of work. Emil has had no extra business all year, so we are dependent on our rental income. I am very thankful that we saved our money when we made good money. I know so many people who lived off their entire income and now feel the depression very heavily. Claire starts her vacation Friday, she is looking forward to a good time with Harvey. He is taking a 12 weeks summer course in Midland and wants Claire there for one month. She will live in Dr. Martin's home but will have her meals and recreation with Harvey. He preached in our church the last two Sundays and did remarkably well. Dr. Band is in Portland and paid Harvey to fill his pulpit. Ruth is rather lonesome, she enjoyed her year at K.U. so much. I guess she will go again next year. Carl is home again, just got back from a 10 day trip to Oklahoma City. I often think about Louis. Have Will and Carl heard from him? I am truly sorry the way things stand with him but I know what it would mean to us had we listened to his plea.

I am piecing a flower garden quilt. I love it. I like to talk quilts to people who like that kind of work, And now I must close and would like to hear from or better yet to see you after the heat is over. Claire and Harvey will be here after the 10th of Aug. Come down sometime when they are here.

With love

Reaka.²²
     Photo of Frieda Mohr, Flora, John, and Will Altenbernd in 1933 in Colorado, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Christian and Frieda Mohr, Will, John, and Flora Altenbernd, Waldemar Mohr in 1933 in Colorado, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Altenbernd received a letter from Wilhelmine Stoerker on 6 Jan 1933.

     Photo of Flora and John Altenbernd and Wilhelmine Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Wilhelmine Stoerker sold the property at at 1021 South Fourth Street, St Charles, St Charles County, Missouri, USA, on 16 Mar 1936. The property sold for $2910.00. The proceeds were distributed between Alma Stoerker (16%), Ella Stoerker (21%), Julia Stoerker (23%), and Mrs. Flora Altenbernd (40%).²⁴
     Photo of John and Flora Altenbernd, and Ella Stoerker in St Louis, Independent City, Missouri, USA. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Flora Altenbernd was listed as William John Altenbernd's wife on the 1940 US Federal Census of Eudora Township, Douglas County, Kansas, enumerated 13 May 1940. Flora's age at her last birth date was listed as 46. She was born in Illinois. She was married. She had not attended school since March 1, 1940. Her highest grade completed was high school senior.²⁵ Her address on April 1, 1935 was Eudora Township, Kansas. It did a farm.²⁵
     Flora Altenbernd, residing at Rural Route #2, Lawrence, Kansas received a letter from US Guyer, 2nd District of Kansas, House of Representatives.,residing at House of Representatives, Washington DC, USA, on 28 May 1941. Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
May 28, 1941

Mrs. William Altenbernd
Rural Route #2
Lawerence, Kansas

My dear Mrs. Altenbernd,

I was sorry to read in the Lawrence Journal World of the death of your good husband, and I want to extend to you and to the members of your family, my sincere and heartfeld condolences in this time of sorrow. Mr. Altenbernd was a fine mand and his early passing is a real loss to the community and to his many friends,

Mrs Guyer wishes to join me in this expression of profound sympathy and extends condolences in your bereavement.

Sincerely yours,

U.S. Guyer.²⁶
     Photo of Julia Stoerker, Ella Mankopf, and Flora Altenbernd. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo taken by |Sue Myers (#130) c 1945. Original photo in the possession of John and Flora Altenbernd, Billie & Frank Greb and stepdaughter with Wayn Greb in front.
     Photo of Ella Mankopf, John and Flora Altenbernd. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Julia Stoerker(#62), John(#102) and Flora Altenbernd(#63). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers(#132).
     Photo of Julia Stoerker, Flora and John Altenbernd, Hilda Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Flora and John Altenbernd and Hilda Stoerker. Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Photo of Ella Mankopf and Flora Altenbernd. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130).
     Photo of Julia Stoerker (#62), Marion Stoerker (#122), Flora Altenbernd (#63). Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers(#132).
     Photo of Julia Stoerker (#62) and Flora Altenbernd(#63). Original photo in the possession of Sheila Altenbernd (#172).
     Photo. Original photo in the possession of Sue Myers (#130). Julia and Fred Stoerker, Flora Altenbernd, Hilda Stoerker.
     Flora Altenbernd was diagnosed with cancer.¹⁷
     The following item appeared the Lawrence Journal World, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, USA, on 24 Mar 1972

     Flora died on 24 Apr 1972 in Alton, Madison County, Illinois, USA, at age 77.^16,6 She was buried a 24 Apr 1972 in the Eudora City Cemetery located in Eudora, Douglas County, Kansas, USA.¹⁶